Community Evangelical Free Church

Everything in religion can get old, even our conception of Jesus. But, He is a continually fresh personality and always brings new vision and new life.

It's not easy to revive hope after disappointment, but Psalm 42 tells the heart of the journey of being downcast and finding hope again.

God makes all things new, but sometimes, we feel like it's just doing the same things again. Join us as we begin this series where we will consider how God brings life and purpose to the things we do "again."

This morning Pastor Larry Lloyd will cast vision for the 2018 theme for CEFC: "Breathe." We'll find that while our tendency is to think we need to work for God, we first need to wait for God. We may think God wants us to build, but first, He wants us to breathe.

As we continue after the Christmas story, we see a cast of characters that come together for one moment - a divine moment in the presence of God. While Mary & Joseph, Simeon, and Anna's backgrounds differed greatly, God brought them together for His glory in a moment that brought about thankfulness, revelation, and redemption.

Fingerpainting is easy. It’s something a child does. Just stick your fingers in a paint and then stick your finger on the paper. Fingerpainting is a quiet activity as well. It is not something big corporations do or universities offer degrees in. In this same quiet and creative way, God “stuck His finger” into our world and began to paint, to redecorate, to re-color, to redesign our world through a child. The birth of Christ was not a big, corporate, noisy affair carried on by the important people. It was the work of God behind the scenes. This series for Advent looks at the “fingerpainting” of God through Luke’s gospel. This week Pastor Larry leads us through the Christmas story of Christ's birth. We'll see that the birth of Jesus was not what we would expect for the birth of a King, but that His embarrassments in this Christmas story were in God's plan all along for our good and His glory.

Fingerpainting is easy. It’s something a child does. Just stick your fingers in a paint and then stick your finger on the paper. Fingerpainting is a quiet activity as well. It is not something big corporations do or universities offer degrees in. In this same quiet and creative way, God “stuck His finger” into our world and began to paint, to redecorate, to re-color, to redesign our world through a child. The birth of Christ was not a big, corporate, noisy affair carried on by the important people. It was the work of God behind the scenes. This series for Advent looks at the “fingerpainting” of God through Luke’s gospel. This week our new Senior Pastor Larry Lloyd joins us for his first Sunday as our new Pastor. He will take us through Mary's song of joy over the news of Jesus, and show us that while God doesn't always do what's expected, He will fulfill His promises and with Him, nothing is impossible. And it's through a humble heart that He can show up and do amazing things in our lives.

Fingerpainting is easy. It’s something a child does. Just stick your fingers in a paint and then stick your finger on the paper. Fingerpainting is a quiet activity as well. It is not something big corporations do or universities offer degrees in. In this same quiet and creative way, God “stuck His finger” into our world and began to paint, to redecorate, to re-color, to redesign our world through a child. The birth of Christ was not a big, corporate, noisy affair carried on by the important people. It was the work of God behind the scenes. This series for Advent looks at the “fingerpainting” of God through Luke’s gospel. This week Darin Shireman continues the series by digging into the divine intervention in Mary's life, and the grace God gave her to submit to His plan for salvation for the entire world.

Fingerpainting is easy. It’s something a child does. Just stick your fingers in a paint and then stick your finger on the paper. Fingerpainting is a quiet activity as well. It is not something big corporations do or universities offer degrees in. In this same quiet and creative way, God “stuck His finger” into our world and began to paint, to redecorate, to re-color, to redesign our world through a child. The birth of Christ was not a big, corporate, noisy affair carried on by the important people. It was the work of God behind the scenes. This series for Advent looks at the “fingerpainting” of God through Luke’s gospel. This week Pastor Jason kicks off this series by showing how God set His plan of salvation into motion through ordinary people.

Do we ever truly stop to think of the depth of our sin? Does the redemption that Christ gave us truly bring us to our knees in worship and wonder? This morning we'll look at Isaiah 61 and see the gravity of our sin, and the magnificent glory of Christ's sacrifice for all of humanity. We'll see that He didn't just save us FROM something, but FOR something as well.

In the history of the Israelites we see God's faithful hand lead them out of Egypt and into the promised land. Yet not soon after, they began to complain that they want to go back - forgetting what living in Egypt really meant for them. In some ways, we do the same, and the author of Hebrews points back to the Israelites as an example for us to learn from. Christ came to lead us out of bondage of sin and suffering - yet sometimes, we forget and look back with rose colored glasses at our past self. Join us this morning as we look into the Book of Hebrews to see how we can "consider Jesus," no matter the circumstance, longing for a future of living for Christ, no matter the cost.

The ideas of "family" and "togetherness" seems almost cliche at times, especially with the holidays just around the corner. This Sunday, join us for worship as we look at God's heart for unity and effectiveness in the church - Christ's beloved bride. We'll look at some "ingredients" that can bring the church together, and see how blessed we can truly be, viewing our fellowships and the world with His compassion, grace, and love - like family should!

As we continue our "Christ the Counselor" series this morning, we'll take a look at another deep question from Jesus, our Perfect Counselor: "Do you believe I can do this?" Do we have the kind of faith that knows and trusts in the faithfulness and power of God? This morning we'll take a closer look at the kind of faith believes when it does not see, and honors God through it all.

A characteristic of a great counselor is the ability to ask questions. Jesus was a master of asking questions that drove to the heart of the matter. Through this series "Christ the Counselor" we'll look at three questions that Jesus asked of His followers. Today we'll hear Jesus ask "why are you so afraid?" We'll see that when storms happen in our lives, it's important to remember that Jesus is ever present in the boat with us, and will be with us through the storms as He works out His purposes and plans for our lives.

Discontentment. We all feel it sometimes. Where in your life do you struggle most with discontentment? This Sunday we'll be looking into Philippians 4. We'll see the contentment that God offers to us through Christ's strength alone, and what happens to our discontentment when we learn to rely on Him.

Where we live determines how we think, and how we think determines how we live. This morning our Senior Pastor Candidate Larry Lloyd will give us three points about Christ that we are called to dwell on and dwell in.

Jesus is Prophet, King, and Priest. Do we recognize Him as these? This week we'll go back to the Gospel, to be refreshed and reminded of the importance of the message of this Great Salvation that brings many sons to glory!

As we finish our "Throne Room" series this Sunday, we will again be looking into Revelation 5. The whole universe proclaims the great Name of the Lamb Who was slain and the Lion Who reigns - and we are called to join in with the symphony of praises to the King.

As we dive into the beginning of chapter 5 of the Book of Revelation this Sunday, we'll get another glimpse of the Throne Room of God. We'll see a scroll that no one is worthy to open - no one, that is, except One. The Lamb that was slain is the Lion who reigns, and He alone is worthy to reign.