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"'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will...
Keep ReadingEzekiel 17:22-24 [Editor's Note: We started writing this week's Connect Devotionals when it appeared that we'd be in our new building on December 5. We had decided to take a small break from our current sermon theme and re-visit our church's "noble cedar" vision from Ezekiel 17. As you know, that opening date will need to slide a bit, but we felt that the re-visiting the ...
Keep ReadingThis is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about" (Matthew 1:18). Hope you had a fine Thanksgiving, and took the opportunity to practice some "we are family" ideas from our November sermon theme with your relatives and friends over the holiday. Let's keep at it!Today's CD is a quick advance notice of the important pivot we're about to make into our new series, Home f...
Keep ReadingHis love endures foreverHis love endures foreverHis love endures forever Psalm 136 This is the time of year when my company asks its employees to reflect on our performance. One popular acronym that gets throw around a lot is KPI: Key Performance Indicator. Business has its ups and downs, but if the KPI's we're measuring are going in the right direction, typically up and ...
Keep ReadingPsalm 136 Once upon a time our gangly teenagers were much smaller, and it was nearly impossible to go anywhere and get out the door on time. Sunday mornings were no exception. It didn't matter how early everyone woke up or what time we started the process of getting everyone fed and dressed in Sunday best. It seemed that we always arrived at church grumpy, crying, or not ...
Keep ReadingGive thanks to the Lord, for he is good to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt ... and brought Israel out from among them with a strong hand and an outstretched arm to him who divided the Red Sea in two and made Israel pass through the midst of it but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea to him who led his people through the wilderness Give thanks to ...
Keep ReadingGive thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love endures forever (Psalm 136:1) [Editor's note: This week, we welcome Bella Segnere to our CD writing team! Bella is a high-school sophomore at Cary Christian School, and active in our Pittsboro campus. It's great to welcome her voice and do take a minute to thank and encourage her when her first CD appears tomorrow by usin...
Keep Reading"Now if we are children, then we are heirsheirs of God and co-heirs with Christ,if indeed we share in his sufferings that we may also share in his glory." (Romans 8:17) A classic dramatic scene: the reading of the will. Sometimes it's the arrival of a completely unexpected letter: "Your [distant relative] died and left everything to you!" Sometimes it turns out that the i...
Keep Reading"Now if we are children, then we are heirsheirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." Romans 8:16-17 In college, I had a running joke with friends about the Olive Garden. "When you're here, you're familybut if we catch you eating next door at Red Lobster, you're dead to us." When you go to the ...
Keep Reading"We are God's children...we cry 'Abba, Father'." (Romans 8:16,15) Those of us of a "certain age" grew up with TV shows where fathers were successful, well-respected heads of loving families. Think "Father Knows Best." Literature gave us similar models such as Atticus in To Kill a Mockingbird. Many of us had similarly supportive and loving dads, so it's easy to transfer th...
Keep Reading"This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike 'What's next, Papa?' God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children." (Romans 8:15,16 MSG) At our house, Dad is better at adventures than Mom. In each ...
Keep ReadingRomans 8:12-17 A new month, a new series: We Are Family. And a new passage to explore, chew on, and digest: Romans 8:12-17.Scripture is a family saga, the family story from which each of our family stories derives. God designed creation for human habitation, but a habitation ordered around family, around life together in families. It wasn't good for first man Adam to be a...
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