The CCUPC Cutting Room Floor

Have you ever considered the thought that Satan wants to create a division between you and God rather than make you outwardly evil? When thinking in these terms, separation, loneliness, and silence are all tools to make us doubt God’s love for us. Pastor James and Pastor Dena discuss this and more in this week’s episode.

Where do you find your hope for life and living? Do you trust in your own strength? Your family? Friends? Society? As Christians, we claim that our only hope in life and in death is found in Jesus, but we also find strength in the community of believers. Pastor James explores this through 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 and Revelation 12:10-11 in this week's sermon. (Original sermon date: 26 May 24)

What are your gifts? This is a question that we don't ask often enough in the church, and if we do ask it, we're generally looking to meet a need. How can you identify and cultivate your gifts? These are all things that Pastor James and Pastor Dena explore in today's episode of the Cutting Room Floor.

What does it mean to be gifted? Usually we think that gifted people are a limited group of special people, but the Bible tells us that all people in Christ receive gifts. Pastor James explores 1 Corinthians 12 and how the church has neglected its gifts. (Original sermon date 19 May 2024)

How is Christian unity lived out when there are so many differences within the Christian faith? What is the driving force behind living out our faith? Pastor James and Pastor Dena discuss this and more on today’s episode.

What is the one thing that you can’t take away from the Christian faith without making it something other than the Christian faith? Pastor James answers this in today’s sermon on 1 Corinthians 15. (Original sermon date 12 May 24)

What does Christianity have to offer in terms of living in the world today? Is 1 Corinthians 13 aspirational or something else? How do we get to a community that lives out these values? Pastor James and Pastor Dena discuss this and more in this week's podcast.

Typically, 1 Corinthians 13 is heard at weddings; however, it's not a wedding text. It's about the community of God. It's about how we put all sorts of differently gifted individuals together and make them a community. Pastor James explores how 1 Corinthians 13 should be applied to the church rather than a wedding. (Original sermon date: 5 May 2024)

What's the difference between Christian unity and uniformity? How does this affect the way that we live out our faith? Pastor James and Pastor Dena discuss this in today's episode.

How should a Christian community be known? What is the defining community marker? Theology? History? Service? Pastor James opens up a familiar text in 1 Corinthians 13 to talk about the necessity of love in the community of Jesus.

Many Christians fear the dangers to the faith that come from outside of the Christian community, yet there are a number of dangers that come from within. Pastor Dena discusses 1 Corinthians 1:10-18 to show how Christian unity is such an elusive but necessary value.

Truth or grace? This is a false question that we often can fall into. Pastor James and Pastor Dena discuss how they experience this dichotomy and how the Scripture helps to correct them.

When someone corrects you, it feels like you don't belong. There is a natural shame that wants us to withdraw and seek someplace friendlier. But correction doesn't need to mean disconnection. Jesus corrects Peter in today's passage, but he wants him to stay connected. Pastor James explores this and how it affects our life in following Jesus. (Original sermon date - 11 February 2024)

What does it mean when we hold theological beliefs that we don't really like? Does that mean that there is something wrong with that belief? Is it possible to not like things that you believe? Pastor James and Pastor Dena discuss this and more in today's episode.

It's possible to read the Gospels and get a sense that it's all apology for Jesus' power and authority. After all, what is there that he can't do? This week's message shows that Jesus' power does interact with our faith, and it can't function for a lack of faith. (Original Sermon - 4 Feb 2024)

Pastor James and Pastor Dena give a quick update on the Cutting Room Floor.

Many times in life we want God to act at a quick speed because we feel an urgency to our situation. However, God rarely moves that quickly. How are we to understand God's slow pace, and how does that impact our faith? Pastor James and Pastor Dena discuss this and more in today's episode.

What happens at the intersection of faith and fear? How are Christians supposed to deal with fear? Pastor James explores this in Mark 5:21-43. (Original sermon: 28 January 2024)

When we say that Jesus changes our lives, do we understand what we mean by that? Do we understand what Jesus means? Do we know what kind of power he has to upend our world? Pastor James and Pastor Dena discuss these topics in discipleship and more in today's episode.

People have a wide array of reaction to the person of Jesus. What those reactions are can be quite telling to what we think about him. In this sermon, Pastor James discusses the reactions of characters in the story to Jesus' identity, purpose, and ability. (Original sermon: 21 January 2024)

How can we live into being a community that shares its story? What does a parable about soil tell us about Christian maturity? Pastor James and Pastor Dena explore this and more on today's episode.

If Jesus saves us by his work alone, what part do we have in the growth of his community? Is it meaningful? Does it have power? Jesus answers this in his teachings in Mark 4:1-34. (Original sermon date: 14 January 2024)

When Jesus shows us a different way to live than our world sets out, what do we do? When Jesus shows us a different way to live than our traditions set out, what do we do? Pastor James and Pastor Dena discuss these issues, which can be thorny for the church.

How does life with Jesus interact with the life expectations of this world? Jesus had a lot to say about that with the religious leaders of his day. Pastor James explores this in today's sermon from Mark 2:1-22. (Original date: 7 January 2024)

Is there some middle ground between a participation trophy and worshipping God only when something major happens? What does worship in the midst of pain look like? Pastor James and Pastor Dena talk about some of the things cut from this week's sermon.