Alabaster Group

True spiritual maturity is found in moving beyond a relationship with God defined by needs and wants to one anchored in free will and choice. While God faithfully meets our basic needs to deliver us from the "slavery" of survival, His ultimate desire is for us to relate to Him as free sons and daughters who act out of voluntary devotion rather than necessity. Just as Nehemiah chose to rebuild Jerusalem without a direct divine command or personal crisis, we are invited to exercise a godly ambition that originates in our own hearts. Matthew 6; Deuteronomy 15; Nehemiah 1-2; 1 Corinthians 9; Philippians 1 NYC Sunday Sermon | April 5, 2026

Righteousness is not merely a moral attribute but a tangible form of spiritual power. When we perform acts of integrity—such as returning a poor man’s pledge or giving alms like Cornelius—we are accruing a memorial of righteousness that carries weight in the heavens. Like a pendulum raised to its peak, these quiet sacrifices build a storehouse of potential that can be converted into action. The Lord desires that we understand this dynamic so that we can make full use of the spiritual power available to us. Deuteronomy 24; Acts 10; Romans 1; Genesis 15; Luke 7; James 5; Mark 5; Luke 5 NYC Sunday Sermon | March 29, 2026

In different areas of our lives, we can easily become one of many: one of many students, employees, citizens, customers, residents, etc. But to God, we each hold a unique place in His heart and He desires to relate to us in a way that can’t be replicated or replaced. When we recognize this about our relationship with God, it also becomes easier to love others in the same way that God loves them—not generally, but individually. Gomer was not just another prostitute, she was someone deeply loved by God, and Hosea was invited to share in this love. Epaphroditus was not just another worker to God, and neither was he to Paul. Sharing in God’s unique love for others opens up a door to intimacy that would not otherwise be possible. Isaiah 52-53; Exodus 33; 1 Timothy 5; Mark 9; Philippians 2; Hosea 1 NYC Sunday Sermon | March 22, 2026

Many times, the healing that Jesus offers us restores not only our bodies, but our souls. Suffering over long periods of time can take a toll on us such that our dignity begins to erode, and it becomes harder for us to believe that we are valuable in God’s eyes. When Jesus encounters the leper, He does not just heal him, He emphasizes that God desires to heal him, and in doing so, restores a dignity that had been lost. As we relate to others, we have a responsibility to build up our neighbors, while at the same time, not tearing ourselves down. When we choose to reinforce one another’s dignity, our breakthroughs are no longer fragile, but become the stable ground from which we truly worship and encounter God. Acts 3; Matthew 8; Matthew 23; 1 Peter 3; Proverbs 31 NYC Sunday Sermon | March 15, 2026

True relationship with God is not measured by the "mighty works" we perform or the hours we log in service to Him, but by the alignment of our hearts with His. It is possible to be an "employee" of the Kingdom, using God’s power and gifts while remaining a stranger to Him, but we are called to a deeper intimacy. Like the bondservant in Exodus 21, our relationship can transition from being one of transaction, to one of sonship—where our interests become one and the same. This intimacy can also be experienced in our relationships with other people as we learn to love our neighbors as ourselves. When we tear down the “fences” of self-interest, seeking the good of our neighbor becomes synonymous with seeking our own good, and in that place our relationships become grounded in true loyalty and devotion. Matthew 7; Exodus 21; Luke 10; Luke 15; Proverbs 3; Philippians 2; Proverbs 17 NYC Sunday Sermon | March 8, 2026

The story of Ananias and Sapphira teaches us a very important lesson: the only faith that is acceptable to God is an authentic one. The Lord is not interested in a version of ourselves that is contrived or curated for the eyes of men; He’s interested in a sincere faith that is consistent regardless of who is watching. It is easy to forget that all that we will give an account for all that we say and do. It is the grace of God, however, that allows us to reckon with the weight of our decisions so that we would not delude ourselves into hypocrisy. Only the work of the Holy Spirit can keep us in the fear of the Lord so that our hearts would be pure and our actions true before Him. Acts 4-5; Mark 12; Luke 20; Jude; Genesis 3; Micah 4; Philippians 2 NYC Sunday Sermon | March 1, 2026

Life often feels like a complex mixture of the good and the broken, leading us to dismiss certain parts of our history as worthless or distracting from our ultimate purpose. However, the Scriptures reveal that small things, whether good or bad, can have a large impact on our direction, acting like rudders that guide the entire course of our lives. God frequently uses the “seeds" of our youth—planted through our unique upbringing, specific trials, and even our cultural backgrounds—as levers to propel us into our future. Instead of running away from a mixed or painful past, we are invited to trust God as He refines and sanctifies our experiences. James 3; Matthew 7; Genesis 37 NYC Sunday Sermon | February 22, 2026

God has ordained specific times and seasons for every purpose, and these are determined by His divine timeline rather than our own human milestones. While we often struggle with delays, the life of Abraham reveals that God can use our trials—even our "barren" seasons—to preserve us from the consequences of our own weakness. True maturity comes when we refuse to let worldly success or human influence claim credit for our lives, choosing instead to trust in God’s providence alone. When we yield to His sovereign timing, we find a path that is unentangled from the systems of man and entirely sustained by His grace.   Genesis 1; Galatians 6; Ecclesiastes 3; Romans 5; Genesis 12-14 NYC Sunday Sermon | February 15, 2026

Whether we are in positions of great authority or trying to live a life pleasing before God, discernment is an indispensable tool that we will always have to use. Maintaining adequate discernment, however, is not trivial. Anything in our hearts that has not been surrendered to God will cloud our judgement and make us incapable of exercising right discernment. But when we keep our hearts pure before the Lord, our skills of discernment are sharpened by constantly conforming our thoughts to his.   2 Samuel 15-17; Proverbs 4; 1 Kings 3; 1 Corinthians 14 NYC Sunday Service | February 8, 2026

The decisions we make have ramifications far beyond the present moment we find ourselves in, and none of us have the ability to predict those effects ahead of time. On issues of right and wrong, we may be tempted to trust our own judgements, even over and above the Lord’s, but doing so would leave us susceptible to profound errors that negatively impact us and those around us. Whether we are deciding to execute justice or extend mercy, we should always lean on the Lord’s wisdom because He sees the end from the beginning and true justice and mercy flow from Him. 1 Samuel 15; Esther 2; 2 Samuel 16; Isaiah 42 Winter Retreat Sunday Service | February 1, 2026

The Bible tells us that God opposes the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. For those who desire to live a righteous life, this truth presents a significant problem: many of the good things that we are called to do can become the very source of our pride. Acquiring knowledge, avoiding sin, being diligent in our work, maintaining spiritual disciplines—all of these, although right for us to do, cause us to become puffed up in our own abilities. So how do we maintain a humble posture before the Lord? It requires an intentional and consistent acknowledgement of the Lord’s loftiness and our lowliness, not just with our thoughts, but with our words and bodies. When we make this a practice over time, we not only become more humble, but we receive the grace to overcome besetting sins and find rest for our souls.   Matthew 11   Winter Retreat Saturday Evening | January 31, 2026  

The tools that God uses to shape us into the man or woman He has called us to be are often the very things that make us the most uncomfortable. One of those tools is loneliness. While we were not created to be alone in perpetuity, God allows us to go through seasons of solitude so that we might experience aspects of his nature that we would not otherwise experience. When we embrace these moments of discomfort, things that were once the source of our deepest insecurities become part of the sure foundation that God establishes us on. 2 Timothy 4 Winter Retreat Friday Evening | January 30, 2026

A quick survey of our lives and the Scriptures reveals that God does not treat us all equally. As we walk with God, He allows us to go through circumstances that are in proportion to the measure of the faith that He wants to draw out of us. As sons and daughters, we should not expect this journey of faith to be easy, because the discipline of the Lord never is. But, we can be sure that it is worth it.   Luke 7; Matthew 15; Hebrews 12 NYC Sunday Sermon | January 25, 2026

Weakness is not something that we readily embrace. It is uncomfortable to be put in situations where our human strength and abilities come up short, but such moments are precisely when the power of God is made manifest through us. God allows us to be weak, vulnerable, and stretched beyond our limits, so that we would come to experience his strength in tangible measures. Although sometimes scary, God invites us to lean into our weaknesses so that our faith in His power would be tried and true. Matthew 25; John 16; 2 Corinthians 12; Philippians 2; Isaiah 40 NYC Sunday Sermon | January 18, 2026

It is true that God gives rest to his loved ones, but in order to receive rest, we must have come to a place of weariness. We should not be surprised when the good things that God has asked us to do make us tired—this is a sign that we have given ourselves to his work, and in doing so, are becoming more like Him. When obedience brings us to the point of fainting, his promise is that He will renew our strength.   John 4-5; Jeremiah 15; Isaiah 1; Malachi 2; 2 Thessalonians 3; Galatians 6; Hebrews 12; Isaiah 40 NYC Sunday Sermon | January 11, 2026

If not dealt with properly, sustained disappointment can cause our hearts to grow cold and callous. When our hearts become hard, it is easy to drift away from the Lord and from his people, but these are precisely the people that we need to persevere in hope and faith. In this service, two of our members, Amber and Kenisha, share their own experiences with disappointment and how the Lord has been walking them through difficult seasons.   1 Corinthians 12; Leviticus 17; Matthew 7 NYC Sunday Sermon | January 4, 2026

After David was anointed king, years passed before God’s purpose for him was fulfilled. In the time in between his anointing and his ascension to the throne, David had many opportunities to seize the crown for himself, but he never took them. Instead, he chose to wait for the kingship to be handed to him by God, even though he knew it was rightfully his. In doing so, he ensured that his throne would endure forever. In the same way, when we accept the seasons of delay that come with waiting on God, He firmly establishes his plans for our lives in ways that we could not have done ourselves. 1 Samuel 24; Proverbs 19-20 NYC Sunday Sermon | December 14, 2025

When God asks us to place our faith in Him, He is extending an invitation for us to partner with Him in the work that He is doing in the Earth. This invitation often requires that we don’t simply believe Him with our words, but with our actions. Without these invitations to partner with God in faith, we would simply be spectators of our own lives—watching God do amazing things in our midst, but never being changed ourselves. And while we are not perfect in partnering with God, He is faithful to help us learn from our missed opportunities, so that we would grow to be more like Him. John 11; 2 Kings 1; John 6 NYC Sunday Sermon | December 7, 2025

Although Jesus is King and Judge over all the Earth, He chooses to not only empathize with the lowly, but to become lowly Himself. Among the poor, the broken, the needy, the blind, the brokenhearted—that is where He makes his dwelling. For most people, life progresses in such a way that we obtain more prestige and privilege as time goes by and we become less aware of the needs of the marginalized. But, if we want to truly serve Jesus in this life, we should take every opportunity to anchor ourselves to the suffering, because that is where He is. Matthew 25; Genesis 24; Matthew 11 NYC Sunday Sermon | November 30, 2025

As we walk with God, He reveals his love for us in ways that other people can see, but also in ways that others cannot. Over time, the blessings that God pours out into our lives accumulate and stand as a layered testimony of God’s love that the people around us can bear witness to and celebrate. But, there are experiences that we have with God that no one else will be privy to, and it is in those experiences that we discover the immeasurable depth of his love. Understanding this facet of his love, however, is not guaranteed with time; it requires intentionally holding onto Him and his promises even in our darkest moments. Ephesians 3; 2 Samuel 7; 2 Kings 19 NYC Sunday Sermon | November 23, 2025

God in his infinite power could solve all of the world’s problems in an instant, but if He did, we would miss out on a key experience of what it means to be like Him. Instead, in his infinite wisdom, He has made room for us to participate in his sufferings so that we may find our place in his story of salvation. All of the areas in life where we recognize that the Kingdom of God is not manifest are invitations for us to labor for his will to be done on the Earth as it is in Heaven.   Colossians 1; Luke 7; Luke 3; Proverbs 18; Ecclesiastes 3 NYC Sunday Sermon | November 9, 2025

The culture today tells us that we should discover our identity by looking inward. Ironically, this practice of navel-gazing will eventually produce anxieties and insecurities within us that cause us to doubt who we are. When we look outside of ourselves, however, and focus on what God has spoken concerning us, understanding who we were made to be and what we were made to do becomes exceedingly clear.   Exodus 3; Luke 4; Psalm 123; John 9; Job 1 Fall Retreat Sunday Sermon | November 16, 2025

Student Fall Retreat 2025 Saturday Evening Sermon

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NYC Sunday Sermon by guest speaker, Jody Atchison.

The more we become acquainted with societal norms, the easier it is to conform to these norms without even realizing it, and life in God is no exception to this. Although adhering to the status quo of Christian living may feel safe, it can cause us to lose sight of the unique aspects of our personalities that were deposited in us by God. If we are to remain authentic to who God created us to be, we must be willing to do what is risky—be ourselves.   Matthew 25; 2 Corinthians 11   NYC Sunday Service | October 19, 2025

Biblical life and death can be understood as more than physical conditions, but states of being that permeate all aspects of our lives. Divine “life” is an inexhaustible, dynamic experience characterized by blessings, prosperity, health, restoration, and supernatural resilience in the face of affliction. “Death,” however, is a gradual spiritual decline marked by confusion, frustration, failure, and sickness, which overtakes a disobedient person even while they are physically alive. Jesus’ obedience to the Father’s will became a conduit through which the overwhelming life of God could flow to everyone He encountered, and we have the ability to offer the same to those around us. Deuteronomy 30; Deuteronomy 28; Matthew 11; 2 Corinthians 4; Matthew 23; Isaiah 3 NYC Sunday Service | October 12, 2025

When we earnestly seek out the will of God, we discover that he not only has an opinion about the destination that we reach in life, but the path that we take to get there. This path becomes increasingly narrow the more we decide to understand his will and obey his commandments. Although the narrow path is difficult, choosing to follow it enables us to live out his specific promises for our lives.   Luke 9; Isaiah 7; Matthew 7; James 1; 2 Corinthians 2 NYC Sunday Service | October 5, 2025

Whether we are in full-time ministry or raising children or pursuing a vocational career, we often find ourselves in positions of leadership and authority. As followers of Jesus, we are called to love those whom we have been given influence over, even at the expense of our own convenience and comfort. In this way, we demonstrate what it means to be a shepherd to the flock that the Lord has entrusted to us, just as He is to us.   2 Kings 5; Ezekiel 34; John 10; Jude; Isaiah 53   NYC Sunday Service | September 28, 2025

The Kingdom of Heaven is often not found in excess displays of power or success, but in voluntary sacrifice and self-denial. Jesus patterned his life on earth in this way, and he invites us to do the same so that we may experience the fullness of the Kingdom.   Matthew 19; Deuteronomy 17; Luke 14; 1 Corinthians 4; Luke 4 NYC Sunday Service | September 21, 2025

NYC Sunday Service

NYC Sunday Service

NYC Sunday Service

NYC Sunday Service

NYC Sunday Service

NYC Sunday Service

NYC Sunday Service

NYC Sunday Service

NYC Sunday Service

NYC Sunday Service

NYC Sunday Service

NYC Sunday Service

NYC Sunday Service (abridged)

NYC Sunday Service

NYC Sunday Service (abridged version).

NYC Sunday Service.

NYC Sunday Service (abridged).

NYC Sunday Service

NYC Sunday Service (abridged version).