Mcc Podcast

This Sunday I’ll be preaching on friendship. I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had with people in our church this past year who feel like they struggle with friendships. As we look at the friendship between David and Jonathan, we will seek to understand what a Godly friendship is supposed to look like and learn how to overcome some barriers to forming meaningful relationships.

Abraham Lincoln said, “The greatest lessons I ever learned were at my mother’s knees.” And more often than not, moms, we learn a lot just by watching you live your life. This has been true of great leaders throughout history and perhaps none more evident that King David. This Sunday as we continue our look at his life we will be reminded that his life was full of decisions. Some of those decisions were great and helped develop a nation. Other decisions, not so much. This week Rich will help us understand how, where someone came from, helps connect the dots on their behavior. King David started from a pretty lowly background. We will take a look at what he learned about being a shepherd, how that ties into the importance of moms, and how David’s shepherd qualities helped to shape a Kingdom.

This weekend we are going to begin a series of messages that will examine the life of King David. I don’t know about you, but David is my favorite Old Testament character. Did you know that: More has been written about David than any other character in the Bible. He’s an Old Testament character, but he has 59 references to his life in the New Testament. The New Testament opens and closes mentioning his name. Jesus was born in the city of David, was called the root of David (and the seed of David), and was given the throne of David. But perhaps the most impressive words about David are the words spoken by God about him in Acts 13:32: I have found David son of Jesse, a man after My own heart… David was a great man of faith. But what impresses me most about David is that he wasn’t perfect…by a long shot! As a matter of fact, if you’ve never read the story of David, you may be surprised at how much he’s like you and me. Over the next several weeks we’re going to look at events in David’s life and see

This will conclude our Ick series by talking about SEX. I sense you backing away already. But we need to be clear on this—all of us need to be clear on this—because we live in a world that is saturated with sex. And our world is saying things right now that many of us NEVER imagined we would hear. In her book, Guardians of Purity: Raising PG kids in an X-Rated World, Julie Hiramine says, “This world we live in is reaching into the hearts and minds of our children, shaping and molding them into a replica of its values, trends, and world-views.” Let that sink in and then ask yourself this question: What is happening in the world in which we live? We’ll talk about that. And let me offer this friendly warning: this message is geared for Junior High through adults. However, if you want your younger children to hear with you they may have some questions for you after.

I have appreciated your response to talking about issues that give almost all, although it may be fair to say ALL of us, the ick. This week we’re talking about money. And I know the reason for the ick. In part of Jesus’ most famous sermon, He told us that there is a tug of war going on in our hearts involving our stuff. Jesus is recognizing a strategy that our enemy uses against us. I want to remind you that the devil knows he doesn’t have to get us to follow him - he just has to get us to stop following Jesus especially in this area of our life. So we’ll look at that and how to kick the ick. By the way, it’s simple, it's just not easy. And I’m looking forward to having my friend, Kent Fillinger, with us this weekend. Kent is with CFR who is one of our ministry partners. He also happens to have been a student when I was a Student Pastor. He will share briefly about how CFR is benefiting churches across the country.

This weekend we will continue our Ick series where we’re talking about those things in our lives where when someone brings them up, in our minds we go, “Ick.” I don’t want to talk about that. Stop talking about that. So we thought we’d talk about that. You’re welcome. This weekend I will be addressing the ick of politics. I realize that the only thing that might be more icky than politics, is talking about politics in church. And what I’m going to share this weekend, I actually shared 4 years ago. And so you know, this message is not intended for you to change your political party or your political views. It’s intended to help us think about something MUCH MORE IMPORTANT than who lives in the White House for the next 4 years. And don’t hear what I’m not saying. I’m not saying that’s not important. I’m not saying disengage from the privilege we have to vote. I’m not saying your vote isn’t important. Not at all. And I will say this about voting, although this is not what I’ll be talking about this weeke

This Sunday we will be kicking off a new series called “Ick.” As our Teaching Team thought through this year and what topics we need to talk about that will most likely give many, or most, or at times all, people “the ick.” So for the next few weeks we’re going to talk about politics, money, and sex. This Sunday we will begin by talking about “culture.” It will be interesting to see how you would define that word. However you define it, you certainly can’t escape it. The real question is who is doing the influencing? Does culture define social norms? How much power does culture have on public opinion, politics, even (and especially) the church? Rich will walk us through a parable, as Jesus lays out a principle and a story in Acts to see that principle lived out!

The 2 biggest holidays of the year in the church are Christmas and Easter.Why is that? What is the draw?If you are a follower of Jesus these holidays celebrate where we get our identity. Christmas reminds us that God loves us so much that He sent His Son on a rescue mission to save us. And Easter reminds us that it cost Him His life. Both of them remind us of Who we belong to.Join us this week as we look at Philippians 2 to see how Easter is an annual reminder of the hope God gives you IF you will give yourself over to Him!

This Sunday I will be sharing about what happened on that first Palm Sunday (although they would not have called it that). The occasion was Passover Week, a time when thousands of Jews from all over Palestine made their annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem. This event was the remembrance of the story we read in the book of Exodus of the Jews leaving their slavery in Egypt for the promised land. And it was one of the Annual Feasts that all Jewish males were required to attend regardless of where they lived. Now the usual population of Jerusalem was approximately 30,000 people. But each year at Passover, thousands of Jews would come to the city. The estimates of visitors range from 150,000 to 2-1/2 million.   And in the midst of this crowd Jesus rides into town on a donkey. And the surprise is, you may find yourself in that crowd. I’m looking forward to sharing that.

This week John wraps up his letter to the early church by addressing a question that they had in the first century that many people still do today. How can I be sure I will go to heaven? It’s important that we get this because it is vital to our spiritual emotional well being. Disciples of Jesus can be sure of their eternal life. John is wrapping up his letter with this 1 John 5:13-15 (NIV): I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. Just how secure is our salvation? This topic seems to cause a lot of anxiety, especially for those in the church. This Sunday Mike will talk about why it does and what John says about how we can be sure.

This Sunday as we look at 1 John 4, I am going to remind you of something I’ve said before: almost truth, isn’t. This week I get to share what John says about false teachers and the truth. And this will impact us and God - us and each other - and others and God. That’s a lot! Here’s why this is so important: if you don’t know what the truth is, almost truth sounds like it. It sounds like something Jesus would say. It sounds like something the church should be all about. It’s almost truth. But almost truth, isn’t. We need to know what God says. We need to know what the culture is teaching. You need to know what you and your children are learning from the shows you watch. All of us are being discipled. We need to be aware of who is discipling us and our family. It was a problem in the first century church. And today.

What is love, baby don’t hurt me. Joking aside, love is one of those words our culture loves to throw around. We use it as a description of our enjoyment of a good cup of coffee, or how great a meal is. And at the same time use the phrase to describe our deep affection for a spouse, a friend, or a family member. To say the word “love” has been muddied in our world is an understatement. So I’ll ask you again, What is love? Well, John, the apostle of love, paints a picture of what true love is. Echoing the lifestyle of Jesus himself John shows us that true love is shown by our actions and honesty with one another. This week Eric will unpack what that means for us as a body of believers who are called to love one another well.

Did you know that you can confess, repent, and be forgiven, all from the comfort of your own home? I found a sight called Absolution Online and you begin by selecting a category (some sins occur in more than one section): -10 Commandments -The 7 Deadly Sins -Internal Sins -Physical Sins -General Sins I also found an app called Sincerely - Off My Chest. It seems that people want to get things off their chest. So they publicly acknowledge things like: -I removed the book jackets from trashy novels so that I look more sophisticated. -I think I’m racist. -I’m the anonymous caller who told your boss that you’ve been stealing. One author said, “Like some of our readers, I’ve never personally asked God for His forgiveness, but recently I’ve come to realize that most of us, religious or not, seem to be indulging in some form of confession on a pretty regular basis.” Religious or not, we feel the need to get something off our chest. This week I’m looking forward to sharing what John says about sin as we look

This week I get to kick off our series on the book that we call 1 John. This book is actually a letter written by John. I don’t know if you know this, but Jesus nicknamed John and his brother James, two of the 12 apostles, the Sons of Thunder. You can find where Jesus gives them that nickname in Mark 3:17. It seems that it may relate to an incident when a town rejected Jesus and they wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy it. You can find that story in Luke 9:53-54. My guess is that you grew up with kids in your neighborhood or at your school who could have earned that nickname. My brother and I were called the “Most Destructive Kids On The Block” but that’s another story. I tell you that because when we get to this letter of John toward the end of the New Testament, John is now called The Apostle of Love. The Son of Thunder became the Apostle of Love. That’s what Jesus can do in your life. As we look at how John encourages us through what he wrote to the early church, you will see that he weaves t

Let me tell you 3 things I know about your decision to follow Jesus, without knowing your story. You had already heard the message, probably. It wasn’t like someone came to you in your 20’s or 30’s and said to you, “Jesus died on the cross for your sins” and you responded, “What? He did what? Are you kidding me?” There are a few, but for most of us the message wasn’t new. And it wasn’t simply the message. It WAS the message, but it WAS ALSO the messenger. There was something about THAT person combined with the message combined with your current circumstances. You. Whether you see it or not. Whether you are ready to accept it or not, you have been and will continue to be perfectly positioned by God, because of who you are and the experiences you’ve had, to be the person God wants to use in someone else’s life to help them follow Him. In our Journey series we have been reminded that disciples of Jesus are following and being changed by Jesus. This week I get to remind us what it means to be committed

This weekend we will be looking at one of the very things that has perhaps caused people to struggle with church; they have seen too many whose lives often don’t match their words. Did you know that last year we helped 53 people make their commitment to Jesus through their baptism? Which is great. But we all know that making that initial commitment to Jesus is not the finish line. It’s actually closer to the starting point of our faith journey. And when it comes to being a disciple of Jesus, there is a decision we make once, about making Jesus Lord of our life. Now to be sure, we need to recommit to that daily, to remind ourselves and Jesus of Who He is in our lives. And that calls for an initial change of our lives - that is what Rich hit last week. But there is another change that happens for the REST of our lives. It is a spiritual growth that is designed to continue as long as we breathe. Just like we expect to grow physically, we expect to grow spiritually. Does that make sense? The problem that m

We kick off a new series this week called Journey and week 1 is all about being a follower of Jesus.

This Sunday, in our Holiday Field Guide series where we are looking at how to survive the holidays, we will be looking at how to survive disillusionment. This is a significant issue for many of us at MCC and in our culture, especially around the holidays. Sometimes we get so caught up in the lights, gifts, and even the pace of Christmas that we don’t notice that there are others who, quite frankly, are a little disillusioned about faith because of those things. This week Mike will take us back into the passage we looked at last Sunday to guide us through why Joseph dealt with being disillusioned and what he did about it. And what we can do about it ourselves, as well as help others, today.

It may be fair to say that most of us have never been lost in the woods….but picture it: you’re lost, you have no supplies - no food, no water, no shelter. What would you do first? Where do you begin? How do you figure out what is safe? Sounds like you need a field guide! A field guide is basically a manual for identifying natural objects, flora, or fauna in nature. It can provide survival tips and tactics, and show you what is safe to eat, what you can use for shelter, navigation, etc. This series will be a field guide for us - to show us how to navigate the holidays. We’ll look at how to navigate relationships, our emotions, our thoughts, our choices, and our faith so that we stay on course and don’t end up “lost” in the busyness of this time of year. This kind of field guide will help us keep Jesus at the center of this Christmas season. This week Josh will be talking about family. Navigating the terrain of family relationships during the holidays can be treacherous - we’ll be looking at 3 charact

I think when most people think of generosity, they think of a specific act. Somebody had an unexpected expense. They can’t afford to get it fixed. Somebody hears the news and swoops in to save the day. The bill is paid and life is back to normal because someone wrote a check! Is that generosity? I’d like to think that, yes, that was generous. But does that one act paint the picture of what God says generosity is through His Word? I would submit that a single act of generosity can be displayed without a real heart change. You see, that is what God is up to. As He shapes our hearts to reflect His character, He is trading us a “heart of stone” for “a heart of flesh” Ez 36:26. This week Rich will walk us through a look at the things we should see in the life of a disciple that is being changed by Jesus. Paul talks plainly about them as he concludes the first letter to the Corinthians.