EXPELLED - Good Movie!

Ben Stein's Movie, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed is an excellent film. Don't miss an opportunity to view it. It's Eye Opening!

Study of the Epistles of Peter

Our Wednesday night Bible Study will continue with the topic of the First Epistle of Peter. Join us for this very interesting study. Chapter 2 deals with subjects that are important to every true believer.

Principalities, Powers & Rulers - Part 3

Sunday's message concluded the sermon series entitled, Principalities, Powers & Rulers.

The Devil has been using an “infiltration method” for thousands of years. Satan has gotten into the church, and is succeeding in draining our strength and power. Revival seems to be gone in America, and we are losing ground. More people are being born than being saved by far. The Devil is stealing our influence, and even our churches are being used against the cause of Christ.The devil infiltrates churches who are:

I. FORMAL IN TRADITION

II. FLESHLY IN TRANSGRESSION

III. FALSE IN TEACHING

IV. FAILING IN TEMPTATIONS

However the Bible is filled with examples of men who did not yield in time of trial. Abraham was known as a great man of faith, and he was true to God. Joseph was enticed by Potiphar’s wife, but he would not yield. Even though he suffered much, he would not disgrace himself. Elijah and Elisha were men who would not give and bow to Baal. Job was subjected to the most horrible fate of all, but held steady. Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den because he would not give in to the modernists.Finally, see that Christ was tempted in the wilderness. There He was led by the Spirit to be tempted by the Devil. He did not submit to the Devil for a moment, but came out victorious over sin. The Bible says, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (I Cor. 10:13). We are told in James 1:12, “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” Peter says, “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations . . .” (II Pet. 2:9). Solomon warns, “My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not” (Prov. 1:10).

Michael Jackson's Death

C Todd Robbins made some extremely astute comments, today, that I thought were worth posting here on this site. He wrote,

Tonight I was watching all the thousands gathering at the UCLA Medical Center, and all the channels relaying the events of Michale Jackson's death. They recounted his fame, his great talents, his perceived impact on the world. I heard all the comments by so many famous people of how he had affected their lives and how his death had shaken them. They showed of all the riches he had gone through, and even his rental house that he was paying $100,000.00 a month for. I saw people gathering in Times Square crying, and all around the world people being affected by his death.

Truly, I can appreciate the sadness. And during this time, one camera from a helicopter caught the image of them taking his dead body from the LA County Sheriff's Department helicopter, wrapped in a white sheet from the hospital, and on a hospital gurney. He then was placed in the back of a white County Coroner's van....just like many others who were being taken for an autopsy. His riches, his fame, his talent, his history.... none of it separated him from his appointment that the writer of Hebrews talked about. While everyone was focusing on his life, that image burned in me... this man was already in eternity, and nothing they thought was so wonderful really mattered.... it was the condition of his soul.

Death is real, and eternity is real. I wouldn't even begin to say where He is right now, but that white sheet, and that gurney reminded me.... It is appointed for man, once to die...and then the judgement. God help us remember the big picture when we deal with people, every single day. To see them as a soul, no matter who they are, because one day that body will just be wrapped up in a sheet on a Gurny. Help us to see past all their abilities, issues, weirdness, or skill...and realize, everyone needs Jesus...and we are supposed to be His body in this world.

Principalities, Powers & Rulers - Part 2

The story is told of a man who was drinking his morning coffee and reading the newspaper before he went off to work. His wife came in and asked if he knew what day it was. Of course, he had no clue. But he didn’t want to appear that obvious, so he said yes, and quickly pretended he was very interested in what he was reading. As the day progressed, he wracked his brain, trying to remember what day it was But he couldn’t come up with anything. So to be safe, he sent her a dozen roses at 9:00 am., and then again at lunchtime. He then called the local jeweler and had him hand deliver an expensive diamond necklace to his home for his wife. Fearing that wasn’t enough he called the local clothing store and had them deliver an expensive new fur coat to his wife for the special occasion. When he went home, his wife met him at the door with all the expensive presents he had purchased, and said “Honey,… this is the best Ground Hogs Day ever !”

Sometimes we go through life clueless to the events and happenings that go on in the spiritual realm. But while we move from one moment in time to the nextthere are spiritual confrontations taking place that effect our lives everyday.

Four areas of life our spiritual battle effects:

1. This Battle Effects Your Personal Life

Many believers are seeing the wounds of spiritual warfare in their personal lives. The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians saying: “Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth, each one of you, with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be anger, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity” (Eph. 4:25-27) If Satan can seize our emotions, he can destroy our ability to function by crippling us emotionally or leading us into all manner of destructive and addictive behavior.

2. This Battle Effects Your Family
Many believers are also feeling the effects of spiritual warfare in their families. The devil messed up the first family in the Garden of Eden, and we have been dealing with the effects of Adam’s and Eve’s sin ever since.

Moses said to the Israelites, “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. “I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands” (Exod. 20:4-6 NLV). That may sound unfair for a God of love and justice to do that. Perhaps this story will help you understand the way the meaning was expressed. In his forthcoming book When You’ve Been Wronged , Erwin Lutzer tells this: "A young pastor began a ministry on Saturday mornings to the inmates of the local county jail. Each week he’d go into the jail cells and conduct Bible studies and prayer sessions among the inmates -- mostly young white men who were doing time for anything from burglary to habitual drug use. As he’d enter the jail the despair and anger among these nineteen to twenty-four-year-olds was palpable."When the young pastor asked the warden how so many young men with great promise could end up in such a place, the warden sighed and said, ’This place is filled with boys who got tired of waiting for their dads to keep their promises -- promises to provide, promises to show up and spend time with them, promises to come home at night -- they finally got so angry with the injustice of it, they went out and did stupid things.’"Young men waiting for their dads to keep their promises! What a sobering reminder that broken promises can help send a young man down a road of personal destruction."

Fathers can give a godly heritage. God said to Moses, "Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ’The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt’” (Exodus 3:16 NIV). Here is a godly heritage passed down through the generations. The Israelites in Egypt were heirs of the covenant made with their great, great grandfather Abraham generations ago. Because of that, God would intervene in their lives, deliver them from slavery and lead them to their inheritance in the Promised Land. Forty years later, when Moses was giving his farewell sermons to the Israelites before they entered the Promised Land after 400 years of being away, he said: “Israel, listen to me. The Lord is our God. The Lord is the one and only God. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your strength” (Deut. 6:4-5 NIRV).

“Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates” (Deut. 6:6-9 Msg).

3. This Battle Effects Church Life
Spiritual warfare also has an impact on church life. Paul told Timothy to watch out for “doctrines of demons” that will infiltrate the church (1 Tim. 4:1). The church is being undermined in many places today by teachers who claim to teach the Bible, but are teaching doctrines from hell.

4. This Battle Effects Our Culture

Finally, spiritual warfare affects the life of a nation, the culture in which we live.According to passages like Daniel 10, entire nations are influenced by the invisible battle in the angelic realm. Satan is called “the prince of the power of the air” with good reason (Eph. 2:2) Our ability to deal with the spiritual realm will determine whether we win or lose in the physical realm.Satan’s job is to get us to ignore the spiritual realm or give it low value. If he can divert us from the spiritual realm, he can divert us from finding spiritual solutions.

CCC Youth to Attend Forward '09

The CCC Youth will leave Thursday morning to attend the Forward Conference in Atlanta. The congregation blessed them with an offering of $1028 to go along with the money they raised through special events. We love and appreciate our youth. We pray God's blessings upon them during this week of activities.

My Dad!

Pastor Ron and family had the priviledge of spending a few days at home in West Virginia. It's always an honor to spend time with family and friends. Thanks, Dad, for all that you do!

Father's Day Service

The Lord blessed tremendously this past Sunday as we honored the fathers of CCC. We are extremely appreciative of their faithfulness and commitment to God, the Church and, most of all, their families. May the Lord bless these men abundantly!

Happy Father's Day from CCC!

Principalities, Powers & Rulers

Last Sunday morning we began a new sermon series entitled, Principalities, Powers & Rulers. One of the first choruses I learned as a child was, “I may never march in the infantry, ride in the calvary, shoot the artillery, I may never fly ‘or the enemy, but I’m in the Lords’ army.” There is an enormous amount of truth in that chorus. The Bible is full of military analogies. Throughout the Psalms, David talks of God preparing him for battle, of God going before Him in battle, of God being our leader in battle.

Somebody wrote a parody of the second verse of the Christian song,"Onward, Christian Soldiers," several years back. It goes like this:

Like a mighty turtle moves the church of God.

Brothers, we are treading where we’ve always trod.

We are much divided, many bodies we,

Strong in faith and doctrine, weak in charity.

Paul writes, "For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12). While we exist in this present visible world, we also exist simultaneously in the unseen world that Paul describes here. The unseen world is described as the place where evil beings exist, but it is also the place Christ, and all believers exist. He also states, "God...has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ" (Ephesians 1:3b).

Beyond this world of our senses is the unseen world where all that is of a spiritual nature dwells -- both good and evil -- and it is in this invisible world that spiritual warfare takes place -- it is in this unseen world that we fight against the principalities and powers that seek to do us harm.

Like pieces on a chess board that have no function with being moved by a higher power, we can only win this spiritual battle through God's help. It is time that we stop fighting against one another, and engage our true enemy in spiritual warfare.

Forward '09

CCC youth will be attending the Forward conference in Georgia next week. Please be in prayer for them as they travel. We pray that they will come home energized and ready to do something great for God's Kingdom.

Food Pantry

The CARE Package Food Pantry will be open on Saturday, June 20th, from 8 - 10 a.m. If you would like to help please be at the church by 7:00 a.m.

Youth Department Yard Sale

The CCC Youth Department will sponsor a Yard Sale this coming Saturday, June 6th, beginning at 7:00 a.m. Proceeds from the sale will go to covering the cost of the Youth Trip to Forward Conference in GA. Please come out and support the youth in this special fund raiser.

Marriage & Money God's Way

Donna Prophitt is our teacher for a very special class on Marriage & Money God's Way. The class began last evening during our Wednesday Bible Study. The topic is from Howard Dayton's book by the same title. She will finish the study next week. Class begins at 6:30 p.m.