This Sunday will be week 3 of our current series concerning the life of one of the central figures in the Bible – The Apostle Paul. Many of you have picked up the book written by Charles Swindoll to use as a companion throughout this series. (If you haven’t picked up a copy yet, I would encourage you to; it’s a wonderful resource in learning about Paul.) There will be some available in the lobby this Sunday for $15 (and if you can’t afford the $15 for some reason, then go ahead and pick up a copy of the book and pay what you can, when you can).

There’s much to learn from Paul’s life and journey and much to challenge our own lives and journeys. I’m hoping everyone in the CCC family will continue to dive headlong into the story of Paul and see what God has in store for each one of us. Don’t miss this Sunday. Identical services are at 9:30am and 11am at 8094 Sandpiper Circle.

Many of you responded to the questions I rolled out at the end of last week’s message regarding some sort of a pride and humility dashboard. Here they are once again:

1. Can we at least start with acknowledging pride could be a struggle for us?
2. Do you always have to get credit?
3. Can you be silent?
4. Where do you follow someone else?
5. Are you comfortable with how God has gifted you? And how he has not gifted you? (What he’s called you too, and what he’s called other’s too.)

6. Are you easily offended?
7. Can you celebrate other people’s victories and successes?
8. How do you do at serving your family?
9. How are you responding to criticism these days?
10. When was the last time you asked for help?

I hope these are helpful as you wrestle through what we learned from the life of Paul last week.

I hope you have a fantastic start to your weekend. And I hope you cap it off with what could be the highlight of your week at one of our services this coming Sunday morning.

See you then!

David Robinson

– Ryan Arnold

If you would like to volunteer for this event, you can sign up at CCC or by emailing leighann@communitycc.net. For more information click HERE.

When our relationships are marked by mutual submission, they will flourish.  God designed marriages in such a way that the husband and wife will be deeply devoted to putting the other first.  God designed families as a place to serve one another.

Yet, there are barriers that get in the way of having submission in our relationships.  Our own immaturity can get in the way of submission when, like a child, our main focus in our ourselves.  The way we use time can be a barrier to having submission in our relationships, because loving and honoring people takes time.  Finally, false assumptions can make it so that we aren’t loving and serving each other in the ways that matter most.

So, what can you do this week to have submission more of a part of the relationships that matter most to you?

Many of the families from Shady Springs work two and three jobs so, CCC is providing dinner at Back to School Night to help make it as easy as possible for families to attend. CCC is going to help provide and serve a meal for the students, their parents, and the faculty. Check out the website for more information.

What steps can you take this week towards being a bigger part of God’s mission of drawing people to himself and fixing brokenness?

What is going to help you gain clarity about who God created you to be and who our opponent is?

CCC at the Movies is rolling on again this Sunday. Come on out for some free popcorn.

We hope you’ll come out this week for the third week of CCC at the Movies where we’ll be talking about . . . did you really think I was going to tell you? See you Sunday!

That’s why the Care Team is there. If you need to talk about anything at all, make sure you grab someone on the Care Team after service.

We looked at the The Blind Side this week and explored what it means that God has chosen us and wants to adopt us into his family. If you are already part of God’s family, the question for you is, “How are you helping people know that God wants to adopt them?”

We’re looking forward to seeing you Sunday for Week 2 of CCC at the Movies. Invite someone to come with you who’s never been to church before. It’s gonna be a blast.

We talked about The Blind Side, a huge movie from this past year that is very near and dear to our hearts because it’s the story of Baltimore Raven, Michael Oher. We talked about how God wants to adopt each of us into his family, just like the Tuohy family wanted to make Michael part of their family.

How inspiring and empowering is it to know that the God of the universe has chosen us and wants us to be part of his family? Maybe you’ve forgotten God has chosen you, and this is a great reminder. Perhaps you’ve never considered that God wants you to be part of his family. If that’s something you’re interested in, shoot us an email, give us a call (410.933.8330), or make sure you talk to someone about it on Sunday morning.

We look forward to seeing you back this week as we roll out week 2 of CCC at the Movies! This week’s movie is… come on, you know I can’t tell you here. It’s a surprise!

I hope this email finds you doing well here on the front end of the month of July. And I certainly hope your summer is going better than you expected to this point.

I’m emailing you because I’m quite excited about what’s coming up at CCC. Every year I look forward to what we’re getting ready to embark on this summer.

This coming Sunday, we’re kicking off the 2010 version of CCC at the Movies. And your 4th of July celebration just wouldn’t be complete if you missed the start up of this new series. We’ve got a bag or two of popcorn with your name on it, as well as a host of special guests to usher in our discussion. I even have a feeling that the great majority of the CCC family has seen the first movie we’re looking at this week. It will serve as a springboard for our discussion about life, faith, and the great story of God.

And although I’m not going to reveal what our movie is until Sunday morning, I would encourage you to spend a bit of time reading through the first chapter of Ephesians from the Bible to get a head start.

So get everything ready for your July 4th celebration, but make sure you kick it all off by spending part of your Sunday at 8094 Sandpiper Circle. (Services are at 9:30am and 11am.)

See you in a few days!

David Robinson

There is a place to get these and other questions addressed: Starting Point.  Starting Point is a two-hour gathering where we’ll take a closer look at who CCC is and where we’re going in a fun and casual environment.  It is our hope that everyone, whether Sunday is your first week or if you’ve been coming to CCC since the doors opened, will find his or her way to Starting Point.

Everyone has to start somewhere, and at CCC a great place to start is at Starting Point.  If you haven’t been to Starting Point before, it might be the next step for you at CCC.

Our next Starting Point is this Sunday, June 27, from 10:45 – 12:45.  Sign up online here or by calling the church office (410.933.8330) if you are interested in attending.

Last Sunday, the “one word” we looked at was the word obey.  We were challenged by David to begin to engage with the Bible looking for places where we need to more fully obey what God wants for our lives.  If you missed the message on Sunday, you can listen to it online here.

There were three different applications to the teaching on the word obey.  The first was to read the teachings of Jesus found in Matthew 5 – 7 and ask ourselves, very honestly, what does Jesus say here that I need to begin obeying in my life.  The second is to read the entire book of Mark (it’s the shortest of the four Gospel books), and keep a journal of all the commands that you find Jesus teaching.  Third, for people who might be familiar with the teaching of Jesus, the challenge is to read through the Gospels and ask if you are really taking Jesus seriously or if you’ve found a way to rationalize or minimize what Jesus commands.

If we follow through with these challenges, we might just find that we encounter Jesus in a whole new way

We’d love to hear about the commands of Jesus that you are discovering (or rediscovering) and what those mean for your life.  Add a comment to this blog post or drop us a line at info@communitycc.net and let us know what you learn about obeying Jesus.

The opportunity to sponsor a child continues at CCC for the next few weeks. Consider sponsoring a child for $38 a month on your own, as a family, or as a small group. You can pick up sponsorship packets on Sunday mornings or if you stop by CCC during the week.

You can listen to the whole Stack the Deck series including Compassion Sunday by clicking here.

Over 100 volunteers give their time and talent to help create irresistible environments for families each week at CCC. Summer is a great opportunity to give them a break. We do this by creating a Summer Team for volunteers to serve in Children’s Ministry during July & August, but not necessarily every week. If you are interested in serving on the Summer Team, you can sign up in the lobby at CCC to attend the Orientation on Wednesday, June 16, at 6:30PM. You can sign up even if you can’t attend the Orientation.

This is a great opportunity for anyone who has more time to give during the summer. It’s also a great opportunity for anyone who has not served on a team at CCC yet. The Summer Team gives you a chance to contribute according to your availability and during a specified window of time. I’m really looking forward to serving with the summer team. What are you doing this summer?

Nick Blevins
nick@communitycc.net

I hope you’re all doing well as we start this beautiful, warm Friday. I’m recovering from a pretty nasty cold that wiped me out for more than a week. I’m on the flip side of the worst of it, though, and certainly looking forward to being with the CCC family once again this weekend.

There is much to celebrate in and around Community Christian Church. We had two more folks take the step of baptism this past Sunday during our services and several more are planning to do the same this coming Sunday. That’s always worth celebrating!

We’re also wrapping up a series this week called Stack The Deck, where we’re looking to load things up in favor of families and children. I’ve been looking forward to this coming Sunday in particular, as we have a specific challenge for the CCC community. Don’t miss it. Services take place at 9:30 and 11am.

But before we get to Sunday, don’t forget about the Pondskipper 5k race taking place tomorrow, Saturday, May 22nd at Stansbury Park. We’re partnering with Thrive Baltimore to provide our 3rd annual run to benefit the Family Crisis Center. It’s not too late to register if you’d like to run or walk. (or stroll or strut depending on lots of things…) Walk up registrations are welcome. The race starts at 9am. Check out our website for more details or Thrive Baltimore’s website. (www.thrivebaltimore.net)

I hope to see you there.

David Robinson

Over the past few Sunday’s we’ve been talking about how we can stack the deck in favor of families and children so they have every opportunity to succeed.  We want to place things in such a way that everything leans in the favor of our families and they have every advantage at their disposal to become what God hopes and dreams they will be.

If you would like to know more about how CCC works together with families, please email us at info@communitycc.net or you can download our Blueprint for families here and read about our strategy for children and students. You can also read Blueprint online here.

We hope to see you at one of our Sunday services (9:30 & 11:00) as we continue looking at how we can stack the deck in favor of families.

For more race information go to www.thrivebaltimore.net. It’s going to be a great time, don’t miss out!

I’ve been receiving quite a bit of feedback regarding our current series “Dumb Things Smart People Believe“. These past few discussions seem to have struck a chord with many. That’s why I don’t want anyone to miss our final week of the series this coming Sunday, May 2nd. We’re talking about a belief we are particularly prone to here in our country. So make sure and spend part of your Sunday at 8094 Sandpiper Circle. (Services at 9:30am & 11am) It might just be the highlight of your week!

That’s not all that’s going on this Sunday. KidStuf (Where kids take their parents to learn) is happening during the 2nd service. This is a terrific opportunity for elementary age kids and their parents to experience together. You can attend the 9:30am service while your child is in their Children’s Ministry Discovery Island environment, and then go together to the 11am KidStuf in rooms 108-109.

Also taking place this Sunday is Starting Point, which is the place to go to find out all things related to CCC. (Who we are, where we’ve come from, where we’re headed, how we’re going to get there, etc.) It’s a great place to ask any questions you might have regarding Community Christian Church and the place to go if you’re fairly new to CCC. If you haven’t signed up for this installment of Starting Point, it’s not too late. Simply respond to this email and make your way next door to suite F at 10:45am. (Just after the first service ends.) Starting Point will wrap up by 12:45. Free food and free childcare are provided. (If you need childcare, we’ll need to know that sooner rather than later.)

I would also encourage you to take advantage of the many resources we make available each and every week. The resource table in the lobby contains daily readings and small groups guides for our current series, which you can also listen to on our website. And cds of past services are always provided. Don’t miss out.

I hope you have a fantastic start to your weekend. And I hope to see you all this Sunday for our final week of “Dumb Things Smart People Believe“.

“May the God of all hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope…” Romans 15:13

David Robinson

The truth is some mistakes have larger effects than a silly sign ever will. When it comes to what we think about God and the Bible we owe it to ourselves to get it right. It’s a goofy title, but this series has already posed some serious questions for us to wrestle through. This Sunday, April 25 brings about week three of Dumb Things Smart People Believe. Services are at 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. We hope to see you then.

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If you know how to play a sport, someone showed you the ropes.

If you’re reading this, someone taught you the letters and how to piece them together to make words.

We don’t expect any of these skills to develop on their own; they are taught and learned.

Learning how to manage our finances works the same way.  It takes tools and skills to navigate the realm of money well.  We are offering a small group aimed at teaching some of these basic financial skills, such as budgeting, addressing debt, and insurance, just to name a few.

This group will begin meeting on April 22^nd at CCC from 7 to 9 PM and will run for three sessions, meeting every other week.  If you are interested in more information or would like to join this group, please contact Nic Cox at 410.933.8330 or nic.cox@communitycc.net.

We encourage you to gather together with your small group, family, or friends to remember the price Jesus paid for us.  We’ve created a Good Friday guide to help as we engage more deeply with Good Friday.

In my experience, this is one of the most deeply meaningful times I’ve ever spent with my friends and small group.  The opportunity to read together the story of Jesus’ betrayal, trial, and death is powerful.  The chance to celebrate communion in a smaller setting while remembering the last supper is stirring.  Praying together while reflecting on the last words of Jesus is moving.  (And that’s just three of the suggestions listed in the Good Friday Guide).

I hope you pick up a Good Friday guide at CCC on Sunday or download one HERE and use it as a part of your Good Friday celebration this year.

I trust this email finds you doing well.

I’m looking forward to the next couple of weeks as we approach the heart of the Easter season. I’m quite excited to gather with all of you not only on Easter Sunday, April 4, but also this coming Sunday, March 28.

This Sunday, you’ll want to make sure and pick up your place holders for whichever Easter service you plan to attend. (Three identical services are happening on Easter Sunday at 8:30, 10, and 11:30. Note that these are different from our normal service times of 9:30 and 11am and KidStuf will take place during the 10am service.) Picking up a place holder for you and whomever is joining you will be incredibly helpful as we prepare for the celebration that day. You can pick them up in the lobby of CCC on Sunday. (They’re free.)

You may also want to pick up a copy of the Good Friday Guide while you’re at CCC on Sunday. It has an abundance of possible ideas for you to take advantage of on Good Friday (April 2) with your family, your small group, or some friends. They’re free as well and you can also download the Good Friday Guide from our website, here.

In the meantime, I hope you all have a terrific rest of your week. And I hope to see you all this Sunday.

David Robinson