Sunday Service

Every problem, every sin in this world finds its root in brokenness. Broken fellowship with God and broken fellowship with others. The cure is to admit what the source of the problem is and to stop treating the symptoms. We need God and we need each other. I am thankful for the church and the relationships we are able to build here.

How confident are you in God’s love? If you had to rate your confidence in God’s love on a scale of 1-10, 1 being the least and 10 the most, how confident are you in God’s love for you? That all depends on where your God story begins? Romans 8 is one of the most wonderful portion of texts in all the Bible. Oh how different our lives would be if we truly believed this. What confidence we would have...

The word “predestined” is from the Greek word proorizo, which means “determining beforehand,” “ordaining,” “deciding ahead of time.” Predestination you can say then is God determining certain things to happen ahead of time. Ephesians 1:5 and 11 declare, “He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will…In him we were also chosen, having bee...

Today is Mothers Day, the second Sunday of May where we as a country stop and celebrate the women in our lives who gave us life and to those who raised us and loved us and cared for us when we could do nothing for ourselves. Happy Mothers Day to you moms with us today. We are so blessed by the number of godly women and mothers who faithfully serve Jesus each week here at Calvary Chapel and impact...

Romans 8:28 is one of the most quoted verses in all the Bible. Not only do people enjoy it they share it with others. As well. Almost every survey that is taken on peoples favorite verses these usually make the top 20 every time and for good reason! I like the NKJV translation on a day like this because I want to help you break down these verses into bite size pieces. When people as the question,...

Romans chapter 8 is considered by many to be the crown jewel of any single chapter in all the Bible as it opens with the proclamation that there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus and it ends with the declaration that there is no separation from God for those who are in Christ Jesus. If the gospel is good news this is great news! And yet right in the middle of the chapter the ap...

Easter is unlike any other religious event in the world as no one but Jesus Christ has died and risen from the dead just as they said they would. Here’s the point… Pretty much all the world celebrates Christmas. There is nothing threatening about a baby being born into the world… Thats pretty natural. It’s another thing all together to celebrate Christianities most outrageous claim, that Jesus Chr...

Today we celebrate what is known around the world as Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter when Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, presenting Himself openly as the King of the Jews. Palm Sunday is the beginning of the last week of Jesus earthly life as He completes His mission at His first coming, to live a perfect sinless life then go to the Cross in our place securing eternal life fo...

Most of us when we read Romans chapter 8 love reading verse 1 and learning that “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” And we love reading verses 38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate...

To call God Father… The first thing the Holy Spirit wants to reveal to us is we are children of God. Easter is coming up. Here is something interesting. Before the Cross we were not family, but the Cross changed everything, When Jesus rose from the dead he said in John 20:17, “17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them...

Of all the wonderful chapters of the Bible most biblical scholars believe that Romans chapter 8 out shines them all. Its been said if the Bible is like a gold ring then the book of Romans is the diamond of the ring and chapter 8 is the sparkle of the diamond. As we studied last week in verse 1 the chapter begins with the proclamation that there is therefore now NO condemnation for those who are in...

I titled this mornings message, “Don’t put a coma where God put a period” for the simple fact that is exactly how the Holy Spirit desired that the sentence read. In the original Greek language there is no coma there or any other condition stated in the sentence. The message is plain and clear, there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus, period. End of sentence, end of story. I’m...

Newton who was a pastor of a small church in 18th century England. A book was written that complied letters he had written over his life in ministry. The book was titled “Select Letters of John Newton.” You might not recall the name John Newton but you probably know him as he is most famous for writing the famous hymn, “Amazing Grace.” Throughout his ministry, he often wrote other believers letter...

The theme of Romans is the theme of salvation. It’s not just being forgiven, it’s being given eternal life. There was an old bumper sticker that said, “Christians aren’t perfect, JUST forgiven.” That is not true… We are perfect in Christ and we aren’t just forgiven, we are free to live righteously. Here in Romans chapter 6 you could say the apostle Paul is taking issue with that bumper sticker and...

The apostle Paul now seeks to move us from position to practical experience starting in verse 11. But before we get to the practical application of our new life we cant forget what we learned last week as we began Romans 6. Knowledge is power to live out the Christian life.

When I read Romans chapter 6 I am reminded of the Civil War that began in this country back in 1861 between the northern and southern states over the issue of slavery. When President Abraham Lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation, it put an end to slavery on January 1, 1863. The problem of slavery wasn’t overcome simply by Lincoln’s declaration. Many slaves had been beaten physically, tormen...

In our study of chapter 5 we learned Jesus introduces us to God as royalty. We are royalty not because of us but because of how loving God is. God was aware of everything about us, we were without strength, we were ungodly sinners and ultimately we were enemies of God. The nature of God, the character of God, everything God is we are the opposite of and yet, knowing all of this about us, Christ st...

It’s not over…That’s the title for today’s message. When all seems lost, when our situation seems to bleak…it’s not over. When the cards seem “stacked against you” it’s not over…The word I want you to leave with today is made up of only four letters....hope . No matter what you are going through right now, there is hope!

I titled this mornings message, “Love is Not Blind” as we will read that God’s love is so amazing that even though He knows everything about us He still loves us… You recall from our study in chapters 1-3 the apostle Paul removed all doubt that all have sinned and fallen short of His glory. Any way you cut it, everyone of us, from the self righteous sinner to the religious to the full blown open s...

What Abraham went through God puts all through… 1 Corinthians 10:11 tells us, “These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.” The point is this… What Abraham had to go through we all have to go through too. God orchestrates the circumstances of our lives to teach us how to walk by faith and not by sight.

Have you ever had your keys or phone or glasses in your hand or on your face and you are looking for them? How many times do you go back into the house before you leave? One of My favorite examples of forgetfulness is a story Larry Vasquez told me. He was about to leave work one Friday and he was out in his car in front of the office. He started the car and one of his employees came out and waved...

Christmas Eve I walked outside to play with my dog and a rainbow suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I had never witnessed the birth of a rainbow before. It was surreal to say the least and got my mind going a million miles an hour as I considered the promises of God and His faithfulness to deliver on all of them, some against such impossibilities no one could question the miraculous origin. The Bib...

“18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, s...

All this week as I was studying for this morning an old bumper sticker kept coming to mind. “If God said it, I believe it, that settles it.” Every time I would see it I would think to myself, cool but not theologically correct. It should read, “If God said it, that settles it, I believe it.” Let me say this right out of the gate this morning… The most important thing you need to remember this morn...

People come up with ridiculous responses to the requirements of the law the apostle Paul doesn’t even waste time trying to argue… He just says they will get what they deserve. As the apostle Paul systematically brings everyone to the understanding that all our guilty before God he says…