Who Is This?

Matthew 21:1–17

Jesus enters Jerusalem, and His final week of ministry is underway. Some gladly accept Him as their King, while others complain and reject Him as an Imposter.

None of the events of this final week will catch Jesus by surprise. Not one. He is in control of His destiny. He will lay down His life as a willing sacrifice. He’s not a victim. He’s not a bystander. He’s not “along for the ride.” He is the King. And He is in control. That hasn’t changed.

Everything that Jesus did was on purpose, including dying for our sins and being raised to life again so that we could have forgiveness of sins and eternal life with Him. That’s what we celebrate at Easter…our passing from death to life through the finished work of our Resurrected King. Let me encourage you to spend some intentional time this week reflecting on what that means for you.

And if you haven’t yet trusted in Jesus, you can do that today. It’s as simple as recognizing that you are a sinner in need of a Savior and believing that Jesus is the Savior whom God promised. He lived a perfect life and died a sacrificial death for you. He was raised to life on the third day, proving that He had conquered both sin and death, so that by believing in Him, you can be saved—not because of anything that you have done, but because of what Jesus did. The Innocent who died for the guilty so that the guilty could be declared innocent.

pro rege

This post is based on our Palm Sunday sermon. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X or Threads: @ccclancaster. You can also download our Central Christian app in the iTunes App Store.

The Gospel

Ephesians 2:1-10

For by grace you all have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. A dead man can’t do anything to save himself…he’s dead! He must be made alive again.

The bad news…if you have not yet trusted in Jesus, you are dead. Your sin has killed you. And if something doesn’t change, nothing will change. You will remain dead. Separated from God forever. Not a very pretty picture. In fact it’s a very grim picture. An unsettling picture. But an accurate picture. The bad news is you’re as bad off as you can possibly be without Jesus.

The good news…Jesus came to change all of that. He came to give you life. His death has taken care of the sin problem, His resurrection has taken care of the death problem, so that through faith in Him you can can be saved because of His amazing grace.

It’s as simple as recognizing that you are a sinner in need of a Savior. Believing that Jesus is the Savior that God promised would come. He lived a perfect life. He died a sacrificial death on your behalf and was raised the third day conquering both sin and death, so that by faith in Jesus you can have forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

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This post is based on a sermon from our Ephesians series. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X or Threads: @ccclancaster. You can also download our Central Christian app in the iTunes App Store.

Once for All

Hebrews 10.1-18

What more is there to say? Jesus paid it all. His once for all sacrifice…willingly giving Himself, perfect obedience to the Father…wiped out sin for all time. Every single one. For those who believe.

And because of that, the enemy can no longer hold our sin against us. Guilt and shame need no longer be a weapon we allow him to use to beat us down. That’s not a free pass to sin more. If you go that route, then you really don’t understand who you are and whose you are in Jesus. You have been bought with a price…the precious blood of the matchless Son of God. You are no longer who you used to be. You are a new creation. A citizen of a new kingdom. A son or daughter of the King. That defines who you are and should determine how you live.

The King is coming back, and when He does, we will all give an account for the way we invested the life He has entrusted to us. Did we invest it in His kingdom or in simply building our own? Every day we have a choice. While we’re still here, the work’s not done. We still have a job to do. To share our story…to share the gospel and the difference Jesus has made and the hope that we have in Him.

If you haven’t trusted in Jesus yet, please make today the day. It’s as simple as recognizing that you are a sinner in need of a Savior. Believing that Jesus is the Savior that God promised. He lived a perfect life. He died a sacrificial death on your behalf and was raised the third day conquering both sin and death, so that by faith in Jesus you can have forgiveness of sins and eternal life and a clean conscience.

pro rege

This post is based on a sermon from our Hebrews series. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X or Threads: @ccclancaster. You can also download our Central Christian app in the iTunes App Store.