Acts 2

March 5, 2018

Life Together

Acts 2.42-47

What do you do with 3,000 new believers? These new believers were committing themselves to learning more about Jesus, praying, worshiping, and enjoying a vibrant community life. They were also committed to proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah to others, and God was powerfully at work through their testimony. Every day more people were joining their new family.

Following Jesus is simple, not easy. The apostles’ teaching, the fellowship, prayer and evangelism…practices that kept the early church on mission. Practices we’ve incorporated into our values as a church…renewing hearts and minds through biblical teaching, intentionally building Christ-centered relationships, inspiring a fervent love for Jesus through a lifestyle of worship, and strategically creating opportunities for families to impact their world for Jesus. Practices that keep us on mission as a church…believe it or not they’re on my wall so that whenever our staff or elders meet, we’re reminded of our values. Practices that I hope you have woven into your spiritual life as well.

Like this early group of new disciples, we too are called to be a vibrant community, a family, here at Central. Jesus said the world would know that we are His disciples by our love for one another. So I wonder what folks would say about us? Would they see that our faith is making a difference in our lives? Would the quality of our life together and the positive impact that we are having on the valley cause us to have favor with all the people?

A couple of practical steps you can take. Make daily time in God’s Word and prayer a part of your spiritual disciplines.

Be generous in your giving. When you see a need, meet a need. You don’t need permission. Look for opportunities…excuses to give.

If you are not a part of a community group yet, remember that’s our primary vehicle for growing. Find a group of friends to gather with on a regular basis…pray, study the Word, dig into each others’ lives, challenge and encourage each other.

Don’t forget your impact list…who is that one person you are praying for?

Until next time…stay salty.

This post is based on a sermon from our Acts series. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @ccclancaster

February 26, 2018

The Beginning of the Church

Acts 2.14-41

The crowds ask Peter that day, “What must we do to be saved?” Maybe that’s you today. If it is, the answer is the same…repent. Recognize that you stand condemned, guilty before a holy God. Believe that Jesus can save you, and then trust Him to do so. When you do that, you too will receive forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Spirit. You will be adopted into God’s family, a son or daughter of the King with an eternity to spend with Him. The first step of obedience then is baptism.

If you have trusted in Jesus, but have not yet been baptized, what are you waiting for? We will see throughout the book of Acts that those who believe are baptized. And in Matthew 28 as Jesus is giving His final instructions to the disciples, part of the disciple-making process is “…baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching them to observe all that Jesus commanded…” So what are you waiting for?

For the rest of us, who are you praying for? Who’s on your impact list? Last week I asked you to start building your testimony by considering the question, “Who was I before Jesus?” This week I encourage you to interact with the question, “How did you recognize your need for Jesus?”

Until next time…stay salty.

This post is based on a sermon from our Acts series. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @ccclancaster

February 20, 2018

The Coming of the Spirit

Acts 2.1-13

In a mighty rush of wind and fire, the Spirit descends on the Apostles and empowers them for their mission…to be witnesses.

Being a capital A Apostle is a big deal. We are here today because of their witness. We believe what we believe today because of their witness. It’s their witness that gives Jesus’ death and resurrection context…that helps us understand the cosmic implications of the ancient story. It’s their witness on which the church is founded and built by the Spirit. Their witness. The Word.

And while it’s a big deal to be a capital A Apostle, it’s also a big deal to carry on the mission to be witnesses to the ends of the earth…to be little a apostles. It’s the mission we are called to carry out today, and each of us has been equipped and empowered to do it. Each of us has a story to tell of how Jesus rescued us and brought us from death to life. Being a witness means telling your story…apologetics and evangelism techniques can be helpful tools…but they are not as powerful and will not have as great an impact as your story.

So what is your story? How has Jesus impacted your life? Let me challenge you this week to spend some time thinking about your story, and then to share it with a friend or family member, a co-worker or classmate, with someone who needs to hear about the hope that you have found in Jesus.

Until next time…stay salty.

This post is based on a sermon from our Acts series. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @ccclancaster

January 25, 2016

Transforming Families – Strategy Part 2

Acts 2.41-47

What do you do with 3,000 new believers? These new believers were committing themselves to gathering, growing, and impacting…and God was powerfully at work. Every day more people were joining their new family.

Like this early group of new disciples, we too are called to be a vibrant community, a family, here at Central. And as a family, each of us has a part to play, and each of us must play his or her part. Paul puts it this way, “We are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the l proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” In Dr. Seuss’  Horton Hears a Who, Horton attempts to rescue the who’s from the other animals who are dangerously close to destroying them because they don’t believe they exist (they are so small that they are difficult to see, and only Horton with his enormous ears is able to hear them). Horton encourages the mayor of Whoville to have all its citizens make as much noise as possible. So everyone bangs on pots and pans, blows horns and shouts…everyone that is except for JoJo, the smallest of the who’s, because he believes that his voice is not needed. The other animals still cannot hear them, until the mayor, finding JoJo playing with a yo-yo, takes him to the top of the Eiffelberg Tower, where Jojo lets out a loud “Yopp!” The other animals finally hear the who’s and vow to protect them. Seuss summarizes the moral of the story in his simple yet powerful way, “A person’s a person no matter how small.” Each and everyone of us is important to the mission that God has given us. There is no one who is insignificant in the kingdom. Each of us is vital to the success of the whole. We want you…we need you to be all in.

A couple of practical steps you can take. Make participating in our family gatherings aka our weekend services a priority. Look for opportunities to encourage and pray for others. Look for ways that you can bless others…offer a firm handshake, a familiar hug, a warm smile, a polite hello. Join a community group. Get involved in one of our ministries…women’s, men’s, college and young adults, youth. Look for opportunities to plug in and serve. The folks in the lobby can point you in the right direction.

Remember to fill out your impact list and begin making intentional investments in the lives of folks that God has placed around you to bring them one step closer to Jesus.

God is at work. I want to invite you to join us on this journey of Transforming families to live and love like Jesus as we seek to impact this valley for the kingdom in significant ways. As part of the family, we all have a part to play in the life of our church. The Holy Spirit is ready and willing to empower us to accomplish the mission. How about you? Are you in?

Until next time…stay salty.

“May God continue transforming families to live and love like Jesus here at Central and in the valley as we gather, grow and impact. Go in peace.”

This post is based on a sermon from our vision series, Transforming Families. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on twitter: @ccclancaster

January 11, 2016

Transforming Families – Strategy Part 1

Acts 2.41-47

What do you do with 3,000 new believers? These new believers were committing themselves to gathering, growing, and impacting…and God was powerfully at work. Every day more people were joining their new family.

Like this early group of new disciples, we too are called to be a vibrant community, a family, here at Central. And as a family, each of us has a part to play, and each of us must play his or her part. A football team is only effective if each player on the field of play executes their responsibility. If one player decides that their job is unimportant, the team cannot succeed. Paul uses the example of a body. If the foot decided it wasn’t needed, it sure would be hard to walk. The same is true with the rest of the body. Each member is important to the success of the whole. We want you…we need you to be all in.

A very practical step to take…make participating our weekend gatherings a priority in 2016.

One story I want to share with you is of a family that is being transformed to live and love like Jesus. I got a call from a guy who started attending Central about 4 years ago. He and his wife were divorced, so on the weekends he had the kids he drug them to church with him. His kids fell in love with Central and began to get involved on their own…even on weekends when they were with their mom, they wanted to come to church. So she started to come with them. She’s now attending Central. And his brother who was estranged from the church, has now been coming for 4 months. Definitely not a “Leave it to Beaver” situation…it’s kind of messy. But one of the coolest things for me…the reason he called me was because his daughter, who is turning 15 soon (Quinceañera), wants to be baptized as one of her birthday presents! No better picture of God transforming a family…

God is at work. I want to invite you to join us on this journey of Transforming families to live and love like Jesus as we seek to impact this valley for the kingdom in significant ways. As part of the family, we all have a part to play in the life of our church. The Holy Spirit is ready and willing to empower us to accomplish the mission. How about you? Are you in?

Until next time…stay salty.

This post is based on a sermon from our vision series, Transforming Families. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on twitter: @ccclancaster

August 31, 2015

Transforming Families Part 2

Acts 2.41-47

What do you do with 3,000 new believers? These new believers were committing themselves to learning more about Jesus, praying, worshiping, and enjoying a vibrant community life. They were also committed to proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah to others and God was powerfully at work through their testimony. Every day more people were joining their new family.

Inspiring a fervent love for Jesus through a lifestyle of worship, renewing hearts and minds through biblical teaching, intentionally building Christ-centered relationships, and strategically creating opportunities for families to impact their world for Jesus. Values that inform both our mission, Transforming families to live and love like Jesus, and our strategy, Gather. Grow. Impact.

Like this early group of new disciples, we too are called to be a vibrant community, a family, here at Central. And as a family, each of us has a part to play, and each of us must play his or her part. I hope you are as excited as we, the elders and staff, are about our vision. We want you to be all in.

I want to end with this…our new logo.

Stained glass windows have been around for centuries, and while their history is rooted in church tradition, they remain a timeless staple of beauty for future generations. As we move into the future we want to continue to be faithful to God, and to also remember how he has been faithful to our church for almost 60 years.

Regarding our Mission statement: Transforming families to live and love like Jesus…A defining attribute of stained glass is its ability to transform light into any color of its choice, much like how the Holy Spirit transforms our life as we are obedient to his will.

The church is one body made of many members with Jesus as the head. In a stained glass story, hundreds even thousands of unique pieces join together to create one image that conveys a story far greater than any individual piece can do alone. Even seemingly obtuse shapes have a place in the story, and if that piece is missing, the story is incomplete.

God is at work. I want to invite you to join us on this journey of Transforming families to live and love like Jesus as we seek to impact this valley for the kingdom in significant ways. As part of the family, we all have a part to play in the life of our church. The Holy Spirit is ready and willing to empower us to accomplish the mission. How about you? Are you in?

Until next time…stay salty.

This post is based on our Vision series entitled Transforming Families. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on twitter: @ccclancaster

August 29, 2015

Weekend Passage – August 29

Acts 2:41-47

41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. 42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. 44 And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; 45 and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. 46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

 

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)