Let the Children Come /  by

Sermon Title: Let the Children Come
Scripture Reading: Psalm 78:1-7; Matthew 18:1-6; 19:13-14; 21:15-16

Why were the disciples rebuking the little children that rushed up to Jesus? And what then does Jesus’ rebuke of his disciples mean for us today? In anticipation of VBS, pastor David draws our attention on the love Jesus had for children, and how we have a ministry to love, protect, and raise children up in an environment that is conducive to building faith.

Let the Children Come is about welcoming and cherishing children, cultivating in them real life for the Kingdom of God. 

Listen to David and view the slides here.

Faith Like a Child /  by

Sermon Title:  Faith Like a Child
Scripture Reading:  Matthew 11:20, 25-26; 18:1-5; Luke 2:41-52; 1 John 3:1-3

Jesus said we must become like little children to enter into and experience the Kingdom of God. What does it mean to have faith like a child? Did Jesus mean we should just accept what everyone tells us? Do we just "imagine" that the gospel is all true, that God hears our prayers, and that Jesus is with us today? 

Faith Like a Child is about the necessity of child-like faith in order to enter the Kingdom and to grow in Christ. Pastor David helps us to focus our attention on what Jesus was actually commending in children that adults should emulate and practice in their faith journey, how we are to live in the Kingdom of God.  

Listen to David and view the slides here.

Breaking the Idol of Ideas /  by

Sermon Title: Breaking the Idol of Ideas
Scripture Reading: Mark 10:17-22; James 2:14-17; Deuteronomy 12:1-3

The process of discipleship teaches us how to live in the Kingdom of God right now, right here, today. That’s what is offered to us as disciples of Jesus. Too often, people think to “go deep” with God means to simply accumulate more information about the Bible, or knowing more about Jesus. Many Christians have believed that new ideas change people.

While God can use a new idea, belief, or doctrine to deepen our walk, ultimately, it is acting on what we say we believe that transforms us in the Spirit. Jesus wants us to get our LIFE from him. Having good ideas and adopting sound doctrine is not enough. In this message, pastor David says it’s time that we break the idol of ideas, where we realize that right thinking isn’t enough, and move on to faithful obedience to the voice of Christ. Listen as David challenges us to jump in the deep end.

Listen to David and view the slides here.

Seven Signs of Life (7 of 7) /  by

Sermon Series: Seven Signs of Life
Sermon Title: Nutrition: A Diet That Makes a Difference
Scripture Reading: John 4:27-38; 6:35-40; Matthew 4:3-5; 5:6

In biology we learn that there are seven processes of life that identify all living organisms. We could also view these as “signposts” to a healthy living organism. Here at CMF, we're using these seven signs as a diagnostic tool for assessing individual spiritual health as a disciple, as well as the overall health of our church.

This series looks at the seven signs of life in the Kingdom of God.

  1. Movement: Prove You’re Not Dead
  2. Respiration: Breathing God’s Breath
  3. Sensitivity: Our Spiritual Awareness
  4. Growth: The Inevitable Result of Healthy Life
  5. Reproduction: Multiplying Life, Creating the Future
  6. Excretion: Getting Rid of the Junk
  7. Nutrition: A Diet That Makes a Difference

Nutrition is necessary for life. Without the right kind of nutrition, and a steady intake of food that is good for you, you will slowly die. There is no way around that. In the same way, a wholesome spiritual diet enables us as individuals, and as a vibrant church, to function as a healthy living organism—displaying all of the signs of life! For disciples of Jesus, there is only one main course. Christ himself is the bread of life and the well of living water.

In the final message of our series, pastor David shares how we can receive Christ through a regular routine of spiritual disciplines. Practicing these fundamentals of the faith places us on the path of obedience, and produces a life of fulfillment in the Kingdom.

Listen to David and view the slides here.

Seven Signs of Life (6 of 7) /  by

Sermon Series: Seven Signs of Life
Sermon Title: Excretion: Getting Rid of the Junk
Scripture Reading: Ephesians 4:17-31; Colossians 3:1-10; 2 Corinthians 7:1-4, 8-11

In biology we learn that there are seven processes of life that identify all living organisms. We could also view these as “signposts” to a healthy living organism. Here at CMF, we're using these seven signs as a diagnostic tool for assessing individual spiritual health as a disciple, as well as the overall health of our church.

This series looks at the seven signs of life in the Kingdom of God.

  1. Movement: Prove You’re Not Dead
  2. Respiration: Breathing God’s Breath
  3. Sensitivity: Our Spiritual Awareness
  4. Growth: The Inevitable Result of Healthy Life
  5. Reproduction: Multiplying Life, Creating the Future
  6. Excretion: Getting Rid of the Junk
  7. Nutrition: A Diet That Makes a Difference

Excretion is a natural part of a healthy living organism. When Jesus told us to “Repent and believe the Good News,” he was telling us to get rid of the junk, turn from our way, and make room for new life and growth in the Kingdom. Every heart builds up a collection of junk throughout the day that needs to be emptied through the process of repentance. If we do not get rid of these sins, they will work like toxins in our body, even resulting in spiritual death.

In the sixth message of our series, pastor David expounds on how excretion comes in the form of repentance and discipline. Getting rid of the junk in your life is good for you and our church as we continually pursue Christ as his disciples on mission for the Kingdom.  

Listen to David and view the slides here.

Seven Signs of Life (5 of 7) /  by

Sermon Series: Seven Signs of Life
Sermon Title: Reproduction: Multiplying Life, Creating the Future
Scripture Reading: Genesis 1:11, 21-23; Matthew 7:16-17; John 15:1-8

In biology we learn that there are seven processes of life that identify all living organisms. We could also view these as “signposts” to a healthy living organism. Here at CMF, we're using these seven signs as a diagnostic tool for assessing individual spiritual health as a disciple, as well as the overall health of our church.

This series looks at the seven signs of life in the Kingdom of God.

  1. Movement: Prove You’re Not Dead
  2. Respiration: Breathing God’s Breath
  3. Sensitivity: Our Spiritual Awareness
  4. Growth: The Inevitable Result of Healthy Life
  5. Reproduction: Multiplying Life, Creating the Future
  6. Excretion: Getting Rid of the Junk
  7. Nutrition: A Diet That Makes a Difference

Reproduction is necessary for the propagation of life. Healthy organisms reproduce and multiply. God's first blessing pronounced on all living things is "Be fruitful and multiply." While all living thing grow, in God's view of creation, bigger is not always better. Multiplication is also built into God's design. All living things are characterized by their ability to bear fruit or re-produce themselves, otherwise their kind will be soon become extinct in only one generation.

In the fifth message of the series, Skip Tobin (US Ministries Director at VMM) will explore God's double blessing of multiplication and fruitfulness behind the important life sign of reproduction.  Stay tuned to the end and listen in on the congregational response time.

Listen to Skip and view the slides here.