CCF Sunday Messages

What a remarkable feat of timing! God has orchestrated the end of the Book of Daniel with the week just before what many would argue is the most important election in our nation’s history. This election even has the attention of the whole world! Daniel 12 is the “end” of the writings of Daniel, and it discusses the “end” of the prophetic time for Israel and the world. He even learns about those whose lives have come to an “end” under deadly oppression from the likes of Antiochus Epiphanes and Adolf Hitler. What happens at the end? What becomes of Israel? What about me, personally? How do I fit into the big picture? What about planet earth? How troubling will it be? What will knowing all of this do for me? How do I respond? Should we run around crazy looking for solutions? Should we build a wall around ourselves and wait for the end to come? Should we allow ourselves to be enveloped by fear? Will more knowledge and more science and more data save the human race? Listen in as we look at Daniel’s final message and try and understand God’s direction for our personal lives with this knowledge.

As we finish up Daniel chapter 11 I hope to encourage you that the historical focus will be much narrower. That means fewer names to deal with! I also find much more application in this second half of chapter eleven. If you look out into the distance, things that are farther away can be seen in less detail, while things that are closer can be seen more clearly and more detailed. Well, “close” and “far” are not relative to Daniel as he writes, but to where God’s focus is: on the Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes. Let me explain. The angel revealed to Daniel almost no detail at all about the succession of Persian kings or about Alexander the Great. Some detail is given about the various kings and struggles between Syria (Seleucid Dynasty) and Egypt (Ptolameic Dynasty). The closer we get the focal point, the more detail we are provided. Now we have come to the focus: the nasty and wicked anti-semite king Antiochus Epiphanes. Why is he the focus and wny is so much detail given about him? Because he will act as a close (but not exact) example of what the final world ruler—Antichrist—will be like. In this section you will discover the origin of the saying, “draw a line in the sand.” Want the details? Listen in and find out!

How do you feel about history class? Do you remember “social studies” in school? Not your favorite class? It was not mine either. Memorize dates and events for the test and then forget it all after the test. Yuck! And then I got saved and became a follower of Jesus and started reading the Bible. History began to be much more interesting because it was related to a big, worldwide story that connected all the dots and gave me a context to plug all the facts into. Daniel chapters 10-12 are a single unit. Daniel 11 is the longest and most detailed prophecy in the Bible. It is so specific and so accurate that many have questioned if it could really have been written before the events happened. The person writing it must have already known what was going to happen because it is so precise! God is sovereign (has complete authority and freedom to act), and He is omniscient (knows everything). The Bible is clear that God “declares the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10). This chapter is astounding and historical as you see the hand of God working through human history. At the center of all history is the Jewish people and the city of Jerusalem. We will talk about things past, things present, and the prophecy will take us into the future as well!

We are closing in on the end of our study in Daniel. Although there are three chapters left, they all connect around one grand and detailed vision that Daniel has. It is so precise in its historical accuracy that many believe it could not have been written by Daniel! The scope reaches into and even past our own time. For this study time we’ll look into chapter 10 and get the introduction to the vision. We get descriptive detail about the physical impact this event had on Daniel. His angelic experience might not climb the charts of the bestseller list if it was published today! Daniel is not the picture of people having strength and courage in the presence of angels. Daniel’s desire to understand was heard immediately and God responded immediately. But, for some reason Daniel sees no answer to this prayer for three weeks! Have you ever wondered why prayers don’t always receive an answer immediately? Have you ever felt like God was acting too slowly on your behalf? Have you been tempted to think that maybe He doesn’t care or didn’t listen? Hopefully Daniel 10 will change the way you think about prayer and what happens in the “heavenly realm” when you pray on earth. The reality may even surprise you!

Given the state of our world in 2020 and current events in America, I know many of you are paying close attention to prophecy—what does God’s word say about future things! Many are curious as to how the events taking place and what we see in America fit into God’s picture of the future of planet Earth. We have talked about much of this over the last number of weeks in previous chapters of Daniel. Well, Daniel 9:20-27 may just be the most important—and most debated—prophecy in the entire Bible. It is comprehensive, concise, and cryptic. It is God’s answer to Daniel’s prayer and it is known as Daniel’s “70 Weeks Prophecy”. The interesting thing to note is that if you want to be a really astute student of current events and the big picture of Bible prophecy, then get your eyes off of America and onto Israel! Despite our sentiments of America’s importance on the world stage, all of human history revolves around the past, present, and future of Israel—and her king, Jesus! What is that “big picture”? Where do you and I fit? What comes next? Good questions! You won’t want to miss this study of Daniels “70 weeks prophecy”. It’s the key to “understanding” everything.

If you are like me, I assume you are trying to make good decisions in a complex and complicated time. To make good decisions about life, we need information, and we are certainly inundated with information, right? There are “authoritative” voices on both sides of the election and on both sides of pandemic management, to name a few! The confusing thing is that both voices speak with authority and suggest a clear—although opposing—direction. Who should we believe? This may be more complicated than meets the eye. Spiritual life is no different. There are authoritative voices that can say opposing things about God’s plan and purposes. If you were hopeful spiritual things would be more clear, I’m sorry to disappoint you! There are prophets and there are false prophets. There are teachers and there are false teachers. There are sheep and there are also wolves dressed up as sheep. There are spiritual experiences and dreams and visions, and, well..let’s turn our attention to Daniel 9. Daniel chapter 9 opens a window for us to sit and listen and watch a man of God pray. This is the content of our passage today. But how does Daniel know what to pray for? How does he know how to pray and to what end? What informs his prayers? What if your prayer is motivated by the wrong information? What if the sermon you heard was exciting—but wrong? God’s will does not always fit neatly into our own plans or opinions. Listen in as we learn via a godly man’s prayer via Daniel chapter 9. If you haven’t already, read a companion passage that we refer to: Jeremiah chapters 25-29. Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles will give some additional background to what we look at in our message from Daniel 9. Listen in and see!

I am not sure if I feel more like a sports commentator or a Bible preacher! Why? Daniel has another vivid and descriptive vision. This time it’s the Bucks against the Rams with a surprise ending! This chapter, like Daniel chapter 7, is full of action. The ram seems unstoppable, but wait—out of nowhere comes a male goat (otherwise known as a “buck”)! He is moving at lightning speed and charging right at the unstoppable ram. The tension is high as the raging buck attacks the stronger ram! Who will survive the colossal collision? Who will be victorious? Now that you are on the edge of your seat, I can ask the more important questions. Who do the ram and the goat represent? What is the vision about? Why is this chapter so important, and why should you care? If you listen in, you will learn why so many doubt that Daniel was really written in the 6th century BC. I’ll give you a hint. The information in chapter 8 is so detailed and accurate that it is hard to believe he wrote it; and maybe more importantly: that he wrote it over 200 years before it happened. You will also learn the identity of the Bucks’ MVP (most vicious prince). Listen in and learn why you should have hope in dark times!

If you could know the future, would you want to? Before you answer, think about it. Maybe you would want to clarify your answer based on whether it’s a good or bad future! “Yes, if such and such is true…“—or “no, unless…” You get the idea. Now hash that out in your mind! If you could know the future of America, would you want to? What would you do with the information? Would it be comforting or would it be troubling? Would you tell people what you knew? Coming back to our context in the book of Daniel, our Jewish friend has just such a dilemma, and after tomorrow so will you. After we walk through Daniel chapter seven, you too will know what Daniel knew in the 6th century BC! This chapter outlines an overview of world power using very visually dramatic and descriptive language. You’ll notice as we move through the chapter that is basically parallels Daniel chapter 2. How does this information effect Daniel? What is the emotional response to the information God gives him? Listen in and find out! You can bet that Daniel’s vision is as relevant today as it was when God first opened his mind to see it.

If you play a little “word association” and say the word “Daniel“, the immediate response for many would be “lion’s den“. Chapter 6 is that well known Bible chapter that holds this famous story. People have heard of the story but many of them don’t really know the details. They don’t know about the new transitional government of the Medes and Persians or the new leadership structure. They don’t know about Daniel’s promotion or the political enemies he is making. Hey, so why did he get thrown in that lion’s den anyway? Why didn’t the lion’s eat him alive? For me, one of the coolest aspects was the real fondness the king had for Daniel. You know, if you have integrity, are trustworthy, and really seem to care about people, you find God’s blessing in your work and relationships. When you live a Spirit filled life of loyalty to God, mouths get miraculously shut! Listen in and see this miraculous story of God’s protection over His faithful servant Daniel!

Daniel 4 closed with Nebuchadnezzar recovering his mental health, being restored to his throne, and the reality of the Most High God who is sovereign over every earthly empire. Daniel 5 opens with a king named Belshazzar reigning over Babylon. What we know is that the saying, “The handwriting on the wall, has made its way into our modern culture as an idiom for “impending and unavoidable doom.” Maybe you didn’t know that saying comes directly from Daniel 5! In the midst of a Babylonian government drinking party and feast, Belshazzar expressed his pride and defiance toward the God who humbled Nebuchadnezzar. When a hand appeared and wrote a cryptic message on the wall, the party came to screeching halt! The DJ stopped the music and everyone froze in fear and astonishment. Is this really happening? What does it mean? Daniel, whose wisdom seems to have been forgotten or ignored, is called from the dugout to help. Here are some things to consider: If, according to history, the last King of Babylon is a guy named Nabonidus, then who is Belshazzar? Is the Bible wrong? What was the message on the wall? What did it mean? For answers to these questions and more, listen in to this study of Daniel chapter five. By the end of the chapter, the impenetrable Babylonian Empire, that head of Gold (ref: chapter 2), will have been replaced by the Medo-Persian Empire without even the smallest battle! Wow. Are you curious? I hope so!

As we close out Daniel chapter four, we watch as God puts the powerful and proud Nebuchadnezzar on display as an extreme example of pride and humility. He goes from the palace to the pasture—and back again! King Nebuchadnezzar had another unsettling dream about an enormous tree that gets cut down and stripped. Daniel is able to explain the dream in which the tree symbolized Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel ends with a warning and some Godly advice to the king. Now twelve months have passed and has the king taken the advice? Has he humbled himself? Nope. In fact, he is more delusional and self congratulatory than ever. Guess what? Class is in session and Nebuchadnezzar has been enrolled—like it or not—in Reality 101. For him, it’s a seven year course of seminary study to learn the lesson. To enter the program he had to be stripped of everything, just like the tree in his dream. I bet he would say it was worth it: the humiliation, the loss, the new perspective and revelation. Humility can really only be learned in the school of suffering. Nebuchadnezzar gets his seminary degree from Bovine University! He has a masters in the theology of God’s sovereignty! There is a remarkable ending to this incredible story. Listen in and see!

As we enter the much-anticipated fourth chapter of Daniel, sadly we are forced to break the chapter into two parts. We will look at verses 1-27 first, followed by the conclusion next time. Absent from chapter three and the fiery furnace, Daniel is back on the scene and gets another chance at dream interpretation for the king. Like before in chapter two, the dream is troubling and causes confusion. The last dream was of a giant mixed media statue that was destroyed by a stone. This time his dream involves an enormous, beautiful, fruitful tree. But a declaration is made that the tree should be cut down! What? Why would someone cut down a tree that is big and beautiful and fruitful? That seems wasteful, or even frivolous! What is the lesson, and how did this chapter influence the writing of our Constitution?? Oh my! Daniel chapter four is extremely important and relevant to the current events in our world. The more things change, the more they stay the same!

As we finish up chapter three we revisit one of the most well known of all the stories in the Bible: the fiery furnace. Last week we watched the story unfold: potentially thousands of Nebuchadnezzar’s government employees have been summoned to express their loyalty to Nebuchadnezzar under penalty of death in a fiery furnace. Just bow down when the Babylonian Anthem is played and everything is cool. But three monotheistic Jews couldn’t pretend, and now its show time. Our God can rescue us, but if not…. How dare they defy the sovereign ruler of that world? What comes next? What will God do? Will they suffer agonizingly in the furnace? Will they become a lesson to everyone that you dare not cross Nebuchadnezzar? I think that deep inside we really wonder if God can protect us or care for us. We expect God to keep us out of the furnace (trial) and if He doesn’t, he doesn’t love us or has failed us. In our minds, we do the “right thing” to get the result we expect from God. But God has a different plan and it is much more clear in this passage than anywhere else. God has grace and power and freedom for us that we can only experience in the furnace. No fire, no freedom. What an amazing story to consider; listen in and be ready to be challenged!

Daniel 3 actually doesn’t involve Daniel at all! He is absent from the chapter. But his three friends are put in an awkward spot to resist public pressure—and even threats—to be true to their God. We often pray for safety, but there are times when our decision to be God serving people may actually put us in danger. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego make a statement that has resonated through the centuries with God’s people. It is as simple and clear and powerful today as it was when it was first uttered in Babylon. To whom do you offer ultimate allegiance? Remember: if you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything—or anyone!

We left Daniel standing in the presence of the Nebuchadnezzar, having announced that he knows the dream and the interpretation. Can you feel the suspense? What was the dream? What does it mean? Daniel tells the king his dream and then tells him what it means. I don’t want to give away too much, but I can tell you the dream is of a magnificent, giant, stratified metal statue (idol). Statues like this would be very familiar to the idol worshippers of the day. The statue gives God a way to walk Nebuchadnezzar through the history of world dominating empires from their current time in history on into the future. There is a succession of “kingdoms” (empires) that all meet a common end as the statue ends up being hit by something like a meteor—a stone cut out without human involvement—which utterly destroys it! I know that you know we live in strange times. Many have a sense that things are not getting better, but getting worse. We also have a sense that things cannot go on like they are. Where does it end? What happens next? Trust me when I say you will not want to miss the next installment of our study in Daniel!

The chapter is just too long and too important to speed through. It is one of the most amazing prophetic passages in the whole Bible! The chapter starts with a very troubling dream. By the end of the chapter Daniel and the others have been promoted and the mighty king of the Babylonian empire is acknowledging Daniel’s God as the true God. This is the stuff we live for! The first 30 verses give the setup, and some important observations and contrasts. We continue to see Daniel shine in the middle of crisis after crisis. In the initial identity crisis Daniel holds to his convictions. The crisis now is a matter of life and death! Is Daniel freaking out? How does the world system operate to produce the crisis? How does Daniel respond to the crisis? Listen in and find out. As for the specific content of the dream and its interpretation—you’ll have to wait another week for that!

As we begin our study in the book of Daniel, I have had the opportunity to spend time pre-reading through the book and thinking about the man, Daniel; he’s an amazing guy! Humble, gentle, courageous, stable. He is uprooted from family and neighborhood and culture and thrust into a new life of servitude in a Godless nation, Babylon. How potentially traumatizing to a teenager! But instead of seeing bitterness, anger, depression, or indulgence, we see a young man who prospers in a remarkable way, helping to lead an empire without compromise of Godly conviction. In fact, Daniel wins the respect of four kings he serves under! Maybe Daniel’s influence is even behind the pilgrimage of the Magi coming from the East and following the Star of Bethlehem! How did Daniel beat the odds? How did he thrive when others would have shriveled? Think about the difference between “conviction” and “opinion”. Is there a difference? What is it? Are you a person of conviction or just opinion? How does this relate to Daniel 1? Listen in and see!

We are now bringing to conclusion our study in the Book of Galatians as we get a grip on Paul’s closing remarks. We have followed his argument and appeal to the young Christians in the region of Galatia— stand firmly in the freedom from religious performance that Christ brought, and walk in the Spirit! That’s a basic summary. Taking the pen from his scribe, he ends with a few pointed remarks about the troublemakers in the Galatian congregation. Their actions are connected to very impure motives. How does Paul know? They are just like he used to be. Paul lobs a well placed “truth bomb” just before he closes the letter. He reveals the truth about the thing that has mattered most to him and the thing that his whole life and identity are built on. Listen in for the gripping and powerful conclusion of Galatians and be challenged!

Have you spent too much time watching the news? Are Facebook posts driving you mad? Is politics polluting your joy? What’s the answer? Worship! The last chapter of Galatians is super practical and answers some important questions about Godly communities and healthy families! Grace and law couldn’t produce more different community dynamics! Paul explains that healthy, Godly, grace-based communities include people who can honestly and gently address sin, know their value is from God, understand consequences, and know actions speak louder than words. How do we address destructive behaviour without enforcing law and punishment? How do we avoid tribalism and division? How do we see the church make a real and lasting impact in the community? Listen in and see!

Although the Bible is not a psychology book, it has much to say about the soul and the inner life of a human being. And when the Bible speaks about those subjects, it is profound. Galatians 5:16-26 is one of those passages! The BIG question Paul has to answer is this: “Without law, how do we deal with those nagging inner cravings and drives for forbidden or immoral things? Law is the best thing we have to control people’s behavior, right? And the answer to immorality is more laws, right? Paul says… WRONG! Law is all the world has to try to cope with the hurtful and hateful drives of human nature. Have you watched the news recently? If law worked, we wouldn’t need “law enforcement” and prisons. Prisons are full and over capacity and despite all of our sophisticated laws, humanity doesn’t seem to be improving. God has something far superior to law for managing—and transforming—human behavior. This is the subject that is central to our passage and I hope you will listen in and let your mind be challenged by the word of God! It might be a good time to invite someone to watch!

We are systematically making our way through Galatians 5 and will look at nine verses tomorrow: verses 7-15. The argument for the need for the church to have rules to govern behavior is that if people are told they are free, they will just indulge sin! “Pastor, people need rules and guilt and pressure or they will just do whatever they want!” one might say. Well….people who haven’t experienced real transformation might need rules and consequences to constrain behaviour, but the Spirit-filled believer has something much more powerful! Reading over and studying this passage you will find that this section outlines about ten or eleven reasons why legalism is unhealthy and inappropriate for the church! What controls our behaviour? Why is legalism so detrimental to a vibrant Christian life? Listen in and see what God has to say through Paul and we continue studying through this important book.

Galatians chapter five represents a transition from the first four chapters that were highly persuasive and theological regarding our relationship to God the Father. In chapter 5, Paul shows the Galatians what freedom really looks like and how truly free people really live by the Spirit and Love — not by law. In the discussion of “religious freedom”, Paul’s concern was the Christian would be free from legalistic religion and free to love people. Legalistic thinking had hindered their progress in Christ! What about you? Do you still hold on to the mindset—maybe subtly or not so subtly—that Christ is not enough? Do you feel obligated to tithe, read a certain Bible translation, wear certain clothes, worship on a certain day? What if you were to fail to do those things you consider essential? What would change? Your answers to these questions is essential to a solid understanding of genuine Christianity!

We will finish chapter 4 of Galatians in today’s message, and find yet another angle Paul takes in his attempt to rescue the people who are being coerced back into a rules-based, immature, slave-type relationship with God! His last approach is an “allegorical” look at a well known Old Testament account from Genesis. “But Pastor, it’s MOTHER’S DAY! Are you going to do a message about mothers?” Well, in fact the Lord has arranged an interesting passage that centers on not one, but two very important women (moms), their sons, and what their lives represent! Who are the women? Hagar and Sarah. Who are the sons? Isaac and Ishmael. What do their lives represent? To tell you that would be to spoil the message for tomorrow! But I think by now you might be able to guess — or you can read ahead and discover it for yourself!

Let’s be honest. There are times when we read the Bible and we say, “I wish I had a little more information!” Well, tomorrow’s study in Galatians 4:12-20 may just be one of those times! As Paul does, he has been “bringing the heat” and communicating his concern for the future of the people in Galatia. After having heard and embracing the grace of god, they are being brainwashed and trading the slavery of paganism for the slavery of legalism! In v 11, Paul is afraid that all of his hard work would have been for nothing if they effectively convert to Judaism from Christ! This next section is a little pause to get personal. Paul is not just a theologian. He is a pastor with a huge and loving heart! He is not distant, aloof, or superficial. He is personable, transparent, and genuine as the day is long. Now the part we wish we had more info about: Paul takes them back to when he first came to their region to share the news of Christ. He makes reference to the weakness of his body and what a trial that was for him. Was that a physical illness? Some say, NO! Was it an eye disease? Others say, YES! We know they understood the references perfectly, but they are a little obscure for us 2000 years later. But don’t you worry! There is plenty for us to discuss that we can be sure about!

I hope we can begin to regain some of that momentum as we roll back into Galatians, picking up where we left off at the beginning of chapter 4! It’s been a few weeks so we’ll catch up a bit with a brief review at the start! For now, the question I want you to think about is: “How many different relational terms are used to describe our relationship with God? For instance, we are the bride of Christ. That’s one. Can you think of others? Is there one that you tend to think about most often? In Galatians 4, Paul uses some super important relationship illustrations that may be deeply impactful— maybe even liberating—to you, especially if you have come from a very “rules oriented” church background. The bottom line question is, “When it comes to your relationship to God, do you feel more like a slave or a son (daughter)? Do you even know the difference? Why is the difference important? Oh my….wait until you see what comes next!

This week we pick back up in Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia. We will be back finishing up the bulk of chapter three, and I think you will be encouraged and enlightened by it! We have spent a lot of time discussing “the law“—those regulations and rituals and stipulations that govern behavior and relationships. Paul has been pretty negative about the law in favor of the Spirit and grace. He’s all about Abraham and ignoring Moses! This inevitably brings up some really important questions; questions Paul will address in this next section. What questions? If it has always been by faith, then why did God bother to give the Law! What purpose does the Law serve if not to demonstrate our righteousness by keeping it? If you continue to struggle with feeling like love is something you and others have to earn, then you cannot miss this! If you wonder how a person is supposed to live if they can’t turn to the rulebook for directions, then listen in to this important message about God’s grace.

This week we are stepping out of Galatians and into the book of 1 John for communion Sunday. The whole book is phenomenally honest about the difference between what we say and what we really do. Here is what I do know: life is hard and this world is not our home. There are global fears and family anxieties. How are we supposed to survive? How can a person find hope or peace in uncertain times? Listen in to this special message from 1 John on our community Sunday and be encouraged through worship and God’s word.

Feedback from the past several weeks suggests that many are being impacted by the truths of Galatians and many are sensing the Lord working through this study, and specifically on the topic of the grace of God. We will continue to wrap our heads around law, grace, and the experience of Abraham. We can study about grace, talk about grace, and even know about God’s grace, but how do you know when you really “get it”? How do you know when you begin to LIVE grace. Has grace invaded your mind so that it affects your relationships, marriage, parenting, and work life? In Galatians 3:11, Paul states that “the just shall live by faith”. That statement shows up four times in the Bible! I bet you would like to know where, right? Well, for that you will have to listen in to this week’s message. However, I will remind you that Paul only had the Old Testament at his disposal and that is where Paul quotes it from! It’s a pretty obscure and short OT book with an interesting context. Are you curious? Then listen in and see and learn more as we dig into the depths of God’s grace in this letter to the Galatians!

This week we open our Bibles to Galatians 3 and read along as Paul continues to battle against a gospel that claims blessing from God is a reward for good behavior. After giving them the reason for his letter in the first chapter, Paul has spent a good deal of ink describing his own personal experience with God’s message of grace. In chapter three, he will ask them to consider their own experience of Christianity! Do remember when God came crashing into your life! Do you remember what life was like then? Do you remember how it felt? Remember, Paul is appealing to the non-Jews who have become “spellbound” by traditional Judaism and tempted to turn to rule-keeping to try to earn God’s blessing! Have you ever had a bad day, difficult circumstance, or painful period, and during it you have wondered, “What have I done wrong? Maybe I should have prayed more, or tithed more, or served more!” Have you felt guilty like it was something you did or didn’t do that brought on adversity from God? For this and many other reasons you will want to listen in with an open heart and curious mind as we jump into this next chapter of Paul’s letter.

We continue making our way through Galatians as we learn to see Christianity clearly. The end of chapter two recounts a situation that divided the thriving church in Antioch. Paul publicly confronts Peter about being a hypocrite! Have you ever been confronted publicly? How did you feel? Talk about socially challenging and awkward! Although we will talk a little about confrontation and hypocrisy, this is not the gist or the purpose for Paul to include this information in his letter. Then what is the gist? Listen in to hear the details of Paul’s purpose and intent for this story! But for now, we get one of the great and defining verses of the New Testament in Paul’s lecture to Peter. Galatians 2:20 is worth memorizing. In that one sentence Paul lays out the Christian life apart from the law. With one swoosh of the pen, Paul reveals the way he thinks about his past and his present life and even includes the deep motives of his heart!

We now pick up where we left off in Galatians, in chapter 2 verses 1-10. As we focus in the beginning of 2020 on “seeing Christianity clearly“, we see the Apostle Paul fighting to defend the idea/truth that acceptance by God is based on a willingness to trust Him and not adherence to tradition, as important as tradition may be. Every age has its spiritual battles to fight. In our own day the church is being tragically divided over same sex marriage and homosexualtiy. In the earliest days of the church, the issue was circumcision. For us, circumcision is for most a medical or hygiene decision made at birth for boys. But for the Jew, it was a matter of acceptance by God. The big question was, “Can a person be accepted by God without submitting themselves to ritually religious circumcision” and all that it meant. Paul is willing to die on the hill of grace. For him there is no compromise on this issue. It is central to salvation itself. Listen in and see how Paul defends both the message of grace and his authority to spread it to ethnic groups other than Jews!

This is one of those passages I have been looking forward to preaching. What a pleasure to help people see what is in God’s Word! Paul spends the rest of chapter one—and all of chapter two—defending the basic message of the Bible using his personal experience with Jesus and with the apostles. Question: Do you trust the message of the Bible? Can we know that Jesus really lived and died and rose from the dead? Is the Bible just a made up story that has been changed over the years? I think it will be fun to compare the historicity of Christ with that of Muhammed. Yes, there will be a little history lesson that I think you will find encouraging and fascinating! Grab your journal, listen in, and then share this with a skeptical friend. The truth and trustworthiness of God’s Word is something we can depend on!

Given that this new year we are starting is “2020“, it is hard to avoid the visual theme. It is in that spirit that the theme for our study through Galatians will be “Seeing Christianity Clearly”. After having been with the Corinthians for about the last two years, I think you will find the “pamphlet sized” letter to the churches in the region of Galatia a welcome change of pace. The issues in the church that prompted Paul to write this letter have given the church through history a basic primer on what Christianity is, and what it is NOT! This will be Christianity 101 as we look at what really makes Christianity different from every other world religion and pseudo-christian cult. Grab your notebooks and bibles, invite a friend, and listen in as we launch into this simple and clear look at what it means to be a Christian!

Today’s message brings our 2nd Corinthians to a close by covering all of chapter 13! Paul has finished defending himself and his foolish boasting. Emotionally exhausted, he takes a breath and discusses with this church a future visit before he closes the letter. If you remember, Paul has been scrutinized and criticized by the Corinthians. But—wait a second—in verse 5 Paul uses the word “yourself” three times in an emphatic way. He tells them they should be scrutinizing themselves and taking a look at themselves! You know the old saying: “Every time you point the finger you have three pointing back at you!” You know it so much easier to criticize others than to actually look at ourselves. He asks them if they are really believers! What a question! Will they pass the test? Paul is ready to play hard ball with this Corinthian church; if they are even a church at all! He is hopeful they will take a look in the mirror and sort things out so that when he comes they can have an enjoyable visit. Listen in and see how this very personal and emotional letter concludes!

We will start off today’s continuation of our study in 2 Corinthians with a lighter view of parenting. Why? Although 2 Cor 12 is not a passage about parenting, Paul uses parenting as an analogy to discuss his relationship with the Corinthian believers. And it is ever so appropriate! They are a church of spiritual babies! Paul has been forced into foolishly boasting and now he is winding down. He continues to defend himself against their cultural view of an accomplished pastor and their cultural view of being a Christian. He discusses an upcoming visit he will make. Gulp! How will it go? What will he find when he gets there? This is where the parenting analogy comes in. You’ll have to listen in for the rest, but I will tell you that vv 14-15 have really served me well over the years. The lighter side of parenting will yield to the challenging side of ministry! As Charles Spurgeon said about ministry, “If you can do anything else and be happy, by all means do it. If you can’t, then maybe you are truly called to ministry.” Thats a quote from memory, but you get the idea! Come and see!

This week we enter chapter 12 of 2nd Corinthians covering verses 1-10. This passage is packed with both curiosity and familiarity! Curiosity? In being forced to brag a bit, Paul meets the false teachers on the field of spiritual revelation and vision! Paul had his share of visions—you can read more about this in the book of Acts. It is curious that Paul talks about himself in the third person—as if he is speaking about someone else. And he tells of a vision of Paradise that is impossible to explain! Why does he talk about himself that way? What is Heaven like? Familiarity? You have heard about Paul’s “thorn in the flesh”. You have heard the verse, “My grace is sufficient?” The mighty miracle working Paul, who has healed others, is struggling as to why he is not being healed from this “thorn”. What is the thorn? Why doesn’t God answer Paul’s prayer by taking the thorn away? Ultimately, Paul recognizes that bragging is useless and only valuable for self-promotion. He doesn’t want to manipulate people to think too highly of him. This is a fantastic passage and we’ll unpack it together! Listen in and see!

Continuing this intense section with Paul arguing against the false teachers in Corinth, this week we finish up chapter eleven, where Paul focuses on his suffering for the gospel’s sake. No one can disagree that Paul has withstood unbelievable trials and hardships for the gospel, and surely the church at Corinth could see the vast difference between the false teachers and the true devotion and love of their apostle Paul. While Paul still is frustrated at the need to argue “in the flesh” with credentials and titles, he clearly shows his passion for the churches and his dedication to the gospel, even though he knows this is not the core of who he is. Instead, he finishes in v. 30 “If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity.” He knew that the real power was evident where he was weak, and that it was God’s power, not his own that gave Paul authority in the Corinthian church. Listen in as we finish chapter 11 and see Paul’s passion for the body of Christ and specifically the people at Corinth.

As we continue this intense section of 2nd Corinthians, we open chapter eleven where Paul finds himself being forced to meet his arrogant opponents with some of his own bragging and self defense. These chapters are filled with comments about bragging and boasting, and it makes Paul very uncomfortable! Last week we discussed tearing down the stronghold of comparison—Paul refused to even try to even be in the same class with people who brag about what they have done and accomplished. Paul would rather brag about what Jesus has done. That’s humility at its finest, and it is the way out of the comparison trap. But what next? That doesn’t really help the Corinthians who are being deceived by the lofty claims and loud mouth self promotion of the false teachers. People are being sucked in by their claims and trusting them as they run down the Apostle Paul in his absence. So Paul has to tear down the stronghold of convincing lies—and those that tell them! Information is powerful, but only when it is received and believed and trusted. We are all aware of the power of fake news. Whatever you believe, even a lie, becomes true for you. It becomes the integrated information by which you live. What you say really doesn’t matter, it is what you believe in the depths of your heart that matters. Oh yes, they can be different things! The eyes of the heart are what really drives your life. What if you have believed a smoothly crafted lie? Just ask Eve! Watch as Paul urges the Corinthians to look behind the veil! Behind these smooth talking, self promoting, Jewish-law-keeping teachers is an institution for whom they work and an agenda they are promoting. Who is their boss? What is the agenda? What and who do they want you to trust? Listen in as we look for answers to these questions in this powerful response by Paul to the false teachers.

Personally, I believe that God’s people should be the wisest on planet earth! “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). Yet, in some ways Christians can be the most susceptible to being taken advantage of! Why is that? Christians who have the wrong perspective are easily led astray to their own destruction. Those who are enamored with the miraculous, focused on appearances, and believe someone is legit just because they carry a Bible and say they speak for Jesus, are ripe for the picking! There is one (Satan) who is very crafty and very skilled in the art of deception. He has workers that infiltrate the world and even the church. Just like Satan, they are interested in wreaking havoc, causing division, and destroying ALL people as well as God’s plan. In fact, the whole world system is under his control! To live successfully, and to not be taken advantage of, you need to know what to look for. In this next section, we will look at some real practical aspects of identifying spiritual phonies who should be avoided. They look “oh so good”, but they are “oh so dangerous!”

How many times have you been confronted with arguments like “The Bible is full of contradictions.” Or how about “God is just a myth created by man to explain the world.” With the growth of social media and the global internet, you can watch someone make a very convincing argument for the flatness of the earth or the fact that the lunar landing was a hoax! Some people are just really good at making a convincing argument—but does that mean they are right? The next three chapters in our 2nd Corinthians study, chapters 10-13, form a very interesting section. Paul deals with people who are really convincing debaters! Bible scholars have spent much time trying to figure out exactly how this section fits in with the rest of this letter. For one, it has a much different tone and direction than the rest of 2 Corinthians. In these chapters we will see Paul battling to defend his apostleship against a faction in Corinth that are stealing people’s minds and leading them away from Christ! That is why Paul enters the fray. We will step into the introduction to this section, set the backdrop, and discuss the war that is raging in Corinth. What kind of war is it? Who is Paul fighting against? How is it being fought? What is at stake? Is it worth fighting? These are all good questions we will try to answer as we step into 2 Corinthians 10 and learn some important lessons about “spiritual warfare!”

As we cover 2nd Corinthians chapter 9 today, we finish the discussion of Paul’s relief offering for the hurting Jerusalem church. That means one final week talking about generosity. We have a generous God and it is really impossible to appreciate His grace to us and to not express generosity to others. Paul is going overboard to make sure he doesn’t flex his pastoral muscles by using guilt or manipulation to coerce the Corinthians to give. I appreciate that, and I bet you do too! In chapter nine, we get two really important principles regarding generosity. Instead of obligated obedience, Paul gives them a spiritual principle—the principle of reaping and sowing. Once they know how things work, they can decide what to do with it. Knowledge is power! One final cool thing—God is not interested in us merely doing the right thing, or faking it until we make it. How will Paul and the Corinthians know if their generosity has the right motive? Their emotional state as they give will tell the truth. The right activity with the right motive produces the right feeling! How about that! This is a really cool chapter with some important truths you can live by!

If you have been around the church scene for any length of time, I would imagine you have experienced “pressured giving”. Have you? Have you, or someone you know, been turned off because the church is “just after our money?” I am so thankful that I don’t have to present to you a “law and rules” based generosity. In other words, it might sound like, “Be generous…or else!” “Or else what,” you ask? Or else…you are disobedient, a bad Christian, God won’t bless you, and so on. That’s what you might have heard! But, Law came through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ! So how do grace and truth work together to create generosity? In the next part of 2nd Corinthians chapter 8, Paul addresses two things that have really turned people off regarding the topic of church and money. The first is “pressure to give”. For that, Paul responds with love and freedom. As we move into chapter 9, Paul gives an important truth principle that applies as well. The second thing Paul addresses is the abuse of what is given. Be it the Vatican’s net worth of $10-15 billion, or the lavish lifestyles of some of TV’s most well known televangelists, we all scratch our heads and wonder how they get away with it. In fact, it was Jesus who had a real issue with people getting ripped off at the temple, when God’s house became a den of thieves! To that, Paul responds with accountability, and lots of it. If you ever hear a pastor say something like, “Well, I am only accountable to God and he knows my heart,” then run! Paul trips over himself to make sure he has a team handling the money and he doesn’t even need to be on it. He keeps a safe distance from temptation and from accusation. Beyond these applicable truths, this whole passage has love as its bookends–a whole new motivator for generosity. Listen in as we cover these important truths about giving.

Have you ever made a financial decision you looked back on regretfully? Sure you have! I think we all have! When it comes to financial management how we handle money can be emotional. It can be driven by sin, identity issues, discontentment, and fear. In 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, Paul uses the discussion of Titus’ visit to switch gears. He begins to discuss the giving of a relief offering he is gathering to take to the struggling church in Jerusalem. They said they would help, and now it is time to dig deep and make it happen. Will they own up to their financial commitment? No matter how bad off you are, there is always someone worse off you can help. As we discuss the passage, I’ll provide a little more about the history and financial condition of Corinth and of Jerusalem; but for now, you might want to know that chapters 8 and 9 give some of the most thorough discussion of New Testament generosity. Although the situation is specific the truths are eternal. It’s sad that the discussion of being generous with our material goods and having compassion is one that makes people cringe. But I get it! Churches have beat people up about giving for building programs, and have guilted people into pledging for projects and so on. Therefore, I think we need to have a Biblical view and foundation for managing our financial lives. This is part of being a new creation. Let’s not throw out the baby with the bathwater! This message will largely deal with the overall theme of JOY! You might ask: what’s the connection between joy and generosity? Are poorer people really more generous? Why? It turns out, one of those financial decisions you might regret is failing to be generous with your resources and talents! Stay tuned as we cover these topics over the next few chapters and hopefully get many of your questions answered!

A few years back Helga and I had an interesting experience on one of our Florida trips! Cruising along, mile after mile, we had to take an exit for a different road near Ocala. The problem was that we weren’t really paying attention, so we took the exit that seemed right without thinking about it and spent about an hour going the wrong direction! We began to feel a little funny inside—like something was wrong but signage was minimal and we just weren’t sure—but then we saw it! A sign for a city that was NORTH and we were supposed to be going SOUTH! Our hearts sank as we realized we added two full hours to our 16 hour trip! I was sick over it. But what could we do? We had to turn around and start going in the right direction. It may have taken us longer, but at least we got there! If 1 Corinthians 15 is the Resurrection Chapter, and 1 Corinthians 13 is the Love Chapter, then 2 Corinthians 7 is the Repentance Chapter. I think the word repentance is the most beautiful word we never use in church! John the Baptist used it, and Jesus used it. It signifies a change of mind and direction—like our car ride. In 2 Corinthians 7, Paul commends the church for their repentance! He had to write a tough letter but was glad when he heard they actually listened and responded. Wow! Today, most people get offended or put a wall up or get vicious if you even suggest they are doing something sinful. But what an example this Corinthian church gives us. Some wonderfully spiritual times in my life have come when I recognized I was going the wrong way and was humble enough to admit it and courageous enough to turn around and go a different way!

As me move into 2nd Corinthians chapter 6, we find ourselves in a short chapter that we will cover in one message, but as usual, this chapter includes some real gems of wisdom for us. Paul, desperate to see the Corinthian people’s lives changed by God’s message, is still battling against those that are negative toward him. He pleads with them not to reject him, and therefore not to reject his message of reconciliation! Like a parent desperate for relationship with a rebellious, hard-headed child, Paul begs them to open their hearts to him. The issue is not that they are just non-relational, rather that they are entering into close fellowship with the wrong people! Have you ever heard the saying, “Don’t be unequally yoked?” That statement comes from both Deuteronomy 22 and right here in 2 Corinthians 6. Layering five examples on top of each other, Paul makes a case for the Corinthians to think long and hard about their close partnerships! This is no yoking matter, or is it? Listen in as we cover this short but important chapter about who we are aligning ourselves with in close partnership and fellowship.

Have you ever heard the expression, “Can a leopard change its spots?” Did you know that comes from the book of Jeremiah chapter 13? Basically, the idea is that a leopard has spotted skin and that is what identifies it as a leopard. No matter how hard the leopard tries, it is stuck with spotty skin! The idiom means that people generally don’t change. I would imagine you can think of a time where someone you knew seemed to really have changed, only to revert back to the old ways, dashing hopes and leaving everyone in their lives disappointed and discouraged. Change doesn’t come easily. Now, enter the Apostle Paul, and the living God: Paul makes an earth shattering statement in 2 Corinthians 5. “If anyone is in Christ he is a new creature!” What? Did you get that? A leopard may not be able to change its spots, but if it dies it can become something new; maybe a tiger, or elephant—that doesn’t have spots! No, this is not some reincarnation thing; the leopard is just an example. Elephants have different looks and behaviors than leopards. If the leopard can become an elephant his life changes—and no more spots! The offer on the table from God is this: you can try as hard as you like to change your character. You can huff and puff and try to blow the old ways away, but it just doesn’t work. God offers you a new life and more importantly a new identity!! The only way to change a life is to have a change in identity. One thing we can say about the transgender community is that they understand the power of identity, and who a person believes they are changes everything! Gender transformation is radical and their lives are different. But the identity we get is from a miraculous new birth and changed heart. I am not comfortable in the old spotted skin of my “leopard days” because I am no longer that creature! Ask the butterfly how it works to eat leaves. No can do! Don’t miss this super-duper important section on identity. Learn about new values and motives and even a new purpose! If you know someone who is struggling with their life call them up and share a link with them; ask them to listen in to this powerful set of truths from 2 Corinthians chapter 5!

If you have been around CCF for any length of time, you know that I often engage people in conversation by asking, “What do you think happens when you die?” Now most people will want to talk about almost anything else—largely because people spend most of their waking hours trying not to think about their inevitable death. Some are simply trying put the whole thing off as long as possible with the latest “life extension” plan or even having their bodies frozen! (It’s called “cryonics”.) Interestingly, although more people are religiously unaffiliated or atheists, the belief in an afterlife has increased! With no chapter break in the original letter, Paul has just given us the key to his unconquerable spirit! No depression would linger and no temptation to give up on life or ministry would take root. Why not? Because he had determined to make eternal things his focus, and not temporary things. It turns out that this is the strategy of every courageous Christian! There is a whole list of such people in Hebrews chapter 11! This thought continues in chapter five as Paul gives us some of the most tremendous insight into “life after death”. Not only does Paul give us a great illustration to help our imagination, but he also clearly demonstrates why he is so unafraid to die! In fact, he rather welcomes the prospect! Following the challenging reality of his life in ministry—cast down, persecuted, perplexed, hard pressed—he is quite aware that his body had a lot of mileage on it and could likely be destroyed as a result of opposition to his ministry. What do you think happens when you die? What is your source of information that drives your belief system? How certain are you? Come and see the three things Paul knows, and how they affected his thoughts about the future and the way he lived!

After making a start into chapter 4 last week, we will finish the chapter this week. Twice in this chapter, Paul has said, “Therefore…we do not lose heart.” We will look at the second occurrence the week (verse 16), and how it relates to our own way of thinking and where our focus is. I think you will discover why chapter 4 has encouraged and strengthened so many people for so many years. Sure, it is easy to be encouraged and strong when things are going well. But when you are being bombarded you need a mental framework that keeps you from giving up and becoming hopeless. Do you have one? Paul did! Even though our culture tells us that money and success and technology and material goods will give us the life we always wanted, we all know that is not true. If it were, then Robin Williams would not have ended his addiction-riddled life in suicide! So why do people keep making the same choices to order their lives around the acquisition and enjoyment of temporary things, hoping it will fulfill? Of course it is not wrong to have things, but to live for them? That’s another story! People that live for temporary pleasures become “temporary-minded”. The existence is superficial, fickle, and unstable because the life is built on shifting sand. But “eternal life” is not a statement of length, but a statement about a certain “quality” of life. People that live for eternal things become “eternally minded”. The first try to find life in the temporary and lose it altogether, because it is based in the temporary. This group easily becomes discouraged by the pains and pressures of that life. How do you know what kind of life you are living? How do you know the difference between the temporary and the eternal? How was Paul able to avoid giving up or becoming discouraged? Listen in as we plunge into the rest of chapter four and see how each of these questions are handled by Pau through the work of the Holy Spirit in this next section.

After a three week break, we are back in 2 Corinthians tomorrow, picking up in chapter 4, verses 1-6. We are getting into some real “meaty” stuff here in the next two chapters! I don’t want your brain to overheat, so I will keep this simple and brief. Paul talks twice in the next section about “not losing heart” — 4:1 and 4:16. Evidently, this is really on his mind! It is easy to think that Paul is just a ministry machine or robot. He just goes and goes and never struggles with being discouraged. Did Paul ever feel like giving up on life or ministry? Did he ever feel like packing it in? Wouldn’t you like to know what kept him going? With such opposition, difficulty, and pain, why didn’t he just give up? Have you ever felt like the passion for life has just gone? You have no more wind in your sails, nor passion in your heart? Then I assure you that this next section may give some really crucial Biblical advice. Paul was not a machine, but he knew how to look at his life. He knew how to think correctly about things. This is why chapter 4 begins with “Therefore…we do not lose heart.” There is a “therefore” that gives us the reason. What is the reason? How can you find passion and purpose for life? Listen in as Pastor Steve shares these important truths over the next few chapters of 2 Corinthians.

As we continue in 2nd Corinthians chapter 3, and continue to be exposed to important truths we need to remember an important foundational fact about what we learn each week from God’s word. The Bible was authored by the creator of the universe and the creator of mankind. He just knows how things work because He designed things to work a certain way! For instance, “God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble”. This is a consistent and trustworthy principle! Another well-known and clearly understandable truth is: “You reap what you sow.” This passage in chapter three presents an absolutely phenomenal truth that I believe most Christians ignore completely. In fact, even our biology shows the reality of this principle, and neuroscientists are very excited about what they are discovering in this realm! Friends of Calvary Chapel Fluvanna, our Christian lives are about so much more than a set of moral rules to memorize and observe. Rule-based living and church culture is far inferior to life in the Spirit that brings real change. How does that change happen? What is the principle? Why do some people come to church and see no real change and others see radical transformation of their lives? Listen in as we understand this principle from the apostle Paul as he shares it with the Corinthian church.

It was the apostle Paul who said to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 4: "For you can have 10,000 instructors in Christ, but you can’t have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel." Paul had sacrificed and labored so they could be saved. And now, in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, they are demanding appropriate letters of reference from Paul. “How do we know we can trust you? Who is endorsing your ministry?” Unbelievable! They are forcing him into a place he does not want to go, so he treads carefully as he edges on boasting about his ministry. He is careful to get the attention off of the pastor (himself) and onto Christ. Sometime the church can be guilty of the same thing today. Have you ever been at a church when they were searching for a new pastor? Have you been on a “search committee”? What were you/they looking for? The best seminary? A master’s in divinity? A graduate of church growth seminars? A PhD? What good is any of that unless the pastor is clearly a Spirit-filled man? All the education and training in the world cannot produce something spiritual. Only the Spirit of God can do that! In chapter three, Paul addresses these topics. We can get so caught up trying to "sell ourselves" and what we can do and our abilities. If you have ever padded a resume or lied on a letter of recommendation to make yourself look better, you will appreciate the next section of 2 Corinthians! And pastors are some of the chief offenders. Oh, the need for the power of the Spirit and not the wisdom of man!