New Testament

May 31, 2021

Message to the Churches: Pergamum

Revelation 2.12-17

The circumstances in Pergamum are a bit different than those in Smyrna. Smyrna was facing persecution. The temptation for the church was to give up. Pergamum is facing compromise. The temptation for the church is to give in. And some already had.

I think if we are honest with ourselves, we can relate to the church in Pergamum a lot better than we can the church in Smyrna. Maybe some of us have suffered for our faith. Maybe. But we’ve all been tempted to compromise. We’ve all felt the peer pressure to give in. And unfortunately some of us have.

What does giving in look like these days? Well, maybe we don’t have a physical idol that we are sacrificing to, but anything that we love more than God, anything we are more devoted to, anything that has first place in our lives before Him…that’s an idol (money, family, status, etc). And immorality? What are you watching on Netflix these days? What are you filling your mind with?

Giving in looks a lot like doing what everyone else is doing. Championing the same causes. Jumping on the same bandwagons. Following the same trends. Doing everything we can to fit in.

The dangerous thing about Pergamum is that they seemed to do pretty good against the external pressures. They held fast to the name of Jesus and did not deny the faith. But internally they got into trouble. When Balaam couldn’t curse Israel from the outside, he devised a plan to have them curse themselves from the inside. Sometimes the greatest danger isn’t ”out there” but “in here”. Who are you listening to and how are you letting them influence you? You see, peer pressure only really works with your…peers. Who are your peers? Are they pointing you to Jesus or away from Him? And what about you? Are you pointing others to Him or away from Him? Have you become a stumbling block? If so repent…or else.

pro rege

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

May 24, 2021

Message to the Churches: Smyrna

Revelation 2.8-11

The church in Smyrna is one of the two churches that don’t receive a rebuke from Jesus. My guess is that it has to do with their suffering. You see, the church in Smyrna is under fire. Persecution is both a present and a near term reality for them. So perseverance is crucial. They can’t give up in the midst of suffering. Key to persevering is hope…it’s remembering that Jesus wins. And because Jesus wins, so do we.

Suffering for our faith is never easy. It definitely doesn’t feel like winning. It feels like losing, big time. And yet we are never more like Jesus than when we suffer for our faith. Peter says this, “…to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you” (1 Peter 4.13-14).

We all want God to save us from suffering…but what if He wants to save us through suffering. Reminds me of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. God didn’t save them from the fiery furnace. He walked with them in it. And He still walks with His children through the fire.

pro rege

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

May 17, 2021

Message to the Churches: Ephesus

Revelation 2.1-7

The church in Ephesus is good at Truth. They have a zeal for what is Right. And in the beginning that zeal was driven by their love for God and showed itself in a love for each other. But over time, their love has grown cold. They’re still clinging to the Truth, but truth without love can be very cruel. Definitely not what God desires.

That’s bad for a church, but it’s also bad for us individually. Maybe you know someone who always has the right answers…can quote the Bible chapter and verse…but somehow it doesn’t seem to impact their behavior. Grace has gotten lost somewhere in the mix. Harsh words and bitterness begin to set in. It can make for a very lonely life, especially when others avoid you. So what should you do? Remember, repent and do. Love is an action word. Start doing loving things. Don’t lessen up on the truth…just add a lot more love.

Some folks have the opposite problem. Super nice to people. High on the love scale, but not so concerned about Truth. That’s not a good combination either. If that’s you, then you don’t need to lessen up on the love…just add a lot more truth. That only comes with time spent in the Word.

The good news is that each day is another opportunity. To let our lights shine. For both truth and love.

pro rege

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

May 10, 2021

The Things Which You Have Seen

Revelation 1.9-20

John identifies himself as a fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance in Jesus. Like countless other Jesus followers, he knew what it meant to suffer for his faith. Even though we are citizens of the eternal kingdom, we find ourselves behind enemy lines. Tribulation shouldn’t surprise us. Calls for perseverance while we wait for our King to return.

And our King will return…not as a sacrificial Lamb, but as a roaring Lion. The battle lines are drawn. You are either for Jesus or against Him. He will either be your King, or He will be your Judge. Your choice. There is no middle ground. No fence-riders here. Which will it be? If you have not yet trusted in Jesus, make today the day.

If you have trusted in Jesus, now’s the time for perseverance. Now’s the time for patient endurance. It’s the fourth quarter. We don’t know how much time is left, but until the final whistle blows or trumpet sounds we are to fight on. Even when it feels like we are losing…don’t give up. Even when it seems like the enemy is closing in on every side…don’t give in. Our King is coming…Jesus wins.

pro rege

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

May 3, 2021

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

Revelation 1.1-8

We live in uncertain times. But no less uncertain than the times John lived in. And honestly no less uncertain than folks have lived in for thousands of years. The world is an uncertain place…or so it seems. But God is at work now just as He’s always been.

Revelation is the story of the reconciliation of heaven and earth. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. It’s the capstone to God’s Story of redemption. And Jesus is the Hero of the Story.

By now, most of you know that I am a football fan. Revelation is the fourth quarter. Not sure how much time is left on the clock, but the countdown has begun. It started the day Jesus ascended into heaven. Our job is to finish strong. We’ll talk more about what this means in coming weeks, but our mantra throughout the book will be, “Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Jesus wins.”

Let me challenge you with something throughout this series…read through the passage we will be covering (devotional in the app for Saturday), show up and listen as we walk through the book, and then respond…do it. Whatever it is that God impresses you with…do it.

pro rege

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

April 26, 2021

Second Chances

John 21.15-25

This particular story is unique to John. So why does he include it? In verse 14, John reminds us that this is the third time that Jesus has made Himself known to the disciples. The two previous times that Jesus showed up, He had a purpose in mind, right? Calming the fears and commissioning a group of the disciples, breathing on them the Holy Spirit and giving them life; and then a special encore presentation for Thomas. This episode also has a very focused purpose…the restoration of Peter. You see, after his denial, we as the readers are left wondering, “So whatever happened to Peter?”

Peter had blatantly denied and turned his back on Jesus. There was no getting around it. After all of the boasting, after all of the posturing, in the end he had failed miserably. And all of his closest friends knew it. Fear might have been involved, although given Peter’s boldness in confronting the soldiers that seems less likely. Frustration? Probably. Doubts? Sure. But Peter was supposed to be their fearless leader. Would he ever be useful again?

And now, miraculously Peter is given a second chance. Jesus shows up and takes him aside, and with the reminder of both his failure and his calling in mind, he’s given another opportunity to follow Jesus. But following Him this go round would not end well from an earthly standpoint. It would involve a cross. Given the last three years…knowing all that he had been through and would yet go through, would he still sign up? Knowing that the journey would be a lonely one, with no guarantees that anyone else would accompany him, would he still follow Jesus? Would you?

I don’t know about you, but I can’t remember a time I verbally denied Jesus. I can, though, remember plenty of times that I denied Him by my actions. It reminds me of my high school and college years. I had trusted in Jesus and even felt like He was calling me into ministry, but I was unwilling to give up the life I was pursuing at the time. I was afraid I might miss out on something, but it was just leading to greater heartache, shame, frustration, guilt, etc. It wasn’t “life”…not anything like the abundant life that Jesus talked about last week. But of course I wasn’t walking in obedience either. I wasn’t spending time in His Word or prayer, wasn’t spending time with other believers, really didn’t feel like I had much of a story to share. I wasn’t abiding and so for sure wasn’t bearing fruit. I was denying Jesus with all but my words. And yet He was so gracious and just kept pursuing me, until one day I came to the “aha” moment, and I stopped running from Him and started pursuing Him…and said “yes” to His “Follow Me.”

But what about you? How have you blown it? Have you come out the other side? What does life look like? What have you learned from it? How is it causing you to trust God more? The encouraging thing for me from Peter’s story is that Jesus makes a special trip to offer him his second chance. And not only a second chance, but also a bright new future chock full of opportunity to continue to pursue Jesus…and to fail, but also to change the world. He and this rag-tag group of Jesus-followers will take the Roman world by storm…not leading a military campaign, but waging spiritual warfare nonetheless. We are here today because of a guy like Peter.

It strikes me that Peter’s story would likely have had a very different ending had I been the one whom he had denied. And for some of us, we are in the position of being the betrayed. If that’s you, have you restored the one who failed you? Have you forgiven them? Any second chances? Would you trust them with an even greater level of responsibility? Or would you do what I can be so quick to do, and write them off?

Peter’s story is challenging: Do we believe that Jesus still can and wants to use us, no matter our failures? Are we willing to follow Him, no matter the cost? Will we forgive and restore others when they fail us?

My prayer is that you realize Jesus’ deep and abiding love for you, that you rest in His amazing grace, and that you show that same grace toward others this week.

pro rege

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

April 19, 2021

Abiding in the Vine

John 15.1-17

Discipleship is all about abiding in the Vine. But to do that we have to stay connected to Jesus. We have to rely on Jesus. We have to follow Jesus. And we have to obey Jesus.

There’s an old hymn that says, “Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey.” Must have spent some time in this passage. Obedience is not a popular word. From the time we were kids, we have wanted our independence. We like freedom. We don’t like folks telling us what to do. Let me make my own decisions. Let me decide for myself what’s best. I don’t know about you, but that sounds a lot like what got us in trouble in the first place…in the garden. Not trusting God, but trusting ourselves.

Obedience in the Christian life is not the oppressive bowing to the will of a tyrant. I think sometimes that’s the image we get when we hear the word. But it’s joyfully doing what our Father says, knowing that He loves us and wants what’s best for us. Sometimes that will involve pruning. But it is always for our good.

One last thought…fruit bearing is a direct result of abiding. We were saved for a purpose…that we would live lives that point others to Jesus. That we would share our story and reflect His character to a watching world. If you want to live the abundant life, you’ve got to abide in the Vine.

pro rege

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

April 12, 2021

The Word

John 1.1-18

In these opening verses, John unmistakably presents Jesus as more than a Man…He was with God and He was God. Like I said earlier, it’s our Trinitarian concept of God…one God in three Persons. God the Father. God the Son. And as we will see soon enough, God the Holy Spirit. Not easy to grasp but foundational to our faith.

Not only does John present Jesus as more than a Man…He is also a Man. The Word became flesh. He didn’t give up His God-ness to become a Man, but somehow clothed His divinity in humanity. Again, not something that is easy to understand but also foundational to our faith.

John wants us to know Jesus…fully God because only God can forgive sins. Fully Man because only a Man could die for sin. The perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name…if you have not yet trusted in Jesus, make today the day!

pro rege,

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

April 5, 2021

Our Resurrected King

John 20

The resurrection proves not only that everything Jesus said and did was absolutely true, but that He “crushed sin and death for all eternity.” Jesus’ death pays the penalty for sin. However, if we stopped there, we might be forgiven; but what about the life He promises us? The abundant life? It’s not Jesus’ death, but His life…His resurrected life…that gives us the ability to experience life today…real, abundant life.

John says that he wrote “these things that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that believing we might have life in His name.” While Mary and the disciples had believed in Jesus…their experience of a crucified Jesus hadn’t brought life (fear, doubt, distress, confusion). Although Jesus was alive and although He had crushed sin and death, they were not experiencing this life.

And if I’m honest, that’s me too sometimes…I practically live like Jesus is still in the tomb. I know I’m forgiven, but I am often consumed by my circumstances – distraught, confused, fearful, and even doubting that Jesus can/will bring me out of the current situation. My guess is, I’m not alone.

Some of us today are believers…we’ve believed in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins, but we are not experiencing the life of Jesus that is ours through His resurrection. Maybe we are like Mary…distraught and grieving, focused on our circumstances and having a hard time seeing Jesus. These things have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. Like Mary, Jesus patiently waits for us to recognize Him, wanting to turn our mourning into joy.

Maybe we are like the disciples…fearful, betting on Jesus but feeling like we are on the losing side. These things have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. Like the disciples, Jesus speaks peace over us, wanting to transform us from being fearful to being fearless.

But maybe we are like Thomas…doubting, needing evidence that Jesus can help us in our present predicament. These things have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. Like Thomas, Jesus meets us in that place of unbelief and wants to turn our doubting to believing.

Some of us today would not put ourselves in the believing category at all. We may be somewhere on the road of our spiritual journey, but we are definitely not there. That’s ok. These things have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. Jesus changes everything. He wants to meet us right where we are. He knows us…He knows our name, our doubts and fears, our circumstances. He’s not afraid of our questions, but is patient with us.

We all need to be reminded of the truth of the resurrection. Jesus is alive. And because He’s alive, we too can have life in Him.

pro rege

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

March 22, 2021

Final Words

Romans 16.17-27

“…to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever.” Only God could do it. Only God.

And so we come to the end of the book of Romans, Paul’s great treatise on the gospel. Packed full of doctrine and practical advice. It really is Paul’s magnum opus.

Paul starts by highlighting our deep and desperate need for a Savior…for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (1-3). The problem is universal…both Jews and Gentiles. We are not all as bad as we could be, but we are all as bad off as we can be without Jesus.

Paul moves on to point out the great salvation that God offers through Jesus…a salvation that’s available to both Jews and Gentiles through faith in Jesus (3-5). The same faith that the OT saints had. By faith we are justified…declared not guilty. Because Jesus paid the penalty that our sins required. He satisfied the wrath of God that we deserved. He reconciled us to Him, so that now we have peace with God. Once we were united with Adam in sin and death, but now we are united with Jesus in resurrection and life.

Next Paul tackles the reality of our new life in Jesus (6-8). We are not who we used to be, so we shouldn’t live like we used to live. We are to present ourselves alive in Christ Jesus. And yet, a battle still rages in our mind and body. Though our sin has been forgiven, and we have been given new life, we have to choose to live that new life. The flesh will always war against our spirit in that choice. But the good news is that we have the Spirit of God living in us, empowering us to live the life God calls us to, interceding for us and making us more like Jesus. Reminding us that we are perfectly loved by God.

Then Paul circles back around to the question of the Jews and God’s promises to them (9-11). Our unfaithfulness does not invalidate God’s faithfulness. He will keep His promises. He chooses, and we have a choice. Both are true. We are fully responsible for our own actions, and yet everyone of them falls within the purview of God’s will. Divine sovereignty and human responsibility. Olive tree theology. As believing Gentiles, we have been grafted into the people of God…we have been made beneficiaries of the promises made to the fathers.

Finally, Paul challenges us to offer ourselves as living and holy sacrifices, acceptable to God (12-16). That’s only possible when we are transformed by the renewing of our minds, and only then can we see that His will for us is good and acceptable and perfect. That His way is the best way. And then we will have a desire to pursue one another in love. We not me. Asking the question, what would love do? Celebrating unity in diversity. One…not the same, but one in Jesus.

And when that’s true of us, then our faith…our obedience…will be evident to all.

One of my favorite quotes is from a guy named A.W. Tozer and goes something like this, “The Christian is a holy rebel loose in the world with access to the throne of God. Satan never knows from what direction the danger will come” (A.W. Tozer, That Incredible Christian, p. 71). Does the enemy have anything to fear from us? From you? When we live the kind of life that Paul talks about here, then he will. Then get ready because we will have a target on us. And that’s not a bad thing. It means we are doing something right.

pro rege

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