Christ Presbyterian Church Temecula, CA

You Are What You Preach

Robert Recio — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 09:00:00 -0700

Driven

Eric Landry — Sun, 23 May 2010 09:00:00 -0700

Comfort Food

Eric Landry — Sun, 09 May 2010 09:00:00 -0700

Jesus Through the Water

Eric Landry — Sun, 02 May 2010 09:00:00 -0700

Receiving the Wrong Bread

Brandon Bernard — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 09:00:00 -0700

A Witness for the Defense

Eric Landry — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 09:00:00 -0700

Vintage Grace

Eric Landry — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 09:00:00 -0800

John 2:1-11 | Rev. Eric Landry

Follow Me

Eric Landry — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 09:00:00 -0800

The Lamb of God

Robert Recio — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 09:00:00 -0800

Veiled Glory: The Word Made Flesh

Brian Lund — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 09:00:00 -0800

Meeting a Stranger

Eric Landry — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 09:00:00 -0800

In the Beginning

Eric Landry — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 09:00:00 -0800

The Dreamer...In Prison

Brian Lund — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 09:00:00 -0700

The Accused

Eric Landry — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 09:00:00 -0700

The Obstacle

Eric Landry — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Humble Sheep

Eric Landry — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Humble Shepherds

Eric Landry — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 09:00:00 -0700

The Strange Days of Suffering

Eric Landry — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 09:00:00 -0700

The Winners Guide to Suffering

Eric Landry — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Jesus-Shaped Marriage

Eric Landry — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 09:00:00 -0700

One of the more uncomfortable experiences of our exile is realizing that we live in tension with the surrounding culture. We’re different in large part from our friends and neighbors because we no longer share the same story: the narrative that gives our lives meaning has changed. The stories we used to follow (be they of family, social, political, or even religious themes) have given way to the Gospel: the story of Jesus Christ, suffering for sinners. The difference this different story makes is especially apparent when we consider gender relationships, specifically the way that husbands and wives are to relate to one another. The Apostle Peter continues his discussion of what it means to emulate Jesus in our daily lives, this time in our most intimate relationship.

Living Out Our Other Worldly Callings in this World

Robert Recio — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Resist Worldliness

Eric Landry — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 09:00:00 -0700

A Faith Formed by Love

Eric Landry — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Holy Conformity

Eric Landry — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:00:00 -0700

1 Peter 1:13-21

Is there a relationship between emotion and volition? Peter's call to holy living begins with hope.

Exiled

Eric Landry — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 09:00:00 -0700

The End of Sin

Eric Landry — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Sin and Repentance

Eric Landry — Sun, 31 May 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Perhaps no two words belonged better together: sin and repentance. Repentance isn't just the right response to sin, it reveals what we really think about sin. Do you find it difficult to repent when you sin? Find out this Sunday why that may be so and what you can do to experience true repentance.

Sin and Obedience

Eric Landry — Sun, 24 May 2009 09:00:00 -0700

A New Creation: A Double Reality

Eric Landry — Sun, 17 May 2009 09:00:00 -0700

We've seen that sin has made things in the world (including us) different than they're supposed to be. We've seen that redemption doesn't fix us or repair us but brings new life out of our death. This Sunday, we'll see that the new creation doesn't replicate the old or even do away with the old, but we now exist in two realities: not a comfortable position, but one that's necessary if we're to know heavenly life even while we live on this earth.

Redemption: Something More Than a Repair Job

Eric Landry — Sun, 10 May 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Last week we began our new series, "broken," with a sermon on sin: what it is, how it affects us, and what hope we have to be free from it. This week, we take the next step and start asking questions about redemption. In too many circles, redemption looks like an episode from "This Old House." Our spiritual lives are in a state of disrepair and Jesus comes to fix us up. But after Jesus and the camera crews leave, we can still see the scars of sin. And it seems that every attempt we make to keep up the repairs (using the cool, new tools Jesus left us) leads to more decay. What is redemption, especially when it doesn't feel like we've been redeemed? That's the course our conversation will take this Sunday. Hope to see you there.

sin: not the way it's supposed to be

Eric Landry — Sun, 03 May 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Stumbling Toward Jesus (Mark 8:27-38)

Eric Landry — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 09:00:00 -0800

The Pathology of Sin (Mark 7:1-23)

Eric Landry — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 09:00:00 -0800

The Son of Mary (Mark 6:1-6a)

Eric Landry — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 09:00:00 -0800

Responding to Jesus in the Face of Death (Mark 5:21-43)

Eric Landry — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 09:00:00 -0800

Jesus Calms the Storms (Mark 4:35-41)

Eric Landry — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 09:00:00 -0800

The Kingdom of God 101 (Mark 4:1-33)

Eric Landry — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 09:00:00 -0800

Conflict and the Centrality of Christ (Mark 2-3)

Eric Landry — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 09:00:00 -0800

Has your sadness ever turned to anger? What was the situation? The abuse of a child, an innocent person suffering injustice, your own rights and privileges being stepped upon? Jesus’ grief turns to anger over the hardness of the Pharisees hearts when they lie in wait, seeking an excuse to accuse Jesus of breaking the Sabbath. They find it in his willingness to heal a man on the Sabbath. In return they plot to kill Jesus...on the Sabbath. Surely, here is something to grieve and get angry about. Jesus’ conflicts with the Pharisees (the “bogeymen” of the Gospels) is something of a tired story for many of us: we’ve heard it all before. But when we see why the Pharisees were upset with Jesus and how Jesus interacts with them, the conflict comes a little closer to home. Are we reacting toward Jesus like the Pharisees or like the sinners with whom he enjoyed a meal?

Power Religion (Mark 1:14-35)

Eric Landry — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 09:00:00 -0800

The Good News of the Kingdom (Mark 1:1-15)

Eric Landry — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 09:00:00 -0800

One of the benefits of working our way through the Gospel of Mark is our being reintroduced to the biblical image of Jesus. Far too often, our own images of Jesus are formed by cultural expectations, our own personal needs and desires, or the thoughts and opinions of others. As we return to gaze again at the picture of Jesus that the Bible presents, we will find our comfort levels disturbed, our thinking stretched, and our faith enhanced because we’ll be seeing Jesus for who he really is. The Jesus of the Bible is a polarizing figure, but he must be so if he will be a king who saves his people from sin. As you consider your own relationship to Jesus, think of those in your life who need to be introduced (or reintroduced) to Jesus and invite them to see Jesus again, or for the very first time.

A Pilgrim's Goodbye (Psalm 138)

Eric Landry — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 09:00:00 -0800

Christmas Lost and Found (Psalm 138)

Eric Landry — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 09:00:00 -0800

Blue Christmas (Psalm 130)

Eric Landry — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 09:00:00 -0800

Pilgrim's Progress (121)

Eric Landry — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 09:00:00 -0800

The Triumphant Promise of Grace (Genesis 35:1-15)

Eric Landry — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 09:00:00 -0800

We've all been there, times when we are filled with a gut wrenching sense of fear and uncertainty, Whatever your situation, you all know what it feels like to be deathly afraid, and then, it comes..... a good and comforting word which changes everything. Here we have an account of the Lord Almighty who descends not to destroy Jacob and his family for their heinous sin, but He reveals His merciful presence to him in a time of great distress. Calling Jacob to rise up and go to Bethel, the place of the promise, God is reminding Jacob that despite his family's acceptance of foreign gods, nothing can thwart the His mighty plan of redemption. In this story in the life of Jacob, we see a vivid picture of our own history as God's people from Adam: a picture of God's relentless grace in our lives even as we fall into sin. In His mercy, God speaks to us, calls us to put away our idols and follow him, declares His blessing to us, and once again reminds us of His unshakable promises and steadfast love.

The Grim Parodies of Sin (Genesis 33:18-34:31)

Eric Landry — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 09:00:00 -0800

This morning’s text, Genesis 34, is about Dinah: the violence done to her, the plans others made for her, the revenge against her abuser that her brothers undertook. And yet, even though she is the main character of this passage, Dinah is silent. We don’t have any record of her words, her thoughts, or her feelings. She is acted upon. God is also silent in this passage of Scripture. He does not intervene to save Dinah from her violation. He does not interrupt Simeon and Levi’s violent plans. He does not condemn Jacob for his appalling indifference toward his family. It is in these moments of silence (from the oppressed and from God) that we must look to the cross for God’s answer to suffering and despair. It was in the silence after Jesus’ final breath that God was most active in saving his people in their sins and distress. It is in the silence of our own lives that God is most at work, revealing the way of salvation to us and equipping us to live in these in-between days of our pilgrimage.

Face to Face with Grace (Genesis 33:1-17)

Eric Landry — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 09:00:00 -0800

Where can grace be found? In this episode of Jacob’s life, grace (ironically) is found in the embrace of his brother Esau. In our own lives, grace is often found in the most unlikely of places: an unexpected kindness, an unsought gift, a surprising encounter. In each of these and in each of our own awkward attempts at grace-filled living, we experience the grace of God, or, to use Jacob’s term, “we see the face of God.” These encounters with grace are mirrors in which we can understand at a practical level what grace looks like and how it operates in the world. God’s saving activity, then, is not just future-oriented, but also a present reality.

Power Religion (Genesis 32:3-32)

Eric Landry — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 08:00:00 -0800

A quick survey of any bookstore or Christian television programming suggests that more and more people are having greater and greater encounters with God: he appears to them, speaks to them, provides for them, protects them. God, it seems, is awfully busy making his rounds! Call me a cynic, but it seems that the encounters most people are having with God today look nothing like Jacob’s encounter with God the night before he met up with Esau. Where is the wrestling with God? Where is the fear? Where is the cry for a blessing? Where is the changed name and nature? Where is the lifelong limp? Further, where is the weakness of God in all these modern encounters? Perhaps our perceptions of a “power religion” need to change to be more faithful to the testimony of Scripture and the person and work of God.

The Long Journey Home (Genesis 31:1-32:2)

Eric Landry — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 09:00:00 -0700

After twenty long and heart-breaking years, the word of the Lord finally comes to Jacob and tells him to return to the Promised Land. Much has changed: Rebekah has died and Jacob has four wives, Jacob left penniless but returns wealthy and powerful with twelve sons. But much hasn’t changed: Jacob still wrestles with his own sin and living in light of the promise of God. Jacob’s journey home is much like each of our individual journeys: the danger is that we might stop to find a more suitable place, but the promise of God draws us forward. As angels welcome Jacob back into the Promised Land each of us is reminded of God’s faithfulness to us thus far in our lives and of his promise to see us safely home.

Jacob's Life, Love, and Loss (Genesis 29:1-30:24)

Eric Landry — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 09:00:00 -0700

Jacob emerges from the Promised Land with a fresh vision of God and the sound of his promises ringing in his ears. Today is the first day of the rest of his life. Marriage, children, and a job all lie before him...and along with them comes the conflict, frustration, and confusion that transcend time and culture. When everything is supposed to change but doesn’t, Jacob finds himself drawn to familiar patterns of sin and conflict. Even this promise bearer can’t seem to share the promised life with his family. Like Jacob must do, we look for our own salvation in another: Jacob’s greater descendant born of Judah, the son of Leah the unloved wife. Jesus breaks through this story of hopelessness to give us hope in our own stories.

Jacob Believes (Genesis 28:10-22 and John 1:43-51)

Eric Landry — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 09:00:00 -0700

Jacob doesn’t know it yet, but his journey of just a few days (a chance to lay low with uncle Laban) will stretch into a twenty-year odyssey of love, loss, tragedy and triumph. What does Jacob need as he makes his way out of the Promised Land? God descends and meets Jacob in his flight from Esau. We might expect God to read Jacob the riot act, but he graciously reminds Jacob of the promise and the blessing that he now bears, even as he leaves the Promised Land. God promises to be with Jacob. And Jacob responds with faith.

The God of Pilgrims (Genesis 26:1-35)

Robert Recio — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 09:00:00 -0700

In many respects the life of Isaac looks similar to the life of the modern believer. We too experience famine (read: economic crises), have neighbors become our enemies, and experience unrest in our pilgrimages. Yet we see a God who relentlessly pursues us just as he pursued Isaac on behalf of the righteousness of another. We live our lives ambivalent towards the providential hand of God and yet He is ever present, faithful to his covenant people. At the end of the day, though God has richly blessed Isaac in all of his endeavors and continues to bless us in a number of ways, we still struggle with unrest and discord. This unrest that we experience must force us to turn our eyes to the Lord. There is no rest to be found in this world or within ourselves. It is only in and through Jesus that true shalom (peace) will be brought to a world bent on sin and chaos.

Let's Make a Deal (Genesis 25:29-34 and Hebrews 12:12-17)

Eric Landry — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 09:00:00 -0700

As our economy continues to struggle to regain its footing, we’re quickly learning that all of the low-cost credit we’ve been enjoying for the last decade or so actually costs quite a lot. Esau didn’t realize how much his hunger would cost him. A birthright, to him, was just an idea and he was famished. Jacob, probably the more intelligent of the two brothers, understood exactly what the birthright was and he was willing to do anything to undercut Esau’s future so that he could have the birthright. Once again, we’re faced with an odd, ancient story. What does it have to do with us? As we work through this text, try to figure out where you fit and what promise Jesus makes to you.

A Word from the Lord (Genesis 25: 19-28 and Romans 9:6-13)

Eric Landry — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 09:00:00 -0700

With our neatly manicured lawns, freshly washed cars, and fashionable clothes, the suburbs provide us with a perfect place to hide: to hide our problems from others, t hide from our real selves, to hide from our imperfections. Unfortunately, American Christians are so busy pursuing some version of perfection, they are missing out on transformation. We have to embrace our need and the precariousness of faith to receive the word and work of God. Will Isaac and Rebekah embrace that need? Will they receive the word of the Lord? The story from Genesis 25 speaks to our own need for a word from the Lord and of God’s faithfulness to the word he has spoken.

Trapped by Faith (Genesis 24:1-67)

Eric Landry — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 09:00:00 -0700

We return to Genesis today after a year-long hiatus and pick up the story of Abraham’s son, Isaac. Isaac is no longer the child who brought Abraham and Sarah such joy. Nor is he the young man who allows Abraham to lay him on the altar of sacrifice. He is, instead, a man - like his father - trapped by the promise of God. Without a mother, wife, or heir, Isaac is in much the same position as his father: how can God’s promise come true when the circumstances that surround him seem so unpromising? Enter God working through his father, a servant, and a woman he’s never met: the surprising agents of God’s grace. Can God work again or will barrenness win the day? This Fall, we’ll see how God fulfills his promises in and to the sons of the promise.

How Do We Go On? (Philippians 4:21-23) How Do We Go On? (Philippians 4:21-23)

Eric Landry — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 09:00:00 -0700

Last September, Carnegie Mellon University computer science professor Randy Pausch gave a lecture entitled, “How to Really Achieve Your Childhood Dreams.” Prof. Pausch had pancreatic cancer and with just a few short months to live gave his last lecture to friends, students, and colleagues. Over the next several months, Pausch published the text of the lecture (it became a bestseller), gave a shortened version of it on Oprah, and appeared on numerous other television and radio shows. Randy Pausch died this summer, but he had time to plan his last words. These final verses from Paul are the last known words to the Philippian congregation who loved and supported him. What is his “last lecture”? What do these words, delivered nearly 2,000 years ago tell us today?

Paul’s Final Exhortations (Philippians 3:17-4:9)

Guest Speaker Simon Jooste — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 09:00:00 -0700

The Apostle Paul was a thinking man. He was also a joyful man. In fact, he was a man so captivated by Christ and his gospel that he could say things like: “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (3:8). Paul’s thinking took on gospel-worthy living expression: he joyfully sought to share in Christ's sufferings and become like him in his death.