Dear Church Family,
 
Sometimes it’s the simplest moments that remind us most of who we are as a church. This was on full display at our Palm Sunday picnics at our CityRise West U Baptist and Bellaire campuses. It was a joy to spend time together, reconnect, and see so many from our church family enjoying the beautiful weather! (Be sure to check out a few photos at the bottom of this email.)
 
Throughout The Power of the Cross Easter series, we’ve walked through the story of redemption from its earliest pages in Genesis to the cross itself. We’ve taken time to consider the weight of sin, the promise of a Savior, and the cost of Christ’s sacrifice. Along the way, we’ve also responded through trust, surrender, and following Him more closely.
 
As we step into the heart of Holy Week, we’re arriving at one of the pivotal moments of Jesus’s final days before his crucifixion. Tonight, we will gather for Maundy Thursday, a meaningful time to reflect on His last supper, share communion, and prepare our hearts for what’s ahead. I hope you'll join us.

Here is a quick glance of our Easter weekend schedule:

And then, we come to Easter Sunday.
 
Sunday morning, through worship, baptisms, and the ultimate power of the gospel, we will gather to celebrate the empty tomb and the hope that comes with it! Because Jesus lives, we have a sure foundation for our faith and a real hope that carries into every part of our lives.
 
We would love for you, your family, and someone you invite to join us this Sunday at CityRise. (A reminder that there will be no Community Groups.)

Easter is our most attended Sunday of the year, which makes it a perfect opportunity to invite someone to come with you. We’ve made that simple! Visit cityrise.org/textinvite to send a personal invitation by text in just a few moments and a few taps on your phone.
 
We’re grateful for the various ways God continues to draw people in, and we’re expectant for what He will do in the days ahead through sharing His victory through the gospel, on Easter and all throughout the year.
 
We’ll see you on Easter Sunday, Church Family. He is risen!


Expecting Greater,
Pastor Roger

Several years ago, there was a story that circulated about a man who inherited a ring from his grandfather.

It wasn’t flashy.

It wasn’t impressive.

In fact, when he first looked at it, he thought it was costume jewelry.

So, he threw it in a drawer.

Years later, he was going through some old belongings and found it again. This time, he decided to take it to a jeweler—just out of curiosity.

The jeweler looked at it… paused… and said:
“Do you know what this is?”

He said, “Not really—just something my grandfather left me.”

The jeweler said, “This isn’t costume jewelry. This is a rare diamond… it’s worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

And in that moment, everything changed.

What he thought was worthless…

was actually incredibly valuable.

What he treated casually…was something of great significance.

Church, I wonder how often we do the same thing with the cross.

We’ve seen it so many times…
we’ve heard the story so many times…
that we can miss what is really happening.
Because when you look at the cross…

it doesn’t look like power.

• It looks like weakness.
• It looks like defeat.
• It looks like humiliation.

But what if what looks like defeat…is actually the greatest victory the world has ever known?

That’s what John 19 shows us.

Because in this passage…we don’t just see a cross. We see a coronation.

Let’s read it together.

John 19:1–3 (ESV)
1 Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. 2 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. 3 They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands.

Today, we have a very simple outline. It’s one that I believe will greatly encourage you.

The Cross and the Crown

• The Crown He Wore
• The Crown He Wears
• The Crowns He Gives

I. THE CROWN HE WORE — THE SUFFERING KING

John 19:2
2 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe.

The Romans ruled with an iron fist. If you recall, after Jesus is born, the Magi came from the East and they asked Herod, “Where is he who is born king of the Jews?”

Remember, after Herod learned that he had been deceived, he sent soldiers to Bethlehem and had all boys, 2 years and under executed. There was no scenario that Herod was going to let a king rise from the Jews.

In this context, we see that the religious leaders of Israel speak to that insecurity in Pilate and bring a charge against Jesus that he is setting himself up as a king.

As Pilate interacts with Jesus, we see that he says, “I find no guilt in him.”

Look at John 18:38b-40.

John 18:38b-40
After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him. 39 But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” 40 They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.

Now, Barabbas was a thief. Some of your notes might indicate that Barabbas was an insurrectionist. Clearly, he is a rebel of some sort.

But notice two things:

• Pilate declares, “I find no guilt in him (Jesus).”
• Barabbas – His name means, Son of the Father.

Jesus is the Eternal Son of the Eternal Father in human form. It says at the beginning of John’s Gospel, “He took on flesh and dwelt among us.” And Pilate declares that he is innocent.

But they cry out for Barabbas. Barabbas was a troublemaker, whether that be as a thief or an insurrectionist, the goal with a guy like him is to contain him, quiet him, and imprison him. But he too is the son of the father.

As the people cry for the thief and insurrectionist to be released, and cry for the crucifixion of Jesus, Pilate makes a strategic move.

He decides he will have Jesus flogged or beaten, and then he will parade him around like a king. That should work. That should send the message that needs sending.

So, verse 1 indicates that they “flogged” Jesus. Let’s look at WHAT “FLOGGING” MEANT IN THE ROMAN WORLD

The Romans had different levels of beating, but what Jesus endured here is most likely severe scourging—the kind typically given before crucifixion.

The Instrument: The Flagrum

• A short whip
• Multiple leather strands
• Embedded with:
  • bone fragments
  • metal pieces
  • sometimes hooks

This was not just meant to hurt—it was meant to tear.

Now, WHAT HAPPENED DURING SCOURGING?

The victim would be:

• Stripped of clothing
• Tied to a post or stretched over a frame
• Beaten repeatedly across the back and sides

Each strike:

• Dug into the skin
• Then tore flesh as it was pulled back

Ancient sources describe:

• Skin being shredded
• Muscle exposed
• In extreme cases, even bone visible

Eusebius (describing Roman scourging):
“The sufferer’s veins were laid bare, and the very muscles, sinews, and bowels of the victim were open to exposure.”

WHY THE ROMANS DID THIS
This wasn’t random cruelty—it had purpose:
1. To Weaken the Victim

• Many died from scourging alone
• It ensured the crucifixion would be fatal

2. To Humiliate

• Public stripping
• Public beating
• Total degradation

3. To Terrorize Others

• A warning: “This is what happens if you oppose Rome”

Isaiah 53:5 says…
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.

The Hebrew word for “wounds” (or “stripes”) directly corresponds to this kind of beating.
This is not symbolic language. It is describing real physical suffering.

Now, as we get to verse 2 of John 19, notice after the beating, what these Romans Soldiers do.

John 19:2
And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe.
 
Church, don’t rush past that.

They twisted together a crown.


Many believe the crown of thorns was like a wreath.

Dr. Jeremiah Johnston, a scholar on many of the relics of the Christian faith, especially, the Shroud of Turin, believed the crown of thorns to be more like a helmet that would encompass the entire head.

He says,
“When these thorns were dried out, they became like sharp nails.”

Imagine the suffering inflicted upon Jesus by these Roman Soldiers.

And notice all the material they had on hand:

• They had the thorns…
• They had the purple robe…

Could it be that the son of the father, who was trying to lead an insurrection, was the one who was to be treated this way?
 
Could it be that these items were planned for Barabbas?

These soldiers are staging something here:

• This is not random violence.
• This is a mock coronation ceremony.
• They are saying:

“You think you’re a king?
Let us show you what kind of king you are.”

They put:

• a robe on His back
• a crown on His head
• and Matthew tells us—
  they placed a reed in His hand

Matthew 27:29–30
29 and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.

That reed is not accidental. It is a mock scepter.

All throughout the Old Testament, the scepter represents kingship.

Genesis 49:10
“The scepter shall not depart from Judah…”

There was a promise that a King would come.

A ruler.
One with authority.
One who would reign.

Psalm 45:6
Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;

This king would rule…but not like with just any power—righteous power.

And when the King finally comes…
they put a reed in His hand.

A weak stick.
A prop.
A joke.
And then…
they take that reed…
and they strike Him with it. Notice the full scene again.

Matthew 27:27-30
27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. 28 And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.

Notice it says, “They took the reed and struck him on the head.” – which means every blow drives the thorns deeper.

So now the crown wounds Him…
and the scepter wounds Him.
The very symbols of kingship…
become instruments of suffering.

And here’s what you have to understand:
This is not just physical pain. This is layered suffering.

• Physical pain
• Emotional humiliation
• Spiritual weight

And when they kneel before Him…it is not in worship…but in mockery.

They spit on Him. They laugh at Him.

This is a parody of coronation.

And yet…

even deeper than that…something else is happening.

Genesis 3:17–18
17 And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.

The Thorns are not random. Thorns are the result of the curse.

They are a symbol of sin entering the world.

And now—the curse that was spoken over creation…is placed on His head.

He is not just suffering. He is bearing the curse.

Galatians 3:13
“Christ redeemed us from the curse… by becoming a curse for us…”
Those aren’t just thorns. Those are our thorns.

• Our sin.
• Our shame.
• Our rebellion.
• Placed on Him.

Isaiah 53:4
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.

So, when you see the crown…don’t just see suffering. See substitution.

He wore:
your sin…your shame…your curse…
So that you could receive:
His righteousness…His acceptance…His life.

And here’s the good news…
The crown He wore then…is not the crown He wears now.

The Cross and the Crown

• The Crown He Wore
• The Crown He Wears
• The Crowns He Gives

II. THE CROWN HE WEARS — THE REIGNING KING

Because if you stop at the cross…you will misunderstand Jesus.

The cross is not the end of the story. It is the turning point of the story.

Philippians 2:8–11
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Don’t miss that word:
Therefore – what’s that therefore, there for?

• Because He humbled Himself…
• God exalted Him.
• Because He wore the crown of thorns…
• He now wears the crown of glory.

And Scripture says:
God gave Him the name above every name.

The One they mocked as “King of the Jews”…is revealed as:
King of kings and Lord of lords.
And one day—every knee will bow…Not in mockery…but in worship.

Hebrews 2:9
But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

“For a little while…” He wore thorns.

But now—He is crowned with glory and honor.

And then Revelation pulls back the curtain…and shows us what He looks like now.

Revelation 19:11-12
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.
 
Notice something with me. Jesus is not just wearing one crown…it’s many crowns.

I showed you this image I had Ai make for my Christmas Eve Message. It is taken from the description in Revelation 19.




Q: Some ask, “Why does he have many crowns?”
A: And the answer is simple. He has many crowns because every authority belongs to Him.

And then—this is the contrast—Keep Reading in Revelation 19.

Revelation 19:13-15
13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Remember in Matthew -- they gave Him a reed.

But He rules with a rod of iron – This is his Unbreakable authority and Unshakable rule.

Here is what will be true when He comes again:
The reed they mocked Him with…will be replaced by a rod no one can resist.

Church—hear this clearly: Jesus is not waiting to become King. He is King right now.

He is King:

• Over your life.
• Over your circumstances.
• Over your future.

The One who wore thorns…now reigns in glory.

And now—this is where it becomes personal.

Because the story doesn’t stop with the crown He wore…or the crown He wears…there are also Crowns he Gives.

The Cross and the Crown

• The Crown He Wore
• The Crown He Wears
• The Crowns He Gives

III. THE CROWNS HE GIVES — THE GRACIOUS KING

At the cross…there is a great exchange.

2 Corinthians 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Do you see the exchange?

Jesus takes your place…so that you can receive His.

Friends, Our Lord Jesus wore a crown of thorns…so that one day…you could wear a crown of glory.

Quote: John Calvin--
“Christ was dishonored with a crown of thorns, that we might be crowned with glory.”

Now, there are Five Crowns that can be bestowed on believers.

These are crowns given to believers—not as payment, but as participation in His victory.

Five Crowns Given to Believers

• A crown of life… for those who endure
• A crown of righteousness… for those who long for Him
• A crown of glory… for those who shepherd well
• A crown of rejoicing… for those who lead others to Christ
• An imperishable crown… for those who run the race faithfully

But don’t get lost in the list. Here’s the point:
Everything you receive…comes from what He already did.

These crowns are not earned like trophies. They are not wages for performance. They are grace gifts from a generous King.

Some of you in this room…you’ve never received that gift.

You’ve tried to:

• earn your way
• fix your life
• clean yourself up

But the gospel is not:
“Try harder.”

The gospel is:
“Receive what Christ has already done.”

Jesus:

• lived the life you couldn’t live
• died the death you deserved
• rose again in victory

So that you could be forgiven…restored…and brought into relationship with God

And the invitation is simple:
Turn from your sin…and trust in Him.

Not religion.

Not performance.

Jesus… the one who took our sin and shame upon himself.
 
Right now—where you are—

You can place your faith in Christ.

You can say:
“Jesus, I trust You.
I receive what You did for me.
I surrender my life to You.”

And if that’s your prayer…

Scripture says:

• You are forgiven.
• You are saved.
• You are His.

And for those of us who are believers…this is exactly what we remember at the table. This table is for believers, those who have taken Christ as their Savior…

Because the Lord’s Supper is a reminder:

• Of the body that was broken 
• Of the blood that was shed 
• Of the crown that was worn 

Friends, when you take the bread…remember, the One who wore the crown of thorns.

When you take the cup…remember, the blood that was poured out for your redemption.

And one day…
all of this leads somewhere.

Revelation 4:10–11
10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”

Church—don’t miss this. The crowns He gives us…we don’t hold onto.

• We don’t build our identity on them.
• We don’t say, “Look what I’ve done.”

No—We take those crowns…and we lay them back at His feet.

Because in the end…it was never about us…It was always about Him.

“He wore the crown of thorns…He now wears the crown of glory…and one day…every crown will be laid at His feet.”



This blog is based on the message shared by Senior Pastor Dr. Roger Patterson on Sunday, March 29, 2026, at our CityRise Bellaire campus. Check out the full message below!

Because you give, our student ministry had a successful retreat filled with fellowship, growth, and meaningful moments. Students and leaders from all three of our campuses attended and built friendships together, forming a beautiful picture of unity across the campuses. Pastor Alberto’s lessons were a highlight and it was an amazing weekend of devotion, unity, and joy. If you’d like to give toward work like this and so much more, please make a physical donation during our time of offering, visit cityrise.org/give or click the give button in the CityRise app.

Some people are tired of hearing about the blood. It shows up at the doctor, it stains the field after a hard game, and then on Sunday morning there are songs about it. What is the big deal? The answer is simple: take all the blood out of your body and your other problems stop mattering. That is just as true spiritually as it is physically.

Hebrews chapter nine is one of the densest, richest theological passages in the entire New Testament. Right up there with Romans 8 and 1 Corinthians 15 on the resurrection, Hebrews 9 lays out with precision what the blood of Jesus Christ actually accomplishes. This is not background theology. This is the foundation of why anyone can stand before a holy God without being destroyed.

Jesus Is a Better High Priest
The writer of Hebrews is addressing Jewish Christians who are being tempted to return to the religious system they knew before Christ. His answer across the entire letter is the same: Jesus is better. A better sacrifice. A better priest. A better covenant.

To understand why that matters, you have to understand the role of a priest. A prophet speaks from God to people. A priest moves in the other direction, from people toward God. A priest stands in the gap. A priest mediates. A priest handles the problem of sin, of uncleanness, of guilt, and of separation.

In the Old Testament, the High Priest entered the Most Holy Place, the Holy of Holies, exactly once per year. He did not walk in casually. He underwent ritual washings, offered a sacrifice for his own sin first, put on specific garments, and entered behind a thick curtain. Those garments had bells on them, and a rope was tied around his ankle. If he was not properly prepared according to the law, God could strike him dead. When the bells stopped ringing, they pulled him out with that rope.

The architecture preached a sermon. The curtain preached a sermon. The calendar, the washings, the rope around the ankle: all of it said the same thing. God is holy and you cannot simply stroll into His presence.

This is one of the first things both modern and postmodern people struggle with. We are very comfortable speaking of how God is loving, kind, merciful, near, and welcoming, and He is all of those things. But we do not pause long enough to reckon with the blazing holiness of God. The problem in the Bible is never that God is too emotionally distant. The problem is that He is so holy and we are so sinful that unless He makes a way, we cannot come near Him and live. This is why priesthood matters.

But Hebrews says Christ is not just another priest in the line of the old covenant. He is a better High Priest. He does not minister in an earthly copy. He ministers in the presence of the Father Himself. As Hebrews 9:11 says, "But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent, not made with hands, that is, not of this creation."

Every lamb, every sacrifice, every ritual in the Old Testament was not the destination. Those were signs. They were arrows in symbol form pointing forward to Jesus. If He is just one more religious leader, then you still need another priest after Him. If He is only a moral example, your conscience is still filthy. If He is just a martyr, your guilt remains. If He is only inspiring, you and I are still separated from God.

But He is the better High Priest, and that changes everything.

What "Once for All" Actually Means
Hebrews 9:12 is one of the most important sentences in the New Testament: "He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption."

Do not move past the phrase once for all too quickly. The writer uses it repeatedly throughout this chapter. The old High Priest had to return to the Holy of Holies every year. He had to repeat the ritual because the sacrifice was never final. Christ entered once. Not once per year. Not once per generation. Once for all.

And He did it with His own blood, for a specific purpose: securing eternal redemption.

Redemption is a word worth sitting with. It means to release by payment. It carries the picture of a ransom, of buying someone back, of setting a captive free at cost. When Hebrews says Jesus secured eternal redemption, the language matters. He did not merely create the possibility of freedom. He actually purchased it. He did not make a down payment and leave the balance to you. John Owen said it plainly: There is no more offering for sin because none is needed. The sacrifice of our Lord himself was sufficient, complete, and final.

This doctrine has enormous practical weight. So many people live as though Jesus made a down payment on their salvation and now they have to keep making installments. We act as though the cross got things started, and now our performance determines whether God keeps approving of us. But that is not what Hebrews teaches.

Why This Matters at the End
As a pastor, I have had the privilege and the challenge of being with people in their final moments. I have sat with people who are close to death, and I need you to hear this clearly: this theology matters most when everything else is stripped away.

When you put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, His sacrifice is all sufficient. You do not have to wonder whether you have done enough. You do not have to perform your way into continued approval. The blood of Christ, the better High Priest who entered the greater tent not made with hands, has secured your eternal redemption. It is complete. It is final.

The Old Testament system preached that something better was coming. The curtain, the rope, the bells, the annual return of the priest: all of it said this is not enough yet. But when Jesus died on the cross, the curtain in the temple tore from top to bottom. Not from the bottom up, as if a man tore it. From the top down. Access to the Father was opened by the Father Himself, through the blood of His Son.

The Conscience That Gets Cleansed
Hebrews 9:14 extends this further: "How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God."

The goal of the blood is not merely legal, though it is that. It is also deeply personal. The blood of Christ purifies the conscience. Dead works are the exhausting cycle of trying to earn what has already been given. When the conscience is purified, you stop serving God out of fear that you have not done enough and start serving out of freedom, because you know He has.

That is the difference the blood makes. Not just a position changed before God, but a conscience set free. This is why believers have sung about the blood across centuries. Not because blood is a pleasant subject, but because when you understand what it accomplished, it is the most freeing truth in the universe.

There was a movement in the 1970s and 80s in many mainline churches to remove songs about the blood from worship. The reasoning may have been that the language was too stark, too violent, too primitive. But when you understand the power of the blood, you do not try to remove the songs. You want to sing them louder.

Are you washed in the blood, the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

That is not a primitive question. That is the most important question a person can answer.

A Better Covenant, Sealed Once
Hebrews 9 also establishes the logic of covenant. A will takes effect only at death. It is not enforced while the one who made it is still alive. The first covenant, the Mosaic covenant, was inaugurated with blood. Moses took the blood of calves and goats, sprinkled the book and all the people, and declared it the blood of the covenant. Even the tent and the vessels used in worship were sprinkled.

"Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins" (Hebrews 9:22).

The new covenant required the same. It required death, and it required blood. But the death was not the death of animals that could only point forward. It was the death of God's own Son, the one without blemish, the better sacrifice offered by the better priest, once for all.

Christ will not come a second time to deal with sin. That is finished. He will come again to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him. The work is done. The redemption is secured. The conscience can be clean.

If you are still carrying the weight of wondering whether you have been good enough, whether God is still approving of you, whether the cross was sufficient for someone like you: Hebrews 9 is written for that question. The blood of Jesus Christ answers it with finality. You do not have to wonder. He has secured it, once for all.



This blog is based on the message shared by Senior Pastor Dr. Roger Patterson at our CityRise West U Baptist campus on Sunday, March 22, 2026. Check out the full message below!

Dear Church Family,

This past Sunday was a remarkable one.

Celebration Sunday and our First Big Give gave us the opportunity to be amazed by what God has already begun through Pathways toward the future. As you can see from the photos below, as we shared the initial commitments together with joy and exaltation (and some streamers raining across the aisles), we gave a shout of praise and thanks, remembering that everything we bring ultimately comes from the Lord (1 Chronicles 29:16). Thank you for your faith, your generosity, and your willingness to take that first step.

Easter is right around the corner on Sunday, April 5, and it’s one of the most important opportunities we have all year to invite others into the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can find service times and locations below, and take a look at cityrise.org/easter for other Easter-season happenings at CityRise!

And now, Easter is just around the corner!

All this month, we’ve been studying “The Power of the Cross” and how the story of Easter begins in Genesis, carries through to Christ’s resurrection, and how the empty tomb gives us the hope we need today, two-thousand years later.

And as we look forward to Holy Week with Palm Sunday this weekend, we have several meaningful ways to gather. You can find them all at cityrise.org/easter, but here’s a quick guide:

• Palm Sunday Picnics at West U Baptist (11A & 12P) and Bellaire (12P)

• Maundy Thursday service at West U Baptist

• A Good Friday evening service at Missouri City Español

• Easter Egg Hunts on Saturday, April 4 (one at Evelyn’s Park in Bellaire and one at Missouri City)

• Easter Sunday services at
  • Bellaire: 8A, 9:30A, & 11A
  • Missouri City: 9:30A
  • Missouri City Espanol: 11:00A
  • West U Baptist: 8A, 9:30A, & 11A
  • Chinese (at 6104 Auden): 11A

Through these events and services, Easter is one of the most significant open doors we have all year to share the message of the cross. Many people we know are more open to attending than we realize! All they need is someone to reach out. I hope you’ll begin praying now about who God might place on your heart to invite.

To make that simple, we’ve created an easy way for you to send an invitation by text through your phone’s messaging app. It only takes a few seconds, and it could make an eternal difference. On your phone, visit cityrise.org/textinvite, and you’ll find a button that will automatically fill in a text message for you! All you have to do is fill in the phone number and any personalization you like.

Let’s continue taking steps into the next century through Pathways and into eternity through the gospel this Easter.

We’ll see you on Palm Sunday, Church Family!

 
Expecting Greater,
Pastor Roger

P.S. Happy Opening Day in Houston! Let’s go ‘Stros!

There is an old joke about a man who said, “I don’t understand why everybody makes such a big deal about blood. When I go to the doctor, I don’t want to talk about blood. When I watch a game, I don’t want to think about blood. When I come to church, I definitely don’t want to sing about blood.”

His friend said, “Well, that’s easy for you to say. But if you take all the blood out of your body, your other problems won’t last very long either.”

That is true physically, and it is true spiritually.

Because when you come to Hebrews 9, the writer does not apologize for the blood. He does not soften the blood. He does not move away from the blood. He moves right into it. Because the blood of Jesus Christ is not a side note in the Christian faith. It is not a strange leftover from ancient religion. It is not a primitive symbol we are supposed to outgrow. The blood of Jesus is at the very center of our hope, our forgiveness, our access to God, and our salvation.

Our series is called The Power of the Cross, and today we come to one of the clearest passages in all of Scripture about why the cross matters. Hebrews 9:11–28 shows us that the cross was not merely an example of love. It was not simply a martyr’s death. It was not just a moment of political injustice. It was the decisive, once-for-all, heaven-opening, conscience-cleansing, sin-bearing sacrifice of the Son of God.

And what I want to do today is not just give you bullet points. I want us to walk through this passage and feel its weight. I want us to understand not only what it says, but why it matters. Because theology matters most when it moves from the page into the soul. Doctrine matters when it answers the deep questions of the human heart: How can sinful people come near a holy God? What do I do with my guilt? Is my past really forgiven? Has Jesus really done enough? And what hope do I have when I stand before God one day?
So let’s begin in Hebrews 9.

Hebrews 9:11-28
11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. 16 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. 17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. 18 Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. 19 For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” 21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. 22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
Introduction to the burden of the passage

The writer of Hebrews is speaking to people who knew something about religion, ritual, sacrifice, priesthood, tabernacle, holy places, blood, and covenant. They knew the old system. But he is showing them that all of it pointed forward to Jesus.

• Everything in the old covenant was shadow. Jesus is substance.
• Everything in the old covenant was temporary. Jesus is final.
• Everything in the old covenant was external. Jesus goes all the way to the conscience.
• Everything in the old covenant anticipated access. Jesus actually brings us in.

And that matters, because many people today are still trying to live spiritually as though Jesus only helps a little, improves a little, assists a little, nudges a little. But Hebrews says Jesus did not come to improve the old system. He came to fulfill it, surpass it, and bring in something better.

So let me give you the first great truth of this text.

1. Jesus offered a better sacrifice because He is a better High Priest

Hebrews 9:11 -- 11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation)…

That language matters. Jesus is not merely called Savior here. He is called High Priest.
Now what is a priest? A priest is one who represents people before God:

• A prophet speaks from God to people.
• A priest goes from people to God.
• A priest stands in the gap.
• A priest mediates.
• A priest handles the problem of sin, uncleanness, guilt, and separation.

In the Old Testament, the high priest entered the Most Holy Place once a year on the Day of Atonement. He went in trembling. He went in carefully. He went in with blood. He went in on behalf of the people.

Why? Because sin had created a barrier between a holy God and a sinful people.

The tabernacle itself preached a sermon. Curtains preached a sermon. Boundaries preached a sermon. Washings preached a sermon. The whole system said: God is holy, and you cannot just stroll casually into His presence.

That is one of the first things modern people struggle with. We are very comfortable speaking of God as loving, kind, merciful, near, welcoming.

And praise God, He is all of those things.

And one writer said…
“But we often do not pause long enough to reckon with the blazing holiness of God. The problem in the Bible is never that God is too distant emotionally. The problem is that He is so holy, and we are so sinful, that unless He makes a way, we cannot come near Him and live.”

That is why priesthood matters.

But Hebrews says Christ is not just another priest in the line of old covenant priests. He is the better High Priest. He does not go through an earthly tent. He goes through “the greater and more perfect tent, not made with hands.” In other words, He enters the true heavenly reality. He does not minister in a copy. He ministers in the presence of God Himself.

F.F. Bruce said that…
“Christ’s sacrifice is not one among many; it is the one to which all the others pointed.”
That is exactly the point of Hebrews 9. All those priests, all those lambs, all those rituals, all those sacrifices—none of them were the destination. They were signs. They were sermons in symbol form. They were arrows pointing to Jesus.

And here is why that matters --

• If Jesus is just one more religious leader, then you still need another priest after Him.
• If Jesus is just a moral example, then your conscience is still dirty.
• If Jesus is just a martyr, then your guilt remains.
• If Jesus is only inspiring, then you are still separated from God.

But if Jesus is the better High Priest, then He does what no one else can do: He brings you to God.

Hebrews 9:12
he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

Do not move too quickly past that. He entered once for all.

He entered not with borrowed blood, not with animal blood, not with symbolic blood, but with His own blood. And the result is “eternal redemption.”

Now redemption is a glorious word. It means release by payment. It carries the idea of liberation by ransom. To redeem is to buy back, to set free, to rescue at cost. So when Hebrews says Jesus secured eternal redemption, it means He did not merely create the possibility of freedom. He actually purchased freedom for His people.

John Owen said,
“There is no more offering for sin because none is needed.”

Why? Because the offering of Christ was sufficient, complete, and final.

And church, this matters because so many people live as though Jesus made a down payment and now they have to keep making installments.

We live like the cross got us started, but now our performance has to finish the job.

We live like acceptance with God rises and falls with this week’s spiritual record.

We live like if we have a good week, then maybe God draws near, and if we have a bad week, maybe He backs away.

But Hebrews says Jesus secured eternal redemption.

Not probationary redemption…Not partial redemption…Not weekly renewable redemption…Eternal redemption.

That means the power of the blood is not that it gives you a second chance to save yourself. The power of the blood is that Jesus saves completely.

That leads to the second great truth.

2. Jesus cleanses not only our record before God but our conscience within us

Hebrews 9:13-14 -- 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

The writer is arguing from lesser to greater.

• If under the old covenant those ceremonial acts had a kind of outward cleansing function…
•  “how much more,” verse 14 says, “will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

This is one of the most important lines in the passage.

Because the issue is no longer just ceremonial purity. The issue is conscience.

What is conscience? Conscience is that inward awareness of moral accountability before God. It is the inner faculty that accuses, convicts, troubles, bears witness. It is that place in the human soul where guilt lingers, where shame settles, where regret whispers, where failure echoes.

And the writer says the blood of Jesus purifies the conscience.

• Not distracts the conscience.
• Not numbs the conscience.
• Not suppresses the conscience.
• Purifies the conscience.

That means Jesus deals with guilt at the deepest level.

The old system could purify “the flesh,” meaning outward ceremonial standing. But it could not reach into the deepest chambers of the soul and bring peace there.

Animal sacrifices could symbolize cleansing, but they could not actually erase moral guilt before God. They could point forward, but they could not perfect the worshiper.

But Jesus can.

Why? Because His sacrifice was not involuntary, mechanical, or symbolic only. Verse 14 says He “offered himself without blemish to God.” He was the spotless sacrifice. He was morally pure. He was undefiled. He was sinless. He was, as Peter says elsewhere, a lamb without blemish or spot.

William Lane emphasized that, “The once-for-all character of Christ’s sacrifice is the foundation of Christian assurance.”
 
And you can feel that here. If the sacrifice is final and perfect, then assurance is possible. If the sacrifice is incomplete, assurance is impossible.

Now notice something else.

The text says Christ offered Himself “through the eternal Spirit.”

• This is a beautiful Trinitarian moment.
• The Son offers Himself to the Father through the Spirit.
• The whole Godhead is involved in our redemption.

Salvation is not Jesus trying to persuade a reluctant Father to love us. Salvation is the triune God acting in perfect unity to save sinners. The Father sends, the Son offers, the Spirit applies.

And why does this matter?

Because many of us know what it is to carry guilt long after the moment has passed. Some people in this room have sins they committed years ago, and yet the memory still has power.

• Some of you have repented, confessed, even changed your life, and yet inwardly you still feel dirty.
• Some of you are not living under the judgment of God anymore, but you are still living under the accusations of your own conscience.

And Hebrews 9 is saying that the blood of Jesus is powerful enough not only to forgive your sin objectively before God, but to cleanse your conscience subjectively within you.

• That does not mean you never remember your past. It means your past no longer owns your future.
• That does not mean you never grieve sin. It means you no longer wear it as your identity.
• That does not mean your conscience disappears. It means it is no longer your final judge.

Listen to the words of Thomas Schreiner. He states:
“The cleansing of the conscience marks the movement from external religion to internal transformation.”

My friends, the Christian faith:

• is not merely ceremonial.
• It is not merely cultural.
• It is not merely moral effort.

It is heart-deep cleansing through the finished work of Christ.

And notice the purpose…this is so good! The purpose? It is “to serve the living God.”

This is so important. Jesus does not cleanse us so that we can sit in spiritual passivity. He cleanses us so that we can serve.
 

• Grace does not produce apathy.
• Grace produces worship.
• Forgiveness produces obedience.
• Cleansing produces service.

Dead works are all the things we do apart from Christ to:

• justify ourselves,
• impress others,
• silence guilt,
• earn standing,
• manage appearances,
• and build our own righteousness.
• They are dead because they cannot give life.
• They are dead because they do not flow from faith.
• They are dead because they do not reconcile us to God.

But once your conscience is cleansed by Christ, you are finally free to serve the living God not as a slave trying to earn acceptance, but as a child who already has it.

That leads right into the next movement of the passage.

3. Jesus establishes a better covenant because His death was necessary

Hebrews 9:15
Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

mediator -- A mediator is one who stands between two parties to bring peace, reconciliation, and agreement.

And Christ is the mediator of a new covenant.

Covenant -- A covenant is more than a casual agreement. It is a binding relationship established by God’s promise and terms.

The old covenant, given through Moses, was real, holy, and good, but it was preparatory and temporary. It could:

• reveal sin,
• restrain sin,
• symbolize cleansing,
• and point forward.

But it could not bring final forgiveness through the blood of animals. It could not perfect the worshiper.

The new covenant is better because Jesus Himself is its mediator, and His own death inaugurates it.

Verse 15 says a death has occurred that redeems from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. Then the writer uses language of a will or testament.

The point is simple: death is necessary for the inheritance to be secured.

Now here we come to one of the great theological lines of the Bible.

Hebrews 9:22
Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

That statement confronts modern ears and minds that ask:

• Why blood?
• Why death?
• Why can God not just forgive and move on?

The answer is because God is holy, and sin is not small.

We live in a world that tends to reduce sin to:

• mistakes,
• missteps,
• brokenness,
• weakness,
• dysfunction,
• or poor choices.

And certainly sin has effects in all those directions. But biblically, sin is deeper.
 
Sin is rebellion against the holiness and authority of God. Sin is moral treason. Sin is not just that we made bad decisions. It is that we have offended a holy God.

So, what does this mean about forgiveness? Because the Power of the Cross and the Power of the Blood is forgiveness for us. So, what does it mean?

It means that forgiveness cannot be reduced to divine leniency.
 

• Forgiveness is not God pretending evil does not matter.
• Forgiveness is not God lowering the standard.
• Forgiveness is not God waving sin through because He is sentimental.

John Stott famously said:
“The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting Himself for man.”
 
That is what the cross is. At the cross, God does not ignore justice. He satisfies justice in the person of His Son.

That is why blood is necessary.

Leviticus tells us that the life is in the blood.

Blood signifies life poured out in death.

The shedding of blood means that sin’s penalty is real.
 
It means death is not an abstraction.
 
It means sin costs.

And this matters, because if you do not understand the necessity of Christ’s death, you will never understand the greatness of God’s love.

• If sin is small, then the cross is unnecessary drama.
• If justice does not matter, then the cross is divine overreaction.
• If guilt is not real, then the blood of Jesus becomes religious decoration.

But if sin is really as serious as Scripture says it is, and if God is really as holy as Scripture says He is, then the cross becomes the blazing intersection of justice and mercy.

• At the cross, God’s holiness is upheld.
• At the cross, God’s justice is satisfied.
• At the cross, God’s love is displayed.
• At the cross, sinners are redeemed.

And the writer reminds us that even the old covenant was inaugurated with blood. Moses sprinkled the people and the book and the instruments of worship.

Why? Because the relationship between a holy God and sinful people must be established through sacrificial blood.

But the old covenant sacrifices were repeated. Repetition revealed their limitation. They were meaningful, but they were not final. They were real shadows, but they were still shadows.

And so the question becomes: what kind of sacrifice can finally deal with sin?

• Only a perfect one.
• Only a sinless one.
• Only one of infinite worth.
• Only one who is both priest and sacrifice.
• Only Jesus.

This is why the theology matters. Because when you understand what Jesus was doing at the cross, you stop treating salvation like self-improvement.
 
You stop talking as if Jesus is merely helping nice people become a little nicer. You see that He is rescuing guilty sinners through His own blood.

And that brings us to the fourth great truth.

4. Jesus’ sacrifice is once for all, and therefore our hope is sure

Hebrews 9:23-24
23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

Verse 23 begins moving us higher. The copies of heavenly things were purified with earthly rites, “but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.”

Now look at verse 24 -- For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

That phrase should make your heart rise: “on our behalf.”

Another translation says, “Now to appear for us.”

Jesus is not absent. He is not inactive. He is not merely a figure from history we remember sentimentally. He is alive, ascended, exalted, and He appears in the presence of God on our behalf.

That means:

• The One who died for you now represents you. 
• The One whose blood secured redemption now stands in heaven for you.
• The One who put away sin by His sacrifice is now your advocate in the presence of God.

And then the writer presses the point of finality.

Christ does not offer Himself repeatedly. The old high priest entered yearly with blood not his own. But verse 26 tells us good news!

Hebrews 9:26b
But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
 
“once for all.” There is that phrase again…that phrase is one of the pillars of Hebrews – once for all!

The old sacrifices were repeated because they were insufficient.

Christ’s sacrifice is not repeated because it is sufficient.

R.C. Sproul used to say:
“The cross is not a recurring event; it is a finished work.”

That is exactly right. The power of the cross is not in endless repetition but in perfect completion.

Now notice the language: “to put away sin.”

• Not merely to postpone sin.
• Not merely to manage sin.
• Not merely to cover sin temporarily.
• But to put away sin.

That means Christ’s sacrifice actually deals with the thing itself. He bears sin, removes guilt, satisfies justice, and secures access.

And why does that matter?

• Because if Christ’s work is finished, then your hope can be stable. 
• If the sacrifice is enough, then you do not have to keep searching for another answer. 
• If Jesus has really put away sin, then the believer does not live under condemnation.

Too many Christians live exhausted because they have functionally adopted a theology of “once for all, plus me.”
 
Jesus died, yes. Jesus rose, yes. Jesus intercedes, yes. But now somehow, I must complete my standing before God with enough effort, enough purity, enough good days, enough ministry success, enough Bible reading, enough spiritual intensity.

But Hebrews will not let you do that.

• The cross was enough.
• The blood was enough.
• The priesthood of Christ is enough.
• The sacrifice of Christ is enough.

And then the writer ends with eternity in view.

Hebrews 9:27-28
27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Here the passage turns from atonement to destiny.
 
Every human being has an appointment: death, then judgment.

That is not popular language in our world, but it is biblical language.

• Life is not endless delay.
• History is not random drift.
• Judgment is coming.

But for those who belong to Christ, His second coming is not about dealing with sin again. The sin question was settled at His first coming. He will appear the second time “to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”

In other words, the cross secures not only forgiveness for the past, but hope for the future.
Salvation in the Bible has three dimensions.

• We have been saved from the penalty of sin.
• We are being saved from the power of sin.
• We will be saved from the presence of sin.

This passage ends by pulling us all the way into that final hope.

So Christian, lift your eyes. Your Savior is not only the One who died; He is the One who is coming again.

• The blood that justified you also secures your final salvation.
• The Priest who entered heaven for you will one day return for you.
• That is why the power of the blood is not only about Good Friday. It reaches all the way to the last day.

Why these theological truths matter in real life – So What?

Let me pause and bring all of this down to where we live.

• Why does it matter that Jesus is our High Priest?
  Because you need more than advice. You need representation before God.
• Why does it matter that Jesus offered His own blood?
  Because your problem is not superficial. You need a real atonement for real guilt.
• Why does it matter that your conscience can be cleansed?
  Because some of you are smiling in public while carrying shame in private.
• Why does it matter that a covenant required death?
  Because forgiveness is not cheap, and the love of God is more costly than we imagined.
• Why does it matter that Christ’s sacrifice was once for all?
  Because if it was not final, you could never rest.
• Why does it matter that He is coming again?
  Because this broken world is not the end of the story.

Have you trusted Christ and the power of His shed blood to save you from your sin?

A – Admit
B – Believe
C – Confess



This blog is based on the message shared by Senior Pastor Dr. Roger Patterson on Sunday, March 22, 2026, at our CityRise West U Baptist campus. Check out the full message below!

Dear Church Family,
 
This coming Sunday, March 22, is Celebration Sunday, and it’s exactly what it sounds like, a morning to celebrate and give thanks for what God has already begun through these early stages of Pathways. We’ll share a special glimpse of what God is already setting in motion through commitments and rejoice together as a church family. So many of you have already taken faithful first steps in Pathways, and we’re grateful for the way God is moving through His people.
 
But there’s another part to Sunday where we can show that gratitude.
 
Sunday is also our First Big Give! We will all have the opportunity to take a tangible step forward and present our first offerings. For many, it will be the first time turning a commitment into an act of generosity. For others, it may be their very first step into Pathways. Either way, it’s going to be a meaningful event for every one of us.
 
We’re very excited to share and celebrate with you!

Easter is right around the corner on Sunday, April 5, and it’s one of the most important opportunities we have all year to invite others into the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can find service times and locations below, and take a look at cityrise.org/easter for other Easter-season happenings at CityRise!

We’ll see you on Sunday, Church Family.
 
 
Expecting Greater,
Pastor Roger

Because you give, steady progress is being made at our Missouri City campus. It is exciting to see newly framed walls that will allow for even better ministry for our kids and will be welcoming to newcomers. The plumbing tunnels were covered up with dirt and are ready for concrete to be poured. If you’d like to give toward work like this and so much more, please make a physical donation during our time of offering, visit cityrise.org/give or click the give button in the CityRise app.

Last summer, Wendy and I had the opportunity to visit a unique place in the world. We spent a few days in Barcelona, Spain, and one of our must-see destinations was La Sagrada Familia. It's a massive basilica that many of you have probably heard of, and some of you have visited. I had heard of it, but I didn't really know much about it before we went.

It was designed by Francisco Paola del Valle in the late 1870s and into 1880. He oversaw construction for one year, 1882 to 1883, before the famous architect and artist Antoni Gaudi took over in 1883 and oversaw the project for 44 years until his death. Here's what makes it remarkable: as of this morning, that basilica is still being built, 140 years later. They're still adding to the top. You can go all the way up inside it, but the truth is, it's still becoming what it was always designed to be.

And yet, Francisco Paola del Valle knew exactly what this building would become. The plan had been drawn. It had been designed. It had been dreamed. Now, 140 years later, it's still coming to life, but it is doing so according to that original vision.

Easter works like that.

God Had a Plan, and That Plan Is Being Fulfilled
God had a plan, and nothing we have experienced, done, or carried in our lives surprises Him. Nothing falls outside the scope of what He had designed from the very beginning. That should bring us a great deal of comfort, especially as we begin a five-week sermon series called "The Power of the Cross," moving toward the celebration of Easter.

Looking at Genesis 3 and Luke 24, we find that the cross was woven into the very fabric of God's blueprint, even before people were created, even before time began.

The cross was not God's emergency response to our colossal failure. He didn't look down and think, Oh no, they really messed this up. Now I have to come up with something else. Plan A didn't work. God is bigger than that. Much bigger than that.

From the very beginning, He revealed through Scripture that a wounded deliverer would crush the serpent and redeem His people. That's what He set out to do. And indeed, it is what He has done.

That truth brings me real comfort: God had a plan for our soul-crushing dilemma before we even knew we had one.

The Fall: What Went Wrong in the Garden
When sin entered the garden, it shattered trust. It perverted desire. It introduced guilt, shame, curses, and death into a world that had been entirely perfect.

Genesis 3:1-6 gives us the account: "Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, 'Did God actually say, "You shall not eat of any tree in the garden"?' And the woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, "You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die."' But the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.' So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate."

This moment represents a seismic shift in how Adam and Eve viewed their place in the garden. Go back just one verse to Genesis 2:25 and you find this: "And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed." In literally one breath of Scripture, everything perfect that God had created in the garden is shattered through the sinful choice perpetrated by the serpent and agreed to by the first two humans.

What Life in the Garden Actually Looked Like
These were people intimately and perfectly created by God. He loved them. He walked with them every day. They were in constant fellowship with Him. They lived in a lush garden where every single provision for their well-being was freely available, requiring very little effort on their part. They were completely comfortable with who they were and how they had been made.

Genesis 2:15-17 shows us their standing before the fall: "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 'You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.'"

God created trees that were good for food, plants, and animals, but among them, two trees in particular stood out: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God specifically told Adam not to eat from the second one. He set clear parameters around what was off-limits in the garden. Everything is yours. Nothing is withheld except this one thing.

Why God Built in a Choice
This raises a fair question. If God is perfect and creates a perfect world with perfect people, how does this kind of colossal failure happen?

It comes down to what real love requires. For Adam and Eve to truly love God, to fully obey Him and walk with Him in genuine relationship, God had to build in a choice. He had to create the possibility of refusal so that their love and obedience could be real. Forced love is not love. God built human beings for fellowship, to walk with Him, and for that fellowship to be meaningful, they had to be able to choose it for themselves.

They chose otherwise, and the consequences were immediate and severe.

There Is No Plan B
A scarlet thread runs through all of Scripture, from Genesis through Revelation, pointing consistently toward the power of Jesus to overcome the problem that entered the world in Genesis 3. Sin, guilt, shame, death, and the curse are not problems that caught God off guard. They are precisely the problems He designed the cross to solve.

This is not a salvage operation. It was never a course correction. God's Plan A is complete. It is perfect. It is exactly what He designed it to be, and He had no need for a backup.

His way is the only path to restored relationship with our Heavenly Father. If you're looking for answers to the age-old problem of sin, curses, death, and guilt in this world, the answer is Jesus. You can know, before you leave today, that you have taken hold of Him as your Savior. It really is that straightforward.

The Comfort of a God Who Never Panics
The cross was never an afterthought. God did not look at human history and improvise. He looked at human history and executed the plan He had already written.

That matters because it means nothing in your life is outside His knowledge or beyond His reach. The brokenness you carry, the ways you have failed, the mess you are currently standing in, none of it surprised Him. None of it required Him to rethink the plan. From the very beginning, He saw it all, and He designed a way through.

La Sagrada Familia is still under construction, but it is becoming exactly what its architect designed it to be. The same is true of God's redemptive plan. It has been unfolding for thousands of years, and it is becoming exactly what He always intended: the full restoration of what was lost in the garden, accomplished through the cross, secured in the resurrection.

That is the power of the cross. And that is where we are headed this Easter season.



This blog is based on the message shared by Executive Pastor Kirby Follis at our CityRise Bellaire campus on Sunday, March 8, 2026. Check out the full message below!

Dear Church Family,
 
I know many of you are enjoying Spring Break this week, whether that means traveling, spending time with family, or simply enjoying a lighter flow of traffic around town.
 
This past Sunday we began our Easter sermon series, “The Power of the Cross.” As we move through these weeks leading to Easter, we’ll be reflecting on the power of the life-changing truth of what Jesus accomplished through His sacrifice and resurrection.
 
If you’re away this Sunday, you can always join us online! We have livestreams and replays each week at cityrise.org/live, and we’d love for you to stay connected wherever you are.
 
And as Easter approaches, now is a great time to begin thinking about who you might invite. Easter weekend is one of the most meaningful opportunities we have each year to welcome friends, neighbors, and family members to hear the good news of Jesus.
 
You can find all of our Easter service times and special Easter-related events at cityrise.org/easter.

I’m praying that these weeks leading up to Easter on Sunday, April 5 will deepen our gratitude for the cross and renew our hope in the resurrection.
 
We’ll see you on Sunday, Church Family.
 
 
Expecting Greater,
Pastor Roger

Because you give, CityRise is able to provide help and hope to cancer patients in need through Mercy House Ministries. For 30 years, Mercy House has provided free housing to cancer patients world-wide through donations. What once began with one house has now grown to three locations and 16 bedrooms in the Houston area. If you feel led to serve in this ministry, please contact Celina Pena. If you’d like to give toward work like this and so much more, please make a physical donation during our time of offering, visit cityrise.org/give or click the give button in the CityRise app.

Dear Church Family,
 
Over the past few weeks, our church family has experienced some truly special moments together as Pathways has begun to unfold. Advance Commitment Night (February 22) and Commitment Sunday (this past Sunday, March 1) were filled with worship, testimonies, prayer, and the quiet courage of people stepping forward in faith.
 
One of the central Scriptures guiding this season is 1 Chronicles 29:16: “O Lord our God, all this abundance . . . comes from your hand and is all your own.”
 
In that passage, God’s people were bringing offerings for the building of the temple, and David reminded them of a powerful truth: everything given to the Lord ultimately comes from Him. That perspective has shaped Pathways from the beginning, from us recognizing that we simply return to God what already belongs to Him.
 
Advance Commitment Night was especially memorable. Close to 200 people gathered for worship and testimonies at the West U Baptist campus, and many took an early step of commitment toward the Pathways vision. Afterward, on the playground and future site of the Gallery space, we shared ice cream and conversations about the hopes for what God may do through the (next hundred) years ahead.

Then on Commitment Sunday across our campuses, many more joined in that same spirit of faith—submitting commitment cards, praying together, and taking part in what God is beginning through Pathways. 

For those who are still praying about their next step, you can submit a commitment anytime at cityrise.org/pathways.

Looking ahead, we want you to be ready for Sunday, March 22 when we’ll gather for a special morning called Pathways Celebration & First Big Give. During our services, we’ll share a Pathways update on commitments and encourage everyone to bring their first gift toward Pathways.

A quick reminder that Daylight Saving Time begins this weekend, so don’t forget to spring forward Saturday night! And since Spring Break begins for many families next week, we’re praying that those who are traveling enjoy a refreshing and safe time away. Don’t forget you can livestream CityRise services anywhere in the world at cityrise.org/live!
 
Thank you for continuing to pray, participate, and step forward in faith during this Pathways season. We’ll see you on Sunday, Church Family!
 
 
Expecting Greater,
Pastor Roger

Any work built for the Lord will outlive the one who builds it. That is the profound reality woven through King David's final act as king of Israel, and it carries a question worth sitting with: are you building something that will still matter when you are gone?

When we worship, another generation will worship after us. When we give, another generation will be blessed by it. When we build the Lord's house, another generation will rise to lead in that house. And when we sow into God's kingdom, people we will never meet will reap from that sowing. This is what the Bible calls a lasting legacy, and it is not accidental. It is intentional, sacrificial, and rooted in a purpose larger than any single life.

In 1 Chronicles 29:18-25, we find King David in his final sacred assembly. He has led Israel for 40 years. He is a great king, described as a man after God's own heart, and now he stands before the nation for the last time. He has gathered the people, received their offerings, and prayed over their commitment to build a temple he will never set foot in. What he says and does in these closing moments reveals a pathway of permanent purpose worth studying carefully.

Permanent Purpose Begins with Hearts Anchored in God's Purposes
Verse 18 records the closing portion of David's prayer: "O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts towards you."

David is not praying a small prayer. He is not praying a temporary prayer. Notice the language he uses: "keep forever," "preserve continually," "guard permanently." He is asking God to establish His purposes in the hearts of His people, not just for that generation but for every generation that follows. The phrase "direct their hearts" means to make them steadfast, unmovable in God's ways.

This is the foundation of building a lasting legacy: a heart aligned with the heart of God. Because hearts shape households, and households shape generations.

Sociologist Richard L. Dugdale studied this in 1877 when he traced 42 different men in the New York prison system back to a single ancestor, a man named Max Jukes. The results were staggering. Jukes' descendants included 7 murderers, 60 thieves, 190 prostitutes, 150 other convicts, 310 paupers, and 440 who were physically destroyed by addiction to alcohol. Of the 1,200 descendants studied, 300 died prematurely.

But a contemporary of Max Jukes tells a different story. Jonathan Edwards was a Puritan pastor and theologian in the 1700s, known for deep faith, remarkable intellect, and strong moral character. He entered Yale at 13 and later became president of Princeton. Alongside his wife Sarah, he had 11 children and built a family life centered on daily conversation and prayer. The legacy of that faithfulness is almost impossible to comprehend. Edwards' descendants include one United States vice president, one dean of a law school, one dean of a medical school, three U.S. senators, three governors, three mayors, 13 college presidents, 30 judges, 60 doctors, 65 professors, 75 military officers, 80 public office holders, 100 lawyers, 100 clergymen, and 285 college graduates.

This is what sociologists now call the five-generation rule: the example you set in your family, or fail to set, carries ripple effects through at least the next five generations.

David was praying for exactly this. God, anchor these people, their children, and their children's children in Your purposes. Make it permanent.

How you run and finish your race matters.
Permanent Purpose Looks Beyond the Current Leader to Future Leaders Yet to Come
Verse 19 shifts David's prayer from the people to one person in particular: "Grant to Solomon, my son, a whole heart, that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, that he may build the palace for which I have made provision."

David's final prayer for his son has three movements. First, he prays for a whole heart, asking for integrity, devotion, and undivided loyalty. Second, he prays for obedient action, that Solomon would keep God's ways and perform them, not just know them. Third, he prays for a fulfilled calling, that Solomon would build what God has ordained for his life.
My father has always encouraged me in three phrases: Good job. Keep it up. Stay near to the heart of God. Fulfill your calling. It would be a shame to mess it up now. That is a father speaking life into the next generation. David does the same here. His prayer is not simply, "Lord, help my son do well." It is, "Lord, shape him to carry Your work forward. Give him character, courage, capacity, and completion."

But here is the deeper truth: Solomon is not the end of the story. He is simply the next chapter. As David prepared what Solomon would build and lead, another leader would follow Solomon, and another generation after that.

This is why building the Lord's house matters. It becomes a launching pad for future generations, a spiritual home for people not yet born. It is a place where new faith is formed, new leaders are raised, and new worshipers are shaped.

David was not building God's house for himself. He would never even see it completed. He was building for the future because God's purposes outlive any single person, including David himself.

Every Act of Generosity Becomes a Platform for Someone Else's Tomorrow
The assembly responds to David's prayer with wholehearted worship. They bowed their heads, paid homage to the Lord, and offered sacrifices in abundance: 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, with drink offerings for all Israel. "And they ate and drank before the Lord on that day with great gladness." Then Solomon was made king the second time, anointed as prince and priest, seated on the throne of the Lord in place of his father David.

The scene is remarkable because of what it represents. An entire generation giving with joy, not compulsion, toward something they may not fully benefit from themselves. They are investing in what comes next. Their sacrifice would fund the construction of a temple that would serve generations they would never meet.

That is the nature of kingdom generosity. Every offering made in faith becomes the foundation someone else stands on. Every prayer prayed over the next generation creates spiritual momentum that carries forward. Every commitment made to the house of the Lord extends its walls into the future.

Building a Lasting Legacy Is an Investment in People You Will Never Meet
This is the heart of David's final message: the things you build for God outlast you. The temple was not just a building project. It was David's investment in the future of God's people, made concrete through preparation, sacrifice, and prayer, even though he would never enter its courts.

We have the same privilege today. We can invest in something that will outlast us, something that will have impact far into future generations and into eternity. We can make commitments that declare we are standing for the house of the Lord. We can give, pray, serve, and build with the full understanding that the return on that investment will not always be visible in our lifetime, and that is exactly the point.

Permanent Purpose Produces Generational Fruit
The passage ends with this summary of Solomon's reign: "And the Lord made Solomon very great in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel."

What David planted, God multiplied. What David prepared, God honored. The faithfulness of one generation created conditions for blessing in the next.

That is the promise embedded in a life built for permanent purpose. The harvest is not always yours to hold. Sometimes you prepare the soil, plant the seed, and another generation brings in the crop. But the sowing is never wasted. God accounts for every act of faithfulness, every sacrifice made in His name, every prayer offered over the next generation.

King David shows us what it looks like to live, lead, and finish well. He anchored his heart in God's purposes. He prayed for future leaders. He built something he would never see completed. And he did it all with gladness.

That is building a lasting legacy. Not for our own name, but for God's kingdom, for the generations that follow, and for the people we will never meet who will one day worship in the house we helped build.

The question is not whether your life will leave an impact. It will. The question is what kind.



This blog is based on the message shared by Senior Pastor Dr. Roger Patterson at our CityRise West U Baptist campus on Sunday, March 1, 2026. Check out the full message below!

Joy is one of the most powerful emotions we experience, and it is also one of the most chased. People spend entire lifetimes searching for something that produces it and sustains it. But there is a joy that comes when we bring our resources to the Lord, when we get in on what God is doing, that exceeds anything that can be manufactured. It is not momentary. It lasts.

That kind of joy is exactly what we find in 1 Chronicles 29, where King David stands before all of Israel in what may be his final great public act. He is old, passing the throne to his son Solomon, and leading a national assembly to give toward the building of the great temple. He has gathered resources, brought a gift himself, invited all his leaders to give, and when they all give freely and wholeheartedly, there is great joy in the midst of it all.

That is what we want. Not obligatory giving, not reluctant generosity, but the kind of whole-hearted, joyous offering that David describes in verses 10 through 17. And understanding how to get there starts with a single shift in perspective.

Joyful Worship Begins With a View of God
Before David says anything about giving, he looks up. He fixes his eyes on who God is. The text says that when the people gave freely and with a whole heart, David the king also rejoiced, and then he blesses the Lord in the presence of the entire assembly.

"Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel, our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all." (1 Chronicles 29:10-12)

Notice the posture first. The word "blessed" here, at its Hebrew root, means to kneel and to savor. David, the king of Israel, took a knee before God in front of everybody. The most powerful person in the room lowered himself. That humble posture is the beginning of everything that follows.

The Names David Uses
David is precise in how he addresses God, and those names carry enormous weight.
He opens with "O Lord," which in the Hebrew is Yahweh, the covenant name of God. This is the name God spoke to Moses at the burning bush: I AM that I AM. It is the name of the covenant-keeping God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When Moses asked who he should say was sending him into Egypt, God answered, "Tell them I AM is sending you." That is the God David is addressing. Not a distant force or a general spiritual energy, but a God who makes promises and keeps them.

Then David calls Him "the God of Israel, our father." The word translated "God" here is Elohim, which means the supernatural being who created and rules over all the universe. There is no God bigger. He is both intensely personal and utterly supreme.

And then come the words "forever and ever," which means this is not a God who was covenant-keeping and powerful in some distant past. He is this way today. For you, right now.

What Is Your View of God?
This is the question David's prayer opens up for every one of us. Is your view of God that He is personal, that He is attentive, that He sees what is happening in your life and in your struggles and in your heart and on your journey? And do you believe He is powerful enough to actually do something about it?

Because if your view of God has shrunk, if He feels distant or indifferent or incapable, then giving becomes a transaction rather than a joy. Worship becomes performance rather than response. And life with Him becomes something endured rather than something lived.

The God David is describing is not vague or passive. He is the Lord Jesus Christ, who came from heaven to earth and embodied the exact character of the Father. In Jesus, we have His teaching, His ethic, His wisdom, and His heart laid bare. And we have the story that He went to the cross on your behalf, willingly laying down His life, paying for your sin. He loves you. He redeemed you. And when you come to Him in faith, He puts His Spirit in your heart. He is personal to you.

He is also all-powerful. He is a waymaker. He moves mountains. He parts waters. He brings rivers from the desert. He makes you lie down in green pastures and leads you beside quiet waters, restoring your soul, guiding you in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. He guides you in right paths as you walk with Him.

"Of Your Own Have We Given You"
After this sweeping view of who God is, David lands on something that reframes generosity entirely.

"But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you." (1 Chronicles 29:14)
This single line dissolves the illusion that we are doing God a favor when we give. Everything David brought to the temple, every resource gathered by every leader in that assembly, already belonged to God. They were simply returning what was His. And somehow, in the act of returning it, there was great joy.

This is the paradox of generosity: what you give away, you actually keep. The satisfaction David's people experienced was not despite the giving. It was because of it.

David goes further: "We are strangers before you, and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding." (1 Chronicles 29:15) This is not pessimism. It is clarity. When you understand that your days are limited and that nothing you hold in your hands is ultimately yours to keep, giving becomes less of a sacrifice and more of a privilege.

Tested Hearts and Joyful Offerings
David closes this section with a statement about the interior life of giving: "I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you." (1 Chronicles 29:17)

God is not moved primarily by the size of what is given. He is moved by what is happening in the heart of the giver. David knew that God tests the heart, and so he gave with uprightness, with sincerity, with freedom. And when he looked around and saw his people giving the same way, freely and joyously, it deepened his joy rather than diminishing it.

Joyful generosity is contagious. It is also evidence of something happening at a deeper level, where a person has genuinely encountered the God who owns everything and chooses to give anyway, out of love.

A Posture Worth Taking
The posture David modeled in 1 Chronicles 29 is available to any of us. It begins not with a bigger budget or a bolder resolution, but with lifting our eyes to see God as He is: covenant-keeping, all-powerful, personal, eternal, and worthy of every resource we hold in trust.

When that view of God is clear, giving stops being a burden and becomes what it was always meant to be: an act of worship, an expression of trust, and a source of deep and lasting joy.

If you are stuck, if God feels distant or if generosity feels more like obligation than overflow, the invitation is the same as it was for David. Lift your head. See who He is. And let that view change everything else.



This blog is based on the message shared by Senior Pastor Dr. Roger Patterson at our CityRise Bellaire campus on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. Check out the full message below!

Dear Church Family,
 
What a special evening we experienced together at Advance Commitment Night this past Sunday! Nearly 200 people gathered to worship, pray, and take a step of faith through early commitments to Pathways. The testimonies were powerful, the worship was heartfelt, and the creative moments were so impactful. Even standing outside in the chilly air, eating ice cream on the playground where our future Gallery will be, felt like an exciting glimpse of what God is building in Houston and beyond!
 
We are deeply grateful for everyone who helped make the evening so stirring, as well as for those who prayerfully took that first step of commitment.

Now, we look ahead with eagerness to Commitment Sunday across all of our campuses this coming weekend on March 1! Like Advance Commitment Night, Sunday will be a joyful step as we come forward together, offering our commitment cards as an act of worship and trust. Whether you attended Advance Commitment Night or not, this Sunday is for all of us.
 
If you haven’t yet reviewed the Commitment Card, I encourage you to take a few minutes to watch this short video explaining its purpose and how it helps guide our thirty-six month commitment season. You can also complete your commitment online at cityrise.org/pathways by clicking the COMMIT button in the menu.

Let’s continue praying boldly and believing that God will do more than we could ask or imagine as we walk this Pathways journey together.
 
We’ll see you on Sunday, Church Family!
 

Expecting Greater,
Pastor Roger

There is a joy that cannot be manufactured.
A joy that money cannot buy.
A joy that circumstances cannot steal.
A joy that grows out of a heart that sees God clearly and responds wholeheartedly.

David has led the people in sacrificial giving — and their hearts are full.

But instead of focusing on numbers, strategies, or construction timelines, David does the most important thing a leader can do:

He worships.

Because generosity without worship is fundraising. But generosity rooted in worship is revival.

Let’s walk through David’s prayer and discover the pathway of joyful worship.

1 Chronicles 29:10-17
10 Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 13 And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.
14 “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. 15 For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding. 16 O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. 17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you.
 
1. JOYFUL WORSHIP BEGINS BY SEEING GOD AS HE IS (vv.10–11)

1 Chronicles 29:10-11
10 Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.

Notice a few things here:

Bless – At its root, it means to kneel and favor.

So, I see David here taking a posture of humility…maybe he goes to his knees in front of all the people and then he:

• Blessed – or Favored God – “Blessed are you – You are our FAVORITE! We lower ourselves to show you worth!”

Then, notice the names of God he uses:

• O Lord– this is the covenant name of God, Yahweh – I am that I am…this is the special name for God for Israel…the God of Covenant Promise who obligates himself to keep his promises.
• The God of Israel our Father – this is Elohim – that’s the term for the word “God” here. Elohim is the supernatural being who created and rules over the universe.

So, the beginning point of David’s prayer, as he begins with God…seeing him for who He is –is that God is both Personal and All Powerful!

Then he adds, “…forever and ever.”

He’s both personal – keeping his covenant promises, and All powerful ruling over all – and he is this way forever and ever!

That means that He, the Lord, is this way today!

Are you seeing God as both personal to you, and all powerful – sovereign over all things?

• Are you stuck?
• Are you feeling that God doesn’t know or notice you?
• Are you lethargic to life, to him, to the opportunities right before you?

Do you know that you don’t have to live this way?
 
He’s personal to you. He knows you. He picked you. He died for you. He Rose from the Dead for you. He is a God of covenant! A promise Keeper.

And He is also all powerful. He’s a Way Maker.

• He moves mountains.
• He parts the waters.
• He brings rivers in the desert.
• He lays me down in green pastures.
• He leads me beside still waters.
• He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

Are you fighting Him and His leading?
 
Friend, you aren’t going to win that one! He’s all powerful!

Look at his character and nature and lower yourself to him. Take a knee before Him and recognize His great worth!

Look now at verse 11a.

1 Chronicles 29:11a
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours.

Listen to these five words…

• Greatness
• Power
• Glory
• Victory
• Majesty

These are words for the Hall of Fame Inductees, for Presidents, for Kings.

Greatness – “Eminence” – the property possessed by something or someone of Great Importance

I did a leader training for denominational leaders of a different denomination…won’t tell you which one – but the first event was at the leader of the denomination’s church. He was on the stage, and everyone kept thanking him and using this term – “Your Eminence.”

I was like…that’s wrong. That’s just a man…there’s no Eminence there!

But, it wasn’t my party! They just brought me in to invest into their leaders, so I did that.

Power – Physical Strength
Glory --  Splendor; the quality of being magnificent or splendid.
Victory – Another word for Glory – the State of High Honor
Majesty – that quality which inspires awe

Majesty is that feeling you get when you are filled with awe as you look out over the mountain range at the end of a long hike…as you see the beauty of the Caribbean Sea on a perfect vacation. It’s an awe because of how God reveals himself to us.

Verse 11 concludes with:

1 Chronicles 29:11c
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.

This almost sounds like the end of the Lord’s prayer –

Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever!

David is making sure that God and all Israel knows that the Lord is to be lifted over all things in our lives…in our homes, in our families, in our work, in our accomplishments, in our nation!

So, he begins with God — not with the people, not with the project, not with himself.

The most important thing we must do before we commit to this project, is make sure we have a proper view of the Lord God. If we want joy, we must be a people of worship and adoration.

Joy begins with adoration. It begins with beholding God’s character. Let’s look at this second principle.

2. JOYFUL WORSHIP RECOGNIZES GOD AS THE SOURCE OF EVERYTHING (vv.12–13)

1 Chronicles 29:12-13
12 Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 13 And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.
 
Have you acknowledged what David acknowledges?

Here are three things right here that David acknowledges and the moment you begin to acknowledge these things in your life you look at your resources through the lens of STEWARDSHIP versus the lens of OWNERSHIP.

David Acknowledges…

• God owns everything
• God gives everything
• God sustains everything

Here is what is key -- This truth frees your heart, because…

What you give is simply returning what was already God’s.

Listen to Matthew Henry’s great commentary on this passage. I believe he has a fresh insight for us.

David was now old and looked upon himself as near his end; and it well becomes aged saints, and dying saints, to have their hearts much enlarged in praise and thanksgiving. This will silence their complaints of their bodily infirmities, and help to make the prospect of death itself less gloomy. David’s psalms, toward the latter end of the book, are most of them psalms of praise. The nearer we come to the world of everlasting praise the more we should speak the language and do the work of that world.[1]

One of the things that I have noticed with both my dad and my father-in-law, as that the older they have gotten, the more sensitive to the things of God they have become. They are more apt to shed a tear; they reflect on things that matter more; they have a greater sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.

Shouldn’t that be the case? That those of our church community that have walked with Jesus for 40 or 50 years are closer to the things of God and the heart of God than those of us younger in the faith?
 
Some of our saints at our West U campus have been members there since the 1950’s. They are full of joy at the prospect of what we are attempting to do in the life of our church. They are hoping to lead the way…they have led the way…and they are full of praise!

The closer we get to eternity, the closer we should be to the heart of God. And the more we praise and adore our Lord, the greater our joy will be.

The United States is currently in the midst of what economists call the Great Wealth Transfer—a historic shift of assets from older generations to younger ones. As members of the Silent Generation and Baby Boomers age, trillions of dollars in financial assets, real estate, businesses, and investments are being passed down to Generation X, Millennials, and eventually Gen Z. Various financial research firms estimate that tens of trillions of dollars—potentially more than $80 trillion over the next two decades—will change hands through inheritances and estate transfers. This is not just a private family matter; it represents one of the largest reallocations of capital in modern American history, with implications for philanthropy, housing markets, entrepreneurship, church giving, and nonprofit sustainability.

This transfer is significant because younger generations tend to invest, spend, and give differently than their parents and grandparents. They often prioritize digital assets, impact investing, social entrepreneurship, and causes aligned with their values. Financial advisors, churches, and nonprofit leaders are increasingly aware that this shift will reshape how generosity, stewardship, and legacy planning are discussed.

Matthew Henry notes that David in his old age gave joyfully. And, as we talked about last week, David led the way…the leader went first.

But let me also show you something. Many senior adults…those who have so much of this wealth that will be transferred -- so many of them have the mindset that when I die, I will give it away then. I will give some to the church, some to charities that I love, and some to my children.
 
And that is wonderful. The scripture tells us that a good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.
 
But what I want you to see is this: David didn’t wait until he died to give. Because when you do that, you miss the joy of seeing what is happening with your gift.

David didn’t miss out on the joy of generosity on this side of heaven. He didn’t hold it until his last breath and then release it after his heart stopped.

No, he released it on this side of heaven, and joy and praise was the fruit of the journey. He wasn’t conditioned by his financial advisor to hold it until the end, then give it out.

His financial advisor, the Lord, had been generous to him. And in return, he was generous.
As I mention this wealth transfer, I don’t know if you heard the second part of that information. The article I referenced mentioned that leaders in philanthropy, the church, etc, are going to see a shift in how giving takes place.

You see, the speculation is that the younger generations don’t give…at least they don’t give like their parents or grandparents did. These givers are less institutional and more cause driven.
 
Let me talk to our younger generations for a moment: If you don’t learn to give now, and find the joy in giving, and the faith-building in giving, there be far less joy in your life, your marriage, your home, and in your journey than if you learned to be a faithful, cheerful, willing giver.
 
Older saints, you have the privilege, and I would even say, responsibility, to lead with generosity because of your view of God, your walk with God, your love of God.

Younger saints, you have a responsibility to learn from your elders and not discard their faithfulness, but instead, see how they model giving in the here and now in order for the work of God’s house to be established, strengthened, sustained, and flourishing.

But more than you simply watching and observing, I want to challenge you to look at our Big God. I want to challenge you to look at his character. I want to challenge you to realize that God:

• Abounds
• Provides
• Goes Before You
• Blesses You
• Keeps You
• Promotes You
• Favors You
• Shines a light on you.

When I moved Brady to Atlanta in the summer of 2023, we were talking about next steps…his love of Emma and his desire to establish his home with her. We were talking about the journey ahead and I challenged him.

I said, “Big Jack...start tithing now…don’t wait for some day to tithe. You won’t ever feel you can afford it. But listen to me…this is how God invites you join him in what He is doing. This is how God tests you. You see, when you tithe, you trust the Lord for your daily bread. And he will highlight your labor. He will grow your faith. He will put a spotlight on you. Your bosses will say, ‘There is just something about Brady that I can’t put my finger on’…and then you will get promoted faster…you will be trusted more…you will be established by God himself in the marketplace.”

Now, let me show you where I am coming from, as some of you need to start your giving journey…

Malachi 3:6-10
6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

In this prophetic message, Malachi the prophet speaks for God. He says:

• The Lord doesn’t change…But our narrative in North American Christianity is that God doesn’t expect you to tithe any longer. But again, his character and nature is, “I the Lord do not change.”
• Cain brought an offering when he got around to it. Abel brought the firstborn of the flock. – this was before the Law, as it is the next scene in the garden.
• Abraham brought a tenth to the Priest, Melchizedek…This too is before the law…but Abraham brought a tithe.
• Jesus never invalidated the tithe.

1. 
   
   1. Hebrews is the book that speaks of Jesus being a greater sacrifice…and all that he is greater than. If anywhere in the New Testament we expect to see it invalidated, it is in the book of Hebrews, Chapter 7, which lists tithing 5 times, but it isn’t ever stated that it has ceased. 

Many people tonight, and next Sunday will bring a commitment over and above their tithe. They will bring a commitment beyond 10%, as this journey is asking people to move beyond the tenth, and pour out blessing back on the Lord for the blessing that has been poured out on them.

Remember, Malachi 3:10?

Malachi 3:10
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

You say, how can you know that the people will bring more than the tithe to give to the house of the Lord for this initiative?

Because the People of God who have been tithing have been testing God year in and year out…and guess what? Year in and Year out God has been opening the windows of heaven and pouring down blessings upon them!

They will come confidently, they will come joyfully. They will come and they will rejoice because they have tested and tried God, as He has invited them to, and He has yet to fail them.

But, if you just can’t get there…and you need a little more push, let me show you what Tithing Promises to do for you:

Tithing Promise 1:

• The Curse is Broken – Malachi 3:9

You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.

• 
  
  • 1.  V. 9 -- The curse is broken.  Tithing breaks the curse of greed and the curse of poverty.
  • Verse 9 says, “You are under a curse. . .”
  • Did you know that the curse of greed and poverty say the exact same thing?
    • Greed says, “If I had more, I would be happy.” 
    • Poverty says, “If I had more, I would be happy.”
    • Greed and poverty say the same things.  And Tithing breaks that curse and helps you discover contentment.
  • Tithing also breaks the curse of Self-Godness – I have made this money on my own and can do with it as I please. 
    • God has given you your very breath, your mind, your health, your strength, your passions, your ability to make wealth.
    • Tithing recognizes that He is God and I am not and it breaks the cursed thinking that I have done this on my own.

Tithing Promise 2:

• The Curse is Broken
• Tithing Releases God’s Bounty – Malachi 3:10

Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

When I honor God with my first, it releases his resources to meet my needs.

Financially – God will meet your needs and also bless you.  He wants to bless you.

Relationally – Because it takes faith to tithe, that faith also filters through in every area of my life.  As a result, I am more gracious with others.

Spiritually – 2 Cor. 9:6 tells us that he who sows sparingly reaps sparingly, and he who sows generously reaps generously.

V. 10 of 2 Corinthians 9 shows me the benefit of my generous sowing:  “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.”
 
Your spiritual imprint and impact and influence will increase as you honor God with your first fruits.

Again, we are looking at the Promises of God when we tithe. Here is what we can bank on:

Tithing Promise 3:

• The Curse is Broken
• Tithing Releases God’s Bounty
• Tithing Rebukes the Devourer – Malachi 3:11

I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts.

• God says, “I will deal with the devourer.”  You see, tithing removes the authority that Satan has. We see that God does amazing things to guard us and protect us against what is coming against us.
• 
  
  • In my life, the enemy is rebuked off of my kids
  • The enemy is rebuked off of my business and my contracts
  • The enemy stops robbing my time and my creativity.

Tithing Promise 4:

• The Curse is Broken
• Tithing Releases God’s Bounty
• Tithing Rebukes the Devourer
• Tithing Highlights the Laborer – Malachi 3:12

Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

• You will be seen by others.
• God allow us to be seen, to be given opportunity, promotions, contracts, that we would not have otherwise gotten. 
• You are noticed and highlighted.
• Tithers get noticed by bosses, clients, and influencers.  These in authority can’t put their finger on it, but they are attracted to us in some way.

 
Tithing Promise 5:

• The Curse is Broken
• Tithing Releases God’s Bounty
• Tithing Rebukes the Devourer
• Tithing Highlights the Laborer
• Tithing Provides Blessing for God’s People – Malachi 3:10

Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.

• The tithe meets the needs of the church’s ministry
• It enables the pastors and staff to be paid for their labor.
• It enables us to do the ministry we do week in and week out.
• It provides for parking, coffee, childcare, counseling services, our benevolent ministries and missions ministries.

When He knows your heart, you discover his heart and that he is working for you in ways you didn’t even know.

Now here is what is true…I want all of that for you. This is why I am in my son’s ear before he starts his first job in the marketplace…Brady…God will honor you…God will bless you…God will prosper you…God will protect you…Brady, your faith will grow…your trust in the Lord will increase.

I’m not teaching you anything I’m not teaching my own children. I want their prosperity…your prosperity…our prosperity together. And when you Start Your Giving Journey…When you grow in this grace of Giving…there is joy!

Will you use Pathways to begin your giving journey? Test God in this!

Let’s look at principle 3.
3. JOYFUL WORSHIP FLOWS FROM HUMILITY (vv.14–15)

1 Chronicles 29:14-15
14 “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. 15 For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding.

“But who am I… that we should be able to offer willingly?”

This is the heartbeat of worship:

• I don’t deserve the opportunity to give
• I don’t deserve the resources to give
• I don’t deserve the joy of giving

And then notice how David harkens back to Israel’s history – “For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were…”

When you listen to people’s giving testimonies, notice how many of them harken back to their humble beginnings. Notice how they reference a moment when they were young…when they had to walk by faith…and their story is one of God’s great faithfulness!
Application: My friend, everything is grace. The humble heart is the joyful heart.

Principle four…
4. JOYFUL WORSHIP CONFESSES GOD AS OWNER (v.16)

1 Chronicles 29:16
O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own.

This is our campaign theme: “All this abundance… comes from Your hand…Everything Belongs to You!”

Here is what this says to us:

• Everything we bring was God’s before it was ours.
• It says…God supplies the resources, the ability, and the desire to give.
• It shows us that Seeing God as Owner eliminates fear — if it’s His, He will continue to provide.

And then here is an image for us to consider when we consider what this verse says to us:

• Worship is most joyful when we see ourselves as channels, not reservoirs.

Last Principle…
5. JOYFUL WORSHIP PURSUES UPRIGHTNESS OF HEART (v.17)

1 Chronicles 29:17
 I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you.
 
God tests us through the journey of giving. It’s a spiritual journey, first. God tests:

• Motives…intentions…desires…and affections as He…
• 
  
  • evaluates the heart before the hand.
  • And as He shows us that Motives matter more than amounts.
• Joyful worship requires integrity, sincerity, and pure motives, as God takes pleasure in upright, willing hearts.

David leads the people into joyful worship by lifting their eyes:

• to God’s greatness
• to God’s provision
• to God’s ownership
• to God’s grace
• to God’s pleasure

Joyful worship is not about money. It is about seeing God clearly and giving freely.

  [1] Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 580). Hendrickson.



This blog is based on the message shared by Senior Pastor Dr. Roger Patterson on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, at our CityRise Bellaire campus. Check out the full message below!

Because you give, our women's ministry is able to offer events, such as the Transformation Retreat earlier this month. It was a meaningful weekend of worship, teaching, and fellowship for over 150 women from all three CityRise campuses. The CityRise women's ministry looks forward to this weekend where all of our ladies can come together as one congregation to grow and study God's Word. If you’d like to give toward work like this and so much more, please make a physical donation during our time of offering, visit cityrise.org/give or click the give button in the CityRise app.

Dear Church Family,

Thank you to all who gathered for our Business Meeting on Wednesday night! Your participation and engagement matter more than you know. We’re grateful for the unity and clarity the Lord continues to give as we look ahead to 2026 together.

I’d love for you to hear another story from within our church family, that from Jeff and Carolyn Shadwick. Jeff first came to CityRise West U Baptist looking for a neighborhood church where he could truly belong. Carolyn, arriving single and freshly out of college, was searching for the same thing: a place to be known and connected in a city full of large, anonymous spaces. What they found at CityRise was lasting fellowship.

In their interview below, they describe their giving as anchored in two pillars: Fellowship and Missions. And Jeff points to what God says in Malachi as a way to see and “test” what He will do with our cheerful giving. Check out their story below:

We are so excited for how God will provide during Pathways, and it starts this Sunday evening with Advance Commitment Night! After our special time of worship and commitment, make sure you stick around for some extra fellowship time. We are ready to lead out in this historic venture, and we pray you are, too!

We’ll see you on Sunday, Church Family!


Expectant,
Pastor Roger

P.S. Sunday morning during each of our worship services and across all our CityRise campuses will be our annual church-wide vote on committees and motions for the 2026 budget. CityRise members who are 18+ will be allowed to vote. And remember that this vote is in-person only!

In 1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark left St. Louis and stepped into land no American had mapped.

 Eight thousand miles.

Uncharted rivers.

Hostile terrain.

Brutal winters in the Bitterroots.

 They weren’t walking a road.

 They were creating one.

 They hacked through forest, dragged boats over rapids, and sketched maps by hand. What was terror for the front of the line would become direction for everyone behind them.

 Years later, families followed.

 Wagons rolled across marked trails.

Farmers carried maps.

Children walked where explorers once fought to survive.

 What required machetes became wagon wheels.

 Today, we are going to talk about the Pathway of Authentic Leadership and how it helps open the way for others.

 You know, I was reminded this week of a few things.

 First, not everyone understands the decisions we have made over the past few years.

 One of those decisions has to do with the opening, and then closing of our A Children’s Village Preschool at CityRise Bellaire.

 Before I go any further, I want to say that I want to remove barriers for people to follow the path. More importantly, I don’t want my leadership to be the barrier that would keep you from walking the path.

 So, for just a moment, I want to speak on this.

 In the Spring of 2024, we were actively recruiting families from our West U Campus to come to the Bellaire Campus when we opened the ACV in the fall. We also opened our registration up to the public.

 As we were doing this, we also had some challenging times at our West U campus in ACV. We lost some families as a result and what we thought would be two campuses that would easily fill with children in the fall, actually became two locations with plenty of space and not enough registration.

 You see, what we didn’t realize was that HISD had just opened four pre-k3 programs in the area, and their tuition was half what ours was. Moreover, if you were an English as a Second Language family, you would go for free.

 We reached out to other preschools and asked about their waiting lists. They told us, “we have had waiting lists every year. But not any more.”

 As we forecasted our finance, we realized we had a potential $500k or more loss that we would take. Our board met over this the entire school year, and then toward the end of the 2024-2025 year, we made the difficult decision to consolidate back to our West U campus.

 The consolidation worked. We were able to offer jobs, kept our director, Rosie Hirschfield, and she joined forces with Erika Roberts, and they have done a fantastic job rebuilding.

 Now, I am sure many of you don’t need that explanation, as you weren’t impacted by this. But some of you do. Further, here is what I want to say to you all.

 I am sorry. I am sorry that what we launched didn’t make. But more importantly, I am sorry that I didn’t communicate more effectively than I did in the summer of 2025. In light of the landscape, our Executive Council, the board that I chair, made the right decision. But I didn’t communicate to you well. And for that, I want to apologize.

 As we have walked through Pathways and have invited you to journey with us, some of you have had questions that we realize we need to stop and answer.

  The second thing that I have been reminded of is the fact that not everyone knows the story. Not everyone knows that Pathways is the next step in a TEN YEAR VISION.

 As a matter of fact, one of our members reached out to me asking for more information, and it made me realize, “Not everyone is living in this like you and the staff are, Roger!”

 Of course they aren’t.

 So, give me a moment here to set the table:

• Dec, 2017 – at a small gathering of senior pastors – Thom Rainer, who used to be CEO of Lifeway, spent the day with us. Rainer – “The last 100 years has seen more change than all of history combined. The next 10 years will see more change than the previous 100.”
• Feb, 2018 – 90th birthday – I began to wrestle with and then ask the question, “If we are living in a decade of coming change, where are we to be when we turn 100? What will we look like? How do we need to invest and prepare our church for a second century of ministry?”
• Notebook – Created for Greater Vision Team

 

3 Key Terms –
 Investment/Sustainability/Expansion
   We built 6 Teams:

• Facilities Safety and Improvements
• Schedule
• Sunday School/Adult Bible Study shift to Community Groups
• Expansion Team -- Emmanuel Baptist in Missouri City – Now CityRise Missouri City
• Branding – we were WUBC/Crosspoint Church – Became CityRise
• Mission Partner Team

 Our Vision Team came back with recommendations and we got to work…

• Until a pandemic broke out…
• But then, in 2022- We did the Fight For It Campaign.

 

Now, when we did the vision teams, we didn’t factor in the fact that we had to rebuild the church. So, the Lord gave me a message around a rebuild story, and we got after it, studying Ezra and Nehemiah.

 And as we studied about the rebuild of the temple and the walls of Israel, we felt led to get back to the vision, and so we stepped into Deep and Wide.
 

• It was here that we then did Deep and Wide – Deepening our Roots and Widening our Reach
• We pursued an aggressive renewal of our campuses.
• Remember, we were still calling people back, and our mindset was:

 “If we can get people investing back into the house of the Lord, we will see our church come back and be stronger for it.”

 But here is what is true, and what I want to make sure we at this campus are well aware of: Because of inflation, we were only able to do facility improvements here, though many at our West U campus as well as our Missouri Campus invested deeply. But we were only able to Renovate here at Bellaire.

 Now, I have good news for you…

 
We have the permit and are rebuilding our CRMC campus where there was significant damage. We are still trying to reach a settlement with the insurance company, but we are well underway.

 
 At West U…we have a great plans…

 Here is my heart as I talk to you about authentic leadership.

• I want to model the importance of investing in the house of the Lord. 
• I want to remove barriers you may have to follow.
• And I want to ask for your willingness…to join in…to invest alongside…to engage your heart by bringing your treasure, for “where your treasure is, your heart is there also.”

As we step into 1 Chronicles 29, King David shows us what authentic spiritual leadership looks like as he prepares the nation for the building of the temple. What he models is timeless — a blueprint for leading your family, ministry, workplace, and church.

 David doesn’t just talk about giving.

He doesn’t just talk about sacrifice.

He goes first.

And because he goes first, the people follow with joy.

 Let’s read 1 Chronicles 29:1-9.

1 Chronicles 29:1-9
1 And David the king said to all the assembly, “Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced, and the work is great, for the palace will not be for man but for the Lord God. 2 So I have provided for the house of my God, so far as I was able, the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, besides great quantities of onyx and stones for setting, antimony, colored stones, all sorts of precious stones and marble. 3 Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God: 4 3,000 talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, for overlaying the walls of the house, 5 and for all the work to be done by craftsmen, gold for the things of gold and silver for the things of silver. Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself today to the Lord?”
 6 Then the leaders of fathers' houses made their freewill offerings, as did also the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officers over the king's work. 7 They gave for the service of the house of God 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze and 100,000 talents of iron. 8 And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, in the care of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

 Let’s look at four truths about authentic leadership that we can learn from King David.

 AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP RECOGNIZES THE WEIGHT OF THE WORK

 1 Chronicles 29:1
 And David the king said to all the assembly, “Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced, and the work is great, for the palace will not be for man but for the Lord God.

 David begins:
 “The work is great… for the house will not be for man but for the LORD God.”

 David is confronted with:

• The magnitude of the mission
• The holiness of the task
• The limitations of human leaders (“Solomon is young and inexperienced”)

 Great leadership starts with deep humility. Great leadership understands the sacred purpose of the work.

 Notice this statement: “for the palace will not be for man but for the Lord God.”

 As we see in Hebrews, the tabernacle, and then later, the Temple is a replica of the heavenly throne of God.

Hebrews 9:21-24
21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. 22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
 23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

 Note here, the Tabernacle and then later the Temple are copies of the heavenly throne.

 And remember that David, at the end of 1 Chronicles 28 says that the plans he got for the Temple were from the hand of God.

1 Chronicles 28:19
 “All this he made clear to me in writing from the hand of the Lord, all the work to be done according to the plan.”

 Lastly, note what the Lord says in Exodus 25:8.

Exodus 25:8
And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.

  What David is leading toward, and what Solomon will build is an extension of the earthy copy of the heavenly throne of God. And the purpose is for the Lord…that God may dwell in their midst.

 The weight of the things of God on a leader is heavy. It’s eternal. It’s deep.

• As a husband, you should feel the weight of the things of God for your family.
• As one in the marketplace, classroom, or business office, you should feel the weight of the things of God for how you shine the light of God before others.
• There is no divide between the secular and the sacred.
• And as a pastor, the truth is the weight of the work is great. And it should be.

 The call to leading is one of service to the mission of God.

 And our understanding of the weight keeps us on our face.

The second thing I want you to see is this:

AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP GOES FIRST IN SACRIFICE

 1 Chronicles 29:2-4
 2 So I have provided for the house of my God, so far as I was able, the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, besides great quantities of onyx and stones for setting, antimony, colored stones, all sorts of precious stones and marble. 3 Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God: 4 3,000 talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, for overlaying the walls of the house…

 Notice a few phrases here:

• I have provided…
• For the house of my God…
• So far as I was able…

 Throughout the Scripture, the Lord is looking for giving according to your ability as well as a heart that is willing.

 And what David is doing here is leading out. He is going first.

 Notice also verse 3.

1 Chronicles 29:3
Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God…

 Again, a few key phrases:

• “I have a treasure of my own” – David is bringing stored resources, not just giving from his income.
• “because of my devotion” – this phrase carries with it “delight with no external compulsion.”

 So, David gives national resources and personal resources.

 And He gives:

• passionately
• generously
• joyfully
• publicly
• sacrificially

I want you to know that Julee and I are both praying about and discussing what it is we can bring to the house of the Lord. We will lead out. We will go first.

 Next Sunday night, we have Advance Commitment Night. It is here we are inviting leaders to go first. We are inviting those who are ready, to come at 6pm at our West U Campus for a special service and fellowship, and to lead out.

 If you are ready to lead out, we ask you to come.

Let’s keep at it…

  3. AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP INVITES OTHERS TO JOIN THE WORK (v.5)


 1 Chronicles 29:5
 “…and for all the work to be done by craftsmen, gold for the things of gold and silver for the things of silver. Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself today to the Lord?”

  David asks:
 “Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself today to the LORD?”

Mark Boda states…
 “Offer willingly” is an important verb in this passage for a variety of reasons. This verb comes from the Hebrew word nadab, which is “a Hebrew verbal root associated with freewill offerings given for the construction of the tabernacle by the wilderness community.”

He continues…
 The importance of this term is found in the fact that it is used seven times in thirteen verses (1 Chronicles 29:5, 6, 9 [2x], 14, 17 [2x]). Once again a tie to the construction of the tabernacle is made. The repetition of nadab “recalls the Israelite’s willing contributions given for the tabernacle (Heb. n-d-b, Exod 25:2; 35:5, 21, 22, 29), thus providing further connection between these two stories. The cumulative effect is that the tempo is not to be seen as something entirely new, but rather, it is a continuation of God’s intention to dwell with his people that God had made known to Moses (25:8).”

 King David does not say:

• “You must…”
• “You better…”
• “You owe it to God…”

 He simply models sacrificial devotion because of his heart for God and then invites others to willingly join in.

 But notice something with me also.

 David doesn’t just invite them to give. He also invites them to “consecrate themselves.”

 1 Chronicles 29:5b
 “Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself today to the Lord?”

 The word “Consecrate” is a setting oneself apart to the Lord.

 This isn’t just a financial transaction.

 David is inviting them to spiritual transformation.

 
 At the end of my study break last summer, the Lord gave me the devotional 40 Days of Faith. I was just doing my own Bible Study and I wasn’t looking for anything more to develop. I had developed our preaching calendar. I had developed this series in particular. And it was a Saturday morning when I was up early doing my time with the Lord.

 I was reading Hebrews 10 and came to Hebrews 10:39 that says, “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.”
 And I said, “Lord, what is this faith?”

 Then for the next hour, the Lord gave me 40 principles as I walked through Hebrews 11. When Julee came down after waking up, I told her, “The Lord has given me my next book…” and it’s for the Pathways Initiative.

 I want you to step back for a moment with me and see what I see.

 God is inviting us into something significant that will require resolve, commitment, willingness, and sacrifice. And it is in this, that He gave us a journey to prepare our faith. Because this will have to be done in faith.

 We have spent 40 days preparing…setting ourselves apart in faith, and now, the invitation is to bring a “willingness.”

 Are you willing? If not, why not?

Lastly…
  4. AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP PRODUCES A JOYFUL RESPONSE (vv.6–9)

 1 Chronicles 29:6-9
 6 Then the leaders of fathers' houses made their freewill offerings, as did also the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officers over the king's work. 7 They gave for the service of the house of God 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze and 100,000 talents of iron. 8 And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, in the care of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

  The leaders respond:

• rulers
• commanders
• officers
• stewards
• people
• families

 Then v.9:
 “Then the people rejoiced… for they had offered willingly, with a whole heart…”

Can I tell you something?
This is what I want for you:

• I want your rejoicing.
• I want you to bring your whole heart to the Lord.
• I want you to offer freely to the Lord.

 In that people was a:

• willingness
• unity
• passion
• joy
• worship

 When leaders go first with generosity, joy is unleashed among God’s people.

Advance Commitment Night
 Leaders go first — and the joy of the people follows.

 If you are (any of these):

• ready to bring your commitment
• willing to lead out

 Next Sunday night at 6pm (West U campus)
 
 Consecrate yourselves…bring your willingness…bring your commitment card and let us know of your commitment.

  It’s going to be a special combined service…Aaron, band, our West U choir, a time of fellowship that follows.

 It’s going to be an amazing evening! Please join us.



This blog is based on the message shared by Senior Pastor Dr. Roger Patterson on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, at our CityRise Bellaire campus. Check out the full message below!

Because you give, our Student Ministry team serves over 100 middle and high schoolers at one of our three campuses each Sunday. Last year, over 200 attended VBX and nearly 70 went on mission trips. Students are not only showing up, but they are actively engaging, building relationships, and growing in their understanding of God's Word. If you’d like to give toward work like this and so much more, please make a physical donation during our time of offering, visit cityrise.org/give or click the give button in the CityRise app.

Dr. John Maxwell once said, "Action is the great separator." It’s a simple but powerful truth. Many of us dream. We write down goals. We develop plans. But the difference between those who fulfill their calling and those who don’t is one thing: action.

You can have the right heart. You can even have a clear plan. But until you take action, you’ll never step into the fullness of what God has prepared for you.

So why don’t we act? We wait for perfect conditions. We hope fear will disappear. We long for more clarity. But the truth is, God leads His people to act even when fear is still present.

David’s Charge to Solomon: From Vision to Action
In 1 Chronicles 28:20-21, David speaks directly to his son Solomon and the leaders of Israel during a solemn assembly. Solomon is about to become king, and the great task before him is the building of the temple. The vision is clear. The plan is set. Now, it’s time to act.

"Be strong and courageous, and do it. Do not be afraid, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished."

This is the pivot. The turning point from divine revelation to human participation. David gives Solomon not just a plan, but a legacy, and the call is clear: act.

The First Principle: God Calls Us to Be Strong and Courageous
The first principle in moving from planning to action is this: God calls us to be strong and courageous when He invites us to act.

David isn’t just giving Solomon a pep talk. He’s reminding him that courage comes not from self-confidence, but from God’s presence.

This echoes the words God gave Joshua. In Joshua 1, as he prepared to lead Israel into the Promised Land, God repeatedly told him to be strong and courageous. Leadership would be hard. The journey would be daunting. But the strength to move forward would come from God, not from within.

What Does It Mean to Be Strong and Courageous?
David’s words to Solomon are loaded with meaning.

To be strong means to become powerful beyond the average. It’s an invitation to grow beyond current capacity, not by self-effort, but by tapping into the strength God supplies. God has strength to give away, and when He gives it, He is no weaker for it.

God is calling Solomon to become stronger than he currently is. And He does the same with us.

To be courageous is not the absence of fear, but the ability to face and deal with fear without flinching. Courage moves forward even when fear is still in the room.

David also says, "Do not be afraid, and do not be dismayed." These two words point to different kinds of pressure.

Afraid speaks to internal fear, an anxious apprehension about what might happen. It's when we see a situation, play it out in our minds, and then start speaking defeat before anything has even happened.

Dismayed refers to external pressure that brings discouragement. It’s the voice that says, "That’ll never work," or "You’re not enough." When we receive that discouragement, it lowers our spirits, weakens our resolve, and tempts us to quit.

David knows that fear and discouragement are coming for Solomon, just like they come for all leaders. So he prepares him not with mere optimism, but with a powerful reminder of who is with him.

The Strength Behind the Command
David roots Solomon’s courage in the presence of God: "For the Lord God, even my God, is with you."

The Hebrew makes this even more rich. "The Lord God" is Yahweh Elohim.

Yahweh is God’s covenant name, the one He gave Moses at the burning bush. It speaks to God's faithfulness, His nearness, His personal commitment to His people.

Elohim is the name that speaks of power. Creator. Ruler. Sustainer of the universe.

So David is saying, "The God who made a covenant with our people, and the God who made the heavens and the earth, He is with you."

He is both personal and all-powerful.

This is what Solomon is being invited to walk in. This is what gives the courage to act. And this is what’s available to us as well.

The Same God Is With Us Today
If you’ve been saved by grace through faith, you have the Spirit of God with you. Just as David told Solomon, just as God told Joshua, He tells us:
"Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you and uphold you with my righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10).

God’s presence is the source of strength that surpasses fear and overcomes adversity.
So whether it’s leading a family, stepping into ministry, giving toward a vision, or simply making a decision you know God is calling you to, do it with courage.

What Is God Calling You to Do?
What step of faith is God asking you to take today?

Maybe it’s something big. Maybe it’s something private. But if it requires courage, then it’s probably connected to your calling. And if it stretches your faith, then it’s going to need God's strength to carry it out.

Faith is not proven by ideas or dreams. Faith is proven by action.

Obedience is not a concept. Obedience is a movement.

Let this be the first principle that carries you forward: God calls us to be strong and courageous, and He promises to be with us every step of the way.

So take the step. Make the move. Do the work. He is with you.



This blog is based on the message shared by Senior Pastor Dr. Roger Patterson at our CityRise West U Baptist campus on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. Check out the full message below!

Dear Church Family,

I hope you’re having a great week. I’m grateful for the way God is already using this early season of Pathways to strengthen our faith and our unity as a church family!

I have another story that I believe will encourage you. Jarrod and Stephanie Whitfield share how they first visited CityRise Bellaire in 2019. At that time, they were praying for a community where they could plant deep roots and truly do life with other believers. God answered that prayer quickly! A simple invitation turned into a church family who has walked with them through every season.

They’ve learned how authentic community fuels generosity, how obedience can be contagious, and how God supplies “in real time” through the people around us.

By the way, have you seen the special Pathways website yet? At cityrise.org/pathways, you can see architect renderings, watch testimony videos, and learn more about making a commitment to this three-year initiative. Please continue to pray about your part in this commitment.

An important aspect to remember is that this commitment is different than the Deep & Wide Initiative: Deep & Wide was a one-fund for budget and capital expenditures; Pathways is a two-fund, in which we are asking for continued gifts to the church operating budget and for a new commitment to the capital expenditures fund. If you are not yet giving, we invite you to join the Pathways Fund Initiative to begin your giving journey at CityRise! If you are already giving, we are asking you to continue giving to the operating budget and also give beyond toward the Pathways fund for a three-year period.

In light of this, we are planning a special service at our West U Baptist campus entitled Advance Commitment Night on Sunday evening, February 22, at 6P for those who are ready to lead out with a commitment to Pathways. It will be a sweet time of fellowship, worship, prayer, and commitment. If you are ready to lead in your commitment, please join us for this special service—you won’t want to miss it!

As we look at the rest of this month, we have a handful of moments I’d like to highlight:

First, we will hold a Church-Wide Business Meeting next week on Wednesday, February 18 at 6P at our West U Baptist campus (in Room 208/209). This will be a time to walk through the annual church motions and committees together, ask questions, and make sure you and our members are informed.

That same Wednesday evening, we’ll also gather for our Ash Wednesday Communion Service at 6:30P, also at the West U Baptist campus. This service has always been a meaningful night of worship, prayer, and the Lord’s Supper to begin the Lenten season together. Whether you’re able to join us for the business meeting, the Ash Wednesday service, or both, I hope you’ll make plans to be there.

Then, on Sunday morning, February 22, we will hold our annual church vote during all on-campus worship services at every location. Official church members who are 18+ and attending in person will be able to vote. (There will be no online voting).

Lastly, I wanted to share with you correspondence from the Bellaire Campus Pastor Selection Committee. They write:




Thank you for leaning in and leading out during these early weeks of Pathways. God is shaping our hearts, strengthening our trust, and calling us to live generously. Let’s keep praying, listening, and taking the next step of obedience together as He leads.

We’ll see you on Sunday, Church Family!


Expecting Greater,
Pastor Roger

Hebrews 11:39-40 – And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

Former NFL quarterback and Dallas Theological Seminary Professor Dr. David Klinger answered this question posed of him, very succinctly. The question was, “How were the people of the Old Testament saved?” His answer was simple: “They placed their faith in the one who was to come. We have placed our faith in the one who came.”

The entire theme of the book of Hebrews is the supremacy of Jesus Christ and how He is better. These in the hall of faith are now the ones surrounding us as the cloud of witnesses. Hebrews 12:1-2 states:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Remember, friends, when we see the word “therefore” in the Bible, we need to ask, “What’s that therefore, there for?” The writer is saying, “Now that you have all of that information about the people of faith in chapter 11, live this way…” It is a call to make application in light of the information that you now possess.

These in chapter 11 make up the great cloud of witnesses. They have run their race, even though they hadn’t yet received their reward. Now, it’s time for us to run our race. They looked ahead to the One who was coming and to the city whose architect and builder is the Lord. They endured suffering, hardship, and persecution. They were challenged, tested, and it took all that they had. And they were faithful.

On the other side of the cross, we are to look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. We are to see what he endured and know it was worth it, because something better was coming. It was so much better that, “…for the joy that was set before him endured the cross…”

What is this joy? I believe it was the eternal throne, seated at the right hand of the Father. It is here in Hebrews 12 that it is noted that Jesus “…is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” This is the fourth time in Hebrews this is stated. This enthronement signifies victory. One writer says, “Jesus assumed that triumphant position at the right hand of the throne of God (cf. 1:3; 8:1; 10:12) which presages His and the believers’ final victory (cf. 1:13–14).”[1]

It is this coming victory that we long for and press on toward. As a result, we are to throw off all sin that entangles us and run with perseverance and endurance the race marked out for us.

In 1968, the Summer Olympics were held in Mexico City. During the marathon, John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania fell badly, dislocating his knee and injuring his shoulder. Most athletes would have quit. He was hurt, in last place, and limping badly. In fact, doctors urged him to stop running. But Akhwari pressed on. Hours after the winner had crossed the finish line and the stadium lights were being shut off, he hobbled into the arena. Only a few thousand spectators remained, but they watched in awe as he painfully limped the last lap.
When asked later why he didn’t just quit, he said something unforgettable:
“My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 5,000 miles to finish it.”[2]

 That’s the picture of Hebrews 12:1. Runners in the ancient world would literally strip off their outer garments so nothing would weigh them down. No distractions. No extra weight. No unnecessary baggage. Just the race.

 In our walk with Christ, faith calls us to lay aside anything that slows us down — habits, hidden sins, fears, doubts, even good things that have become distractions. Why should we do this? Because we are called to finish. Like Akhwari, we don’t run just to start the race of faith — we run to finish it faithfully, with endurance, with our eyes fixed on Jesus.

 What weight are you carrying today that is slowing down your race of faith? Is there a habit, fear, or hidden sin that clings too closely? Lay it down at the feet of Jesus. Write it out, confess it, and ask God for the strength to run unhindered. Remember, Jesus is better!

 Prayer
Lord, show me the weights I am carrying that slow me down in following You. Give me the courage to lay aside sin, distractions, and anything that pulls my eyes off You. Strengthen me to run with endurance the race You have set before me, until the day I see You face to face. Amen.
 
[1] Hodges, Z. C. (1985). Hebrews. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 810). Victor Books.
[2] “John Stephen Akhwari.” Wikipedia. Last modified March 25, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stephen_Akhwari.

Because you give, CityRise went on its first mission trip of the year last month, serving alongside Sodzo International in Kenya. Teaming up with a local medical team, we served over 800 patients from different villages, praying and sharing the Gospel with every person. Over 300 people had eye exams and over 150 fitted with a new pair of glasses. If you’d like to give toward work like this and so much more, please make a physical donation during our time of offering, visit cityrise.org/give or click the give button in the CityRise app.

Hebrews 11:37b-38 – They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

My thermostat is set to 74 degrees. It’s a Sunday afternoon, and my wife is stretched out on the couch, taking a nap. I’ve been texting with a friend who is a Cowboys fan about the Micah Parsons trade, and he is absolutely devastated.

It’s pretty comfortable in my house today. As I read our verses for today from Hebrews 11, it is hard to really grasp this sort of reality for brothers and sisters in Christ. Yet, this is the third day of one continuous thought about those who were persecuted for their faith, as laid out for us in Hebrews 11:36-38.

Did you know that these three verses are one sentence in the Greek? The writer has taken us from biblical examples of victory and resurrection, to suddenly walking us through painful persecution of the faithful remnant. This passage most likely refers to a mixture of figures: Old Testament prophets (especially Elijah, Elisha, and others who lived in poverty and isolation), David hiding in caves, and the Maccabean martyrs who fled to the wilderness and suffered for their faith.

The author of Hebrews is painting a broad portrait of faithful endurance in the face of mistreatment and exile, not necessarily identifying just one person. Notice something with me as we are nearing the finish line together in this 40-day devotional.

It says in verse 38, “…of whom the world was not worthy…” F.F. Bruce states, “the phrase ‘of whom the world was not worthy’ is a striking reversal: the world despised them as worthless, but in God’s sight, they were too good for the world.”[1]

 I love that perspective. The world discards the people of God, but God has not discarded the people of the world. Instead, He has continued to provide a faithful witness to each generation so that He can reach every single nation, tribe, and tongue.

 In the Middle East today, countless believers live the very reality described in Hebrews. One powerful example comes from Christians in northern Iraq during the ISIS invasion of 2014. When ISIS forces swept into Mosul, they gave Christians three options: convert to Islam, pay an impossible tax, or die. Families who had lived in the Nineveh plains for centuries were driven from their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Many fled into the desert and the mountains of Kurdistan. With no shelter, they took refuge in abandoned buildings, caves, or makeshift tents. Mothers cradled babies in the open air; the elderly limped along dusty roads; entire congregations carried crosses hidden beneath their garments.[2]

 One survivor later told Open Doors International:
 “They painted the letter ‘N’ for Nazarene on our doors to mark us as Christians. They thought we were not worthy of our homes. But I realized — in God’s eyes, they were not worthy of us, for we belong to Christ.”[3]

 This testimony echoes Hebrews 11:38 — “of whom the world was not worthy.” While the world cast them out as unworthy, God saw them as His precious ones, worthy of eternal glory.

 These displaced Christians lost homes, possessions, and safety, but they did not lose faith. Gathered in tents and refugee camps, they worshiped with lifted hands, still proclaiming Jesus as Lord. Their perseverance is a modern reminder that faith can survive when stripped of every earthly comfort because knowing and following Jesus is better than anything this world has to offer.

 The world may strip us of possessions, opportunities, or even safety, but it cannot take away Christ. Will you pray again today for persecuted believers—those living in deserts, tents, or secret caves—who continue to hold fast to Jesus? Will you also ask God to give you the same faith, so that if your comforts are stripped away, you will still cling to Him?

 Prayer
Lord, strengthen Your church around the world—especially those cast out of homes, wandering in deserts and mountains, or hiding in caves because they bear Your name. Make their faith unshakable and let their witness shine in the darkness. Strengthen me also, that I may hold fast to You even if the world turns against me. May I live as one “of whom the world is not worthy.” In Jesus’ name, Amen.
 
[1] F. F. Bruce (The Epistle to the Hebrews, NICNT, 1990).
[2] “Day of the Christian Martyr: Christians Persecuted in Mosul Iraq (2014),” Voice of the Martyrs, accessed August 2025, https://www.persecution.com.
[3] “Ten Years after IS Captured Mosul, Believers Still Feel Unable to Return,” Open Doors International, accessed August 2025, https://www.opendoors.org.