Curt Ammons

Curt Simmons preaches to us from 1 Peter 1 about the need to be spiritually smart. He shares 3 spiritual truths that we need to believe in, act on, and share about with others if we are to become spiritually smart: 1) we have everything we need from God to do well spiritually, 2) we have an obligation to grow, and 3) We have a lot to offer when we walk with Jesus.

Are we suppsed to fear God, or not? If perfect love drives out fear as 1 John 4:18 says, then what are we supposed to make of all the other scriptures that talk about fearing God? Curt Ammons discusses the different meanings of fear as they are used in the scriptures and shows us how the fear of God brings righteousness, joy, faith, and courage, and how it stregthens and encourages the church.

Ed Dawson

Various Teens

Dave Pocta recaps his closing message from the Family Teen Ministry Conference about the need for zeal for our houses in raising children with a genuine heart to love and serve Jesus.

This is the slide presentation that accompanied Dave Pocta's sermon, Zeal For Your House.
Note:  This file is very large (23MB) and may take a long time to download.

The Sh'ma (or Shema) is the most important prayer in Judaism, the beginning of the passage we know as Deuteronomy 6:4.  Curt goes back to the Shema as a key for parents to successfully pass on the heart of their faith to their children AND GRANDCHILDREN.  He exposes a face of the enemy--the popular Media--through sobering statistics and information, in order that parents may identify specific ways in which they can overcome the Enemy, retaining their rightful place as the primary influence in guiding their children's spiritual development.

We have the same call, but everyone has a unique perspective on that call.  Our Chicago vision is designed to be a shared framework within which each disciple can joyfully fulfill and live out God's call to worship and serve him alongside our brothers and sisters.  But to do that, we must listen, and after listening, we must act according to what we've heard.  Jeff delves into the story of Balaam, who was "allowed" to go do what he wanted--but only after rejecting what God had already made clear to him!  He also likens worries and wealth to a massive freight train in our lives that threatens to drown out the important things God is saying to us.