Chelten - a church of hope

> For three chapters Micah has confronted Judah’s and Israel’s leaders with their idolatry, greed and injustice. Now in chapter four, after calling them to self-examination, humility and repentance, the prophet promises a future filled with hope and restoration, not just for Israel but for all nations. In this sermon Pastor Shep unpacks what all of this means for us and how we can live the life...

Micah’s called out the political and religious leaders for not treating their people justly. Sound familiar? Justice is certainly a hot topic these days. But just what is it? Is my definition of justice the same as yours? In this sermon pastor Jin shows us how biblical justice is able to encompass and reconcile our diverse and complex views to reveal not only what it means to be truly just, but ho...

How much is enough for you in terms of money, or things? Are you content with what you have or do you find you always want just a little more? In this sermon pastor Bill addresses Israel’s idol of greed—our idol of greed. Not willing to co-exist with idols, God graciously guides our lives so that our greed for things other than himself will be bankrupt and our lives increasingly shine with generos...

God’s warning to the people of Jerusalem and Samaria through Micah was simple. “LOOK! The Lord is coming.” For too long they had allowed idols to coexist with God in their hearts and lives. Now, judgment was at hand. But the people are not left without hope. Micah reminds them that God is slow to anger, loving and compassionate to those who repent. In this first sermon of the series, pastor Jin ch...

Spiritual Friendship | The Book of Proverbs (selected verses) In our very busy and individualistic culture, friendship often takes a back seat to productivity and tyranny of the urgent. During the COVID pandemic relationships with our friends has become even more tenuous. In this very timely sermon pastor Jin takes us to a handful of verses in the Book of Proverbs to show us just how important fri...

Everywhere we turn we are bombarded with narratives that compete for our attention. In this sermon Pastor Bill encourages us to take and read the only source that can inform and transform us in 2022 - the God-breathed Scripture.

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12/26/2021

12/24/2021

In the heart of every human that has ever lived, and is yet to live, there resides a deep longing to love and to be loved. In fact, Jesus commands it. What? Is loving on command even possible? Isn’t love something you feel? How can you love someone you don’t like, or someone you—hate? In this sermon pastor Jin takes us on a journey to discover just what Christian love is, what it isn’t and how we...

Our Longing for Joy | John 16:20-24       In his gospel John writes often about the joy that we have as believers and followers of Christ. Why is it, then, that many of us find joy so elusive and in such short supply? What is Christian joy, anyway? And, how do we get it? In this sermon pastor Jin takes us John 16 to find answers.

During this Christmas season we often see and hear the phrase, “Peace on Earth." Nations strive for it. Individuals long to experience it. But what exactly did those angels mean? What is, and where is, this “peace” they proclaimed on that starry night in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago? In this sermon Pastor Bill takes us back to this familiar passage to understand the real meaning of God’s peace t...

We humans are chronically discontent, always longing for something greater to come. Why is that? In this sermon series our pastors explore the traditional Advent themes of hope, peace, joy, love and faith to peel back the layers of our discontent and uncover the true object of our longing. In this sermon pastor Jin explores the theme of hope by examining three realities: the troubles of our hearts...

After giving the Ephesians an array of instructions for Christian living Paul makes a sober turn from domestic affairs to darker, cosmic, ones. He knows their real struggle is not against human enemies, but spiritual ones. In this sermon pastor Jin leads us through a serious, but balanced review of the important topic of spiritual warfare—and the armor and weaponry God graciously equips us with us...

> Subversive Submission | Ephesians 5:21-6:9 > Paul writes that as believers we must submit to each other out of reverence to Christ. In this sermon pastor Bill unpacks what that means for us relationally in our marriages, in our families and in our work. Mutual submission puts the needs of others ahead of our own.

Living wisely | Ephesians 5:3-20 How can we live wisely as followers of Christ? What does it mean for us to put off our old selves and put on our new ones? In this sermon pastor Jin explores our metamorphosis as believers from lives of ruthless and aggressive self-seeking to ones marked by self-donation as we become our true redeemed selves.

Recounting the amazing things God has done for us and to us, the first three chapters of Ephesians tell us who we are as believers in Christ. We are richly blessed and eternally secure. As we continue our move into chapter four, Pastor Bill sketches the ways that our new identity changes how we live. We cannot receive God’s affirmation without robust obedience to God’s commands. His ways point us...

God gave each of us spiritual gifts. But we mustn’t mistake spiritual gifting for spiritual maturity. Discover why as pastor Jin implores us to saturate our lives with the gospel, reminds us of the unity that we have in the Spirit, and challenges us to use our diverse gifs for the benefit of others. After all, church is not just for ourselves!

The Pivot to Practice | Ephesians 3:14-21 As the apostle pivots his letter from the precepts of who we are in Christ to the practice of growing in maturity to his likeness, Paul pauses to pray for his readers. Guest speaker, Dr. John Currie unpacks this essential and moving prayer to reveal three things we need in order to pivot: passion for maturity, power for maturity and to know the path to mat...

10/11/2021

Diverse groups of people with opposing views will readily lay aside their differences and rally together around a greater, deeply-held, passion. Shared passions tear down walls of division. But when shared passions fail, when they wain, we quickly rebuild the walls. In this sermon Pastor Shep speaks to us about a shared passion that will not fail, or wain. The dividing wall is down for good. And i...

09/26/2021 You know how weight-loss commercials and ads include those before and after images? Well, in chapter two the author of Ephesians gives us just that, a before-Christ image and an after-Christ image. The “before” image shows us as dead in our sin; dead in a secular culture that blurs right and wrong and dead in a pervasive self-centeredness that pollutes even the good we do with a curve i...

09/19/2021

Paul wrote this letter to a group of gentile believers in Ephesus who recently left a of cult emperor worship to become followers of Christ. In chapters 1-2 Paul presents foundational truths about who we are in Christ and the riches of our new relationship with God and each other. In Christ God created us into one new humanity, one church. Walls that divided us no longer stand. In chapters 4-6 Pau...

For the last nine Sundays our pastors have surrounded us with examples of men and women whose faith moved them to obedience. In a sense, these witnesses have urged and cheered for us to run the races of faith that God marked out for each of us. In this final sermon in the series pastor Bill breaks down our faith marathon strategies into three points: preparation, perseverance and focus. Whether we...