Pastors’ Blog

Mercy Pick

Mercy Pick

Recess is not the joy of every grade-schooler’s heart. What you’re about to read is not one distinct memory, but the messy conglomeration of many hours in the schoolyard. It’s a tangled mix of mud, embarrassment, scrapes and tears forced to flow backward. You learn early, that tears only make life on the playground worse. [...]

The Satanic Ideology of Photoshop

The Satanic Ideology of Photoshop

Those of you who read “Out of Our Minds” expect  to see something by one of CCC’s pastors.  This time, however, I’m going to link you to something I wish I had written.  I – we – won’t normally do this; we’ll write, well, out of our own minds.  But this piece, “The Satanic Ideology [...]

Should We Pray to the Holy Spirit?

Should We Pray to the Holy Spirit?

“So I had a question from your sermon a couple of weeks ago” … began the Facebook message. “Yes,” I thought, “someone was listening!” The message continued, “In your sermon you mentioned praying to the Holy Spirit … I always thought you prayed to God the Father. I was just wondering if there were any [...]

A Thirty-Eight Year Sentence

A Thirty-Eight Year Sentence

If you’ve ever noticed that there are just never enough hours in the day to get everything done then you know how a preacher feels when preparing a sermon.  God’s truth, revealed in His Word, has so much today on so many subjects that there never seem to be enough minutes in a sermon to [...]

The Wrath of God

The Wrath of God

We seem to be really afraid of making any connection between the wrath of God and destruction, suffering, and tragedy. Whether it be a tsunami, an earthquake, a fatal accident, or the Iranian threat, we don’t want to even consider if God has something to do with them. We not only are in a shambles [...]

The Heart of God’s Desire

The Heart of God’s Desire

“The purpose of Christ Community Church is to make known and promote the worship of God in obedience to the Great Commission and the Great Commandments.”  This statement is a one sentence summary of Article II of the Constitution of CCC and it embodies what I think is the heart of God’s desire for the [...]

A Word to My Brothers and Sisters in the Mental Health Services

A Word to My Brothers and Sisters in the Mental Health Services

Before preaching the sermon “Don’t Misdiagnose”, I thought about all the people who work in the mental health services. What would the psychologist and the psychiatrist in the congregation think about the content of my sermon?   While I don’t know what all of them thought, one person approached me after the service and said [...]

WHY WE WORSHIP HOW WE WORSHIP: Part 2

WHY WE WORSHIP HOW WE WORSHIP: Part 2

Part 2  “Music Old and New”   Periodically, I’ll use this space to offer biblical and practical rationale for why we do corporate worship the way we do at CCC.  The first entry under this heading was about why we don’t extend walk-down-the-aisle-type invitations at the end of the service.  Here’s one on why we [...]

Thunderous Whispers

Thunderous Whispers

When was the last time that you were amazed by your Creator? Were you far away from the glare of civilization with only a billion-billion of his starry worship leaders for company? As you gazed into that velvet, jewel studded, garment synched together by the Milky Way, did you gasp and whisper words of worship? [...]

Why I Hate Spray Glitter at Weddings

Why I Hate Spray Glitter at Weddings

Why I hate spray glitter at weddings! It’s hard (almost) impossible to clean up. It spreads to people who don’t feel the need to sparkle (like me). It’s probably responsible for most of our office computer failures. It’s inhaled and some women’s lungs will eventually turn to shiny chunks of plastic. It’s false advertising … [...]