Community Christian Church Podcast

We're not tired because we've been fighting too hard. We're tired because we've been fighting the wrong battles.

John Ciesniewski launches our new series, Fight the Good Fight, with a sobering story of friendly fire and a question for the church in a divided season: what happens when we turn our weapons on each other? Lead Pastor Ted Coniaris then talks with Founding Pastor Dave Ferguson about what Ephesians 4 and John 17 teach us about unity. They cover why churches split over secondary things, how unity differs from uniformity, and what it really costs to choose unity over being right.

Unity doesn't mean silencing disagreement. It means refusing to let anything matter more than our shared allegiance to Jesus. This week, reach out to one person you have tension with, just to say, "You matter to me."

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-6; John 17:20-23

In 1980, Rosie Ruiz crossed the Boston Marathon finish line first, medal and all — until it turned out she'd skipped most of the race. Anybody can claim first place. But the claim can be tested.

Most of us would say God comes first in our lives. But God has been testing that claim since the very beginning. In the final message of FIRST, Lead Pastor Ted Coniaris returns to the very first offering in Scripture — Cain and Abel in Genesis 4 — and shows why one gift pleased God and the other didn't. It was never about the size of the gift. It was about whether it said "you are first" or "here's what's left." Ted closes the series with the Big Rocks illustration, a personal story of God's provision, and a final invitation to the 90-Day Tithing Challenge as we launch the last 90-day sprint to the finish line of New is Now.

Scripture: Genesis 4:1–7; Exodus 34:14; Matthew 6:21; Philippians 2:9–11; Exodus 23:19; Malachi 3:10; 2 Corinthians 9:7

Thank you for listening to the full FIRST series with us.

A widow. An empty jar. A prophet who asks her not what she needs, but what she already has. It's an odd place to start a conversation about money — but it's exactly where this week's message begins.

For three weeks, FIRST has asked whether God is actually first in our lives. This week, Chris Nichols walks into the room most of us avoid the longest — our finances — and makes the case that tithing was never really about money. It's about trust. Along the way, Lead Pastor Ted Coniaris shares a short video, "Simple Math," that makes the concept about as clear as it gets: the first, not the leftover. The message closes with an invitation to a 90-Day Tithing Challenge, with a simple guarantee behind it: if God doesn't show up, you get every dollar back.

Scripture: 2 Kings 4:1–7; Malachi 3:6–12; Proverbs 3:9–10; Romans 11:36; Deuteronomy 8:18; Leviticus 27:30; Matthew 23:23; Matthew 6:21

Subscribe to follow along with the full FIRST series.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart…and love your neighbor as yourself.” — Luke 10:27

In this final meditation, Sharie Behnke invites us to allow the love we have received from God to move outward toward others. Through Scripture, reflection, and prayer, we’ll consider Jesus’ challenging question from the story of the Good Samaritan: What does it mean to become a neighbor?

We’ll reflect on the people we naturally love, those we often overlook, and even those we find difficult to love. Jesus invites us to see beyond our differences without abandoning wisdom or healthy boundaries—to recognize the humanity and image of God in others.

As this five-day journey concludes, we remember where it began: We love because God first loved us. May that love give us eyes to notice, compassion to respond, and courage not simply to ask, “Who is my neighbor?” but to become one.

Narrator: Sharie Behnke

Take your next step at communitychristian.org.

As we move toward the IGNITE Gathering, find more resources, gathering times, and ways to engage here.

“Love your neighbor as yourself.” — Mark 12:31

We often understand what it means to care for others, yet struggle to offer ourselves that same patience, kindness, and grace. In this guided Lectio Divina, Jon Hughes invites us to slow down and listen deeply to Jesus’ words: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Through Scripture, silence, reflection, and prayer, we’ll consider how we speak to ourselves, especially when we make mistakes, fall short, or encounter parts of ourselves we find difficult to accept. Rather than ignoring where we need to grow, we’ll practice seeing ourselves through the eyes of God’s grace—as loved, known, imperfect, and still being formed.

As we learn to receive God’s compassion for ourselves, we become better able to extend that compassion to others. Come ready to listen, receive grace, and discover how loving yourself can create more room to love your neighbor well.

Narrator: Jon Hughes

Take your next step at communitychristian.org.

As we move toward the IGNITE Gathering, find more resources, gathering times, and ways to engage here.

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” — Psalm 118:24

Today is a gift—but in the busyness of life, it’s easy to miss the goodness already surrounding us. In this guided gratitude meditation, Katie Purdy invites us to slow down, breathe deeply, and become present to the ordinary gifts of this day.

Through Scripture, reflection, and prayer, we’ll practice noticing what we often overlook: the gift of breath, our bodies, the people we love, simple everyday moments, and even unexpected grace within difficult circumstances. Gratitude doesn’t ask us to pretend that everything is good; it teaches us to recognize that God is present and goodness can still be found.

As you enter this practice, come without anything to accomplish. Simply receive, notice, and give thanks. May gratitude open your eyes to God’s goodness and transform the gratitude you receive into generosity toward others.

Narrator: Katie Purdy

Take your next step at communitychristian.org.

As we move toward the IGNITE Gathering, find more resources, gathering times, and ways to engage here.

“Search me, God, and know my heart… and lead me in the way everlasting.” — Psalm 139:23–24

Life moves quickly, and it’s easy to move from one moment to the next without noticing what is happening within us—or where God may be present. In this guided Prayer of Examen, Jon Hughes invites us to slow down, look back over the last 24 hours, and pay attention with curiosity rather than judgment.

Through Scripture, reflection, and prayer, we’ll notice where we experienced love, gratitude, struggle, and grace. We’ll consider where we loved well, where we struggled to love, and what God might be inviting us to see differently.

The Examen reminds us that God is present in every part of our lives—the beautiful, the difficult, and the ordinary. As you enter this practice, come with an open heart and discover that God has been present all along.
Narrator: Jon Hughes

Take your next step at communitychristian.org.

As we move toward the IGNITE Gathering, find more resources, gathering times, and ways to engage here.

“We love because he first loved us.” — 1 John 4:19

We begin this five-day journey with the truth that grounds everything else: you are loved by God. In this guided breath prayer, Sharie Behnke invites us to slow down, release our striving, and simply receive the love God has already given.

Using the rhythm of our breath and the words “I am loved. By you, God,” we’ll create space to become aware of God’s presence and bring our worries, disappointments, insecurities, and unfinished places into that love. There is nothing to earn, accomplish, or prove.

As the prayer unfolds, we’ll move from receiving love to offering it: “I am loved. And I can love.” May this simple truth shape the way you see yourself and everyone you encounter today. God’s love comes first. We receive it—and from that place, we are free to give it away.

Narrator: Sharie Behnke

Take your next step at communitychristian.org.

As we move toward the IGNITE Gathering, find more resources, gathering times, and ways to engage here.

For two weeks, we've been asking what it looks like to truly put God first. This week, Lead Pastor Ted Coniaris brings that question to a single moment: everyone receives a key, a physical reminder of the locked room each of us carries — the thing we've quietly decided is off-limits to God, not because it's shameful, but because it's precious to us.

Rooted in Matthew 6:33, this short Hearts on Fire Sunday homily is an invitation, not a demand. Jesus doesn't negotiate the terms of what comes first, but he also doesn't force the door open — he simply loves, and waits. Listen in as Ted walks through what it means to finally hand over the key.

Scripture: Matthew 6:33

Subscribe to follow along with the full FIRST series.

There's always a room. A part of us we've quietly decided is off-limits — not because it holds something shameful, but because it holds something we love. Something we've built our whole identity around.

In Week 2 of FIRST, Teaching Pastor Tammy Melchien opens Mark 10:17–22, the story of a sincere, devout man who ran to Jesus with the right question — and walked away sad when Jesus named the one room he wasn't willing to hand over. Tammy also looks at three moments in Luke 9 where Jesus names three different locked rooms, and asks the question at the center of it all: what's the room you've kept locked, and are you ready to give Jesus the key?

Scripture: Mark 10:17–22; Mark 10:23–27; Luke 9:57–62; Matthew 6:21