Christian Life Church :: Chester, VA

Our number one enemy in feeling wanted is our insecurity. We often allow our toxic thoughts to run wild and wrong thinking patterns to be written in our brain, but it doesn't have to be that way.  We have control over our brain and a lot of sickness and disease through our thinking and choices.  Science is finally starting to catch up with biblical truth in this area. We should be living out of an awareness of God's divine acceptance.  Listen to learn more.

God is throwing a revival all over the world, and everyone is invited to join in the party. We are challenged to prepare a table for the hungry and destitute from every nation, tribe, color, creed, and economic system.  There is room for everyone.  Invite them to the table so His House will be full. Listen to learn more.

The words we speak today shape our expectations and frame our tomorrow. Our expectations influence our relationship and interactions with God.   If we have great expectations that God will move and show up, He will move and show up.   Kids, family, our job, and people will disappoint us; God never will.  His timing is always perfect.  Listen to learn more.

Last week, we heard about being childish and childlike in our faith. We need to be childlike in our worship. Worship is simply giving God our all. Worship takes some humility as you acknowledge how great God is and begin to lift up your hands and sing. We were created to worship and if we don't worship God, we will worship something or someone else. Worship is powerful.  Listen to learn more.

The Bible teaches that we are to be childlike and not childish in our Christian walk. If we are childlike, we will move forward to maturity in Jesus; if we are childish, we won't move forward.  A childlike person seeks to empower others, give credit to the team, and serve the Lord.  In contrast, a childish person will seek personal perks, credit for themselves, and play for the crowds.  Listen to learn more.

When we came to Jesus, something life transforming happened to us. The Bible uses term like new creature and new creation; we have been radically transformed. In life, we all have a reputation that tends to shape our image.  In Christianity, we have been shaped and formed into an image, but we are not being who we are called to be;  we are not walking out our true identity. Listen to learn more.

Sometimes we like the concept of God - as provider, protector, etc, but we don't really like Him meddling in our lives. When we get tangled up in sin, we try to hide or downplay it so that we don't have to face up to the fact that we are tangled in sin. Sin is what God isn't, what God doesn't, and what God didn't.  Listen to learn more.

God is in all generations of those who love Him.  It takes all generations to pull the train of God's Kingdom and Purposes. If we fail to do what God has for us, we break the train and the next generation will have to learn everything all over again. Listen to learn more.

Moving into a new building is the beginning of something.  We can't stay here; i.e., we can't stay where we are. God's purpose is that not only the church, but also individuals move forward in their walk with God. We are all taking a trip together.  Listen to learn more.

The church is never the building; we put the "church" in the car and bring it to the building with us when we go to "church."  The more people that gather together, the greater the faith, and the greater the anointing.  Long before this day began, God got excited about the people that would become the church. You could be the missing crayon; you are wanted and you belong. Listen to learn more.

God is in the story of Christian Life Church. He has blessed us with a rich racial and demographic diversity. As we prepare to move into our new church building, we are reminded the building is not the church; the people are the church.  The Holy Spirit abides in us and we carry His presence where ever we go. God has a "we" and a "me" in every story. He often speaks to a person, the me, and when that person obeys, the results affect everyone, the we. Listen to learn more.

Sometimes kids can get into an argument about whose daddy is the strongest; they'll say something like, "My Daddy can beat your Daddy." There is no contest between God, as our Heavenly Dad, and what He offers us, and Lucifer, as our earthly spiritual dad, and what he offers us. Lucifer kidnaps people to use and abuse them. We can be blinded to the differences between God and Lucifer because of the experience(s) we've had with our natural dad(s).  Listen to learn more.

Being a Christian can be risky because we don't necessarily understand everything. At times, when God directs us, we need to step out in faith and simply trust in Him. He is faithful because of who He is and what He has done for His Children. He has a proven track record. The Bible, His written Word, teaches us that He is faithful. Listen to learn more.

God will always provide what we need. What He demands or requires of us, He supplies. We are who we are, because He paid the bill. Every other religion is about what you have to do; Christianity is about what He has done for us. Listen to learn more.

When God spoke to Abraham, he obeyed because he honored and respected God; he loved and trusted Him. Our faith requires action to show it is a real living faith. When God asked Suzanne and Dennis to plant this local church, they obeyed. We demonstrate our faith, our love and trust in Him, when we simply obey God because “He said so.” We honor and respect Him by our obedience. Listen to learn more.

This church; i.e., the people in it, have been bitten by the love of God. When we accept Jesus as Saviour and become His children,  He fills us with His contagious love so we can give it away. His love is a love the world does not know or understand, and does not give. His love draws others.  Listen to learn more.

The Sermon on the Mount, as given by Jesus, is often used as the moral code by which Christians should live. However, within the context in which it is written, Jesus is saying something much more significant. He takes the moral standard known to the religious rulers of His day, and creates a higher standard. His grace is the only basis for meeting this new standard.  His grace is so amazing! Listen to learn more.

Sometimes, things don't work out and bad stuff happens in life. When things happen that are outside our control, we get upset; we don't like it. We often end up demanding answers, or making up answers if we don't hear anything from God we can understand. If we live life within the limits and borders God  provides, we can live our life through all seasons.  When our mind can't figure out what God is doing, our heart should rest in God because we trust Him and know by experience that He loves us. Listen to learn more.

God, in His marvelous grace, wisdom, and provision, has planted things in our church culture, in our intrinsic culture, that could be easy to overlook. People serving in many areas seek to honor God and others in all they do. They have a spirit of excellence in their lives which motivates them to go above and beyond the status quo. This opens their lives for the blessing of His favor. American culture tends to view excellence in churches as a negative because we get excellence and perfectionism confused. Excellence has nothing to do with perfectionism. Listen to learn more.

As a local church, our mission and purpose can be summarized in three statements: Loving God, Loving People, and Loving Life. Loving Life is about experiencing the abundant life promised in John 10:10. Today's culture defines the abundant life in terms of financial prosperity, faster cars, bigger houses, smart kids, and so forth.  To understand what abundant life is really about for the Christian, it is important to understand what the Bible has to say about it. Listen to learn more.