This week, Justin Turner brought the Word to us from Exodus, introducing the Advent season and reminding us of God's great redemptive power.
(Listen Online)
"You are stronger, you are stronger! sin is broken, you have saved me. It is written, Christ is RISEN, Jesus you are Lord of all."
Thank you God for your faithfulness in the small things like school and photography assignments; to the big things like being our propitiation and taking God's wrath for sinners upon yourself. You are good and I love you. I forget your miracles quickly and I am not faithful or obedient. Just like Israel was not faithful. We fear things more than you and we don't trust you like you deserve. Thank you Lord for sanctification, for continually changing my heart to be more like you. Thank you for your Spirit who is waging war with the sin in my flesh. Thank you for taking the penalty of my sin so that I am not enslaved to it any longer. Your yoke is easy and your burden is light and you are my God and I am your child.
--Amanda Singer - C3 member
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Sermon Reflection::Ezekiel 37:1-14
Last Sunday morning (Listen Online), David walked us through Ezekiel 37:1-14. Through the message, I continued to think about how the phrase “Stay on Message” applies to my life. On a constant basis, I struggle with becoming too caught up in MY everyday living that I lose sight of the life that HE has promised. In doing so, I tend to forget that in our existence, from birth, we deserve wrath and without the Word we remain lost. In scripture, God continually reveals Himself to his people through his Word – Abraham, Israel, Ezekiel. The spiritual life that God has laid in front of you and me comes from HIM through His word. We must “Stay on Message”. God needs NOTHING and he saved us because he wants to bring himself glory [Psalms 50:15].
Our response should be:
- Focus wholeheartedly on the Word that God has given us [scripture]
- Reflect Christ by living a life that comes from the Word of God [in response to Grace]
We attend C3 because we believe, as a united body of believers, our church is continually moving toward becoming more like Christ through our every day struggles and continual focus on the Cross. This body is unlike any I have ever been a part of – we are digging into what God has provided through [His word] and through [His leadership]. Continue to encourage and lift up your brothers and sisters and always remember the focus is Christ, without whom there is nothing else.
--Wade Boggs - C3 dad and husband
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Sermon Reflection::Luke 7:36-50
Continuing on the subject of forgiveness begun in Matthew
18:21-35, last week Pastor David shared two scripture passages (Ezekiel 16:1-22
and Luke 7:36-50) to remind us of how far God reached to redeem us
who were helpless and unworthy, and what our response should be to that great
act of love and forgiveness. The Ezekiel passage paints a
graphic picture of us as we wallowed in our sin, unable to help
ourselves. God enters the picture and gives us life, but we should not,
as Israel did, trust in our own "chosenness" and take the Lord for
granted; instead we should worship unreservedly, like the woman in the Luke
passage, as people who have been forgiven much. As we prepared our hearts for
the Lord's Supper, I was challenged to think about the times recently when I
have insisted on my own rights and have not loved as much as I could have,
especially considering my own sinfulness and how much I have been
forgiven.
--Leland Moody - C3 Deacon
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Sermon Reflection::Matthew 18:21-35
The parable taught us how unimaginable our debt of sin is to the Lord and how it is absolutely impossible for us to repay it back. Read Matt 18:21-35.
Through this text I was convicted of some past events that still affect me today and that I may still be carrying. I was reminded of the enormous debt of sin that is impossible to pay off and that I deserve to be in jail for the wages that I cannot earn or repay back to the King. But in His grace and mercy He has released me of that debt through Christ, as did the king to the servant in the first part of the parable. What also convicted me in my life was the second part of the parable and how the forgiven servant treated his fellow servant and his debt, and how the fellow servant pled for patience and the forgiven servant didn’t show the same mercy as the king had shown him. This really hit home when I thought about the people that have hurt me or angered me and how I still have this bitterness towards them even though it’s been a long while. Through Christ I’ve been relieved of this enormous debt and in light of this truth I should be forgiving of others. Pastor David said, “Forgiven people are forgiving people.”
With this message my response is to pray and plead with the Lord to give me a forgiving heart, to reconcile relationships that should be reconciled, and to release me from any bitterness or anger that I may still have.
--Steven Nguyen - C3 Student
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Sermon Reflection::Matt18:10-14
God has blessed our church with leaders who love to glorify and enjoy life in Him. They have been charged with teaching God’s truth and guiding His flock whether through celebration, sorrows, and at times discipline. As little children, as Christians we are to imitate Christ and in this case we are to reach out our hands and go to fellow believers who have gone astray.
I used to not value church membership. I went from the mentality of ‘God and I are fine, I don’t need to go,’ to the polar opposite by attending any and every Bible study possible from every church in town. Both mentalities have the same heart problem: I was picking and choosing what commandments to obey from God, I wouldn’t commit to a body (Heb 10:25, Rom 12:4-5). As an active member of a church you live day to day life with one another, not just Sundays. During this daily life others can hold one another accountable and grow spiritually while seeking to glorify the Father.
If this was your first time to visit C3 I encourage you to walk with us. If not us, with a body that teaches the truth. Just remember the following about God’s character: 1. God cares for His children. 2. God seeks us when we stray. 3. God rejoices when we come back to Him. 4. God exercises His care for His children through His children.
-- Rachel Evans - a C3 sheep
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Sermon Reflections::Matt18:5-9
The Lord taught me multiple things through the preached Word this weekend. The sermon was the second in a series about the institution of the church and what Jesus has to say about what it should look like. David summed up last week's sermon in a statement similar to this: "The church should be marked by a childlike humility that communally puts the world on notice that Jesus Christ is supremely valuable." This weeks might read: "The church should be marked by honoring Christ in humbly receiving one another, on the basis of the gospel!"
It's been only in the last year and a half of my life that I have embraced the "communal living" aspect of the church that we're called to as Christians. Father continues to reinforce the doctrine of the church that I denied for most of my life, by having it come up time and time again in my study of the Word as well as in the preaching at C3. God is showing me that He is a God of community, and we are called to love each other in a way that brings attention to the gospel we are saved by as we hold that gospel supremely valuable in our lives, TOGETHER.
My response for the sermons these past two weeks has to be one of childlike humility in which I forget anything the world will try to bring to my attention that could result in me treating my brother or sister in a way that doesn't reflect my attention upon the gospel. I must ask the Lord to humble me and have me submit to communal living the way we are called to. I must stand alongside my brothers and sisters, never denying another brother or sister that same fellowship, and further, reaching our hands out to them that they may be transformed and made new by the power of Christ-centered community.
-- Joshua Miller - C3 Student
It's been only in the last year and a half of my life that I have embraced the "communal living" aspect of the church that we're called to as Christians. Father continues to reinforce the doctrine of the church that I denied for most of my life, by having it come up time and time again in my study of the Word as well as in the preaching at C3. God is showing me that He is a God of community, and we are called to love each other in a way that brings attention to the gospel we are saved by as we hold that gospel supremely valuable in our lives, TOGETHER.
My response for the sermons these past two weeks has to be one of childlike humility in which I forget anything the world will try to bring to my attention that could result in me treating my brother or sister in a way that doesn't reflect my attention upon the gospel. I must ask the Lord to humble me and have me submit to communal living the way we are called to. I must stand alongside my brothers and sisters, never denying another brother or sister that same fellowship, and further, reaching our hands out to them that they may be transformed and made new by the power of Christ-centered community.
-- Joshua Miller - C3 Student
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Sermon Reflections::Matt17:16-20
This past Sunday, Pastor David continued in Matthew 17:16-20. Here, the disciples are given the opportunity to perform a miracle while Jesus is away praying and the disciples come up short, finding themselves unable to heal this father's epileptic child. Last week we talked through the idea of works without faith and how worthless they are in such a state as the disciples were. This week, jumping off from that topic, Pastor David preached over what kind of faith it is that is described in verse 20 as "faith like a grain of mustard seed" which can allow you to say to a mountain "'move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."
In our sermon reflection Sunday night, we were given the question from Pastor David's sermon: What kind of faith is it that moves a mountain? As we discussed this, we found links to some other very interesting passages in the Bible. For instance, after agreeing that (in this context) doing the impossible (like moving a mountain) is solely within the realm of believers, we wondered whether the father of the young child believed. In looking at the parallel passage to this one in Mark 9, we found the father exclaiming "I believe, help my unbelief!" The father seems to have a genuine faith which is still working itself out within him. This idea of deliverance through genuine faith is echoed in the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3:17-18. These three faithful servants of God boldly proclaim that God will save them from the fiery furnace but that whether they are saved or not, God is still God and he can do as He wills. This connection really blew my mind, especially in the context of Pastor David's sermon. He explained that when Jesus said "nothing will be impossible," he meant that nothing which serves your created purpose will be impossible. That created purpose is to do God's will and glorify Him. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had a genuine faith that God's will would be done regardless of whether they were saved from a fiery death or not. That is the faith that moves mountains.
When talking more about the impossible via Romans 8:28-29, we recognized that, honestly, all things are impossible for us as fallen humans, especially our salvation. Though we are saved initially from death through belief in Christ, we are going through progressive salvation in that we are daily being saved from our sinful nature by being molded into the image of Christ. So how is it that we are being conformed into the image of Christ when we are in circumstances from which we are not being saved? How is that sanctifying? Well, just as Christ cried tears of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane for God to take his cup from him if it be God's will and God did not, we must see that in our circumstances, God's will is still working and that His glory is still supreme over all our plans. When we look at it this way, we see that God is saving us and gaining glory for His name IN our circumstances, whether it be through deliverance or enduring through our hardships. Also, we see that Jesus' example, as always, shines through as a wonderful example for what we are to do in our own lives. We are to be about the same business as Jesus was, namely, God's will and His glory. That begs this question: Do I have genuine faith in the sovereign will of God? Am I allowing myself to be molded into the image of Christ daily through radical submission to God's will? Am I praising God daily through every situation, good or bad? Or even more challenging, am I relying upon God and His will through every situation, big and important AND mundane and small?
--Sermon Reflection Small Group (Sun pm @ Peron's)
In our sermon reflection Sunday night, we were given the question from Pastor David's sermon: What kind of faith is it that moves a mountain? As we discussed this, we found links to some other very interesting passages in the Bible. For instance, after agreeing that (in this context) doing the impossible (like moving a mountain) is solely within the realm of believers, we wondered whether the father of the young child believed. In looking at the parallel passage to this one in Mark 9, we found the father exclaiming "I believe, help my unbelief!" The father seems to have a genuine faith which is still working itself out within him. This idea of deliverance through genuine faith is echoed in the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3:17-18. These three faithful servants of God boldly proclaim that God will save them from the fiery furnace but that whether they are saved or not, God is still God and he can do as He wills. This connection really blew my mind, especially in the context of Pastor David's sermon. He explained that when Jesus said "nothing will be impossible," he meant that nothing which serves your created purpose will be impossible. That created purpose is to do God's will and glorify Him. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had a genuine faith that God's will would be done regardless of whether they were saved from a fiery death or not. That is the faith that moves mountains.
When talking more about the impossible via Romans 8:28-29, we recognized that, honestly, all things are impossible for us as fallen humans, especially our salvation. Though we are saved initially from death through belief in Christ, we are going through progressive salvation in that we are daily being saved from our sinful nature by being molded into the image of Christ. So how is it that we are being conformed into the image of Christ when we are in circumstances from which we are not being saved? How is that sanctifying? Well, just as Christ cried tears of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane for God to take his cup from him if it be God's will and God did not, we must see that in our circumstances, God's will is still working and that His glory is still supreme over all our plans. When we look at it this way, we see that God is saving us and gaining glory for His name IN our circumstances, whether it be through deliverance or enduring through our hardships. Also, we see that Jesus' example, as always, shines through as a wonderful example for what we are to do in our own lives. We are to be about the same business as Jesus was, namely, God's will and His glory. That begs this question: Do I have genuine faith in the sovereign will of God? Am I allowing myself to be molded into the image of Christ daily through radical submission to God's will? Am I praising God daily through every situation, good or bad? Or even more challenging, am I relying upon God and His will through every situation, big and important AND mundane and small?
--Sermon Reflection Small Group (Sun pm @ Peron's)
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