If you missed yesterday’s concert you can still catch the second performance, but not until tomorrow night as it has been postponed due to the inclement weather today. Stay safe!
Challenge Central: a CBC devotional
By: Pastor Jeremy Heikkinen
Aaaahhh! Why did you have to bring that up at a time like this? With Christmas around the corner, inflation, and rising interest rates being what they are, we are all thinking about this a little more these days. As horrible as financial debt is (Prov. 22:7), there is something even worse, spiritual debt!
You might be saying, “thanks a lot Pastor Jeremy you just ruined my day, I thought this was suppose to be an encouraging devotional”! I promise, I am getting there.
Were you at the Church House on November 27th…when Alissa Cooper painted the main point of the text? Do you remember where we were in God’s Word…how about what point we were on in the sermon…maybe you do and maybe you don’t. One thing is for sure, you probably can still remember what she painted and how she used the red paint at the end.
I was preaching through the Declaration of “Disarming Triumph: “God Made us Alive” (2:13-15). The text says,
“13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (ESV).
According to the text, we were all dead in the debt that we owed God. There was no hope for ever being able to pay back what we owed to God! We couldn’t consolidate, declare bankruptcy, or anything; we were dead! But praise the Lord, God made us alive together with him. He forgave us all our trespasses. He cancelled all our records of debt. He wiped it all way by paying for it Himself with the precious blood of His Son. Who does that?
Financial debt is a burden, one that we all want to do without. Where as we are probably not going to write a cheque to help someone out this season financially, what about sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and how they can have their Spiritual debt paid in full for all of eternity!
If you are facing the weight of debt, whether financial or spiritual, and you feel like you are being crushed with shame, talk to someone you know that loves Jesus. Jesus died a very public death to show that our need for Him is very public. Please don’t struggle alone.
What “rulers” or “authorities” does Jesus’ triumph need to be applied to in your life today? I challenge you to write out the top three things that you feel are the heaviest struggles in your life today. Substitute them for the words “trespasses” and “the uncircumcision of your flesh” of verse 13 and pray these verses back to God. Then, call a friend and ask them to help you in these areas.
Join us for a fun evening together!
Join us in celebrating Avery’s upcoming nuptials at a shower hosted by her family and friends.
Avery is registered on Joy and Amazon.
Challenge Central: a CBC devotional
By: Pastor Lars Janssen
A woman asked for prayer for her homeless daughter.
A confused young man wandered up to the door looking for something—but his addled mind couldn’t express what it was.
A malnourished teenager held up a sign asking for money.
A young girl wondered if anyone cared about her at all.
A dishevelled man called out for help from the side of the street.
A chronically ill woman didn’t know where to turn as her disease devoured her body and her savings.
The father of a terminally ill child begged for help in his desperate search for hope.
A young couple with no place to go had to sleep in a barn with their newborn.
Are these images familiar to you? Take a moment and read them over again. Have you seen these people, or people like them, in Brantford? The first four have been a part of my experience over the last few months here in Brantford. The last four were a part of Jesus’ experience during his time on earth.
The dishevelled man in Mark 11:47-52 called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped, talked to him, and helped him.
The chronically ill woman in Mark 5:25-34 snuck up on Jesus and touched him without permission. Jesus’ response was to stop and turn around so that he could talk to her and help her.
The sick child’s father in Mark 5:21-43 begged on his knees for Jesus’ help. Jesus went with him immediately, talked to him, and helped his daughter.
The young couple with the newborn in Luke 2:6-7 were Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. Jesus stopped what he had been doing in Heaven to be born as a human, to grow into a man who would talk to us and help us.
This makes me ask myself, Do I stop what I’m doing to talk and help?
Several people once asked Jesus if they could finish up what they were doing before they followed him. Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head … No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:58,62). These may seem like hard words, but they are simply acknowledging reality. If I love Jesus more than anything else, service in his kingdom is my highest prize. Why would I put it off?
Let me remind you, Central family, of some of the things we’ve agreed on together.
In our Church Covenant, we “most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another…to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expense of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the Gospel through all nations.”
In our Statement of Faith, we say that our church family ought to be “exercising the gifts, rights and privileges invested in them by His word” (Article 13 “The Church”).
What does it look like to contribute and exercise your gifts in your context?
May we find joy this Christmas season in the way Jesus stopped as a baby in Bethlehem, talked to us through his life’s teaching, and helped by his saving work on the cross. It’s often uncomfortable for us to stop, talk, and help like Jesus. It was uncomfortable for him too, but Jesus did just that for us.
How will you stop, talk, and help like Jesus this week?
