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Ekklesia Church at Raleigh

Ekklesia Church at Raleigh

by Ekklesia Church at Raleigh

Season 2026

Summer on the Mount: Part 11 – By Their Fruit

What if the people who look most like sheep are sometimes the ones we should be watching most carefully? Jesus warns about false prophets who come in sheep’s clothing—and then gives us a surprisingly simple test: look at the fruit. But that test doesn’t just belong to “them.” It belongs to us, too. What is our faith actually producing? What is growing in our lives, our churches, and the people who follow us? And can a generous theology become its own kind of sheep’s clothing if it never leads to transformation?

Summer on the Mount: Part 10 – The Narrow Road to Life

This Sunday, we move into the conclusion of the sermon on the mount. Jesus uses the images of gates and roads to make the choice before us apparent. In our world, what does it mean to enter the narrow gate and walk the narrow road?

Summer on the Mount: Part 9 – Camp Was GOOD

Our middle school and high school students just returned from a week at Camp Haven, and it was good. Not a shallow or superficial kind of good, but a deep, meaningful, capital-G kind of Good. In this week's sermon, Pastor Greg shares about the goodness of camp while also reflecting on Jesus's words found in Matthew 7:7-12.

Summer on the Mount: Part 8 – Load-bearing Lumber

Jesus tells us, "Do not judge." But then, throughout the Gospels, he seems to do exactly that. So what did he actually mean? In this week's message from Matthew 7:1-6, we explore the difference between judgment rooted in contempt and judgment rooted in compassion — and discover what the 'plank' in our own eye actually is.

Summer on the Mount: Part 7 – Do Not Worry

In this week's message from Matthew 6:25-34, guest preacher – Lindsay Stevenson – explores Jesus' invitation to release our anxiety. Not by dismissing our real fears, but by grounding us in presence, belovedness, and the goodness of God. Drawing on birds, lilies, and the Greek word 'merimnaō', this homily offers a compassionate way through anxious thoughts toward deeper trust in God's care.

Summer on the Mount: Part 6 – Words God Would Never Say

On America's 250th birthday, what would God never say to us — but what have we quietly come to believe? In this Independence Day homily — using a device from author William Paul Young (Lies We Believe About God) — we examine three statements of Jesus from Matthew 6:19-24 about our treasure, our eyes, and who we serve.

Summer on the Mount: Part 5 – The Little Way

As people of faith, it’s easy to get caught up in the lie that God expects big and grand things from us. But the simple and liberating truth is this: spiritual growth is a result of the little ways of discipleship. In this week’s sermon, we explore Jesus’s words in Matthew 6:1-18 to learn what it means to practice a spirituality that is small, simple, and sincere.

Summer on the Mount: Part 4 – Standing in the Rain

Jesus gave three brilliant examples of creative nonviolent resistance — and then demanded something even harder: love your enemies. In week four of Summer on the Mount, we explore why that command matters more than ever in a culture built on conflict.

Summer on the Mount: Part 3 – A Commencement Address

What do high school graduation, the You’ve-heard-it-said passages in the Sermon on the Mount, and the classic animated movie Monsters, Inc. have in common? That is the question we ask this graduation Sunday.

Summer on the Mount: Part 2 – Salt and Light

In this week's passage from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus uses the images of salt, light, and the law to describe a life of discipleship. But what exactly do these three concepts have in common? As Pastor Greg suggests, these images work together to teach us this important truth: to follow Jesus is to live incarnationally.

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