Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church Sermons
Web Site: Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church
Total Sermons: 19
Total Amens: 1
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Something More Important than Just Plain Old Motherhood
In the Christian year, Pentecost Sunday is the day which remembers the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2). But more than that, it celebrates the work of the Spirit in our lives today. The Holy Spirit is not an “it” but a person of the Trinity. He draws us to Christ. He convicts us of sin. He persuades and enables us to believe. He unites us with Christ and mediates the presence of Jesus to us, bringing all the benefits of salvation to our souls. He gives gifts. He leads. He fills. He comforts. He brings forth spiritual fruit. And the Spirit always seems to throw the floodlight back onto Christ.
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2008 Missionary Report
You shall be my witnesses ... to the ends of the earth." This Sunday, instead of a traditional sermon, we are taking the opportunity to have several members of our congregation share some of their experiences from the recent short-term mission trips to Juarez, Uganda and Congo. Those who participated in these trips have a strong sense of the privilege it was to represent all of us from CCPC. They also have a strong sense that, though they were given the opportunity to make a difference, it was perhaps as important that they were made different. We as a congregation can be very thankful that the Lord has called us to a life together ... a life of meaning, purpose and service. This morning, we celebrate God’s grace that unites us with God’s people worldwide!
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Buidling a Culture of Peace in Your Church
Guest Speaker Ken Sande is president of Peacemaker Ministries and author of The Peacemaker, which has been translated into ten languages. He is passionate about bringing the life-changing power of the gospel and the wisdom of God's peacemaking principles into the lives of Christians and their churches. His early experience in engineering and law fueled his desire to dedicate his life to biblical peacemaking, resulting in his decision 25 years ago to found Peacemaker Ministries. Ken has used biblical peacemaking principles to minister to parties in hundreds of conflict situations ranging from simple personal disputes to complex church, corporate, and legal conflicts. He has written numerous resources on conflict resolution and is in frequent demand as a confer ence speaker. His wife, Corlette, who has homeschooled their two teenagers, published a biblical peace making curriculum for children called The Young Peacemaker. The Sandes’ favorite family activity is hiking in the mountains near their home in Billings, Montana.
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"The Long View of Suffering: Of Martyrs and Bystanders"
Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16, 1 Peter 2:2-10, John 14:1-14 Acts 7:55-60. This is in many ways the sequel to my previous message on Palm Sunday. That Sunday's sermon dealt with many of the personal realities of how we deal with suffering in relation to God. That's the "short view"...suffering on an individual scope. Today takes a huge step back from that. We will glance at the powerful story of the intersection of one martyr--Stephen--and one bystander--Saul. But we won't let the drama and excitement of this powerful account eclipse what Luke, as author, was intending to convey through this story's setting in the grand scheme of his two-volume story we call Luke-Acts. In fact, such a perspective on the story grants us a powerful lesson on the "long view" of suffering--looking at it from God's perspective rather than ours. The main thrust of today's message is that when we take the long view of suffering, we share in God's kingdom in some extraordinary ways.
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Do You Know His Voice?
Fourth Sunday of Easter Lectionary: Acts 2:42-47, Psalm 23:1-6, 1 Peter 2:19-25, John 10:1-10 John 10:4 “When he (the shepherd) has brought out all his own (sheep), he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” Jesus also said of Himself in verses 11 and 14, “I am the Good Shepherd.” And so the question being asked in this morning’s message is, “Do you know His voice? ” As pointed as the question may be however, once we understand the context surrounding the story and look at it through the lens of Ezekiel 34, we discover in addition to Jesus declaring Himself to be the Good Shepherd, that there is a second question: “What kind of shepherd are you?” The Pharisees were supposed to be the shepherds of the flock and yet Jesus draws a comparison between good shepherds who “lay down their life for their friends” and bad shepherds (hired hands) that “abandon the sheep and run away” leaving them vulnerable to attack. It’s one thing to know that Jesus is the Good Shepherd which is very comforting to think about, but once we have acknowledged that, we have to probe a little deeper and ask ourselves, “When people look at me, do they see Jesus—the Good Shepherd? Do I care enough about those for whom Christ died, that I would be willing to lay down my life for them?” These are deep, penetrating, and convicting questions we must consider.
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Were Not Our Hearts Burning Within Us?
The account in Luke's Gospel of the two disciples who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection is one of the most intriguing in the New Testament. It gives us, in story form, very deep insight into how it is that we come to know the Lord's presence in our lives. Against the backdrop of God's first seeking us, it shows us how the Lord uses the rich interplay of emotions, Scripture, understanding and participation in a common meal with uncommon meaning to bring us into a life changing realization of God's grace in Christ. The two who met Him said to the others, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" As we open the Scriptures today it is with the prayer that the Lord will make our hearts burn as well and that the burning in our hearts will transform our lives.
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Stepping into the Furnace: Welcoming the Refinement of Our Faith
Our text this morning comes from the book of I Peter. To fully understand our passage we need to know about the context in which it was written. The apostle Peter wrote this letter to predominantly Gentile believers scattered throughout Asia Minor, which is present-day Turkey. It was most likely written during the early 60’s (as in 60AD, not the 1960’s), during the reign of the Roman Emperor, Nero. Nero was famous for his hatred and persecution of Christians. Under his reign believers suffered greatly for their commitment to Christ. Today we will explore what relevance a text written to those suffering believers could possibly have to us in 21st Century America.
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Do Not Be Afraid - He is Risen!
This Easter morning, both visually and in the message, our attention will be drawn to the cross that stands so prominently in our sanctuary. As a symbol, the cross is capable of evoking great passion, but it is the events behind the symbol that are capable of producing not only passion, but great change for good in each of our lives. As the Scriptures clearly teach, something happened in the crucifixion and resurrection, not only to Jesus, but to us as well. The practical value of the mystery of our union with Christ in His death and resurrection is hard to see for many. May God give us the grace today to see that in our union with Him, crucified and risen, our deepest needs and greatest hopes find their fulfillment.
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The Dark Side of Palm Sunday: Lessons from a Worshipping Sufferer
If you’ve been around for Palm Sunday in the past, think back on those experiences. Recall the atmosphere of worship. Perhaps you were with a congregation that grabbed palm branches and waved them high during a jubilant hymn or song. Maybe you sang those famous words, sung on the very first Palm Sunday: “Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” In most (if not all) our experiences of Palm Sunday, churches tended to pull out all the stops, coming in at 100% on the joy-meter. But there was a dark side to Palm Sunday, which we will explore today through the eyes of King David. Why dampen such a festive day? We’re willing to do it because the one person who saw and experienced the dark side of Palm Sunday was none other than Jesus Himself. Today, we’ll walk the Palm Sunday that Christ walked.
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Serve
Hi, Welcome to Youth Sunday! We are thrilled that you are here. One of the movie characters of all time is Ebenezer Scrooge from the movie A Christmas Carol. He is great because of what he ultimately discovers about the joy of serving others. His entire life and reason for living is transformed the moment he chooses to stop being a vicious, mean-spirited boss and become a gracious man finding delight through serving others. It’s a great story! Ebenezer’s amazing change is like the change people experience when God’s Spirit transforms them. They move from selfish to servant. This change happens to those who allow God’s purpose of ministry to fill their lives and give them power to do what is unnatural-serving others rather than themselves.
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