Resources
RESOURCES
City Church Tulsa
Journey into Spiritual Formation
POdcast
City Church Tulsa
Podcasts
City University
Intentional Marriage
Led by Matt and Lindsay Nelson, this class helps couples build emotional, spiritual, and physical intimacy. Whether you’re strengthening connection or navigating challenges, you’ll gain tools to cultivate a healthier, more intentional marriage rooted in God’s design.
The Way of Formation
This class explores how daily habits shape who we’re becoming. By learning the lifestyle of Jesus, we move from head knowledge to heart practice—embracing spiritual formation as a way of love, lived out in ordinary life.
Christian Worldview
Covering topics from the narrative of God to postmodernism, sexuality, heresies, and political engagement, this course encourages critical thinking and informed discussion on complex issues.
Longing for More
Longing for More provides insights into the pursuit of contentment and purpose amid life's busyness. Pastor Rachel challenges us to rethink our understanding of success and satisfaction, helping us find deeper peace and fulfillment in God’s presence.
The Book of Genesis
The Book of Genesis explores God’s story of creation, purpose, and covenant. Led by Pastor Matt, this course addresses the context and themes of Genesis, helping us understand how God’s mission in the world begins and what it means for us today.
Intentional Parenting
Raising kids isn’t a solo journey. This 4-week class explores how to build strong, Christ-centered relationships with your children across every season. Learn to disciple your kids at home and navigate real-life topics like technology, sibling dynamics, and social challenges with wisdom, grace, and a Kingdom lens.
God in the Marketplace
This class equips marketplace leaders to live out their faith at work. Discover how God wants to use your current role for Kingdom impact as you learn to lead with purpose, engage in meaningful conversations, and become a disciple-maker in your workplace.
Topics
Spiritual Formation
A Liturgy for Those Consumed by Noise
In a culture of endless input, this message calls us to quiet our souls, remember our identity as God’s beloved, and develop rhythms of stillness that make space for healing, prayer, and the voice of the Spirit.
Streams in the Desert Series
We live in a dry and weary world. This series invites us to drink deeply from the Living Water of Christ—moving beyond empty wells and into rhythms of prayer, presence, and daily renewal in God’s overflowing grace.
The Slow Work of God
This message invites us to notice the small, hidden ways the Kingdom of God takes root. Through patient influence and everyday faithfulness, we are formed—not by impact alone, but by a lifetime of surrender to Jesus.
Myths of Spiritual Formation
Spiritual growth doesn’t happen by accident. This message confronts common myths and calls us to live from rhythms of renewal—not reaction. Formation takes time, intention, and a willingness to be shaped at the feet of Jesus.
Streams in the Desert: Transforming Practices
Spiritual growth doesn’t happen by accident. This message calls us to build intentional rhythms—habits that shape our hearts toward Christ. Through a “rule of life,” we partner with the Spirit to live rooted, present, and formed in love.
Simplicity - Making Room in our Hearts
Simplicity isn’t just about less stuff—it’s about clearing distractions to seek God’s Kingdom first. This message calls us to reorder our lives around what matters most, making space for presence, peace, and a deeper life with Jesus.
City University - Longing For More
Longing for More provides insights into the pursuit of contentment and purpose amid life's busyness. Pastor Rachel challenges us to rethink our understanding of success and satisfaction, helping us find deeper peace and fulfillment in God’s presence.
City University - The Way of Formation
This class explores how daily habits shape who we’re becoming. By learning the lifestyle of Jesus, we move from head knowledge to heart practice—embracing spiritual formation as a way of love, lived out in ordinary life.
The Secret Place
In a culture obsessed with the public, Jesus calls us to the hidden place. This message invites us to return to rhythms of solitude and prayer—where our identity is renewed, our soul is restored, and real power is formed.
Prayer
Teach Us To Pray Series
Prayer isn’t performance—it’s presence. In this series, we explore the Lord’s Prayer as a pattern for life with God, learning to rest in the Father’s love, reshape our rhythms, and grow in intimacy through honest, simple, Spirit-led prayer.
Communing Prayer
Prayer is more than asking—it’s being with God. This message invites us to move beyond transactional faith into intimate communion. Through contemplative prayer and spiritual practices, we learn to sit with God, be still, and be transformed by His presence.
Contemplative Prayer
Contemplative prayer is the practice of simply being with God. This message invites us to move beyond performance and productivity, resting in our identity as beloved children, and learning to abide through stillness, silence, and presence with the Father.
The Power of Practice & Prayer
In this City U class you’ll learn contemplative prayer as a practice of presence—being with God without agenda. By embracing silence, solitude, and stillness, we open ourselves to the Spirit’s transforming love and begin to experience the life of Jesus through His lifestyle.
The Way of Prayer - City U Class
This class invites us into deeper intimacy with God through contemplative and imaginative prayer. Exploring spiritual formation, silence, and the inner journey, we learn to move from doing for God to being with Him—experiencing transformation rooted in love and presence.
Devoted to Prayer
Prayer is more than routine—it’s the heartbeat of life with God. This message calls us to deeper communion through persistence, stillness, and Spirit-led intercession, reminding us that a devoted life is always rooted in a devoted prayer life.
The Way of Prayer
Prayer isn’t about performance—it’s about presence. This message invites us to come to God like children: honest, messy, and real. Learn to pray with persistence, freedom, and trust, discovering deeper connection and rest in the presence of your Father.
Prayer of Faith
We often avoid pain and chase comfort—but James invites us to something deeper. This message challenges us to pray with honesty, persistence, and confession, trusting that God meets us not in pretense, but in our broken, childlike faith.
Kingdom of God: Prayer & Fasting
Jesus teaches that giving, prayer, and fasting are not for show, but for communion with God. This message challenges us to seek God in the secret place, strip away performance, and pursue authentic spiritual rhythms rooted in humility and dependence.
People of Prayer
Prayer isn’t a duty—it’s the doorway to intimacy with God. In this message, Pastor Matt calls us to a life of dependence, presence, and formation, challenging us to reorder our rhythms and become a church deeply rooted in communion with God.
Culture & Politics
City University - Christian Worldview
Covering topics from the narrative of God to postmodernism, sexuality, heresies, and political engagement, this course encourages critical thinking and informed discussion on complex issues.
A liturgy for a politically divided nation
This message invites us to lay down partisan allegiances and embrace the countercultural way of Jesus. In a moment of political tension, we’re called to be a prophetic people—marked by humility, grace, and Kingdom-first faithfulness.
Anchored in a Drifting Culture
In a world of shifting truths and subtle distortions, this message calls us to remain rooted in the Gospel. Through spiritual authority, authentic community, and daily practices, we’re invited to contend for truth and live anchored in Christ.
Faith & Politics
In a polarized world, this message challenges us to live as Kingdom citizens first. Rather than fitting Jesus into political sides, we’re called to follow Him above all—rooted in grace, humility, truth, and a cross-shaped vision for community.
Politics and the Church Podcast
How Christians can engage politics without losing sight of the Kingdom? From legislation to personal witness, this episode offers a candid conversation on identity, grace, and the church’s role in a divided and polarized world.
God & Culture
In a divided world, this message challenges us to live with gospel-centered conviction and grace. Rather than retreat or conform, we’re called to engage culture as Kingdom citizens—grounded in Scripture, shaped by love, and faithful in tension.
Sabbath & Rest
Streams in the Desert - Slowing
We weren’t created to live exhausted and endlessly busy. This message invites us to resist the culture of hurry through Sabbath and intentional rhythms of rest—reconnecting with God, restoring our souls, and embracing the pace of renewal Jesus offers.
Pyramid Scheme - Part 1
Our culture idolizes productivity, but God designed a different rhythm. This message explores Sabbath as a countercultural act of trust and renewal—inviting us to resist burnout, embrace rest, and live from overflow through the life-giving pace of Jesus.
Pyramid Scheme - Part 2
Sabbath is more than rest—it’s resistance. In this message, we explore how intentional rhythms of stopping, resting, delighting, and worshiping free us from cultural idols of busyness and reorient our lives around God’s presence, trust, and love.
Streams in the Desert - Sabbath
More than a day off, Sabbath is a weekly rhythm of rest, delight, and resistance. This message invites us to stop striving, embrace God’s presence, and live counter to a restless culture—receiving Sabbath as a gift that forms us.
Books of the Bible
City University - Book of Genesis
The Book of Genesis explores God’s story of creation, purpose, and covenant. Led by Pastor Matt, this course addresses the context and themes of Genesis, helping us understand how God’s mission in the world begins and what it means for us today.
Awaken - 1 & 2 Thessalonians
In a city filled with idols, power, and persecution, a young church becomes a model of bold and contagious faith. This 8-week series walks through 1 and 2 Thessalonians, calling us to awaken to hope, holiness, and the return of Christ.
The Book of James
This 6-week series walks through the Book of James, a letter full of wisdom and practical guidance for living out authentic faith. With a focus on perseverance, obedience, humility, and justice, James challenges believers to align their actions with the way of Jesus.
Colossians
In a culture shaped by empire, pressure, and blended beliefs, Paul’s letter to the Colossians calls the church to root their lives in the supremacy of Christ. This 6-week series invites us to reimagine everything in light of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
The Book of Revelation
This 6-week series explores the misunderstood book of Revelation, calling us to reimagine our future with hope—not fear. Written to a persecuted church, Revelation reveals Christ’s victory, challenges worldly allegiance, and invites us to live faithfully in the present.
Book of Judges
The book of Judges captures the tragic cycle of forgetfulness, rebellion, and God’s mercy. This series challenges us to confront cultural compromise, remember who we are, and pass down a genuine faith that breaks the cycle for the next generation.
Acts
The book of Acts is the story of a gospel movement fueled by the Spirit and carried by ordinary people. In just 30 years, the Church grew from 120 followers in an upper room to a global movement. This series invites us to rediscover what it means to be the Church—Spirit-filled, mission-driven, and radically devoted. As we walk through Acts, we’ll wrestle with what we’ve added to the table, what needs to be taken off, and what God might be inviting us to reclaim.
Spirit-Empowered
The Person of the Spirit Series
This series invites us to rediscover the Holy Spirit—not as a distant force, but as God’s personal presence with and within us. Together, we’ll learn to walk with the Spirit, be transformed by Him, and live empowered lives as the Church sent into the world.
The Unseen Series
This series explores the spiritual realm behind our everyday reality. Over eight weeks, we’ll dive into spiritual warfare, deliverance, miracles, and our authority in Christ—rediscovering a biblical imagination for the supernatural and learning to live empowered by the Spirit.
Pentecost 2025
On the day the Church was born, the Spirit came like wind and fire—bringing power, breaking barriers, and birthing a new community. This message invites us to surrender to the Spirit’s presence, live as witnesses, and be transformed from within.
Pentecost 2024
We don’t need more content—we need power. This message invites us to stop striving in our own strength and receive the Spirit afresh. Pentecost marks the moment the Church was born—and reminds us that God’s presence now dwells in us.
The Spiritual Realm Podcast
In this episode, Cody Jensen is joined by Pastors Matt Nelson, Rachel Sanders, and guest Stephen Kuert for a conversation on the unseen spiritual realm. They share personal stories of miraculous encounters, divine intercession, and the power of prayer—highlighting the presence of God and the need for spiritual discernment.
Formed in the Chaos: Spirit-Empowered
What does it mean to live a Spirit-empowered life? In this message, we explore Paul’s words to Timothy and discover that the Christian life isn’t sustained by willpower alone. The Spirit gives us power, love, and self-discipline to walk faithfully every day.
Streams in the Desert: Spiritual Warfare
We are in a battle—whether we recognize it or not. In this message, we explore how the enemy uses deception to gain a foothold in our lives, and how we’re called to stand firm in truth, walk in spiritual authority, and live aware but unafraid through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Spiritual Awakening
In a weary, distracted world, God invites us to renewal. This message calls us to rekindle our passion, return to our first love, and pursue the Spirit through repentance, holiness, and rhythms of formation. Awakening begins when we seek Him.
Sexuality
Liturgy For the Moment - A liturgy for those struggling in secret
Shame grows in silence. This message invites us to step into the light—to bring hidden struggles to Jesus. Through the story of Samson and powerful testimony, we’re reminded that secrets lose power when we confess and receive grace.
God & Sexuality - Beauty
This message reclaims the beauty of God’s design for sexuality in a world shaped by confusion, shame, and brokenness. Rather than avoiding or idolizing sex, we’re invited to see it as a good gift—meant to form us, point us to Christ, and be stewarded faithfully within God’s sacred design.
God & Sexuality - Brokenness
Sin has distorted God’s design for sexuality, leading to confusion, pain, and cultural distortion. This message explores the effects of secularism, the biblical response to sexual brokenness, and the call to live as God’s holy people—walking in truth, extending grace, and reclaiming our identity in Christ.
Love Lies Series
Love Lies confronts the messages we’ve believed about love, sex, and relationships. In this message, we explore the lie that sex is shameful—unpacking the damage of silence, fear, and distortion, and reclaiming a vision of sexuality that is sacred, embodied, and whole.
God & Sexuality Forum
In this open forum, City Church leaders, guest voices, and members share real stories and wrestle with complex questions around sexuality, identity, culture, and the Church. With honesty, compassion, and clarity, the conversation explores how to embody grace and truth in community, uphold biblical conviction without sacrificing love, and walk with others through the tension of faith and formation.
Christian Worldview: Kingdom Sexual Formation
This teaching explores a sacred vision of sexuality shaped by the story of God. It challenges both cultural narratives and shame-based approaches, calling us to a life of integrity, intimacy, and discipleship rooted in Jesus.
Community
Devoted Series
This six-week journey through Acts 2:42–47 calls us to reject consumerism and individualism and embrace intentional community, sacrificial living, and spiritual formation. Rediscover what it means to be the Church—devoted to one another, shaped by the Spirit, and committed to the way of Jesus in a fragmented world.
Liturgy For the Moment - A liturgy for the Lonely
Loneliness is real—and God meets us in it. This message explores God’s heart for the isolated and His call for the Church to become family. Through personal story, Scripture, and liturgy, we’re reminded that simple acts of hospitality and presence can create ripple effects of belonging, healing, and eternal hope.
Becoming Family Series
In a culture of individualism and consumerism, God calls us to something deeper: family. This 8-week series explores the barriers that hinder true community and the sacrifices needed to build it. Together, we’ll learn how to lay down our lives for one another and live as the covenant family God designed us to be.
The Unseen - We Battle Together
Spiritual warfare was never meant to be faced alone. In this powerful message, we see how God strengthens and sustains His people through community, intercession, and shared victory. As we learn from Moses, Aaron, and Joshua, we’re reminded that the battles we face are won together—through prayer, proximity, and the power of God.
Marriage & Family
City University - Intentional Marriage
Led by Matt and Lindsay Nelson, this class helps couples build emotional, spiritual, and physical intimacy. Whether you’re strengthening connection or navigating challenges, you’ll gain tools to cultivate a healthier, more intentional marriage rooted in God’s design.
City University - Intentional Parenting
Raising kids isn’t a solo journey. This 4-week class explores how to build strong, Christ-centered relationships with your children across every season. Learn to disciple your kids at home and navigate real-life topics like technology, sibling dynamics, and social challenges with wisdom, grace, and a Kingdom lens.
Liturgy for the Moment - A Liturgy for Those Longing for More in Their Marriage
Marriage can reflect God’s love—but often, we find ourselves drifting into disconnection, distance, or discontent. In this honest and hope-filled message, Matt and Lindsay Nelson share a vision for emotional connection, covenant commitment, and the spiritual intimacy God desires for marriage. Whether you’re thriving, surviving, or struggling, this message offers encouragement, vulnerability, and a path forward.
A Better Story - Gospel Centered Parenting
How do we raise kids whose faith lasts? This message explores parenting with the gospel at the center—shaping hearts, not just behavior, and cultivating grace-filled homes that reflect the love, presence, and humility of Christ.
Love, Sex, Marriage - Panel
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7 Marriage & Relationship Questions During Crisis
In a season of stress and uncertainty, Pastor Matt and Lindsay Nelson share seven honest questions to help couples assess their relationship and take steps toward health. From spiritual leadership to emotional check-ins, this conversation offers practical, grace-filled guidance for anyone navigating relational tension.
Church Calendar
Kaleidoscope of the Cross
An exploration of the many layers of meaning, beauty, and power found in the crucifixion of Jesus. Like a kaleidoscope, each turn offers a new perspective, revealing the depth of God’s love, justice, mercy, and victory through the cross. Join us as we look closer and allow the cross to shape our lives in unexpected ways.
Hymns of Joy
This Advent series centers on the deep longing within each of us and the joy of Christ’s arrival. Through beloved Christmas hymns and Scripture, we prepare our hearts in the darkness and rediscover adoration, hope, and the coming light of Jesus.
The Crowds
We follow Jesus to the cross through the eyes of the crowds. As the cost of discipleship rises, we’re invited to move from curiosity to commitment—counting the cost and surrendering everything to follow Him.
Advent: Make Room
In the busyness of the season, Advent invites us to slow down and make space—for hope, peace, joy, and love. We look back at Christ’s first coming and forward to His return, cultivating expectant hope in the here and now.
Nevertheless: A Lenten Journey Series
This Lent, we journey with Jesus through Gethsemane and toward the cross. In a season of surrender, we learn to echo His words—“not my will, but yours”—dying daily to self so we might fully live in resurrection hope.
Advent: Longing
This Advent, we enter a season of waiting and holy tension—looking back to Christ’s first coming and forward to His return. In the darkness, we name our longings and griefs, while anchoring our hope in the faithful presence of Emmanuel.
Shadow of the Cross: A Lenten Journey
During Lent, we sit in the tension of Christ’s suffering and our sin. As we follow Jesus from Gethsemane to the tomb, we are invited into repentance, surrender, and the costly beauty of discipleship beneath the shadow of the cross.
Pentecost 2025
On the day the Church was born, the Spirit came like wind and fire—bringing power, breaking barriers, and birthing a new community. This message invites us to surrender to the Spirit’s presence, live as witnesses, and be transformed from within.
Pentecost 2024
We don’t need more content—we need power. This message invites us to stop striving in our own strength and receive the Spirit afresh. Pentecost marks the moment the Church was born—and reminds us that God’s presence now dwells in us.
Pentecost 2023
At Pentecost, the Spirit was poured out, launching the church in power, unity, and mission. In this message, we remember our need for both the presence and practices of God—seeking transformation through the Spirit and becoming a people formed for His purpose.
Books
City Church Tulsa
Books
A collection of current and past books from our bookstore.
The Beauty of the In-Between
by Matthew Nelson
The Beauty of the In-Between is about learning to fully embrace the space between where you are and where you want to be. It’s about embracing God's process; the ups and downs, zigzags, uncertainties, struggles, detours, seasons of doubt, and the waiting. In the life of King David, we get a front row seat to this not-so-direct journey of discipleship that God often leads us down in order to shape our hearts and our future. It’s also in this not-so-direct journey where we discover our identity (pasture), we learn the indispensable lesson of surrender (cave), and we discover that even in the midst of the in-between we can find a greater purpose (palace).
Spiritual Formation
Bible Study & Theology
Prayer
Devotional / Contemplative
Church & Community
Parenting & Family
Relationships & Personal Growth
Leadership & Authority
Sexuality
