Communion & Baptism Letter: April 14th
The Communion and Baptism Letter for April 14th, 2024....
Keep ReadingCommunion & Baptism Letter: April 14th
The Communion and Baptism Letter for April 14th, 2024....
Confession of Sin: April 7th
The Weekly Confession of Sin for Christ Community Church. ...
Confession of Sin: April 14th
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 too often fail to festively celebrate our eternal deliverance from death to newness of life in Christ week in and week out in worship (Esther 9:20...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: March 31st
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 too often fail to trust that You have delivered us from eternal death and judgment through Jesus's death and resurrection (Esther 8:1-17). We conf...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: Good Friday 2024
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 fail to live as those who've been eternally forgiven through Christ's substitutionary death on our behalf (Esther 7:7-10). We confess these ...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: March 24th
Dear Family at Christ Community, This Sunday we will be invited to witness a fool's last supper in Esther 6:14-7:6 as Haman continues his arrogant fall. It will serve to caution us against continuing in foolish sin and arrogance of heart; it will also welcome us to the Lord's Table in wise repentance to taste the fruits of forgiveness eternally available to us in Jesus....
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: March 24th
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 our arrogance leads us further from You in anxious fear of judgment and death (Esther 6:14-7:6). We confess these things before You because You are f...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: March 17th
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 fail to live as those whose mourning due to sin has been changed into eternal joy by being crowned with honor and glory in Christ (Esther 6:1-13)....
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: March 3rd
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 infrequently come before Your throne to enjoy Your presence and care for which Jesus died and rose again (Esther 5:1-8). We confess these things b...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: February 25th
Dear Family at Christ Community, On Sunday, we will be in Esther 4 where the distress born of Haman's murderous edict reaches the Queen. This chapter progresses God's call at the end of Chapter 2 to wait in faithful obedience on His kind providences. God's people now wait with a guillotine literally hanging over their heads. The level of distress calls for the use of fa...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: February 25th
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 fail to make use of the means of grace and continue in faithful obedience while we wait on You in our distress (Esther 4:1-17). We confess ...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: February 18th
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 act foolishly in our pride ignoring Your wisdom at great cost to ourselves and others (Esther 3:1-15). We confess these things before You be...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: February 11th
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 fail to remain faithful as we watch and wait for Your providential work in our present circumstances (Esther 2:19-23). We confess these thin...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: January 28th
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 fail to accept Your various hospitable invitations to come before You as Your beloved children (Esther 1:10-22). We confess these things bef...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: January 21st
Dear Family at Christ Community, We will begin our Easter Season series in the book of Esther this Sunday. In Esther 1:1-9, we will encounter the first two of ten banquets that serve as the spine that holds the story together and helps move it along. These first two banquets reveal the garish celebrations of foolish King Ahasuerus who revels in his wealth and power as i...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: January 21st
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 are far more festive celebrating worldly things than we are with opportunities to celebrate Your eternal gifts to us accomplished and applied in C...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: December 24th
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 pause now to silently confess our individual sins before confessing together as a congregation from the text in Ruth. We confess that we too often fail to hope in...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: December 17th
Dear Family at Christ Community, This Sunday we will focus on Ruth 4:7-12 in worship. Boaz pays the price to redeem not just Elimilech's land and Ruth as his wife but also a heritage of hope from a dying family line. As part of our time together, we will participate in the Lord's Supper at the invitation of Jesus to remember that we participate in this heritage of hope....
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: December 17th
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 too often fail to recognize that our redemption in Christ is not just for ourselves but also for the redemption of those in our spheres of influen...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: December 10th
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 too often forget the cost of our own redemption that You were willing to pay in Christ (Ruth 4:1-6). We confess these things before You because Yo...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: November 26th
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 too often fail to maintain our integrity and honor You under tempting circumstances (Ruth 3:1-13). We confess these things before You because You ...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: November 12th
Dear Family at Christ Community, On Sunday, we will continue our journey through the book of Ruth. We will be introduced in Ruth 2:1-13 to Boaz, a man after God's own heart, for the first time as well as seeing the biblical nature of Ruth's character. Boaz serves as God's ordinary means by which He providentially provides for Ruth and Naomi in the immediate. Ruth exempl...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: November 12th
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 too often fail to serve as Your ordinary means to help provide for and protect those in need as You have faithfully done for us (Ruth 2:1-13). We ...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: October 29th
Dear Family at Christ Community, We begin our journey in the book of Ruth this Sunday. As part of our worship in Ruth 1:1-5, we will seek nourishment from the Lord's Table to help us experience the love of Jesus whom Ruth points forward to. Consider this quote from John Currid in Ruth: From Bitter to Sweet to help prepare you for the table: May we grasp the truth that G...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: October 29th
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 too often fail to orient ourselves to You when a significant challenge comes into our lives choosing instead to react in fear (Ruth 1:1-5). We con...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: October 22nd
Dear Family at Christ Community, We will conclude our Sacraments Series this Sunday with 1 Corinthians 6:9-20. Fittingly, we will celebrate the Lord's Table as the capstone. In preparation for coming to the table, I want to remind us of the various things we've emphasized to help orient us to Christ. Remember, you have the liberty to emphasize different aspects at diffe...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: October 22nd
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 too often forget that we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit which should affect our embodiment of the Gospel for Your glory, our joy, and the life of ...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: October 15th
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 too often fail to remember our baptism in Christ in preparation for the Lord's Supper (Acts 2:42-47). We confess these things before You because Y...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: October 8th
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 too often fail to ask You to help us in and with our doubts concerning You and Your love for us (Mark 9:14-28). We confess these things before You...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: October 1st
Dear Family at Christ Community,This Sunday we will be in Matthew 5:21-26 where Jesus challenges us to recognize the heart of all religious rites to be reconciliation with both God and one another. In the Sermon on the Mount, He calls for us to recognize that sin not only occurs in our actions but in our heart towards one another; He also calls for us to recognize that ou...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: October 1st
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 too often fail to consider who we need to be reconciled to and pursue that reconciliation before coming to the Lord's Table (Matthew 5:21-26). We ...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: September 17th
Dear Family at Christ Community, On Sunday, we will be in Matthew 26:26-30 where Jesus institutes the Lord's Supper. Cornelis P. Venema captures the heart of the Supper in Children at the Lord's Table? Assessing the Case for Paedocommunion: "The (Lord's Table), which as a visible sign of an invisible grace confirms and strengthens faith in the promises of the gospel, also...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: September 17th
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 too often fail to be nourished by the truth of our forgiveness of sins and newness of life signified and sealed in the Lord's Table (Matthew 26:26...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: September 10th
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 too often fail to live out the implications and applications of our baptism in Christ (Colossians 2:6-23). We confess these things before You beca...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: August 27th
Dear Family at Christ Community, This Sunday we will gather to celebrate Jesus as our King inaugurated in His baptism from Luke 3:15-22 along with God's faithfulness to our church in providing Robby and Matt to serve as Associate Pastors under Christ. As part of our celebration, we will be offered the Lord's Table to help nourish us in offering ourselves up to the service...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: August 27th
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 too often exalt earthly leaders over Jesus Christ who serves as the head of the church and means of salvation (Luke 3:15-22). We confess these...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: August 20th
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 too often fail to see the generational and missional purpose in our baptism and salvation as instruments of Your New Covenant faithfulness (Act...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: August 13th
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 fail to remember our baptisms when we want to be assured of Your love for us in Christ (Matthew 28:16-20). We confess these things befor...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: August 6th
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 fail to appreciate that Your sacraments help to strengthen us in covenantal relationship with You (Genesis 17:1-17). We confess these th...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: July 30th
Dear Family at Christ Community, We will begin our new series, The Sacraments: Divine Invitations, this Sunday. Through Westminster Larger Catechism Q. 161, 1 Corinthians 3, and the Lord's Table, we will see that the sacraments are made effectual by God's grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. The earthen vessels by which He wisely chooses to declare this Gosp...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: July 23rd
Dear Family at Christ Community, On Sunday, we will celebrate the Lord's Supper as we conclude our series in Romans with Paul's doxology in 16:25-27. He praises God for being able to use the preaching of the Gospel that appears to so many to be a foolish waste of time to strengthen the Roman saints as they share their faith in word and deed with their diverse neighbors....
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: July 23rd
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 frequently lack attentiveness to the preaching of Jesus Christ so as to grow stronger in our faith (Romans 16:25-27). We confess these things ...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: July 16th
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 frequently fail to be wise as to what is good and to be innocent as to what is evil (Romans 16:17-23). We confess these things before You beca...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: July 9th
Dear Family at Christ Community, On Sunday, we will gather together for worship to celebrate Jesus's Gospel as a beloved community that contributes to one another's growth and service in Christ. Paul details in Romans 16:1-16 many of those in the beloved community in Rome that have contributed to the Gospel's flourishing there and beyond. For each of us, I'm sure we c...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: July 9th
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 frequently fail to take time to appreciate the host of people involved in our flourishing in Christ (Romans 16:1-16). We confess these things ...
Keep ReadingHospitality Letter: Children's Ministry
Dear Family at Christ Community,With the focus in Romans 14-15 on hospitality, we wanted to consider a variety of hospitality opportunities for us over the next few weeks.This week we'll focus on Children's Ministry. This is a keyarea in which we serve the coming generations inteaching them of God's love for them in Christ and their opportunity to love Him and their neig...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: June 25th
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 frequently fail to b full of goodness and filled with knowledge to be able to instruct one another in living out the Gospel (Romans 15:14-21). ...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: June 18th
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 frequently fail to fully believe the Gospel with joy and peace so that by the power of the Holy Spirit we might abound in hope (Romans 15:8-13)...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: June 11th
Dear Family at Christ Community, This Sunday we have been given the Divine invitation to participate in worship which will focus on Romans 15:1-7. As part of our worship, the Lord will offer us nourishment in the Spirit from His table. Consider Charles Spurgeon's description of our condition as we initially came to Jesus by grace alone through faith alone in his Notes...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: June 11th
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 frequently fail to support the failings of others by welcoming them as Christ has welcomed us for the glory of God (Romans 15:1-7). We confess...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: June 4th
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 frequently fail to consider if our actions might make others stumble and whether those actions proceed from faith (Romans 14:20-23). We confes...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: May 28th
Dear Family at Christ Community, On Sunday, we are invited to grow in our understanding and experience of God's love for us and our ability to love our siblings in Jesus as we have been loved through His death and resurrection. This invitation includes the opportunity to be nourished by the Lord's Table in this endeavor. As part of our worship, Romans 14:13-19 will en...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: May 28th
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 frequently fail to hospitably pursue what makes for peace and mutual upbuilding with our siblings for whom Christ died (Romans 14:13-19). We c...
Keep ReadingBaptism Letter: May 14th
Dear Baptized Ones, This coming Sunday we are invited to participate in the baptism of Edmund Wesley Maphet as part of our worship in Romans 14:5-9. What a blessing to be included in this sacramental reminder of the interdependence of the weak and strong within the body of Christ! Just as God's grace was at work before Edmund was born as many of us prayed in our helpl...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: May 14th
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 frequently fail to honor You and give thanks to You in all that we do in Jesus' name (Romans 14:5-9). We confess these things before You becau...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: May 7th
Dear Family at Christ Community, We are invited this coming Sunday to gather in worship to hear the Lord God Almighty from Romans 14:1-4 as well as the other elements in our liturgy. By His grace, our Abba Father welcomes us also to His table to taste again of His redemptive goodness to us in Jesus the Christ. What a staggering image of the truly Strong welcoming the ...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: May 7th
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 choose to quarrel over opinions with those weak in faith instead of seeking to build up and edify through hospitality (Romans 14:1-4). W...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: April 30th
Dear Family at Christ Community, This Sunday we will celebrate God's love for us in Christ from John 3:16-21. As part of our celebration, we will prayerfully send the Stock family to share God's love in Malaysia. We will also receive the gift of Brian serving us the Lord's Supper. The celebration of God's love will continue with a picnic at Swift Cantrell Park followi...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: April 30th
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 sometimes love the darkness more than the light that You've sent in Jesus because of Your redemptive love for the world (John 3:16-21). We con...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: April 23rd
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 in our disorientation we often fail to orient according to Your character, honestly confess our disorientation, and reorient in obedience accordin...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: February 26th
Dear Family at Christ Community, On Sunday, we who are clothed in Christ will be invited to the Lord's Table to have our faith nourished by the Holy Spirit through Jesus' offering of His body and blood. We will come to the table in response to Paul's challenge to us to be gracious witnesses in Christ's image from Romans 13:11-14. The elements from the table serve to r...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: February 26th
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 too often make provisions for our own flesh to gratify our desires instead of being a gracious witness in Christ's image (Romans 13:11-14). We...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: February 19th
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 struggle to make disciples as You have called and equipped us to do in Christ's name (Matthew 28:16-20). We confess these things before You be...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: February 12th
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 fail to fulfill Your law as gracious witnesses through loving our neighbors by Your grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone (Roma...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: February 5th
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 fail to submit to You as sovereign King in how we engage our civil authorities for Your glory, our joy, and the life of the world (Romans...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: January 29th
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 too often fail to live out a Christ-like emotional intelligence inside and outside the church (Romans 12:14-21). We confess these things befor...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: January 29th
Dear Family at Christ Community, As part of our worship on Sunday, we will have the privilege to participate in welcoming 4 children to the Lord's table by profession of faith. Andrew Baird, Eamon Jolly, Lars Jolly, and Violet Jolly have responded to their baptisms by God's grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. We share in these eternal gifts as each of the...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: January 22nd
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 too often fail to evidence the virtues of a Christian for Your glory, our joy, and the life of the world (Romans 12:9-13). We confess these th...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: January 15th
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 too often fail to use the gifts You have graciously given us for the joyful unity of Christ's body (Romans 12:3-8). We confess these things be...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: January 1st
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 our conflicts are often not governed by Your law and humble worship for the purpose of peaceful restoration (Psalm 4). We confess these things be...
Keep ReadingWeekly Confession: November 27th
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 pause now to silently confess our individual sins before confessing together as a congregation from the text in Luke. We confess that we lack faith in the fulfil...
Keep ReadingWeekly Confession: October 30th
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 don't rest in Your mercy and grace as You invite us to in Lord's Day Sabbath worship (Hebrews 4:1-16). We confess these things before You beca...
Keep ReadingWeekly Confession: October 23rd
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 don't see the value of confessing our sins on the Lord's Day Sabbath (1 John 1:5-9). We confess these things before You because You are faithf...
Keep ReadingBaptism Letter: October 23rd
Dear Baptized Ones, On Sunday at our 10:30 am service, we will witness the baptism of Randolph Justus Benn as part of our worship in 1 John 1:5-9. As baptized ones, we can confess our sins as those cleansed and forgiven as well as to mature in walking in the light with God our Father. Confession serves not only to unburden us of our shame but also offers us the opport...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: October 16th
Dear Family at Christ Community, This Sunday we will gather to hear God's Word from Psalm 84 as well as the other aspects of our liturgy including the Lord's Table. Communion tangibly reminds us of God's presence with us in Christ. Donald M. Williams describes this reality in The Preacher's Commentary: Psalms 73-150: Like Israel of old, as we gather in (Jesus's) n...
Keep ReadingWeekly Confession of Sin: October 16th
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 don't come prepared to be in Your presence on the Lord's Day Sabbath as a blessed necessity that helps sustain us in the days following (Psalm ...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: October 9th
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 our willingness to sing on the Lord's Day Sabbath is more influenced by our preferences than the great things that You have done for us (Psalm 95)...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: October 2nd
Dear Family at Christ Community, As we begin Worship: A Divine Invitation, we will hear of a beautiful historical example of the people of God engaging joyfully in worship as a blessed necessity from 2 Chronicles 30. The chapter begins with Hezekiah, the King of Judah, reinstituting the Passover for the first time since Solomon's reign (approximately 200 years!) and t...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: October 2nd
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 don't treat Lord's Day Sabbath worship as a blessed necessity that is critical to our relationship with You (2 Chronicles 30). We confess thes...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: September 25th
Dear Family at Christ Community, We will conclude our series on Romans 9-11 this Sunday with Romans 11:25-36 in which Paul will exemplify how the deepest theological mysteries ought to give way to hopeful and expectant worship. As Timothy Keller writes on this passage in Romans 8-16 for You: Paul does not find the deepest impulses for praise in looking at human accom...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: September 25th
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 pause now to silently confess our individual sins before confessing together as a congregation from the text in Romans. We confess that we don't worship with h...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: September 11th
Dear Family at Christ Community, This Sunday we will gather at God's invitation to participate in worship to be further shaped as redemptive instruments for His glory, our joy, and the life of the world. As part of our liturgy, we will hear from Romans 11:13-24 the call to mortify our pride to help cultivate our relationships with Him and those in our spheres of influ...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: September 11th
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 don't mortify our pride as we ought given its consequences to our relationship with You and others (Romans 11:13-24). We confess these things ...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: September 4th
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 don't trust You to miraculously use pride and hardness of heart to graciously bring about Your plan of salvation (Romans 11:7-12). We confess...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: August 28th
Dear Family at Christ Community, As we hear and experience God's grace from Romans 11:1-6 on Sunday, we will be invited to the Lord's Table to be further transformed by His grace. The Holy Spirit will lovingly remind us in the broken bread of Jesus' body given for us to unburden us from our shameful failures to love and our guilty attempts to earn His love. In the lav...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: August 28th
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 frequently fail to see how You are preserving and displaying Your grace in and through us for this and coming generations (Romans 11:1-6). ...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: August 21st
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 presume upon Your grace and fail to listen to Your voice through Your word proclaimed (Romans 10:14-21). We confess these things befo...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: August 7th
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 don't hope and pray for those we think are hopelessly lost as we ultimately doubt Your ability to save them (Romans 10:1-4). We confess the...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: July 31st
Dear Family at Christ Community, This coming Sunday we will hear of God's free grace in salvation and the terrible cost of demanding to earn it instead from Romans 9:27-33. As part of our worship, the Lord's Table will help make visible God's free offer of salvation in Christ alone by faith alone through His grace alone. The broken bread will once again declare our ...
Keep ReadingWeekly Confession: July 31st
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 struggle to believe that salvation is in Christ alone by faith alone through Your grace alone (Romans 9:27-33). We confess these things before...
Keep ReadingWeekly Confession: July 24th
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 struggle to trust that Your redemption is accomplished in Christ alone according to Your boundless love alone (Romans 9:19-26). We confess the...
Keep ReadingWeekly Confession: July 10th
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 struggle to trust Your redemptive promises and plan as both gracious and good (Romans 9:6-13). We confess these things before You because You ...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: July 10th
Dear Family at Christ Community, On Sunday, we will hear the testimony of God's redemptive faithfulness and grace from Romans 9:6-13. Paul will point us to God's promises kept through His electing grace alone among the Patriarchs and preservation of His promised seed over the generations. While there is a deep mystery to God's saving work that sparks many questions ...
Keep ReadingWeekly Confession: July 3rd
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 don't believe that You sovereignly reign over all nations (Psalm 47). We confess these things before You because You are faithful to forgive u...
Keep ReadingWeekly Confession: June 26th
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 only want the crown of glory and not the cross of suffering in Christ (Mark 9:1-13). We confess these things before You because You are faithf...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: June 19th
Dear Family at Christ Community, This Sunday we will hear Paul's aching heart for the Jews who don't yet know Christ as Savior in Romans 9:1-5. We will see that his humbled conscience and heart for his brothers and sisters have been shaped by the work of the Holy Spirit as evidence of his union with Christ. Paul isn't satisfied with being eternally loved by God himself;...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: June 19th
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 struggle to love those who have rejected Christ and reviled us in the process (Romans 9:1-5). We confess these things before You because You a...
Keep ReadingCommunion Letter: May 29th
Dear Family at Christ Community, On Sunday, we will be reminded from Romans 8:18-25 of the abundant hope that we have because of our resurrection in Christ that will be completed at His return. The Holy Spirit helps us to cultivate this hope through our various sufferings in union with Christ as we seek to love God and others in this fallen world despite all the vario...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: May 29th
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 fail to suffer meaningfully in the power of the Holy Spirit because of the joy of the hope that is set before us in Christ (Romans 8:18-2...
Keep ReadingConfession of Sin: May 22nd
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 fail to mortify sin and vivify our adoption as children of God through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:12-17). We conf...
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