Christ Church Evangelical Covenant

Getting to the Other Side (Missionary Update)

Gary and Pauline Carlson, our long-time Covenant missionaries to Japan share an update on their time in ministry and speak from Mark 4:35-41.

A New Conclusion (Pastor Vann Trapp)

How often do we evaluate God’s ability to accomplish His word and fulfill His promises based on how difficult we perceive the challenges to be? And how often do we then either give up or try to face those challenges on our own? And how often does God step in and remind us that our weakness does not define Him? He is able. He is even able to accomplish what is impossible for us.

A New Power (Pastor Vann Trapp)

Have you ever wondered what is behind living a truly successful life? Physical strength, financial power, intelligence? According to God, the most important things in our lives will only be achieved through His Spirit. But is that who I rely on? And how exactly does that work?

A New Identity (Pastor Vann Trapp)

Do I see me like God sees me? Not just through a lens of love that is blind to all the flaws. Not just through a lens of grace that sees only potential. I mean the God who sees the completed new creation that we have become in Jesus! Do I see that? How does the reality of who I am in Christ change how I face every challenge inside and out in my life?

A New Measure (Pastor Vann Trapp)

There are two ways to look at a measuring stick; it’s either there to let you know how far you come up short, or it’s there to make sure that you don’t. Which do you think God is most concerned about? When He pulls out His measuring stick or His plumb line, is it about letting us know how far we’ve failed, or so He can get us to where we need to be? Which is the thing that makes His heart glad?

A New Family (Pastor Vann Trapp)

We love the idea that we belong to Jesus. We love those times when we feel that He is close, and we are favored. But He is not content that just a few of us experience that peace or the joy of His new life in us. He is constantly pursuing and inviting into His grace any who will respond. And that means that our “family” is constantly growing and changing. And there are times we’re not sure what to think about all those changes. But are we considering what God is thinking about all this? Do we rejoice with Him and all of heaven because one more makes it into freedom and life?

Putting On New Life (Pastor Vann Trapp)

On that first Easter, one of the things that told Jesus’ disciples that this was no ordinary
day was the pile of linen cloths that they had used to wrap His body when they put Him
in the tomb. There were the cloths. But where was the body? Jesus was loosed. He had
become unbound. And they began to believe. But Jesus was not the only One unbound
that day!

Taking Off Old Wrappings (Pastor Vann Trapp)

On the day that Jesus walked into Jerusalem, there was a huge crowd. Some were there because it was Passover, the time when the Jewish people always gathered every year. Some were there because they followed Jesus wherever He went. Some were there because they had heard about the miracles He had done and were hoping He would do something for them or even kick the Romans out and re-establish their kingdom. A huge crowd with all kinds of reasons for being there… like the crowds that gather in churches every Sunday around the globe. And all Jesus wanted was to cut through all their false expectations so that He could bring them into the amazing miracle that God had for them, that none of them had imagined.

Empowering (Pastor Vann Trapp)

We’ve talked about abiding; making room for God to make His home in us. We’ve talked about releasing; letting Him remodel our lives once He moves in. But this week, we need to talk about the result of all this – being empowered to have the impact Jesus did through His life! What does it mean to live a life empowered by the Holy Spirit?

Releasing (Pastor Vann Trapp)

There is another word we have in the English language that sounds exactly like “pairing” but has almost the complete opposite meaning – “paring.” Pairing adds something. Paring takes something away. And in our relationship with God, He does both. John says that our heavenly Father is a gardener who wants to make sure that we are rightly paired with Jesus (who is like a vine to our branch), but also rightly pared of all our distractions and deceptions that keep us from the purposeful, fruitful life He created us for. But while pairing is an exciting process, paring can be a challenging time in our lives. So, is God clipping away at some area of your life right now? What is the purpose? Why can’t He just leave well enough alone and stick to pairing?