Christ Church Vienna

God is the Maker and Preserver of all things–one God in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In revealing himself to us, God relates to us as a loving Father who has adopted us as his sons.  God’s love is manifest fully in the life, death and resurrection of his Son, […]

The Bible is comprised of different genres of writings with the Old Testament comprised of Rabbinic categories of Law, Prophecy, Wisdom literature. The letter of James in the New Testament is best understood as Wisdom. Wisdom applies principles, patterns and perceptions for navigating truth in uncertainty. In the close of James, we see the nature […]

James warns his readers against making plans, spending and using wealth without reference to God. He warns us against this same illusion of control–that if we plan, we can guarantee outcomes or if we have wealth, it is our to use as we please. Our life is short and only God is sovereign over all […]

James calls the church to be a unique community, a righteous community: a people in right relationship with God and with one another. But instead the churches are filled with fighting and quarrels. Why? Because of their passions and desires–what they want. But what we want and who we are is not just an internal […]

James warns his readers about the dangerous power of our words. The tongue can be a spark that catches a whole forest on fire. The things we say can spread great harm and evil if not controlled. But like God who created life and beauty and flourishing by his words, the things we say can […]

Note: At the beginning of this sermon, Pastor Johnny Kurcina addresses the topic of child sexual abuse that took place at another church between 1990-2002. In James 2:14-26, James calls out the hypocritical nature of believers in the churches. Faith without works is dead–it is useless, it does not save. Both a words only faith […]

In James 2:1-13, James calls out the practice of showing favoritism within the church community–especially honoring the rich and looking down on the poor. Favoritism is wrong because of who Jesus is and who we are. Because of what God has done for us in Jesus we are called to a radical love of our […]

[Unfortunately, the audio file for the sermon was not able to record directly through the sound system resulting in a less than ideal recording.] As James, the brother of Jesus and head of the church in Jerusalem, begins one of the earliest letters in the New Testament, he calls his readers to develop steadfastness–faithful endurance–in […]

Matthew 28 and 2 Corinthians 4-5 Faithful Christianity or honest Atheism are the two worldview systems with the most complete philosophical consistency and intellectual integrity. Atheism says we are here by chance and life is meaningless. Christianity claims there is a creator and a savior in the person of Jesus–and it all hinges on the […]

Before he was handed over to the Romans, Jesus knew who would betray him. Yet, rather than call out Judas by name, he gives him a chance to repent and gives the disciples a valuable opportunity for self-reflection. While he does say one person in particular will betray him, Jesus tells the disciples that they […]

In Matthew 19, Jesus encounters a Rich Young Man who wants to know what he must do to have eternal life just after he has rebuked the disciples for hindering little children from being brought to him. Jesus challenges this man: you don’t get eternal life like a possession, you enter eternal life like a […]

In Matthew 15, Jesus has an unusual interaction with a Canaanite woman. She calls on Him for help, and He seems to ignore her. She asks again, and this time he seems rude. What is going on here? Where is the Jesus who loves the forgotten, who listens to the neglected? Jesus, in his behavior, […]

[ Unfortunately, our usual means of recording weren’t available this week, so the audio is taken from the Facebook livestream. Apologies for the inconvenience! ]   The pursuit of the kingdom is not a waste of time. Being godly can be criticized by more modern cultures as being foolish, or not worthwhile. Jesus makes it […]

After witnessing Jesus with his own eyes, John the Baptist is sent to prison, and from prison asks Jesus if he really is the Christ. After seeing God pour down from heaven, Elijah is pursued by Jezebel’s armies and asks God to end him. Many churches can treat doubt like a sin, but many heroes […]

In Matthew 8 and 9, we see Jesus in the early phases of his ministry demonstrating authority over creation to calm not only the sea but also his disciple’s fears. We see him calling the most outcast and hated of people, a tax collector named Levi (Matthew), to new life in him. And we see […]

In the final entry of our Visions and Values series, Johnny reminds us of how God called the Israelites to care for the land of Babylno during their time of exile. Although Babylon was not their eternal home, it was their home for the present, and they were meant to make it a home that […]

In this installment of our series on CCV’s visions & values, Dean introduces a little of what it means for us to be a specifically Anglican church. Born from the reformation, it is essential to our faith that God is actively pursuing us, not just vice versa. At any time, we can draw near to […]

As the next step in our series on CCV’s vision and values, this week Dean takes a look at what it takes to be an extended family. As a church, Jesus wants us to recognize how big the family God is putting together really is. There will be people in the family you find shocking, […]

Continuing our new series on CCV’s visions and values, Johnny looks at what it means for the church to be externally focused as Jesus was. Rather than only letting those who were considered clean enough to teach be near him, Jesus actively sought out those whom the Pharisees had totally given up on, and importantly, […]

Dean walks us through being externally focused in this installment of our new series on CCV’s vision and values. As we explore being individuals in the church, we need to investigate who are identity is rooted in. As Christians, we recognize that the healthiest way to live is by leading a life that recognizes our […]

After our sermon series on what it means to be the people of God generally, Johnny begins a new sermon series covering the vision and values of Christ Church Vienna specifically. Today, he covers what it means to be a Gospel-driven church. Being in-step with the Gospel means having a deeper understanding of the fact […]

Christmas is meant to be a magical time. Snow, presents, time with your family. As an adult though, the pressure to make every Christmas perfect is exhausting. What’s meant to be magical is stressful. It’s exhausting. This exhaustion and stress is a much better picture of what the first Christmas was really like for Mary […]

This episode contains today’s sermon and all the lessons and carols from the service! God has always worked in surprising ways. It’s why, even though it was prophecied through the scriptures, Jesus’ life and death caught people off guard. Surprises have been around since the beginning, when God put order into chaos, gave a 99-year-old […]

[During the upload, the podcast audio for this episode was cut off. It has been re-uploaded here. Apologies for the inconvenience!] Christmas is meant to be a time of great joy, but everyone reaches a point when they realize Christmas morning can never be all it was cracked up to be. People move away, you […]

Christmas is meant to be a time of great joy, but everyone reaches a point when they realize Christmas morning can never be all it was cracked up to be. People move away, you grow older, or maybe you see the idealized version of Christmas on TV and just wish you had that for yourself. […]