Nathan Metz: Relax. Have you ever started a project, a mission or a new year with relaxation in mind? It seems oxymoronic. Yet, when asked to describe Jesus in a word, Dallas Willard responded “relaxed”. Surely he isn’t implying something negative, tired, lethargic or detached. Perhaps there’s something worth considering in this idea! Let’s explore the imagery of the vine in John 15 and chariots in 2 Kings as we envision a Christ-centered life.
Steve DeNeff: “Glory to God in heaven, and peace for the people on earth,” (Lk 2:14, Fitzmyer). This song of salvation, begun on Christmas, continues to the end of time. The world’s alternative to this salvation is optimism, a vague and tenuous feeling that everything will be alright. But in Revelation it’s crystal clear: God has invaded, invited and wooed all of creation into a multitude that sings like thunder: “Salvation and glory and power belong to our God … for the Lord our God Almighty reigns,” (19:1,7). The Child, the Lamb, the Faithful and True is King and the government is on his shoulders. Let heaven and nature sing!
Daniel Rife: “There are powers that make the world,” wrote Flannery O’Connor, “and other powers that unmake it.” Halfway through Revelation is an unpopular retelling of the nativity and it’s anything but a silent night. This one involves a cosmic war between a woman’s child and a dragon reminding us of both the nature and the scale of our conflicts today. They are not simply between individuals, tribes or even nations but between good and evil - between the Child and the dragon - and at Christmas God has come into the battle Himself and judged the systems that unmake the world.
Ethan Linder: The Christmas story contains a lot of surprises: not the least of which is Jesus’ lowliness as a peasant announced to shepherds, born to a family with limited prospects, raised in an ancient near-Eastern backwater. Because the story has grown familiar to some of us, we can overlook the scandal of Jesus’ lowliness in his first coming, as we wait for a triumphant second-coming. But what if we’re in for yet another surprise? This sermon will explore John’s vision of Jesus as (simultaneously) the Lion of Judah and Lamb of God, giving us (in both Spirit and example) an invitation to see how power and gentleness can live together.
Steve DeNeff: “I was on the island called Patmos … I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day.” Those two sentences form the crucible in which the Revelation is given. God is with us, even when we’re alone on Patmos. He comes, not merely a child, but “one like the Son of Man approaching at an infinite speed, setting up his kingdom amidst the powers that rule the world. His kingdom “is eternal and will never be destroyed,” (Dan. 7:14). God is with us … the Voice is behind us … always closer than we think.
Nathan Metz: The book of Acts reveals a process of “rediscovering” God (through the new realities of the Work of Christ and the Gift of the Spirit). The sermon will be preached to a “curious attender” who has come to learn more about God. I will walk this person through three phases of getting to know God: (1) wanting to be Him, (2) wanting to paint Him (3) wanting to be painted by Him. At its core, this is a sermon about the faults of modern subjectivism, the challenge of seeing God rightly and the implications of Godly humility.
Lori Minor: Good news is only good for those who benefit from its “goodness." As believers it's important that we properly define and distribute the powerful "Good News" of the Gospel!
Steve DeNeff: In the Church that God planted there is a conspicuous absence of heroes. Every member is active. Everyone plays a part, each one doing what seems natural (like common sense) to them, but together they accomplish what no hero ever could. Everyone wins! And so when we walk in the Spirit, we become ALL that we were made to be.
Emily Vermilya: Abiding in Christ is the source of all true courage. In Acts 4, Peter and John show that when believers draw their strength from Jesus, they can face anything. The Spirit who once empowered them now empowers us to live and speak with fearless humility in Jesus’ name.
Steve DeNeff: When Spirit-animated people (or churches) make decisions, they discern more than decide. They have assumptions, they follow practices that others simply lack. What are they? And how do we practice them today? We need a model for making decisions that is spiritual, practical, repeatable and can be done quickly.
Steve DeNeff: Growth brings complexity and complexity strangles growth. That is the paradox confronting every church that grows. How do Spirit-animated churches, like ours, protect the mission from the threat of success? How do they find their leaders? And what do they expect from them? As we think about leaders in our church, what can we learn from the one in Acts?
Steve DeNeff: For years the Church has been “the most segregated hour all week,” but slowly things are changing. As we become more integrated, does anyone have a vision for something beyond diversity? What does the Holy Spirit want diversity for? What is possible for the Church only after it has engaged and empowered ALL the children of God? And how does a church like ours become more like that in the power of the Spirit, rather than our own power?
DJ Coleman: Those who walk in the Spirit live in the flow of conversations with God about what they are working on together. More than praying with the mouth or from their heart, they pray in the Spirit and with impressive results. Things happen that otherwise wouldn’t have because of their conversations with God.
Ethan Linder: Our cultural moment is determined either to keep faith “personal and private,” OR to militarize our faith, bludgeoning others with our arguments. The apostles give us a third way: refusing to compartmentalize or weaponize, they instead, “spoke as the Spirit enabled them.” (Acts 2) This sermon will address what it means for us to speak as the Spirit enables us.
Steve DeNeff: If the secret of Pentecost is 120 people learning to walk daily in the Spirit, what are the quiet, unseen habits of those people? What do they do in private that prepares them for the public demonstration?
Steve DeNeff: For years, we have prayed for revival, for another Pentecost. But the secret of Pentecost is not the number (120) who were “filled with the Spirit,” but those who learned to “walk in the Spirit” afterward. This is what it means … Are you in?
Steve DeNeff: Despite the spiritual climate of our day, this is what is still possible for the Church – for our church – because of God and Pentecost.
Steve DeNeff: Matthew 7:13-14, 21-29; Throughout Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, he calls for a deeper, more thorough transformation that occurs in layers. All are good but some are better. What are they? And how do we move from one to another?
Megan Swan: Jesus's teachings in Matthew 5:13-16 describe believers as the "salt of the earth" and the "light of the world". This isn't a command to become salt and light, but rather a statement of who followers of Christ already are because of their relationship with Him. By recognizing and celebrating the ways in which CWC is already salt and light, we can become more intentional about our Christian influence and experience the joy of making a difference in the world around us.
Steve DeNeff: According to Jesus, persecution, whether great or small, is inevitable. Rather than resisting it, he tells us to embrace it (“rejoice and be glad”), as a prophetic act that helps to establish the kingdom of God.