The Backpack

In this week's sermon, Pastor Blake continues our summer Psalms series On Repeat by examining Psalm 2 - how we often rage for control in our lives, and how true peace can only be found by giving up that struggle and taking refuge in the rule of the King.

As we kick off a new summer series in the first book of Psalms called On Repeat, Pastor Blake examines Psalm 1 - what it looks like to be deeply rooted in God's word, how his truth nourishes us, and why finding joy comes from living his way rather than pursuing our own ideas and ideals.

"Salvation is free, but discipleship will cost you your life. The Jesus who saves you is the same Jesus standing outside the gate saying, 'Come and follow me.'"This Sunday, Pastor Kenny delivered a powerful message from Hebrews 13, "Go Outside the Gate." Using the story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who left the safety of America to return to Nazi Germany, he challenged believers to stop counting the cost of following Jesus while ignoring the cost of staying comfortable. True discipleship isn't just a moment, it's a full-body movement of the head, hands, and heart. Join. Go. Make. It's not a slogan. It's an invitation.

"If we don't go, how are they supposed to know we love them?"Alex, a cattle vet in Kentucky, lives out his faith one farm visit at a time, building genuine relationships with clients, listening to sermons on long drives, and showing up with joy. He's about to head to New Mexico to serve the Zuni tribe with Christian Veterinary Mission, an org that has sent 836 people on mission trips across 30 countries in just the past year. His message? You don't need a task list to go on mission, you just need to show up.

"God faithfully strengthens the victorious local church by sending them to the global one."In the final chapter of 1 Corinthians, Pastor Blake reminds us that God's plan to strengthen the local church runs straight through the global one. After 15 chapters addressing division, conflict, and messy church life, Paul doesn't tell the Corinthians to keep their heads down, he sends them out.Three ways we exercise our "sending muscles": give financially, go physically, and send relationally. When we do, everyone's spirit gets refreshed, even across thousands of miles.

"We are not going to be someone's hero. We are there to show them who our hero is."- John WeinoldJohn recently was part of a team that went to Eastern Kentucky to serve with God's Appalachian project, a partner of ours who ministers in the eastern part of this state. John reflects on why he said yes to this opportunity in a busy season of life, what the Lord taught him through the experience and how it's going to change his life moving forward.

This week we continue on in our series called We Are His.We're studying First Corinthians, and this week we find ourselves in chapter fourteen. Pastor Blake takes a look at this chapter and examines the gift of tongues. What does it mean to speak in tongues and what does it look like if we're going to use our spiritual gifts to build one another up in love?

Jesus gives you complete victory  - victory spiritually, emotionally, physically, and even over death." This week we continue on in our series called "We Are His." We're studying First Corinthians and this week Pastor Blake looks at the second half of chapter 15 as we consider what it looks like to live victorious light of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are his champions and we look at how we live that out in this week's message.

The world is a lot smaller the more you say yes to going."- Megan Mattingly So often during our Sunday worship, we feature people telling stories of how they came to know Jesus and what it's looked like as they followed him day by day. This week we got to hear from our recently returned Greece mission team. They were in Greece serving missionaries who had gathered for a conference and retreat. And this Sunday, Kenny Mattingly, Megan Mattingly, Aaron Seton, Sophie Seton and Mel Vote talked about what that trip was like, what they learned, and how they saw the Lord moving in the missionaries lives and in their lives as well.

"The gospel invites you to hold on to the only hope that's actually holding on to you."We celebrated Easter weekend at Christ Community, and we're thankful for the many who came out and joined us as we continued on in first Corinthians looking at chapter 15 and Paul's discussion of why the resurrection is so vital. Pastor Blake encouraged us to believe the gospel and to take steps to make sure that we were not believing in vain.

" Keep pushing, but let God lead, gonna open the doors that are right."This week DJ had the opportunity to sit down with Kolt Bitzer. Kolt was baptized last year at Christ's community, and he sat down to talk about what it was like growing up, believing in God, but not being serious about pursuing a relationship with Jesus Christ and how it's changed now that he's moved away from excuses and towards seeing opportunities to follow the Lord in everyday life.

This week we continue on in our series called We Are His A study of First Corinthians.Pastor Blake opens up chapter 13 of First Corinthians, and we look at how exercising our spiritual gifts in the church means nothing if those gifts are not. Exercised in love. So, let's listen in as he explains why in this week's message.

This week we got to hear from Christ's community member Dave Sullivan. Dave has been a part of Sparrow mission and their work in Honduras, and recently Sparrow started doing work in Thailand.So, Dave shared with us about his recent trip to Thailand and the opportunities to join Jesus in working there. So, let's listen in as he tells his story.

This week we continue in our study of First Corinthians called "We Are His."We're in chapter 12 this week. Pastor Blake opens up the text and explores the idea of spiritual gifts and how God gives them to his people to strengthen the church for the work that he's given to it. So, let's listen in as he explains more in this week's message.

 So often during our regular worship gatherings, we feature people from the congregation telling their story of faith in Jesus and what he's currently doing in their lives today. This week we get to hear from Selina Goodlett. Selina is one of our students, and student pastor Kenny Mattingly sat down with her to hear what God's been doing in her life and how she's thinking through God's calling towards missions.So, let's listen in as Kenny sits down with Selina and we get to hear her story.

 This week we continue on in our series, "We Are His," a study of first Corinthians.We're in chapter 11 this week, and we look at how taking the Lord's Supper shows that we are his together, and we see how this act reminds us why we gather together as the church in the first place.

 This week as we continue on in our series, in first Corinthians entitled "We Are His," Pastor Blake,opens up the first half of chapter 11, and we look at how the controversy in Corinth surrounding women and head coverings actually has something to teach us about submission in a world that completely rejects it.

 This week we continue on in our study of first Corinthians called "We are His."We're in chapter nine this week and Pastor Blake opens up the text to look at our role as God's messengers and how that causes us to focus on the message we carry and the Lord who has called us to carry it. So, let's listen in as he brings us this week's message.

This Sunday we continued on in our study of First Corinthians entitled "We Are His." Pastor Blake opened up chapter 10. We looked through Paul's admonition to do everything we do to the glory of God and consider how his instruction to the Corinthians to imitate him as he imitates Christ lays down a pattern for us as we engage in discipleship today.

This week we got to hear from Christ community member Ashley Murphy. Ashley went. Through a traumatic car wreck back in the fall, and we have seen God's grace to her in extraordinary ways in preserving her life and healing her in her recovery. So she sat down with friend and pastor Elder Jeff Bracken to talk about that experience and how God's interruption in her life has given her opportunity to share about his goodness with those that he puts in her path.

Jennifer Seaton serves on our worship team at Christ Community, but recently she's also stepped into student ministry, helping build a worship culture among the next generation. DJ sat down with her on Sunday and asked what she's seen the Lord doing as she invests in students through music, and what He's been teaching her along the way.Take a few minutes to listen as Jennifer shares her story.

 This week we continue onward in our study of First Corinthians entitled We Are His.Pastor Blake opens up one Corinthians chapter eight as we look at our responsibility as believers to lay aside our rights, live for others and be ambassadors for Christ in the process. So let's listen in as he unpacks how we do that in this week's message.

 This week we continue on in our series. "We are His," a study of First Corinthians.Pastor Blake opens up, first Corinthians chapter seven, and we look at several dynamics in marriage and how our marriages should reflect and glorify God.

 This week we got to hear from some of our Edge student leaders as youth Pastor Kenny Mattingly sat down with them to talk about their recent experience at the Conclave Conference and what the Lord has continued to teach them as they volunteer and lead our students week by week.So let's listen in as Kenny sits down with TJ Vote, Lauren Sturgill and Jason Midkiff to talk about that experience.

This past Sunday we continued on in our series "We Are His," a study of First Corinthians. DJ had the opportunity to bring the message this past Sunday, opening up first Corinthians six verses 12 through 20. We looked at the dangers of letting slogans drive our theology and our living, and how that practice got the Corinthians into a dangerous place with sexual immorality. What's the pathway out?

This week DJ got to sit down with Melissa Chesterfield and Melissa Midkiff. They both volunteer as leaders with FCA in Shelby County schools, and they talked about why they said yes to that opportunity, how they've seen students' lives change through FCA and what the Lord is teaching them as they continue to step out in serving others.So, let's listen in as Melissa and Melissa get to share their story.

This week DJ got the chance to sit down with Christ community member Billy Doolittle, as he unpacked how the Lord changed the trajectory of his life through encounters with his word. With his people and with uncomfortable circumstances that pushed him towards Jesus.

This week we continue on in our study of First Corinthians and entitled We Are His. We begin chapter six this week and Pastor Blake unpacks the first half of the chapter looking at the reality that we are his righteousness, and we look at how that reality should shape the way that we view slights and offenses from those around us in the church as we strive together in holiness.

This week we return to our series in one Corinthians entitled "We Are His." Pastor Blake Opens up one Corinthians chapter five and looks at the painful reality of discipline within the local church, but why it ultimately is restorative and a path towards forgiveness.

Pastor Elder Jeff Bracken examines a couple of accounts in the Gospel of Luke and looks at the reality that when Jesus saves us, he not only saves us from our sin and desperation, but he saves us to something.

This week in our 2025 Christmas message, pastor Blake opens up First John chapter four.We look at how the fact that God sent love into the world through Jesus Christ changes the way that we love those around us.

This week we continued our sermon series titled "God Sent." Pastor Blake opens up Isaiah 9 and looks at the promise that God is sending Joy into the world to cut through our darkness and give us hope as we walk through this life with His Son, Jesus Christ.

Yesterday's story featured Daniel Bright and Derek Page sharing from their recent vision trip to Chile. Their message reminded us that the global church is alive, vibrant, and hungry to partner in the gospel.They described small congregations with enormous faith, pastors serving tirelessly, worship that shakes the room, and believers who are passionate about reaching their communities for Christ.Their trip wasn't about “helping” it was about linking arms with brothers and sisters who are already faithfully living out the Great Commission.We were challenged to pray, to encourage our missionaries, and to be willing to say yes if God calls us to go.

This sermon kicks off the series God Sent, reminding us that true hope always arrives through a spoken word from God, not things or circumstances. Even when we feel stuck in a personal wilderness or captivity of our own making, God lovingly sends voices, forgiveness, comfort, and ultimately His Son to uncover His glory in our lives. This message calls us to gain, grab, and give access to God's Word, embrace the wilderness, and walk with Jesus on the path to freedom and real hope this Christmas season

This week's message from 1 Corinthians 4 challenged us to rethink what it means to live faithfully for Jesus in a world that sees the gospel as “foolishness.” Pastor Blake walked us through Paul's reminder that we are servants of Christ and managers of the mysteries of God, called not to justify ourselves, but to rest in God's justice and grace.

This week, Pastor Blake challenged us with Paul's words to the Corinthians: “I couldn't speak to you as spiritual people, but as infants in Christ.”In a world that prizes independence and self-definition, God calls us to something deeper; spiritual maturity. We're not meant to stay spiritual babies. We're meant to grow together, as His temple, built on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ.The message reminds us that growth requires testing, belonging, and surrender. God Himself is building maturity in those who belong to Him. If you've been “just trying to get through the next season,” this one's for you.

This Sunday, Josiah Downey shared his powerful journey from exhaustion and doubt to surrender and renewal. After stepping into full-time ministry at Awake, Josiah found himself overwhelmed, questioning his purpose, and struggling to feel God's presence, until one prayer changed everything.Hear how surrendering his “armor” opened the door to peace, purpose, and a deeper walk with Christ, and how his story reminds us that God often meets us in the waiting.

This September, a team of women from Christ Community Church traveled to Santiago, Chile, to serve alongside local churches and missionaries from the International Mission Board. From hosting women's teas and teaching English to serving in the shanty towns, our team saw God move in powerful ways, stretching comfort zones, building friendships, and opening hearts to the Gospel.Their stories remind us that faith grows when we say “yes” to God's call, even when it's uncomfortable.

We all love a good comeback story, but who's really writing it? This week, Pastor Blake reminded us that the power behind every comeback isn't our own, it's the Spirit of God working in and through us. Paul's words to the Corinthians challenge us to lay down human wisdom and pride and to depend on God's Spirit for unity, strength, and true understanding.When we stop living to impress others and start living by His Spirit, we gain the mind of Christ, wisdom, courage, and power for every moment of life.

This week, we heard from Owen Smith, a husband, father, teacher, and follower of Jesus, who shared how God's steady grace has shaped his life.Owen's story isn't one of dramatic turns, but of faithful consistency. From growing up in rural Kentucky to teaching at Collins High School, he's seen how God's hand has guided him through seasons of waiting, purpose, and growth.He reminds us that sometimes the greatest testimony is a “boring” one, a life that never wandered far because God never let go. Now, Owen and his wife Madeline are raising their four boys to live differently, to find belonging in Christ rather than in the comfort and conformity of the world.His story challenges us all to ask: Where might God be calling me to stand out rather than fit in?

This Sunday, Pastor Blake continued our journey through 1 Corinthians with a message titled “We Are His Alone.” He reminded us that rivalry and division weaken the Church, but unity in Christ gives us the power to truly live.We're called not to follow personalities, politics, or personal preferences, but to center our lives on the cross, the only source of real strength and wisdom. When we belong fully to Him, we find peace, purpose, and power the world can't provide.

We all long to belong, to find a place and people where we fit. But true belonging doesn't come from fighting for our seat at the table or proving our worth, it comes from knowing we belong to God.This week, Pastor Blake opened our new series We Are His with a powerful reminder that our identity, unity, and peace begin in Christ. When we belong to Him, we don't have to strive to fit in, we are already His people, called, cleaned, and strengthened by His grace.