August 19, 2018
Steve DeNeff - 2 Timothy 2:1-7. Proverbs says that “the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,” (11:30) meaning that the life of one good person is multiplied a hundred times in the people around them. So Jesus and Paul both tell us to reproduce ourselves in others who, in turn, will do the same with people in their own community. This sermon will focus on how living things reproduce, each after its own kind, and call CWC to become a multiplying presence in our community and beyond.
August 12, 2018
Emily Vermilya - Matthew 19:16-22; Hebrews 11:1-3;6. So often, as we grow in our walks with Christ, we ask God to increase our faith. We desire to see evidence of God at work around us so that we have greater assurance and reason to believe in his authority and power. But the author of Hebrews tells us that faith comes before proof—that it grows in the absence of something, rather than just in its manifestation. If this is true, then perhaps we must be intentional to cast off or give up things that prevent our faith from growing.
August 5, 2018
Steve DeNeff - Ephesians 4:17-5:2. As disciples we are called to “learn Christ,” which involves more than merely accepting him. To learn Christ requires a process and curriculum for “putting off” the old self” and “putting on the new self” the one we were created for in the first place. This looks different for each one of us. For some, it involves “speaking truthfully” instead of lying. For others it means “building others up” instead of tearing them down. But this practice of “putting off (and) putting on” can be learned over time once we know how to do it. In this message I’ll outline a change cycle, to show that this is how people are transformed, and give practical next steps for learning Christ.
July 29, 2018
Rev. Steve DeNeff - Jonah 1:3:1-2. When God calls us into redemption of the world, we sometimes don’t like what we’re called to do, but if we obey Him we will find that God has gone before us, that His grace is more generous and patient than we thought, and that the life we saved was actually our own. Didn’t Jesus say something like this? “He who loses his life, for me and for the gospel, will save it,” (Mark 8:35).
July 22, 2018
Rev. Ethan Linder - Daniel 3:1-30. Most of us admire Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego for their courage; but behind their courage is a value that keeps them standing tall. This is more, then, than a story of how to stand up in a moment of decision; it’s also a reminder that obedience might cost us all we have. This sermon will examine that tension and help us understand explore what kept these three on their feet.
July 15, 2018
Steve DeNeff - 1 Samuel 17:1a, 4, 8-11, 16-24, 32-37, 40-50. It’s been said that you can’t have the right friends if you don’t have the right enemies. In this popular story, we are called to confront our enemies in the Name and power of God. But our posture is not one of anger or violence, but one of humility and complete trust that “God will hand our enemies over” in His time and in His way. Our battle is not for our sake, and it is not in our armor, but in His “so that the whole world will know that there is a God and that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s,” (17:46-47).
July 8, 2018
Eric Crisp - Ruth 1. What do we do when life has become “bitter” for us or, worse yet, it seems that “the LORD himself has raised his fist against us?” The book of Ruth gives us a snapshot of one seemingly insignificant family during the days when the Judges ruled in Israel. God seems silent and for Naomi and Ruth, the future looks bleak. But Ruth and Boaz show us how living in the freedom of and maybe from the law sets them free. They are living in the way of the Gospel and God continues to be faithful to His promise through this exceedingly significant family.
July 1, 2018
Rev. Steve DeNeff. Exodus 1:6-11a; 2:23-3:12. The success of any venture is disproportionate to one person, to the one who is called. But what if that person doesn’t feel called? What if they’re not very good at the thing God calls them to do? Many of us have been in that place and some are in it now. “Fake it till you make it,” is the most common approach. But here is a better one: Take off your shoes for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Moses is an example of someone, like us, who is called out of our weakness instead of our strength. Rather than fighting against our deficiencies, or hiding them as is more common today, Moses encourages us to use them as leverage for the power of God.
June 24, 2018
Rev. Steve DeNeff - Genesis 37:1, 3-11. In between the dream and the reality is a long and barren stretch known as “middle time,” where old dreams go to die. Somewhere between the “already” and the “not yet” is a valley fraught with temptations to compromise or to despair. But to those who hold onto these God-given dreams, God will open new horizons beyond our imagination.
June 17, 2018
Steve DeNeff - Genesis 22:1-18. Have you ever wanted something, more than anything, only to get it and be asked to lay it down again? “Take your son, your only son whom you love . . . and sacrifice him there (on Moriah),” (Gen. 22:2). This unspeakable ask, from God to Abraham, to sacrifice the very thing God gave us is at the core of our faith. It is something God himself has done (see John 3:16) and something every one of us, at one time or another, will be asked to do. But it is here, at the altar, where God raises what we sacrifice so that it is more powerful than before (see Heb. 11:19).
