True Love
8-15-2023
J. Fields
Recently I preached a message on the Ten Commandments and their relevance for today,
at the end of the message I read what Jesus had to say in Matthew 22; 36 “Teacher, which is the
most important commandment in the law of Moses?” 37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love
the L ORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ [ e ] 38 This is the first and
greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as
yourself.’ [ f ] 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two
commandments.” When Jesus speaks, we should never take it lightly especially when He tells us
how important this commandment is.
Every week people are walking into the church that are going through a whole slew of
things, let’s be honest, life can be ruthless. I want to hear people say, wow, I was hurting but
when I walked into the church, I was loved by so many people that my wound was healed.
There’s not one single person who has it all figured out, everyone one of us is a work in
progress. In reality, the church is for the broken, the lonely, the hungry, the poor, the rich, the
joyful, the sick, the sinner, the mature, the healed… This list could go on and on. We all need
Jesus, none of us have arrived yet.
We are called to love God, we do this through surrendering ourselves to Him, by reading
His Word, through prayer, and by just being “real” with Him. The same is true when loving on
people; people just want realness, people who are searching for a relationship with Christ, maybe
they feel “stuck”, or maybe they just want to go deeper in His Word, they want real true
authentic love, this can and must start through us, the believers. Share the Word of Jesus, love on
someone, maybe just smile at someone, or better yet live out Jesus in all you do.
Love God and Love People
Be Blessed,
Jason
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Detoxify
8-1-2023
C. Hayden
Our immediate culture, environment, and those around us have a significant influence on how we feel, the way we engage one another, and our state of joy or lack thereof. When those we work with, worship with, live with, and/or play with exude behaviors that are often toxic, those same behaviors can drain the life out of a person, causing them to want to be anywhere else other then the place they are. When we see people move away from us, regardless of the setting, it could be a sign that toxic poison exists. I’m not talking about physical chemical poison. I am referring to the emotional poison that exists when the atmosphere of an environment becomes void
of the fruit of the Spirit and polluted with selfishness, hate, unnecessary anger, manipulation, controlling, gaslighting, intimidation, untruths/lies, self-absorption, constant drama queen or crisis king, deception, snarky- ness, untoward humor, gossip/backbiting, complaining,
argumentativeness, jealousy, envy, and the like. These behaviors create an atmosphere that is toxic to those around them. And we all have fallen into the trap of behaving in a manner like this.
But when it becomes commonplace or the usual modas operandi of a person or organizations culture, it is TOXIC! It is poisonous! And no one wants to be anywhere close to poisonous toxicity.
Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.”
Now let’s do an exercise. Let us read through that list of the Spirit’s fruit 3 or 4 times. Do you here the words that God is speaking to you. If you have it memorized, close your eyes and repeat the words. Do these scriptures describe the environment you are currently in? Does the culture and
atmosphere where you live exude the fruit of the Spirit? Do you give off a vibe that causes others to feel and sense these qualities? Or would your environment or example be described by many as toxic?
Ephesians 4:29-32 says, “(29) Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but what is good
for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. (30) And do not grieve the Holy Spirit…(31) Let all
bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. (32) And be kind to one
another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as Christ forgave you.”
Now if you are a generally toxic person, you may not realize you are being toxic or may not care. But God sees are communication, and it matters to Him. Toxicity in an organization will absolutely kill it. Whether in a Church or in a person’s home, we should always be displaying the fruit of the Spirit, not the poison that originates with the devil and is so destructive in the
world. Toxic behavior repels people. The fruit of the Spirit, will draw them.
May God bless you even more!!
Pastor Chris
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Do You Hear Him?
7-15-2023
J. Fields
Recently Pastor Greg Laurie whom the movie Jesus Revolution was based, held his annual crusade in California, there were thousands in attendance and hundreds of salvations and re-dedications during the two-day crusade. Along with some powerful preaching of the Word, there was some dynamic worship by some of the world’s most recognized musicians such as Chris Tomlin and Michael W. Smith. Even though our world is a mess it was refreshing to see so many people on fire for a mighty move of God!
I’ve been reading and listening about the craziness going on in the world, let’s just be “real”, there’s no pastor, no politician, nor any domination that can fix it, what the world needs is a true encounter with Jesus. Over the past several months many of us watched the Jesus Revolution movie, there have been revivals breaking out throughout college campuses, church attendance is creeping back up; people are looking for authenticity — No more church as usual where we come in and sing 3 songs, hear a 15-minute message and then leave until next Sunday, people want the presence of God, they want a church who doesn’t mind “getting dirty”.
Folks, I don’t know about you but I don’t want to play church, the reason I’ve enjoyed CCC is that Pastor Chris brings truth, the “church” is hungry for going deeper, our elders and leadership are “all-in”, let me ask this…What could happen right here in little ole Huntington if 75% of every church attendee stood up and declared that it’s time to take our city back, it’s time to start living once again as One Nation under God, it’s time to open our doors as a hospital for the hurting, can you imagine the incredible move of God that will sweep our Nation.
We are the church, if we want to see “real” change it starts with us. God is moving here at CCC, and we are just starting to see a bit of His goodness. God is truly on the move. If you are interested in getting involved, we have numerous small groups meeting, Bible studies taking place, men’s and women’s ministries, and many areas where we need servants. There are many ways you can go deeper, wherever you are called make sure to get ready because God is taking us deeper into His presence.
John 10:27 – “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
Blessings,
Pastor Jason
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