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Most of us didn't walk into church this morning thinking we're the greatest person alive. That's not the kind of pride that gets us. The kind that gets us is quieter. You wake up, you handle it, you're fine. Things are going well, so God moves from necessity to accessory. You still believe. You just haven't needed Him in a while. This week Pastor Brandon walks through Daniel 4: Where pride comes from. Pride is more theological than psychological. It isn't really about how big you think you are. It's about how small you've let God become. You don't need a throne to start believing everything depends on you. Why God stands against it. The sentence came down while the words were still in the king's mouth. He lost his authority, his mind, and his place among people, and the man who thought he ran everything couldn't manage himself. God had warned him a full year earlier through a dream about a tree. Don't mistake God's patience for His permission. But the warning also said the stump would remain. Even in the discipline, God left a way back. How it gets healed. "I raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored." Humility is not pretending you aren't gifted or talking badly about yourself. It's getting God back into proper view. He measures the oceans in the palm of His hand and calls every star by name. How big is your God? Here's the part worth staying for: God restored him, and verse 36 says he became even greater than before. God is not against success or effort or achievement. He's against our throne sitting above His. Nebuchadnezzar spent a chapter exalting himself. Jesus did the opposite, and came all the way down to a cross for us. You are small. You are not insignificant. The God who holds the heavens in His hand is mindful of you. If you've been running on your own strength lately and you're more tired than you let on, give this one forty minutes.

There's a difference between being impressed by God and being surrendered to God. You can be impressed from a distance. Surrender costs you something. In Daniel 3, a whole province finds out which one it has. The music plays, everyone drops to the ground in front of a golden statue, and three young men stay on their feet. They don't make a speech. They don't organize anything. They just don't bow. And when the king gives them one last chance and reminds them exactly what the furnace does to people, they say this: "The God we serve is able to deliver us, and He will. But even if He does not, we will not serve your gods." Read that last part again. Even if He does not. That's the part most of us quietly skip. We'll trust God as long as the scan comes back clean, the job comes through, the marriage turns around, the kid comes home. We say we trust God. A lot of the time what we mean is that we trust the outcome we've already decided on. This week Pastor Dustin walks through Daniel 3, and it lands on three things: Trust God, not an outcome. Their faith had three parts: God is able, God will deliver us, and even if He doesn't. Is there an outcome you want so badly that you've made it a condition of trusting God? Stand when everybody else is bowing. You can't separate private belief from public allegiance. And when everyone around you is face-down, just standing there looks extreme. The statues have different names now. Self. Comfort. Sexuality. Success. A counterfeit version of love. Every one of them is promising something that only God can actually give you. God meets you in the fire. The king looks into the furnace and counts four men instead of three, unbound, walking around. Notice what God did not do. He didn't keep them out of the fire. He got in it with them. They came out without a burn, without a singed hair, without even the smell of smoke on their clothes. If you're in the fire right now and you've been praying for a way out, watch this one. You may not get the outcome you asked for on the timeline you wanted. You will not be in there by yourself. Our God is able. We believe He can. We will ask Him to. But even if He does not, we still will not bow. Send this to someone who's standing alone right now.

You are probably carrying something right now that you did not create, cannot control, and do not have the answer for — and it is still affecting your life. A diagnosis. A layoff. A marriage that got quiet. A child making decisions you cannot make for them. A bill that will not wait. You lie awake running the same scenarios, and morning comes without a solution. Daniel knew that feeling. A king woke up from a dream he could not explain and signed a death sentence for every wise man in Babylon — Daniel included. Daniel did not create the problem. He could not control the outcome. He did not know the answer. And then he said eight words that changed everything: "There is a God in heaven." In week two of our Daniel series, Pastor Dustin walks through Daniel 2 and shows you what to do when you do not know what to do: Trust God when the situation seems impossible. Even when the situation is beyond your control, your response is still within your control. Trust is knowing God is still God when you do not know what He is doing. Trust God because He holds the future. Nebuchadnezzar's statue — gold, silver, bronze, iron, iron and clay — maps empire after empire, and every one of them ends as dust. The stone cut without human hands starts small and fills the whole earth. History is not out of control. History is moving toward the reign of Jesus Christ. You can trust God in your present because He already stands in your future. Trust God enough to pray. Daniel's first response was not panic or strategy. He gathered his friends and asked God for mercy, prayed specifically, prayed desperately, and worshiped when the answer came. If you truly believe God has the answer, prayer will not be your last resort. It will be your first response. The statue starts enormous and ends as dust. The stone starts small and ends by filling the earth. Whatever is towering over you today, it is not the last thing standing.

Babylon never asked Daniel to renounce his faith. It changed his address, his language, his diet, and his name — and then it waited. That is usually how pressure works on you, too. Not one dramatic moment where you decide to walk away from God, but a slow drift where being accepted starts to matter more than being obedient, comfort quietly wins over conviction, and compromise stops bothering you the way it used to. Every culture has a curriculum. It is always teaching you what to love, what to value, and who to become. The question is not whether you are being formed. The question is who is doing the forming. In week one of our new series in the book of Daniel, Pastor Dustin opens Daniel 1 and walks through the story of a young man carried into an empire designed to erase his identity — and how he came out of it with his convictions intact. You will walk away with a clear, usable framework for living resolved when the pressure comes: Know who you are. Babylon changed the name Daniel answered to, but it could not change the God Daniel belonged to. You cannot live with settled convictions while living with an unsettled identity. Decide before the pressure arrives. "But Daniel resolved not to defile himself" (Daniel 1:8). If you wait until the moment of pressure to decide what you believe, the pressure will make the decision for you. Plus the four decisions worth making now, before you need them: who defines your identity, what your highest authority is, where your boundaries are, and what you are willing to lose. Courage determines what you will not do. Wisdom determines how you respond. You can live in Babylon without becoming Babylonian. Press play, then send this to someone who is feeling the pull. SCRIPTURE IN THIS MESSAGE Daniel 1:2 Daniel 1:3-7 Daniel 1:8 Daniel 1:18-21 Isaiah 43:1

There's a seat at the table for you. The question is which chair you're sitting in. Jesus said, "I am the bread of life." The church was never meant to be the bread — the church is the table where the Bread is served. And everyone who walks through the door is sitting somewhere at that table. In this message, Pastor Dustin walks through the four chairs at the table and helps you find yours. Not to label you, but to help you take the next step from where you are. The four chairs The Non-Believer — hungry, tired, and welcome exactly as you are The Baby Christian — new to faith, still being fed The Spiritual Adolescent — growing, but still asking what the church can do for me The Mature Believer — "I don't just go to church. I am the church." Maturity changes the question from "What can I get?" to "What can I give?" It sounds like this: I still eat at the table, but now I help set the table. How do we set the table? By serving, by giving, and by inviting. Scriptures: John 6:35 · Psalm 107:9 · Matthew 11:28 · 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 · Psalm 92:12-14 · 1 Corinthians 13:11 · Matthew 23:11-12 · Luke 14:23 · Acts 2:42, 44-47 Prayer Father, Thank You for making room for us at Your table. Wherever we are sitting today, help us take the next step toward You. Feed the hungry among us, grow the young in faith, and give us the humility to stop asking what we can get and start asking what we can give. Make us the kind of people who serve, who give, and who go out and invite others in, until Your house is full. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Nostalgia feels good — until it convinces you that your best days are behind you. In this final message of “The Good Ol’ Days,” Pastor Layla closes out the series with a challenge: your single season isn’t a waiting room. It’s not a “someday” you’re stuck in until the real story starts. It’s the story. Whether you’re single, dating, or somewhere in between, it’s easy to put life on hold — to treat this chapter like a layover instead of a destination. But Scripture paints a different picture: singleness as a gift, an opportunity, and a life meant to be lived fully, right now. In this message, you’ll discover: - Why your single season is meant to be lived, not just endured - Four practical ways to thrive right where you are — pursuing maturity, protecting purity, prioritizing community, and giving yourself to ministry - How to stop waiting for “someday” and start living today

We're not just raising kids. We're forming adults. Every parent wants to get this right — but most days it feels like you're just trying to survive bedtime, homework, and the next meltdown. Somewhere between the chaos, it's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture: you're not just managing behavior today, you're shaping the adult your child will become. In Week 3 of "Good Ol' Days," Pastor Dustin tackles parenting head-on — not with guilt, but with a game plan. Because our kids don't ultimately belong to us. Psalm 127:3 reminds us they're a heritage from the Lord, entrusted to our care for a season. That changes everything about how we lead them. Pastor Dustin walks through four practical, Scripture-rooted ways to parent with the future in mind: 1 Guide Their Faith — Your lifestyle will become their normal. Deuteronomy 6:5-7 calls us to impress God's truth on our kids in the everyday moments, not just on Sundays. 2 Speak Into Their Identity — Proverbs 18:21 reminds us that your words today become their inner voice tomorrow. Our job isn't to create their identity — it's to help them discover the one God already gave them. 3 Develop Their Wisdom — The goal isn't to protect them from every bad decision. It's to teach them how to make wise ones — in their attitudes, their actions, and who they choose to walk with. 4 Trust God With Their Future — Parenting is the lifelong process of moving from control to influence to trust. God loves your kids more than you do. You are their steward, not their savior. Whether you're in the diaper stage or watching your kids drive off to college, this message will reframe how you think about the years you have left with them at home. Watch now, and if this speaks to you, share it with another parent who needs to hear it. Subscribe so you don't miss the rest of the "Good Ol' Days" series. Pastor Dustin closes with this prayer for our children: "Heavenly Father, thank You for the children You have entrusted to us. Give us wisdom, patience, and strength to lead them well. Help us to reflect Your heart in the way we love, lead, correct, and encourage them. Forgive us where we fall short, and remind us that we are stewards, not saviors. Teach us to trust You with what we cannot control, and let our homes be filled with Your presence and centered on You. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Every marriage moves through seasons — and it's easy to get stuck longing for the one you had instead of embracing the one you're in. Whether you're newly engaged, raising toddlers, running a full house, watching your kids leave, or rediscovering each other as empty nesters, this message will help you make the most of exactly where you are right now. This week, Pastor Dustin and Mandy walk through the 5 Seasons of Marriage and share three practical shifts every couple needs to make: Stop chasing a feeling. Young love says "I can't imagine life without you." Mature love says "I've lived a lot of life, and I'm still choosing you." Feelings may start a relationship, but choices sustain it. Don't get stuck in a season. Every season of marriage gives you new roles — husband and wife, parents, empty nesters, grandparents, caregivers. The danger isn't in the season changing; it's becoming so nostalgic for an old one that you miss what's beautiful about the one you're in now. Grow together as you change. The goal of marriage was never to avoid change — it's to keep growing toward each other instead of away from each other as you do. Because in the end, marriage isn't only about happiness — it's about holiness. And what marriage reveals in us, God can use to refine us. Scriptures referenced: Proverbs 24:3 — By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established. Proverbs 20:6 — "Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find?" Ecclesiastes 3:1 — "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." Ecclesiastes 7:10 — "Do not say, 'Why were the old days better than these?'" James 1:19 — "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." Ephesians 5:25 — "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." Proverbs 27:17 — "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." Galatians 5:22-23 — the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. A prayer for your marriage: Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of marriage. Help us to choose each other in every season and to never take for granted what You have given us. Give us grace to embrace where we are, wisdom to grow together, and strength to remain faithful through every change. Use our marriages to shape us, refine us, and make us more like You. May our marriages honor You and show the world what faithful love looks like. Amen

One day your kids and grandkids will describe what it was like growing up in your home. What will they say? In this message, Pastor Dustin kicks off our new series, Good Ol' Days, with a simple but weighty question: what will your children and grandchildren say was passed down because of you? Every family is building a legacy, whether intentional or not. Scripture is clear that faith is meant to be passed from generation to generation, but that only happens when we're intentional about how we build our homes. Pastor Dustin walks through four practical shifts every family can make to become a home worth remembering: making God the center of your home, planting your family in God's house, living for something bigger than yourselves, and building rhythms your kids won't forget. He's honest that your family doesn't need to see a perfect Christian — they need to see a real one. Whether your kids are little or grown, it's not too late to start building something that outlasts you. Watch now, and if this speaks to you, share it with someone building a home of their own. New here? We'd love to have you join us in person or online. Subscribe for the rest of the Good Ol' Days series. A prayer for our kids: Heavenly Father, thank You for the kids You have entrusted to us. May they know You, love You, and find their identity in You. Give them wisdom to make good choices, courage to stand for what is right, and strength to resist what would pull them away from You. Surround them with the right friends and Godly influences. Help them grow in confidence, kindness, and character. Give them favor with their teachers, leaders, coaches, and friends. Use their lives to bring light wherever they go. Go before them, walk beside them, and let Your hand of favor, blessing, and protection rest upon them. In Jesus' name, Amen.

You're invited. The only question is how you'll respond. In Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus tells the story of a king who prepares a wedding banquet for his son and sends servant after servant to bring people in — even after being refused, ignored, and mistreated. It's a parable about God the Father (the King), Jesus (the son), and the Kingdom of God (the banquet). And it closes out our series with one of the most direct pictures in Scripture of who God is, how we respond to Him, and what He actually requires of us. Pastor Dustin walks through three truths from this parable: The King Keeps Inviting God doesn't send one invitation and walk away. He keeps pursuing us — often in ways we don't expect: through people, through pain, through success, through conviction, and even through our own questions. The King Deserves a Response The parable shows three ways people respond to God's invitation: some reject Him outright, some neglect Him by getting distracted with ordinary life (Hebrews 2:3), and some try to approach Him on their own terms. As Pastor Dustin puts it, "The enemy doesn't always tempt us with evil. Sometimes he distracts us with ordinary life." The King Provides What He Requires The banquet has a dress code, and none of us can meet it on our own (Romans 3:10, 23; Isaiah 64:6). But God doesn't just demand righteousness — He supplies it. Through Christ, we're clothed in a righteousness that isn't our own (2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 3:27). "The gospel is not God pretending we are righteous. It is God giving us the righteousness of His Son." Religion says, "Become worthy." Jesus says, "Receive what I have done." Key Scripture: Matthew 22:1-14, Romans 3:10, 22-24, Isaiah 64:6, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 3:27, Hebrews 2:3

We all read this parable and assume we're the hero. But before you can extend mercy like the Good Samaritan, you have to admit you were once the man in the ditch — helpless, wounded, and unable to save yourself. In this message, Pastor Dustin walks through Luke 10:25-37 and asks the question we usually skip: who are you really in this story? The lawyer looking for loopholes instead of opportunities to love? The robbers who use people as a means to an end? The priest and Levite who see the need and walk past because it's inconvenient? Or the wounded man who needs someone to stop for him? The good news isn't "try harder to be the Good Samaritan." The good news is that Jesus is the one who crossed the road for us — He saw us helpless, bound our wounds, paid our debt, and promised to come back for us. Only people who've received that kind of mercy can actually give it away. If you've ever walked past a need because it cost you something, or you're exhausted from trying to earn what's already been given, this message is for you.

Pastor Jeff Osborne returns to Citizen Church today as our guest speaker, back after his powerful message at our Rally Conference earlier this year. Pastor Jeff is bringing a message titled "Are You Cozy?" from John 5:1-6, the story of the man at the pool of Bethesda who had been sick for thirty-eight years. Jesus asks him a question that cuts right to the heart: "Do you want to be made well?" Pastor Jeff will walk us through four questions that we all need to sit with: Do you have a condition you've grown too comfortable with? Do you recognize your season? Do you have a bed you're still holding onto? And do you realize who is speaking to you? Sometimes the thing keeping us stuck isn't the condition itself, it's how cozy we've gotten with it. Come ready to be stirred.

You’ve Been Given More Than You Think — Are You Using It, or Burying It? Every one of us has been entrusted with something — time, talent, influence, resources, calling. The question isn’t whether God has given you something to steward. The question is what you’re doing with it. In this message, we walk through Jesus’ Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) and uncover three truths that reframe how we see everything in our hands: God Gives — Everything we have was never fully ours. We’re not owners; we’re managers of what God has entrusted to us. God Expects — Fear tells us to bury what we’ve been given. But fear rarely says “don’t” — it usually just says “wait.” God Rewards — Faithfulness with a little leads to trust with much. God isn’t looking for perfection. He’s looking for faithfulness. If you’ve ever buried a calling, a dream, a gift, or an opportunity because you were afraid — this message is for you. It’s time to stop living with buried potential and start putting what God gave you to work. Don’t leave what’s in your hands in the ground.

Have you ever prayed for something so long that you finally just... stopped asking? Not because you stopped believing God could — but because you weren't sure anymore that He would. If that's where you're at, this message is for you. In Luke 18:1-8, Jesus tells the story of a widow with no power, no status, and no advocate — who refuses to stop showing up before an unjust judge. It's not a story about praying harder. It's a story about what your prayer life reveals about what you actually believe about God. In Week 5 of our "Stories: Parables" series, Pastor Kim walks through this parable and unpacks four qualities of a persistent prayer life: discipline, patience, trust, and perseverance — showing why God's delay is never His absence, and why waiting is often where He does His deepest work. If you've ever wondered whether your prayers are getting through, this message will change how you see the wait. Watch now, and if it encourages you, like, subscribe, and share it with someone who needs it. Luke 18:1-8 (NIV)

You love being forgiven. But forgiving someone who actually hurt you? That's a different story. Maybe you walked into today carrying a name. A memory. A betrayal that was real, intentional, and never apologized for. And somewhere along the way you picked up the idea that forgiving means forgetting — or that you have to feel it before you can do it. No wonder it feels impossible. In this message, Pastor Chris walks through Jesus' Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Matthew 18:21-35) and shows us that forgiveness isn't about excusing what happened. It's about refusing to let what happened define who you become. You'll learn three truths that lead toward forgiveness: remembering how much you've already been forgiven, releasing the people who have hurt you — and understanding what forgiveness actually does and doesn't mean — and why real forgiveness isn't something you manufacture on your own. It's supernatural. Unforgiveness feels powerful. But it eventually becomes a prison — and most of the time, the person trapped inside is you. Today can be freedom. Watch and find out how.