Hey Centennial,
I’ve been reflecting a lot lately on the heartbeat of our church: we are a formation-focused community. Our mission has always been about transformation—helping people follow Jesus in ways that change lives, build authentic relationships, and join God’s mission in the world. Those are the markers of true formation in Christ.
This focus on formation isn’t new; it’s woven into our history. Formation is about staying connected to Jesus so that our lives bear the fruit of justice, mercy, and love. It’s not just about knowing scripture—it’s about living it out in ways that transform us and those around us.
We see formation in action through stories of life change, the creation of authentic community, and the work of building God’s kingdom. People in our church are growing in faith, finding healing, and stepping into ministries that serve both locally and globally. This is what it means to be a formation-focused church: to be shaped by Christ so we can shape the world around us with his love. It is far too easy for shame and guilt to drive service and mission. CCC longs for people to give and serve out of an abundance!
If you’re hurting, overwhelmed, or unsure where you are in your journey, take heart. Formation begins with honesty about where we are—and God meets us there. Let’s keep moving forward together, trusting that God is at work in and through us.
I’ve been talking about this somewhat often and will probably keep sharing more. If you didn’t see my most recent newsletter, I dug deeper into all these ideas. You can read it here.
In the meantime, Steve Thulson is preaching this Sunday! On the church calendar, the Sunday before Easter is known as Palm Sunday. However, we looked at the traditional Palm Sunday scripture a number of weeks ago as part of our Matthew sermon series. Therefore, this Sunday we look at Matthew 27:45-61, the death and burial of Jesus. Here is what Steve has to say about the sermon:
This Sunday, we ponder the perennial human question “Why?” Specifically, we’ll focus on hard (and common) questions like “If God is so good and great, then why so much unfairness and pain?” Our Matthew series takes us to the dark Friday afternoon when God’s Son—become fully human–cried out from a hellish cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Our Lord understands whatever we might face. And he draws us to place our honest “whys” into his redeeming “why.” Join us as we consider that once-and-for-all pathway into hope, peace and meaning.
Grace and peace,
Karl
P.S. Here is the link (again) to my most recent newsletter, a Q&A about why we are a formation focused church.
Steve Thulson has created five video devotionals for Lent, originally for the ECC ministry, Crescendo.
We believe these devotionals would be a valuable resource for CCC as well, offering a meaningful way to prepare our hearts for Lent.
Here is the link for Week 5. We hope you enjoy it!