March 6, 2024
by Matthew O'Sullivan
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Category:
Communion
Dear Family at Christ Community,
Before we feast upon the bread and cup of our Lord this Sunday, we will encounter Haman's pride in Esther 5:9-14. After Mordecai rattles his confidence, Haman jumps at an outrageous solution to deal with Mordecai and reinflate his pride. Ian Duguid points out in Esther Ruth that Haman's plan was misguided from the start. The execution h...
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March 5, 2024
by Matthew O'Sullivan
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Category:
Weekly Confession
Gracious and Merciful Father,
We come before you to confess our sin as Your redeemed and beloved children. May Your Spirit alone convict us of our sin and remind us of our pardon in Christ through repentance.
We confess that we often try to defend our pride rather than resting in Christ with humble joy (Esther 5:9-14).
We confess these things before You because You are fa...
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December 20, 2023
by Matthew O'Sullivan
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Category:
Baptism
Dear Family at Christ Community,
On Christmas Eve we will have the joy of hearing from Ruth 4:13-22 and witnessing the baptisms of Eli Wilson and Hannah Yandle! Both Eli and Hannah will receive baptism by way of profession of faith. As a means of grace, baptism will signify and seal upon them Christ's work as their Redeemer and Restorer of life.
The genealogy at the end o...
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November 15, 2023
by Matthew O'Sullivan
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Category:
Baptism
Dear Family at Christ Community,
We will have the joy of witnessing Sam Wilson's baptism after we hear from Ruth 2:14-23 on Sunday. Sam will receive baptism by way of profession of faith. As such, he will take his membership vows and then be able to join us when we celebrate the Lord's Supper on December 3rd. Just as Boaz invited Ruth to feast with him and his servants (R...
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November 13, 2023
by Matthew O'Sullivan
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Category:
Weekly Confession
Gracious and Merciful Father,We come before you to confess our sin as Your redeemed and beloved children. May Your Spirit alone convict us of our sin and remind us of our pardon in Christ through repentance.We confess that we often overlook the ways You work through our hospitality to bless Your people and createcommunity (Ruth 2:14-23).We confess these things before You ...
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September 20, 2023
by Matthew O'Sullivan
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Category:
Weekly Confession
Gracious and Merciful Father,
We come before you to confess our sin as Your redeemed and beloved children. May Your Spirit alone convict us of our sin and remind us of our pardon in Christ through repentance.
We confess that we often come to Your Table with low expectations and little preparation for the nourishment of our faith (1 Corinthians 11:17-34).
We confess these ...
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June 1, 2023
by Matthew O'Sullivan
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Category:
Baptism
Dear Family at Christ Community,
This Sunday we will celebrate Jacob Wilson's baptism by profession of faith. What a joy it will be to witness God's goodness at work in the next generation! It is fitting that we will hear Paul emphasize the centrality of faith in Romans 14:20-23. Paul will continue to challenge us to build one another up in hospitality by grace alone ...
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May 16, 2023
by Matthew O'Sullivan
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Category:
Weekly Confession
Gracious and Merciful Father,
We come before you toconfessour sin as Your redeemed and beloved children.
May Your Spirit alone convict us of our sin and remind us of our pardon in Christ through repentance.
Weconfessthat we often try to take Your place as Judge and neglect our role as siblings of one another in Christ (Romans 14:10-12).
Weconfessthese things before...
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January 11, 2023
by Matthew O'Sullivan
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Category:
Baptism
Dear Family at Christ Community,
This Sunday we will witness and celebrate the baptism of Harrison Rein Rooks. Our prayer is that the Holy Spirit will use Harrison's baptism to draw him to Jesus by faith early in his life. Baptism does not automatically save Harrison, but it is a means of grace that will point him to the Gospel of Jesus Christ as his only hope in life a...
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December 20, 2022
by Matthew O'Sullivan
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Category:
Weekly Confession
Gracious and Merciful Father,We come before You to confess our sin as Your redeemed and beloved children. May Your Spirit alone convict us of our sin and remind us of our pardon in Christ through repentance.Weconfessthat we struggle to trust in Your faithfulness when You do not meet our expectations(Luke 2:41-52).We confess these things before You because You are faithfu...
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December 15, 2022
by Matthew O'Sullivan
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Category:
Communion
Dear Family at Christ Community,
We will hear Simeon and Anna bear witness to Christ's first coming in Luke 2:22-40 this Sunday. Simeon and Anna both spent their lives waiting upon the Lord to bring consolation and redemption to His people. At long last, they got to behold God's salvation in Christ's first coming (2:30)! Although Christ has come once already, we join Si...
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December 13, 2022
by Matthew O'Sullivan
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Category:
Weekly Confession
Gracious and Merciful Father,We come before You toconfessour sin as Your redeemed and beloved children. May Your Spirit alone convict us of our sin and remind us of our pardon in Christ through repentance.Weconfessthat we often become impatient and distracted as we wait upon You to fulfillYour promises in Christ(Luke 2:22-40).Weconfessthese things before You because You ...
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December 8, 2022
by Matthew O'Sullivan
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Category:
Baptism
Dear Family at Christ Community,
This Sunday we will witness and celebrate the baptism of Naomi Alexandra McLeroy. Baptism will not automatically save Naomi. Yet it is a means of grace that we pray the Holy Spirit will use to draw her to faith early in life. By the Spirit, her baptism will point Naomi to Jesus and guide her in cultivating faith in Him over the long ha...
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December 5, 2022
by Matthew O'Sullivan
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Category:
Weekly Confession
Gracious and Merciful Father,We come before You toconfessour sin as Your redeemed and beloved children. May Your Spirit alone convict us of our sin and remind us of our pardon in Christ through repentance.Weconfessthat we frequently neglect worship as the means to experience joy and peace in Christ (Luke 2:1-21).Weconfessthese things before You because You are faithful t...
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November 30, 2022
by Matthew O'Sullivan
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Category:
Communion
Dear Family at Christ Community,
This week we will hear Zechariah's prophecy as he celebrates the birth of John the Baptist in Luke 1:57-80. Zechariah refers to Christ's first Advent as "the sunrise [that] shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death" (1:78-79). As we prepare to hear Zechariah's prophecy, it is frui...
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November 29, 2022
by Matthew O'Sullivan
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Category:
Weekly Confession
Gracious and Merciful Father,We come before You toconfessour sin as Your redeemed and beloved children. May Your Spirit alone convict us of our sin and remind us of our pardon in Christ through repentance.Weconfessthat we oftenfail to serve You because we are shaped more by our fear of the world than by our faith in Your mercy (Luke 1:57-80).Weconfessthese things before ...
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November 15, 2022
by Matthew O'Sullivan
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Category:
Weekly Confession
Gracious and Merciful Father,We come before You toconfessour sin as Your redeemed and beloved children. May Your Spirit alone convict us of our sin and remind us of our pardon in Christ through repentance.Weconfessthat we frequently fail to surrender to Your grace and submit to Your Word by faith (Luke 1:26-38).Weconfessthese things before You because You are faithful to f...
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November 9, 2022
by Matthew O'Sullivan
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Category:
Communion
Dear Family at Christ Community,
This week we will begin our Advent series in the Gospel of Luke. Luke tells us that he wrote his Gospel so that we would have certainty concerning the things we have been taught about God and the Gospel (Luke 1:4). As we will see, this means we should bring our doubts to God's Word in faith, rather than hiding them in fear.
All too ...
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November 8, 2022
by Matthew O'Sullivan
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Category:
Weekly Confession
Gracious and Merciful Father,We come before You toconfessour sin as Your redeemed and beloved children. May Your Spirit alone convict us of our sin and remind us of our pardon in Christ through repentance.Weconfessthat we often hide our doubts in fear rather than bringing them to Your Word in faith (Luke 1:1-25).Weconfessthese things before You because You are faithful t...
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