Calvary Chapel Concord

This Easter Sunday!

Had a blessed weekend, enjoyed the fellowship, the teaching and good food

Palm Sunday 3/28/21

"Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there." And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me." He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, ...not as I will, but as You will." Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What? Could you not watch with Me one hour? "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done." And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then He came to His disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. "Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand." Matthew 26:36-46 NKJV See more

Today's message is Acts 18:1-10

Good evening Saints! Genesis 23 tonight

Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; (Acts 18:9-10) Paul, said the Lord, I’m giving you this promise: I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee. So, too, the Lord has given over three thousand promises to you and me in His Word. He has already given them. All that remains to be done is for us to believe them. Consequently, we hav...Continue reading

Good morning Saints! Today's message is Acts 20 pt. 1

Tonight's message is Genesis 19

2.14.21 Acts 17:18-34

Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man Whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead. (Acts 17:30-31) In the gospel of John, Jesus said that the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son (John 5:22). Consequently, Jesus is to whom Paul referred. I’m so grateful J...esus is my Judge because, having been in all points tempted like as we are (see Hebrews 4:15), He understands what I’m going through and the battles I wage. Before he began his ministry, Ezekiel was caught up by the hand of the Lord and brought to the river Chebar, where the people of Judah were held captive (Ezekiel 3:15). Before Ezekiel delivered His heavy message of judgment, God first had him sit with the captives. In the same way, Jesus looked on the multitude with compassion (Matthew 9:36). He didn’t come down on the sheep, but rather, He felt for them. Why? Because He sat where they sat. He walked where they walked. Our Leader, Jesus Christ, has gone through everything we’re going through or will ever face. He understands it. Others might say, What’s wrong with you? But not our Lord. He says, I understand. I was tempted in the same way. I know exactly what you’re struggling with. Before I can be effective in ministry, I must first sit where others have sat. It’s easy to come down on people, easy to find fault with people, easy to be critical of people. But when you sit where they’ve sat, you have then a ministry based on compassion and mercy, forgiveness and love. I believe the Lord allows us to go through hurts, pains, and struggles physically, emotionally, and spiritually because they are what give us hearts of compassion. Therefore, go forth and comfort one another with the comfort you have been comforted with!

Good evening! Genesis 18

Today's message is Acts 10:27-28

Daylight Saving Time is ending, change your clock before bed tonight!

And as he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together. Then he said to them, You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. (Acts 10:27,28) Although Peter didn’t understand the vision immediately, as events began to unfold, walking from Joppa to Caesarea, he got the picture. This would be a hard thing for someone raised in Judaism.... All of his life, Peter has been taught that Gentiles were unclean. You don’t spend time with Gentiles, you don’t associate with Gentiles. For us, it’s a little more subtle, but it’s still there. When some of us were kids, it was the hippies that most people considered unclean. But a lot of the hippies actually were pretty dirty. It took Chuck Smith’s wife Kay to help Chuck realize that God loved the hippies too. The Jesus Movement began when the nice people in church began to love the unclean, and though Jesus spent very little time with Gentiles, He did cross a few lines now and again; Matthew 9:1013 (NKJV) Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners? When Jesus heard that, He said to them, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. Today, there are other sorts of people that we might call unclean. 1) Some people still struggle with racial prejudice. 2) Others have a problem with those in the homosexual community. 3) There are some of us who don’t want to spend time with people who are of a different political party than we are. And then, 4) there are of course the homeless. So what does this principle mean that Peter shares? And, if God doesn’t want us to call any person common or unclean, how does that affect us? Does that mean that we tolerate or even endorse behavior that is unbiblical? I think this is where we learn how to love the sinner but hate the sin. But be careful that your hate for the sin doesn’t cross a line where you never spend any time with sinners. Bless us with your presence this Sunday. Cre8ted2serve Pastor Joe

Today's message is Acts 10:1-23

There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment. A devout man and one who feared God (Acts 10:1,2a) The Holy Spirit here calls our attention to three important qualities in the life of Cornelius. First, we see the faith of Cornelius. Cornelius feared God. This was one of the ways that Jews would categorize those Gentiles who worshipped Yahweh, but were not circumcised. They were called God fearers, And yet, even ...though he was a very religious man, he was a very lost man. Even though he was a man of prayer and of almsgiving, he wasn’t saved. With all his household (Acts 10:2b). Secondly, we see the family of Cornelius. After seeing the vanity and fallacy of the gods of Rome, Cornelius wanted his family to know the True and Living God. This is amazing to me, His family had seen Rome, the Hollywood or New York of that day, and yet somehow Cornelius was able to inspire in them a fear of God. Who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. (Acts 10:2c) Thirdly, we see the fervency of Cornelius as he went about doing good and praying always. There are those who say, Even though a person doesn’t know Jesus Christ as long as he loves God and does good to his fellow man, he’ll be okay. But this account tells me they are wrong, for if all it took for a man to get into heaven was that he loved God and his fellow man, God would have said, There’s Cornelius down there. He’s a pray-er. He’s a God-fearer. He’s a giver. I’ll let him be. But that’s not what God said. Instead, Acts 10 is the story of a seeking Savior searching out a seeking sinner. This comforts me because whether a person lives in America, Israel, or a country dominated by Islam; in the subtropical jungle of South America, or the outback of Australiathis story tells me that God will do whatever it takes to get anyone who is truly seeking Him pointed in the right direction.

Genesis 5 summary "How to read the Word"

Today's message is Acts 9:32-43

Then Peter arose and went with them (Acts 9:39). Notice first; Peter was available. This is the most important requirement for personal ministry. He didn’t consider himself as too important to minister to one dead woman, rather, he responded to the need at hand. Come quickly. But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed (Acts 9:40a). Secondly, Peter was prayerful. Peter knelt down was because he realized that not only was he inadequate for this ministry, but if an...yone happened to look into his room while he was praying, they would see him calling and depending upon the Lord. Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord (Acts 9:41-42). Thirdly, Peter was fruitful. His ministry to one dead woman caused an entire city to be exposed to the gospel. By many peoples’ evaluation, Mordecai Ham was one of the least effective preachers of his day. But a young man named William heard his message, responded, and got saved. This makes Mordecai Ham’s entire ministry valid, for William Franklin Graham, better known as Billy, would, in turn, reach millions. When you reach one third-grader in Sunday school, you don’t know if that third-grader might not be the next Billy Graham. Like Peter, you never know the fruit that will come from working with one dead person. So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with Simon, a tanner (Acts 9:43). Lastly, Peter was flexible. Where did he lodge? With a tanner. Because they dealt with dead animals, so unclean did the Jews esteem tanners that the MishnahJewish regulationstated that the wife of a tanner had the right to divorce him. Thus, the Lord’s work with Peter concerning the issue of legalism began in the house of a fellow whom Peter previously would have avoided completely. If we’re going to be used individually and corporately, like Peter, we need to show flexibility within the parameters of Scripturenot bound by traditions or preconceived opinionseven if it means hanging out with tanners. Be like Peter. Be available. Be prayerful. Be flexibleand watch the Lord make you fruitful. Cre8ted2serve Pastor Joe

Today's message Acts 9:1-32

It's Pastor Appreciation Day this Sunday. Tell us how you appreciate Pastor Joe!

So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out. And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him. When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus. Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied. (Acts 9:28-31) So Paul wa...s sent to Tarsus, where he would spend between seven and ten years laboring in obscurity. Maybe you can relate to this. Maybe, like Paul, you have said, Lord, You’re missing a great opportunity. I’m custom-made to reach these people. If You bless my business, my family, this projectLord, just think how good it would be! And the Lord says, Depart. I’m sending you somewhere else. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus said, Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden and I will give you rest. Rest from what? Rest from your works, rest from trying to be spiritual, rest from trying to be religious. Jesus said, Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Matthew 11:29 When you come to Jesus initially, you find rest from your works. But it’s only when you are yoked to Jesus that you find rest in your heart. Perhaps today you might have rest from your worksyou’ve been born again; you’re a believerbut you don’t have rest in your heart. You’re troubled about many things: family, finances, ministry, health, and relationships. Do you know why that is? We are troubled in our hearts when we fail to take His yoke upon us; when we try to call the shots and direct what we think should happen. Our ideas could be good, our motives noble. But they’re worthless if they’re not what God intends. If you’re troubled today because someone let you down, some project didn’t open up, some relationship didn’t work out, you can become a basket caselet down over the side of the wall in bitterness and defeat. Or, like Paul, you can learn to trust the Lord and see a bigger picture by saying, Your way, Lord, not mine. I give up. I let go. What do You want to do? I yoke myself with You. What is a yoke? A device that connects a weaker, dumber ox to a stronger, wiser ox. Guess which ox you are. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, Jesus says to us. Link to Me and learn of Me. Let Me lead you. Cre8ted2serve Pastor Joe

Genesis 4:10-26