Ccf Sunday Messages

We are systematically making our way through Galatians 5 and will look at nine verses tomorrow: verses 7-15. The argument for the need for the church to have rules to govern behavior is that if people are told they are free, they will just indulge sin! “Pastor, people need rules and guilt and pressure or they will just do whatever they want!” one might say. Well….people who haven’t experienced real transformation might need rules and consequences to constrain behaviour, but the Spirit-filled believer has something much more powerful! Reading over and studying this passage you will find that this section outlines about ten or eleven reasons why legalism is unhealthy and inappropriate for the church! What controls our behaviour? Why is legalism so detrimental to a vibrant Christian life? Listen in and see what God has to say through Paul and we continue studying through this important book.

Galatians chapter five represents a transition from the first four chapters that were highly persuasive and theological regarding our relationship to God the Father. In chapter 5, Paul shows the Galatians what freedom really looks like and how truly free people really live by the Spirit and Love — not by law. In the discussion of “religious freedom”, Paul’s concern was the Christian would be free from legalistic religion and free to love people. Legalistic thinking had hindered their progress in Christ! What about you? Do you still hold on to the mindset—maybe subtly or not so subtly—that Christ is not enough? Do you feel obligated to tithe, read a certain Bible translation, wear certain clothes, worship on a certain day? What if you were to fail to do those things you consider essential? What would change? Your answers to these questions is essential to a solid understanding of genuine Christianity!

We will finish chapter 4 of Galatians in today’s message, and find yet another angle Paul takes in his attempt to rescue the people who are being coerced back into a rules-based, immature, slave-type relationship with God! His last approach is an “allegorical” look at a well known Old Testament account from Genesis. “But Pastor, it’s MOTHER’S DAY! Are you going to do a message about mothers?” Well, in fact the Lord has arranged an interesting passage that centers on not one, but two very important women (moms), their sons, and what their lives represent! Who are the women? Hagar and Sarah. Who are the sons? Isaac and Ishmael. What do their lives represent? To tell you that would be to spoil the message for tomorrow! But I think by now you might be able to guess — or you can read ahead and discover it for yourself!

Let’s be honest. There are times when we read the Bible and we say, “I wish I had a little more information!” Well, tomorrow’s study in Galatians 4:12-20 may just be one of those times! As Paul does, he has been “bringing the heat” and communicating his concern for the future of the people in Galatia. After having heard and embracing the grace of god, they are being brainwashed and trading the slavery of paganism for the slavery of legalism! In v 11, Paul is afraid that all of his hard work would have been for nothing if they effectively convert to Judaism from Christ! This next section is a little pause to get personal. Paul is not just a theologian. He is a pastor with a huge and loving heart! He is not distant, aloof, or superficial. He is personable, transparent, and genuine as the day is long. Now the part we wish we had more info about: Paul takes them back to when he first came to their region to share the news of Christ. He makes reference to the w

I hope we can begin to regain some of that momentum as we roll back into Galatians, picking up where we left off at the beginning of chapter 4! It’s been a few weeks so we’ll catch up a bit with a brief review at the start! For now, the question I want you to think about is: “How many different relational terms are used to describe our relationship with God? For instance, we are the bride of Christ. That’s one. Can you think of others? Is there one that you tend to think about most often? In Galatians 4, Paul uses some super important relationship illustrations that may be deeply impactful— maybe even liberating—to you, especially if you have come from a very “rules oriented” church background. The bottom line question is, “When it comes to your relationship to God, do you feel more like a slave or a son (daughter)? Do you even know the difference? Why is the difference important? Oh my….wait until you see what comes next!

This week we pick back up in Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia. We will be back finishing up the bulk of chapter three, and I think you will be encouraged and enlightened by it! We have spent a lot of time discussing “the law“—those regulations and rituals and stipulations that govern behavior and relationships. Paul has been pretty negative about the law in favor of the Spirit and grace. He’s all about Abraham and ignoring Moses! This inevitably brings up some really important questions; questions Paul will address in this next section. What questions? If it has always been by faith, then why did God bother to give the Law! What purpose does the Law serve if not to demonstrate our righteousness by keeping it? If you continue to struggle with feeling like love is something you and others have to earn, then you cannot miss this! If you wonder how a person is supposed to live if they can’t turn to the rulebook for directions, then listen in to this important m

This week we are stepping out of Galatians and into the book of 1 John for communion Sunday. The whole book is phenomenally honest about the difference between what we say and what we really do. Here is what I do know: life is hard and this world is not our home. There are global fears and family anxieties. How are we supposed to survive? How can a person find hope or peace in uncertain times? Listen in to this special message from 1 John on our community Sunday and be encouraged through worship and God’s word.

Feedback from the past several weeks suggests that many are being impacted by the truths of Galatians and many are sensing the Lord working through this study, and specifically on the topic of the grace of God. We will continue to wrap our heads around law, grace, and the experience of Abraham. We can study about grace, talk about grace, and even know about God’s grace, but how do you know when you really “get it”? How do you know when you begin to LIVE grace. Has grace invaded your mind so that it affects your relationships, marriage, parenting, and work life? In Galatians 3:11, Paul states that “the just shall live by faith”. That statement shows up four times in the Bible! I bet you would like to know where, right? Well, for that you will have to listen in to this week’s message. However, I will remind you that Paul only had the Old Testament at his disposal and that is where Paul quotes it from! It’s a pretty obscure and short OT book with an interesti

This week we open our Bibles to Galatians 3 and read along as Paul continues to battle against a gospel that claims blessing from God is a reward for good behavior. After giving them the reason for his letter in the first chapter, Paul has spent a good deal of ink describing his own personal experience with God’s message of grace. In chapter three, he will ask them to consider their own experience of Christianity! Do remember when God came crashing into your life! Do you remember what life was like then? Do you remember how it felt? Remember, Paul is appealing to the non-Jews who have become “spellbound” by traditional Judaism and tempted to turn to rule-keeping to try to earn God’s blessing! Have you ever had a bad day, difficult circumstance, or painful period, and during it you have wondered, “What have I done wrong? Maybe I should have prayed more, or tithed more, or served more!” Have you felt guilty like it was something you did or didn’t do that br

We continue making our way through Galatians as we learn to see Christianity clearly. The end of chapter two recounts a situation that divided the thriving church in Antioch. Paul publicly confronts Peter about being a hypocrite! Have you ever been confronted publicly? How did you feel? Talk about socially challenging and awkward! Although we will talk a little about confrontation and hypocrisy, this is not the gist or the purpose for Paul to include this information in his letter. Then what is the gist? Listen in to hear the details of Paul’s purpose and intent for this story! But for now, we get one of the great and defining verses of the New Testament in Paul’s lecture to Peter. Galatians 2:20 is worth memorizing. In that one sentence Paul lays out the Christian life apart from the law. With one swoosh of the pen, Paul reveals the way he thinks about his past and his present life and even includes the deep motives of his heart!

We now pick up where we left off in Galatians, in chapter 2 verses 1-10. As we focus in the beginning of 2020 on “seeing Christianity clearly“, we see the Apostle Paul fighting to defend the idea/truth that acceptance by God is based on a willingness to trust Him and not adherence to tradition, as important as tradition may be. Every age has its spiritual battles to fight. In our own day the church is being tragically divided over same sex marriage and homosexualtiy. In the earliest days of the church, the issue was circumcision. For us, circumcision is for most a medical or hygiene decision made at birth for boys. But for the Jew, it was a matter of acceptance by God. The big question was, “Can a person be accepted by God without submitting themselves to ritually religious circumcision” and all that it meant. Paul is willing to die on the hill of grace. For him there is no compromise on this issue. It is central to salvation itself. Listen in and see how Paul defends both th

This is one of those passages I have been looking forward to preaching. What a pleasure to help people see what is in God’s Word! Paul spends the rest of chapter one—and all of chapter two—defending the basic message of the Bible using his personal experience with Jesus and with the apostles. Question: Do you trust the message of the Bible? Can we know that Jesus really lived and died and rose from the dead? Is the Bible just a made up story that has been changed over the years? I think it will be fun to compare the historicity of Christ with that of Muhammed. Yes, there will be a little history lesson that I think you will find encouraging and fascinating! Grab your journal, listen in, and then share this with a skeptical friend. The truth and trustworthiness of God’s Word is something we can depend on!

Given that this new year we are starting is “2020“, it is hard to avoid the visual theme. It is in that spirit that the theme for our study through Galatians will be “Seeing Christianity Clearly”. After having been with the Corinthians for about the last two years, I think you will find the “pamphlet sized” letter to the churches in the region of Galatia a welcome change of pace. The issues in the church that prompted Paul to write this letter have given the church through history a basic primer on what Christianity is, and what it is NOT! This will be Christianity 101 as we look at what really makes Christianity different from every other world religion and pseudo-christian cult. Grab your notebooks and bibles, invite a friend, and listen in as we launch into this simple and clear look at what it means to be a Christian!

Today’s message brings our 2nd Corinthians to a close by covering all of chapter 13! Paul has finished defending himself and his foolish boasting. Emotionally exhausted, he takes a breath and discusses with this church a future visit before he closes the letter. If you remember, Paul has been scrutinized and criticized by the Corinthians. But—wait a second—in verse 5 Paul uses the word “yourself” three times in an emphatic way. He tells them they should be scrutinizing themselves and taking a look at themselves! You know the old saying: “Every time you point the finger you have three pointing back at you!” You know it so much easier to criticize others than to actually look at ourselves. He asks them if they are really believers! What a question! Will they pass the test? Paul is ready to play hard ball with this Corinthian church; if they are even a church at all! He is hopeful they will take a look in the mirror and sort things out so that when he comes they

We will start off today’s continuation of our study in 2 Corinthians with a lighter view of parenting. Why? Although 2 Cor 12 is not a passage about parenting, Paul uses parenting as an analogy to discuss his relationship with the Corinthian believers. And it is ever so appropriate! They are a church of spiritual babies! Paul has been forced into foolishly boasting and now he is winding down. He continues to defend himself against their cultural view of an accomplished pastor and their cultural view of being a Christian. He discusses an upcoming visit he will make. Gulp! How will it go? What will he find when he gets there? This is where the parenting analogy comes in. You’ll have to listen in for the rest, but I will tell you that vv 14-15 have really served me well over the years. The lighter side of parenting will yield to the challenging side of ministry! As Charles Spurgeon said about ministry, “If you can do anything else and be happy, by all means do it. If you can’t, then

This week we enter chapter 12 of 2nd Corinthians covering verses 1-10. This passage is packed with both curiosity and familiarity! Curiosity? In being forced to brag a bit, Paul meets the false teachers on the field of spiritual revelation and vision! Paul had his share of visions—you can read more about this in the book of Acts. It is curious that Paul talks about himself in the third person—as if he is speaking about someone else. And he tells of a vision of Paradise that is impossible to explain! Why does he talk about himself that way? What is Heaven like? Familiarity? You have heard about Paul’s “thorn in the flesh”. You have heard the verse, “My grace is sufficient?” The mighty miracle working Paul, who has healed others, is struggling as to why he is not being healed from this “thorn”. What is the thorn? Why doesn’t God answer Paul’s prayer by taking the thorn away? Ultimately, Paul recognizes that bragging is useless and o

Continuing this intense section with Paul arguing against the false teachers in Corinth, this week we finish up chapter eleven, where Paul focuses on his suffering for the gospel’s sake. No one can disagree that Paul has withstood unbelievable trials and hardships for the gospel, and surely the church at Corinth could see the vast difference between the false teachers and the true devotion and love of their apostle Paul. While Paul still is frustrated at the need to argue “in the flesh” with credentials and titles, he clearly shows his passion for the churches and his dedication to the gospel, even though he knows this is not the core of who he is. Instead, he finishes in v. 30 “If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity.” He knew that the real power was evident where he was weak, and that it was God’s power, not his own that gave Paul authority in the Corinthian church. Listen in as we finish chapter 11 and see Paul’s passion for

As we continue this intense section of 2nd Corinthians, we open chapter eleven where Paul finds himself being forced to meet his arrogant opponents with some of his own bragging and self defense. These chapters are filled with comments about bragging and boasting, and it makes Paul very uncomfortable! Last week we discussed tearing down the stronghold of comparison—Paul refused to even try to even be in the same class with people who brag about what they have done and accomplished. Paul would rather brag about what Jesus has done. That’s humility at its finest, and it is the way out of the comparison trap. But what next? That doesn’t really help the Corinthians who are being deceived by the lofty claims and loud mouth self promotion of the false teachers. People are being sucked in by their claims and trusting them as they run down the Apostle Paul in his absence. So Paul has to tear down the stronghold of convincing lies—and those that tell them! Information is powerful, but on

Personally, I believe that God’s people should be the wisest on planet earth! “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). Yet, in some ways Christians can be the most susceptible to being taken advantage of! Why is that? Christians who have the wrong perspective are easily led astray to their own destruction. Those who are enamored with the miraculous, focused on appearances, and believe someone is legit just because they carry a Bible and say they speak for Jesus, are ripe for the picking! There is one (Satan) who is very crafty and very skilled in the art of deception. He has workers that infiltrate the world and even the church. Just like Satan, they are interested in wreaking havoc, causing division, and destroying ALL people as well as God’s plan. In fact, the whole world system is under his control! To live successfully, and to not be taken advantage of, you need to know what to look for. In this next section, we will look at some real practical aspects

How many times have you been confronted with arguments like “The Bible is full of contradictions.” Or how about “God is just a myth created by man to explain the world.” With the growth of social media and the global internet, you can watch someone make a very convincing argument for the flatness of the earth or the fact that the lunar landing was a hoax! Some people are just really good at making a convincing argument—but does that mean they are right? The next three chapters in our 2nd Corinthians study, chapters 10-13, form a very interesting section. Paul deals with people who are really convincing debaters! Bible scholars have spent much time trying to figure out exactly how this section fits in with the rest of this letter. For one, it has a much different tone and direction than the rest of 2 Corinthians. In these chapters we will see Paul battling to defend his apostleship against a faction in Corinth that are stealing people’s minds and leading them away fro