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Alabaster Group

Alabaster Group services and events.

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35 episodes
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#707
Tuesday · 1 hr 7 min
261101 Follow Him Closely
Because God is multifaceted, following him closely often puts us in the middle of a tension that can only be resolved when we are intentional about knowing his heart in full. Although God commended Israel for fearing his glory and keeping their distance at Mount Sinai, David dared to go beyond what the law prescribed and seek God more intimately. Keeping the ark and the tabernacle separate from each other, though risky, allowed David to always live before the presence of God. In this life, we can settle for safe piety and religion, but there is no reward for that. The reward is for those who forsake the status quo to follow God closely. 1 Chronicles 15; 1 Chronicles 16; Deuteronomy 5; Genesis 19; Proverbs 30 NYC Sunday Sermon | November 1, 2026
#706
October 27 · 55 min
261025 Lean On His Mercy
Some things about God can be understood theoretically, like his justice or the promise that he rewards faithfulness. But his mercy is difficult to understand unless we experience it directly. Without knowing his mercy, we tend to approach God like a boss when we’ve done well and hide from him like Adam when we haven’t. But the tax collector, the Canaanite woman, and a long list of people crying out for mercy show us that God’s mercy is especially there for us on our worst days. And so, we can lean on the mercy of the God, and let it grow in us the reflex to be moved with compassion towards the lost, the hungry, and the hurting. Matthew 15; Luke 18; Hebrews 13; Psalm 121; Isaiah 49 NYC Sunday Sermon | October 25, 2026
#705
October 25 · 1 hr 3 min
261018 Climb the Mountain
There is a reason that God chose a physical mountain as his dwelling place on Earth. It is because seeking him requires intentionality, diligence, and ambition, just like climbing a mountain would. The same ambition that gets us into a good school, takes the hardest classes, and works the long hours is what carries us up the mountain of God. We don’t have to treat easy things as the will of God or assume that a hard season means he isn’t in it. Instead, we can be people who choose the hard way and delight in it, knowing that even if we fail, God will be there to catch us. Psalm 24; Proverbs 29; Exodus 24; Matthew 14; Psalm 48 Fall Retreat Sunday Sermon | October 18, 2026
#704
October 25 · 1 hr
261011 The Mind of a King
What distinguishes a slave from a king is not just what they possess but how they think. A slave operates from a place of lack; a king operates from a place of abundance. This same paradigm is also what distinguishes us from God. God often asks us to give up what feels like everything, and the reason we think his requests are unreasonable is because we don’t see ourselves as living in the abundance of who he is. These circumstances reveal how much we still think like slaves and not like kings. Even so, like Job, we can be honest about our loss, hold on to him anyway, and let him change the way we respond. Proverbs 30; Jeremiah 32; Job 10; 2 Samuel 12 NYC Sunday Sermon | October 11, 2026
#703
October 24 · 47 min
261004 Out of Sheer Love
The church at Ephesus, in many regards, was Jesus' best-performing church, with hard work, endurance, and discernment, yet he warned them that he would remove their lampstand because they had lost their first love. Good works without love for him fall short, which is why God keeps his people in a place where they keep going for no reward but only love. Paul did this through beatings, shipwrecks, and anxiety over his churches. When life gets easy and people get what they want, they forget him. The thorn that never stops pricking is not a punishment but the way God keeps our love for him real across a lifetime. Revelation 2; 2 Corinthians 11; Jeremiah 2; 1 John 4; Ezekiel 17 NYC Sunday Sermon | October 4, 2026
#702
October 24 · 58 min
260927 An Offering That Lasts
The narrow gate is hard to recognize because the things that actually matter rarely look impressive in the moment and the things that look impressive rarely last. David's repentance after taking a census of Israel is what led him to buy the altar at Ornan's threshing floor. That same land becomes the site of Solomon's temple and the one thing from David's entire reign still shaping the world today. We shouldn’t chase what everyone else is doing or measure our lives by what feels significant in real time. Instead, we should keep our eyes fixed on the narrow thread of God's will, since that's the only thing that holds its weight through time. Matthew 7; 1 Chronicles 21; Proverbs 4; James 1 NYC Sunday Sermon | September 27, 2026
#701
October 24 · 1 hr
260920 Born for Adversity
The parable of the weeds gives us language for some of the results that we see when doing the work of God. Not every failure in ministry is because of bad soil or bad seed. We have a real enemy in this life, and sometimes he actively works against us in ways that we cannot easily perceive. Despite effective preaching, the new believers in Iconium had their minds poisoned against Paul and Barnabas. By nature, the Gospel breeds adversity and, it is this adversity that reveals who is a brother to the Lord and who would only like to stand with him when it is convenient. Matthew 13; Acts 14; Romans 14; Proverbs 17 NYC Sunday Sermon | September 20, 2026
#700
October 10 · 49 min
260913 You Will Not Always Have Me
Some acts of obedience are available every day of life, like prayer or giving to the poor, but others exist only in a single moment and missing it means it's gone for good. Mary’s anointing of Jesus could not have happened at any other time. Isaiah’s calling could have only started once King Uzziah died. Recognizing which moments are perpetually open and which ones are gated by a season not yet released is what allows someone to catch the will of God rather than force it. Matthew 26; Isaiah 6; 2 Chronicles 26; Genesis 9 NYC Sunday Sermon | September 13, 2026
#699
October 9 · 47 min
260906 Your Sins Are Forgiven
When reading about the paralyzed man who is lowered through the roof to Jesus, most people expect a healing, yet before anything else, Jesus says, "your sins are forgiven." Healing is easy to depict and dramatic to witness, but forgiveness is subtle and deeply personal, which is why conviction of sin is the rarer, greater gift. What every generation, every city, every person ultimately needs, more than healing or provision, is that same forgiveness, and the full conviction that makes someone finally ask for it. Luke 5; 1 Thessalonians 1; Psalm 103 NYC Sunday Sermon | September 6, 2026
#698
September 28 · 42 min
260830 Who Are My Brothers
What binds the people of God is not a family lineage, location, or culture, but a shared commitment to do the Father’s will. Judges 17 shows us that when we lose sight of this, we begin to produce convenient religion that meets the demands of men, yet is oblivious to the desires of God. But those who give their lives wholly to only doing what they see the Father doing are the ones that Jesus is not ashamed to call brothers, with the will of God as the only thing that unites them. Matthew 12; Matthew 13; Judges 17; Hebrews 2 NYC Sunday Sermon | August 30, 2026
#697
September 26 · 51 min
260809 Write Yourself Into the Story
The Shunammite woman is never named, yet Scripture ties her permanently to Elisha's story. She had no special calling upon her life, but she made herself relevant by noticing his needs and meeting them. Her initiative to think outside of herself compelled Elisha to meet her desires and needs even when she could not foresee them. In times of tragedy and distress, she was overtaken by the provision and blessings of God. But her true reward wasn’t in material things, but something much greater: her story became permanently woven into his, proof that anyone can write themselves into what God is doing. 2 Kings 4; Deuteronomy 28; Matthew 10 NYC Sunday Sermon | August 9, 2026
#696
September 18 · 43 min
260802 Walk Together
Real unity isn't the absence of conflict or bonding over a shared enemy. It's two people choosing to walk together in the same direction. When God calls us to be united with him, it is an invitation to walk the same path that He walks. It requires the unseen, daily practice of aligning every step, until it's no longer clear where your work ends and God's begins. The goal isn't to earn a seat next to Jesus, but to have walked with him so closely that sitting there is simply where the road was always leading. Psalm 133; Amos 3; Psalm 1; Matthew 20; Genesis 6; John 12 NYC Sunday Sermon | August 2, 2026
#695
September 12 · 45 min
260726 Neither Poverty Nor Riches
Both poverty and abundance pull the heart away from trusting God. The writer of Proverbs understood this, asking God for neither poverty nor riches but only enough for the day, because either extreme tends to land in the same place: a heart drowning in anxiety. Real peace doesn't come from adjusting the number in the bank account, but from bringing every want and need to God with thanksgiving and learning to be content in that narrow place between too little and too much. Matthew 6; Proverbs 30; 1 Corinthians 7; Philippians 4 NYC Sunday Sermon | July 26, 2026
#694
September 8 · 49 min
260719 Accepted By God
Being accepted by God should never be taken for granted. Before David was anointed by Samuel, Saul and all seven of David’s brothers were rejected by God. Even David, a man after God’s own heart, was denied the opportunity to build a house for him. When God does accept our offerings, He gives us the privilege of seeing his will prosper in our lives. Like good soil that a seed is planted in, the works of our hands can provide a fertile environment for the will of God to grow and bear much fruit in the Earth. 1 Samuel 16; Matthew 13; 1 Chronicles 17; Psalm 50; Haggai 1 NYC Sunday Sermon | July 19, 2026
#693
September 6 · 54 min
260712 Dare to Dream
Poverty isn't defined by what someone has, but by the size of their dreams. The woman with the issue of blood dared to believe that her ailment was not the end of her story, but Lazarus could not dream of much beyond his next meal. When the gifts that God blesses us with begin to outgrow our dreams, we squander these blessings in pursuit of our small cravings, and this, as the prodigal son teaches us, is true poverty. In contrast, when we dare to believe that the seemingly impossible is possible God rewards us by elevating us beyond our circumstances. James 4; Ephesians 2; Luke 15-16 NYC Sunday Sermon | July 12, 2026
#692
September 5 · 45 min
260705 Inspire, Don't Be Envied
There's a world of difference between people wanting what you have and people wanting to become who you are. Envy chases another person's stuff, but inspiration moves someone to live the way they live. Jonathan never sought to be admired; his courage to move toward the enemy without a sign or permission simply stirred everyone around him — the soldiers, the defectors, the fearful — to find the courage they'd been missing all along. The goal isn't to be envied for success, but to carry enough courage and faith that others want to trust God the way you trust Him. 1 Samuel 14; Esther 5 NYC Sunday Sermon | July 5, 2026
#691
August 28 · 1 hr 50 min
HMW 26 | Day 7 Morning | Q&A
In this session, Heidi and Rolland Baker, along with Rapha and Ana Vaney, answer a series of questions from the Missions Week audience based on their personal experiences on the field. Homeward Missions Week 2026 | Day 7 Morning Service
#690
August 27 · 1 hr 31 min
HMW 26 | Day 6 Evening | Heidi Baker - Our Lives Are Not Our Own
Our lives are not our own, and there is no bargaining with a God who calls us to obey no matter the cost. Real surrender means yielding when he says to yield, and being stubborn when he says to be stubborn even when it appears strange to everyone around you. When we become this pliable in his hands, we are able to lay hold of what our souls truly long for—his face, his glory. Exodus 33 Homeward Missions Week 2026 | Day 6 Evening Service
#689
August 27 · 1 hr 27 min
HMW 26 | Day 4 Morning | The Altar is Worth More Than the Gold
Money is not scarce, but good places to give it are. Ministries hold something far more valuable than any donor's wallet: the altar where an offering becomes holy. Missionaries should believe that their calling is worth more than the gold being offered to it, since without the altar, the gold has nowhere meaningful to go. The Homeward platform is designed to help donors discover and trust real missionaries so both sides can move from transaction to true partnership. Stay tuned for more information! Matthew 23; Esther 4
#688
August 27 · 1 hr 44 min
HMW 26 | Day 6 Morning | A Lion is a Lion
A person's worth before God has nothing to do with the size of their crowd, their stadium, or their subscriber count — a lion is a lion whether or not hyenas surround him. The only thing anyone truly possesses in this life is God's opinion of them, and chasing the glory of men will always cost us the glory of God. Amos 3; Jeremiah 28; John 15; Luke 1; John 12; Proverbs 30; 1 Corinthians 1 Homeward Missions Week 2026 | Day 6 Morning Service

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