Going Through Samaria /  by

Hello CMF,

This Sunday (Nov 22nd) we will have a guest speaker with us.

Robert Howe is a friend of mine and has visited us before. Robert has a MA in Global Leadership from Fuller Theological Seminary, and is now working on a Doctor of Missiology (DMiss) in the area of Leadership Development at Fuller.

He currently works for the grad chapter of InterVarsity at Virginia Tech.

Robert has a passion for developing leaders and churches to be missionally engaged in the cultures around them. Now more than ever the church needs to be equipped for this task.

Here is what this Sunday's message looks like:

Sermon Title:  Going Through Samaria:
The Journey of Intercultural Discipleship
Scripture Reading:  John 4:1-42
Focus:  A key way that God shapes us as disciples of Jesus is through intercultural encounters with people from backgrounds different than our own. The disciples' journey through Samaria in John 4 is an example of how following Jesus will sometimes take us out of our cultural comfort zone.

In this message, guest speaker Robert Howe will share stories of how God has shaped him through experiences of other cultures, and he will invite others to reflect on their own "Samaria" for the sake of the kingdom of God.  Join us for Sunday School at 9:30 AM & worship at 10:30 AM.

Grace & Peace,
Pastor David

Reading the Bible to Know Jesus /  by

Hello CMF,

Did you hear the message Abiding in the Person of Jesus last Sunday?

Listen as I follow up with further thoughts on reading the Bible for the sole purpose of knowing Jesus. Be sure to see the Lectio Divina ("divine reading") steps below the video.

Give it a try!  Set aside about 20 minutes where it's quite and you can be alone. Choose a passage or a verse(s) from Scripture and follow these four reading steps:

  1. Read.  Prepare yourself to hear God's word. What is being said in a broad sense?
  2. Reflect.  What words or phrases stand out to you? Meditate on them.
  3. Respond.  What do you need to express? Offer your thoughts and emotions back to God. 
  4. Remain.  Wait for Jesus in his presence. What is he saying to you? Talk to Jesus in prayer.

Grace & Peace,

Pastor David

More on the Real Jesus /  by

Hello CMF,

Listen as I share more on the real Jesus of history and faith via a visual addendum to Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up? (2 of 6) in our Knowing Jesus series. Also, I share a brief reminder about response times and why we do them at our church. Thanks for taking the time to watch!

Are you taking the time to read and encounter the Jesus of the Gospels?

Grace & Peace,

Pastor David

Knowing Jesus Series /  by

Hello CMF,

I'm excited to tell you about our new worship series beginning this Sunday!

Knowing Jesus -- A Worship Series for Saints & Sinners

In the fourth century AD the grassroots Jesus movement became an official religion. “Christianity” quickly became a dominant force in the Roman Empire, for good and for evil, taking to our faith a great deal that didn’t reflect Jesus’ life and teachings or the practice of the early apostolic churches.

There have been voices all throughout church history that have called us to repent of the things we’ve made it so that “knowing Jesus and making him known” might be at the center of our lives and the fuel of our faith. In its purest form, this is what it means to be an “evangelical” Christian.

In this six-part worship series, we will look at some of the challenges we face today in making Christ central and supreme in our lives and in our church. Saints and sinners alike will be invited to encounter the real Jesus of history and of faith in order to discover the abundant life he promised.

Knowing Jesus invites us to consider what it actually means to have a “personal relationship” with Christ—moving beyond our knowledge about him to personally experiencing Jesus by abiding in him. What does it mean to follow Jesus this way? How is it that all of the Christian life flows out of this?

Join us October 11th – November 15th for a series that goes to the heart of our faith.

See you on Sunday for the first message, Nothing Greater Than Jesus.

Grace & Peace,
Pastor David

The Anabaptist Missional Impulse /  by

Hello CMF,

In the following video blog, I talk about a few things that have recently come into perspective for me regarding Anabaptism and the missional church. Thanks for watching!

If you missed my blog post Challenges for Anabaptists in a Post-Christian Culture earlier this year, you can watch a video of pastor Greg Boyd deliver his challenging message there.

You can also listen or download the mp3 below.

See you this Sunday as we conclude the Missio Dei series!

Blessings,

Pastor David