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Ephesians is one of Paul's most formal letters. It hits on a wide range of moral and ethical behaviors, designed to ensure believers are living up to our heavenly calling. As we continue in our faith from day to day, month to month, and year to year, the temptation to get comfortable will always exist. In Ephesians, Paul reminds us of the gift of God in Christ and the benefits we receive so clearly that we cannot help but ask ourselves if our lives reflect that reality as they should.
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Our summer series is designed with you in mind and we are calling it Heroes of Faith. Summer Sundays at Calvary Parkside are designed to be both connecting and stand-alone. We recognize that the summer months, for many in our church family, means travel. So what we want to do is provide summer teaching that gives you the freedom to travel, but still be connected. So while each Sunday is a stand-alone message, each message is connected to an overall theme. And this summer's theme is faith.
In Hebrews 11, the author defines faith as: "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." He goes on to give us a list of both men and women in the Old Testament who were heroes of faith. These people didn't all behave well, yet there were moments in their lives where they demonstrated great faith. Through this summer series, we will gain an understanding, not just of these biblical heroes of faith; but how, through their faith, we can gain a better understanding of Jesus, who as the author of Hebrews writes, is "The pioneer and perfecter of our faith". |
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As Christians, we have a commitment to one another, regardless of our positions, our levels of maturity, or how long we've been believers. We are mutually bound by a duty to one another, as we help each other grow toward greater maturity. Every church congregation must commit to godly priorities that further this purpose, just like the first body of Christ followers found in Acts 2:41-47. This week we will dive into the life of the early church, exploring the value of a local church community.
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This Sunday, we begin a two week break from our series on Heroes of Faith, as we welcome our guest speaker, Dr. Dennis Beatty. Pastor Beatty currently serves with Interim Pastor Ministry (IPM), providing intentional interim leadership for churches who are searching for a new Senior Pastor. Dennis has over 50+ years of pastoral experience, serving as the Senior Pastor at 4 churches in California and Arizona. But more importantly, he was my first ministry boss, as I served under Dennis as a youth pastor. Having "cut my teeth" under his leadership, I consider him one of my ministry mentors.
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This is a short mini-series unpacking the second shortest book in the Old Testament, the book of Haggai. Years after Solomon's temple and the city of Jerusalem had been destroyed, the Persians conquered the Babylonians, allowing the Jews to return home from captivity. They began rebuilding God's temple, as He commanded them to, but life got hard and they slowly abandoned the work, turning instead to their own houses. Enter Haggai, sent by God to help the people refocus. Haggai preached about the priority and importance of Kingdom Perspective.
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The New Testament is full of stories of people who had dramatic encounters with Jesus. Now, an encounter with Jesus was different from a meeting with him. Encountering Jesus was not the kind of event where you would go home and tell your spouse, and/or family, "Hey, I ran into this interesting guy today named Jesus...what's for dinner?" An encounter with Jesus involved being brought face-to-face with the choice between eternal life with God, or eternal separation apart from God. Once they realized who this Jesus was, all of their hopes and fears, all the possibilities of Heaven and Hell, were bound up in their response to this life-altering encounter.
Over the next two months, we will spend time each Sunday, exploring the New Testament for individuals who didn't just meet Jesus, but encountered Jesus. An encounter that provided unconditional love and acceptance, physical healing, hope, peace, purpose, joy, and most important...salvation! |
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We begin a three week series called, "Blueprints for the church". The purpose for this series is to walk through the three key biblical roles (pastor/elder, deacon, church member) that make up the local church. Leaning on the practices of the New Testament church, we will take a behind-the-scenes peek at the biblical expectations for these three roles. My hope and prayer is that, throughout this series, each one of us will take time to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the role we are to fulfill at Calvary Parkside. Whether it be as an elder, deacon, Sunday school teacher, greeter, or working behind-the-scenes, of all us have a role to play in building up God's church.
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We embark on a four week journey focusing on who we are and what we do. As we look to the future and embrace where God is taking us as Calvary Parkside, we will take time to look back at the core values on which this church was founded. Core values (core commitments) designed to grow us and shape us into the likeness of Jesus.
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