discipleship

July 8, 2019

Paul in Macedonia and Greece

Acts 20.1-16

As Paul finishes up his third missionary journey, the kingdom impact he’s had on the Mediterranean World is evidenced by the folks who accompany him on his way.

What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind? How do you want to be remembered or what do you want to be remembered for? My dad wanted to leave behind a family business for generations to come…or at least for his kids. And while his business was somewhat successful, the getting the kids-turned-adults involved part never really worked out.

Maybe the legacy you want to leave isn’t in the marketplace…maybe you don’t have a family business to pass on. Maybe it’s a significant contribution to your field of expertise. Maybe it’s your kids and your grandkids. Unfortunately, all of those legacies have one thing in common. They all fade with time. But there is a legacy that you can leave that will never fade. It’s the kingdom impact you have on another person. Sharing your story and then bringing them along as you follow Jesus…you may have heard it called discipleship. Bringing someone one step closer to Jesus.

Paul never did ministry alone, and he continually invested in the lives of those he was bringing along. So who are your traveling buddies? Who are you following Jesus with? And who are you bringing along? Who are you building into? Who are you teaching about the faith? Who are you challenging to bring another along? Who are you passing the baton to?

Let me challenge you with this this week…if you are not involved in a small group or community group of some kind, get involved. If you are not investing time bringing someone else along in the faith, pray about who that might be and then be intentional about building into their life.

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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

July 1, 2019

A Riot at Ephesus

Acts 19.21-41

Paul prepares to leave Ephesus to return to Jerusalem and then on to Rome. But before he can leave, a riot breaks out in the city. The gospel is transforming lives, which is proving to have an adverse effect on the local economy.

The gospel is good news. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, those who believe in Him have forgiveness of sins, eternal life, a new heart and God’s Spirit living within them. They pass from death to life, from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of the beloved Son…they are not who they used to be. Jesus changes everything!

For the folks at Ephesus, that meant confessing their sins and making a clean break with their past…no more magic, but also no more Artemis worship. And it made an impact on their city. The impact can be seen in two different ways. First there’s the number of folks who believe, then there’s the radical change in their behavior. One or two or a handful whose behavior is radically changed will have an impact, but probably not enough to cause a riot. And a great number of folks whose behavior changes a little will have an impact, but again probably not enough to cause a riot. But when you combine those two…a large number of people who are radically changed…then you have the recipe for a riot.

So I wonder what kind of impact we are having on our community, and is it the impact we want to have…are we causing a stir by the way we follow Jesus? Are we disrupting the economy of those who are peddlers of sin and bad choices? The Ephesian Christians caused a stir, not by picketing outside Demetrius’ shop and not by running a smear campaign against Artemis. How did they cause a stir? By living a different kind of life. A noticeably different kind of life. A life marked by the gospel and transformed by God’s grace. And if we want to make an impact on our community for good, that’s where it starts…by living lives that have been radically transformed by the gospel of God’s grace and sharing the hope that we have with those around us who so desperately need it. So let me challenge you this week…If one or two of us live lives that have been radically transformed by the gospel of God’s grace and share the hope that we have with others, we’ll have an impact…but if a thousand of us do it, we’ll have a riot. Let’s start a riot!

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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

May 13, 2019

This Is Living with Your Family

1 Peter 3

Submitting to those God has placed in authority over us is never easy, but when we do so, we show our trust is in God to take care of us and see us through, come what may. In all our relationships we are to do good, and seek the good of those around us. Our good behavior will influence some to trust in Jesus. But not all. So when suffering comes from doing right, we need not fear but can rejoice because we are following the example of Jesus.

Noah obeyed God and did the right thing even though the world around him was clearly not. He showed his trust in God by continuing to do the right thing even while suffering for it. And he and his family were saved because of his faith.

Once again we see a strong call to be in or out…you are either for or against Jesus. He’s already paid the penalty for our sin so that we can have a relationship with God. Why not trust in Him today?

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This post is based on a sermon from our This Is Living series in 1 Peter. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @ccclancaster

May 6, 2019

This Is Living Out Your Faith

1 Peter 4

The way of following Jesus is difficult and treacherous, full of unexpected twists and turns, highs and lows…definitely not the easiest path through life. You’ve declared your allegiance to the true King and have become a traitor to this world. Those who once called you friend have become bitter foes. Your world has been turned upside down.

And yet it’s the best decision you could have ever made. Because now there is a real sense of purpose and meaning to your life, a direction. And you are experiencing joy you couldn’t have imagined and a peace that just doesn’t make sense, given your circumstances. You are a citizen of the kingdom with an eternal inheritance and an indestructible life. Suffering will come…but it comes to everyone…whether that suffering comes because of your faith or because you live on this planet, do right and trust God to see you through.

But what if that’s not your experience? First question is, have you trusted in Jesus? If not, today could be the day of salvation for you… If you have trusted in Jesus, have you turned fully to Him, or are you still hanging on to your old life? Many of us miss out on the fullness of life that Jesus calls us to and saved us for because we give a nod to Him but continue to pursue life the way we want to live it. If that’s you, let me invite you to make a clean break with your old way of life today…your selfish and self-centered way of living life…and turn fully to Jesus.

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This post is based on a sermon from our This Is Living series in 1 Peter. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @ccclancaster

April 29, 2019

This Is Living With a New Identity

1 Peter 2

Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection we have a new identity. We are a new, living temple…and we join the ranks of His people along with His saints of old. We are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession. How amazing is that! That should cause us to want to show and tell others about Him. Show through a life lived well, and tell what great things He has done for us in saving us.

Jesus will mean either honor or ruin for you. He will either give you life or condemn you to death. There is no Switzerland when it comes to Jesus. No neutral zone. No sidelines. You are either for or against Him. You are either trusting in Him or rejecting Him. He will either be your King or your Judge. Why not make Him your King today? Life is short. None of us is guaranteed tomorrow. Your eternal destiny is at stake.

And for those of you who have trusted in Him, does the living of your life reflect that? Are you living a life above reproach or are you giving your opponents reason to question the sincerity of your faith? Are you being a good citizen…employee…son/daughter…student…player…etc? Are you trusting God in the midst of trying circumstances, or just trying to get even?

Suffering is a given in life…part of the fallen world we live in. The way we approach suffering, whatever flavor it may be…persecution, sickness, death, wayward children, a broken relationship, etc…is testimony to a watching world whether or not our faith is real and whether or not it really matters. So do what’s right and choose to trust God no matter the circumstances.

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This post is based on a sermon from our This Is Living series in 1 Peter. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @ccclancaster

April 22, 2019

This Is Living Like Jesus

1 Peter 1

Jesus changes everything! Because of His death and resurrection we have a living hope…a hope that’s alive because Jesus is alive and a hope that continues to grow and mature as we follow Him. We need not live a life of fear, though the world around us is shaking, we can have confidence knowing that the temporary things may fade, but the kingdom remains.

If you have trusted in Jesus, He has rescued you from sin and death and has given you new life. This world is no longer your home. You have a new address…the kingdom where you have an inheritance awaiting you. You are protected by God’s power in this life…doesn’t mean that you won’t have physical pain or sorrow or even death…but it does mean the eternal life you have cannot be taken away. And even the trials that come are meant to strengthen your faith and remove everything that keeps you from fully trusting God.

And because we have this living hope and unshakable salvation, we are freed up to love. To love the way God loves. To love full on. Nothing held back. A love that shares the same message of hope…the gospel…with others.

So let us live as sojourners in this world. Let us live courageous and generous lives, preoccupied with the kingdom. Let us make an impact in the lives of those around us for Jesus.

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This post is based on a sermon from our This Is Living series in 1 Peter. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @ccclancaster

March 18, 2019

Paul’s Second Missionary Journey

Acts 16.1-10

Paul and Silas head out on the second missionary journey. Along the way they pick up Timothy, and, following the guidance of the Spirit, end up in Troas on their way to Macedonia.

Now we are not told how Paul got the “no” from the Spirit on two separate occasions on their journey. And it brings up an interesting question that’s often asked…“how do I know what God’s will is for me?” I think we often treat God’s will like a code to be cracked. If we can just figure out the secret handshake or discover the hidden message kept in some mysterious place then we will know what God wants us to do. We’ll discover the “National Treasure” that is His will. But what if it’s easier than that? You see I believe that God, as a good Father, wants us to know what it is He would have us do. Like any parent wants for their children. But like children we often fail to listen. It’s been said, and I would tend to agree that 90% of what God wants you to do can be found…in His Word, the Bible. The Bible is the Codebook, if you will, to life. In It, God gives us instruction on how we are to live…how we are to conduct ourselves, how we are to respond, what we are to do. And if you are spending time daily in God’s Word, you will learn to hear His voice, and not only will you discover the 90%, but the 10% also becomes more and more clear.

But not only should you spend time in God’s Word, you should also be spending time in prayer. If we are spending time with God in prayer daily, listening as well as talking, then we have this promise from Proverbs 3.5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” The 10% becomes clear when we’re spending time with the Lord.

Paul was preoccupied with the kingdom. He was undistracted in His pursuit of Jesus. When we spend time in God’s Word and spend time in prayer with Him, we too can become less focused on ourselves and more preoccupied with the kingdom. But we have to be intentional. And Paul wasn’t alone in his journey…he had a group of buddies with him who were also preoccupied with the kingdom. That’s important. Do you have a group of believers that you’re pursuing Jesus with? A community or small group?

I’m also struck by the fact that Paul’s journey was anything but linear. Sometimes we think the Christian life is a series of moves from one successive step to the next in a very predictable pattern, but often it’s way more exciting than that. Think rollercoaster rather than escalator. And although it may not have made sense to Paul in the moment he was willing to ride the rollercoaster…he was willing to wait when God said, “Wait” and go when God said, “Go”. Paul wasn’t following his own agenda, but that of his Master. If we are honest, I think often we let our agenda get in the way of God’s agenda even when we are doing things “for Him”. We have to remember that His ways are not always our ways…and it’s His ways that matter.

One last thing…Paul didn’t give up. When God closed door number and door number two, Paul kept going until God opened door number three. How often do we give up before we get to door number three and miss the opportunity that God has for us there? Again time in the Word, time in prayer and time with other believers and a passion to share the gospel with those who have a front row seat to our lives will help us persevere to door number three.

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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

March 11, 2019

Jerusalem Outbrief

Acts 15.22-41

The church in Antioch anxiously awaits the decision of the Jerusalem Council regarding the question of whether the Gentiles had to first become Jews before becoming Christians. The Council is unified in its decision…a decision that they discerned the Holy Spirit leading them to. Salvation is by faith alone. For both Jews and Gentiles. Both must believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins and new life in Him.

We get in trouble when we expect unbelievers to act like believers before they can be believers. Or when we want them to clean up their act before they come to church. Adding a list of do’s or do not’s to faith is legalism. Until a person has trusted in Jesus, the do’s and do not’s have absolutely no impact on their lives. Dead is dead. It is only faith in Jesus that saves…only faith in Him that gives life.

We also get in trouble when we impose our version of Christianity on other believers. When we expect their walk with Jesus will look exactly like ours. No doubt the Bible has a lot to say about the things we should do and the things we shouldn’t do as believers. But the doing or not doing of those things doesn’t save us, and in and of themselves those things cannot make us more like Jesus. Only the Spirit can do that…only He can transform us to live and love like Jesus. But we do or don’t do out of obedience to Him…because we love Him…not because we intend to get something selfish out of it.

One last thing, and it’s a big thing. We are to turn from vain things to the living God because those vain things only bring death. But I think sometimes we don’t really want to turn from those vain things. We want to hold on to them. Even though Jesus has freed us from them, we keep running back to them and we continue to drag them along because we foolishly think they will somehow give us life. Like the Israelites, we keep wanting to run back to Egypt. And so we may continue in a sexually immoral relationship because we think that’s life. And so we continue our shady business dealings because we think the bank it generates gives us life. And so we continue to live our lives like the world revolves around us…promoting ourselves…because we think it somehow gives us life. But those things don’t bring true life. Only the illusion of life. And once it’s gone, then we can see them for what they really are…vain idols that only bring death.

What is it you need to turn from today, so that you can turn to Jesus? What do you need to let go of, so that you can lay hold of life?

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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 19, 2019

First Missionary Journey Wrap-up

Acts 14.20b-28

Paul and Barnabas finish up a successful trip to Derbe and then make the return trek back through the cities they had previously visited to strengthen, encourage, warn and equip the churches planted there, appointing elders to provide ongoing spiritual leadership. Returning to Syrian Antioch, they out brief the church with the exciting news of God’s work among the Gentiles.

The churches that Paul and Barnabas planted were all deep in enemy territory. They had crashed the gates of hell and rescued many captives. And while those captives had been freed and while they had changed their allegiance and served a new King, they were still living their day-to-day lives in cities lying within the serpent’s dominion…in a culture hell-bent on destroying them. No wonder Paul warns them about tribulations to come…no wonder he warns them about persecution and suffering. The more they look like Jesus, the more the enemy will pursue them. Darkness hates the light…the brighter the light, the more vehemently the attempt to extinguish it. But they need not fear. Jesus has already won the day! Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning! Suffering may come, but it’s just the prelude to glory.

We like the glory part. We like the kingdom part. But if we’re honest, we’re not really down for the suffering part. In fact, often we will do whatever we can to avoid it. We want to follow Jesus without cost or consequence. What we really want is the American Dream with a Christian veneer, and suffering doesn’t jive with that. Some of us may even wonder if we’re doing the right thing as a Christian if and when we face trials because of it. We’ve forgotten that this world is not our home. And yet the constant testimony of Jesus and the rest of the NT is that suffering is a fundamental part of the Christian life.

The good news is…we are never alone in suffering for Jesus. Somehow Paul says that we can experience the perfect peace of God in the midst of chaos, joy in the midst of pain, hope in the deepest darkness. We don’t have to give up or give in because Jesus has already won the day. He has promised never to leave us or forsake us. He will see us through until we see Him again. And we have a heavenly Father who delights in us and desires our good…who loves us so completely that we will spend an eternity trying to comprehend His amazing love for us.

For some of us the idea of suffering for our faith aka persecution may be a foreign concept. Everyone who walks this planet has at some time or will at some time suffer. Guaranteed. That’s part of living this side of the garden where my sin and your sin and our sin and the brokenness of this world collide in some pretty nasty ways to create all of kinds of chaos in our lives. I’m not talking about that kind of suffering. I’m talking about the kind of suffering that comes because you are a Christian. It’s the kind of suffering that comes when your light shines in a dark place. It’s the kind of suffering that comes when you dare to share your story…to share the gospel with someone else. That’s something very different.

If suffering for your faith is a foreign concept, maybe you have a “Who is Jesus?” problem. Maybe you are looking for a Jesus who meets your expectations. A Jesus who will rescue you from your sins, but not One who will change you too much. But Jesus didn’t come just make your life easier or more comfortable…He came to radically transform you, to make you into a new creation. To unleash you against the armies of hell. He bids you to come and die so that you may truly live.

Maybe today is the day that you need to recommit to following Jesus, no matter what the cost, remembering that suffering comes before glory.

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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 11, 2019

Acceptance and Opposition: Lystra

Acts 14.8-20a

Paul’s visit to the little town of Lystra didn’t go quite the way he had planned. The healing of a lame man which should have opened a door for the gospel and pointed folks to Jesus instead causes them to want to worship Paul and Barnabas. And just when that seems to be under control, a group of zealous, unbelieving Jews shows up to put an end to Paul once and for all.

I love the “success” stories that we’ve seen so far in the book of Acts…where thousands of folks come to faith in Jerusalem and in Samaria, the conversion of Cornelius and also of Saul/Paul, Peter’s rescue from the clutches of Herod and Paul’s triumph over the false prophet Bar-Jesus, the church in Antioch and the Gentiles who have come to faith along the way.

The successes are great…Jesus had lots of those too. But there was also opposition and persecution. Just as we said last week…while we may wish it were otherwise, that is the norm. Some accept, but most will reject.

There will always be opposition to the gospel. We have a real enemy who doesn’t like us storming his gates, and he will do anything and everything in his power to thwart our attempts to rescue folks held captive under his dominion. Sometimes folks will misinterpret and misunderstand us, and sometimes they will violently oppose us. Either way, let’s not give up.

Ours is a society that is quickly losing its biblical moorings…no longer can we assume that folks have even a rudimentary knowledge or understanding of the Bible. Unfortunately that’s not just out there…many folks within the church are far from having a biblical worldview. Most are more influenced by the anti-Christian, anti-God culture that surrounds us than they are by God’s Word. We may be too sophisticated to worship Zeus and Hermes, but we do worship our idols nonetheless…

It makes sharing our faith challenging. It makes living a Christian life challenging. There are lots of obstacles in the way, but it shouldn’t stop us. It shouldn’t cause us to give up and go home. Instead it should cause us to rely more fully on the Spirit, to cling more desperately to Jesus. To get up and press on…to get back in the game.

If you haven’t yet trusted in Jesus, make today the day. Make today the day you turn from vain and worthless things to the living God who not only created the heavens and the earth, but who also made you as well. Who loves you and wants to adopt you into His family. The God who loved you so much that He sent His one and only Son Jesus to die a sacrificial death for you so that by believing in Him your sins could be forgiven, and who raised Him the third day so that you too might have eternal life.

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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