Christ Church Evangelical Covenant

We're kicking off a new year with a new sermon series focusing on the Sermon on the Mount, the teachings of Jesus found in Matthew 5, 6, and 7. These teachings reflect a fulfillment of God's long plan to rescue his people, and provide a framework for living faithfully as part of God's kingdom. In this kingdom, we are not measured by what we do, but instead by what we become, allowing God to transf...

Inviting us to remember much of our Old Testament focus from the fall, Ken Bell invites us to consider the portions of the Bible that would lose their truest meaning were it not for Jesus. In the same vein, we are invited to consider what it means for us to live in the midst of God's ongoing work - and to be active participants in his mission.

As we celebrate Christmas, Pastor Cheryl encourages us to see the contrast in the reward-bases systems of culture and the gracious gift that Jesus Christ offers - himself. In exploring the nativity through the lens of what it redefines for us, we find the way to embody mercy, justice, and sacrificial love in our daily lives.

In modern times, we often have a hard time waiting for the next episode of a show to premiere, or in traffic that's delaying us from getting where we want to go. But, for Israel, as they waited for the messiah, this period of waiting lasted for generations! The people who had heard the promises of God spoken directly from the prophets had long passed away. And yet, the wise men arrived to worship...

This morning, Pastor Emeritus Lyle Mook invites us to consider the implications of the Incarnation - a word that describes the way that Jesus was a living, breathing person just as much as He is fully and completely God. In Jesus, the ultimate saving power that belongs to God alone comes to us as a gift. It is because of the incredible generosity and grace of God that we are able to become childre...

In our year-long look at the whole story of scripture, we're wrapping up the first half of story today, as Pastor Cheryl co-preaches with Steven Byler. As we prepare for the turn into the New Testament, we are reminded all that we've talked about in the Old Testament. This week also marks the first week of Advent, where we remember the coming of Christ, and his promised return! The 400-years of si...

We're continuing our year-long look at the whole story of scripture as we arrive at our focus on the Temple in the Old Testament. Leaders like Ezra, Nehemiah and Zechariah were around during the time where the temple was rebuilt (remember: it had been destroyed when Israel was exiled), and scripture recounts the shared work of restoring what had been destroyed. But, as Pastor Cheryl highlights for...

As we continue our year-long look at the whole story of scripture, Pastor Cheryl helps us focus on the Exile - the period where God's presence had left the temple that Solomon has constructed, and the nation of Israel was scattered. During this period, it looked as though the promises of God had come to their end. But, we must remember that this isn't the end of the story! in the same way that Eze...

As we continue our year-long look at the whole story of scripture, Lyle Mook helps us understand the role and nature of prophets in the Old Testament -- individuals like Samuel, Elijah, Isaiah and Jeremiah. For Israel, their job was to speak God's heart on God's behalf. But, they all pointed to something (or someone!) greater that was to come!

As we continue our year-long look at the whole story of scripture, we come to the era where Israel was divided into 2 kingdoms - the Northern Kingdom (representing ten of the tribes of Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (representing the remaining two, which God declared would be the "remnant" he would keep for himself in order to remain faithful to his promises). As scripture recalls how the people...

With this sermon, we launch into the next part of our year-long look at the whole story of scripture, as our focus shifts away from the law that was given to God’s people at Sinai. When the people of Israel demand a king (like all of the nations around them), God chooses to allows it, recognizing something about their motives. And so, through the stories of Saul, David, and Solomon, we see what ha...

This morning, as we continue our year-long look at the whole story of scripture, Lyle Mook invites us to be "People of the Word" who recognize and understand the importance of allowing the scriptures to form us. With that encouragement, though, comes an important reminder about the role of the law: it cannot in itself make us good. And so, we must instead allow the scripture to point us to the One...

If God were trying to get your attention, what would it take for you to notice? For Moses, God got his attention through a mysterious burning bush. And once God had his attention, what did God show to Moses? Even before he called Moses to the miraculous work of deliverance that would lead God's people through the Red Sea, God wanted Moses to know who he was: the God if his father and forefathers....

Time and time again, God shows that he is faithful. And because He is faithful, we are able to believe in the promises that He makes. But, it is important to remember that God's promises are always part of His covenant -- that He will be their God. In our story today from Genesis 22, God asks for Abraham's trust by commanding Abraham to sacrifice his promised son, Isaac. And as the story plays out...

As we continue our year-long focus on the whole story of scripture, Pastor Cheryl helps us shift our focus from the creation to Abraham. Genesis recounts the call that God gave to Abraham, and highlights the blessings attached to it - God would establish Abraham's family as people who would be "set apart" to bring God's blessing to the whole world. Pastor Cheryl helps us see the promises that gave...

Last week, Pastor Cheryl looked at the very beginnings of the story of scripture to try to begin to see how the whole story points us to Jesus. Today, Lyle Mook draws our focus into the tension between the identity we have as bearers of God's image (imago Dei) and the brokenness we come to realize in ourselves when we allow our "disordered loves" (a reference to Augustine's writings) to shape us....

Today, we kick off our year-long walk through the entire story of scripture! Pastor Cheryl starts us at the very beginning of the Bible, where we find the familiar stories of Creation, Eden, Babel, Noah, and the generations in between. As Pastor Cheryl highlights vignettes from within the first eleven chapters of Genesis, she calls us to consider what they reveal to us about God's plans and purpos...

In today’s sermon, Pastor Cheryl invites us to reimagine our approach to the ways we do through church through “The Moonshot Rule,” a term coined after John F. Kennedy urged people to aim to accomplish things that seem “out of the real of possibility.” The church in Acts started to reach for these kinds of things as they met together, shared what they had, and gave to those who had need. What coul...

God is always at work in us, helping us to become more like him, and helping us to more fully reflect his character through our lives. That sounds exciting! But, once we realize that "becoming more like him" requires us to forgive like he forgives, it can be challenging to find the ways to live up to the invitation. In the closing sermon from our Hook Line & Sinker series, Pastor Cheryl helps...

In week 5 of our Hook, Line, and Sinker sermon series, Pastor Cheryl invites us to consider our response when we fall for the bait of offense. When we are wronged, we all-too-easily understand the desire to take matters into our own hands. But, God has a different plan for us in Romans 12, that we might "conquer evil by doing good."

Being "offensive" in basketball is a good thing, but "being offensive" to others in real life is a whole different story. It places the one who is offended in a diffult place as they figure out how to respond. However, as Pastor Cheryl shares, there are times where Jesus himself actually offended entire groups of people! The pharisees, his family, and his disciples all quickly come to mind. And, t...

In the third sermon of our Hook, Line, and Sinker series, Pastor Cheryl focuses on Elijah. God had sent him to Israel as a prophet, but he soon discovered that being faithful to God's call would cause people to be upset with him - and even threaten him. As he ran from one particular situation, Elijah was confronted with something hidden in his own heart that was keeping him from being able to do w...

"How could this happen to me?!" Isn't that often our first response when something difficult happens in our lives? Whether by someone's intentional actions that hurt us, or because of our own internal voice that convinces us, we can all recognize the sense of injustice we feel that leads us to feel offended. And it is just that sense of offense that Satan often uses to separate us from God and fro...

When was the last time you found yourself offended by what another person said or did to you? If it's not fresh in your mind, you can surely remember how upset you were. And when it comes to church, many of us carry past hurts from fellow churchgoers. Pastor Cheryl begins our summer series, "Hook Line and Sinker," unpacking why this can be such an effective tool to divide us and offers insight how...

In this sermon from our Spiritual Disciplines series, Pastor Cheryl invites us to consider how we can practice rest in themidst of a world that never ceases to demand busy-ness. Jesus invites us in John 15 to abide in Him. When we choose this, we will discover the fruit of the kingdom of God growing in our own lives. Discussion Questions: - What makes you and/or your family feel too busy or tired...