Christ Community Church Podcast

We begin digging into our “For Such a Time as Now” theme with a study of the book of Esther. Today, Pastor Keith simply tells the story – a story of courage, devotion and redemption.

Our teaching theme for 2015 is rooted in a call to have a sense of urgency, be attentive and be obedient. Here Pastor Keith introduces the theme and shares some steps we can take to be God’s people “for such a time as now.”

God has built rhythms into the very fabric of creation – day and night, monthly cycles, seasons, years. These give us natural opportunities to reflect, evaluate, re-focus and envision and this message encourages us to take time for these meaningful considerations.

Christmas has come and gone, but the story is not over. As John wrote, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14), and today Jesus, the Word, is still with us.

CCC missionaries Keri and Britton Robbins shared the miraculous story of their infant son, Phinehas, a fitting lead-in to Pastor Derrick’s encouraging message on the promise of Advent - you WILL have joy!

Advent teaches us about waiting with faith and hope. We do so because the One we wait for is faithful. The joyous truth of Advent transforms our groaning “How long O Lord?” into a hopeful “Come Lord Jesus!”

Pastor Derrick teaches on Isaiah’s prophesy that “a shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a branch will bear fruit” (Isaiah 11:1) – a prophesy that was fulfilled when Jesus “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).

Free Methodist Bishop David Roller eloquently recounts God’s magnificent story, from before His creation of all things to the entrance of His Son into human history.

Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, do it with all your heart, as unto the Lord …” This week’s message explored how we can do this and be “salt and light” in our places of work and other secular spheres of influence.

Pastor Keith teaches from Deuteronomy 6 as we look at ways to create and maintain a Godly household and family life.

The concept of abounding in good works has many personal applications. But before we can truly abound, we must have a proper understanding of who God, our kind and compassionate Father, is and how He sees us, His beloved children.

On the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, we lifted up our brothers and sisters in the Middle East and North Africa, and Pastor Keith taught on how to stand in faith as we face of trials in our own lives.

Indian missionary John Gollapalli taught from 1 Thessalonians 1: 2-10 on the facets of faith that comprise our calling and hope.

In today’s special worship service, part of our day-long GO Mission Conference, Pastor Derrick teaches on our final core value, Intentional Outreach: “Because God loves lost people, we love lost people.”

Pastor Keith teaches on our core value of Wholehearted Service, which says: Because God is worthy, we give Him the best of what He has given us.

This week we looked at our core value of “Environment of Grace:” Because God accepts us and wants to make us whole, we freely extend His grace to everyone.

This CCC core value means we are committed to maintaining a shared loyalty to Jesus Christ while promoting a diversity of spiritual gifts and racial, social and spiritual backgrounds.

Pastor Derrick continues our series on CCC core values by teaching on the invitation of community to come into the light, where we are vulnerable, yet where healing can happen.

Pastor Keith reminds us of CCC’s No. 1 Core Value, Passionate Spirituality ("Because God is our source of life, we pursue Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength”) and challenges us to listen and respond to what God is speaking and calling each of us to.

As a community, we are called to abound in every good work. In doing so, we must be courageous … even bold. We must dream … even risk. We must step out and trust in the abounding grace of our loving God.