Ccc Sermons

This is an important time in the life of our church! It’s a time of transition, but also a time of opportunity for us to keep growing together in Christ. In the current season of our congregational life, we could think of no better book to preach through than Nehemiah. It’s a book about the physical rebuilding of walls around ancient Jerusalem, but it has vital lessons for the people of God in every generation as we seek to build God’s kingdom in our own time and place, facing our own unique challenges. So we’ll start our journey through this wonderful book on Sunday. Even though we’ll just cover the first three verses (1:1-3), we’ll lay the foundation for the season ahead of us!

Probably more than any other day of the year, Americans visit cemeteries across our land on Memorial Day. We do that to honor those who gave their lives in the defense of our country. You know what? It’s good to visit a cemetery. It’s good for each of us to look at the grave markers and reflect on the fact that one day there will be a grave marker with our name on it. Every one of us will die some day. So, as Christians, how am I to think about death? This Sunday at CCC, we’re going to see in John 11 one of the most amazingly encouraging pronouncements ever heard by human ears. Jesus said, “I Am the Resurrection and the Life.” Now there’s power! There’s hope!

Have you ever shaken hands with someone who seemed to just want to show you how strong of a grip they had? You go in for a normal friendly handshake, and they break a few bones in your hand as they squeeze with all their might. Well, even though situations like that can be a little painful and a bit awkward, there are some times in life where it’s reassuring to know the strength of someone’s grip. And in this week’s passage, John 10:22-42, Jesus makes it very clear that the grip of our heavenly Father is unrivaled. He teaches that the Father is “greater than all” and that “no one is able” to snatch His sheep out of His hand. That is quite a statement and quite a promise for us to hold onto. I hope you can join us Sunday morning as we worship and learn from this passage together!

What welcome words of comfort and acceptance, especially after being treated with cruelty and rejection. The man had been born blind, but Jesus had miraculously given him sight. Instead of celebrating this amazing kindness with the healed man, the religious leaders had mocked him and kicked him out of the synagogue! It was in this context that Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Isn’t that good news? Join us in John 10 as we enjoy the glorious news of Jesus being our Good Shepherd.

Most of us are probably fairly familiar with the way that Jesus healed the man born blind. This fits with what we know about our Lord–His heart of compassion and His power to reverse the effects of the curse. But as we’ll see in John 9:8-41, when Jesus had healed the blind man, He said of Himself that He had come into the world not only “that those who do not see may see,” but also that “those who see may become blind.” What could Jesus possibly mean by that second statement? Join us as we explore this potentially confusing statement of Christ, the one who not only gave sight to the blind but gave blindness to the seeing.

For thousands of years, human beings have been trying to wrap our minds around the reality of suffering–searching for answers as to why God allows awful things happen to certain people. An age-old approach to this issue, which can even be seen in Jesus’ disciples in this week’s text (John 9:1-7), was to assume that if sufferings are brought into a person’s life, it’s a sign of God’s displeasure and His judgment of their sins (or of someone close to them). Thus, when Jesus and His disciples encountered a man who’d been blind from birth, the underlying assumption was that his blindness was the result of someone’s sin; it was just a question of whose. And while Jesus was about to perform a miracle, first He paused to correct their misunderstanding and to expose their assumptions about sin and suffering. As we read this passage, may God address us and help us see suffering and disability in new light, not as a judgment of God, but as an opportunity for “God’s works” to be displayed.

Most people in the world have their own opinions of who Jesus was and, quite frankly, most of them are positive. He was a “good man.” He was “one of the best teachers this world has ever seen.” He was a “great social reformer” or “the best example of a loving person in the history of the human race.” Those are all true. But, do they go far enough? What if we were to listen to what Jesus said about himself? How did He identify himself? Jesus said things about himself that were bold, even audacious. But, probably none was as bold, as audacious, and as polarizing as what He proclaimed in John 8:58, “Before Abraham was, I Am!” Wow! How did the people respond to that claim? Please join us as we delve into the gripping story of John 8:31-59.

Darkness. What images does this word conjure in your mind? What feelings does it stir in your heart? We might recall being afraid of the dark as a child – or as an adult. In the Bible, darkness pictures danger, ignorance of God and His ways, of sin, of death, and even the “outer darkness” of God’s eternal judgment where there is “weeping and gnashing of teeth!” No wonder darkness can bring fear! Then, one day Jesus announced, “I AM the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Isn’t that good news? This (John 8:12-30) is what we’ll be looking at together this week!

There’s a difference between arrogance and confidence. God wants to destroy the one and build the other in its place. This Sunday, we’ll be looking together at John 7:40-8:11, where we’ll see Christ squashing the arrogance of the Jewish leaders of His day, most of whom people would never have dared to confront. And we’ll see Christ instilling confidence in a sinful woman, to whom most would never have shown any grace. And as we do, may the Lord address us about the pride in our own hearts, pride we might not even realize is there.

We may be tempted to think that the Easter story of Christ’s death and resurrection is a historical narrative with little to do with us. But in 1 Corinthians 15:20, we see that His story has everything to do with ours–that Christ’s resurrection guarantees our resurrection. Join us as we celebrate Christ’s resurrection together!

What’s the thirstiest you ever remember being? Maybe you were hiking or running a race, and all you wanted to do was to stop and gulp down some water. Or, maybe you were preparing for surgery, and all you were allowed to have were some ice chips, wishing a nurse would sneak you a tall glass of water. But you know what? As strong as physical thirst can be, there’s a deeper thirst inside us, too, isn’t there? A “soul thirst.” We long to have our “soul thirst” satisfied, but where do we go? One day long ago in Jerusalem, Jesus shouted above the noise of the crowd, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” Join us as we pause to give thoughtful, personal consideration to Jesus’ amazingly gracious invitation that we find in John 7:37-39.

Stephen Hawking was a famous physicist who died earlier this week – a man who some have compared to Einstein when it comes to intellect and scientific achievement. Hawking was an atheist through and through, and he had very strong beliefs about where we came from and what we are destined for. He believed that “no one created the universe, and no one directs our fate.” And when it came to the question of what happens after death, he compared human beings to deteriorating computers, saying, “There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.” As we look at John 7:25-36, we’ll see that Jesus’ view of human origins and human destiny couldn’t be any more different than Hawking’s. Join us to see what Jesus had to say about His own “coming” and “going” from this world and ours by extension.

We’ve all likely heard the phrase “don’t judge a book by it’s cover,” and we know exactly what it means. While that phrase itself isn’t “ancient” (since books and covers didn’t even exist in their current form through most of human history”), the concept behind it is. Even Jesus Himself said something along those lines two thousand years ago in John 7:1-24. He said, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” As we open this text and read this portion of John’s gospel, we’ll see a few different reasons that human beings misjudge Jesus, even in today’s world. And we’ll see a way forward, a pathway that can lead us to a right judgement of Christ.

After witnessing Jesus’ miracle of feeding the 5000, many of Jesus’ supposed followers walked away, offended at the idea of him being “The Bread of Life.” They were impressed by his power, but they couldn’t swallow that claim. Yet, a comparatively small number of people stuck with Jesus. How did Peter say it? “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Some walked away and starved rather than “eating” of the Bread of Life. But why? “Why was I made to hear thy voice, And enter while there’s room, When thousands make a wretched choice, And rather starve than come?” (hymn “How Sweet & Aweful is This Place”) Indeed. Why was I a guest? Let’s talk about that as we look at John 6:60-71!

How often do we try to fill the hunger of our souls with something that will never ultimately satisfy? We need to listen afresh to Jesus’ clear, bold, gracious declaration, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” Oh, how we want to find our satisfaction in him alone! Join Pastor Larry this Sunday as we explore John 6:22-59, “Jesus, the Bread of Life.”

Having already served and played a vital role among the church body here at Christ’s Covenant for many years, Andy and Sara Royer were sent out as missionaries back at the end of 2013 to serve at Peniel Bible Institute in Jacutinga, Brazil. While they have relocated back to the States at least temporarily, if you have ever met them, you know that their heartbeat for the gospel’s advancement around the world will never change! Join as Andy preaches a sermon entitled “Can I Get a Witness?” from Acts 1:6-8. We are confident that God will stir a deeper desire within us to be part of gospel work among the nations as we hear Andy open up the Scriptures!

Have you ever had the experience of being startled by someone, feeling momentarily scared and frightened, only to realize very quickly that it’s actually your spouse or your friend? What a relief it is in that moment when your fears quickly give way to calmness, and you can say, “I’m so glad that was you!” Jesus’ disciples had an experience a bit like that one night, but on a bigger scale, out in the middle of the Sea of Galilee. Approaching their boat, in the midst of a storm, they saw a human figure walking on the water, and they were terrified! But soon enough, they heard the voice of Jesus telling them, “It’s me. Don’t be afraid.” And their fears dissolved immediately. Join us as we look at that famous story together in John 6:16-21 and see what the Lord would have us to learn from it nearly 2,000 years later!

We have four records of Jesus’s life in the Bible, yet interestingly, only ONE of Jesus’ miracles is mentioned in all four records: the feeding of the five thousand. John, whose gospel we’ve been working through in recent months, seems to have intentionally included stories in his record of Christ’s life that were not told by the other gospel writers. But when it came to this miracle, John couldn’t help but include it! Join us as we open John 6 together and find out what makes this story so special, so powerful, and so important.

It was an honor to have Bob Kauflin join us at CCC! Bob, who is the Director of Sovereign Grace Music and one of the pastors of Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville, preached in our worship services from Colossians 3:16-17 on the topic of “Why We Sing.” In addition to being a gifted musician, Bob is an excellent preacher, who led us well as he opened God’s Word.

Oxford professor C. S. Lewis challenged his listeners on a radio program 75 years ago with this: “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice.” Though probably not Lewis’s actual words, a number of people over the years have presented this trilemma as “Liar, Lunatic or Lord?” In John 5:30-47 we see that Jesus was clear on his claims. So, what will we do with Jesus’ claims of divine Lordship? The answer to that question is eternally important.