South Bend City Church

10.22 [TEACHING] Romans (wk 6) - The Power of the Spirit

Jason Miller - As much as Paul sees sin and death as powerful forces with a life of their own, he sees something else with a life of its own - the Spirit. How does Paul explain the Spirit in Romans, and what does it mean for the things we're suffering?
Ways to Get Connected
RSVP to our New to SBCC Table on November 5
Check back tomorrow for the conversation about contemplative prayer that Jason mentions in today's teaching.
Support the ongoing work of SBCC by giving to our general fund. South Bend City Church is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. All donations are tax-deductible.

10.15 [TEACHING] An honest, imperfect reflection on the suffering of Israelis and Palestinians

Jason Miller - This week, we paused our series on the book of Romans to reflect on the suffering of our Israeli and Palestinian brothers and sisters, and to consider our response. Please consider our partners at The Telos Group as a valuable resource for learning in this difficult time.
Ways to Get Connected
RSVP to our New to SBCC Table on November 5
Register your family for or get more information on Family Dedication.
Support the ongoing work of SBCC by giving to our general fund. South Bend City Church is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. All donations are tax-deductible.
 

10.10 [CONVERSATION] Parenting Workshop

Meredith Miller - At the end of August, we offered a parenting workshop with Meredith Miller, the author of "Woven, Nurturing a Faith Your Kid Doesn't Need to Heal From", after our gatherings. We talked about what parenting a child's faith journey can look like when parents are still figuring out what faith looks like for them. If faith is new to you or if you've spent time deconstructing and/or are reconstructing your faith, we hope that this will be a valuable tool for your family moving forward.
If you have any questions about kids and faith or how South Bend City Church shows up for our kiddos on a Sunday morning, you can reach out to Karen Grant, our Director of Kid's Ministry.

10.8 [TEACHING] Romans (wk 5) - the energy of sin

Jason Miller - If Romans 5-8 expresses the heart of Paul's message for the followers of Jesus in Rome, then it's clear that sin is an important part of that message. But how does this text describe sin, and what could it mean for us today?
At the end of this week's teaching, we reflected on these questions: Where do I feel like I'm up against something bigger than me that takes me in the direction of death, not life, for myself or others? What does my conscience tell me about my life? What does the Spirit grieve in my life? Where are WE up against something bigger than us that takes us in the direction of death, not life? What does my conscience tell me about our world - about the environments I participate in and shape, about the systems that affect those who live within them? What does the Spirit grieve in our world?
 
Ways to Get Connected
Register your family for or get more information on Family Dedication.
View our 2022-2023 Annual Report (click here for the mobile version)
Support the ongoing work of SBCC by giving to our general fund. South Bend City Church is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. All donations are tax-deductible.

10.1 [LITURGY] Believers, Doubters, and Everyone Who’s a Bit of Both

In this weekend's liturgy, we brought one of our commitments to life: "South Bend City Church is a place for believers, doubters, and those who are a bit of both". We explore this spectrum through readings of the Psalms, reflecting on a song called Citizens, by Jon Guerra, and singing other songs together as a community.
If you want to follow along with the transcript, you can do so by following along on our website.
Ways to Get Connected
Support the ongoing work of SBCC by giving to our general fund. South Bend City Church is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. All donations are tax-deductible.

10.1 [TEACHING] Romans (wk 4) - 5:12-19

Jason Miller - As Paul helps the community in Rome understand the message that binds them together, he speaks of sin, law, and death. What do those words mean for us today?
Ways to Get Connected
Register your family for or get more information on Family Dedication.
Support the ongoing work of SBCC by giving to our general fund. South Bend City Church is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. All donations are tax-deductible.

9.24 [TEACHING] Romans (wk 3) - 5:1-11

Jason Miller - We know, you might be a little confused if you look at the flow between week 2 and 3. We've gone from chapter 1 to chapter 5. But that's because it might be easier to understand Romans if you get to the heart of it and discover what Paul's fighting for before you work through the way he fights. He's defending a gospel that speaks of the expansive, inexhaustible love of God, and he begins to speak at length of that love in chapter 5.
Ways to Get Connected
Check out all of our Tables
Support the ongoing work of SBCC by giving to our general fund. South Bend City Church is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. All donations are tax-deductible.
If you’re a part of the growing digital SBCC community, we’d love to hear from you! Drop us a note letting us know how you found us and what keeps you listening at: info@southbendcitychurch.com.
 

9.17 [TEACHING] Romans (wk 2) – 1:1-7

Jason Miller - Paul begins his letter to the Christians in Rome with some big words: apostle, gospel, grace and peace. But those words may have meant something different for his original audience than they mean for us today. Let's spend some time recovering the unexpectedly radical energy of these ideas.
Ways to Get Connected
RSVP to our New to SBCC Virtual Tableon October 2 at 8:30p EST via Zoom
Join us for our Open Table on September 24
Check out all of our Tables
Support the ongoing work of SBCC by givingto our general fund. South Bend City Church is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. All donations are tax-deductible.

9.10 [TEACHING] Romans (wk 1) - Introduction

Jason Miller - One of the most talked about, preached about, regularly-studied texts in the New Testament is the book of Romans, a letter written by the Apostle Paul to a community of Jesus’ followers roughly three decades after Jesus. It’s been especially prominent in Protestant and Evangelical spaces. But what if the way it’s usually talked about misses the point?
The early church was an impossible community. People somehow found a radical capacity for belonging with one another across every imaginable line of difference. And the letter Paul wrote to this early church shows his own wrestling with how the experience of Christ makes this impossible community possible. What if this text that’s been centered in so many religious spaces is talking about not just our own personal reconciliation with God, but also the ways that we can belong to each other? Between now and next spring, we’ll take a path through Romans that might be unfamiliar for those who have walked the “Romans road”, but with a desire to recover the radical message of this powerful text.
This week, as we considered our approach to the letter, Jason also proposed a handful of principles for us to keep in mind as we proceed:
Paul isn't a systematic theologian. He's a practical theologian.
It's hard to know what it means if you don't know what it meant.
Knowing what it says doesn't matter if you don't what you don't know what it did.
Just because an interpretation is the only one you've heard, that doesn't mean it's the most well-founded, historically corroborated, widely held Christian view.
We're looking for God, love, belonging, community, and possibility.
 
Ways to Get Connected
RSVP to our New to SBCC Virtual Table on October 2 at 8:30p EST via Zoom
Join us for our Open Table on September 24
Check out all of our Tables
Support the ongoing work of SBCC by giving to our general fund. South Bend City Church is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. All donations are tax-deductible.

9.3.23 [LITURGY] Rest is Freedom

In this weekend's gatherings we had the chance to slow down and breathe. We did this by singing some songs and entering into a breath prayer. This was all supported by Cole Arthur Riley's work, both on her Instagram and from her book "This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories that Make Us".
If you want to follow along with the transcript, you can do so by following along on our website. Our hope is that wherever you are, you're able to take a second to breathe deep and rest today.
Ways to Get Connected
Support the ongoing work of SBCC by giving to our general fund. South Bend City Church is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. All donations are tax-deductible.