Christ City Cast

What if faith was never meant to be a private belief you keep separate from the rest of your life?In week 5 of James: Faith At Work, we sit with one of the more difficult and controversial passages in the New Testament: James 2:14-26. James asks, to paraphrase, "What good is a claim of faith while ignoring a brother or sister in need?" He presses against a faith that separates us from our neighbors, from ourselves, and from God--faith that merely confesses the truth, all while leaving daily life untouched.This teaching reflects on James' warning about dead faith, his examples of Abraham and Rahab, and the deeper beauty underneath the warning: living faith is not performance. It is not self-justification. It is the whole person moving toward Christ. Faith is brought to fullness as the implanted word works through us in love, mercy, provision, and ordinary obedience.Questions for Reflection:What areas of my life have I separated from my faith?How is my faith at work in my daily life and community?What would tomorrow look like if I responded to faith at work within me?Scripture References: James 2:14-26, James 1:18, James 1:21, James 1:27, Matthew 25:34-40, John 13:35, Genesis 15:6, Genesis 22, Romans 3:28, Deuteronomy 6:4, Philippians 2:12-13, Psalm 107:1-9Voices/Quotes: Douglas J. Moo, The Letter of James; Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy; Eugene Peterson, The Message and A Long Obedience in the Same Direction; Martin Luther; The BibleProject; Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary RadicalsSermon Notes & Liturgy | James: Faith at Work---Tired of consumer Christianity? So are we.Come rest in Jesus. Sundays at 10:10AM642 Brookhurst Dr, Dallas, TX 75218.Christ City Church is a faith family following Jesus together in east Dallas.Learn more at www.christcity.lifeFollow us on...IG: @christcitylifeX: @christcitylifeTH: @christcitylifeFB: christcitychurchdallasYT: @christcitylife

Many of our churches ignore our tendencies towards partiality, justify our favoritism, and excuse our cliquish exclusivity, labeling it 'fellowship.' But what if this is an afront to God, who, after all, "shows no partiality" (Rom. 2:11)? What if communities filled with partiality actually betray their professed faith in Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory?In week 4 of our summer series, James: Faith At Work, we sit with James 2:1-13 and the uncomfortable mirror it holds up to the church. This teaching begins by drawing our attention to the Greek word for partiality in verse 1, which carries the idea of "receiving the face" - judging a person by their visible surface, social status, usefulness, wealth, poverty, polish, burden, or perceived return. But faith is supposed to retrain our sight so that we no longer see the other person--rich or poor--as a category to manage, a resource to exploit, or an inconvenience to avoid. Faith at work sees beyond mere appearance, beyond the sur-face, and recognizes the face of the other as a summons to love.This message walks verse by verse through James' warning against favoritism, the royal law to "love your neighbor as yourself," and the law of liberty that frees us from the old economy of fear, status, and self-protection, and arrives at the fundamental Gospel truth that mercy triumphs over judgement. Lest we mistakenly think mercy is mere sentiment, we are reminded that mercy is love becoming visible, love made manifestly present, in the face of suffering--like Jesus, who was the vehicle of God's mercy.Questions for Reflection:Whose presence makes me feel important, and whose presence makes me feel burdened? Why?Do I see by the worldly facade, or by the divine Glory?Has the mercy I have received become visible over judgment?How am I responding to the faith at work within me?Scripture References: James 2:1-13, Psalm 25:1-10, Matthew 5:3, Matthew 22:34-40, Deuteronomy 6:4-5, 2 Corinthians 5:16-21Voices/Quotes: Emmanuel Levinas, Totality and Infinity; Douglas J. Moo, TNTC James; Craig L. Blomberg and Mariam J. Kamell, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on James; Google DeepMind, "A Pragmatic View of AI Personhood"From the series James: Faith at WorkSermon Notes & Liturgy--Tired of consumer Christianity? So are we.Come rest in Jesus. Sundays at 10:10AM642 Brookhurst Dr, Dallas, TX 75218.Christ City Church is a faith family following Jesus together in east Dallas.Learn more at www.christcity.lifeFollow us on...IG: @christcitylifeX: @christcitylifeTH: @christcitylifeFB: christcitychurchdallasYT: @christcitylife

What if work was never the thing to survive on the way to your real life — but the very medium through which you offer yourself to God?In the finale of our "Get(ing) Out of Work" series we consider a few of the ancient, yet ever new, practices that the church has used to help God's people stay in step with the Spirit during the daily rhythms of work and rest, rest and work. Drawing on Irenaeus and Hans Urs von Balthasar, the message recovers an old picture of the human being: not merely shaped clay, body and soul, but body and soul and spirit together — the complete person, bearing not just the image but the likeness of God (Genesis 1:26). To be spiritual is "by definition to be moved by the Spirit of the Logos," Christ our Beginning, our Salvation, our End.This reframes work entirely. With Dorothy Sayers, work is "not primarily a thing one does to live, but the thing one lives to do… the medium in which one offers oneself to God." We do not offer our work to God; following Paul in Romans 12, we offer our whole selves — as a living sacrifice — through it. So we stop striving to get out of work the identity, prosperity, and purpose it was never meant to supply, and instead receive from it the life we're made for: the good work God "got ready for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10).Then the practical question: how? The answer is ancient and unglamorous — habits. As Annie Dillard wrote, "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives… A schedule defends from chaos and whim. They are a net for catching days." Three habits to structure an ordinary day:Enter the day with the Lord's Prayer for Work — before the phone, before the lunches, perhaps before you're out of bed: "I give my whole self to you through the work you have given me this day."Recollect yourself midday with a centering prayer from Psalm 139 — breathing in, "I am…"; breathing out, "…still with you."Exit the day through the Examen — asking the Spirit where your work was out of step with Jesus, where it was in rhythm, and letting him lead you into rest.How we start matters. How we stay centered matters. And how we exit our labors into the rest of the night, made new, matters just as much.Reflection: Where was your work out of step with Jesus today, and where was it in rhythm with him?Scripture: Acts 2:1-3, 38-39 · Psalm 104:23-30 · Genesis 1:26 · Romans 12:1 · Ephesians 2:9-10 · 1 Thessalonians 5:23Voices/Quotes: Annie Dillard, The Writing Life · Dorothy Sayers · Tom Nelson, Work Matters · Irenaeus of Lyons · Hans Urs von BalthasarChrist City Church is a small faith family following Jesus together in east Dallas. We gather Sundays at 10:10 AM at 642 Brookhurst Dr., Dallas, TX 75218, in the chapel @ LHB.

What if the burden of your work isn't that there's too much to do — but that there's an anxiousness in your soul that no productivity system can fix?This Sunday we looked at Matthew 11:25-30, sitting with the weight of Jesus' invitation to all who are "heavy laden." The Greek word for burden, notably, carries with it not just the image of an animal loaded past its capacity — but the idea of spiritual anxiety, an unsettledness beneath the labor. The problem isn't the workload. It's the heart beneath it.The sermon names what modern marketing has always known: the heart is the most manipulable part of the soul. It longs, aspires, loves — and in a world of unlimited options, it is constantly being pulled toward someone else's end. We pile on not just more work, but more expectations, more routines, more rituals, more rumors of wisdom. We have become a society of excess baggage. And so the work that was meant to free us buries us instead.The answer, Jesus says, is not less work. It's a different heart. "Take my yoke upon you… for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." The yoke is a joining — two laboring together. Not handing off, but sharing. Thus, when our hearts are shaped by and fused with Christ's, the work doesn't merely become easier — it becomes transfigured as rest-full. Work, then, properly received, is itself a way to rest. Spiritual, mental, and bodily satisfaction — not in spite of the labor, but through it. Reflection QuestionsWhat labor and loads have you taken on that are not shared with Christ?Conversely, what labor and loads have you tried to give up that were yours to carry in Christ?In what labor and loads has your soul experienced rest?Scripture: Matthew 11:25-30; Psalm 40:1-8; Romans 12:1-2; John 14:31; Colossians 3:23Voices:Dorothy Sayers, Leading Lives That Matter: what we should do and who we should beTom Nelson, Work Matters: connecting Sunday worship to Monday workSirach 6:24-31 (NRSV)Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, TPNTSermon Notes & Liturgy⁠⁠We take a month or so every year to consider, together, the rhythm of creation according to God's design: ⁠⁠Sabbath & Work⁠Christ City Church is a small faith family following Jesus together in east Dallas. We gather Sundays at 10:10 AM at the Chapel at Lake Highlands Baptist Church, 642 Brookhurst Dr., Dallas, TX 75218.Learn more at ⁠christcity.life

What would change tomorrow if you forgot about serving others — and simply served the work?In Week 5 of our post-Easter series, we learn that for work to become a delight and fulfillment, it has to become something we submit to — not a means of getting something, but the medium through which we offer our whole selves to God. And in one of the most counterintuitive moves in the series: serving the work — not the people — is actually the only way to truly serve the people.Reflection Questions:What would be different if I "forgot the community and served the work" tomorrow?Where have I experienced the goodness of someone who was truly "serving the work"?Scripture: Colossians 3:15-24, Proverbs 3:6, Romans 12:1, John 6:38, Matthew 6:8-10Voices:Dorothy Sayers, Why Work? (1942)Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine LoveSermon Notes & Liturgy⁠We take a month or so every year to consider, together, the rhythm of creation according to God's design: ⁠Sabbath & WorkChrist City Church is a small faith family following Jesus together in east Dallas. We gather Sundays at 10:10 AM at the Chapel at Lake Highlands Baptist Church, 642 Brookhurst Dr., Dallas, TX 75218.Learn more at christcity.life

What if the good life isn't getting out of work — but getting the good out of work?A common narrative today is one that says the good life is what waits on the other side of our labor, that progress always means doing less, working less, and somehow still getting more, and that the human ideal is a consumer at leisure. It's a compelling story. And it's one most of us have swallowed whole. But is this really what it means to get the good out of work?In Week 4 of our post-Easter series, Get(ting) Out of Work, we look at Ephesians 2:1-10, sitting with Paul's quiet but weighty claim that we are "created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." We explore what it means to stop bargaining with work and start serving it — and why that small reorientation might be the difference between a diminished life and a flourishing one, with Jesus.Questions for ReflectionDo you believe this? What keeps you from believing that work is the thing you live to do — not just something you do to live?What would be different tomorrow if you entered your work not as something done to make a living, but as something you are living to do?Where have you seen the goodness of someone "serving" work rather than "bargaining" with it?Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10; Psalm 27:4-6, 13-14; Psalm 92:13-14; 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12Voices/Quotes:Dorothy Sayers, Why Work? Annie Dillard, The Writing LifeSermon Notes & LiturgyWe take a month or so every year to consider, together, the rhythm of creation according to God's design: Sabbath & WorkChrist City Church is a small faith family following Jesus together in east Dallas. We gather Sundays at 10:10 AM in the Chapel at LHBC. 642 Brookhurst Dr., Dallas, TX 75218.Learn more at christcity.life

Sabbath isn't a reward for a productive week. It's a declaration that you're already free.In week three of Get(ing) Out of Work, we turn to Deuteronomy 5 — where Moses restates the Sabbath command and adds something Exodus doesn't: a reason. Not creation, but liberation. God commands rest because he already got you out. To Sabbath is to remember who freed you, and to refuse — again — the identity of a slave. Sabbathing, it turns out, is a defiant act of freedom.Questions for Reflection:What does your relationship with rest reveal about what you believe God requires of you?In what ways does the culture around you function like Egypt — demanding your productivity, time, and identity? How does Sabbath resist that?Scripture References: Genesis 2:2–3; Exodus 20:8–11; Deuteronomy 5:12–15; Mark 2:27Voices/Quotes: Eugene Peterson, Tell It SlantSermon Notes & LiturgyWe take a month or so every year to consider, together, the rhythm of creation according to God's design: Sabbath & Work This sermonette was a recorded during one of our regular Sabbath meals, where we gather together, around a table, to rest in Jesus,Christ City Church gathers every Sunday at 10:10 AM at 642 Brookhurst Dr., Dallas, TX 75218; in the chapel at LHB. Come rest in Jesus. Learn more at christcity.life

Work isn't what's broken. We are. And that changes everything about how we show up on Monday. Tracing the Genesis narrative through the Fall, Noah, and the Noahic covenant, Pastor Jeremy Pace shows that the pain and struggle we experience in work stem from twisted human hearts, not from work itself. Work is our good, not merely a means to good things — it is our specific human contribution to God's ongoing creation and to the common good. The antidote to mis-loving work is Love itself: only when love is put on as our essential nature, not as a feeling or an outcome, can we "work from the soul, as for the Lord." Questions for Reflection: What are we missing in our love(lessness) of work? Where — and from whom — have you witnessed love at work, work from the soul? Scripture References: Psalm 90:14–17 Genesis 2:1–3, 15; 3:17–19; 4:22–23; 5:28–29; 6:5–18; 8:20–22; 9:1–17, 20–25 Colossians 3:10, 14, 17, 23 Voices/Quotes: Irenaeus, Augustine, Julian of Norwich, NT Wright, Dorothy Sayers, Tom Nelson Sermon Notes & Liturgy | Get(ting) Out of Work We take a month or so every year to consider, together, the rhythm of creation according to God's design: Sabbath & Work Christ City Church gathers every Sunday at 10:10 AM at 642 Brookhurst Dr., Dallas, TX 75218; in the chapel at LHB.  Come rest in Jesus. Learn more at christcity.life

Genesis 2:15; 3:17-19; 5:28-29 Sermon Notes and Liturgy From the series Get(ing) Out of Work  Sunday April 12th, 2026 We take a month or so every year to consider, together, the rhythm of creation according to God's design: Sabbath & Work Christ City Church

Matthew 28:1-10 | Isaiah 54:4-5,9-10 | John 17:20-26 Sermon Notes and Liturgy From our Easter Sunday gathering. Sunday April 5th, 2026 Christ City Church

2 Peter 1:3-8 Sermon Notes and Liturgy From this year's Lent series, The Story of Sin Sunday March 22nd, 2026 Christ City Church

2 Peter 2:12-22 Sermon Notes and Liturgy From this year's Lent series, The Story of Sin Sunday March 15th, 2026 Christ City Church

Genesis 6-11 Sermon Notes and Liturgy From this year's Lent series, The Story of Sin Sunday March 8th, 2026 Christ City Church

Genesis 4 Sermon Notes and Liturgy From this year's Lent series, The Story of Sin Sunday March 1st, 2026 Christ City Church  

Genesis 1-3 Sermon Notes & Liturgy From this year's Lent series, The Story of Sin Sunday February 22nd, 2026 Christ City Church

Matthew 25:31-46 Sermon Notes & Liturgy Preparing for Lent Sunday February 8th, 2026 Christ City Church

Matthew 25:14-30 Sermon Notes & Liturgy From our annual Kingdom Epiphanies Sunday February 1st, 2026 Christ City Church

Matthew 4:26-32 Sermon Notes & Liturgy Kingdom Epiphanies Sunday January 18th 2026 Christ City Church

Matthew 2 Sermon Notes & Liturgy From Christmas to Epiphany Sunday January 4th 2026 Christ City Church

*During Advent, our gatherings look a bit different and feature more music, readings, and other seasonal liturgies, with shortened 'sermonettes.' Isaiah 40 From our annual Advent series. Sermon Notes & Liturgy Sunday December 21st, 2025 Christ City Church

*During Advent, our gatherings look a bit different and feature more music, readings, and other seasonal liturgies, with shortened 'sermonettes.' Isaiah 12:1-6 From our annual Advent series. Sermon Notes & Liturgy Sunday December 14th, 2025 Christ City Church

*During Advent, our gatherings look a bit different and feature more music, readings, and other seasonal liturgies, with shortened 'sermonettes.' Luke 2:30-55 From our annual Advent series. Sermon Notes & Liturgy Sunday December 7th, 2025 Christ City Church

*During Advent, our gatherings look a bit different and feature more music, readings, and other seasonal liturgies, with shortened 'sermonettes.' Luke 2:22-38 From our annual Advent series. Sermon Notes & Liturgy Sunday November 30th, 2025 Christ City Church

Ezekiel & Isaiah From the series Jesus Awaited Sermon Notes & Liturgy Sunday November 23rd, 2025 Christ City Church

2 Samuel 5 & 7, Psalm 20, 24, 72, 89, 110,  From the series Jesus Awaited Sermon Notes & Liturgy Sunday November 16th, 2025 Christ City Church

Psalm 45, Genesis 3-11 The Bible Project video referenced in this talk can be found here. From the series Jesus Awaited Sermon Notes & Liturgy Sunday November 9th, 2025 Christ City Church

Hebrews, Psalm 2, Psalm 45 The Bible Project video referenced in this talk can be found here. From the series Jesus Ascended Sermon Notes & Liturgy Sunday November 2nd, 2025 Christ City Church

Hebrews 12, 13 The Bible Project video referenced in this talk can be found here. From the series Jesus Ascended Sermon Notes & Liturgy Sunday October 26th, 2025 Christ City Church

Hebrews 11:1-49 The Bible Project video referenced in this talk can be found here. From the series Jesus Ascended Sermon Notes & Liturgy Sunday October 19th, 2025 Christ City Church

Hebrews 10:19-39 The Bible Project video referenced in this talk can be found here. From the series Jesus Ascended Sermon Notes & Liturgy Sunday October 12th, 2025 Christ City Church

During one of our occasional Sunday family meals.  The painting referenced in this talk is "The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek" by Sir Peter Paul Rubens (c. 1626) and can be found here. From the series Jesus Ascended Sermon Notes & Liturgy Sunday October 5th, 2025 Christ City Church

Hebrews 10:1-8 From the series Jesus Ascended Sermon Notes & Liturgy Sunday September 28th, 2025 Christ City Church

Hebrews 7:1-10, Psalm 110 From the series Jesus Ascended Sermon Notes & Liturgy Sunday September 21st, 2025 Christ City Church

Hebrews 4:14-16; 9:1-14;13:20-21 From the series Jesus Ascended Sermon Notes & Liturgy Sunday September 14th, 2025 Christ City Church

Introduction to the series Jesus Ascended Hebrews 1:1-4, 2, 13:20-21 Sermon Notes & Liturgy Sunday September 8th, 2025 Christ City Church

Psalms 134 From the Psalms of Ascent, Ascending with Christ. Sermon Notes & Liturgy Summer Reading Guide Christ City Church, Dallas, Texas August 31st, 2025

Psalms 133 From the Psalms of Ascent, Ascending with Christ. Sermon Notes & Liturgy Summer Reading Guide Christ City Church, Dallas, Texas August 24th, 2025

Psalms 131 and 132. From the Psalms of Ascent, Ascending with Christ. Sermon Notes & Liturgy Summer Reading Guide Christ City Church, Dallas, Texas August 17th, 2025

Psalms 129 and 130. From the Psalms of Ascent, Ascending with Christ. Sermon Notes & Liturgy Summer Reading Guide Christ City Church, Dallas, Texas August 10th, 2025

Psalm 127 From the Psalms of Ascent, Ascending with Christ. Sermon Notes & Liturgy Summer Reading Guide Christ City Church, Dallas, Texas July 27th, 2025

Psalm 126 From the Psalms of Ascent, Ascending with Christ. Sermon Notes & Liturgy Summer Reading Guide Christ City Church, Dallas, Texas July 20th, 2025

Psalms 124 & 125 from the Psalms of Ascent, Ascending with Christ. Sermon Notes & Liturgy Summer Reading Guide Christ City Church, Dallas, Texas July 13th, 2025

Psalms 120 & 121 from the Psalms of Ascent, Ascending with Christ. Sermon Notes & Liturgy Summer Reading Guide Christ City Church, Dallas, Texas June 22nd, 2025

Introductory sermon for our summer series in the Psalms of Ascent, Ascending with Christ. Acts 1: 3-12 Sermon Notes & Liturgy Summer Reading Guide Christ City Church, Dallas, Texas

From the series Sabbath & Work. Sermon Notes & Liturgy Rhythms & Practices | Resources Sunday June 8th, 2025 Christ City Church

From the series Sabbath & Work. Sermon Notes & Liturgy Rhythms & Practices | Resources Sunday June 1st, 2025 Christ City Church

From the series Sabbath & Work. Sermon Notes & Liturgy Rhythms & Practices | Resources Sunday May 25th, 2025 Christ City Church

From the series Sabbath & Work. Sermon Notes & Liturgy Rhythms & Practices | Resources Sunday May 18th, 2025 Christ City Church

From the series Sabbath & Work. Sermon Notes & Liturgy Rhythms & Practices | Resources Sunday May 11th, 2025 Christ City Church

Introduction to the series Sabbath & Work. Sermon Notes & Liturgy | Rhythms & Practices | Resources April 27th, 2025 Christ City Church