CCF Sunday Messages

We bring Romans chapter 8 to a close this week with some concluding thoughts from Paul. Not only does this passage wrap up the chapter, but it ties up the entirety of the first eight chapters of Romans!  This passage is as “dense” as they come! Dense?  Yes! Packed with incredible, life changing truth on every line!

In a world where people are filled with internal pain and turmoil — meaninglessness, unfulfilled desires, fleeting glory, confused about purpose — most people have found relief from painful emotions by pursuing entertainment, recreation, drugs and alcohol, or relationships with people.  This next section of Romans addresses these issues, but so much more! Listen in as Pastor Steve closes out this pivotal chapter as we continue our study through Romans.

We bring Romans chapter 8 to a close this week with some concluding thoughts from Paul. Not only does this passage wrap up the chapter, but it ties up the entirety of the first eight chapters of Romans!  This passage is as “dense” as they come! Dense?  Yes! Packed with incredible, life changing truth on every line!

In a world where people are filled with internal pain and turmoil — meaninglessness, unfulfilled desires, fleeting glory, confused about purpose — most people have found relief from painful emotions by pursuing entertainment, recreation, drugs and alcohol, or relationships with people.  This next section of Romans addresses these issues, but so much more! Listen in as Pastor Steve closes out this pivotal chapter as we continue our study through Romans.

Paul continues to lay out the amazing grace of God in Romans chapter 8; the grace by which His Spirit lives in us, changes us, and makes us a child of God. These are things that “rule keeping” can never do.

Two more things we learn in the next section: the Spirit gives us hope and the Spirit helps us pray. Both of these are in the context of hardships. Why doesn’t God protect His children from suffering? Why is the world so messed up? If God is good, why does He allow hardship and sickness and broken relationships and school shootings and tsunamis and all the rest? Why are relationships so hard? Why is addiction so tough to conquer? When will the battle be over?

The main words used in this next section are “hope” and “eagerly wait”. A hope for something that we don’t have now but can be confident is coming. What are we hoping for? Will it ever come? Can we be sure? Listen in as Pastor Steve takes us through this next section of the power book of Romans!

Paul continues to lay out the amazing grace of God in Romans chapter 8; the grace by which His Spirit lives in us, changes us, and makes us a child of God. These are things that “rule keeping” can never do.

Two more things we learn in the next section: the Spirit gives us hope and the Spirit helps us pray. Both of these are in the context of hardships. Why doesn’t God protect His children from suffering? Why is the world so messed up? If God is good, why does He allow hardship and sickness and broken relationships and school shootings and tsunamis and all the rest? Why are relationships so hard? Why is addiction so tough to conquer? When will the battle be over?

The main words used in this next section are “hope” and “eagerly wait”. A hope for something that we don’t have now but can be confident is coming. What are we hoping for? Will it ever come? Can we be sure? Listen in as Pastor Steve takes us through this next section of the power book of Romans!

As we continue our Romans study in chapter 8, we continue to see Paul talking about living life “in the Spirit”. This is in contrast to another kind of life that Paul says is “according to the flesh”. Living a life pleasing to God is not about following a rigid set of moral laws and performing spiritual rituals. It is about the very life of God (the Spirit) being infused into our lives by faith and the power of God! Would you rather have a book about swimming, complete with pictures and diagrams and explanations of all the different strokes and even the history of swimming, or would you rather have the Spirit of Michael Phelps come into your life? Which would make you a better swimmer?! The first option gives me knowledge but no power, and the second gives me knowledge and power.

In this next section, Paul uses some pretty clear illustrations to tell us that life with God - life in the Spirit - is not about rules but about a relationship! Now he uses the relationship between a father and son. Now we are going to have to undo a common misunderstanding about being a child of God. Who are “children of God”? Isn’t everyone a child of God? If not, how do i know if I am a child of God?

These questions and more will be answered in the next section of chapter 8, and the answer may surprise you.

As we continue our Romans study in chapter 8, we continue to see Paul talking about living life “in the Spirit”. This is in contrast to another kind of life that Paul says is “according to the flesh”. Living a life pleasing to God is not about following a rigid set of moral laws and performing spiritual rituals. It is about the very life of God (the Spirit) being infused into our lives by faith and the power of God! Would you rather have a book about swimming, complete with pictures and diagrams and explanations of all the different strokes and even the history of swimming, or would you rather have the Spirit of Michael Phelps come into your life? Which would make you a better swimmer?! The first option gives me knowledge but no power, and the second gives me knowledge and power.

In this next section, Paul uses some pretty clear illustrations to tell us that life with God - life in the Spirit - is not about rules but about a relationship! Now he uses the relationship between a father and son. Now we are going to have to undo a common misunderstanding about being a child of God. Who are “children of God”? Isn’t everyone a child of God? If not, how do i know if I am a child of God?

These questions and more will be answered in the next section of chapter 8, and the answer may surprise you.

We are now entering Romans 8, which is just a continuation of what the apostle Paul has been discussing in Chapter 7: we are in the “Power Plant” — where we discover the power source for living the Christian life! We know it is in not in our own power to live a life pleasing to God — that was the topic of chapter 7 that ends with Paul declaring what a wretched man he was! As the song states, it was amazing grace that saved a wretch like me.

So do you want to know how to live this new life pleasing to God? Listen in as Pastor Steve opens Romans 8 and we find out how to be exempt from the law of sin and death. No condemnation, no punishment, no death! That sounds pretty important, so how it work? Not by religious rules and rituals! Listen in as Paul tells us how in Romans chapter 8.

We are now entering Romans 8, which is just a continuation of what the apostle Paul has been discussing in Chapter 7: we are in the “Power Plant” — where we discover the power source for living the Christian life! We know it is in not in our own power to live a life pleasing to God — that was the topic of chapter 7 that ends with Paul declaring what a wretched man he was! As the song states, it was amazing grace that saved a wretch like me.

So do you want to know how to live this new life pleasing to God? Listen in as Pastor Steve opens Romans 8 and we find out how to be exempt from the law of sin and death. No condemnation, no punishment, no death! That sounds pretty important, so how it work? Not by religious rules and rituals! Listen in as Paul tells us how in Romans chapter 8.

One of our elders, Dave Vollmer, brings a timely reminder from 1 Peter: we are meant to be pilgrims and aliens here; this place is not our home. When we get too comfortable, we forget that our hope should be in Christ alone, who has given us an inheritance that will not fade away, "reserved in heaven for you!" Peter is reminding these early church "pilgrims" that when sufferings and trials come, they are part of that reminder that this is not the place we will find our hope, and it purifies our faith and brings glory to God, the very thing we were created to do. Give praise to Jesus for being our "living hope" and dedicate yourself to getting in His word and knowing Him so that you can bring him glory no matter the circumstances on this earth.

One of our elders, Dave Vollmer, brings a timely reminder from 1 Peter: we are meant to be pilgrims and aliens here; this place is not our home. When we get too comfortable, we forget that our hope should be in Christ alone, who has given us an inheritance that will not fade away, "reserved in heaven for you!" Peter is reminding these early church "pilgrims" that when sufferings and trials come, they are part of that reminder that this is not the place we will find our hope, and it purifies our faith and brings glory to God, the very thing we were created to do. Give praise to Jesus for being our "living hope" and dedicate yourself to getting in His word and knowing Him so that you can bring him glory no matter the circumstances on this earth.