CCF Sunday Messages

The chapter is just too long and too important to speed through. It is one of the most amazing prophetic passages in the whole Bible!

The chapter starts with a very troubling dream. By the end of the chapter Daniel and the others have been promoted and the mighty king of the Babylonian empire is acknowledging Daniel’s God as the true God. This is the stuff we live for!

The first 30 verses give the setup, and some important observations and contrasts. We continue to see Daniel shine in the middle of crisis after crisis. In the initial identity crisis Daniel holds to his convictions. The crisis now is a matter of life and death! Is Daniel freaking out?

How does the world system operate to produce the crisis? How does Daniel respond to the crisis? Listen in and find out. As for the specific content of the dream and its interpretation—you’ll have to wait another week for that!

The chapter is just too long and too important to speed through. It is one of the most amazing prophetic passages in the whole Bible!

The chapter starts with a very troubling dream. By the end of the chapter Daniel and the others have been promoted and the mighty king of the Babylonian empire is acknowledging Daniel’s God as the true God. This is the stuff we live for!

The first 30 verses give the setup, and some important observations and contrasts. We continue to see Daniel shine in the middle of crisis after crisis. In the initial identity crisis Daniel holds to his convictions. The crisis now is a matter of life and death! Is Daniel freaking out?

How does the world system operate to produce the crisis? How does Daniel respond to the crisis? Listen in and find out. As for the specific content of the dream and its interpretation—you’ll have to wait another week for that!

As we begin our study in the book of Daniel, I have had the opportunity to spend time pre-reading through the book and thinking about the man, Daniel; he’s an amazing guy! Humble, gentle, courageous, stable. He is uprooted from family and neighborhood and culture and thrust into a new life of servitude in a Godless nation, Babylon. How potentially traumatizing to a teenager!

But instead of seeing bitterness, anger, depression, or indulgence, we see a young man who prospers in a remarkable way, helping to lead an empire without compromise of Godly conviction. In fact, Daniel wins the respect of four kings he serves under! Maybe Daniel’s influence is even behind the pilgrimage of the Magi coming from the East and following the Star of Bethlehem! How did Daniel beat the odds? How did he thrive when others would have shriveled?

Think about the difference between “conviction” and “opinion”. Is there a difference? What is it? Are you a person of conviction or just opinion? How does this relate to Daniel 1? Listen in and see!

As we begin our study in the book of Daniel, I have had the opportunity to spend time pre-reading through the book and thinking about the man, Daniel; he’s an amazing guy! Humble, gentle, courageous, stable. He is uprooted from family and neighborhood and culture and thrust into a new life of servitude in a Godless nation, Babylon. How potentially traumatizing to a teenager!

But instead of seeing bitterness, anger, depression, or indulgence, we see a young man who prospers in a remarkable way, helping to lead an empire without compromise of Godly conviction. In fact, Daniel wins the respect of four kings he serves under! Maybe Daniel’s influence is even behind the pilgrimage of the Magi coming from the East and following the Star of Bethlehem! How did Daniel beat the odds? How did he thrive when others would have shriveled?

Think about the difference between “conviction” and “opinion”. Is there a difference? What is it? Are you a person of conviction or just opinion? How does this relate to Daniel 1? Listen in and see!

We are now bringing to conclusion our study in the Book of Galatians as we get a grip on Paul’s closing remarks. We have followed his argument and appeal to the young Christians in the region of Galatia— stand firmly in the freedom from religious performance that Christ brought, and walk in the Spirit! That’s a basic summary.

Taking the pen from his scribe, he ends with a few pointed remarks about the troublemakers in the Galatian congregation. Their actions are connected to very impure motives. How does Paul know? They are just like he used to be.

Paul lobs a well placed “truth bomb” just before he closes the letter. He reveals the truth about the thing that has mattered most to him and the thing that his whole life and identity are built on.

Listen in for the gripping and powerful conclusion of Galatians and be challenged!

We are now bringing to conclusion our study in the Book of Galatians as we get a grip on Paul’s closing remarks. We have followed his argument and appeal to the young Christians in the region of Galatia— stand firmly in the freedom from religious performance that Christ brought, and walk in the Spirit! That’s a basic summary.

Taking the pen from his scribe, he ends with a few pointed remarks about the troublemakers in the Galatian congregation. Their actions are connected to very impure motives. How does Paul know? They are just like he used to be.

Paul lobs a well placed “truth bomb” just before he closes the letter. He reveals the truth about the thing that has mattered most to him and the thing that his whole life and identity are built on.

Listen in for the gripping and powerful conclusion of Galatians and be challenged!

Have you spent too much time watching the news? Are Facebook posts driving you mad? Is politics polluting your joy? What’s the answer? Worship!

The last chapter of Galatians is super practical and answers some important questions about Godly communities and healthy families! Grace and law couldn’t produce more different community dynamics!

Paul explains that healthy, Godly, grace-based communities include people who can honestly and gently address sin, know their value is from God, understand consequences, and know actions speak louder than words. How do we address destructive behaviour without enforcing law and punishment? How do we avoid tribalism and division? How do we see the church make a real and lasting impact in the community? Listen in and see!

Have you spent too much time watching the news? Are Facebook posts driving you mad? Is politics polluting your joy? What’s the answer? Worship!

The last chapter of Galatians is super practical and answers some important questions about Godly communities and healthy families! Grace and law couldn’t produce more different community dynamics!

Paul explains that healthy, Godly, grace-based communities include people who can honestly and gently address sin, know their value is from God, understand consequences, and know actions speak louder than words. How do we address destructive behaviour without enforcing law and punishment? How do we avoid tribalism and division? How do we see the church make a real and lasting impact in the community? Listen in and see!

Although the Bible is not a psychology book, it has much to say about the soul and the inner life of a human being. And when the Bible speaks about those subjects, it is profound. Galatians 5:16-26 is one of those passages!

The BIG question Paul has to answer is this: “Without law, how do we deal with those nagging inner cravings and drives for forbidden or immoral things? Law is the best thing we have to control people’s behavior, right? And the answer to immorality is more laws, right? Paul says… WRONG!

Law is all the world has to try to cope with the hurtful and hateful drives of human nature. Have you watched the news recently? If law worked, we wouldn’t need “law enforcement” and prisons. Prisons are full and over capacity and despite all of our sophisticated laws, humanity doesn’t seem to be improving.

God has something far superior to law for managing—and transforming—human behavior. This is the subject that is central to our passage and I hope you will listen in and let your mind be challenged by the word of God! It might be a good time to invite someone to watch!

Although the Bible is not a psychology book, it has much to say about the soul and the inner life of a human being. And when the Bible speaks about those subjects, it is profound. Galatians 5:16-26 is one of those passages!

The BIG question Paul has to answer is this: “Without law, how do we deal with those nagging inner cravings and drives for forbidden or immoral things? Law is the best thing we have to control people’s behavior, right? And the answer to immorality is more laws, right? Paul says… WRONG!

Law is all the world has to try to cope with the hurtful and hateful drives of human nature. Have you watched the news recently? If law worked, we wouldn’t need “law enforcement” and prisons. Prisons are full and over capacity and despite all of our sophisticated laws, humanity doesn’t seem to be improving.

God has something far superior to law for managing—and transforming—human behavior. This is the subject that is central to our passage and I hope you will listen in and let your mind be challenged by the word of God! It might be a good time to invite someone to watch!