Evangelical Community Church (ecc)

Message from the 2nd Sunday of Advent. Jesus, our Good Shepherd, protects us, guides us, leads us, and carries us when we cannot walk ourselves. Have you made a personal commitment to follow the Good Shepherd? If so, are you living out that commitment?

This passage reminds us that the gospel is disturbing: It disrupts and radically changes lives and societies. It calls us to costly repentance, requires us to forsake our idols, and exposes societies' sin.

In every circumstance, we have the same choice: how to respond. Will we believe that God is good, that his sovereign grace is present with us even in the difficulties of life? Are we willing to believe this in spite of our circumstance, or will our circumstances determine what we believe? Don’t answer this question too quickly--let it trouble you for several days as you consider your response.

A defining characteristic of the church in the book of Acts was that they were a community of Christ-followers who were led by the Spirit. How often do we think of ourselves that way? Shouldn’t this be true of us today as much as it was for the church in the first century?

Christ Community Church (formerly ECC)

This message is a look at Peter's situation in prison and the people praying for him. Do we really have faith that our prayers matter?

Diversity in the body of Christ (mentioned even in ECC's Values Statement) is not something we created--it is something we inherited from Scripture and the history of the church. It all started in Acts 10, our text for this Sunday morning.

The dramatic growth of the church early in Acts led to the appointing of assistants who would take care of physical needs and help others “find their place” in the body of Christ. Are you on that path of spiritual formation, contributing to life in the body of Christ? What is your role?

Josiah delves into the book of Ecclesiastes in the ongoing series on wisdom in the Bible.

Joe Farrell, our guest speaker for ECC's 2014 Missions Conference, spoke to us about the work of International Justice Mission around the world to fight sex trafficking, slavery, sexual violence, property grabbing, police abuse of power, and citizenship rights abuse through rescuing victims, bringing criminals to justice, restoring survivors, and strengthening justice systems. He challenged us to make a difference, corporately and individually.

Guest speaker Joseph Farrell speaks about the importance of doing justice and the work of IJM.

The universal truth concerning Jesus Christ does not change, but perhaps the message is different when it is delivered in a variety of contexts. For instance, the evangelistic message of Peter at Pentecost (Acts 2) was different than the message of Paul at Mars Hill (Acts 17). Please think with us about how the Gospel is both universally true and culturally diverse.

The good news about Jesus Christ is for everyone but the proclamation of the good news is always delivered in a particular context. Does this affect the message or just the delivery of the message? Surely the universal truth concerning Jesus Christ does not change but perhaps the message is different when it is delivered in a variety of contexts. How is the Gospel both universally true and culturally diverse? For the next two weeks, leading up to the ECC Missions Conference on October 19th, we will consider the idea of contextual evangelism – the good news in multiple settings.

Join us in exploring the story of Paul's conversion from chief persecutor of the church to champion of the church, and consider with us the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives and the lives of the people around us.

Josiah continues the series on biblical wisdom, this week from the book of James.

Jesus' disciples embraced a partnership with Jesus while he was with them, and after his death this partnership not only survived but grew at Pentecost into a new awareness of their mission. Their focus on the Gospel was singular, enthusiastic, and fearless because they realized that the mission of God on earth was absolutely indestructible. That gave them incredible courage and it should do the same for us.

Miracles were a prominent feature of the early church, and they still exist today. What is the purpose of miracles and how are they connected to the mission of God in the world?

Dan Waugh discusses the 'why' and the 'how' of justice, exploring the connection between wisdom and justice.

Together, in community, we are called by God to care for each other and our community. Don't stay on the fringe--you were made for community! Our lives together, our bearing of each others burdens, communal worship, and our witness to the world are all part of God's purpose for us. Let us be good stewards of this community and God's call to be missional people.

The message explores the topic of how we are are to approach our lives and circumstances when the path before us is unclear or difficult.