Christ Community Chapel (Audio)

The virus of sin entered the world subtly in the form of doubt. It all began in the Garden of Eden with the serpent encouraging Eve to question whether God was as good as he said, loved her as much as he said and truly had her best interest at heart. Since then, the virus has spread to all of humanity, resulting in us losing the kingdom of God...for now.

Instead of God, we put other things at the center of our lives in an attempt to give ourselves meaning, purpose and mission. We, like Adam and Eve, realize our "nakedness" or imperfections and live in constant fear of rejection. Sin has corrupted us, and by all accounts, God should have given up on us. The crazy part, though? He didn't. Instead, he engaged in the greatest search and rescue mission the world has ever known, declaring war on evil and sending a savior to redeem us at great cost to himself. As a result, we have another shot at enjoying the kingdom of God, whether we ever deserved it or not.

Every year, Christ Community Chapel embraces a theme to guide the church throughout the months. This year, that theme is "Thy Kingdom Come." Listen this week as Pastor Joe Coffey kicks off the year by explaining how we will learn to know God, our king, better, love him more deeply and serve him daily by doing his will on Earth.

In Matthew 12:41, Jesus explains to a crowd that "the men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here." It may seem an odd comparison at first, given that Jonah was hesitant to bring God's warning to the people of Nineveh to the point that he ran from God, was cast overboard by sailors in an attempt to calm a wrathful storm, and was swallowed by a giant fish for several days. Jonah was hardly the epitome of a willing servant, yet that was likely Jesus' point.

By the time Jonah reached Nineveh, he had walked hundreds of miles, been cast into stormy seas and resided in a fish. His look, smell and earnest message were enough to convince an entire city to repent and be spared God's wrath, whether he was a hesitant helper or not. The generation of Jews questioning Jesus, however, had the sinless, miracle-invoking incarnation of God before them in Jesus. Yet they were hesitant to believe in his message. What had they missed? That the greatest act of love in history had occurred: God was willing to live like us through all the pain and joy in life. As a result, we too now have an opportunity to put our faith in him.

The Temple of Jerusalem was a mighty structure to behold, taking approximately 183,000 workers seven years to complete. Built with 25 tons of gold, costing the equivalent of around $3 billion in modern-day dollars and signifying the presence of the living God, the Temple's magnificence was unrivaled in the eyes of the ancient Hebrews. For all these reasons, when Jesus stated he would tear down the Temple and in three days it would be rebuilt, people were incredulous.

No one realized at the time that Jesus was speaking of his own death and resurrection, not a literal destruction of the Temple, yet the Temple would not go untouched upon Jesus' death. When he died on the cross, the extraordinarily thick curtain separating common people from God's holy place was torn apart, symbolizing that the barrier between us and God has been removed once and for all. No longer would it be necessary for priests to offer sacrifices on behalf of the people on the Day of Atonement, for Jesus' blood was poured out for all. Jesus became the eternal sacrifice for the sins of mankind, becoming far greater than the awesome Temple ever could be.

The apostle Paul's conversion story isn't like most. When we first encounter him in the book of Acts, he is introduced as a zealous Jew named Saul who is bent on crushing the Christian movement. Once he was addressed by the voice of Jesus and was blinded by a brilliant light on the road to Damascus, however, it wouldn't be long before Saul became both a follower of Christ and one of the most prolific writers of the New Testament.

Saul had a very specific view of God in his mind, and when he heard Christians sharing the good news of salvation through Jesus, he felt he needed to lash out against a belief unaligned with his. When he encountered Jesus, Saul came to understand that God has real traits that may not align with images we concoct in our minds. Today, many people still pick and choose what they believe about God, making statements about how "their god would never do _____, or isn't like _____." We must remember that God is real and can't be changed by our perceptions, though. We may not audibly hear Jesus' voice or become blinded by his presence, but he is still at work in our lives. The sooner we submit ourselves to him, the sooner we, too, can be dramatically changed for the better.

The gospel was not meant to be a closed-off, stationary phenomenon. God had much bigger plans for it, and he drop-kicked it into action by pointing Philip to a guy who was basically the opposite of him: an Ethiopian Eunuch. Jesus didn't come just for you and people like you; he came also for people completely different from you.

Stephen, a man known for his good repute and Spirit-filled life, faced intense persecution at the hands of the opponents of the early church. His character shaped and transformed by the Holy Spirit, he remained calm and tranquil where others might be prone to panic and dread, even when confronted by the prospect of his own death. Stephen discovered that the opportunity to spread the message of Jesus was worth even his life. What is it worth to you?

Peter and the apostles are troublemakers. Already told once to stop talking about Jesus, they must defend themselves once again for their flagrant disregard of the wishes of the Jewish council. Their worldly disobedience, however, comes from an obedience to something greater - an obedience, not birthed from gain or fear, but from a love for a savior who overcame sin and death and carved the way to a renewed relationship between God and us. It's the type of redemptive story that sounds like fairy tale. But here's the kicker... It's true.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus likens a wise man to one who builds his house on rock and a foolish man to one who builds his house on sand. When a storm comes, the former stands firm, while the latter washes away. However, many Christians wish there was a third option: that instead of even having to face the storms of life, Jesus would whisk them away to a dry, peaceful haven.

The disciples - who went through the emotional roller coaster of knowing Jesus, watching him die and witnessing his resurrection, those who we might think would deserve the most protection from the storms - faced beatings, threats of violence, arrest and other storms of devastating ferocity and yet stood firm through them even to the point of singing and praising. What was the solid foundation that so empowered them to face these storms so?