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A widow. An empty jar. A prophet who asks her not what she needs, but what she already has. It's an odd place to start a conversation about money — but it's exactly where this week's message begins. For three weeks, FIRST has asked whether God is actually first in our lives. This week, Chris Nichols walks into the room most of us avoid the longest — our finances — and makes the case that tithing was never really about money. It's about trust. Along the way, Lead Pastor Ted Coniaris shares a short video, "Simple Math," that makes the concept about as clear as it gets: the first, not the leftover. The message closes with an invitation to a 90-Day Tithing Challenge, with a simple guarantee behind it: if God doesn't show up, you get every dollar back. Scripture: 2 Kings 4:1–7; Malachi 3:6–12; Proverbs 3:9–10; Romans 11:36; Deuteronomy 8:18; Leviticus 27:30; Matthew 23:23; Matthew 6:21 Subscribe to follow along with the full FIRST series.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart…and love your neighbor as yourself.” — Luke 10:27 In this final meditation, Sharie Behnke invites us to allow the love we have received from God to move outward toward others. Through Scripture, reflection, and prayer, we’ll consider Jesus’ challenging question from the story of the Good Samaritan: What does it mean to become a neighbor? We’ll reflect on the people we naturally love, those we often overlook, and even those we find difficult to love. Jesus invites us to see beyond our differences without abandoning wisdom or healthy boundaries—to recognize the humanity and image of God in others. As this five-day journey concludes, we remember where it began: We love because God first loved us. May that love give us eyes to notice, compassion to respond, and courage not simply to ask, “Who is my neighbor?” but to become one. Narrator: Sharie Behnke Take your next step at communitychristian.org. As we move toward the IGNITE Gathering, find more resources, gathering times, and ways to engage here.

“Love your neighbor as yourself.” — Mark 12:31 We often understand what it means to care for others, yet struggle to offer ourselves that same patience, kindness, and grace. In this guided Lectio Divina, Jon Hughes invites us to slow down and listen deeply to Jesus’ words: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Through Scripture, silence, reflection, and prayer, we’ll consider how we speak to ourselves, especially when we make mistakes, fall short, or encounter parts of ourselves we find difficult to accept. Rather than ignoring where we need to grow, we’ll practice seeing ourselves through the eyes of God’s grace—as loved, known, imperfect, and still being formed. As we learn to receive God’s compassion for ourselves, we become better able to extend that compassion to others. Come ready to listen, receive grace, and discover how loving yourself can create more room to love your neighbor well. Narrator: Jon Hughes Take your next step at communitychristian.org. As we move toward the IGNITE Gathering, find more resources, gathering times, and ways to engage here.

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” — Psalm 118:24 Today is a gift—but in the busyness of life, it’s easy to miss the goodness already surrounding us. In this guided gratitude meditation, Katie Purdy invites us to slow down, breathe deeply, and become present to the ordinary gifts of this day. Through Scripture, reflection, and prayer, we’ll practice noticing what we often overlook: the gift of breath, our bodies, the people we love, simple everyday moments, and even unexpected grace within difficult circumstances. Gratitude doesn’t ask us to pretend that everything is good; it teaches us to recognize that God is present and goodness can still be found. As you enter this practice, come without anything to accomplish. Simply receive, notice, and give thanks. May gratitude open your eyes to God’s goodness and transform the gratitude you receive into generosity toward others. Narrator: Katie Purdy Take your next step at communitychristian.org. As we move toward the IGNITE Gathering, find more resources, gathering times, and ways to engage here.

“Search me, God, and know my heart… and lead me in the way everlasting.” — Psalm 139:23–24 Life moves quickly, and it’s easy to move from one moment to the next without noticing what is happening within us—or where God may be present. In this guided Prayer of Examen, Jon Hughes invites us to slow down, look back over the last 24 hours, and pay attention with curiosity rather than judgment. Through Scripture, reflection, and prayer, we’ll notice where we experienced love, gratitude, struggle, and grace. We’ll consider where we loved well, where we struggled to love, and what God might be inviting us to see differently. The Examen reminds us that God is present in every part of our lives—the beautiful, the difficult, and the ordinary. As you enter this practice, come with an open heart and discover that God has been present all along. Narrator: Jon Hughes Take your next step at communitychristian.org. As we move toward the IGNITE Gathering, find more resources, gathering times, and ways to engage here.

“We love because he first loved us.” — 1 John 4:19 We begin this five-day journey with the truth that grounds everything else: you are loved by God. In this guided breath prayer, Sharie Behnke invites us to slow down, release our striving, and simply receive the love God has already given. Using the rhythm of our breath and the words “I am loved. By you, God,” we’ll create space to become aware of God’s presence and bring our worries, disappointments, insecurities, and unfinished places into that love. There is nothing to earn, accomplish, or prove. As the prayer unfolds, we’ll move from receiving love to offering it: “I am loved. And I can love.” May this simple truth shape the way you see yourself and everyone you encounter today. God’s love comes first. We receive it—and from that place, we are free to give it away. Narrator: Sharie Behnke Take your next step at communitychristian.org. As we move toward the IGNITE Gathering, find more resources, gathering times, and ways to engage here.

For two weeks, we've been asking what it looks like to truly put God first. This week, Lead Pastor Ted Coniaris brings that question to a single moment: everyone receives a key, a physical reminder of the locked room each of us carries — the thing we've quietly decided is off-limits to God, not because it's shameful, but because it's precious to us. Rooted in Matthew 6:33, this short Hearts on Fire Sunday homily is an invitation, not a demand. Jesus doesn't negotiate the terms of what comes first, but he also doesn't force the door open — he simply loves, and waits. Listen in as Ted walks through what it means to finally hand over the key. Scripture: Matthew 6:33 Subscribe to follow along with the full FIRST series.

There's always a room. A part of us we've quietly decided is off-limits — not because it holds something shameful, but because it holds something we love. Something we've built our whole identity around. In Week 2 of FIRST, Teaching Pastor Tammy Melchien opens Mark 10:17–22, the story of a sincere, devout man who ran to Jesus with the right question — and walked away sad when Jesus named the one room he wasn't willing to hand over. Tammy also looks at three moments in Luke 9 where Jesus names three different locked rooms, and asks the question at the center of it all: what's the room you've kept locked, and are you ready to give Jesus the key? Scripture: Mark 10:17–22; Mark 10:23–27; Luke 9:57–62; Matthew 6:21

Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao has achieved everything — and admits she's still too afraid to truly live. Her honest search for a center that holds opens our new series, FIRST, with Lead Pastor Ted Coniaris. Jesus said, "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33). It's one of his most familiar commands — and one of the hardest to actually live out. This week, Ted walks through the "therefore" that connects Jesus' words about worry to what we truly treasure, and asks a simple but searching question: what's on your 3am list, and what does it reveal about what's really first in your life? Ted also introduces the Growth Track, a new path launching this fall to help every person grow as a follower of Jesus. Scripture: Matthew 6:25–33; Matthew 6:19–24; Luke 12:31; Proverbs 3:5–6 Subscribe to follow along with the full FIRST series.

The Israelites left Egypt physically free, but Egypt still had to be driven out of them spiritually — because the slavery of production imprisons the soul, not just the schedule. In this series finale, Pastor Chris Nichols traces three moments in Moses' leadership — daily manna, Jethro's confrontation about an unsustainable pace, and the command to remember the Sabbath — to show that rest is an act of trust, an act of surrender, and an act of resistance, not a retreat from leadership. Chris introduces this week's Soul Practice, Sabbath, with a practical four-part rhythm for building rest into a leader's life.  Scripture: Exodus 16; 18; 20:8-11.  Week 4 (finale) of Soul-Strengthened Leadership.

Trapped between the Red Sea and Pharaoh's army, the Israelites face a situation with no human way out. Pastor Tammy Melchien walks through Moses' response to this impossible moment, showing that soul-strengthened leaders don't hold steady because they have more answers — they hold steady because they've learned to trust a God who makes a way where there is no way. Tammy traces how that trust in Moses was formed long before the crisis hit, and introduces this week's Soul Practice, the Breath Prayer, a simple tool for drawing on trust in the middle of both ordinary and crisis moments. Scripture: Exodus 13:17-14:31. Week 3 of Soul-Strengthened Leadership.

The average person can hold focus for about 47 seconds before switching tasks — and takes 23 minutes to recover from every interruption. If that's true of us, would God even be able to get our attention this week? In this message, Ted Coniaris walks through Exodus 3 and the burning bush, showing that the real miracle wasn't the fire — it was that Moses noticed. We follow Moses through noticing God's presence, stopping to listen, and obeying God in the middle of real fear and doubt, discovering that soul-strengthened leadership isn't built on self-confidence but on the promise "I will be with you." Includes a guided Lectio Divina practice on Exodus 33:12-14. Scripture: Exodus 3:1-4:17. Week 2 of Soul-Strengthened Leadership.

Freddie Mercury was born to sing. Peyton Manning was born to play football. And Moses had every marker of a born leader — royal upbringing, elite education, position, power, and a real passion for justice. Then he killed a man, hid the body, and lost everything within a day. In this episode, Pastor Aaron Loy walks through Exodus 2 to show why competence and calling aren't enough without a formed soul underneath them. Then Ted Coniaris talks with Ruth Haley Barton — author of Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership — about what it looks like when leaders lose their souls, and how God does his deepest work in the very moments self-made leadership collapses. Includes an introduction to this week's Soul Practice: the Prayer of Examen. Scripture: Exodus 2:11-25. Week 1 of Soul-Strengthened Leadership.

Remembrance Psalms | Psalm 136 Part 8 of The Psalms: A Complete Guide to Honest Prayer with Tammy Melchien What if the key to trusting God today is remembering what He's already done? In this final message from The Psalms: A Complete Guide to Honest Prayer, Tammy Melchien explores Psalm 136 and the Remembrance Psalms. These unique prayers teach us that spiritual maturity isn't always about discovering something new—sometimes it's about faithfully remembering God's unchanging character and His work throughout our lives. Psalm 136 repeatedly declares, "His love endures forever," inviting God's people to rehearse His faithfulness until it moves from their heads to their hearts. In seasons of uncertainty, loss, or fear, remembering becomes an act of faith that anchors us in God's steadfast love. In this episode you'll learn: Why forgetting is part of the human experienceHow remembering God's faithfulness strengthens present-day trustThe rich meaning of the Hebrew word hesed—God's steadfast covenant loveWhy God's people remember together, not alonePractical ways to create your own "Remembrance Psalm"How Communion reminds us that God's love is demonstrated through Jesus ChristWhether you're celebrating God's goodness or walking through a difficult season, this message will encourage you to pause, remember, and discover fresh confidence in the God whose love truly endures forever. Scripture: Psalm 136; Luke 22:19-20 Find more messages and resources from COMMUNITY: https://communitychristian.org Daily devotionals and prayer resources: https://communitychristian.org/daily

Penitential Psalms | Psalm 51 Part 7 of The Psalms: A Complete Guide to Honest Prayer with Chris Nichols How do you move beyond guilt and regret? In this message from Psalm 51, Chris Nichols explores one of the Bible's most powerful prayers of confession. Written after King David's greatest moral failure, Psalm 51 reminds us that God doesn't ask us to hide our brokenness—He invites us to bring it honestly into His presence. The Penitential Psalms teach us that repentance is not about earning God's forgiveness or living in shame. It's about trusting God's mercy, telling the truth about ourselves, and allowing Him to create something new within us. Confession isn't the obstacle to intimacy with God—it is the pathway back to it. In this episode you'll learn: Why confession leads to freedom instead of condemnationHow Psalm 51 models authentic repentanceThe difference between apology and confessionWhy shame keeps us stuck while grace sets us freeWhat it means to ask God for a new heartHow repentance changes the direction of our livesWhy your failures don't have to define your storyNo matter what you've done or how far you've wandered, God's invitation remains the same: return home. Through His mercy, forgiveness, and transforming grace, He continues to restore what sin has broken. Scripture: Psalm 51; Exodus 34:6-7; Luke 23:34 Find more messages and resources from COMMUNITY: https://communitychristian.org Daily devotionals and prayer resources: https://communitychristian.org/daily