Centennial Church - Sermons

Detour: Seeing God's Hand When Plans Change

Bride

Family

Temple

Flock

Elder Dave Jobe (John 2:1-11)

Special Guest Dr. Paul Pettit (Mark 10:46-52)

Special Guest Dr. Paul Pettit (Mark 10:35-45)

Work is a good thing. As we celebrate Labor Day, we are right to esteem work and workers. Even God works (and rests)! However, Jesus once said that our primary work is to trust Him. Often we would rather DO for God than TRUST God. Sometimes believing is hard. But without faith it is impossible to please God, and Jesus has shown himself trustworthy.

Have you ever felt stalled out in your faith? Have you ever felt like you just weren’t moving forward? Jesus finds himself surrounded by people who are stalled out, but he does not give up on them just as he does not give up on us. Rather, he provides just what they need to move forward.

Life does not always make sense. When we encounter our most difficult circumstances, what do we do? In Exodus 32, we see the Israelites faced with having no answers and feeling abandoned. How do they respond? As we study their reaction to this trial, Jason Bowman encourages us to fully and radially trust God - even when our lives make no sense.

Non-committal. Church shoppers. Church hoppers. Church droppers. How do modern approaches to church compare to the New Testament? In Acts 2, we see that believers “devoted themselves” to the church and her practices. In this message, Pastor Ross exhorts us to embrace the church as central and essential rather than peripheral and optional.

The first disciples would never have thought of “attending” church! Their faith in Jesus was much more than merely a weekly gathering - not less than that, but much more. They entered a new and alternative community, deeper and more transformative than any other association. In Acts 2, we get a sense of their radical devotion.

The church is not a human institution. It is God’s idea, His design. To love Jesus while minimizing or degrading the church is to insult His bride! In Acts 2, we see the beginnings of this new community and its unique functions or marks.

Colossians shows the preeminence of Jesus. In this short message, we consider two basic questions: 1) What is preeminence? and 2) What is everything?

Last words are often significant, but sometimes the final sign-offs and goodbyes of New Testament letters can seem like throwaways. But certainly not in Colossians! Paul's last 12 verses are rich with instruction, encouragement, and comfort - and timely words for our strange times.

Prayer and evangelism are the privilege of all believers, and practices that all Christians sometimes struggle to do effectively. In these verses, Paul describes how we can be faithful in prayer and effective in evangelism.

On this holiday weekend, Pastor Ross reminds of us four key passages that should anchor believers in this nation, in these trying days.

Rules for New Kingdom Relationships

In these verses Paul offers a pattern or blueprint for a different kind of kingdom. We are to cultivate, "put on”, certain virtues but to do so with particular motivations.