eyes of faith

In Matthew 6 Jesus gives us three binary choices:

1.    Treasures on earth or in Heaven
2.    Generous eyes or stingy/suspicious eyes
3.    God or mammon as our Master

But we argue, “No, it is not that simple. I can manage a balance between the two!”Can you? And how are all three of these related? Tune in to find out!

Ruth 1: 1-5 // Tom Nelson

Advent is a season of both waiting & expectation. A time for each of us to slow down and reflect on the story of our lives and what God is doing in our world. As we journey through this Advent season as a church, we are peering into the lives of characters in the bible who looked at the brokenness, uncertainty, and suffering in their life and saw something different. As human beings, we are hardwired to belong, to fit into a community, when we don’t experience the secure attachment of belonging we encounter the deep pain of soul-suffocating aloneness. When we don’t belong, we feel like an outsider in an insider world. God welcomes the outsider to His family and Ruth is the ultimate outsider—yet she is never outside the loving eyes of God. God sees those most unseen. God uses the most unlikely to be a part of the most impossible.

Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/49173779

Prayer Requests: https://ccefc.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/2509/responses/new

23.12.03

In this episode of theFormed.life podcast, host Paul Brandes sits down with our on staff guest, Johnny Daigle, to talk about the Christmas season. Together they explore Christmas through the eyes of faith and how sacrifice can be a powerful spiritual discipline during the holiday season. They reflect on the stories of characters like Ruth, Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Joseph, and the Wise Men and shed light on the interplay of faith and sacrifice. Join them as they unravel the profound significance of these characters' experiences and discuss the hope for the listeners to identify their next step of faith during this special time of the year. 

THREE KEY TAKEAWAYS:

1. Seeing through the eyes of faith: Johnny and Paul emphasize the significance of seeing life through the eyes of faith, where faith is described as a form of perception beyond sight. It's about stepping beyond what can be controlled and facilitating God's work beyond human control.
2. Sacrifice as a spiritual discipline: They highlight how sacrifice as a spiritual discipline is pivotal, emphasizing the importance of sacrificing for others and abandoning personal security to trust in God's provision. This perspective is connected to the characters in the Advent series, reflecting the idea of offering oneself to help others and experiencing God's provision.
3. Living out the light of God with us: Johnny and Paul underscore the idea that the light of God with us should resonate throughout the year, not just during the Christmas season. The hope is to encourage individuals to identify their next steps of faith, embracing the call to sacrificially step into and experience God's presence in a deeper and more profound way.

#AdventPodcast #ChristmasThroughFaith #ChristmasSeason #SacrificeAndFaith #EyesOfFaith #ChristmasTraditions #LightOfTheWorld #ChristmasCharacters #ChristmasSacrifice #WeddingSingerDream

GUEST BIO: 

Johnny was born and raised on the north side of Pittsburgh, PA, and met his wife Kelly at Wheaton College. They stayed in Chicago after graduating in 2015, and in 2019 Johnny began attending Trinity International University to pursue his Masters in Divinity. Johnny and Kelly have two children Benjamin and Zoe. In 2022 the Daigles moved to Kansas City and Johnny joined the Christ Community staff.

QUOTES:

“But when you stepped out on the reality of God, it is so much more blessed because God is there at the end. When you step out, you're stepping into the hand of God and he will uphold you. And that's what Jesus shows, and that's what we get to do."

— Johnny Daigle

"What does it look like for us to really sacrifice with an expectation and an eye on something that God can do far beyond what we could control or manipulate on our own terms?"

— Johnny Daigle

"Why do we do lights? Well, Jesus is the light of the world. Why do we give gifts? Because Jesus is the greatest gift ever given, and we rehearse that. And it's easy with the secularization of Christmas to kind of forget those fundamental truths."

— Paul Brandes 

RESOURCES:
theformed.life

cckc.church/christmas

KEYWORDS:

podcast, Christmas season, family, traditions, faith, sacrifice, eyes of faith, Christmas lights, Christmas gifts, Christmas story, church, Jesus, Advent, characters, Ruth, Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Joseph, Wise Men, spiritual discipline, sacrifice, fasting, light, God, compassion, wedding singer, escape rooms, sports broadcaster, soul

00:00 Popular Christmas house draws visitors from afar.

04:26 Christmas reminds us of Jesus through gifts.

09:40 First Christmas characters navigating chaos and faith.

12:31 Focus on Ruth's unique story and resources.

16:09 Connecting Ruth to Judges, both in context

17:31 Engage Christmas season famously, with gratitude and moderation.

21:05 Identify our next step of faith sacrifice.

24:22 Johnny regularly sings loudly in the building.

Hebrews 11: 1-3, 6 //  Tom Nelson

When you hear the word faith, what first comes to mind? What may come to mind is a kind of wishful thinking, an irrational blind leap, or a last resort option when all other options have vanished. But what is faith as the Holy Scriptures reveal it? And why is it the key that unlocks the flourishing life God intends for us? Properly understood, faith is the currency of the Christian life, informing, shaping, and empowering every moment, and every aspect of daily life. Faith remembers the past, informs our present, and looks forward with hope.  Faith revisits and remembers its rootedness. May we increasingly see with the eyes of faith for as the writer of Hebrews reminds us;  Without faith, it is impossible to please God!
 
Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/49108759

Prayer Requests: https://ccefc.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/2509/responses/new

23.07.23

In this podcast, Pastor Rachelle preaches into how we must deal with the spirit and mindset that tries to get us to despise what God is trying to do in and through our lives. It's time to get a fresh perspective and look through the lens of faith.

Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/48941176

We are anxious people living in anxious times. The many challenges of pandemics, climate, technology, overwhelming information, and political and governmental concerns seem to “seep into our collective consciousness, building on an increased sense of insecurity and powerlessness…an anxiety over an uncertain future.” Prayer is God’s most powerful antidote to anxiety. Prayer helps us regain a hopeful perspective. Prayer helps us remember who is really in charge. Prayer helps us reconstruct a more communal faith. As creatures made in God’s image, we were created to pray. We were always meant to have an ongoing communion with our Triune God who we increasingly know and are increasingly known by. We pray to Jesus, the one that is really in charge, the one who has all authority. The one who loves us more than anyone and has the sovereign and omnipotent agency to act on our behalf and to intervene in our lives and in a fearful, anxious, and uncertain world.

22.08.28

The first-century Gospel writer John brilliantly weaves truth through a multi-layered story of Jesus healing a blind man. In the nearby literary shadows of this remarkable story lurks a provocative question, “Who’s Really Blind? Helen Keller once said, “The only thing worse than being born blind, is having sight, but no vision.” Embracing the Gospel is the only way to gain true sight. Just like the light of the world gives light to the man born blind in our story, so too can Jesus the true light of the world heal you of spiritual blindness and bring light to your life. Do you see him?

Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/48926475

22.07.31