Christ Church Evangelical Covenant

Sermon on the Mount: The Fallacy of Force and the Way of Jesus

In the next sermon from our Sermon on the Mount series, Pastor Emeritus Lyle Mook challenges us to consider the root of violence in our world, and the ways that it is always opposite the way of Jesus. Following the thread through the Jesus teachings about anger, retaliation, and loving your enemy, we are reminded that the peacemakers (as opposed to the peacekeepers) that will be called the children of God.

Sermon on the Mount: Adultery and Divorce

When Jesus teaches on sex in the gospels, He is not just teaching about physical attraction or creating a set of rigorous demands. Instead, Jesus invites us to consider sexual habits as a reflection a person's beliefs about the value of others. When our desires remain disordered, the ultimate result can often be acts of evil toward them. Jesus offers an alternative to this pain, though, offering hope instead of condemnation, and a path toward restoration through His gentle, faithful, and true love.

 

Note: this sermon addresses topics related to adultery, divorce, and sex.

Sermon on the Mount: Jesus Fulfills the Law

We're kicking off a new year with a new sermon series focusing on the Sermon on the Mount, the teachings of Jesus found in Matthew 5, 6, and 7. These teachings reflect a fulfillment of God's long plan to rescue his people, and provide a framework for living faithfully as part of God's kingdom. In this kingdom, we are not measured by what we do, but instead by what we become, allowing God to transform our motives and our relationships. Pastor Cheryl invites us to "show up" where God's people and God's presence are found.

Where Would We Be Without Jesus (Ken Bell)

Inviting us to remember much of our Old Testament focus from the fall, Ken Bell invites us to consider the portions of the Bible that would lose their truest meaning were it not for Jesus. In the same vein, we are invited to consider what it means for us to live in the midst of God's ongoing work - and to be active participants in his mission.

God With Us, Here and Now - Christmas Eve (Pastor Cheryl)

As we celebrate Christmas, Pastor Cheryl encourages us to see the contrast in the reward-bases systems of culture and the gracious gift that Jesus Christ offers - himself. In exploring the nativity through the lens of what it redefines for us, we find the way to embody mercy, justice, and sacrificial love in our daily lives.

God on the Move (Ryan Lospaluto)

In modern times, we often have a hard time waiting for the next episode of a show to premiere, or in traffic that's delaying us from getting where we want to go. But, for Israel, as they waited for the messiah, this period of waiting lasted for generations! The people who had heard the promises of God spoken directly from the prophets had long passed away. And yet, the wise men arrived to worship Jesus at his birth having anticipated that God would still deliver on his promises. In this morning's sermon, part of our Advent series, Ryan Lospaluto shares about a vision given to the prophet Ezekiel, inviting us to consider the ways that God remains with us in our waiting.

God Is With Us (Lyle Mook)

This morning, Pastor Emeritus Lyle Mook invites us to consider the implications of the Incarnation - a word that describes the way that Jesus was a living, breathing person just as much as He is fully and completely God. In Jesus, the ultimate saving power that belongs to God alone comes to us as a gift. It is because of the incredible generosity and grace of God that we are able to become children of God by faith! But it is equally profound that the God show us this grace by understanding and experiencing firsthand the vulnerability and suffering that we experience.

When Rebuilding Doesn’t Work (Pastor Cheryl Lavornia and Steven Byler)

In our year-long look at the whole story of scripture, we're wrapping up the first half of story today, as Pastor Cheryl co-preaches with Steven Byler. As we prepare for the turn into the New Testament, we are reminded all that we've talked about in the Old Testament.
This week also marks the first week of Advent, where we remember the coming of Christ, and his promised return! The 400-years of silence provided opportunity after opportunity for the people to forget about the God who loved them (and his promises), but somehow in the waiting, God was still setting the scene for the arrival of the one who would change everything.

God’s Kingdom and His Will (Pastor Cheryl Lavornia)

We're continuing our year-long look at the whole story of scripture as we arrive at our focus on the Temple in the Old Testament. Leaders like Ezra, Nehemiah and Zechariah were around during the time where the temple was rebuilt (remember: it had been destroyed when Israel was exiled), and scripture recounts the shared work of restoring what had been destroyed. But, as Pastor Cheryl highlights for us today, there may have been some hopes in the restoration that weren't exactly rooted in the promises that God had made to his people. What, then, can we learn from this rebuilding about how to understand God's hopes and plans? (Hint ... Jesus tried to help us when he started talking about the kingdom of God.)

Hopeless to Resurrection (Pastor Cheryl Lavornia)

As we continue our year-long look at the whole story of scripture, Pastor Cheryl helps us focus on the Exile - the period where God's presence had left the temple that Solomon has constructed, and the nation of Israel was scattered. During this period, it looked as though the promises of God had come to their end. But, we must remember that this isn't the end of the story! in the same way that Ezekiel saw the Valley of Dry Bones - through eyes of faith - Pastor Cheryl invites us to see how God continues to do the restorative, resurrecting work through the Spirit in our lives today that mirrors the miracle of the bones in the valley.