Two Cities Church

What do you do when God's plan doesn't match your plan? Most of us are willing to follow God until His way conflicts with what we want. That's exactly where Jonah found himself. In Jonah 4, we discover that Jonah's biggest problem wasn't the storm, the fish, or even Nineveh. It was a heart that still struggled to say "yes" to God. In this message, Pastor Spence Shelton unpacks why we resist God's will and how His mercy can transform our hearts. You'll discover: • Why we often believe our way is better than God's • How forgetting God's mercy makes obedience harder • Why knowing facts about God isn't the same as knowing Him • How bitterness, anger, and pride can keep us from God's best • What it looks like to fully surrender to God's mission God isn't looking for reluctant obedience. He wants your heart. Following Jesus ultimately comes down to a daily decision: whose plan will you trust? Will you continue holding onto your own agenda, or will you surrender to God's?

What do you do when suffering catches you off guard? We all want peace, stability, and comfort. But eventually, hardship comes, disappointment, loss, unanswered prayers, seasons that stretch longer than we expected. And when it does, we can be left wondering: Is this pointless? Is God distant? Is any of this doing something? But what if your suffering is actually shaping you? In Romans 5:1-11, Paul shifts from explaining salvation to celebrating its benefits. He tells us that because we have been justified by faith, we now have peace with God through Jesus Christ. Not a fragile feeling, but a settled reality. And that peace leads to access. Through Christ, we don’t just get forgiveness, we get ongoing access to God. We stand in grace. We can approach Him honestly and confidently. He is not annoyed by us, and he is not distant. But Paul doesn’t stop there. He says something unexpected: we rejoice in our sufferings. Why? Because suffering produces endurance. Endurance produces character. Character produces hope. And hope does not put us to shame. This message will help you: - See how suffering can shape endurance, character, and hope - Understand the difference between peace with God and the peace of God - Recognize that comfort can quietly become a cage - Embrace the ministry of reconciliation God has entrusted to you

Many of us live with a quiet pressure to prove ourselves. Whether through success, reputation, or even spiritual discipline, it’s easy to believe our acceptance comes from how well we perform. But what if that entire way of thinking is a trap? In Romans 4:1-12, the Apostle Paul shows that even Abraham—the great example of faith—was not made right with God by his works. Instead, Abraham was counted righteous because he believed God. Paul also points to David, a man who experienced deep failure yet discovered the reality of God’s forgiveness and grace. Together they reveal a powerful truth: we cannot earn what God freely gives. Whether you feel like an achiever exhausted by the performance treadmill, or broken and wondering if you're beyond grace, the gospel speaks directly to you. In Christ, righteousness is credited as a gift, sins are forgiven and covered, and anyone who believes can belong. This passage reminds us that the gospel frees us from striving to prove ourselves and invites us to rest in the grace of God.

We all live with an "ideal" version of ourselves—the patient parent, the successful professional, the faithful friend. But the older we get, the more we realize the gap between that ideal and our actual reality. In Romans 3:21-26, the Apostle Paul addresses an even greater gap: the distance between our sin and God’s glory. After three chapters of explaining why we are helpless on our own, Paul pivots to the most hope-filled phrase in Scripture: "But now". This is the "Great Pivot" where God initiates a rescue we could never earn. In this message you’ll learn: - Why “But now” is the most hope-filled phrase in the Bible - What justification really means - How Jesus satisfies both God’s justice and mercy - Why grace cannot be earned but must be received - How the cross upholds God’s holiness while saving sinners

Does our sin cancel God’s faithfulness? If God is gracious, does sin even matter? In Romans 3:1–8, Paul tackles the hardest questions about God’s justice, human failure, and the logic we use to justify ourselves. If everyone is guilty, is God unfair? If people don’t believe, has God failed? And if our sin highlights his grace, why not keep sinning? This message exposes the subtle ways we argue with God and twist grace into permission. It reminds us that spiritual privilege doesn’t remove accountability, human unbelief doesn’t nullify God’s faithfulness, and grace is never a license to sin. In this message you’ll learn: • Why having the Bible increases responsibility • Why human failure never cancels God’s faithfulness • How bad theology leads to bad living • Why God’s justice and mercy are not in conflict

Why does sexuality feel so confusing, painful, and loaded for so many people today? In Romans 1:24-27, Scripture confronts one of the most difficult and misunderstood topics of our time, not to shame us, but to tell us the truth about what’s gone wrong and where real hope is found. In this message, Pastor Kyle walks through this passage, showing that sexual brokenness is not selective, it’s universal. The Bible doesn’t single out certain people. It exposes a deeper human problem, disordered desires that flow from exchanging the truth about God for a lie. Romans 1 helps us understand how desire, idolatry, and identity are connected, and how the Bible speaks to questions of sexuality, including same-sex attraction, with clarity and hope. Rather than fueling self-righteousness or condemnation, this passage calls us to humility and compassion. It reminds us that every person needs grace, and no one is beyond the reach of the gospel. This message is part of our ongoing series through the book of Romans at Two Cities Church. If you’re wrestling with questions about sex, desire, identity, or faith, or walking with someone who is, this teaching is for you.

Why does the idea of God’s wrath feel so offensive, and why does the Bible insist we can’t understand grace without it? In Romans 1:18-25, Paul confronts one of the most avoided truths of the Christian faith: the wrath of God. Rather than contradicting God’s love, His wrath reveals His righteous and jealous commitment to what is good, true, and life-giving. As Paul moves from the righteousness of God to humanity’s need for salvation, he shows that God’s wrath is not merely future—it is already being revealed. When people suppress the truth, exchange God’s glory for idols, and refuse to honor Him, God’s judgment is seen most clearly in what He allows: being given over to our desires and the slow unraveling that follows. This passage exposes the root beneath our cultural confusion and personal brokenness. The problem is not ignorance, but rebellion. We know God, yet refuse to worship Him. We exchange the Creator for created things—and that exchange never leads to freedom, only futility, darkness, and dehumanization. In this sermon from Romans 1:18–25, we see four sobering realities: - God’s wrath is revealed and deserved—not arbitrary or unjust - Humanity’s problem is moral, not intellectual—we suppress truth we already know - Idolatry is the root of all sin, replacing the Creator with lesser loves - Sin always dishonors God and destroys the sinner, even at the level of our bodies Romans 1 presses us to stop making excuses, tell the truth about ourselves, and see why grace becomes glorious only when we understand the depth of our need.

Pastor Kyle introduces the 2026 vision for Two Cities Church: Centered on God’s Word, Sent into God’s world. Grounded in Romans 1:1–6, this message shows how vision begins with God and His Word, centers on the gospel of Jesus Christ, and leads to faith that becomes obedience. Pastor Kyle also unpacks why Romans is a uniquely formative book for the church, and why being “sent” starts with everyday faithfulness—living with purpose in your relationships, your neighborhood, and the nations. This sermon calls the church to be formed before being sent—anchored in Scripture, empowered by grace, and moved to respond through worship, prayer, and mission for the sake of Jesus’ name.