CCRS Podcast

For every impure thought, an unkind word, or sinful action, there must be atonement. There must be something to balance the scale because, without atonement, sin just keeps piling up and up until it crushes you... And in the Old Testament, the blood of animals was offered as a sacrifice for sin. Bulls, goats, rams, and doves were common sacrifices that had to be made daily... Because the blood of...

What would you do if you could do the impossible? Fly? Well in today's message, Pastor Phil will remind you that God is beyond our finite understanding of the impossible. There is no impossible for God. For every terminal diagnosis, accident, or bodily abuse, The Lord sees the impossible as possible, with faith. So while something makes look and feel impossible to you, please know that in faith an...

God is not a god of shame. God is not a god of shame, this is a message that many people need to understand. God will never shame you for your mistakes... He only wants to repair the relationship you have with Him so that sin is no longer the divide... And in today's message, Pastor Phil will remind you that God's forgiveness is unlike any other. God's forgiveness is permanent, He casts your sin a...

In the Old Testament, the levitical priesthood was appointed by God to go before God as mediators for the children of Israel. The priests would care for the temple and offer sacrifices as atonement for sin for the Israelites... But the Levitical priesthood was done away with when Jesus offered Himself as the eternal sacrifice for all sin. From that moment on, anyone who called on the name of Jesus...

The Law of the Old Testament appoints God’s priesthood to the tribe of Levi. So when the New Covenant places Jesus – from the tribe of Judah – as our new high priest, it seems to pose a problem for Jewish Christians. Today Pastor Phil walks us through a passage of Hebrews that sets out to resolve this tension. God made a promise to raise up a high priest who is outside the traditional lineage beca...

The letter of Hebrews, written to first-century Jewish followers of Christ, can be a bit confusing for modern readers. But today, Pastor Phil dives into the book and unpacks some of the Old Testament contexts in order to help us better understand what the author is trying to communicate. Today Pastor Phil shows us how, while the Old Covenant was good, the New Covenant of Christ is so much better!...

Pastor Phil reminds us today that God is trustworthy! Unlike humans, who often say one thing and do another, God always keeps His promises! And this is good news, considering God has promised to save anyone who would turn from their own ways and follow Jesus. And Jesus has already paid the penalty for our sins! Pastor Phil reveals to us how, as explained by the writer of Hebrews, understanding God...

The Bible tells us that God has saved us by His grace – no tradition or ritual or good work can save, but only faith in Christ. Yet it’s so easy for us to doubt that truth. Today, Pastor Phil assures us of Christ’s love and sacrifice for us, and reminds us that our faith can be steadfast if we hold to the truth of who God is. He reminds us that the Bible says Abraham was considered righteous by Go...

If you've been a Christian for any amount of time, you know that the life of a believer is a process. It's a journey of faith that God walks us through, and we grow in maturity and closeness because of Jesus and the help of the Holy Spirit. Pastor Phil will be sharing some misconceptions that people have regarding salvation, whether one can “lose it” and the evidence that one “has it”. He will als...

Is it possible for some to receive salvation but IMPOSSIBLE for others? Pastor Phil will be looking at the warning in the Book of Hebrews, to the Jewish people regarding those who have turned away from Jesus. It's a warning that is repeated in the new testament, that good works, sacrifices, and righteous deeds will never be enough to save us from our fallen state. What Jesus did in his death, buri...

It's a pretty graphic scene to imagine, a sacrifice to deal with the sin of man. We sometimes forget the weight and cost of sin, and sometimes even trivialize it as a way to sort of protecting ourselves from its egregiousness. Pastor Phil will remind us that this is exactly why we need to rely entirely on Jesus, and his equally graphic sacrifice made on our behalf. Our connection with that is only...

I don't know about you, but I love to eat all sorts of different foods, and I am always looking to try something new. I can't imagine going back to the same milk or formula diet that I would have had as a baby, can you? Pastor Phil will show us from today's passage, that maturity in Christ, is very much like growing up physically. The things that were acceptable for sustenance and growth when we w...

Jesus knew the pain, rejection, humiliation, and torture He would experience when He went to the cross. But, as Pastor Phil teaches today, the hardest part of Jesus’ death would be the separation from God His Father that He’d experienced as the weight of the world’s sin was upon Him on the cross. He was willing to die as payment for man’s sin, but He dreaded that moment when God would have to turn...

Israel was God’s chosen, special people who were to bring the light of God to the world. And they were to look to the High Priest to guide them in Holy living. And, as Pastor Phil teaches today, you as a believer in Christ are a special, chosen people as well. You now have a better High Priest. Jesus. He understands what you’ll experience, has great compassion for you, and is the only one qualifie...

Before Jesus, believers in God couldn’t enter into God’s presence. But, because Jesus came, and sacrificed Himself on the cross, you can now approach God with boldness and courage. Today, Pastor Phil explains that God looks at you with love and mercy and rejoices that you desire a relationship with Him. You’re welcome to come and you belong there with Him anytime you need it. When you come, God wi...

Sometimes, believers in Christ take a laid-back approach to their faith. Praying and reading the bible when you can, fitting God in here or there as your busy life allows. But, as Pastor Phil teaches today, God wants you to enter into your faith and relationship with Him with eagerness and an intense desire. He offers you rest, but you must be diligent to enter into it. It takes prioritizing Him a...

Some people, who desperately need rest and peace, ironically look to enter rest by working harder, getting ahead, hoping that peace will eventually come. As Pastor Phil explains today, many early believers in Christ tended to find rest by working harder at religion and being good. However, there is no rest to be found in that. True rest, true peace is found only in Jesus. So, instead of striving,...

One of the things people need the most today is rest. Yet, it seems to be the one thing that some simply can’t find. It can be anything from technology, pressures of work, or constant stimulation around you and it all plays into your inability to find rest and peace. Today, Pastor Phil will explain what God’s rest really is and how you can enter into it. It’s so crucial to your soul to learn how t...

Many people see the works of God and recognize His power and goodness. But too often, some choose not to believe or trust Jesus. They lack belief and trust that God will do what He said He would. And as Pastor Phil teaches today, this kind of unbelief in God will eventually harden your heart to God entirely! When you harden your heart, you leave the only way to life. You lose out on the rest and p...

Sometimes, those who say they believe in Jesus have yet to fully trust in Jesus as their savior and completely commit their lives to Him. Sometimes it feels easier to trust in the things of the world instead of trusting in Jesus fully. Today, Pastor Phil will challenge you to consider Jesus. Pay careful attention to what He’s doing in your life and focus less on the world. Set aside time every day...

Pastor Phil says today that Jesus loves to save people. Have you ever thought about it that way? We think a lot about Jesus in the garden begging God to find some other way. And of course in the end going through with the painful death and separation from God in order to save us. We see how much it cost him to save us. But how often do we think about how much he loves to save us? Picture his face...

Fear of death seems like a pretty standard part of life, but did you know that scriptures say that the fear of death is in fact bondage for us? The fear of death holds us hostage—it paralyzes us. Just like handcuffs or bars, it keeps us from pursuing Jesus and discovering our purpose in this life. But the good news is that we are no longer in bondage to fear because Jesus died and rose again, brea...

This world is broken. As the writer of Hebrews sets up the scene of the state of humanity, the picture is bleak. Humanity through Adam lost their right to rule over this world, and the enemy has come in and taken their place. Left to ourselves, we are lost and not able to do anything to help ourselves. Pastor Phil doesn't leave us hanging though. Today he'll remind us that there's a different endi...

God set his ultimate stamp of approval on Jesus through his resurrection, but as Pastor Phil will tell us, there are a hundred other moments filled with wonders that show God's approval of Jesus before that moment. Can you imagine being there for that first sign, when Jesus was baptized and God verbally spoke his approval? Or the next one as Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding? What a day...

The Jewish people tended to reverence angels because the law, the prophesies and many important messages came to God’s people through angels. Some early Christians viewed the gospel message as inferior because it wasn’t revealed by angels. But, today, Pastor Phil will explain how Jesus is far superior to angels. He’s always existed, He’s always been God. And he was the only one worthy to enter int...