Christian Fellowship Church

Encouragement has been a major theme throughout Colossians. As Paul closes this letter, he gives us several effective methods for how to encourage brothers and sisters in Christ. We also look at two major takeaways from this series.

When we lived a renewed life, we aren't meant to keep it to ourselves. Jesus changes us from who we use to be - lost in sin and wickedness - to someone who is alive in Him and living for His goodness. As believers we are meant to pray for effectiveness in our lives as Christians and to be ready to be used by the Lord to rescue more people from darkness and help them walk in the Kingdom of light. T...

In Colossians three Paul has been teach us what it means to live a renewed life. We throw off the old sinful lifestyle we used to live and put on the character of Jesus. There is no place where it is more important to do this than at home with our families. We're talking about how to live a renewed life at home this week. Marriage, parenting, being kids for Jesus, and even workplace relationships...

Although this isn't a typical "message," it definitely teaches us the amazing power and love of Jesus Christ. Please listen to and enjoy the incredible story of a young woman who was lost and Christ reclaimed her for himself.

If you're anything like me, you love practical and easy to understand instructions. The passage we're going to look at today is exactly that! But first, before we get to those instructions, we get to explore a totally packed sentence where Paul calls us chosen, holy and loved by God. What do these things mean? Are they significant or just feel good words thrown into the bible? Do they matter for t...

As Christians, we have a new life with Jesus Christ. But, what is that life meant to look like? How is it different from the life that we were living before we met Jesus and put our faith in Him? Is it just rules or is it freedom? Will it change us in our heart or is it just meant to change our behavior? Jesus wants to bring deeper and lasting renewal into your life! That's the heart of today's me...

Can we trust in Jesus alone or is there something else we need to add into the mix? This is a question that people wrestled with back in Paul's day and many people still wonder the same thing right now. In today's message we see that Christ alone is all we need. He is sufficient and we are totally complete when we put our faith in Him.

Twenty-one people from CFC went to Buffalo, NY to spend a week ministering alongside the staff and volunteers at the Buffalo Dream Center. You're about to listen to six of those 21 people share about how God impacted them during their week in Buffalo.

This is a message from Pastor Hubert Hotchkiss on Sunday, July 2nd, 2023.

This week, we hear how Paul writes about what it means to suffer for the sake of the gospel. He labors and agonizes for the Colossians even though he has never met them. We learn about what is looks like for someone to be so committed to sharing the gospel even when it brings great suffering into their life. There's a great invitation for you in this message!

What's the secret to stay on track with Jesus and standing against all of the false ideas that the world throws at us? Understand and come close to Jesus in all we do! Paul helps us do that through a poem all about Jesus today. We also talk about three cultural pressure that we face presently and how we can identify them so we don't allow them to compromise our closeness with Jesus.

Some people think that the bible is outdated and full of old ideas. I couldn't disagree more! We live in tumultuous times just like people did back when the bible was written. We have social, political, and cultural pressures today and so did people back then. One of those groups were the Christians from the city of Colossae. The Apostle Paul wrote them a letter to encourage them in their faith in...

We wrap up our series today by talking about how a Christian marriage provides strength for us to be on mission for Christ. Jesus called all of us to build one another up and make disciples. How does this work in the context or marriage? Is it possible? Is it practical? The answers to all this and more in today's message.

You can't talk about marriage without talking about sex! Sex and sexuality are God's very good design! In today's message we will learn about the awesome intention that God gives to sex. In this message we'll discuss why the bible teaches that sex is meant to be confined to marriage. How does sex play a valuable role in marriage. How to deal with our sex-crazed culture as a single person. Then we'...

It's undeniable - men and women are different! According to the way God created us, we're supposed to be different. But how do our differences work together? How do we compliment one another? Do we have roles as defined by God or is it up to us to decide what role a man or woman holds in a marriage relationship? There are a lot of questions on this topic. We attempt to answer them today and learn...

The purpose of marriage is for a husbands and wives to help one another become more like Jesus. We do this for each other by lovingly and truthfully speaking to each other about the character we see in the other person. Sometimes there will be a loving but corrective word that needs to be spoken. Other times it may be an encouraging or affirm message. Either way, as we do this, we are working in c...

We've been looking at the question, "What is Marriage" so far in this series. Today we finish answering that question by talking about the consumeristic approach to marriage vs. the covenantal approach to marriage. After that we'll start talking about what marriage is for. Today's message reveals that marriage is primarily about friendship. Maybe that's a surprise to you, maybe not! Either way, fr...

Ephesians 5:21 is an important verse! It serves as a link between two concepts - being filled by the Spirit and submission in marriage. I don't think we need to cringe at the word submission when we understand it through the lens of the Gospel. Today we talk about the purpose that submission serves in our marriages, what the enemy of submission is, and how to defeat this enemy.

We're starting a new series today on marriage. This series is loosely based on the book by Timothy Keller: The Meaning of Marriage. Today, we want to understand three main points. What is marriage? Is Marriage good? How do the Gospel and marriage work together? I love that we don't have to guess about marriage - the most important relationship on earth. We can read God's word and know what it is m...

What does it mean to be in God's presence? Is this a physical thing or a heart thing like so much of what Jesus teaches us? Is it normal for Christians to be in God's presence? How do we learn to be in God's presence? How do we open our hearts to Him? We answer all these questions today. God loves you and He invites you into His presence. Come and learn with us.

We wrap up our Easter series today with this message from Hebrews 10. In this passage we discover that there is a clear invitation from God for us to experience life with him like we couldn't before. We are meant to be bold and confident as we approach God. There's also an exhortation here for us to live the Christian life together with other believers. Listen carefully and respond faithfully to w...

Worship is us responding to God's revelation. It's really that simple. And this kind of responsive worship is meant to be a lifestyle. Our feature verse today is Romans 12:1. The part about us being a living and holy sacrifice is so awesome to think about! Jesus sacrificed himself in his death for us. We sacrifice ourselves in the way we live for Him. What an exchange!

As Christians we're really good at pointing to Jesus' sacrifice on the cross as the most significant part of our faith. And it is super important! But, what do we do today as a result of our faith in Jesus? Starting today, we begin to answer the question "Now what?" Galatians 2:17-21 is where we begin this series. This passage highlights that living by faith today is something that we Christians n...

We've made it! This is the last message on the gospel of John for us. It's a beautiful story of grace and love. Peter is reinstated. Jesus gives a clear vision for how all of us as His disciples should expect to live for Him. We'll relate the teaching of Jesus in chapter 21 to the overall theme of John. Thanks for being a part of this whole series. It has been awesome to look at this gospel togeth...

Your faith is what Jesus cares about. He stopped at nothing when He went to the cross so that our faith in Him would result in our salvation. But, Jesus knows that we have doubts, fears, and worries. So He keeps working in our lives to enhance our faith in Him. He keeps meeting us in our needs so that our confident trust in Him will grow. I hope today's message from John 20 is a comfort and an enc...