Cutlerville East Christian Reformed Church

George Barna is a Christian pollster who occasionally compares the behaviors of those who claim they are “born again” Christians with those who say they are not Christians. Each time the polls came 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...

We have spent time in the desert of Israel, where we’ve seen that Israel learned trust and dependence on God. Individuals would sometimes go back to the desert to hear God’s voice and prepare for some kind of ministry. Over the next couple of weeks we will spend time in the land of honey/farmer, which is where God rewards their trust and dependence with prosperity (rich, fertile farmland). But it...

We continue our look at how Jesus might have been seen in his culture, moving from a faith healer (wonderworker) to another 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 as...

Scripture: Philippians 2:25-30

There are two issues that might get in the way of people’s reading of this morning’s story. One is the impossibility of the miraculous, given the scientific understandings of the modern era. But there is nothing irrational about miracles if you believe in God; in fact, you could say that it would be irrational not to believe in them! But the other issue is that we often look at Jesus’ life from ou...

Much of David’s imagery in Psalms comes from the desert: God as Rock (above flooding wadis), Fortress (masada - protection from enemies), Shade at your right hand (sustaining life in intense heat). But the most important image for God in the desert is water! There are two good ways of getting water in the desert which reflect important biblical imagery used by Jeremiah.  Scripture:  Jeremiah 2:1-1...

Imagine you are a Gospel writer of the 1st century and you have the task of convincing people that this rabbi Yeshua is not just another claiming to be Messiah; he really is! Thankfully God has given you a lot to work with. He has shown how his birth and childhood fulfill prophecy. And at his baptism, which we looked at last week, we hear the voice of God authenticating Jesus and we see the Holy S...

Scripture: Philippians 2:14- 18  

As we noted last week, God’s covenant with Abraham, which was renewed with Moses & Israel, involved a promise of land. This land is described fifteen times in the Torah as “a land flowing with milk and honey.” Not having grown up in the Middle East, this always conjured up for me images of Iowa farmland, with cows roaming the fields of grass lush & green, crops overflowing, even bees buzzi...

We move from the first steps into the land of Canaan to the founding of the biblical nation of Israel. We may ask ourselves on occasion, what’s the big deal with the Middle East conflict we constantly hear about? Israelis and Palestinians fighting over the land. But what seems like picky fighting over insignificant portions of land is actually very serious business for which people will and have g...

Today is Cadet Sunday, and in keeping with their theme, we will explore Paul’s training of and instruction to Timothy. Timothy was special to Paul and he takes time to help him in the faith and even move him into the role of pastor for one of the churches Paul founded. The two letters to Timothy give us some insight into Paul’s training and Timothy’s role. Scripture:  1 Timothy 4; 2 Timothy 1:1-14...

Last week we looked at Jesus as child in the Jerusalem Temple, ready to be about Father’s business. But the time isn’t right, so Jesus goes back to his parents’ home in Nazareth and is obedient to them. From his parents, not through traveling with a rabbi, Jesus learns the Scriptures, as well as his father Joseph’s trade. Now around thirty years old, Jesus is finally ready to begin his ministry, a...

Scripture: Phillippians 2:12-13

Over the next couple of months, we will focus on an exploration of “Jesus our Jewish Messiah,” with the underlying premise that to understand Jesus and his teaching more fully, we need to understand who he was within culture of day. One of the foundational misunderstandings Christians have about Jesus is his relationship to the Law (or “Torah”). So we’ll begin with two seemingly disparate passages...

This New Year we are going to learn about the land of Israel, its features and reasons God brought his people there. We’ll also look at some lessons from the land itself. Since the people of Israel entered the land in the book of Joshua, we are going to begin and end this series with this book.  Scripture: Joshua 1, 3, 5, 6, 14 excerpts 

Scripture: Mark 5:21-43

Scripture: Phillippians 2:5-11

Scripture: Philippians 1:27-30

Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11

What does it mean, according to Frederick Buechner, “that the Creator of the ends of the earth came among us in diapers”? What did that mean for him? We’ve explored various Christmas characters during this Advent season, asking the question: how far was it to Bethlehem for each of them? What did it take for them, in their culture, history, life situation, to make the journey on God’s promise of th...

Have you ever played “Dutch Bingo?” When among Dutch-CRC people, it doesn’t take long before the name-game begins: Are you related to …? Do you know …? And it is only a matter of time before … BINGO! Once your ancestry is established (through your parents, grandparents, friends, fourth cousins, whatever), the people start to warm up and feel like they know you. There is an immediate sense of accep...

In Rome, Caesar Augustus is “Lord” (according to his subjects). In Jerusalem, Herod is “King of the Jews” (by title given by the Roman senate). In the Temple, the priests are awaiting the “Christ/Messiah” (or should be). So who would be the best candidate for a world-shattering announcement? For a king to be introduced? To whom should angels reveal the birth of the “king of the Jews,” who is “Chri...

When God wanted to reveal what he was doing in the incarnation of his Son, what would you expect would be the most likely chain of revelation? You can imagine the Creator of the universe would have it just as carefully orchestrated. Perhaps surprisingly, it took over a year for Herod and the religious leaders of Jerusalem to hear about it. Of all these, who would you expect to take priority? Herod...

The Lord’s Prayer mostly deals with our relationship to God, without much outside interference. But in this last petition, he deals with the force of evil, which can have a negative influence on our lives (from outside, but also within). This is a very important aspect of prayer which dovetails with the previous concept of accepting God’s kingdom rule over us.  Scripture:  Matthew 6:13; James 1:2-...