Ruth 4:13-22 Prequels are stories whose contents precede those of a work that has been previously released and enjoyed. Think Star Wars: Episodes I-III. At their best, they shed light on famous characters and scenes by providing their backstories to audiences. As we conclude our walk through the book of Ruth, the last few verses […]
Ruth 4: 1-12 There’s a well-known line from the movie When Harry Met Sally, which might as well have been uttered by Ruth and Boaz: “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” As we read […]
Ruth 3:1-18 Discouragement and depression can suck the hope right out of our hearts. The 18th Century English poet, William Cowper knew that. He had a really hard life, even after he came to faith in Jesus. With the encouragement of his pastor, John Newton, William Cowper penned these soul-challenging words, “Judge not the Lord […]
Ruth 2 Typically, in our culture, the wedding comes first, and then the reception follows. In the book of Ruth, it’s just the opposite. There’s a wedding that looms toward the end of the story, but beforehand, there’s a reception. It’s not the reception of a couple to a party in their honor (this couple hasn’t even met […]
Exploring the Gift of Prophecy – July 2019 The audio from the first “Exploring the Gift of Prophecy” meeting, held at CCC in July 2019. This time was led by Pastor Marc and included questions from participants. The recording came from a hand held recorder on the podium, so we apologize for clanks at […]
Ruth 1:1-22 Throughout history, millions of couples have fallen in love, married, and grown old together. Most of their stories (even the best of them!) have long since been forgotten by the generations that have followed. But one of those love stories has been tucked away for us in the Old Testament–the story of […]
Acts 13-14 In Acts 13:1-4, we see that the church at Antioch was told by the Holy Spirit to set apart Paul and Barnabas for missionary service; so they did! They prayed for them and sent them off to do extraordinary things. In the next chapter, Acts 14:24-28, after their work was complete, we […]
Jonah 4:1-10 If you had never heard the story of Jonah, you may assume that the story would end at the conclusion of chapter 3. Jonah had finally gone to Nineveh, God’s word had been shared, the people had repented, and God had relented of the disaster that had been forewarned. But this Sunday, […]
Jonah 3:1-10 In Jonah 3 we witness the largest repentance recorded in Scripture. The most evil in the city turned upside down by the grace of God! As we admire God’s power to save in Jonah 3, we will also learn from Jonah and the King of Nineveh how a heart compelled by the gospel […]
Jonah 2:1-10 In this second chapter of Jonah, we see that Jonah’s voluntary dive into the Mediterranean involved weeds “wrapping around” his head (v. 5) and metaphorical bars “closing upon” him (v. 6) as he sunk toward certain death. He survived that near-death experience not because of some cleverly crafted escape plan, but because “salvation […]