The Town Church / Fort Collins

"When you fast..." Jesus assumes we are fasting. But what is it? Why do we do it? What heart motivation do we have in it?In this third of a series of three righteous rhythms Jesus points out we are called to as believers, Jesus again digs beneath the surface of the act itself and focuses on our heart. And as we explore that, we also take a step back and consider the Christian practice of fasting.

Our Gospel Stories podcast explores the unique and miraculous ways God has chosen to save individuals in our church body.In this first episode, we get to hear Justin's story - and the way God chose to use one particular family to draw Justin to himself.

Our conversation focuses on how we currently approach prayer, where we are tempted to seek recognition from others in it, the mystery of prayer, and the underlying approach to prayer here that Jesus teaches.Plus, Vince shares what animal he would be and why. Hint: it scurries.

From examining our approach in giving, Jesus now turns to our approach in praying. Whether praying is currently challenging or coming naturally for us, Jesus words here beckon us to a deeper relationship with the Creator of all things!

In this unique episode, many of our staff join us to reflect on the last year and share their hopes for the coming year. 

Once a year we devote a Sunday gathering to work through the big picture pieces of  where we want to go as a church (vision), how we'll participate in getting there (mission), and, new this year, our approach to maturing as Christians (spiritual formation).This year we also included a few hopes we have for what God may accomplish this next year.Because our time together included congregational input that was not on a microphone, this audio recording has been edited for clarity.

We explore some of the twists and turns in our hearts on the subject of giving based on Matthew 6:1-4. Do we still give if our heart motivation isn't right? How does good stewardship and responsibility fit in? What about sheer obedience?

Jesus continues his relentless focus on our hearts in a straightforward teaching on our giving.

In this episode we wrestle with several "what ifs" that naturally flow from Jesus' teaching challenging our perceived dearly held rights over our body, possessions, time and money. Loving our enemies and being perfect? This text makes our hearts squirm!

What rights do we as Christians have? In a hard hitting text this morning, especially for us as Americans, Jesus narrows in on what we must hold loosely as we follow him.

The issue of honesty and trustworthiness pervades so much of our lives. In this episode we wrestle with some of the ways this impacts our interactions. We also get to glory in the character of God that Jesus' teaching here points toward!

Jesus tackles the heart issue of honesty. Christian trustworthiness is to reflect the trustworthiness of God. And where we fall short, we have a gracious God who credits to us the perfect righteousness of Jesus!

In our longest episode to date, we tackle the challenging issues of adultery, lust, and divorce. These topics often leave people in the church feeling confused and, at times, judged. Our hope is to provide clarity around Jesus' words about the heart issues related to these topics. 

In Matthew 5:27-32, Jesus states the law regarding adultery and then restates it to show the heart behind the law. Those who look at someone else's spouse with lust has committed adultery in their heart. Again, Jesus' greatest concern is the heart of obedience, not just the outward appearance.

Join us today as we consider Jesus' profound words about being the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets. This is a beautiful description of the gospel as Jesus prepares us for six laws and the heart issues underlying these laws. The first law is the prohibition against murder - and the heart issue of anger. 

Join Kirsten Black, Vince Black, and Betty (Beefy) Horiuchi,  as they discuss Jesus' declaration in Matthew 5:13-16 - "You are salt...you are light." Also, find out who has the secret talent of DANCE!