On-site options: Dan Klein Sr's class is doing a hybrid of Zoom and in-person in the Board Room, as is Class 220 (in Room 220 at the back of the sanctuary, where you'll find Chris Andersen there to greet you). Nearby in Room 224 is the new prayer group for parents who are praying for their children to return to Christ. Down in Heartland Hall A you can join a small group watching episodes from acclaimed video drama "The Chosen" on the life of Christ. In Heartland Hall C you'll find Something Else Sabbath School in a hybrid format. (Welcome back, everyone!)
Our doors are open! Join us for Sabbath School at 9:45 and whole-church worship at 11:00am in the sanctuary.
The bulletin and church life news are always available and updated weekly on our CVC app.
Services are being streamed via Livestream (hosted by Union College) and on the CVC Facebook page. There is a sermon archive available for Apple TV, Roku, and directly on your device (full video or audio only) on our CVC app.
Sabbath Schools are continuing to meet--online, in-person, and in hybrid formats. All children and youth classes are meeting on-site and in-person.
Attend Online or watch past services.
Join us each Saturday for our weekly gathering.
Sabbath School: 9:45 – 10:45 am
Church Service: 11:00 am
Lead Pastor Simon Liversidge 805.498.2300
I have written in the margin of my Bible close to this text, “Do what you want, be what you want, go where you want, as long as your purpose is to be available to share Jesus with someone else.”
My verse for today comes at the conclusion of a challenging piece of scripture for some. It’s a place where some turn to “defend” their right to eat whatever they want, worship whenever they want, and live however they want. Not quite, in my opinion, exactly what the message was intended to be from my perspective, but definitely an idea I must wrestle with as I search through God’s Word for its intent for me today. My margin writing is my at-this-point conclusion.
It just doesn’t seem right that the message is do what I want, be what I want, like it’s all about me and pleasing me. That just doesn’t seem like a healthy, long-term approach to life. Fun, short-term maybe, but unfulfilling long-term. If it really is, or should be, all about Jesus, then I have full freedom to do whatever pleases Him. I think I’ve written on another verse that I modified to help me understand this concept better. It’s Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” And what I add is, “…because the desires of my heart will be only that which delights the Lord.”
So my at-this-point conclusion is, I can do whatever I want as long as whatever I want is to bring glory to God. Or, what if all of my life was driven by this question, “How does _______ intentionally bring glory to God?” How would my life change? What impact would that kind of a life have on God’s kingdom?
Have a great day discovering more clearly your controlled freedom in Christ,
Pastor Rich
Previous sermons are available in the Video Archive. Additionally our CVC app (free to download and free to use!) has a collection of sermons (not full services) that are easy to watch and share.