City Life Church

This sermon explores why God is so worthy of thanksgiving by considering how we qualify to inherit the kingdom of God. From the beginning of Genesis to the future of Fahrenheit 451, the rescue and redemption of God in Christ charts a course for a new a world we all long for.

This sermon considers cultural conceptions of knowledge, the knowledge of God, what happened to knowledge of God, and how we can recover it in order to become truly human.

This sermon explores how we can grow as Christians from three angles: 1) What is Gospel growth? 2) How we grow and 3) The power to grow.

This sermon considers the problem of mission, as it confronts us socially and spiritually, while considering the potential solutions of community and the gospel.

This sermon introduces Paul's letter to the Colossians by considering the historical context, narrative context, and major themes contained in Colossians. It emphasizes the importance of detecting Paul's echoes of the six primary stories of Scripture (Creation, Fall, Israel, Jesus, Church, New Creation) in Colossians and their relevance to the letter's central theme--Jesus is Lord.

Looking at 1 Corinthians 12:4-31, guest speaker Jacob Vanhorn discusses spiritual gifts in the context of a gospel-formed community, its subtle enemies and apologetic power, when lived in through Jesus and the Spirit.

This sermon seeks to answer two questions: "What will we do in heaven?" and "What difference should it make in how we live now?" Culture is a central part of heaven, so how does that affect the way we live now?

This sermon is the first in a series that examines songs from Andy Melvin's album The Human Engine Waits. We consider one of the Old Testament texts that inspired Andy's song "Our God Above." We explore Jeremiah the prophet's message regarding "the fountain of living waters and broken cisterns that can hold no water" and its relevance for the church today.

This sermon reflections on the three characters of the so-called "Prodigal Son" story. As it turns out, there are, in fact, two prodigals and much that can be learned from their gracious father.

This sermon explores the perspectives on truth in the book A New Earth and in the film The Dark Knight. How does Eckhart Tolle perceive truth? How does Batman perceive truth? How does the gospel inform our understanding of these perspectives on truth?

This sermon launches a three part series examining the teachings of Eckhart Tolle, bestselling author of A New Earth. In it we explore the predicament of humanity by comparing Eckhart Tolle's view of the Ego and dysfunction to the Apostle Paul's view of spiritual deadness and sin. We also briefly consider the differences between the solution to the predicament of humanity (consciousness vs. salvation), which will be continued in the next sermon.

This weeks sermon is a stand alone sermon. Pastor Jonathan K. Dodson preaches out of revelation exploring popular cultural notions of heaven and how they compare to the biblical vision of heaven.

This sermon explores four practices of the missional church as described in Acts 2:42-47 and expressed in Austin City Life. They are: SHARE life and truth, PRAY for one another and the city, ENGAGE peoples and cultures, and LOVE one another.

Austin City Life exists to redemptively engage peoples and cultures. Vision and teaching pastor Jonathan Dodson speaks out of Colossians 1:15-20. "Lord of the Story" answers the question, "Is Jesus a deus ex machina, a 'god from a machine'?" Taking Aristotle's critique of story seriously, that the resolution of the plot must arise from within the story, we examine how Jesus emerges from the Old Testament and what he does to resolve the conflict in the grand Story of Scripture. We also check out Shysters, Fundys, and Hypocrites along the way.

Austin City Life Sermon Podcast: June 22, 2008. Pastor Jonathan Dodson is the vision and teaching pastor of Austin City Life, an Acts 29 church plant in the heart of Austin, TX. "Lost in Exile" is a part of an on going sermon series "Story of Scripture and Our Place In It".

This sermon is Austin City Life's Vision and Teaching pastor, Jonathan Dodson speaking from Coram Deo Church in Omaha, NB. Jonathan teaches on, Jesus: The True temple (Mk 11:15-18).

May 25: Fall (Gen 3) Doubt the Serpent, Trust the Savior God wants to change our hearts so we can enjoy exalting him in all things but we don’t want exalt or enjoy him. In Adam we have rejected God’s good agenda for us and our world. This sermon will address God’s redemptive solution to our rejection of him as King.

May 18th, 2008 The Imperfection of Creation: Did God make the world perfect or was it flawed from the beginning? This sermon explores God's plan for the creation project and how its glorious future affects the present predicament of the world.

May 4: Creation (Genesis 1:26-28; 2:5-8; Col 1:9-10) True Humanity: What Does it Mean to be in the Image of God? Where does our significance come from? What separates us from animals, if anything? What does it mean to be in the image of God? How does this inform our participation in God’s purpose to exalt himself in all things? This sermon will address our role in the creation project.