New Testament

March 24, 2025

Prelude to Ephesians – Goodbye Ephesus

Acts 20.17-38

Paul says goodbye to his friends at Ephesus. In his absence, he warns them of the need to be ever vigilant…to stay true to both the teaching and the living out of the Word.

Last words are lasting words, and Paul’s last words to the folks from Ephesus are a reminder of the spiritual battle that rages all around us, of the importance of Truth, of our need to stand our ground. When we compromise on the Truth of God’s Word because it’s uncomfortable or unpopular, it won’t be long until we begin to compromise in all areas of faith and practice. Soon truth becomes relative…what feels good must be right…and the difference between the world in here and the world out there becomes negligible.

That’s true for the Church…but it’s also true for us as individuals. How intentional are you in following Jesus? As I asked earlier, are you running the race or just wandering around in your spiritual walk? What impact is God’s Word having on your life? Is it causing you to think and act differently? Are there parts of Scripture that you refuse to believe because they don’t agree with your or the culture’s worldview?

My challenge for you this week…take one intentional step down Torah Road by… Praying. Reading the Word. Spending time with fellow believers. Sharing your story. Finding a place to serve. Giving generously to someone in need. Inviting someone to come along with you on the discipleship journey.

pro rege

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.

March 10, 2025

Prelude to Ephesians – 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 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 hundreds of us do it, we’ll have a riot. Let’s start a riot!

pro rege

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.

February 10, 2025

Everyday Disciple: A Life Founded on the Rock

Matthew 7.13-29

Jesus invited those who heard Him to experience life in His kingdom. The same invitation is available to us today. The choice is clear. There are only two kingdoms, two ways, two kinds of fruit, two foundations…heaven or earth, narrow or broad, good or bad, rock or sand. So how do we take Jesus up on His invitation? How do we enter into the kingdom life that He invites us to experience?

Well, it starts with trusting in Him for eternal life. It’s a free gift available to all who recognize that they are sinners in need of a Savior and who believe that Jesus is the Savior that God promised. He lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death on our behalf, and was raised again the third day, conquering both sin and death, so that by faith in Jesus we could have forgiveness of sins and eternal life. We could become citizens of His kingdom…sons and daughters of the King.

But then what? In Dallas Willard’s, Divine Conspiracy, he says that discipleship is not something that just happens, but it’s something that we have to intend to do. Living life in the kingdom, following Jesus, being an everyday disciple doesn’t just happen. It is something we have to intend to do…we have to make the choice. And our failure to make that choice may explain why we have such a hard go at kingdom living. Once we make the choice, being a disciple of Jesus…walking Torah Road…is a life-long process…a process that requires us to get to know Him. And the only way we get to know Him is through His Word…and prayer and time with other believers, sharing our story and living a generous life. Cultivating the inner life of the Spirit. It’s a me-thing that’s a part of the we-thing.

And as we grow individually, we also grow as a church. With the goal of reaching the lost, expanding the kingdom, and making Jesus more famous. A group of everyday disciples who are shining brightly and having an IMPACT around the block and around the world.

pro rege

This post is based on a sermon from our Everyday Disciple series: Songs of the Season. 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.

February 3, 2025

Everyday Disciple: The Golden Rule

Matthew 7.1-12

The way we judge others is a revealing measure of our progress in kingdom living. It is a good indication of whether or not we are treating others the way we want to be treated. Let’s be honest…how many of us have attempted the Golden Rule, only to find it frustratingly impossible? Maybe it’s because we’re too busy treating ourselves the way we want to be treated that we don’t have the time or the inclination to do the same for others.

But it is possible for those of us who have trusted in Jesus…kingdom citizens/everyday disciples…to treat others the way we want to be treated. It starts with simply recognizing that they are in need of the same mercy that we are. Just as the Father has been merciful to us, it’s extending that same mercy toward them. Just as the Father has loved us, so we too are to love others. Whether we think they deserve it or not. They probably don’t, but…neither do we. And the Father still loves us…He still shows us mercy. We’re to do the same.

But it is impossible to treat others the way we want to be treated without Jesus. He’s the one who gives us a new heart and true righteousness that allows us to love others the way that He loves. If you have not yet trusted in Jesus, it starts with recognizing that you are a sinner in need of a Savior…being poor in Spirit. Believing that Jesus is the Savior that God promised. He lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death on your behalf, and was raised the third day conquering sin and death, so that by faith in Jesus you could have forgiveness of sins and eternal life. The kingdom of heaven…yours.

pro rege

This post is based on a sermon from our Everyday Disciple series: Songs of the Season. 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.

January 27, 2025

Everyday Disciple: A Tale of Two Kingdoms

Matthew 6.19-34

Jesus makes it pretty clear. We either pursue an earthly kingdom where we are the hero…everything is geared toward our own glory…we’re the main character in our story, or we pursue the kingdom that Jesus came to bring where He is the Hero…everything is geared toward bringing glory to the Father…where He alone is the Main Character of the Story. There is no middle ground.

While Jesus primarily addresses a religious audience, He also mentions the Gentiles, who were running their own kingdoms as well. You don’t have to be religious to seek the favor of men. The desire to build our own kingdoms has plagued us since our first parents decided that being image bearers wasn’t enough…they wanted to be their own gods. And we’ve been building kingdoms ever since.

Why are we so stressed? Maybe…just maybe it’s because we are busy trying to build our own kingdom. Hard not to do particularly when, as a society, we’ve made it pretty clear  “it’s all about me”. The American Dream has made earthly kingdom-building a virtue. And for many of us, we’ve fooled ourselves into thinking we can pursue both. We fail to see the impossibility of pursuing our own agenda, our own kingdom, while at the same time claiming citizenry in the kingdom of heaven. We compartmentalize our lives so that God gets Sunday morning, maybe a night during the week for youth group or small group, but then the rest is ours. And we build our kingdoms. A quick glance at our calendar or our checkbook is a pretty good indication of where and what kingdom we’re investing in. That and of course our level of stress.

You can’t pursue both kingdoms successfully…eventually your true loyalties will become clear. As kingdom citizens/everyday disciples, Jesus wants us to live worry-free lives, but that’s only possible as we learn to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness…then everything else falls into place.

pro rege

This post is based on a sermon from our Everyday Disciple series: Songs of the Season. 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.

January 20, 2025

Everyday Disciple: Through the Lens of Prayer

Matthew 6.1-18

In the middle of these three examples, giving to the poor, praying, and fasting, Jesus stops to give instruction on prayer. But why? If Jesus considers it so important, shouldn’t we?

I think if we’re honest, for most of us, prayer is an optional exercise with no real power. We pray because we feel like we should…or maybe we feel like praying will change God’s mind and get Him to see things our way. But that’s not real prayer. The prayer that Jesus talks about has the power of rending the veil between heaven and earth…the spiritual and the physical. It allows us to see more clearly the reality of the kingdom. In prayer we practice the presence of God.

Prayer brings heaven and earth together. When we pray, we bring our cares and worries to the One who infinitely cares about us. And He gives kingdom perspective to our day-to-day lives. The inner life of prayer nourishes our soul.

Watch out for the pretenders of righteousness…those who want others to see their good deeds. Hard to miss them. They tend to make it obvious. And again, if we’re honest, it’s all too easy for us to slip into a righteousness of show…attempting to impress others with how “good” we are, right? The praise and approval of men is very alluring. But as kingdom citizens/everyday disciples our job is to cultivate the inner life of the Spirit, learning the secret life that the Father calls us to. Seeking only His praise. Living only for Him. And as we cultivate the inner life, we begin to live in the true righteousness of the kingdom. Beautiful irony…the more we cultivate our inner life with the Father, the brighter our light shines. Prayer is certainly a big part of that.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

pro rege

This post is based on a sermon from our Everyday Disciple series: Songs of the Season. 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.

January 13, 2025

Everyday Disciple: Beyond the Rules

Matthew 5.17-48

Jesus quickly dismantles the rule-based system of the Pharisees. To be sure, He doesn’t abolish the Law, but He shows very clearly that keeping the rules, if not from a transformed character, will never accomplish kingdom righteousness. That is very freeing, and very scary. It’s a life of being first and foremost that then naturally leads to a life of doing.

It is pretty convicting that the five examples that Jesus uses to illustrate our need for a heart transplant all have to do with interpersonal relationships. That our failure in so many of these areas to “keep the Law/Torah”, to even do the externals, is a natural consequence of our failure to love. We expect it of the Pharisees, but what about those of us who claim to be kingdom citizens? If life in the kingdom is characterized by love…love for God and love for others, what causes the break-down in our love? Sobering thought.

Life in the kingdom can only be experienced fully as we learn to allow the character of the King to infect all of our lives…breaking down the walls…and asking Him to change us…to transform us…to make us into who He created and saved and called us to be. Focusing less on doing the right things and more on becoming everyday disciples and the right things will come. Because if we become who He wants us to be, then we’ll do what He wants us to do.

I said this last week, but remember this isn’t a how-to manual for getting into the kingdom. On your own, you don’t have what it takes. Your brand of “righteousness” won’t cut it. Let me say it as clearly as I can… If you are like the Pharisees and are counting on your good works or “law keeping”…rule following…to get into the kingdom, Jesus is telling you that you are out of luck. His standards are too high. You need a new heart. And you need the righteousness of the King. Only His will do.

The good news is…that righteousness…His righteousness…is available to you right now today. It starts with recognizing that you are a sinner in need of a Savior…being poor in Spirit. Believing that Jesus is the Savior that God promised. He lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death on your behalf, and was raised the third day conquering sin and death, so that by faith in Jesus you could have forgiveness of sins and eternal life. The kingdom of heaven…yours.

pro rege

This post is based on a sermon from our Everyday Disciple series: Songs of the Season. 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.

January 6, 2025

Everyday Disciple: A Dangerous Idea of Blessedness

Matthew 5.1-16

Jesus’ idea of those who are blessed is not necessarily the folks we would have picked. It’s not the spiritually elite, the I’ve-got-it-all-together crowd, the my-universe-is-running-just-fine-thank-you crew. But the kingdom belongs to those who recognize their desperate need for Him and long for the reconciliation of heaven and earth.

As we track the beatitudes, there is a progression…poor in spirit, mourning for sin, gentle, hunger and thirst for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemaker…that leads inexorably to persecution. Aligning ourselves with the King is a dangerous proposition. It could even cost us our life. And why does the persecution come? Because of the undeniability of those who embody kingdom characteristics. The difference that being an everyday disciple makes in us is going to be obvious to the whole world. We won’t be tasteless salt or a hidden light. We will be noticeable. We are going to be a light on a hill. By doing that. By embodying those qualities and living that way, we are bearing the image of God brightly. Pointing people to Him and bringing Him glory. Said another way, if we embody the beatitudes, we will force a response from those around us. Some will persecute us and others will give glory to the Father. Both are good things!

Some of you have not yet trusted in Jesus, you don’t know what it means to be a son or daughter of the King. The beatitudes are not a how to manual for kingdom membership. They reflect the internal qualities that characterize those in the kingdom. It starts with the recognition of your need for Jesus.

For the rest of us, we are all in process…trekking down Torah Road…striving to follow after Jesus. Not easy, especially when we create boxes (work, school, recreation, weekend, church, etc.) that neatly divide our lives and keep us from experiencing the kingdom life that Jesus has for us…that keep us from being everyday disciples. The solution? Blow up the boxes and allow the character of the kingdom to permeate all aspects of our lives so that we can truly begin to experience the abundant life…complete with persecution.

Jesus’ definition of blessedness is dangerous…but it is true blessedness. It’ living life in the kingdom now. It’s being an image-bearer of the King…being an everyday disciple.

pro rege

This post is based on a sermon from our Everyday Disciple series: Songs of the Season. 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.

December 16, 2024

O Come, All Ye Faithful (Love)

Matthew 2.1-12

A tale of two kings…a tale of two loves. Herod, an earthly king, living in Jerusalem, seeks to build a name and a kingdom for himself. Jesus, the true King, has already been given a Name and a kingdom.

Herod’s love is a very worldly love…love for his own kingdom, love of power, prestige, position, pleasure. A love that was very selfish and self-serving. A love that did not save him because it could not. Jesus was a real threat to Herod because he knew what was at stake. If Herod didn’t think Jesus might indeed be a king…the King…if he didn’t think Jesus, though now just a Child, could in fact dethrone him, rule over him, take allegiance from him, he would not have felt threatened. But Jesus is a real threat to anyone who thinks seriously about Him. If Jesus is King…you’re not. It means your dethronement. It means your submission. It means you can’t lead your life any longer, as Herod did, according to your worldly loves. If Jesus is who He says He is, you either love Him or you hate Him! Herod represents King Me…his response to the true King, to King Jesus is hatred and rejection.

The Magi’s love is other-worldly…it’s clear where their loyalties lie. The Magi give their allegiance to Someone far greater than any earthly king…their King’s arrival was announced by the heavens. A star pointed the way. The Magi’s love led them to go to incredible lengths to see Jesus, and seeing Him, they couldn’t help but worship Him, expressing their love for Him for what He would do and God’s love already demonstrated in sending Him. They brought costly gifts…another natural expression of their love. In Him, they found an Object worthy of great pursuit…chasing after Him with all they had…their love for Jesus is clear…Jesus, the long-awaited Jewish Messiah, the Warrior-King from the line of David, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Hero of the Story and the only One who could rescue them, the Savior of the nations. The Magi recognize Jesus as King, and their response to Him is worship and adoration.

Where are your affections this Christmas? Who or what do you love? Is it causing you to be selfish and self-serving? Is it causing you to want to protect your stuff? If so, you may be giving your affections to people or things that are destined to disappoint. Or are you loving Jesus, the only One who can save and deliver and rescue…not just in an eternal sense, but also here and now? Is He the Object of your affections…your devotion every day? Do you live that way…going to great lengths to be in His presence, to worship Him, to serve Him with the same passion and diligence that the Magi did? Are you living as one who has realized their hope in Jesus, who’s experienced God’s amazing love? Are we as God’s people making much of Jesus this Christmas, or are we caught up in the hustle and bustle of building our own little kingdoms?

If you don’t know Jesus as Savior today…if He is not the King you adore, make today the day. To do so starts with acknowledging that you are a sinner in need of a Savior and then believing that Jesus is the Savior that God promised would come. He lived a perfect life. He died a sacrificial death on your behalf. He was raised the third day showing that He had conquered both sin and death, so that by believing in Him you could have forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

O Come All Ye Faithful…Christmas is a busy season, and we have a thousand things on our minds and a thousand things to do. But through it all, let us remember to come and adore Jesus who loves us and proved that love by coming into the world to bring us light for our darkness…and joy…and life eternal.

pro rege

This post is based on a sermon from our Advent series: Songs of the Season. 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.

November 18, 2024

IMPACT Promise Week 7: Commitment

2 Corinthians 8-9

The series has focused on 2 Corinthians 8-9 and Paul’s encouragement to the church at Corinth concerning generosity.

The city of Corinth was about 40 miles west of Athens in what was ancient Achaia. It was a thriving, cosmopolitan city known for its many gods, diverse culture and great wealth. The church of Corinth was planted by Paul during his second missionary journey (Acts 18). You can imagine that folks coming out of that lifestyle might carry some baggage with them, especially since the world around them didn’t change even though they had. They passed the same temples they once worshiped in on their way to work everyday. They interacted with the same folks who shared a totally different worldview everyday. They were surrounded with the same affluence and allure that it brought everyday. The same temptations… So Paul writes both of his letters to the Corinthians to encourage, equip, provoke, instruct, admonish and challenge them to live lives that reflect the truth that they (and we) are new creations in Christ. The old is gone, the new has come.

Two things that drove Paul…first, the gospel. His heartbeat. Only way to stop him was to kill him. Even through all the persecution that he faced (stoned, beaten, mocked, thrown in jail, run out of town…) he still couldn’t wait to share the good news that the Jewish Messiah was the Savior of the world. To his final breath… oh that we had such a passion for the gospel. To reach the lost and to build up the saints! That’s what IMPACT Promise is all about.

Paul had a desire to take up a collection for the church in Jerusalem. Both because of famine and because of persecution, believers there had fallen on hard times. Many had lost jobs, friends and family had abandoned them, and the religious leaders were actively pursuing them. As a former persecutor of the church, Paul knew what kind of suffering and persecution they had faced and were facing. So now he wants to help them out…motivated by the hope of greater unity within the church (Jew/Gentile) and by the desire to meet the needs of his brothers and sisters in the LORD living in Jerusalem.

A few of my takeaways from this series…the example of the churches of Macedonia. Crazy generous. Despite the desperate circumstances they were facing…“in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their generosity.” How is that possible? Suffering to joy, poverty to generosity. Because of the grace of God they had received. It overwhelmed them. And they really wanted to share that grace with others. Because of God’s grace.

Another takeaway…the example of Jesus. Though He was rich, yet for our sake He became poor, so that we through His poverty might become rich. Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. That’s God’s grace. That’s the gospel…the generosity of God. “For God so loved the world He gave…”

Our greatest IMPACT is the one we make together. Serving alongside one another with an earnestness…a diligence…an eagerness…a zeal to reach the lost, expand the kingdom, and make Jesus more famous.

We have enough to be generous. If we make giving a priority, God will supply enough for our needs…not necessarily our wants…but our needs. And not only that, He gives us an abundance so that we can be even more generous. How could the Macedonians give generously with joy? How could the widow give all that she had? Because they trusted that God was able to make all grace abound to them. They trusted that God would provide for their needs. And God who provides the resources in the beginning also multiplies those resources when they are generously given.

Everything we have comes from the LORD. Everything. He has entrusted us with His resources. He provides the seed…time, talent, experience, gifts, money/stuff…and He expects us to invest those resources until He returns. Not in our own little kingdoms, but in His. Easy to say, but hard to do. It requires us to let go, rather than hold on. To recognize that we are not the main character in our story. He is. Our job is simply to say “yes” to Him. Parable of the Mina’s in Luke 19.

pro rege

This post is based on a sermon from our IMPACT Promise 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.