Christ Church Evangelical Covenant

Grafted In (Pastor Vann Trapp)

We all know that if you’re clumsy, you don’t become a neurosurgeon. If you’re tone-deaf, you don’t join a choir. And if you have bad eyesight, you can’t become a jet pilot. We also know that these decisions aren’t about personal preferences. They’re about necessary qualifications. So, what would ever qualify us to become part of God’s people, let alone a part of His family? Branches from a wild tree can’t expect to become part of a cultured tree. And yet, here we are! Grafted into God’s family because of what Jesus has done!

The Seed of Hope (Pastor Vann Trapp)

Promises are like seeds. They don’t always look like much. But as we learn from the acorn, there can be a lot packed into a seed. Same with promises. God made a promise once. In Genesis, the promise talked about a seed. In Isaiah the same promise talked about a child. Both were small things and didn’t look like much. But as we learn from Christmas, sometimes really big things come in really small looking packages. Do you know what this Christmas promise was all about?

Life Together (Pastor Vann Trapp)

Throughout history, people have thought that God love them and maybe people just like them. But then, in Jesus, God showed His true heart. He loved all kinds of people and wanted to save all of us into one, new community. So, what does it take to be God’s people, living His life together?

Giving Our All (Pastor Vann Trapp)

“Rich” can mean different things in different settings. Living a “rich” life, can mean that you have many meaningful relationships and experiences. Enjoying “rich” food might mean you’re eating a moist cake with a delicious frosting. Or rich might just mean that you have a bunch of holdings and money in the bank. But what does it mean to be “rich” with the God who supplies all these kinds of riches? Jesus had a lot to say about that topic as did His first followers. And what they had to say might surprise us.

Shaloming: The Re-Make of Vocation

What does it mean to "require" wholeness for the city you live in today? Who is responsible for this wholeness? What is wholeness in the first place? As we continue on with our Rooted series, this Sunday, we will be focused on your part of the story. God is doing a Re-Make on an old theme... with each and every follower of Jesus. Same story... different medium, look, and feel but this "re-make" has to do with each of us in unique and exciting ways.

A Meaningful Life (Pastor Vann Trapp)

I think we would all agree that Jesus lived a meaningful life. It was meaningful to history, to eternity, and to each one of us. That is a life of purpose! So, how can we live a life like that? Pursuing greatness? Fame? Wealth? God says it comes through a life of service to others. But what exactly does that mean?

The Source of Our Struggles (Pastor Vann Trapp)

Blame. From the beginning of human history, we have looked for others to take the fall for our failures. And to be honest, there usually are other powers at play in the lapses of our lives. Sure, we believe some lie and act irresponsibly because of it, but what about the one who told that lie? And sure, we treated another person terribly, but what about the one who convinced us that they didn’t deserve to be treated well? There will always be liars and bad actors in our lives all the way up to Satan himself. But even if they never change, God wants to change us and change the world through us. So He says, take off the old; put on the new.

Trusting God (Pastor Vann Trapp)

God is speaking all around us. Through Creation. Through history. Through other people and our interactions with them. And of course, through His revelation to us in the Bible, through the voice of His Spirit in us, and through His Son, Jesus. But do we hear what He is saying? Are we listening? Do we know what we are listening for? How can we hear more clearly what God is saying?

Hearing from God (Pastor Vann Trapp)

God is speaking all around us. Through Creation. Through history. Through other people and our interactions with them. And of course, through His revelation to us in the Bible, through the voice of His Spirit in us, and through His Son, Jesus. But do we hear what He is saying? Are we listening? Do we know what we are listening for? How can we hear more clearly what God is saying?

Who Is God? (Pastor Vann Trapp)

Who is God? We have a lot of theories. Maybe as many ideas as there are people on the earth. Over the centuries, some ideas have taken root in our thinking through religion and philosophy. But who is right? Some say He is kind. Others say He is cruel. Some say He can be found in everything around us. Others say He is a figment of our imagination. But does God have anything to say about who He is? Has He spoken? Who does He say He is?