CCW Podcast

Christmas is about God sending His love to the world. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whosoever believes in Him might have eternal life.”

This love is slow to suspect, but quick to trust; slow to condemn, but quick to justify; slow to offend, but quick to defend; slow to expose, but quick to shield; slow to reprimand, but quick to empathize; slow to belittle, but quick to appreciate; slow to demand, but quick to give; slow to provoke, but quick to help; slow to resent, but quick to forgive. So this Christmas let’s pledge to each other that we will never knowingly say or do anything to hurt each other. We will always seek to help and support each other.

I Corinthians 13:7 says that love “believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” The word ‘endure’ is a military term. It means driving a stake into the ground. It’s like saying,”I’ll stand my ground in loving you.” Love sees people not just as they are; but as they can be through God’s grace. So this Christmas season let’s take the love God has given to us, and give it to others. This Sunday, we start our Christmas messages entitled, Mary Did You Know? Don’t miss these encouraging Christmas messages.

A sermon by our Associate/Youth Pastor.

One of the modern “Christian myths” that ought to be stopped says that when you trust Jesus Christ, you get rid of all your problems. You don’t. It’s true that your basic spiritual problem, your separation from God, has been solved, but with new life in Jesus comes a whole new set of problems that you didn’t face when you were an unbeliever, like: “Why do good people suffer and bad people prosper? or “Why isn’t God answering my prayer? or “When I’m doing my best for the Lord, why do I experience the worst from others?”
Christians who say they have no problems are either not telling the truth or not
growing and experiencing real life. They’re living in a religious dream world that has blinded them from reality and stifled honest feelings. Like Job’s uncomfortable comforters, they mistake shallow optimism for the peace of God and “the good life” for the blessings of God. You never hear them ask what David and Jesus asked, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?” (Psalm 22:1, Matthew 27:46).
This Sunday we will see how we can have Comfort in the Uncomfortable Times. This will be our last message in the series God’s Not Dead. Don’t miss this very encouraging message for our Thanksgiving Service.

Sunday we will be continuing our series of messages that show God's Not Dead! We will be looking through the eyes of Nahum and answering the question, "Is there a consequence to my choice?" Don't miss this life changing time together.

We will be looking at the life of Jonah and how God reveals Himself to us.

Suddenly, in the midst of the expectant crowd, a disturbance began, “Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into a house to lay him
before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd,
they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the
middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus” (Luke 5:18 & 19).

How those four loved their friend! Their love overcame major obstacles. They
would not be put off by the unyielding crowd. They ignored the judgments of those around them. Perhaps the paralyzed man was a beloved brother or uncle or father. Or maybe he was simply a neighbor with whom they had grown up with. One thing is certain, they cared about him, and their love was the first reason for the deliverance he was about to experience. This is how it was and is with God too, for God so loved the world that He made the ultimate sacrifice for us
(John 3:16).

He dug, so to speak, through the roof of the world and lowered his Son down so
Jesus could die for our sins. In our own lives, our family and friends will very likely not know the healing touch of Christ unless we have the kind of love that rips open roofs, so to speak. If we truly love those around us, we will pray regularly and fervently for their salvation. We will risk being judged as fools in
our efforts to win them to Christ. If we are not praying, if we are not prying open any roofs, and bringing our family and friends to Jesus, do we really love them?

If the word “quit” is part of your vocabulary, then it is likely that the word “finish” isn’t. Finishing means staying on the job until it’s done. It’s about accountability and action, because even when you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there. Jesus has called us to be about his business (Luke 2:49). We must show initiative and take responsibility for the task God has called us to do. B.J. Gallagher and Steve Venture said the ten most important words in finishing strong are: “I won’t wait for others to take the first step.” The three most important words are:”Just do it!”

Jesus was the greatest finisher of all time. At the age of twelve He told his parents, “I must be about My Fathers business.” Later, he told His disciples, “I must
work the works of Him who has sent me” (John 9:4). Facing the cross, He said, “For this cause I was born” (John 18:37). And just before He died, He said,”It
is finished” (John 19:30). Because God’s not dead, He has a plan and purpose for your life and mine. This Sunday we will look at one of the biggest obstacles we face that keeps us from doing what God has called us to do. The Old Testament records for us the story of the children of Israel and the problems that kept them from fulfilling what God had called them to do. We sure don’t want to make the same mistake!

Joshua 1:9 says "Be strong and of good courage, be not frightened, neither be discouraged; for the Lord your God is with you where ever you go." The land of Canaan is a picture of the Spirit-filled life that God intended for every Christian to live. This life is not just for certain advanced saints, but is provided by God for every one of his people.
The idea is, you can have all that you will take. You can have every bit of the spiritual life that you want. God will never give you more than you are ready to take, so if you are satisfied with the degree of your experience with God, He won't force you to have more. But, if you want more of God, if you want to walk closer to Him, if you want to experience more victory, you can have all that you want. "Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, as I promised to Moses" (Joshua 1:3). This Sunday, we will see how God encourages us and shows us how we can be all that He wants us to be!

Special Message from an incredible missionary to Tanzania!

What a moment of splendor and holy awe it was for Moses as he heard himself addressed by name by God in Exodus, chapter three! How incredible that God could take note of an individual and reach out in a personal loving way, and show that He truly cared, and had a special job for Moses.

God appears to Moses in a burning bush. The bush is a picture of God (Deuteronomy 33:16), for it revealed His glory and power, yet was not consumed. Moses needed to be reminded of the glory and power of God, for he was about to undertake an impossible task of leading two and a half million slaves who had been crushed and left hopeless by the great Egyptian Empire. Moses, a humble shepherd, yet with God's help he would become a fire that could not be put out!

Note that Moses was brought to a place where he bowed before God and adores him in wonder, for this is the true beginning of Christian service. Only the man who knows how to take off his shoes in humility can God trust to walk in His power. Before God called Isaiah, He revealed his glory in Isaiah 6.