Faith Lift

When was the last time you truly stopped? In this fifth message of the Rooted: Practices That Form a Disciple series, Pastor Craig explores one of the hardest spiritual practices for busy people: rest. Starting with the story of a wagon train racing winter to Oregon, he traces Sabbath from creation in Genesis 2, to God’s command at Mount Sinai in Exodus 20, to Jesus’ reminder in Mark 2 that the Sabbath was mad...

On World Communion Sunday, Christians around the globe gather at the Lord's Table, and in Week 4 of Rooted: Practices That Form a Disciple, we come to that Table too. Drawing on 1 Corinthians 11:23–26, this message explores how a divided church in Corinth forgot who the Table was for, and what Paul meant by "discerning the body." We'll look at John Wesley's conviction that communion is a means of grace, not a reward for ...

You weren't built to do this alone. In this episode, we dig into Acts 2:42-47, the picture Luke paints of the early church, a community devoted to teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer, so devoted that no one among them went without. We talk about why community is often the hardest part of faith, why vulnerability isn't the cost of belonging but the whole point of it, and what John Wesley's class meetings can still teach...

Ever feel like you don't know what to say when you pray? You're not alone — even Jesus' own disciples had to ask him, "Lord, teach us to pray." This week, we're digging into Luke 11:1-13 and discovering that prayer was never about finding the right words — it's about honest, persistent asking to a God who gives good gifts. We'll talk about what actually gets in the way of a real prayer life, what John Wesley believed ab...

What's the difference between a tree that survives a drought and one that doesn't? It's what's happening underground, long before the dry season hits.

In this episode, we kick off a new series on the practices that form a disciple, starting with Scripture. We look at Psalm 1's tree planted by streams of water, unpack what 2 Timothy means by Scripture that "equips" us, and dig into John Wesley's own life — why his Oxford classm...

Every morning, we make a decision before we even leave the house: what are we going to wear? In this episode, we dig into Romans 13:8-14, where the apostle Paul suggests we've been asking the wrong question. It's not "what am I going to wear today?" — it's "who am I going to wear today?"

We explore Paul's striking call to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ," unpacking what it means to treat faith less like a belief we hold and more...

Have you ever gotten the biggest answer of your life exactly right — and then, just moments later, gotten everything else completely wrong? That's exactly where Peter finds himself in this week's episode, going from naming Jesus as the Messiah to being called "Satan" just six verses later. Pastor Craig unpacks Matthew 16:21-28, the real cost of following Jesus, and a life lesson from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library along t...

Six weeks ago, we set out with a question borrowed from an old rock song: what does it mean to never stop believing? We've walked through hope, welcome, perseverance, trust, and rest — and this week, the journey lands somewhere unexpected: not an ending, but a sending.

Inspired by Journey's "Lights" — a song Steve Perry rewrote entirely once he found the place he actually belonged — We close out the series with Mat...

Some of the most exhausted people you'll ever meet are the ones telling everyone else to rest. This week, Pastor Craig unpacks the surprising true story behind Journey's "Be Good to Yourself" — written by two men who couldn't practice what they were about to preach.

Drawing from Matthew 11:28–30 and Psalm 103:13–14, we ask what it means to lay a burden down — not once you've earned it, but simply because you'...

Don't Stop Believin': A Journey of Faith

What do we do when we can't control how the wheel turns? Pastor Craig explores trusting God when the road ahead disappears from view — drawing from Proverbs 3:5–6, James 4:13–15, and the surprising true story behind Journey's "Wheel in the Sky." Discover why trusting God "with all your heart" costs more than we think, and why the clearest path forward isn't always a straight...

There's a guy named Jesse in an old Journey song, still riding the same streets every night, long after the world around him has moved on. It's a haunting picture of endurance — but is it the same kind of perseverance the Bible talks about?

In this episode, we dig into Hebrews 12's "cloud of witnesses" and what it really means to run a race with perseverance — not just staying in motion, but running toward some...

Don't Stop Believin': A Journey of Faith Series: Week2 Open Arms: God's Welcome and Our Call to Extend It — A father runs down the road before his son can finish his apology. A songwriter carries an unfinished melody for years before it becomes one of the biggest songs of his career. This week, we sit with Jesus' story of the prodigal son and ask what it means to be welcomed home — and what it costs us to run first...

Don't Stop Believin': A Journey of Faith is a six-week summer sermon series from Christ United Methodist Church inspired by the music of Journey. Each week we explore what it means to keep believing — in God, in each other, and in the promises we are still waiting to see fulfilled. Scripture, story, and song woven together for the road ahead.

Week 1 Don't Stop Believin': Hope When the Path Isn't Clear — The son...

Have you ever felt like Paul in Romans 7 — knowing what you should do, wanting to do what's right, and still finding yourself doing the very thing you hate? You're not alone. Not even close.

In this episode of Faith Lift, we open Romans 7:15–25a and sit honestly with one of the most vulnerable confessions in all of Scripture — the apostle Paul admitting that he cannot fix himself. And here's the good news: that adm...

The Sacred Ordinary, Week 6: Everyday Saints

What does it mean to be a saint? Not a stained-glass figure from centuries ago — but an ordinary person, in an ordinary life, who keeps showing up in love. In the finale of The Sacred Ordinary, we close six weeks of finding God in everyday life by turning to community — and to two unlikely saints whose stories could not be more different. Brother Lawrence died at peace after f...

In a culture that measures your worth by your productivity, rest is a radical act. In this week's message from The Sacred Ordinary, Pastor Craig explores what it looks like to receive rest as a gift rather than earn it as a reward — and why Jesus himself told his exhausted disciples to come away and stop.

Drawing from Mark 6, the wisdom of Brother Lawrence, and the poetry of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, this sermon invites you i...

The Beatles had it right — can't buy me love. But what about everything else we keep trying to purchase? Security. Control. Peace of mind. Week 4 of The Sacred Ordinary asks what happens when we stop gripping so tightly and start living with open hands. Featuring Brother Lawrence — a man who owned virtually nothing and lacked nothing — and the most liberating thing 2 Corinthians 9 has to say about generosity. This...

The Sacred Ordinary | Week 3: Showing Up

What is the most powerful thing you can do for someone you love?

Show up.

On this Trinity Sunday, we discover that showing up is not just a human kindness — it is written into the very nature of God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: a God who has never once failed to be present. Week 3 of The Sacred Ordinary explores what faithful, costly, showing-up love looks like in our everyday relations...