First Christian Church Champaign

There are many cliches people often say about time—“We’re in a race against time...” “Time is money...” “I don’t have the time…” Does it ever seem like time is a burden instead of a blessing? Well, what if we could take back time? Not like time travel… but what if we quit buying the lies we believe about the value of a day, month, year, and lifetime and saw time as a blank slate we could use to honor God?

There are some mysteries in life that don’t get answered. You may be surprised to find out that the Bible is comfortable with this. We all have a choice to make when confronted with the grand mysteries of life… we must ask ourselves do I trust God or toil away in weariness. What we’ll discover as we dive into the book of Ecclesiastes is that just because life’s meaning isn’t clear, it doesn’t mean life is meaningless.

Who can be used by God? Pastors? Of course! Church goers? Absolutely! What about criminals? Yup! Despite the shakiest of pasts, even the criminal has the same chance and opportunity to positively impact the lives of others. Join us as we break into the life of Moses, one of Scripture’s most influential criminals.

While the castles are few and far between, there are many “princesses” around us today. Princesses are typically pampered and protected—possibly making their ability for a lasting impression a little more difficult. However, that doesn’t always have to be the case. Join us as we watch the throne of one of the Bible’s most influential people of royalty; Esther.

Basketcase: a person or thing regarded as useless or unable to cope. No one wants to be given such a stereotype, yet life can sometimes fit that definition. Whether we know it or not, even the messiest situations in life have the chance to be redeemed and used by God. Join us as we discuss the useful impact one of the Bible’s biggest “basketcases” was able to make because of her strong trust and faith in Jesus.

From being an athlete and getting good grades in school to achieving certain levels of success with our work we probably all know what it feels like to have expectations placed upon us in life. Sometimes those expectations are good and sometimes not so much but both are usually based on the example of others. So, what do we do when the example laid before us is not positive? Join us as we wrestle with the life of a young king who chose to break the mold of the poor example left before him.

Studies suggest that people make an average of 35,000 decisions a day! With that many chances, we are bound to mess up a few. There are many factors that go into making a smart decision such as emotions, circumstances, or past experiences. Join us as we use our brains to think of the life of Joseph and what it looks like to make God-honoring decisions, no matter the conflict.

Pools are fun—but they’re even more fun with others! The free swim of Jesus not only removes our floaties and encourages us to go deeper - it also compels us to invite others into the pool! The pool is open and it’s a FREE SWIM for all! Who will you be bringing with you?

A lot of us like to get some sun while we’re at the pool. But not too much. No sun screen can ruin the entire day. But you know what else doesn’t help? SPF 100. Being in God’s family is a lot like this. Overprotection and under-protection don’t help. We have to remain in the truth that in every way Jesus is enough.

Remember how scary and far away the “deep end” seemed? Most of us as kids spent all of our time in the shallow end. However, the shallow end often reminds us of the truth that a deep end exists. The same goes with our faith in Jesus. In the Free Swim of faith, all can enter the pool and start in the shallow end, but the shallow end always encourages us to take another step towards the deep end of faith.