Central Community Church | Sermon Audio

Acts 1:6-11 The Ascension of Jesus often seems more like a piece of trivia than a cause for celebration, but as we look into what the Bible teaches us, we see that the Ascension is not only necessary but wonderful! The ascension shows us that Jesus sits on the throne of heaven, he rules over this world, and we have the privilege of being his heralds.

John 15:5 shows us how true fruitfulness and joy don’t come from our own effort or strength, but from staying connected to Christ, who is the true vine. Jesus invites us to stop trying to make it through life on our own and instead rest in His presence, and in the finished work of the cross.

Acts 1:1 - 11 What was it that caused the early church to grow so quickly? How can we learn from them in order to be witnesses to our own generation of God's great love!

Acts 2:6-11 We get Christmas: Jesus came to save us. We get Good Friday: Jesus died in our place to pay the penalty for our sins. We get Easter: Jesus defeated death when He rose from the grave. We even get Pentecost: Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to empower His people for the mission He entrusted us with. But the ascension? We, like the disciples standing there staring into the sky, wonder if Jesus ascending was the best plan. This sermon explores how the ascension is the glorious application of the finished work of Jesus.

Acts 4:31-37 The picture of the early church gives us a beautiful view of how the church works together for good. Through the preaching of the gospel, we see the powerful impact that the grace of God makes on our church and those around us. As we imitate God’s grace, we are freed to be generous to those around us.

Acts 4:32-37 Jesus radically changes the affections of believers, including shifting our approach to our finances toward gospel-oriented, Spirit-filled generosity.

2 Corinthians 9:7 Many churches and Christians around the world govern their giving around the principle of tithing. However, the commands to tithe are found in the Old Testament. Should Christians living under the new covenant still govern their giving through tithing today?

Psalm 23:1-6 In a world marked by rejection, anxiety, loneliness, and the ache of not belonging, Psalm 23 offers a timeless reminder: we are not alone, We belong — to the Shepherd.

Ephesians 5:1-14 If you could sum up the entire purpose of the Christian life into four words, what would they be? While our answers may vary, Paul submits, in the first half of Ephesians 5, that those four words should be this: “Imitate God, reflect Jesus.”

Ephesians 5:1-14 God's challenge to us today exceeds all others in scripture as we're called to imitate God. But how can we do that? Is this the impossible challenge?

Ephesians 5:1-14 As Paul continues instructing the Ephesians how they should live in light of the Gospel, he now focuses on their Christian walk. Because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, his followers have the incredible privilege of becoming children of God. In light of our new identity, Paul calls us to walk in Christ’s love and light.

Ephesians 5:1-14 As recipients of the love and light of Jesus we are called to exhibit the love and light of Jesus in our lives, towards each other, and to the world around us.

Ephesians 4:17-32 The gospel doesn’t make superficial changes to our lives but remakes every part of who we are. We should no longer act like we did before because in Jesus we are made new. As Christians we are called to live out that transformation in practical ways in all areas of life.

Ephesians 4:17–32 The Apostle Paul challenges believers to leave behind the old way of life—one that is shaped by confusion, deceitful desires, and broken relationships. Paul then calls us to be renewed in our minds and to put on the new self, created to reflect the image of Christ. This morning we will unpack what it means to live a life that is transformed, not by trying harder, but by walking in step with the Spirit. It's a call to bury the old and embrace the new, which is a life marked by the truth, grace, and holiness that Jesus has made available to us through his death and resurrection.

Ephesians 4:17-32 The phrase “clothes make the man” suggests that a person’s attire influences how they are perceived. Believers are clothed in a new identity in Christ at the time of conversion. The call the Apostle Paul gives in this text is for our actions to match the uniform.

Ephesians 4:11-16 God has empowered each Christian to build up the church in unity and maturity. While God has given each of us different gifts, we have the same goal of seeing the church built up to be more like Christ. Let us use our gifts well so that the glory of Christ is seen in our church.

Ephesians 4:11-16 Have you ever witnessed an adult act in a very immature way? While such behavior is tolerable for a child, the expectation is that as one grows older they grow both physically and in maturity. The same goes for our faith. Jesus desires believers to grow in their faith and become mature Christians, which happens when Christians use their God-given gifts in the context of the local church body

Ephesians 4:11-16 Paul emphasizes that Christ has provided everything we need to grow our faith: we have been equipped for ministry, called to maturity, and designed to be built up in love. Our role is to use what we’ve been given to serve and care for those around us, actively contributing to the growth of the Body of Christ. As we do this, our faith naturally matures, and the church builds itself up in love.

Ephesians 4:11-16 Christ did not simply save His people, as unfathomably amazing as that is. He also sent them as gifts to the church to help the church grow into the image of Christ and bring about the stability that comes with a deep unwavering understanding of who Christ is and what he has accomplished.

Ephesians 4:1-10 One of Jesus’ last prayers before his death was that God the Father would make his disciples “one”. Why was the unity of his followers so important to Jesus? In Ephesians 4:1-10, the Apostle Paul exhorts all believers to live out this oneness, teaching us that it is grounded in the victory of Jesus over sin, death, and Satan. To live out this oneness means we must deny ourselves - but it is worth it because our oneness builds up believers, convinces unbelievers of the truth of the Gospel, and ultimately glorifies God.

Ephesians 4:1 - 10 While a prisoner in Rome, the Apostle Paul writes the letter to the church in Ephesus. He calls them to walk and to live in a manner worthy of Christ. The church is called to maintain the unity of the Spirit by recognizing the eternal truths of God.

Ephesians 4:1-10 As we continue our series in Ephesians, we explore the profound unity that Christ has secured for His church, contrasting it with the disunity we see in the world. We examine how worldly unity is often shallow and self-serving, while the unity of the Gospel is sacrificial in nature, and rooted in Christ’s work on the cross. Through humility, gentleness, patience, and love, we are called to embody and live out this unity reflecting the power of the Gospel and the reconciliation it brings.

Ephesians 4:1-10 While a prisoner in Rome, the Apostle Paul writes the letter to the church in Ephesus. He calls them to walk and to live in a manner worthy of Christ. The church is called to maintain the unity of the Spirit by recognizing the eternal truths of God.

Romans 6:3-5 The death and resurrection of Jesus is the most significant thing that has ever happened on earth. We cannot remain neutral to what has happened, and the good news is that Jesus invites us to come to him for the forgiveness of our sins and our new life in him. If we are united in his death, we will be united in his life.

Romans 6:3-5 Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, signifying His victory over sin and death. It marks the end of Lent and the beginning of a new season of hope and joy. This sermon will explore what it means to be fully untied with Christ in His death and in His resurrection and practically looks like in our lives

Romans 6:3-5 Christ’s death and resurrection are the two most important events in human history, for it is only through them that we can experience resurrection life now and for eternity.

Romans 6:3-5 This Easter we apply the Apostle Paul’s words from Romans 6 that tell us that if we have been baptized into the death of Christ, we most certainly are included in the resurrection of Christ. Because He is risen, we can be confident that we are risen!

Romans 6:6-8 On Good Friday we reflect on the crucifixion of Jesus. Romans 6:6 says that the old self is crucified with him. Who is the old self and what does it mean to crucify him?

Romans 6:6-8 Sin is an insidious, destructive evil that enslaves people. Worse yet, slavery to sin inevitably leads to death. However, there is a way to find freedom from sin. As we die to ourselves and die with Christ, we are able to find freedom and life. All of this is only possible because of Christ’s death on the cross.

Romans 6:6-8 This Good Friday we apply the Apostle Paul’s words from Romans 6 that tell us that the crucifixion of Jesus also crucified every believer’s slavery to sin.

2 Thessalonians 3:6-12 We are among the most comfortable people in all of human history. And so it is no surprise that laziness is an easy vice to fall into. But instead of rebounding into a workaholic lifestyle, the Bible calls us to rightly understand the place of both work and rest. True rest is found in Jesus, trusting God’s provision, and we work diligently to honour God.

2 Thessalonians 3:6-12 God worked, then rested ... and created us to do the same – fully engaging in His purposes on earth. When we disobediently and selfishly disengage from His purposes ... when we abandon kingdom work ... we cease to love, to worship, and to point people to the work of Christ – His saving grace.

2 Thessalonians 3:6-12 The Bible clearly teaches that genuine believers commit themselves to cultivating their ongoing relationship with Christ through daily diligence and work. This is how we demonstrate our love for the Father and walk in his love for us. Sloth is the vice of avoiding this demand of love either in laziness, apathy, or busyness. In Christ, we have forgiveness for our slothful hearts and we can walk in his ways in order to live a life of true meaning, purpose, and joy.

2 Thessalonians 3:6-12 Sloth may be one of the most misunderstood of the seven Capital Vices because typically, we think about sloth as simple laziness. However, with sloth there is more than what meets the eye because beyond laziness, sloth is more a condition of our hearts than of our hands. It numbs our hearts to the beauty of God and resists our created purpose to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever.

James 3:13-17 Envy is the relentless desire, not simply to have more, but to deprive others. While greed seeks the objects, envy wants what others have. In this way, envy is far more destructive both to ourselves and to those around us. The gospel calls us to be thankful in all that we have, so that we might show the charity of Jesus to those around us.

James 3:13-16 Envy is an inward heart sin that inevitably has destructive, outward effects. Because of this, it’s imperative that we repent and look to Christ to shape us in His loving ways.

James 3:13-16 Envy is an inward heart sin that inevitably has destructive, outward effects. Because of this, it’s imperative that we repent and look to Christ to shape us in His loving ways.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Envy is similar to jealousy, covetousness, and greed, but has the person in the crosshairs not the thing they possess. It is a sickness of the heart that finds it hard to love God and neighbour because it is so consumed with the gifts and possessions that others have. The remedy is found in the gospel and allows us to think, act, and speak with love and rejoice in the well-being of others.

Philippians 3:19-20 God not only made food good but gave us taste buds as well so it would be enjoyed! But the vice of gluttony takes the good gift and twists it into a self-indulgent appetite that dictates your life. Temperance, on the other hand, is the virtue that rightly orders the pleasure of eating and drinking so that we can treat it as the gift and sign it is not as an end in itself.

Philippians 3:18-21 A large part of our lives is spent on food but if we let it, food can become an idol we worship. God gave us food as a gift, but when our focus leaves the giver we have a problem. Our physical hunger should point us to the true spiritual hunger in Jesus that brings eternal satisfaction.

Philippians 3:17-21 Among other pleasurable things created and given by God as good gifts to His creation, food is particularly delightful, delicious – and dangerous. Food is necessary for our survival and thriving. We depend on it. But the indulgence of excess food becomes an idol that replaces the One we ultimately need to depend on – our loving Creator and His Son, Jesus Christ – spiritual food and drink who alone truly satisfies and gives eternal life.

Philippians 3:19-21 Paul contrasts the vice of gluttony with the virtue of temperance, showing that self-control is not about restraint or denial, but about redirecting our desires toward Christ. Scripture teaches that God designed us to hunger. Not for excess, but for Him. True satisfaction is never found in overindulgence but in Jesus, the only one who can truly fulfill our deepest needs.

Colossians 3:8-13 What do we love enough to be angry about? Anger is an emotional response to something we love being threatened. In our sin, the things we love are often focused on ourselves and we can be swept away in the emotion. But the forgiveness of Jesus changes what we love most and in His grace we can be patient trusting that God is in control.

Colossians 3:8-13 Anger is a destructive sin that damages our relationships with others and with God. Jesus came not only to show us the better way of patient love, but to take upon himself the weight of our sinful anger as well as the wrath of God which we rightly deserved.

Colossians 3:1-5, 8-13 One of the most insidious vices, that we easily fall into is that of anger or wrath. Often disguised in pseudo-righteousness, anger quickly morphs into wrath and a litany of other manifestations as human nature takes over, and we seek justice on our own terms. In Colossians, Paul reminds his audience that we are new a new creation because of the Gospel, that believers are “in Christ” and as such are called to put off worldly practices and put on the virtue of godliness. Patience, the willingness to suffer long even in the face of provocation, is both a fruit of faithfulness and the antidote to wrath.