New Culture Church

New Culture Church
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CREATING THE CULTURE OF CHRIST IN MADISON, WI The New Culture Church podcast is packed full of great sermon content from New Culture Church in Madison, WI. Be part of a welcoming community that values real conversations, personal growth, and making a positive impact. Subscribe now to explore life's big questions and find meaningful connections.

  1. Jun 21

    James : See The One

    James 5 opens with a hard word. Now listen, you rich people. Weep and wail. Your wealth has rotted. The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. It reads like a tonal break from the rest of the letter, and Nathan sat in that tension out loud. This is a prophetic warning against oppressive wealth, and the word that kept rising off the page was the first word of verse four. Behold. Look. So the message is not first about money. It is about sight. When we see God rightly, we see ourselves rightly. And when we see ourselves rightly, we finally see the people around us. Start with God. Every injustice begins with a wrong view of God. He made us in His image, and we keep trying to return the favor, building a god out of our fears and our history until he blesses whatever we already wanted. The rich oppressor in James did not have a true picture of God. So Nathan offered three. God sees. The first person in Scripture to give God a name is Hagar, a servant woman driven into the desert to die. She calls Him the God who sees me. Yahweh sees the people society overlooks. God hears. The cries of the harvesters reached the ears of the Lord Almighty, and the blind man on the Jericho road who would not stop shouting got heard. God comes after. The Lord of hosts, the God who commands heaven’s armies, refuses to leave us. He came, and He will come again. If that is our God, who does that make us? You are loved. Loved so much that He calls you His child, loved with the same measure of love the Father has for His own Son. In the worst moment of your life, the worst thing you have ever done, you were loved over the top in that moment. And the love does not stop at affection. Our posture is sons and daughters. Our position is co-laborers, invited to partner with God against the enemies of sickness, hatred, and racism, and to bring His kingdom. People who know they are loved start to see. The rich saw their fields, their harvest, their profits. They never saw the workers. Neighbors became opportunities. Image bearers became tools in someone else’s story. That is the tragedy James exposes. Our calling is the opposite. Love your neighbor as yourself. Slow your pace enough to see the one in front of you. The pace of the rabbi is usually slow, because you have to have time to see people. If your whole life is a frenzy of work, ask the Lord if that is what He has for you. Then James lands on hope. When the world feels broken and God feels still, be patient and stand firm, the way a farmer waits for the autumn and spring rains. The Lord’s coming is near. There is not a single wrong that Jesus will not right. This week, see the One who sees you. Then go see the one in front of you. Scripture References: James 5:1-8 (Warning to oppressive wealth; behold; the cries of the harvesters; be patient until the Lord’s coming)Genesis 16 (Hagar in the desert; the God who sees me)John 4 (The woman at the well; Jesus sees the outsider)John 14:9 (Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father)Mark 10:46-52 (Blind Bartimaeus; Jesus stops and hears)Romans 6:23 (The wages of sin is death; the gift of God is eternal life)John 17:22-23 (Loved even as You have loved Me)Romans 8:38-39 (Nothing can separate us from the love of God)1 John 3:1 (See what great love the Father has lavished on us)1 Corinthians 3:7-9 (We are co-workers in God’s service)Genesis 1:28 (Created to rule and steward)Matthew 22:34-40 (Love God; love your neighbor as yourself)Mark 12:41-44 (The widow’s two coins)

    38 min

  2. Jun 14

    James : Steward Today

    You are a mist. James does not ease into the back half of chapter 4. He looks at our five-year plans, our savings accounts, our carefully mapped futures, and he says it plainly. You do not even know what will happen tomorrow. You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. The problem is not planning. Work hard. Make the plan. The problem is assuming we are the ones in control of the future. And here is the honest part. We do not reach for control because we are arrogant. We reach for it because we are afraid. We want certainty. We want predictability. We want safety. So we build the plan and we tell ourselves we are secure. Then something fails, because it will, and we no longer know how to live. Control is an illusion. And the things we cannot surrender are the things we are worshiping. An idol is anything we trust to save us. The savings we think will keep us from ever going without. The relationship we think will keep us from ever being alone. Whatever you cannot open your hands around, look there. Then James hands us a picture. The rich man in Luke 12 had a full harvest, and his first thought was to tear down his barns and build bigger ones. When abundance comes, our invitation is not to store it. It is to steward it. God, who can I give this to? Consider the ravens. They do not store, and He feeds them. Seek His kingdom, and the rest is added. Pastor Abbie pressed the line we love to hide behind. “If it is the Lord’s will.” That is not a cop-out for laziness. The Lord’s will is already plain. Love the people in front of you. Forgive. Feed the hungry. Share Jesus. You do not need a dramatic vision to obey. The world needs everyday people showing up to work, walking their block, treating the waitstaff a little bit different. Which lands on James 4:17. Anyone who knows the good they ought to do and does not do it, that is the miss. Knowledge alone does not transform us. We know we should forgive. We know we should pray. We do not do it. Transformation comes when truth moves from information into practice. You do not learn to ride a bike by reading about it. You get on the bike. So here is the invitation. Steward today. Trust God with tomorrow. You cannot control tomorrow, but you can control how you steward this day. Open your hands. Scripture References: James 4:13-17 (Boasting about tomorrow; you are a mist; if it is the Lord’s will; knowing the good and not doing it)Luke 12:13-31 (The parable of the rich fool; consider the ravens and the wildflowers; seek His kingdom)Matthew 6:19-34 (Store up treasures in heaven; do not worry; seek first the kingdom of God)John 15:5 (Apart from Me you can do nothing)

    47 min

  3. Jun 7

    James : Draw Near

    James doesn’t open chapter 4 by pointing at your enemies. He points at you. What causes the fights? The quarrels? The resentment that won’t leave? James says it starts with the desires battling within you. Not your coworker. Not the person in your family who keeps showing up in your head. Within you. That is the harder answer. It is easier to name an enemy outside. But James presses us to look at the war within first. He takes it further. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask with wrong motives. Wrong desires produce wrong prayers. What you bring to God in prayer reveals what you are actually chasing. That is worth sitting with. Then he uses language that shocked his original readers. He calls them adulterous people. Not because they had all literally committed adultery, but because throughout Scripture, God describes His relationship with His people as a covenant. Unfaithfulness to God is like unfaithfulness in marriage. When we pursue friendship with pride, status, and self-sufficiency, we are choosing against Him. James names three layers of division the enemy works to create. Division within us, conflict rooted in unchecked desire. Division from God, the quiet drift that happens when we start preferring the world’s values to His. Division between people, the slander, the gossip, the words used to shape how others see someone. Then James turns it. He gives us the antidote. Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. There is a period after that last sentence. Not an explanation. Not a condition. The promise stands on its own. You draw near. He draws near. But James is specific about how. He does not say believe harder. He says wash your hands. Purify your hearts. Grieve. Mourn. Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up. That word grieve matters. Faith is not pretending. It is not performing happiness over real pain. It is bringing your whole self to God: the grief, the disappointment, the confusion, the regret. God can handle your honesty. The Psalms are full of it. After you resist, do not obsess. The devil wants your attention. We illuminate what we fixate on. James says resist, then run toward Jesus. That is repentance in its simplest form. Turn from. Turn toward. Jesus said it plainly in Matthew 11:28. Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Not come when you have got it together. Come now. Come weary. Come broken. The division is real, within you, from God, with others. But the antidote is already available. Draw near. And He comes closer. Scripture References: James 4:1-12 (Desires at war; submit to God; resist the devil; draw near to God; do not slander one another)Proverbs 4:23 (Guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it)Proverbs 18:21 (The tongue has the power of life and death)Proverbs 12:18 (The tongue of the wise brings healing)Matthew 5:9 (Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God)Matthew 11:28 (Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest)

    32 min

  4. Jun 1

    James : Wisdom That Grows

    Pastor Abbie was on a staff retreat in Tennessee when a snake showed up on the balcony. She ran inside and jumped on the couch. Then she watched a teammate calmly lift the snake onto a broomstick and carry it off into the bushes. How did you do that? That is the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge knows a snake is poisonous. Wisdom knows what to do with it. James has spent his whole letter asking what good faith is if it never shows up in your life. Today he asks the same thing about wisdom. So the question he hands us is not, do I think I am wise. We would all say yes to that. The question is sharper. What kind of life is my wisdom growing? To answer it, James sends us back to the garden. God had already given Adam and Eve everything they needed. Then another voice entered the story. Did God truly say that? Earthly wisdom still speaks with that voice. Question God’s word. Question His goodness. Trust yourself instead. Heavenly wisdom does the opposite. It submits to the Lordship of Jesus, even when His ways do not line up with what feels good in the moment. Here is what James will not let us miss. Wisdom is demonstrated, not declared. It should be seen. Godly wisdom makes people lean in and say, I want that kindness. I want that mercy. Knowledge says the Bible tells us to forgive. Wisdom walks in forgiveness. But notice where James starts. Not with behavior. With the heart. He names bitter envy that cannot celebrate someone else’s success, and selfish ambition that needs to win, to be noticed, to be right. And underneath all of it sits one honest question. Am I trying to be right, or am I trying to be righteous? You can win the argument and lose the person. Living heavenly wisdom means denying the false self. The false self is who we think we should be based on how other people see us. One writer says it is like the air we breathe, so familiar we stop noticing it. The true self is who God made us to be as image bearers. Denying yourself is not erasing your personality. It is letting go of pride so you can walk free. So how do we get there? Wisdom plants seeds. Everything we do is sowing something. Every conversation, every conflict, every word. Slow down. Listen. Discern. Then act. Our so what today is this. Wisdom is not measured by what you know, but by what your life grows. The invitation this week is to examine the fruit and set your focus. Ask three questions. Am I trying to be right or righteous? Where do I need to submit my pride to the Lordship of Jesus? How can I be present with Jesus and proactively plant seeds? Then watch what grows. Scripture References: James 3:13-18 (Two kinds of wisdom; earthly versus heavenly; peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness)Genesis 2:16-17; 3:1-6 (The tree of the knowledge of good and evil; the serpent tempts Eve to question God’s word and His goodness)Proverbs 3:5-7 (Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not be wise in your own eyes)Proverbs 14:12 (There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death)Matthew 7:16-20 (By their fruit you will recognize them)Luke 22:42 (Not my will, but Yours be done)

    34 min

  5. May 10

    James : Faith Embodied

    A few years ago, a stranger fell onto the train tracks in Minneapolis. Pastor Abbie remembers watching the moment unfold. Her friend looked away. She herself ran toward the train with her arms in the air, praying out loud. And then a few other people did the only thing that saved the life on the tracks. They jumped down. That story is the whole sermon in miniature. James is in chapter 2 today, and he is using language that does not leave room to nod and walk away. Faith without deeds is dead. Period. He is mirroring Jesus' sermon on the mount. Hearing is not enough. Agreement is not enough. Even sound doctrine is not enough. Faith has to move. The first thing James names is that ideas alone do not bring life. We can have a thousand good thoughts about loving our neighbor and still leave our neighbor hungry. The kingdom does not come through the right opinions. It comes through participation. And then James pivots, and Pastor Abbie pivots with him, to two people who could not be more different. Abraham, the father of the faith. Rahab, the prostitute. James names them both. Both acted. Both risked. Both ended up in the lineage of Jesus. The point is not their resume. The point is that they moved. On Mother's Day, that picture sharpens. Moms know what embodied faith looks like. If you are pregnant, you do not get to only think about giving birth. You labor. You stretch. You feel every minute of it. And new life comes through that labor. Mary said yes to that. The angel showed up, and she said, let it be to your will. She knew it would cost her. The scandal, the endurance, the body changing forever. She said yes anyway. Faith is not passive. It participates. Pastor Abbie's so-what is the line James writes plainly: it is by acts that people live, not ideas. Faith was never meant to sit in your head, leading to good thoughts and well wishes and the occasional prayer for someone. The life we long for is embodied. Which sometimes means choosing the burden. Which sometimes means being inconvenienced. Which sometimes means looking toward the suffering instead of away. The invitation today is this. Stop turning away from what is hard. Pray, then get down. Choose kingdom over comfort. Let one yes cost you something this week. And remember that the thing in your story you think disqualifies you is often the bridge God wants to use. Scripture References: James 2:14-26 (Faith without deeds is dead; Abraham and Rahab as examples of embodied faith)Matthew 5 (Sermon on the Mount; the call to do, not only hear)Luke 4:18-19 (The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; Jesus quoting Isaiah)Joshua 2 (Rahab hides the spies; risks her life for God's redemptive work)Matthew 16:25 (Whoever wants to save their life will lose it)Matthew 25:40 (Whatever you did for the least of these, you did unto me)Luke 1:38 (Mary's response: "Let it be to me according to your word")

    26 min
  6. James : Mercy Over Judgment

    May 4

    James : Mercy Over Judgment

    We drift toward what is familiar. We sit with the people we know. Order from the part of the menu we trust. Walk past the ones who feel uncomfortable to be near. James writes to a scattered church and names this drift for what it is. Favoritism. And he tells us not to dress it up as preference or comfort. It is sin. It is a divided heart trying to follow Jesus while still ranking people by the world’s standards of status, influence, and similarity. But James does not stop at conviction. He hands us a posture. Stand in front of the mirror. Let the Holy Spirit show you what is there. And when He does, do not run. Do not sit in shame. Conviction is kindness. The same Spirit who reveals it is the One who cleanses it. The Father is calling you back to who you were made to be. Then James gets specific about what we honor. Where your treasure is, your heart will follow. The things we put first form the shape of our lives. So He sets a Kingdom that is upside down from the world’s. Wealth is not a stamp of God’s approval. Status is not a sign of obedience. Everything we hold is something to steward and invest into His Kingdom. The rich and the poor have one thing in common. The Lord made them both. And we bear His image together. The pivot the whole text turns on is mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Mercy is compassion expressed in action. Kindness toward someone in misery. Help given to the undeserving. That is what Jesus gave us. And that kind of mercy can never be done from a safe distance. It requires us to come close. The invitation this week is simple. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you who you are overlooking. Ask Him for eyes to see them the way He does. Then move toward them on purpose. Who you honor reveals what you value. Let it be Him. Scripture References: James 2:1-13 (Favoritism forbidden; the royal law; mercy triumphs over judgment)Matthew 5:7 (Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy)Matthew 6:19-21, 33 (Store up treasures in heaven; where your treasure is, there your heart will be also; seek first the Kingdom)Luke 6:36 (Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful)Proverbs 14:31 (Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker; whoever is kind to the needy honors God)Proverbs 22:2 (The rich and the poor have this in common: the Lord is the Maker of them all)James 1:22-25 (The mirror of the word)

    35 min
  7. James : Plant the Word

    Apr 19

    James : Plant the Word

    You can hear a message and still walk out unchanged. James knows this. He writes to scattered believers who are listening well and living sideways. And he hands them a mirror. Do not just look at yourself and walk away, he says. Do not just hear the word and forget it. Be a doer. James moves from the vague to the specific. He does not explain everything. He homes in on a few things that make the whole difference: the tongue, anger, the tone of our speech, care for orphans and widows, keeping ourselves from being polluted by the world. Specificity is how he tells us what matters most. The mirror tells the truth. Not to shame you. To reveal what is already there so the Holy Spirit can transform it. When you see something that needs to change, fix it. Do not turn away. The Spirit’s correction is kindness, not punishment. He formed you in the palm of his hand. He is calling you back to who you were created to be. And then James hands us a second image. A garden. Faith is soil. The word of God is a seed. But seeds need more than good wishes. They need planting and cultivating. Be intentional about what takes root. Pay attention to what you let grow up around it. What you want to flourish later, you plant now. The invitation today is this. Stop living in vague intentions. Sit with the Holy Spirit. Hold up the mirror. Ask him to show you what needs to go and what needs to be planted. Then respond. Move thoughts into action. Let the kingdom come through the way you talk, the way you react, and the way you live. Scripture References: James 1:19-27 (Quick to listen, slow to speak and to anger; doers not just hearers; the mirror; pure religion caring for orphans and widows)Matthew 5:3-12 (The beatitudes, the kingdom of heaven)Matthew 7:21-24 (Not everyone who says Lord, Lord; wise builder on the rock)Hebrews 12:11 (Discipline produces a harvest of righteousness)Luke 8:15 (Seed on good soil hears the word, retains it, and produces a crop)John 15:5 (Remain in me and you will bear much fruit)Psalm 1 (Tree planted by streams of water

    33 min
  8. James : Suffer Well

    Apr 12

    James : Suffer Well

    You signed up for something hard. And now the morning comes and every part of you wants to stay in bed. To avoid it. To draft the email that says you are not coming. James opens his letter with words that hit like a cold splash of water. Consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds. Not if. When. The assumption is that the pain is coming. The question is what you do with it. The early Christians James wrote to were scattered, displaced, struggling with poverty and persecution. They were saying one thing and living another. James is not trying to shame them. He is calling them back to the life they long for. The one that mirrors the life of Jesus. And Jesus did not avoid suffering. He entered it. He embraced it in the garden of Gethsemane. He endured it on the cross. He stayed present, surrendered, and connected to the Father the entire way through. The invitation today is not to grit your teeth and push through. It is to expect the trials, enter into them with Jesus, and let the Holy Spirit form you in the process. Shepherd your desires. Name them. Sit with them. Submit them to the Father the way Jesus did when he said, not my will but yours be done. Suffering is temporary. It is a moment in the story God has been writing for all of eternity. And the resurrection power of Jesus walks with you through every bit of it. Scripture References: James 1:1-18 (Trials, perseverance, wisdom, temptation and desire, every good gift from the Father)Romans 5:3-5 (Suffering produces perseverance, character, and hope)John 16:20 (Your grief will turn to joy)Matthew 5:10-12 (Blessed are you when people insult and persecute you)Hebrews 5:8 (He learned obedience through what he suffered)Matthew 26:39 (Not my will but yours be done, Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane)

    39 min
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About

CREATING THE CULTURE OF CHRIST IN MADISON, WI The New Culture Church podcast is packed full of great sermon content from New Culture Church in Madison, WI. Be part of a welcoming community that values real conversations, personal growth, and making a positive impact. Subscribe now to explore life's big questions and find meaningful connections.

Information

  • Creator
    New Culture Church
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    188
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © New Culture Church
  • Show Website
    New Culture Church