CCF Weekly Services Podcast

In the final series of plagues that will take place during the Great Tribulation, we are reminded of all the common graces God shows us every single day. When these things are slowly taken away, we're shown just how quickly and ugly things get without God.

1. God judges the world incrementally, not all at once.
2. God is a far more effective judge of the Earth than we are.
3. A world separated from God will destroy itself without a second thought.

Jesus' final sermon is given before He enters the second stage of Crucifixion. Addressing women, He brings to mind the same reality the Holy Spirit continues to convict the world of today. Sin, Righteousness, and Judgment. Apart from Jesus' righteousness, which He illustrates as green wood, our sin will leave us as nothing less than kindling in the face of judgment.

1. A future apart from Jesus is not something to invest in or look forward to.
2. Green wood doesn't burn, nor will the righteousness of Jesus be consumed by the judgment of God.
3. Dry wood's only purpose is to burn, just like us apart from the mercy God offers through Jesus' death and resurrection.

Worship is taking place in Heaven by referencing and summarizing the first song ever recorded in scripture. In celebrating God's Awesomeness and Authenticity, His promises and power are both recognized. As God's wrath is about to be poured out on the world, reference after reference is made to the Old Testament showing just how long overdue this kind of intervention is.

1. Without understanding the wrath of God, the mercy of God is meaningless.
2. God's Awesomeness is demonstrated through His wrath as well as His mercy.
3. God's Authenticity is demonstrated through His fulfilled promises as well as future ones.

Simon of Cyrene was a Jewish man who sincerely wanted to worship God in His Temple. Despite the long and difficult journey, he was willing to make it if it meant doing the right thing by him and his children. And at the last moment, he was forced to carry the cross of a prisoner whose blood made him unfit to enter the Temple ceremonially. In the short term, it seemed like he was wronged for trying to do what was right. Long term, he found out God made him a part of something so honorable that we’re still remembering him for it to this day. Never waste a seemingly pointless trial. It may be a redirection towards something greater.

1. Trials are quality perspective checks.
2. We make plans, but God accomplishes His purposes.
3. All things aren’t good, but God is still working.

In a very complex section of scripture, we are given an opportunity to learn how to understand the different views Christians have had over the centuries as well as how to effectively challenge and question them for ourselves.

1. The character known as the Grim Reaper is actually Jesus, the sole authority over the living and dead.
2. God knows who are His and who refuse to accept the offer to become His.
3. No crime will go unpunished in God’s court.

Abraham was the model of the kind of father that reflected the heart of the Heavenly Father. He trusted and leaned on God fully even when it could have cost him the life of his beloved son. He got to experience God's heart first-hand unlike anyone else ever will in history. And he passed onto his son the only thing worth handing over. He demonstrated to Isaac the kind of faith that would make all the difference in eternity.

1. God puts us through trials in order to see us succeed and overcome them.
2. God's promises are worth trusting as they are written, not as we would like them to sound.
3. God has a purpose and a plan for our children.

As the Great Tribulation begins, God has sent three angels to preach the gospel to the world for the remainder of the Antichrist's reign. As the world is suffering, they are reminded of the same thing that the Holy Spirit has spoken to every Christian that has lived to endure persecution. Look for the reward of Jesus and the rest that will come when He calls us home. The worst the world can do to us only sends us to the One who suffered and gave His life for us first.

1. God's priority has always been the salvation of the lost before ultimate judgment takes place.
2. No one will take the Mark of the Beast unknowingly.
3. The Rest and Rewards that await us are the sole motivators to endure through trials."

Jesus stood before three audiences before His crucifixion just like He stands before three types of people today. There are those like Pilate who delayed coming to a decision about Jesus until it was made for him. There are those like Herod who will demand Jesus entertain them rather than acknowledge Him as the God they're pretending to be. And there are those who come to a decision acknowledging Him for who He is. Which one are you?

1. People who delay coming to a decision about Jesus are playing a dangerous game. You aren't promised another opportunity.
2. People who demand Jesus meet a list of requirements before acknowledging what He's already done will be met with silence.
3. People who receive Jesus on His terms will have exactly what they ask for.

The 144,000 are now with Jesus. The implications of that fact mean they have been martyred during the Tribulation. However, they have no regrets. Only a new song to sing of all the wonderful things God did in and through their lives uniquely.

1. Being with Jesus and Heaven are synonyms.
2. Martyrdom is never seen as a loss by those actually called to endure it.
3. Memory alters perspective.

Jesus isn't the kind of God who distances Himself from our pain. He personally became a part of it in order to provide us with the kind of first-hand comfort only He can give. He endured abuse, both physical and verbal. He endured misrepresentation, both legal and personal. And He continued to remain faithful to the truth regardless of what it cost Him.

1. Jesus knows what it's like to endure physical and verbal abuse.
2. Jesus knows what it's like to suffer for doing what's right.
3. We don't serve a God who distances Himself from our pain. He voluntarily made Himself a part of it.