Christ Church Evangelical Covenant

Closing the Gap - April 4, 2021 Easter - Pastor Vann Trapp

We do not have a God who remains at a distance from us. Not a distance of silence or space, altitude or attitude. Instead, He is a God who constantly pursues us and seeks to draw near. He is not satisfied with any gap that stands between us. So, He speaks into it, He pours out His Spirit into it, He sends His people into it with His power and His blessing, He even took on human flesh and stepped into the Gap Himself. But still He was not satisfied… because the Gap still remained. So, on Easter, in Jesus, He closed it, so that now, in Christ, there is nothing that has to separate us from the love of God. He has died for us, but now, He is Risen, and the Gap is no more!

The Gaps We Make - March 28, 2021 - Pastor Cheryl Lavornia

On Sunday, we will be celebrating what church tradition calls: Palm Sunday. It comes from the part in scripture when Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey and the people throw down their coats and palm branches. It is also referred to as His Triumphal Entry. But there was a gap of understanding between the crowd and Jesus on that day. It seems like nothing has changed... we all have gaps in our understanding of what God is like or what He's doing in our lives. We have a God who invites us into our own gaps in order to have Him close them!

God in the Gap - March 21, 2021 - Pastor Vann Trapp

We started this journey thinking about how God is not a God who keeps His distance. He comes near to us when circumstances make us feel furthest from Him. And He is always seeking to shape us to be more like Him and to learn how to come alongside others when they are at their best… and their worst. So, there are times when He comes alongside on His own, and times when He comes alongside someone through us, but always He is never the God in the distance, but rather God in the Gap.

God in the Details - March 14, 2021 - Pastor Vann Trapp

Do you remember the first time you looked at something through a microscope… or a telescope? What you thought was so evident to your naked eye now became incredibly intricate and detailed. It was a whole world you would have completely passed over and thought nothing about if you hadn’t looked closer. God tells us over and over in His Word that He, too, can be found in unexpected and amazing ways in the details. So, let’s take this week to dig deeper, look closer, and together discover God in the details…

God in the Past - Mar 7, 2021 - Pastor Vann Trapp

When we look to the past, what do we find? A God who is aloof and uninvolved? Or a God who persists at coming near at our best, at our worst, always? But that’s the past. Has He changed? Or is His consistent presence in our lives something we can always depend on in the best or even in the toughest times? Let’s find out together…

Justice in Tension - Feb 28 2021 - Pastor Vann Trapp

If there is an issue that has recently burst its way into the spotlight, it’s justice. And if there is an issue whose conversations are often filled with tension, it’s justice. But if there is an issue that God makes clear is close to His heart, it’s justice. And it is the tension of those conversations that can make us more like Jesus. So, let’s talk about justice …

Generosity in Tension - Feb 21, 2021 - Pastor Vann Trapp

We’ve heard it since we were kids, “It’s nice to share.” But that doesn’t make it any easier. In our “zero sum” thinking about life, if I give anything away, I lose. And we don’t like to lose. But God says there is a different equation that frames the universe and brings good to our lives - the generosity equation. Sharing is not just nice, it is essential for life. Let’s talk about it …

Grace in Tension - Feburary 7, 2021 - Pastor Vann Trapp

Grace. When Luther considered the essentials of Christianity, he saw Grace as one of the five pillars of the faith expressed in the Protestant Reformation. The song, Amazing Grace, is one of the most well known songs of faith both inside and outside of the Church. We all love the truth that God has offered us a gift that goes beyond simply what we deserve. So, how is it even possible for Grace to bring tension into our lives?

Wisdom in Tension - January 31, 2020 - Pastor Vann Trapp

Sometimes our lives feel like we are on a tightrope, balancing between two options, two opinions, two choices, two camps. But God tells us in this verse from James that His wisdom does not waver like that. It is steady – not a tightrope. And how is that possible? Because wisdom is never a rope strung between only two points. Its stability is found in the many viewpoints, voices, options and camps that it draws on for understanding. But there is tension in that place of wisdom. These voices don’t always agree. That is the Soul Intension of those who follow Jesus.

The Splash Zone - January 24, 2021 - Pastor Vann Trapp

When God pours into and through our lives, His presence coming through us impacts the lives around us with His power and His love. This is the Splash Zone. So, what is your splash zone? Who has God placed close enough to your own life to be influenced and transformed by the way God works in it?