Hey Centennial,

Jesus’ disciple, John, wrote one of the most memorable lines in the New Testament (in my mind, at least). While talking about the love of God, and the power of this love available to people through Christ and his Spirit, John says,

Perfect love drives out fear. 

Wow. Just, wow. That makes me think

What would it be like to live without fear? 

The reason this is so compelling an idea to me is that, as far as I can tell, fear is so common. It is common in my life. It is peddled and wielded as a tool in our media, it drives countless ideas and actions and agendas. Fear is power and its power influences all of us.

This Sunday, we will look at the entirety of Matthew 14 (if you have time, you might want to read the whole chapter before our worship gathering, we won’t be able to read through it all during the service itself). In the stories of this chapter, we are presented with the contrast between the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world. One central contrast is that

The kingdoms of this world are driven by fear, the Kingdom of God is driven by compassion. 

If you have ever felt the unpleasant power of fear driving your life or longed to experience the power of love to drive out fear, come early and get a good seat up front as we continue our study of the gospel of Matthew.

Grace and peace,

Karl

P.S. It’s not too late to sign up for adult classes. They start this Sunday, you can register here, or just come on Sunday morning, they begin at 8:45am and get done before the worship gathering begins at 10.

P.P.S. Children’s ministry is still looking for a few more people to help with childcare during the 8:00 hour. Sign up for a Sunday here!

P.P.P.S. Make sure to check out all the information and events below. There are so many ways to get plugged into the life and ministry of CCC!