Sundays at Cumberland

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The gospel is an announcement about 3 specific things: 1. A New Reality 2. A New Identity 3. A New Ability

The gospel is not only the central message of Christianity, it is also the only solution for the terminal condition of humanity. It seems that our freedom of choice has, ultimately, left us in chains. We are all condemned by our sin, but no need to worry: Jesus to the rescue! And while the responsibility of the Church is to communicate this message, so often the news we share falls short of being...

The gospel is present tense, though sometimes we treat it like it’s past tense. But it wasn't just good news a long time ago... the gospel IS good news for us today!

In a rapidly-changing world, the priority of the Church isn't to just "hold things steady." If we trust God, we can begin to see changes in culture as open doors for gospel advancement.

There is something very powerful about truth in context. Throughout the biblical narrative, we see God’s word showing up in the practicality of everyday life - the divine invading the ordinary. This means that obedience to His will demands much more than just some empty religious theory; it actually requires contextualization. The challenge of the church is to translate the love of God into the li...

Jesus encourages His followers to be a city on a hill, which describes the unique position the church is meant to hold within the culture. But what happens if the church is elevated on the wrong hill? Because worship is actually a default for humanity, our tendency is to always worship something. What plagues our world is not an absence of worship, but rather a perversion of it. But God has plante...

The world needs to believe a message that it cannot comprehend on its own. Therefore, the Lord has very clear intentions for His people to respond. Our role is to amplify the good news among those who know nothing more than bad news. This is the very essence of His expectation for the Church. Jesus presents this idea in a very simple picture that should define our active presence in the world: A c...

Too often, we become eager to do things FOR God, when we have not yet allowed Him to do certain things IN us. But the example of Jesus helps us to embrace God’s process, so that we can be ready to fulfill His purpose.

For people who had been waiting a very long time - for a very special gift - the arrival of the Messiah was the most extraordinary occurrence. But not surprisingly, it took *genuine faith* to receive this heavenly gift, despite its earthly wrapping paper.

God has something special in mind for the Church. We know this because He gave the most extraordinary gifts to ensure that it becomes a reality! As we become more intentional about unwrapping those gifts, we’ll see our faith community being built up, just as God planned. As such, the church remains under construction. Once the foundation has been laid, the other gifts take their place to continue...

If Christ gave us gifts, the least we could do is unwrap them. So much of who we are meant to be as believers - and as a church family - is tied to how the Lord enables us through spiritual gifting. The Bible describes two of those gifts as foundational - apostles and prophets. That means they are intended to lay the groundwork for everything else. If we receive them in the way God desires and lev...

Gift giving begins with God. He has given very special gifts to His church, and it’s particularly important to consider what He has bestowed upon us as a blessing for the entire community of faith.

What does it mean to steward your *entire life* in the direction that God is calling?

What we do with money is always tied to who we trust for financial advice. So, whoever is influencing our heart is also dictating our wallet. Spend Less 2 Give More - https://spendless2givemore.org Connect - https://bit.ly/CumberlandConnectForm    Bulletin - https://cumberlandchurch.org/bulletin Counseling - https://cumberlandcounselingcenters.org/ Kids Church Online - https://cumberlandchurch.org...

If we are wise - and maybe even shrewd - we can leverage the limited resources of today towards an unlimited return for eternity.

If God commanded you to be rich, would you obey?

Jesus gave us instructions on how to be "important" in the kingdom of heaven (hint: it involves acting like children, and also treating them a certain way...).

This is the beauty of the Gospel: While the Pharisees and religious leaders used truth to *indict* people, Jesus always used it to *liberate* them.

John the Baptist’s ministry was controversial because it was always so deeply offensive to the religious leaders of his day. To those who had always justified themselves as being “right”, John told them, “You are completely wrong.” All of their religious practices, and their social status, and their heritage gave them a false sense of security - and John exposed it all with a single piercing messa...

Be careful not to confuse the laws of God with the traditions of man.

Jesus confronted religious leaders fiercely, challenging their conclusions with His unique considerations. Their interactions hold significant insight for modern believers, because they reveal an important truth that the Church is rarely ever willing to admit: We can be right AND wrong - all at the same time.

You’re frustrated when things happen outside of your control… You’re caught off guard by God’s unexpected answer to your questions… But when you discover that God’s ultimate plan is greater than your immediate preference, then maybe the only response left is simple: Worship.

The prophet Habakkuk was fruuuustrated. He was growing tired and weary as wickedness in the earth increased - especially amongst God’s people. Or course, you know what that’s like. Just turn on the news. 😕 Even in the church, we see some of the same corruption that you would expect to only find in the world! Somebody needs to do something about it… So Habakkuk turns that complaint to God and asks...

If you had a private audience with God, what would you ask Him? Would your questions focus on satisfying your own will?  Or would you seek to understand God’s ways? The book of Habakkuk offers the intriguing narrative of a peculiar prophet. The prophet role is generally meant to communicate God’s answers to the people - but instead, Habakkuk has his own questions for the Lord. How do you reconcile...