CCW Podcast

A lot of people today, who claim they are Christians, have a sense of God, but they sense there is something wrong between them and God. Sometimes they feel things are right; other times as though things are wrong. But underlying whatever feelings they have, men and women are never sure whether or not things are right between them and God. They lack complete confidence that they please God enough...

When the Bible says that we should be like Christ, someone always says, "Impossible!" True, He is the sinless Son of God and we can be intimidated by His high standard of perfection. After all, we're only human, but we can have Christ's attitude about service. The Scripture gives us examples of ordinary people, just like us, who lived a servant lifestyle and worked out their sa...

Mark Twain, famed author and humorist, wrote that few things are harder to put up with "than the annoyance of a good example." Perhaps the thing most annoying about a good example is our inability to accomplish the same achievements. Admiration for a great person can inspire us, but it can't enable us. Unless the person can somehow enter into our lives and share his skills, we canno...

Incredible message on the Tabernacle!

Last week, we examined the causes of our negative speech, and this week we'll take a hard look at the Consequences of Complaining and Murmuring. We will see what happens if we don't bridle our tongue. If we're not careful, our words will destroy us and those we love. Proverbs 15:1 says, "A soft answer turns away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger." Grievous words are...

Complaining is characteristic of those who believe God doesn't have the right to exercise His will in their lives. Remember the Hebrew slaves when they came out of Egypt? They pretty much complained the whole way from Egypt to Kadesh Barnea, then they were excluded from entering the Holy Land. God doesn't look lightly on complaining, but sees it as a lack of faith in Him. Moses got to th...

The book of Philippians has truly been the Joy Book through our verse-by-verse study of the Word of God. This week we will be focusing on one of the greatest passages of Scripture ever written about Jesus Christ, Philippians 2:5-11. He is our example for joyful living! It paints the perfect picture of humility, the humility of Jesus Christ leaving the glory of heaven to live as one of us, taking o...

This Sunday we will be looking at chapter two in the book of Philippians. Walking in the joy of the lord involves walking in unity with one another. The Phillippian church was a strong church, a very strong church. When a church is strong, it is always full of vision and planning, and it is always working out a strategy to carry the gospel to the community. It is never still and never complacent,...

In the village green in Lexington, Massachusetts, there is a stone on which is carved the words of Captain Parker who commanded the colonial militia on the spot in 1776. Here is what he said to the men who were assembled to fight the British: "Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon. But if they mean to have a war, let it begin here." If that kind of courage is needed to gai...

Our world knows little of what it means to be happy in the midst of a trial. Happiness is understood to be a function of mood, possessions, or place - not a confidence that rests completely outside of this world. American pastor A.W. Toer wrote, "In this day of universal apprehension when men's hearts are failing them for fear of those things that are coming upon the earth, we Christians...

God has ordained three key social institutions for the purpose of relationships; these are marriage, family, and the local assembly of believers, called the church. The church, also called the body of Christ, is God's source of relationships in a scope broader than that of marriage and family. It's where we develop relationships that sustain us and strengthen us, that provide more than a...

We live in a world of despair, depression, unfulfillment, and dissatisfaction. Man defines happiness as an attitude of satisfaction and delight based upon present circumstances. He relates happiness to happenstance. He regards it as something that can't be planned or programmed. Biblical joy, on the other hand, consists of the deep and abiding confidence that all is well, regardless of the ci...

Listen/Watch this incredible message on what we were created to do!

Let me tell you a little story to introduce our sermon topic this Sunday. The devil was once crossing the Libyan Desert when he came upon some of his friends who were tempting a holy hermit. They tempted him with the seductions of the flesh, they sought to sow his mind with doubts and fears, they told him that all his discipline and uncompromising righteousness were worth nothing. But it was all i...

The crucifixion itself was the most horrible of deaths. There has never been a more cruel and painful form of execution than crucifixion upon a cross. There was the pain of the driven spikes forced through the flesh of Jesus' hands and feet. There was the weight of His body jolting and pulling against the spikes as the cross was lifted and rocked into place. There was the scorching sun and th...

A man came back from a weekend retreat experience and when a friend asked him how it was, he said, "I died!" The friends asked him what he meant. "You see," the man answered, "I went to this thing not knowing what to expect. But in the process of that long weekend, I discovered that I had spent my whole life hiding behind a lot of masks. I realized that I had never even le...

The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is the outworking of God's redemptive purpose in time and in eternity. For this very reason the cross is central in God's word as well as being central to God's world. Throughout the Bible we find the message of the cross of Christ, central in the Law, the Psalms, the Prophets, the Gospels, the Acts, the Epistles, and the Book of Revelation. To rem...

"Is life worth living?" That was the question the Preacher raised when he began the discourse that we call Ecclesiastes. After experimenting and investigating "life under the sun," which means living life without God, he concluded "Life without God is not worth living!" He realized that life was not monotonous but filled with challenging situations from God, each in i...

Solomon is the author of a large part of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament: Song of Solomon, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. In chapter ten of Ecclesiastes, he returns to the theme of wisdom verses foolishness. This section reads like a cross- section of the book of Proverbs. The Teacher-King dispenses one wise saying, after another. Solomon once again wants to remind his congregation of the...

Why is everyone so afraid to face the reality of death? The comedian Woody Allen once said, "I'm not afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens." Solomon, in the book of Ecclesiastes, is not afraid to talk about death. He has said throughout the book that if you try to live your life without God, it will be a meaningless life, and therefore a meaningless death...

One of my favorite players in the National Football League years ago was Kurt Werner. Kurt was a great Christian who stood up for his faith. Kurt led the Saint Louis Rams to the Super Bowl and they won it. He was named the most valuable player of the league and the Super Bowl. The next thing you know, he was sitting on the bench, not playing. He went through a period of not doing well, got injured...

Life is a puzzle, a process of making disjointed pieces fit together into a big picture. When we know what to do, we lack power to do it. And when we feel empowered, sometimes we don't know what to do. We need wisdom, which is the skill of living, and the strength to carry out what we know to do. Solomon came to that conclusion that wisdom alone did not make life worth living (Ecclesiastes 1:...

Is life a dead-end street? Sometimes it seems to be, especially when we don't reach our goals or when we reach our goals but don't feel fulfilled in our achievement. More than one person in the Bible became so discouraged with life that he either wanted to die or wished he had never been born. This list of discouraged souls includes Moses, Elijah, Job, Jeremiah and Jonah. Even the great...