Cedar Hills Community Church - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Come Follow MePastor Kent LandhuisTHEME - Following Jesus in 2026 will transform our lives.    TEXT - Mark 1:16-20, 35-391. Be with Jesus. (Vision) • What does abiding with Jesus look like? • What kind of person will I become when I abide with Jesus? • What is at stake if I don’t abide? (Why is this a better alternative?)2. Become like Jesus. (Intention) • Have I truly decided to change? (Desire without intention is useless.) • Have I moved from preference to conviction?3. Do what Jesus did. (Means.) • “Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning.” (Dallas Willard) • Have I identified spiritual practices and a community of accountability?NEXT STEPS1. Name your quiet place and time_________________________2. Name your spiritual practices: __________________________________________________Four Chair Disciples: Healthy things grow.The Biblical vision of discipleship points to organic (a seed or a tree), not mechanical growth (an assembly line). Growth is not an event but a slow and steady process re

Come Follow MePastor Kent LandhuisTHEME - Following Jesus in 2026 will transform our lives.    TEXT - Mark 1:16-20, 35-391. Be with Jesus. (Vision) • What does abiding with Jesus look like? • What kind of person will I become when I abide with Jesus? • What is at stake if I don’t abide? (Why is this a better alternative?)2. Become like Jesus. (Intention) • Have I truly decided to change? (Desire without intention is useless.) • Have I moved from preference to conviction?3. Do what Jesus did. (Means.) • “Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning.” (Dallas Willard) • Have I identified spiritual practices and a community of accountability?NEXT STEPS1. Name your quiet place and time_________________________2. Name your spiritual practices: __________________________________________________Four Chair Disciples: Healthy things grow.The Biblical vision of discipleship points to organic (a seed or a tree), not mechanical growth (an assembly line). Growth is not an event but a slow and steady process re

He Shall Reign: Eternal SongPastor Kent LandhuisRevelation 41 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. 4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. 6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in f

He Shall Reign: Rejoice! Pastor Kent LandhuisTHEME - Celebrate God’s glory revealed in lowliness.TEXT - Luke 1:46-55GRACE #1- God’s shows mercy to the lowly. • Luke 1:46-49 • “The lowly he sets on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety.” ~ Job 5:11GRACE #2 - God shows grace to the lowly. • Luke 1:50-53 • “For this is what the high and exalted One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.’” ~ Isaiah 57:17GRACE #3 - God shows up for the lowly--as the lowly. • Luke 1:54-55 • “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” ~ Zechariah 9:9 NEXT STEPS1. Delight in your lowliness. • Celebrate your low estate and need for God’s help. • Celebrate in the low estate of others and refrain from judgement.2. Don’t b

Grace & Truth: A Reign of Gritty LovePastor Steve Poole TEXT: Luke 2:22-35 TRUTH #1: King Jesus is God’s salvation• Luke 2:29-32 & Exodus 13:2, 12-14• Luke 2:30 –“For my eyes have seen your salvation…”• Galatians 4:4-5 TRUTH #2: King Jesus embodied gritty, sacrificial love• Hosea 13:10-14 • 1 Corinthians 15:51-56 NEXT STEPS1. Believe in King Jesus for salvation2. Reread the “Christmas story” from Luke and Matthew looking for God’s gritty love.3. Do a “gritty love” thing for someone this week.4. Slow down this week so you don’t miss Jesus ADVENT REFLECTION(This is an excerpt from "The Anticipated Christ" by Brian Zahnd) In our high-tech, high-speed, high-stress age, we’re not very good at waiting—it feels too much like doing nothing. But it’s not doing nothing. As we wait, we slowly become contemplative enough to discern what God is doing. Unless we intentionally cultivate some contemplative slowness in our soul, it doesn’t matter if God acts, because we will most likely miss it. When God entered history defin

Grace & Truth: King Jesus is ComingPastor Kent LandhuisTHEME - Prepare for King JesusTEXT - Luke 1:57-791. Expect a visit.• Luke 1:68 – “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people.” (ESV)• James 4:8 – “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.”2. Expect a visit from God.• Luke 1:69-75• Isaiah 9:6 – “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”3. People are not ready.• Luke 1:76-78• Micah 3:1-3, 4:1-4 - “But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap.” (3:2)4. Get ready. • Luke 1:79• Mark 1:14 - “And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”• Acts 22:16 – “And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.”NEXT STEPS• John 14:27 –

GRACE & TRUTH: King Jesus, Light In The Darkness Pastor Steve Poole KEY VERSES: Isaiah 9 & 1 Corinthians 6 TRUTH: The world is dark and hopeless without Jesus·        Isaiah 9:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 GRACE: King Jesus has come to bring light to the darkness ·        Isaiah 9:2, 6-7; 1 Corinthians 6:11-12 NEXT STEPS1. Mourn the darkness of this world. Let the sadness and despair prepare our hearts to celebrate King Jesus even more in His advent.2. Turn from darkness to light through faith in Jesus.3. Find peace in the washing, sanctifying, and justifying work of King Jesus. 4. Practice freedom by bring light to others instead of abusing freedom by returning to darkness. Isaiah 9:1-2, 6-71 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.2 The people who walked in darkness    have seen a great light;th

Grace & Truth: No Small Dissention Pastor Kent LandhuisTHEME: The early church established communities of grace & truth. TEXT: Acts 15TRUTH: Disputes Happen.Acts 2:42-47Acts 4:12Acts 10:44-45Acts 13:1-2, 38-39Acts 15:1-2 - Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.Acts 15:5-7 - Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.” The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of th

GRACE & TRUTH: Acts 1-3Commissioned, Empowered, and Unleashed Pastor Steve Poole TRUTHThe Church is COMMISSIONED to be the witness of Jesus Christ··· ACTS 1:8 - “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” ··· ACTS 2:22-24; 2:36-38 – “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it… Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers,

Grace & Truth: The Best is Yet to ComePastor Kent LandhuisTHEME - Jesus brings hope through scandal.TEXT - Mark 14:27-311. Embrace the scandal of Jesus. * Mark 14:27 “All of you will fall away.” * Mark 6:3 “And they took offense at him.” * Matthew 15:12 “(They) were offended when they heard this.”2. Embrace the scandal of our weakness. * Mark 14:29 “Even if all fall away, I will not.” * 1 Corinthians 1:23. “...a stumbling block to the Jews, foolishness to the Gentiles.”3. Embrace the hope of this scandal. * 1 Corinthians 1:24 “Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”  * Mark 14:28 “BUT after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” * Ephesians 3:20 “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…”NEXT STEPS: Embrace the truth: the best is yet to come!GO DEEPER: Real people. Need Jesus.2025 Congregational Bright Spots:* Real people coming to faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior.* Revival in our community and around the world.* Reading the whole Bible. (The Bible Recap.

Grace & TruthPastor Kent LandhuisTHEME - Jesus saves.TEXT - Luke 19:1-101. What must I do to be saved? * Acts 16:30-33 * Luke 18:18-23 * They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved - you and your household.” Acts 16:312. Who can be saved? * Luke 19:1-10. * For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Luke 19:103. What does salvation change? * Luke 15:11-32 * Luke 19:35-43 * But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. Luke 15:32NEXT STEPS1. Admit your lostness.2. Believe in Jesus.GO DEEPERFive Solas of the Protestant ReformationFive pillars of our faith that come out of the reformation.1. Sola Scriptura – Scripture Alone.The Bible is the sole written divine revelation, our only infallible rule for faith and life, and alone can bind the conscience of believers absolutely. (Matthew 4:4; 2 Timothy. 3:16-17).2. Sola Fide – Faith Alone.Justification is by faith alone. By God’s free grace, the righteousne

Grace & Truth: People Get Ready! Pastor Kent LandhuisTHEME - Pay attention to the signs of readiness. TEXT -  Luke 12:13-56Four questions to diagnose readiness:1. Is your focus now or not now?Luke 12:13-21. Parable of the rich fool.Signs: greed or gratitude.2. Is your strategy wise or not wise?Luke 12:35-41. Parable of the unwise steward.Signs: unfaithful or faithful. 3. Is your posture ready or not ready? Luke 12:42-48. Parable of the thief in the night.Signs: not alert or alert?4. Is your heart trusting or not trusting?Luke 12:54-56.Signs: Afraid or unafraid.NEXT STEPS1. Get ready.2. Stay ready.GO DEEPER: People Get Ready by Curtis MayfieldPeople get ready, there's a train a-comin'You don't need no baggage, you just get on boardAll you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin'Don't need no ticket, you just thank the LordThere is a lot that we don’t know about the return of Jesus (like the time) but there are some things we do know without a doubt. Three things we know for sure:1. Jesus will return again. (I

Grace & Truth: The Anatomy of DisgustPastor Kent LandhuisTHEME - We are defiled by what comes out of our hearts. TEXT - Matthew 15:10-281. Truth: Jesus was unapologetically offensive.Matthew 15:12Matthew 15:1-92. Truth: Evil comes from the heart.Matthew 15:10-20Luke 6:65Proverbs 4:233. Truth: We are easily disgusted by “them.”Matthew 15:21-224. Grace: Jesus is not disgusted by the things that disgust us.Matthew 15:23-28Luke 18:9-14NEXT STEPS1. Guard your heart.2. Don’t be disgusted by appearances.3. Give thanks that there is room at the table for you.GO DEEPER - Eating with JesusWhile He was reclining at the table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came as guests to eat with Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ~ Matthew 9:10-11.Jesus gathered for dinner in Matthew’s home with Matthew’s tax collecting buddies. Matthew made a profit off Rome’s oppression of his people, and so, the only people who

Grace & Truth: God Reigns Above All! Pastor Steve PooleTEXT - Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV) - “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”GRACE - Jesus offers rest to all who come to Him.TRUTH - Jesus was unapologetically offensive.“And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” ~ Matt. 11:6TRUTH - Jesus is offensive because He doesn’t meet our expectations.For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.” ~ Matthew 11:18-19 ESVNow then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? ~ Acts 15:10 NIVThe HEAVY yoke of Jesus? Matthew 5:17, 21-22, 27-

Grace & Truth: Truth and TrustPastor Kent LandhuisTHEME - Temptations are always temptations to trust in something far less than what God offers.TEXT -  Luke 4:1-30 1. Who do you trust when called?• Luke 3:21-222. Who do you trust when tempted?• Luke 4:1-13• Deuteronomy 6 & 8 3. Who do you trust when challenged?• Luke 4:14-30 Next Step: When called.His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3Next Step: When tempted.No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13Next Step: When challengedFinally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. Ephesians 6:10-11GO DEEPER: Truth MattersSee to it that no one takes you capti

Grace & Truth: Hearing the Word Pastor Kent LandhuisTHEME - God’s word establishes all things.TEXT - Nehemiah 8:1-121. God’s Word establishes reality,• Genesis 1:1-3• Nehemiah 8:1-62. God’s Word establishes truth.• Psalm 33:4• Proverbs 30:5• John 17:173. God’s Word establishes hope.• Nehemiah 8:7-12• 2 Timothy 3:16NEXT STEPS                          1. Read your Bible.2. Do what your Bible tells you.3. Rejoice! (Have a feast.)GO DEEPER What is “Sola Scriptura?” Sola scriptura is a Latin phrase meaning "by Scripture alone" and is a foundational principle of the Protestant Reformation. As Protestant Christians we believe that the Bible is the final, infallible authority for Christian faith, doctrine, and practice. The Bible, as the Word of God, is sufficient to guide believers in matters of faith, salvation, and life. Human traditions, creeds, and councils do not (and cannot) hold the same level of authority. Key Aspects of Sola Scriptura1. Final Authority: The Bible is considered the ultimate source of truth a

Grace & Truth: Prophetic SongsPastor Kent Landhuis THEME - Singing prophetic songs shapes our lives. TEXT - Zechariah 4:6 1. Hum a prophetic tune.Not by might.Not by power.But by my Spirit. 2. Sing prophetic lyrics.God will confront evil.God will restore goodness. 3. Dance a prophetic jig.God sees.God cares.God works. NEXT STEPS                          1. Speak the truth in love. (Grace and truth.)2. Be bold.  GO DEEPER: The Day of the LordMeditate on these prophetic passages. Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty… See, the day of the Lord is coming —a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger— to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. Isaiah 13:6, 9 For the day is near, the day of the Lord is near— a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations. Ezekiel 30:3 Alas for that day! For the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty. Joel 1:15 Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord! Why do you long for the day of

Grace & Truth: God Reigns Above All!Pastor Steve PooleTEXT - Daniel 4:28-37TRUTH - God’s sovereignty and kingdom > man’s sovereignty and kingdom“...for his dominion is an everlasting dominion,  and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;  …all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand…” Daniel 4:34-35GRACE - God paid the price that allows us citizenship in His eternal Kingdom through faith alone in Jesus.Daniel 7:13-14Mark 10:45GRACE - God’s kingdom is for people from ALL nations and languages.Daniel 4:1Daniel 7:14Revelation 7:9-10NEXT STEPS1. Join God’s kingdom by believing in Jesus.2. Be humbled by the example of Nebuchadnezzar and recognize that your “kingdom” is not for your glory, but God’s.3. Find hope and comfort in the truth that God’s kingdom will come and His Will will be done, even when life looks its darkest.GO DEEPERA Brief Guide to Apocalyptic Prop

Grace & Truth: A new heart and spiritPastor Steve PooleTEXT: Ezekiel 36:22-36GRACE: God will save, restore, forgive, bless and establish His people.TRUTH: God restores and blesses His people to bring glory to His name.LEV & RUAKH“...Character, personality, will, mind are modern terms which all reflect something of the meaning of ‘heart’...” (Banwell)“...ruakh is used to talk about humans, it describes their breath and core qualities.” (Schlimm)GRACE: God offers a new heart and His Spirit to ALL who believe in Jesus.NEXT STEPS1. Believe in Jesus and receive a new lev and ruakh by God’s grace.2. Consider how God has changed your heart (lev) since your salvation and share a story of God’s faithfulness with someone.3. Continue reading Ezekiel, following this guide to interpret and apply God’s word to your lifeGO DEEPERA Brief Guide to Apocalyptic ProphecyBooks like Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation are filled with weird symbols and visions. The authors reveal divine truths through imagery that invites us to pay att