Evangelical Community Church (ecc)

Maybe you missed Connexion because you were on the road still...well, listen as Josiah helps students think about how they can begin to prepare for Christmas spiritually.

Today we trace "The Progress of Hope" from the time of Isaiah to the first advent of Christ, to us in the church, and into the future to Christ's second advent. This isn't a hope we keep in our back pocket and pull out when times are glum--it's a hope we live by daily!

Here are some words of the Apostle Paul: “Submit to one another out of reverence to Christ…consider others better than yourselves. Each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore, let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead make up your mind not to put a stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way." These are lofty words, but this is how we are supposed to live.

The Apostle Paul made a radical statement in Romans 13, “all authority that exists has been established by God.” How can that be true? Suppose this is applied to a dictator whose primary vision for a nation is to wipe out an ethnic minority. Was Adolph Hitler established by God? Should Christians have followed the authority of the Third Reich? These are the kinds of questions that emerge from Paul’s advice and these are the kinds of questions we will address.

Josiah helps us dig into this important topic in scripture and think about what it means for our life now and in the future!

Often, the idea of “surrender” has a negative connotation of defeat: surrender to an enemy, surrender to “the inevitable” life circumstance. However, when we surrender to God we actually find freedom, love, and even power. The hymn writer George Matheson put it this way: Make me a captive, Lord, And then I shall be free. Force me to render up my sword, And I shall conqueror be. I sink in life’s alarms When by myself I stand; Imprison me within Thine arms, And strong shall be my hand.

Paul gives us many statements on love. How are we to see others and respond with this love?

If God is truly sovereign, then he is completely in control of everything. If God chooses his own course for the future, using his own carefully selected people, then how do we fit into the picture? Is choice on our part even possible? Are the sovereignty of God and human free will in conflict with one another? Apparently, the Apostle Paul doesn’t think so.

The Apostle Paul says that there is power in the gospel. How is the gospel the power of God? Consider these words: salvation, redemption, deliverance, resurrection, eternal life. Those are powerful words! Let’s think together about why Paul makes this declaration and what it means for us today.

The mission of God in this world is inseparably linked with the mission of God’s people. When God blessed Abraham, the purpose of that individual blessing was instrumental – the world would be blessed through Abraham. In the same way the mission of God in our world flows through individuals--in this case, the church.

This week at Connexion we considered how the grace we've received in Jesus Christ leads us to be people who care for those in need. How can we reflect God's heart for the poor and oppressed in our lives? Josiah leads the teaching time with special interviews of two members of the Connexion community.

This Sunday kicks off our month-long focus on missions! We heard from both Pastor Bob, who spoke on Romans 8:18-27, and from Dr. Jennifer Wilson, the spearhead of the hospital project being planned to serve impoverished communities in northern Ghana as part of the ministry of GRID-NEA and David and Brenda Mensah.

Josiah asks us to consider how the good news of Jesus Christ leads Christians to be people who live by faith in our daily lives. What does it mean to live by faith? What practices can we implement on a daily basis to grow in our ability to do so? Josiah will preach - "Daily Essentials for Living By Faith," focusing on Jeremiah 17:5-8.

This week Pastor Dan continues our series Identity Reconstructed, considering the believer's past, present, and future. Romans 7 & 8 combined are two of the most encouraging chapters in the New Testament. These chapters remind us we aren't alone in the struggle against sin--it's the lot of all followers of Christ--and despite our (sometimes losing) struggle, we have been pardoned and liberated through Christ!

In this message Josiah wrestles with faith and our goals in life. How does Christian faith impact the way followers of Christ approach the things in our lives that God has given us passion, ability, and opportunities to do? What does the Bible have to say about our ambitions, the pursuit of excellence, and our definition of success?

In Romans 6:1-11 Paul reminds us of what happened when we trusted in Christ. In our baptism a transformation occurred, a death and resurrection. Since we died in Christ we have also been raised in Christ. We are no longer slaves to sin and death. Instead, we now have a new master, Jesus Christ our redeemer.

Senior Pastor Bob Whitaker discusses what the interaction between our faith and learning on campus looks like. There was a time of Q&A also.

Join us as we unfold the ultimate surprise of human existence – God’s provision of grace for sinners who look to Christ in faith - and consider it's impact on our lives and future.

Paul's statement, "None of us is righteous, not even one” is clear and could be depressing apart from the good news: the only human being who was sinless, Jesus Christ, has become the righteousness of God for us. Through Jesus Christ we have been declared righteous by God himself. Let’s remember this and rejoice!

Josiah Leuenberger helps students think together about how Christian faith comes to bear on the way we relate to the people God has placed in our lives in the midst of the unique opportunities and challenges of our context.