One out of every seven Christians in the world faces significant threats, discrimination, imprisonment, violence, or even death all because they call Jesus Lord. God invites us not merely to be informed about the persecuted church, but to identify with them and to pray fervently for endurance, faithfulness, and courage for our sisters and brothers in Christ.
Author: Heather Fischer
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12. Make Culture
Renewed people have the freedom to challenge and reshape culture. Here are some resources to help you engage this dynamic of a renewed life:
Explore This Dynamic
Watch or listen above for an introduction to Make Culture, or read the transcript here:
READ ➜Discuss with Others
• What in the “Make Culture” content has stood out to you? What about making culture is on your mind today?
• What are some of the idols you see in the culture around you? How are these reflected in the lives of our group?
• Which posture toward culture comes most naturally to you? Which is most challenging? Why?
• Read Acts 17:16-34. Why does Paul engage the culture around him? How does does he go about it? What can we learn from that?Go Deeper with Community
…by joining a Discipleship Cohort
DETAILS ➜Teachings
“Make Culture” by Jeremy Treat
Nature is what God gives. Culture is what we do with it and the meaning we find in that doing. Pastor Jeremy Treat concludes our Discipleship Pathway series with a sermon from Genesis 1:26-31 about making culture.
SERMON ➜“FOR KIDS: “Make Culture” by Kevin Weiner and Jonathan Fitzgerald
Because of Jesus and what he has done, we can now make culture that drives people to God and allows each one of us to become a new person, with a new family, on a new mission.
SERMON ➜“Seek the Peace of the City” by Jeremy Treat
Pastor Jeremy Treat preaches a sermon from Jeremiah 29:1-7 examining what it means for us to be sent by God to the place we live, to put down roots in Los Angeles (no matter how long we’re here), and to seek the peace of our city.
SERMON ➜Readings*
Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling by Andy Crouch
It is not enough to condemn culture. Nor is it sufficient merely to critique culture or to copy culture. The only way to change culture is to create culture. Andy Crouch unleashes a stirring manifesto calling Christians to be culture makers. For too long, Christians have had an insufficient view of culture and have waged misguided “culture wars.” But we must reclaim the cultural mandate to be the creative cultivators that God designed us to be. Culture is what we make of the world, both in creating cultural artifacts as well as in making sense of the world around us. By making chairs and omelets, languages and laws, we participate in the good work of culture making.
BOOK ➜Culture Care: Reconnecting with Beauty for Our Common Life by Makoto Fujimura
This book issues a call to cultural stewardship, in which we become generative and feed our culture’s soul with beauty, creativity, and generosity. We serve others as cultural custodians of the future. This is a book for artists, but artists come in many forms. Anyone with a calling to create—from visual artists, musicians, writers, and actors to entrepreneurs, pastors, and business professionals—will resonate with its message. This book is for anyone with a desire or an artistic gift to reach across boundaries with understanding, reconciliation, and healing and who understand how much the culture we all share affects human thriving today and shapes the generations to come.
BOOK ➜The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection by Robert Farrar Capon
One type of culture all of us will make is food. From a passionate and talented chef who also happens to be an Episcopalian priest comes this surprising and thought-provoking treatise on everything from prayer to poetry to puff pastry. In this book-lenth meditation on a single series of meals (“Lamb for Eight Persons Four Times”), Robert Farrar Capon talks about festal and ferial cooking, the deep spirituality of chopping onions, and the benefits and wonders of old-fashioned home cooking in a world of fast food and prepackaged cuisine.
BOOK ➜Imagine: A Vision for Christians in the Arts by Steve Turner
Art can faithfully chronicle the lives of ordinary people and express the transcendence of God. And Christians should be involved in every level of the art world and in every medium. If Jesus is Lord of all life and creation, then art is part of his cultural mandate. It can and should be a way of expressing faith through creatively, beautifully, and truthfully arranged words, sounds, and sights.
BOOK ➜
* While we may not agree with everything in every book we recommend, we think they’re helpful resources to better understand Scripture and learn to follow Jesus in every area of life. -
00. Who Is Jesus?
Any growth in Christian discipleship begins with nearness to Jesus. Here are some resources as you begin your journey on the Discipleship Pathway:
Start the Journey
Watch or listen above to start the Discipleship Pathway, or read the transcript here:
READ ➜Go Deeper with Community
…by joining a Discipleship Cohort
DETAILS ➜Discuss with Others
• What was one thing from the “Who Is Jesus?” content that was encouraging or challenging?
• What are some of the common beliefs about Jesus that we’ve heard over the course of our lives?
• When did you first hear about Jesus? How does what you understood then compare to what we’re talking about today?
• What do you hope Jesus does in you through the Discipleship Pathway? Let this lead you into prayer.Teachings
“Who Is Jesus?” by Jeremy Treat
Three of the most important questions we can ever ask are, “Who is Jesus?”, “Why did he come?”, and “What does it mean for me?” Pastor Jeremy Treat kicks off our Discipleship Pathway sermon series with a sermon exploring Matthew 16‘s answers to these questions.
SERMON ➜FOR KIDS: “Who Is Jesus?” by Kevin Weiner and Jonathan Fitzgerald
We start off our time in the Discipleship Pathway by answering the question, “Who is Jesus?” Jesus is the Son of God, the sacrifice for our sin, and the Savior King. The good news of Jesus changes everything!
TEACHING ➜ -
Anna Braswell
Born and raised in South Georgia, Anna’s been a churchgoer since nine months before she was born. She came to a child’s faith in God at age nine, but it was later, when she was active in the University of North Georgia Baptist Collegiate Ministry, that she grew into a more personal, grown-up understanding of faith.
After earning her BA in English and getting a job in college financial aid, she felt called to the career path of writing for TV. So went back to school at Savannah College of Art and Design and earned an MFA in Dramatic Writing (specifically, half-hour comedies).
In LA, God connected her with a roommate who invited her to Reality LA. For eight years she’s been active in a community group, sung in the choir, and volunteered in Kids Ministry, which lead to becoming part-time Kids Ministry Sunday Coordinator. She’s passionate about the importance of teaching kids the fundamental truths of God and the Bible—many of the scriptures she knows as an adult are lodged in her brain in Donut Man song form, as learned when she was a small child.
In her free time, Anna enjoys reading, writing, photographing the beauty of God creation, and sharing different cultures and ways of life through food, music, language, and art. She looks for humor in life’s chaos and enjoys music from the 40s to Motown, show tunes, and Kpop. You can find her watching live theatre, Kdramas, good sitcoms, classic movies, and reading Old Hollywood biographies (since all her celebrity crushes are dead).
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Serve LA
Serve LA is a faith-based non-profit started by Reality LA to steward the ministry we received and help fulfill the vision of seeking the renewal of Los Angeles. The two organizations have an ongoing partnership that is rooted in our shared history and aims for a mutual relationship as we serve the city together.
Serve LA is responsible for serving over 1,000 meals a week at the Hope Center (roughly 63,000 each year), as well as offering shower access to over 200 people a month, facilitating the distribution of over 1,700 boxes of food each week to surrounding communities and organizations through our citywide distribution program, and overseeing the monthly Day of Hope, which provides haircuts, clothing, hygiene supplies, medical aid, and more. All of this is done with a gospel-motivated emphasis on hope, compassion, and revealing (not imparting) the innate dignity and value of each image-bearer who walks through the doors.
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The Ascension
Our hope is in not just in the crucified, resurrected Christ, but the ascended Christ who sits, reigns, gives, intercedes, and returns! Pastor Jeremy Treat preaches a sermon from Luke 24:48-53.
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He Is Risen
If Christ is truly raised from the dead, it means hope is possible, there’s purpose in our suffering, we’re not alone, his power can be made perfect in weakness, injustice has an expiration date, evil will be held accountable, and fear can be driven out by love! Pastor Jeremy Treat preaches a sermon from Luke 24:1-49.
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The Missing Piece
What does the parable of the wicked tenants teach us about the reality of sin and the character of God? Pastor Jonathan Fitzgerald continues our Good News for All series with a sermon from Luke 20:9-18.
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Gina Omilon
Gina is a proud Canadian, having grown up in the province of Alberta—her childhood memories include beautiful views of the Rocky Mountains and prairies, enjoying sunlight until 10:30PM in the summer, many outdoor hockey games, and surviving a cold weather record of -76°F. A graduate of AMDA College & Conservatory of the Performing Arts, Gina is an actress (famously killed on Criminal Minds), writer, and freelance event producer. One of her career goals is to be cast in a sitcom, as well as write her own films and plays.
Raised in a Christian home, Gina always believed that Jesus was real and was King. As an adult, she has deepened her relationship with him. Gina fought with the lie that she had to excel in order to be liked and heard; Jesus teaching her about his unconditional love and availability was a lesson which continues to bring her healing. Gina also experienced his continuous provision, especially throughout her immigration process to the US, which lasted over a decade.
Gina first got connected to Reality LA before she arrived in Los Angeles through strangers she met in Las Vegas; after moving to the city, they both texted her for several weeks to come visit Reality LA. Although Gina had planned not to be involved in church—due to some previous negative experiences—she finally relented. The Sunday she visited, the Lord providentially had Tim Chaddick preach a sermon addressing the church issues she was wrestling with. Thanks to that sermon, she came back the next Sunday… and every Sunday since.
Since joining Reality LA, Gina has served on the baptism, welcome, and parking teams. She loves how Reality LA provides stability within the transience of Los Angeles, and she’s been dedicated to making a home and growing roots here.
In her free time, Gina loves exploring this giant world God made, and hopes to travel to 100 countries. She’s also incredibly passionate about Tim Hortons’ coffee, Tom Brady (GOAT) and the New England Patriots (six rings, baby!), The Lord of the Rings, and New York City.
Her favorite things about LA are our city’s proximity to the beach, the mountains, the desert, and farm fields, how kind and accepting the people are, and the fact that it’s socially acceptable to bring a coffee and a dog inside any and all buildings.
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A Song of Repentance for the Sinful Soul
A contrite heart is not just satisfied with forgiveness, but longs for the joy of a restored fellowship with God. Guest preacher Afshin Ziafat continues our summer series through the Psalms with a sermon from Psalm 51.
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Tyler
Tyler has a bicoastal background—he spent his childhood in Victorville, CA, and his formative years in New Jersey.
Raised in a Christian home, Tyler began following Jesus at a young age; however, his faith remained cultural and works-focused for many years. Despite this deficiency, Tyler acknowledged God’s guiding hand in his faith journey. One such moment was moving Tyler’s family to the East Coast two months prior to his mom’s cancer diagnosis; their new home was near the top cancer specialist in the US, a proximity which saved her life. It was in these instances that Tyler experienced God’s provision, compassion, and perfect will, which motivated him to pursue deeper intimacy with the Lord.
Moving to Los Angeles in 2016, Tyler began attending Reality LA following a period of great loss; he joined the Sawtelle community group, and—encouraged by the strong biblical teaching and faithful Christian witness—has now co-led that group for the past five years. He attributes the majority of his spiritual growth to Reality LA, and is passionate about our mission, namely building multicultural connections and seeking the renewal of our beloved city for Jesus through tangible ministries.
Tyler lives in Culver City (Westside=best side!). His hobbies include playing board games (he owns over 100), running obstacle races, collecting artwork, visiting museums, and attending theatre events.
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Deborah Kim
Deborah grew up mostly between Seoul and New York City. She graduated from NYU, studying the philosophy and experience of beauty, along with film studies.
Raised in a Christian home, Deborah always believed in Jesus, but the fullness of him wasn’t made real to her until her adult years. Before she went off to college, she realized she didn’t actually know who Jesus was; she only knew the God of her parents, the God that was presented on Sundays. Deciding she wanted to know Jesus for herself was a big turning point in Deborah’s personal journey of faith. Since then, she’s experienced God’s transformation and healing as she’s grown in relationship with him.
Deborah likes to connect with God in solitude—soaking up the beauty of nature, listening to music, looking at art, taking photos, reading Scripture and journaling. She also loves prayer and worship alongside her sisters and brothers in Christ.
Deborah got plugged into Reality LA several months after moving to Los Angeles. Deborah had been looking for a church that was centered on Christ, valued community, and made disciples. She first visited Reality LA on Vision Sunday 2024 and has been coming ever since.
Prior to joining the Reality staff, Deborah worked in documentary production in Seoul, and worked as a freelance videographer in New York City.
Deborah lives in Van Nuys. In her free time she likes to befriend cats.