FCCC Sunday Messages

David and Goliath is one of the most famous stories in all of the Bible. Because of that, it can be easy to lose the details. But in the details of the story, we are reminded by how amazing the story is and specifically, what it teaches us about God. Does God still slay giants? If so, what does that mean for our lives as Christians?

As he walks with his disciples towards the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus says to his disciples, "I AM the true vine." His point is clear, that disconnected to Jesus we can do nothing but connected to Him, we can do unbelievable things. Our role is not to produce the fruit, but to remain, to abide. How do we do that? And what are the results? The promises of Jesus as we remain in Him are exciting!

As his arrest and crucifixion are nearing, Jesus talks to his disciples about where he is heading. He is going to His Father's house and they will be with him there one day. And when they question him on how to get there, Jesus says, "I am the way" and that no one gets to the Father except through Jesus. This exclusive claim is hard for many in our culture to swallow, do we believe it? Doesn't this seem unfair? As we wrestle with this, we see that Jesus' claim is great news and a sign of God's amazing grace towards us.

Jesus' good friend Lazarus was dead and had been for four days. Jesus enters this scene of sadness and mourning and does an amazing miracle. He tells Lazarus to get up and Lazarus does. If you think it is impressive to raise a dead man to life, what about raising spiritually dead men and women to eternal life? That is the hope we have in Jesus!

As we continue our monthly series discussing the superheroes of the Bible, this week we come to an unexpected one. Stephen was raised up to be a food distributor, which seems like a small job. But he quickly emerged as a bold, Spirit-filled follower of Jesus who proclaimed the gospel and became the first martyr for the faith. God used Stephen, an ordinary guy, to do extraordinary things. Can he do the same in us?

The shepherd imagery was a well known one to describe God and to describe the religious leaders who were to lead the people. Jesus built on that imagery in his ongoing tension with the Pharisees as he paints them as bad shepherds and more importantly, ascribes the title of Good Shepherd to himself. What does it mean that Jesus is our Good Shepherd? As we understand it's meaning, Jesus' title of Good Shepherd fuels in us thankfulness and worship.

Standing before the huge torches in the Temple, Jesus says, "I AM the light of the world." Those that heard him say this knew what he meant, he was claiming to be the Messiah and that apart from him is darkness. Jesus is still the light of the world, what difference does that make in our lives? Where are we still living in darkness and how thankful are we that there is the offer of light?

We began a new series looking at the seven "I Am" saying of Jesus in the book of John by discussing "I Am the Bread of Life." What did Jesus mean as he said this immediately following the miraculous feeding of the 5000? What was he saying about himself? Like bread is the staple of the diet, so Jesus is the foundation where eternal life and meaning are found. Those who heard this had a hard time believing it, do you believe it?

Growing up in New York's violent & feared Columbo crime family, Michael was known as the "Prince of the Mafia." He lived a life of power, luxury, and violence. Then a beautiful woman, and her faith in God, changed his life. From former mobster to little league coach, Michael shares his inspiring story of how the gospel transformed his life!

Easter is a time to celebrate Jesus' victory of sin and death as he rose from the dead. The tomb is empty! As we understand the implications of the empty tomb, we are reminded that what we deserve has been paid for and what we don't deserve, we have now been given. Eternal life and forgiveness of sins is available because the tomb is empty...He is Risen!