Ccc Sermons

Audio from one of the breakout sessions, delivered by Larry McCall, at the Gospel Shaped Family Conference–held September 21, 2019.

Audio from one of the breakout sessions, delivered by Kip Cone, at the Gospel Shaped Family Conference–held September 21, 2019.

Audio from one of the breakout sessions, delivered by Jere Vincent, at the Gospel Shaped Family Conference–held September 21, 2019.

Audio from one of the breakout sessions, delivered by Cavin Harper, at the Gospel Shaped Family Conference–held September 21, 2019. Note: This recording starts part way through the session. Sorry about that!

Audio from the fourth plenary session, delivered by Cavin Harper, at the Gospel Shaped Family Conference–held September 21, 2019.

Audio from the third plenary session, delivered by Marty Machowski, at the Gospel Shaped Family Conference–held September 21, 2019.

Audio from the second plenary session, delivered by Larry McCall, at the Gospel Shaped Family Conference–held September 21, 2019.

Audio from the first plenary session, delivered by Josh Mulvihill, at the Gospel Shaped Family Conference–held September 21, 2019.

The audio from the third “Exploring the Gift of Prophecy” meeting, held at CCC in September 2019. This time was led by Pastor Marc and included questions from participants. The recording came from a hand held recorder on the podium, so we apologize for clanks at times, and difficulty in hearing questions at others.

I imagine that nearly every one of us wants to be part of a loving church that is impacting the world for God’s glory. But how does that happen? How does a church become loving and healthy and fruitful for the cause of Christ and his kingdom? Does the “success” of a local church rest on the shoulders of the “up front” people? You know, the people who perform on Sundays – the preacher and the worship team? Well, those people do carry a big responsibility, but interestingly, the Bible says in Ephesians 4:16 that a church’s health and growth happens “as each part does its work.” “Each part” refers to you and me – each of us – all of us! So, what’s your part? We’ll learn about that in practical ways this Sunday as together we explore what God says to us in 1 Corinthians 12:8-11. Hope to see you then!

We are kicking off our new sermon series, Building Up, which is focused on 1 Corinthians 12-14. We will be walking through these chapters to learn and to help us better understand the Holy Spirit and the gifts that He gives to the Church!

So, what’s on your “bucket list”? You know, what do you want to do before you die – before you “kick the bucket,” as they say? A Google search turned up lots of ideas of what to put on a personal bucket list – everything from learning a new language to skydiving. But, instead of a Google search, what if we did a “God” search for what he would put on our bucket list? How about this entry from God’s Word? “So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation” (Psalm 71:18)?

“Kids these days!” That’s a phrase we’ve all heard, and many of us may have uttered ourselves. I think people have been saying that phrase, or some form of it, since the dawn of time. There has always been generational discord that has existed in the world, and sadly, that exists even in the church. The old look down on the young, and the young lash out at the old. But it doesn’t have to be this way! This Sunday and next Sunday, we’re going to take a look at how Scripture calls the generations to relate to one another, and we’ll begin by seeing how young people can make an impact on those their senior.

The audio from the second “Exploring the Gift of Prophecy” meeting, held at CCC in August 2019. This time was led by Pastor Marc and included questions from participants. The recording came from a hand held recorder on the podium, so we apologize for clanks at times, and difficulty in hearing questions at others.

Prequels are stories whose contents precede those of a work that has been previously released and enjoyed. Think Star Wars: Episodes I-III. At their best, they shed light on famous characters and scenes by providing their backstories to audiences. As we conclude our walk through the book of Ruth, the last few verses will reveal that this story of famine, death, conversion, struggle, generosity, romance, and marriage have all been a prequel–a powerful backstory to the rise of David, the great king of Israel. We’ll see how David’s story was a prequel as well–a powerful backstory to the rise of Jesus, the great king of heaven. And we’ll see that all of our stories, from Ruth and Boaz’s to mine and yours, are sub-stories authored by God to shed light on the greatest story of His Son.

There’s a well-known line from the movie When Harry Met Sally, which might as well have been uttered by Ruth and Boaz: “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” As we read through Ruth 4:1-12, we’ll see this ancient couple rapidly take steps towards marriage. But even in their urgency, their steps toward marriage were taken both properly and publicly. Join us as we learn from their brief engagement–seeing how it provides us with an example and how it points us to our redeemer.

Discouragement and depression can suck the hope right out of our hearts. The 18th Century English poet, William Cowper knew that. He had a really hard life, even after he came to faith in Jesus. With the encouragement of his pastor, John Newton, William Cowper penned these soul-challenging words, “Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, But trust him for his grace. Behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face.” Ruth and Naomi learned that important lesson. As they began to see God’s smiling face, even in their extreme difficulties, the seeds of hope began to germinate in their parched souls. And, that budding hope led to a most unusual wedding proposal.

Typically, in our culture, the wedding comes first, and then the reception follows. In the book of Ruth, it’s just the opposite. There’s a wedding that looms toward the end of the story, but beforehand, there’s a reception. It’s not the reception of a couple to a party in their honor (this couple hasn’t even met yet, in fact). Rather, it’s the reception of a young vulnerable Moabite woman named Ruth into the workforce of Boaz, and by extension, into the broader community of Israelites in Bethlehem. In this sermon, we’ll work our way through Ruth 2, seeing how Boaz received Ruth into his company, how Christ receives us into His, and how He calls us to receive others into ours. Join us as we continue our journey through a beautiful story together!

The audio from the first “Exploring the Gift of Prophecy” meeting, held at CCC in July 2019. This time was led by Pastor Marc and included questions from participants. The recording came from a hand held recorder on the podium, so we apologize for clanks at times, and difficulty in hearing questions at others.

Throughout history, millions of couples have fallen in love, married, and grown old together. Most of their stories (even the best of them!) have long since been forgotten by the generations that have followed. But one of those love stories has been tucked away for us in the Old Testament–the story of Boaz and Ruth. This Spirit-inspired record of the early days of their relationship is beautifully told and is full of dramatic tension. But while their story may have some value in providing a vivid depiction of trust, generosity, and sacrificial love, its greatest contribution is reminding us of this couples’ descendant who would be born generations later–Jesus Christ, the one who’d follow in his great-great-great…grandpa’s footsteps as the redeemer of His bride.