New Year, Same Values: Gospel, Community, Mission

At the heart of City Parish are three essential core values—Gospel, Community, and Mission—that shape who we are and how we live as followers of Jesus. This sermon series unpacks each of these values through the lens of Scripture and the redemptive story of God.

First, we explored the Gospel from Galatians 2, where we learned that the good news of Jesus transforms everything. The gospel declares that Jesus lived, died, and rose again to conquer sin, death, and evil. Our salvation is not based on performance but on Christ’s finished work, freeing us from striving and inviting us to live from grace.

Second, we looked at Community through 1 John 4. From the beginning, God designed humanity to live in loving community, reflecting the eternal love of the Trinity. Because of Jesus, we are adopted into the family of God, called to love one another deeply. True community is more than attending events—it’s a life-on-life commitment to encourage, challenge, and build one another up in faith.

Finally, we focused on Mission through Matthew 28. Jesus commissions his people to go and make disciples of all nations, not just converts. Mission isn’t an event but an identity. Every disciple is called to live every part of life under the lordship of Christ, making disciples through everyday relationships and rhythms.

This year, we also included a bonus sermon on Generosity. Though that topic can often be attached to a powder keg of emotions/thoughts/opinions/wounds/etc., it is un-mistakingly a core value of the committed disciple of Jesus.

This series is a call to live fully in the way of Jesus: rooted in the gospel, committed to authentic community, and joyfully sent on mission. Our hope is that these core values will shape us into a church that glorifies God, loves one another, and brings renewal to our city.