Christ City Church, Washington DC

Latest Episodes:

Blessed Are the Peacemakers Nov 15, 2020

Show notes

Guest preacher Pastora Inés Valasquez-McBryde challenges us to real peacemaking in the Spirit, becoming peacemakers and not peacekeepers, as part of both our spiritual practices and our spiritual identity as children of God. [Matthew 5:1-12]

Inés Velasquez-McBryde is a pastor, preacher, reconciler and speaker. She is currently a chaplain at Fuller Theological Seminary. She is co-lead pastor of The Church We Hope For, planting a multiethnic church with her co-pastor, Bobby Harrison, in southern California. She is originally from Nicaragua. Inés earned her MDiv at Fuller Seminary and has 19 years of combined ministry experience in church-planting and pastoral staff leadership in multi-ethnic churches. She has spoken in local church pulpits across the nation, as well as at national and regional conferences sharing her passion for multiethnic church planting, racial reconciliation, justice, and the full inclusion of women in pastoral leadership. Inés has been married to Rob for 15 years and loves being a soccer mom to their son, Nash.

Blessed Are the Pure in Heart Nov 09, 2020

Show notes

Pastor Matthew Watson preaches on the sixth Beatitude – “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” He reminds us that Jesus is continually focusing on matters of the heart. What one does is incredibly important. And yet, time and again, Jesus exposes that the motives behind the actions are equally important to explore. Purity of heart, in the Biblical, Beatitudes-sense of the word and meaning involves integrity – a connection between outward action and inward thought. Jesus is warning against a duplicitous way of living and inviting us towards a life that is consistent in thought, word, and deed. [Matthew 5:1-12]

Blessed Are the Merciful Nov 02, 2020

Show notes

Guest preacher Reverend Tonetta Landis-Aina explores what it means to be merciful even while we pursue justice, and challenges us to follow the difficult path of mercy with hope. [Matthew 5:7]

Rev. Tonetta Landis-Aina is the pastor of Resurrection City, a new interdenominational, affirming church in DC. A native of North Carolina, Tonetta moved to Washington, DC in 2004. She holds a Masters of Divinity from Wesley Theological Seminary and is passionate about marginalized people finding their stories in scripture as well as about the new shapes the church will take in the 21st century.

Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness Oct 26, 2020

Show notes

Reverend Brandon Wrencher brings us a word on what it means to hunger and thirst for righteousness on both a personal level and for the world. God does not offer us a “half-full justice.” Rather, God abundantly provides enough justice for it all. [Matthew 5:6]

Brandon Wrencher is a minister, organizer, writer, and trainer, working across the US within faith, education, and non-profit sectors at the intersections of decolonizing church, contemplative activism, and local presence to build beloved communities. As a serial innovator and church planter, Brandon’s latest venture is starting The Good Neighbor Movement (GNM) with a team of friends and neighbors. GNM is a multiracial, queer-affirming, Black-led creative spiritual community that is a network of spiritually-rooted activist groups based in Greensboro, NC.

Rooted in his formation in the Black Church, Brandon’s visionary leadership has spanned rural, small town, and urban communities in North Carolina and Chicago. Brandon is a teaching faculty with Neighborhood Seminary, coach with V3 Church Planting Movement, and facilitator with Faith Matters Network. Brandon is part of the Liberating Church Project, a research collaborative decolonizing new and established expressions of church, and that has a forthcoming book entitled “Liberating Church: A 21st Century Hush Harbor Manifesto” (self-published). Brandon is married to Erica, a cultural and social justice educator; and they have two sons.

Blessed Are the Meek Oct 19, 2020

Show notes

Pastor Andrea Ackermann takes a look at the third Beatitude – “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” In our current order of things, especially in the U.S., we do not revere the meek. We tend to understand meekness as weakness, or lack of will, or a doormat. For us, the meek do not inherit anything because they don’t deserve it. Yet in the reality of God’s kingdom, the meek are already promised an inheritance. [Matthew 5:1-12]

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn Oct 11, 2020

Show notes

The Beatitudes is where Jesus describes the lives of those in His Kingdom, and extends an invitation to join this Kingdom. If you have felt the sting of the world – if you’ve been last, been left out, been denied, been grieved, been the victim of violence of any kind or all kinds – this Kingdom is for you! It is especially for you. Jesus in his body, in his life, in his death and in his resurrection created this Kingdom for you. In a year that has felt like one long mourning, Pastor Watson looks at the second Beatitude, and how Jesus is our comfort in the midst of loss and grief. [Matthew 5:4]

Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit Oct 05, 2020

Show notes

In the midst of everything going on in the world today, we are still called to be citizens of God’s kingdom, marked by the character of Christ as revealed in the Beatitudes. Pastor Justin kicks off our fall series exploring Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount by calling us to consider both the comfort and challenge of the Beatitudes, and examining the way God shows a particular care for the poor and poor in spirit. [Matthew 5:3, 13-16]

Love Your Neighbor Sep 28, 2020

Show notes

As we close out our Telos series, Pastor Matthew Watson talks about what it means for us to love our neighbors, for that is the invitation—and command—of Jesus. [Mark 12:28-34]

Love One Another Sep 20, 2020

Show notes

Assistant Pastor Andrea Ackermann takes a look at our calling to be church and what it means to love one another. We can see in Jesus’ words and example that loving one another is not just the charge to care for one another, but loving one another is the foundation of our discipleship and our witness to the world. [John 13]

Love God Sep 14, 2020

Show notes

When Jesus is asked about the greatest commandment, he responds, “Love God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength.” Pastor Watson explains that loving God “with all” is the challenging part. It’s not about working harder, it’s about surrendering and saying “yes” to God. [Mark 12:28-31]

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