Cutlerville East Christian Reformed Church

Change, especially radical change, is not generally brought about by those in charge. Usually it starts on the fringes, with a radical element (a visionary) who pushes for it. The most radical change in the history of the Christian church came right near its beginning, the inclusion of Gentiles, and it also came from a visionary who pushed the envelope: Saul / Paul.  Scripture:  Acts 9-28 

On Palm Sunday, we remember Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem as the crowd cried triumphantly: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” But little did the people know what really awaited Jesus. Their cries of Hosanna, which means “God save us!” would dissolve into a very different cry of triumph from the cross. Very different from what the crowd anticipated and yet an answer to their...

We are part of a denomination that joined then split from another Dutch Reformed Church (RCA) after just 7 years, never to unite again. If two groups with the same ethnic heritage, creeds & confessions, and basic theological beliefs can’t completely unite after 165 years, what about two groups with a different ethnic heritage and completely different theological beliefs? How could such people...

Thirst is a God-created, human desire that insures we’ll take in enough liquids so as not to dehydrate. It is a gift from God for human beings. Jesus makes seven (recorded) statements from the cross. The first three focused on others (enemies, thief, mother); the fourth (and central) focused on God the Father. Now the last three are focused on himself: on his body, soul, spirit. Of all the words,...

 We saw Jesus’ plan for the disciples in Acts 1: to go from Jerusalem to Judea & Samaria to the ends of the earth, empowered by the Holy Spirit. We now see the church growing in Jerusalem. In that early and short time period (perhaps no more than a couple of years), we learn a lot about the church they established: the message they proclaimed, the growing pains they experienced, a major threat...

 It is easy to get desensitized to reality of Christ’s death. We view scenes of real violence on TV or the movies—murders, war, torture—as we pass the potatoes & gravy. Crosses and crucifixes have become so much a part of our landscape that we fail to grasp the horror. Christians must fight becoming desensitized to Christ’s suffering and death. His sufferings have always been a window through...

Acts: Pentecost Power – Acts 1-2 We can’t look at Acts without the reminder that it is part of a 2-volume history, written by Luke. As he promised in the first verses of his Gospel, Luke gives us an orderly account of Jesus’ life and ministry; now, in Acts, he turns to the church’s early life and ministry. In essence, Luke uses the ascension of Jesus just outside Jerusalem as the transitional even...

Frederick Buechner suggests that “there's no place in the Gospels where [Jesus] speaks some special, loving word or does some special, loving thing for the woman who gave him birth… No place, that is, except at the very end when, cross-eyed with pain, he looked down from where they'd nailed him and said something just for her... "Behold your son," he said, indicating the discip...

We are a Fore-known people. We are a Predestined people. We are a Called people. We are a Justified people. We are a Glorified people. Scripture: Romans 8:28-37

Will you publicly acknowledge Jesus? Scripture: Luke 12:1-12  

In preparation for heading to Jerusalem and the cross, Jesus had just asked his disciples “who do you say I am?” and they responded, through their spokesman Peter, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Then Jesus revealed that he was going to suffer and die in Jerusalem, and suddenly they had questions, doubts perhaps. They’d made the great confession (son of God), but did they believe...

In the musical and book Les Miserables, Victor Hugo tells the story of Jean Valjean, who had been sent to prison.  He tried to escape several times, which caused his sentence to be extended to 19 years.  Once out, he steals a bishop's silver cutlery and is promptly caught by the police.  But the bishop denies the charges and Valjean is freed.  Deserving punishment, Valjean received mercy, and...

While Nazareth (last week) was Jesus’ original hometown, he actually moved to a new hometown of Capernaum. Jesus, why move? Why change your hometown? Especially at a time when that wasn’t the norm? Any time you move, it is a conscious decision that comes with reasons. In fact, we could all ask that of ourselves: Why has God placed you in this place at this time? So it is not unusual for us to ask...

During Lent we will be listening to Jesus from the cross, asking what these “cross-words” meant and what they tell us about Jesus’ suffering. We begin to talk about an atrocity worse than the senseless slaughter of innocent children, worse than the Holocaust that tortured and victimized 6 million Jews. We begin to focus on the unjust capital punishment of the only innocent man in human history and...

 We will look at Jesus’ visit to his hometown and his message in the synagogue, where he commented that no prophet was accepted in his hometown. But what did he mean by that? There is more going on here than simply bad memories of a hometown boy. 

If you looked in a dictionary, you might find the following definition of pharisaical: “observing the form but neglecting the spirit of religion.” A Pharisee is often defined as a self-righteous, hypocritical person. These are probably the definitions we grew up with. But one thing I’ve found in exploring the cultural background of the Bible: it often explodes your definitions and assumptions. And...

Paul has written about spiritual gifts, and the spiritual graces of faith, hope and love. All of these flow from the Holy Spirit in our lives. But now he General Fund Offerings and Percent of Budget 1/29 1/22 1/15 1/8 Last 4 Wks. $17,182 279% $1,684 28% $3,950 64% $2,136 35% $24,952 102% speaks of the governing role of the Spirit in worship. Apparently there was some tendency in Corinth to lose co...

We’ve looked at Jesus through the eyes of the culture of his day as a Rabbi and a parable teller. In that capacity, his goal would have been to make many disciples, who would not only learn his teaching but be prepared to carry on his mission. What does it look like to be a disciple of Jesus?  Scripture:  Matthew 4-7 

On Cadet Sunday, we will look at their theme verse: “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” We will look at the specific “amazing things” Joshua was talking about here.  Scripture: Joshua 3:5 

 Polls comparing the behaviors of those who claim they are “born again” Christians with those who say they are not Christians invariably come out roughly the same: the behaviors of the two groups are remarkably similar! Why do a high percentage of people claim to be Christian, yet a low percentage  behave in a way consistent with the Bible? It’s easy to say they are just nominal Christians. But wh...

The word is so important that it permeates the Bible. It is listed at the head of the fruit of the Spirit. It is the key component of Jesus’ summary of the Torah and, in fact, all of Scripture. Love is the character trait that defines all Christian relationships: with God, with each other, in marriage, in families, even with enemies. But here, it is the word Paul uses to describe the best way, the...

We continue our look at how Jesus might have been seen in his culture, looking at a title some gave him: Rabbi (Teacher). In Matthew 21- 22, we see Jesus at the Temple, overthrowing the moneychangers’ tables, and his authority is questioned. Then he tells some parables, some Pharisees & Sadducees try to trip him up with questions, which causes Jesus to ask questions of his own. It’s pretty fam...

As we get older, it is increasingly important to keep in tune with our health. When we visit our doctor, one of the things he/she does is checks our vital signs (pulse, breathing, reflexes, etc.) to see if each area is healthy. If we have no vital signs, we’re dead! The church also has vital signs. In Corinth, apparently the vital signs were decreasing. Paul, using the body analogy, reminds them,...

As we move into a series focused on an overview of the New Testament, we will start by looking at some key elements in Jesus’ ministry that are found throughout the gospels: teacher, parable-teller, disciple-maker, etc., as well as his relationship with different groups and even his hometowns. But we start with the beginnings of his ministry, focusing on three important elements: John’s preaching,...