CCF Sunday Messages

Dave Vollmer, one of our assistant pastors, gave a challenging message from Hebrews chapters 3 and 4 about being careful not to harden our hearts. Rather we can approach God with boldness because of our position in Christ. He admonished us to cherish the Word as a treasured letter from our Father.

We move from the finality of the end of chapter 15--where Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin, asks for Jesus's body as a final way to honor Him (as he was a secret disciple)--into chapter 16, the amazement of that Sunday morning with the stone rolled away and an empty tomb. It is the women who come early to also pay their respects to Jesus, not even knowing how they would deal with a sealed tomb, but they encounter an angel and are told the amazing news that his is "no longer here, he is alive!" Pastor Steve shared several arguments for the validity and arguments for a bodily historic resurrection of Jesus.

We move from the finality of the end of chapter 15--where Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin, asks for Jesus's body as a final way to honor Him (as he was a secret disciple)--into chapter 16, the amazement of that Sunday morning with the stone rolled away and an empty tomb. It is the women who come early to also pay their respects to Jesus, not even knowing how they would deal with a sealed tomb, but they encounter an angel and are told the amazing news that his is "no longer here, he is alive!" Pastor Steve shared several arguments for the validity and arguments for a bodily historic resurrection of Jesus.

Continuing in Mark chapter 15, we finally have the end of the trials and Jesus is handed over to be crucified. Unable to carry his cross, Simon of Cyrene is conscripted to do so from the crowd as they make their way to Golgotha--the place of the skull. Pastor Steve details the prophetic events unfolded from Psalm 22 and the need for us to live the "crucified" life and accept the suffering that is ours as followers of Christ if we truly align ourselves with him.

Continuing in Mark chapter 15, we finally have the end of the trials and Jesus is handed over to be crucified. Unable to carry his cross, Simon of Cyrene is conscripted to do so from the crowd as they make their way to Golgotha--the place of the skull. Pastor Steve details the prophetic events unfolded from Psalm 22 and the need for us to live the "crucified" life and accept the suffering that is ours as followers of Christ if we truly align ourselves with him.

We now enter chapter 15 in the gospel of Mark which continues the trial of Jesus, now being brought before Pilate and the Roman authorities, which the Jews need because their only hope for a death sentence is via the Romans. Pastor Steve brought us back to Isaiah 53 and the picture of the "suffering servant" that definitely points to Jesus as the fulfillment.

We now enter chapter 15 in the gospel of Mark which continues the trial of Jesus, now being brought before Pilate and the Roman authorities, which the Jews need because their only hope for a death sentence is via the Romans. Pastor Steve brought us back to Isaiah 53 and the picture of the "suffering servant" that definitely points to Jesus as the fulfillment.

This week we finally finish up the 72-verse long chapter 14 of Mark's gospel! In this final section we move to the courtyard where the high priest and a partial Sanhedrin condemn Jesus in the middle of the night, breaking many of their own rules of order to do so. The focus turns to Peter, however, and his blatant and strong denial of even knowing Jesus as he watches the proceedings from a distance. Pastor Steve applied this picture of a serious fall to our own lives and had us consider the restoring grace of Jesus even when we fall in such a significant way! May we realize that we need to get back up and find God's grace when we fail and find ourselves potentially even more valuable for ministry after we have been restored.

This week we finally finish up the 72-verse long chapter 14 of Mark's gospel! In this final section we move to the courtyard where the high priest and a partial Sanhedrin condemn Jesus in the middle of the night, breaking many of their own rules of order to do so. The focus turns to Peter, however, and his blatant and strong denial of even knowing Jesus as he watches the proceedings from a distance. Pastor Steve applied this picture of a serious fall to our own lives and had us consider the restoring grace of Jesus even when we fall in such a significant way! May we realize that we need to get back up and find God's grace when we fail and find ourselves potentially even more valuable for ministry after we have been restored.

Jesus and His disciples have left the upper room and their Passover meal, crossed the Kidron Valley and have gone into the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus has an intense time of prayer with the Father. Judas is already unfolding the plan with the religious leaders to betray Him. In all of this we can learn about true surrender--surrender to the Father and His will over our own. Listen in and see three pictures of surrender in this next section of Mark chapter 14.