"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory" (1 Timothy 3:16).  

Wine and the Scriptures

• God seems to have given CCC the task of recapturing essential Christianity.  What is at the heart of the faith?  What matters in the faith?  What is flexible about the faith and church life?  What do you have to be right about to be in the faith?  What can you be wrong about and still be in the faith?

    The elements of worship at Christ Community Church fall into four major headings: liturgy, singing, preaching and Eucharist.  We are following the Biblical pattern of heavenly worship given to us in the Book of Revelation.  This pattern is not new, but has been used in Christ’s churches from the earliest days of the Christian era.  This teaching in Revelation Chapters four and five is particularly relevant for us today as it follows directly from the teaching on the Laodicean church in Revelation Chapter 3.

    We could say much about man’s duty and responsibility to believe, but the topic for reflection here is God’s sovereignty in salvation.  We might begin by looking at unconditional election.  Every denomination has teaching on the doctrine of election including the Southern Baptist Convention which has a rich heritage of theology from the founders; Boyce, Broadus, Manly, Dagg, and Mell.

    There are essentially two competing views of election; conditional election and unconditional election.  Conditional election means that God chose some for salvation because of a condition existing in that person; such as, goodness, or a propensity to believe the gospel, which would also be a type of goodness.  

    What happens in the university when rational discourse ends?  What happens when two sides are at war, particularly the Christ side and the antichrist side?  C.S. Lewis's book, That Hideous Strength, gives us a look at some supernatural conflict; and in doing so provides us with a tall tale of spiritual warfare.  

    In the year 115 Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, was on a journey to Rome.  He was traveling as a prisoner under Roman guard having been condemned to death for the Christian faith that he confessed.  He would eventually make his way to the amphitheatre in Rome where he would be torn apart by wild beasts.

Wine as Symbol

Ross Guthrie

    At his final meal with his disciples, Jesus chooses symbols to represent his body and his blood.  He does this to communicate to His disciples the importance of his death on the cross for the forgiveness of their sins.  He is the mediator between God and man and He as a good priest will bring the prescribed sacrifice to atone for sins thus fulfilling what was lacking in the sacrificial system of the previous covenant:  Himself.  

Wine as Worship

    At his final meal with his disciples, Jesus chooses symbols to represent his body and his blood.  He does this to communicate to His disciples the importance of his death on the cross for the forgiveness of their sins.  He is the mediator between God and man and He as a good priest will bring the prescribed sacrifice to atone for sins thus fulfilling what was lacking in the sacrificial system of the previous covenant:  Himself.  

The Eucharist

 

Walton Padelford

           Exegesis means carefully drawing meaning out of a text.  Eisegesis means reading a meaning or interpretation into a text.  Both of these exercises have implications for translation.  I am referring here particularly to Bible translation of one passage in which eisegesis has produced a confusing translation.

Walton Padelford

            In thinking about Christian leadership, I would like to discuss two things; Christian leadership and spiritual authority. These two things happily might come together in one person, or they might be somewhat divided.

    The kingdom of God moves, expands, bears fruit, and becomes more profound on the basis of authority.  Spiritual authority is voluntarily exercised and voluntarily received.  In other words, a person may opt out of these roles if they wish. However, in order to have spiritual authority one must learn how to be under spiritual authority.

Ross Guthrie

   Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.  And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming.  And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.  Now Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him.  And as these were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles: ...”

Ross Guthrie

           The church calendar or Christian calendar exists so that we might purposefully celebrate the life of Jesus.  We order our lives around the life of Jesus.  We die that we might live to Christ.  We follow Him.  So, too, we order the events of our lives around the pivotal moments in the life of Jesus: His birth, His baptism, His temptation and suffering, His death, His burial, His bodily resurrection, His ascending into heaven, His sending the Holy Spirit to us.  Our calendar should revolve around the calendar the church has observed since the time of Moses.  It is now different from the time of Moses because Jesus has fulfilled the intentions of the Old Testament feasts.  Therefore, the purpose of the Old Testament feasts and the events of the church calendar find their true meaning only in the life of Jesus.

Stephen Kennedy

           To give us a little historical context for the book it is good to know that Micah prophesied around the same time as Isaiah which means that it is the period of time leading up to the Babylonian Exile and the Assyrians running over the kingdoms.  Many modern scholars would say that the whole point of the book is to show the warnings or prophesies that were given concerning this coming doom. This is one important point that should be seen and is obvious as you read through the passage but a paraphrase of Hengstenberg in his Christology of the Old Testament might help us to see a bit deeper into this book.  

Ross Guthrie

   I’m starting this morning with an illustration that comes straight from our congregation.  On Christmas Day, one of our little guys was allowed to stay up a little later than usual to watch a movie, probably a present received that day.  His mother had just left the house to walk over to her parent’s house which was next door.  It got to be around 9:30 or 9:45 and despite the fact that the movie had not ended, the father informed his son that it was time to go to bed.  His son mildly protested by saying, “Dad, Mom said that I could finish the movie.”  In a playful manner, the father responded, “Son, I’m the boss of the house.”  

Ross Guthrie

    Brothers and sisters, hear these words of good news:

    You children of snakes!  Haven’t you been warned to flee from the punishment of your sins.

    Repent.  Stop sinning and do bodily activities that prove your faith.  If you don’t, you’re gonna die physically and spiritually.

    Stop cheating, stop stealing and stop hoarding your stuff when you could be using it to help others in real need.  If you don’t, there is one who will come and shake you down and take your life and send you to an eternal place where you’ll be deprived of your basic necessities and burned with unquenchable fire.

Ross Guthrie