What if the name of your city, your home, your inner life could be rewritten with one promise: The Lord is there? In this closing session of our Names of God study, we step into Ezekiel’s world—exile, rubble, and everything in between—to discover why Jehovah Shammah still lands like hope for people navigating wilderness seasons of their own.

We trace Ezekiel’s startling prophetic sign-acts and sweeping visions: the chariot-throne where God’s glory lifts from a corrupted temple, the valley where dry bones rattle back into living community, and the new sanctuary from which a river flows outward, deepening and healing the land as it goes. These scenes expose the sobering reason God’s presence once departed—idols dragged into holy courts—and they reveal the fierce mercy that follows: restoration, renewal, and a people shaped again by grace. This isn’t dusty ancient history; it’s a blueprint for understanding how God rebuilds what exile and idolatry have broken.

Then comes the turn that reframes everything. Paul declares that we are now the temple of the living God. His presence is not confined behind curtains or limited to geography; it indwells ordinary people who welcome the Spirit. Together we explore what that means for daily choices, how to identify the subtle idols that quietly occupy the heart, and how to live as carriers of a river that brings life to dry places. From Daniel in the lions’ den to Stephen before the council, from the upper room to your morning commute, Jehovah Shammah means you are not abandoned, not unseen, and not powerless.

Throughout the session, we work through practical reflection prompts and cross-Scripture connections designed to help you host God’s presence with integrity, repentance, and joy. The promise that “the Lord is there” becomes not just a title for a future city but a present-tense reality for believers learning to walk with God in the ordinary and the overwhelming.

If you’ve felt spiritually displaced, stuck in a long night, or unsure where God has gone in the middle of your own story, this teaching invites you to pay attention again—to the God who restores, who returns, and who dwells with His people. Come see what it means to bear the name Jehovah Shammah over your life, your home, and your community.

We are Trinity Community Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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Advent isn’t just about counting down; it’s about cultivating expectancy. In this first message of the Expecting series, Mark Medley opens Luke 1:57–80 and lingers with Zechariah, the aging priest whose silenced voice is restored in a rush of praise and prophecy. Mark shows how God remembers the prayers we forget, and how worship becomes the space where His covenant faithfulness turns personal. Zechariah blesses the God of Israel for visiting and redeeming His people—and then, mid-song, hears a Spirit-given word over his newborn son: “And you, child…” Praise turns prophetic, and purpose is unveiled.

Mark frames worship with a simple, weighty pattern: revelation, response, and relationship. God, in mercy, discloses Himself; we respond with heart, mind, body, and voice; and that response reshapes our lives with Him. The size of our worship mirrors the size of our view of God. That’s why pondering His attributes—holiness, mercy, wisdom, sovereignty—matters. Steeping in Scripture through the week makes Sunday sing; truth inside us resonates with truth we declare. Worship, Mark insists, is not about what I like—it’s about who I love.

Drawing a thread through Scripture, Mark connects Paul’s call to sing “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” (Ephesians 5:18–19; Colossians 3:16) with the pattern in Exodus 15. Israel celebrates what God has done, moves into adoration to God, and then declares what God will do—a Spirit-led word that never contradicts the Bible. The same dynamic appears in Zechariah’s song. We sing about God, we sing to God, and then, filled with the Word and the Spirit, we receive from God. Zephaniah 3:17 reminds us that He is a singing God; as we lift our voices, He rejoices over us with singing.

Along the way, Mark offers practical ways to lean in during Advent: choose one attribute each week and saturate your mind with Scripture; expect your worship to move from celebration to intimacy to timely, biblically faithful encouragement. Parents can expect God to speak about their children. All of us can expect Him to give hope, correction, and direction as we gather at home and in church. If you’re at a low point, take courage—Zechariah’s silence ended in a song that shaped history. Emmanuel means God with us, and worship helps us notice.

If this message helps you reframe Advent, share it with a friend and stay with us for the rest of Expecting. What is God inviting you to expect from Him this week?

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Neil Silverberg continues the In Christ series by taking us into Paul’s soaring prayer in Ephesians 3:14–21. Rather than asking God to change circumstances first, Neil shows how Paul prays people into the truth—beginning with the Father, aiming at the inner life, and expecting the Spirit to work from the inside out. What if our first prayer was for power in the inner being, for Christ to truly make a home in us, for roots that go down into love, and for nothing less than the fullness of God?

Walking phrase by phrase, Neil traces Paul’s four cascading requests. First is inner strength—real resilience that holds when the outer self is wasting away. Second is faith that welcomes Jesus into every “room” of life, not as a guest but as the owner with the keys. Drawing on the beloved picture from My Heart—Christ’s Home, he invites us to let Christ rearrange the mind’s library, the appetites’ dining room, the living room of friendships, and even the closet of secrets. Third comes being rooted and grounded in love—not striving to love God more, but receiving strength to grasp the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ’s love with all the saints. Neil weaves in a memorable window from church history—the Puritans’ “kisses of God”—to illustrate how doctrine is meant to be felt as well as understood. Finally, Paul asks that we be filled with all the fullness of God, a Spirit-given saturation that displaces self-rule with holy desire and satisfaction in God.

The message crescendos with Paul’s doxology: God is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, and he does it according to the power at work within us. Neil anchors this in God’s sovereignty, omnipotence, and glory, and shows how Scripture lifts our expectations—from the Red Sea to the storm on Galilee. Along the way, he calls us to kneel before the Father, invite Christ’s lordship over our thoughts and appetites, lean into the church to comprehend love together, and worship with confidence that God’s power is not a force we wield but a Person who lovingly rules us.

If your prayers have grown small or tired, let this teaching in the In Christ series expand your frame. Listen, let the words wash over you, and then try praying Ephesians 3:14–21 over someone you love this week.

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When leaders fracture and communities lose their way, the question becomes painfully simple: where can we find a righteousness that actually holds? In this session, we open Jeremiah 23 and trace a golden thread through Israel’s story—Abraham’s faith, Moses’ covenant, David’s throne—until it resolves in a name that reorders everything: Jehovah Tsidkenu, “The Lord Our Righteousness.”

We walk through Jeremiah’s sharp indictment of failed shepherds and his tender promise to a scattered people. His prophetic rhythm—commands to do justice, warnings about covenant drift, and assurances of future restoration—builds toward the coming of a Righteous Branch who will reign with wisdom. That promise is not abstract; it points directly to a person. In Jesus, justice and mercy meet without compromise. The New Testament’s language of justification brings this home: our sin imputed to Christ, Christ’s righteousness imputed to us, and peace with God established as our new, unshakeable standing. From that standing grows a transformed life—one that seeks the good of the vulnerable, speaks truth in a world of tempting idols, and holds hope even when kingdoms tremble.

This session also brings the theme down to street level. If you’re anxious about the world your children are growing up in, worn down by constant outrage, or numb from the headlines, Jeremiah’s hope reaches into that exhaustion. The Good Shepherd doesn’t just comfort; He clothes His people in a righteousness they could never earn. That gift frees us to repent without fear, act justly without despair, and rest in the faithfulness of a King whose rule isn’t shaken by human failure.

“The Lord Our Righteousness” is more than a title—it is a shelter for weary hearts, a summons to integrity, and a steady joy for those who trust in the One who makes sinners whole and fractured communities new again.

We are Trinity Community Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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What if God’s call on your life is closer than you think—and what if He’s already given you the power to live it? In this In Christ message, Scott Wiens walks through Ephesians 3:1–13 and traces two gracious steps God took with Paul—and still takes with us today: commissioning and empowering. Scott opens with a memorable story about a former coworker named Steve, whose steady kindness and quiet faith helped steer him back to Jesus. That picture becomes the frame for the day: God doesn’t just call pastors and missionaries; He gives every believer a “commission of grace.”

Scott shows how Paul owned his specific call to preach to the Gentiles, then turns the question toward us. Beyond titles and platforms, what are we owning? The commission of grace is the mandate given to all Christians to reflect the power of the gospel in everyday life—at a checkout line, in a cubicle, at the dinner table. It’s not performance; it’s a new nature that shines through habits, speech, and choices. Drawing from Romans 12:1–2, Scott challenges halfway Christianity and calls us to present our whole selves to God. When belief and behavior align, people see a sermon rather than just hear one.

From there, the message gets practical: three simple ways to carry this commission. Live a holy life that matches your confession. Serve, because Jesus defined greatness with a towel over His arm and His eyes on “the least of these.” And share your testimony. Many will argue with a verse; few can dismiss a changed life. Scott urges us to be ready with gracious words (1 Peter 3:15; Colossians 4:5–6) and a renewed life (Ephesians 4:20–24) that makes the gospel plausible.

Then comes the hope we all need: when God commissions, He empowers. Paul ministered “by the working of God’s power” (Ephesians 3:7). The promised Spirit gives a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26–27), brings life to mortal bodies (Romans 8:11), and pours out grace richly (Titus 3:5–6). This is not self-help. It’s the living Christ at work within us, breaking chains and reshaping desires so our light isn’t hidden under a basket but lifted for others to find the way home.

Scott closes with an urgent invitation to walk in the light (1 John 1:5–7): confess what’s holding you back, ask for prayer, and begin again. Grace commissions you. The Spirit empowers you. Someone nearby needs your light. If you’re ready to be all in, this message will help you take your next step.

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Holiness isn’t a self-help project; it’s a relationship sustained by God’s own power. In this session, we explore what it means for the Lord to be our Sanctifier, tracing the theme from Exodus and Leviticus all the way to the clarity of 1 Thessalonians 4, Romans 12, and Hebrews 10. Throughout Scripture, sanctification carries a twofold reality: God sets us apart in Christ once for all, and then He continually makes us holy by the Spirit’s ongoing work—reshaping our desires, our habits, and the hopes that steer our lives.

Matthew leads us into honest territory where sanctification becomes deeply practical—sexual integrity, pride, lust, dishonesty, and the way our bodies themselves are treated as places of worship rather than shame. We explore how surrender becomes the doorway to real transformation, how renewing the mind rewires our reflexes over time, and how Christ’s finished work secures our identity even while we continue growing. The biblical paradox that we are “perfected” while “being sanctified” frees us from condemnation and fuels a steady, hopeful pursuit of obedience.

We also look at tangible ways to cooperate with God’s grace: presenting every part of life to Him as an offering, beginning each day clothed in the armor of God, and using tools like journaling to trace the quiet, faithful progress the Spirit produces in us—progress we might otherwise overlook. Sanctification becomes less about pressure and more about partnership with the God who delights to finish what He starts.

This session invites you to run your race with courage, to finish well, and to rest in the faithfulness of the One who began the good work in you and has promised to bring it to completion. Come discover the freedom, hope, and steady maturity that flow from knowing the Lord as the God who sanctifies His people.

We are Trinity Community Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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What if the deepest divides in your world aren’t political or cultural, but spiritual—and what if they’re already defeated? In Built Together, part of the In Christ series, Mark Medley walks through Ephesians 2:13–22 to show how the gospel doesn’t just reconcile us to God; it kills the hostility between us. He traces Paul’s two-word pivot—“but now”—from the bleak reality of alienation to the bright certainty of peace in Christ. From a literal stone barrier in the Jerusalem temple to the stony barriers in our hearts, Mark reveals how pride, law-keeping, and long habits of suspicion separated Jews and Gentiles—and how the cross fulfilled the law, tore down the wall, and created one new humanity.

Mark makes the theology tangible. He describes the Temple inscription that warned outsiders under threat of death and then points to the deeper boundary of the “law of commandments” that became a badge of superiority. Against that backdrop, he declares Paul’s good news: Jesus himself is our peace. By his shed blood we’re brought near to God; by his broken body we are made one. Communion becomes more than a ritual; it’s common union, a table where the ground is level and no one stands taller than grace. With Christ as the cornerstone, the church rises as a living temple—fellow citizens, members of God’s household, being fitted together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

He also names today’s termites—prejudice hiding in polite language, curated feeds that inflame contempt, snap judgments we baptize as wisdom. Laws and force can’t fix what is wrong in us; we need new hearts. Mark calls us to be born again into a different way of seeing, to invite the Spirit to search and free us. He offers practical steps for clearing the ground in our hearts: remember who you were and who you are now in Christ; confess prejudice as sin; starve the inputs that reward outrage; sit at diverse tables and listen long enough to love; honor the image of God in those you’ve counted as opponents; speak peace where your world trades in poison.

Unity isn’t a slogan. It’s a miracle secured at Calvary and stewarded with humility, repentance, and hope. If you’re hungry for a wider table and a stronger foundation, Mark’s message will help you live as a citizen of a kingdom that overrules every wall. Share it with someone who needs the courage to make peace.

We are Trinity Community Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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Peace that holds under fire doesn’t come from quiet rooms or perfect plans—it comes from knowing the Lord as Jehovah Shalom. In this session, we begin with a deeply personal story about ministry to weary pastors and the phrase that shaped it: “nothing missing, nothing broken.” From there, we explore the profound Hebrew meaning of shalom—wholeness, completeness, reconciliation, and being fully paid for—and how that truth can reframe our fears, restore our work, and deepen our worship.

We trace this revelation through Gideon’s story in Judges 6, watching God meet a trembling man in weakness and ignite a soaked offering as a sign of strength. Gideon’s altar, built in response, bears the name Jehovah Shalom—The Lord is Peace—proclaiming that peace isn’t the absence of fear but the presence of God in the middle of it. From there, we turn to Psalm 4, where David models how to pray with confidence even when surrounded by opposition, ending with a bedrock declaration: “In peace I will both lie down and sleep.” Isaiah 26:3 amplifies the same truth, repeating “shalom, shalom”—perfect peace for those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in Him.

This study doesn’t ignore the tension—we admit that we are not perfect, that our peace often feels fragile. But shalom isn’t brittle because it rests in the One who is. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, embodies a wholeness that cannot fracture. His peace is not a fragile calm to be protected, but a living presence to be received.

Together, we name the common fractures that threaten shalom: deception that distorts truth, division that erodes unity, misplaced worship that drains purpose, accusation that stirs fear, and disorder that disturbs creation’s balance. Each of these tactics seeks to splinter what God made whole. The biblical response is not frantic striving, but alignment—realigning our lives with the character of God through honest confession, faithful community, and daily obedience that cultivates quiet strength.

Throughout this teaching, Rob shares stories of faith and restoration that show how shalom takes root in ordinary lives—how steady hearts can emerge in seasons of chaos, how reconciliation restores broken relationships, and how prayer and trust can anchor us in storms that would otherwise undo us.

If your peace has felt thin, this session offers biblical grounding, practical insight, and lived experience to help you stand in a wholeness that holds. Come explore how the God of peace doesn’t just calm circumstances—He makes you whole in the midst of them. Fix your mind on Jehovah Shalom, the Lord who restores what’s missing, heals what’s broken, and breathes peace that cannot be stolen.

We are Trinity Community Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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