The Blog

Resources for Spiritual Growth During COVID-19 Crisis

Opportunity

The shelter in place orders, the quarantines, the closures of schools, sporting events, theaters, and public gathering spaces has caused many personal and social challenges.  But we need to remember that God is not surprised at what is occurring.  In fact, God is at work actively doing something intentional with all that is transpiring.  These moments offer you and I the opportunity to connect with God and others in ways we may not have considered before.  People keep saying these are unprecedented times.  This truly is an unprecedented opportunity for the gospel.

Faith vs. Fear

From early on in this pandemic I began to talk with people about how we would manage our lives in the balance of faith versus fear.  Would we live our lives fearful of what we see around us? Would we become fearful of people and contact with others?  Would we fear for our loved ones and ourselves?  Having a robust faith in God does not mean we will not and should not take precautions.  But we must also actively live with a clear sense of God’s sovereignty.  Here is a resource that you can stream for free to help you understand more about God’s providence, especially in times of suffering or fear: The Providence of God, by RC Sproul.  As believers we have the opportunity to represent the hope of the gospel as we live cautiously, but with faith, and to share with others why we do not need to be afraid.

Spiritual Growth

How many times have you said or wished you had more time to read Scripture, to have a quiet time, to spend more time on prayer, to read good books, or listen to some podcasts?  Perhaps God is slowing some of us down for that very purpose.  We currently have the opportunity to make use of time that is usually captured by longer work hours, more school activities, more time going out to events, or taking in the latest movie or a sporting event.  Consider some of these resources:

• Free Study Guides by R.C. Sproul: Ligonier Ministries Study Guides
• Stand to Reason videos, podcasts, and articles: Stand to Reason
• Books on Audible or Kindle: attached reading list from Pastor Mark.  Look at the highlighted books first.
• A Bible Reading Plan for the year: Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan 

Pastoral Ministry Reading List

Neighbor Love

As fallen human creatures we are great with our intentions, and we are poor at fulfilling our commitments.  The mission of CHBC is to develop disciples who live by the Great Commandment (Matt. 22:36-40), and who fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20).  We have the opportunity to show that we will love our neighbors by abiding by the suggestions of the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the President, and the Governor.  We can also love our neighbors by checking on one another, meeting the needs that are safe and reasonable, by prayer, and by speaking of our faith in Jesus Christ.

Mark D. DeMoss, Senior Pastor

Wednesday Night Information - 4/15/20

CHBC,

One of the greatest challenges, and therefore one of our greatest opportunities during the COVID-19 crisis is keeping the patterns of our spiritual growth and our connection to our Christian community. Our Sunday and Wednesday meeting times and gathering points have been interrupted. That is the challenge. The opportunity before is how we go about both our discipleship and our fellowship in new ways.

We have sent you information weekly for Wednesday nights. If you live alone I want to challenge you to reach out to one or some of your friends and ask them to meet with you using teleconferencing technology or a Facetime call to engage in one of the Wednesday night devotionals. If you have children in your home, make this a family time that includes dinner, your devotion, and then a game where you can spend quality time learning and laughing. If you are a young adult hungry for the fellowship of other young singles or young marrieds, reach out to teleconference some time after you have done your personal or family devotion and talk and fellowship around the devotions as couples.

The opportunity exists for you to take the initiative with others to do life on life discipleship. The moment is here. If we begin using it now in these strange times we have the opportunity to develop habits and community that would not have existed before this pandemic. Let’s take advantage of our opportunity. Below are some resources to assist your times for devotion. We have also attached questions from our Connect Groups, which are related to the sermon from this past Sunday.

Family Devotions entitled, “Seeing Jesus through the Uncertainty”. These family devotions are provided by the North American Mission Board of the SBC. Many parents have asked us how to discuss the virus and its impact on our world with their children. These devotions are designed to do just that. Use these for Wednesday, Sunday morning, or a weekly family devotion another night of the week. You can access and download these lessons by clicking this link: Family Devotions from NAMB.

Connect Group Questions – these are in the form of an attachment; we use these in our adult Wednesday nights, but could be used as a discussion points for a couple, a family, or any small group you gather via Zoom, skype or Facetime. Consider inviting some others to join you in one of these virtual ways to think more about Pastor Mark’s sermon from Matthew 5 this past Sunday.

Zoom Student Bible Study – Pastor Jason and Alex will be connecting with the students again this week on Zoom at 6 PM. They will send information to students and parents on how to connect. They are monitoring who can enter the meetings and they can control what screens and what audio is shared. This gathering will include a devotion for the students, time to interact, and a fun activity.

Zoom College Bible Study – Pastor Jason and Jennifer will host their regular weekly Bible Study from 1 John, but instead of gathering in person in their home, they will meet on Zoom. Pastor Jason will be sharing how to connect with each student.

Pastor Tyler’s Worship Ministry Devotion – Pastor Tyler will share about a 10 minute devotion at 7:30 PM on Facebook Live. You can connect to our Facebook page by clicking on this link: https://www.facebook.com/chbcokc/. Pastor Tyler delivers this devotion each week during the Worship Choir rehearsals. Take this opportunity to hear Pastor Tyler teach, and share his heart for leading our church in worship.

Mark D. DeMoss, Senior Pastor