Posts by Faith Community Church (Page 6)

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Our Prayer Dinner this past Sunday encouraged all who attended as we prayed for our world, our community, and even local church needs. Thank you to all who served by preparing food or setting out utensils and thank you to Lawrence and Simple for leading us in prayer. Thank the Lord that He is making us more and more into a church of kingdom…

Dear Brothers and Sisters, As I look back over the past two and half years since we began our Called to Flourish vision, it is amazing to see the ways the Lord has challenged us and grown us in the vital area of Kingdom Prayer. We are a church committed to praying that the Lord would grow his kingdom in our neighborhoods and community and would use us to do so. Over these…

Dear Faith Community Church Family, This Sunday we continue our series Follow Me with Mark 11:27-12:12, where Jesus is questioned on His authority and responds with the parable of the tenants, condemning many of the Jewish leaders for rejecting the heir of the throne of God. The Lord reminds us not to reject Him as the cornerstone but marvel that the One rejected by the…

Dear Faith Community Church Family, The Lenten season is a season of preparation. During Advent we prepare our hearts for the arrival of Jesus Christ our Savior; during Lent we prepare our hearts for the resurrection of Jesus and his victory over sin and death. This evening we begin our Lenten journey with a Lenten prayer service at 6:30pm. This is a service of prayer and…

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Palm Sunday is coming early this year! Our text this Sunday, Mark 11:1-11, recounts Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem when He rode on a donkey into the city of David as onlookers laid down palms and shouted “Hosanna!” to the king. Remember that our king advanced on the domain of darkness so that He could claim victory over…

Dear Brothers and Sisters, One of the focus areas of our church’s three-year vision Called to Flourish is leadership development. God’s continuing provision for our congregation was evident in the ordination of two elders and two deacons in January. I’m excited to announce that at today’s Chicago Metro Presbytery gathering the Teaching and Ruling Elders of the CMP…

Dear Brothers and Sisters: Pastor Rhett will return to the pulpit this week to preach Mark 10:32-45 to us. James and John, sometimes referred to as the “sons of thunder” for their boldness, draw out from Jesus a central teaching on the Christian life. In Jesus’ kingdom, the king became a servant, so those who vie for power must seek to serve those around…

Dear Brothers and Sisters: One distinguishing mark of the letters of the Apostle Paul is his opening thanksgiving and prayer. In most of his letters he includes one, or both, of these elements in order to encourage and challenge the church to whom he is writing. The book of Colossians is no exception. He begins his thanksgiving in Colossians with these words: “We always…

Dear Faith Family, Pastor Rhett will preach to us from Mark 10:17-31, the passage known as the “Rich Young Ruler” to many of us. Interestingly, each of the three Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) that record this story describe the young man in slightly different terms. In Mark’s telling, he is only a “rich young man.” The reward for those in…

Dear Faith Family, We will return to our “Follow Me” series with Mark 10:1-16 this Sunday. In this passage, the Lord Jesus reminds both the Pharisees and the disciples of God’s designs from creation. On the one hand, the Lord desires that marriages ought to last, and on the other, He desires that we come to Him like needy children, as we are but…

Dear Faith Family, This past Sunday Pastor Rhett preached on our identity as servants of Jesus Christ. We are called to believe in Jesus, pursue righteousness, and flee sin. Pastor Rhett will continue our study of Mark this coming Sunday. Please join us in person, or if you cannot attend please worship with us on the livestream by clicking on this…

Dear Brothers and Sisters, We look forward to Pastor Rhett’s preaching Mark 9:30-50 this coming Sunday as we continue our series in Mark. After the Transfiguration, Jesus is heading to the cross and teaches His disciples bit by bit what true discipleship looks like. Common gurus of both His day and ours may tell us that power lies in greatness and triumph, but true…

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Happy New Year! We give thanks that our Lord, in His faithfulness, has brought us through another year, and we long for the day when Jesus will come back to restore all things. As we look to pick up our Mark series again this Sunday with Mark 9:14-29, the Lord in His providence is reminding us of how dependent we are on Him. Many of us may make…

Dear Faith Community Family, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” It was a simple message from Luke 2:11 delivered by the angel to announce the birth of Jesus, but it is a message that announces salvation for you and I. May it be the message that we proclaim this Christmas. Join us this evening for the Christmas Eve…

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Christmas is almost here! This time next week, we’ll be huddled around our Christmas trees and opening presents. As Pastor Rhett prepares to preach to us this Sunday from Luke 1:26-33, Acts 10:39-43, and Hebrews 9:27-28, let us remember that we give and receive presents to recall the great generosity of the Father in giving His only Son to…

Dear Faith Community Family, A child’s imagination is a wonderful thing. They may ask questions about things we have never thought or considered. They may even want to talk about things we consider impossible. A child’s innocence may remind us of the wonder of Christmas that we have lost in the hustle and bustle of the season. Pastor Rhett, in his sermon “For Us and For…

Dear Faith Community Family, Happy Thanksgiving! What a joy it is to participate in church life with fellow Christians! As Paul shares in Philippians chapter 1 verses 3-6 “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure…

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Our passage for this week comes from Mark 9:1-13, which you commonly know as Jesus’ transfiguration. When think of Jesus, we thankfully think of His humanity and His compassion toward us. We can miss, though, that Jesus is the Word of God, very God of very God. He, too, is resplendent with glory as are the Father and the Spirit. The Jesus…

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Last week, we looked together at the identity of the Messiah: the Davidic king. This Sunday, we’ll examine the function of the Messiah. Now that we know who he is, we need to understand what he does.  God’s people had been anticipating the Messiah for generations; they were hoping for a man, chosen by God, who would once and for all…

Dear Faith Community Church Family, A living parable–this is how one Christian writer refers to healing of the blind man in Mark 8:22-26. The healing is unusual. It comes in two stages. Jesus is in Bethsaida on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. His disciples are with him. A blind man is led to Jesus by his friends. The friends want the Lord to heal him. They might…