CMV Church Podcast

Genesis 39:19-40:23 Young people often have hopes & dreams about what life will look like. At times, hopes & dreams even turn into expectations. Life, though, often has very unexpected twists & turns, detours and bypasses. One Bible character that especially reveals this is Joseph. At the age of 17, he received a couple dreams which somewhat cryptically revealed something about his future. As a result, there had to be expectations of how that would look and feel. There is no way, however, that he could envision how the pathway to fulfillment would look. We continue our journey through Joseph’s life. We will take a look at Joseph in prison and, in the process, see some surprising and encouraging aspects of God working in and through him.

Genesis 39:1-23 We will see how Joseph faced a difficult test. He was confronted with the strong temptation to commit sexual sin with a beautiful woman. He resisted the temptation and stood strong to find victory! From Joseph's example, we will learn some valuable lessons on how we can resist and fight temptation when it comes knocking at our door.

Genesis 37:1-36 One of the best and hardest lessons to learn as a Christian is that God is sovereign and in control of all things. He is actively involved in the events of this world and in the events of our lives. God’s active participation is known as Providence. God’s Providence means that He has not abandoned the world that He created, but He works within His creation to manage all things according to His own will. Nowhere is this providential working of God seen more clearly than in the life of Joseph found in the book of Genesis. This message will focus on God’s providential care even when it involves suffering.

Genesis 37:1-5 We begin our introduction to our new sermon series entitled "The Hand of God”. Throughout this series, we will learn some valuable lessons about how God's providence works through the life of Joseph. God is active in the lives of His people, even people with a lot of dysfunction. Joseph’s own family ancestry was a mess, and yet we will see God take all these family messes and use them to form and shape Joseph for His good purpose!

1 Peter 1:13-17 This sermon is the final message in our sermon series entitled, "The God of Wonder." God is a wondrous God who has revealed Himself most fully in His Son, Jesus Christ. In Jesus, God offers His generous grace-filled salvation to all who will believe in Jesus death on the cross and His resurrection. Because of all that God has done for us by His grace we should have a response. The apostle Peter will reveal three ways we should respond to the grace of God found in Jesus Christ.

Matthew 20:1-16 “Amazing Grace” is the title of the well-known hymn written by John Newton, the former slave trader turned follower of Jesus. Most of us would probably agree that grace is amazing, but that doesn’t mean that it’s without its surprising, even uncomfortable, elements. We’ll look at a parable of Jesus that gives insights on His kingdom as well as highlighting both the amazing, yet uncomfortable, aspects of His grace.

John 6:41-71 Although we worship and serve a God of Wonder there are some of His words and some events that come into our lives that can cause us to say, “This is difficult…

Luke 7:36-50 One thing is clear about Jesus-- He elicited a reaction everywhere He went. The gospel writers tell us that Jesus regularly left people amazed or astonished. Rarely was there a casual observer who heard and saw Him. Hopefully, we have a similar reaction as we encounter Jesus in the events recorded for us in Scripture. We will look at a story that would have been profoundly shocking in the first-century culture. Come join us as we explore the wonder of Jesus by unpacking the elements of the story recorded in Luke 7:36-50.

Matthew 16:1-27 We will learn how we can experience more of this God of Wonder in our everyday life.

Luke 2:1-21 When we think of Christmas we tend to associate it with happy thoughts and an uplifting story. If you were a first-century person reading about Jesus' birth you would have a completely different expectation. We continue to see how Jesus subverted expectations but also relates to us through that.

Luke 5:27-39 Part of what makes Jesus wondrous is how He treated Pharisees and sinners. Jesus was able to balance a call to holiness and a call to association. This gives us a model for how to grow in our own relationship with God and how to treat others.

Hebrews 1:1-3 We are beginning a new sermon series entitled “God of Wonder.” Wonder is a great word to describe the amazement we should have at who God is and what He has done. Wonder means to marvel or be amazed over something. God is constantly revealing Himself – He did it in the past and He is doing it now! God reveals Himself, especially through His Son Jesus Christ. Over the next several messages, we will be looking at how God has revealed Himself in the wonder of Jesus Christ.

Psalm 139:1-18 We will consider two of God’s amazing attributes and how this affects our lives in today’s culture.

Matthew 7:13-29 All the way through this sermon – Jesus has made it obvious that there are only two ways to live – the way of the Lord or the way of the world. And Jesus' challenge to each of us is to make up our mind – which way are you going to choose? Every choice you and I make in life is important, but none are more important than the three decisions that Jesus is challenging us to make in this passage.

Matthew 7:7-12 In Matthew chapter seven, Jesus addresses our relationships with other people. In verses 1-6 we looked at the negative side of what God’s people should not do. Jesus revealed that His followers should not be hypercritical and judge others or be hypocrites that cannot see their own sin, instead judging others' minor offenses! Jesus was clear - God’s people are not to be like that! Jesus shows three things on the positive side. As God’s people, we should seek God persistently, confidently and humbly, knowing that He hears us and will help us in our relationships with others to glorify Him!

Matthew 7:1-6 The scribes and Pharisees were proud and self-righteous. They were convinced of their own superiority to others. The natural results of that kind of prideful attitude was that they became totally condemning and judgmental of everybody else. But Jesus shows us that as God’s kingdom people are not to be like that. Jesus shows how God’s people should relate to others.

Matthew 6:25-34 In our text, Jesus speaks on a topic that impacts every person at some level – worry and anxiety. Three different times in this section Jesus says, "Do not worry.” After each time, He explains the reasons why God’s people have no need to be anxious about the things we face in this life. Jesus shares three reasons why God’s people have no need to worry.

Matthew 6:19-24 God’s people are not be cloistered away from the world like monks. Jesus had already said that we are to be salt and light in an evil world. In this section in Matthew 6:19-24, Jesus teaches on how God’s people should live in a sinfully corrupt and dark world.

Matthew 6:8-15 Jesus preaches the Sermon on the Mount to reveal what God’s Kingdom people are like. In this section, Jesus instructs God’s people on how they should pray. This prayer is divided into two parts. The first part focused on God’s glory and how God’s people should seek His Kingdom and His will. The second part of this prayer focuses on our needs of provision, pardon, and protection.

Isaiah 43:1-28 No matter how long we have been a Christian, or interested in spiritual things, we all have had times when things go flat, when the zest got up and went away. This message will offer, in light of Isaiah 43, some helpful insights for when that happens.