CTK Blog
Pray Confidently
In Ephesians 3:14-21, Paul prays that God, by his Spirit, would give the Ephesians strength to know Christ’s mighty heart for them, so that they might become all that God intends. In verses 14-15, Paul gives the Ephesians three reasons he prays with confidence to the Father on their behalf. We, too, we can pray confidently for our church because our Father loves us, is near to us, and is the mightiest.
God Loves Prisoners
Psalm 107 invites us to experience the steady and sturdy love of God so that we might burst with thankfulness to him. The reach of God’s love has no bounds, and the psalm’s second story takes us behind the bars of a prison. God draws even prisoners into his divine love. In Romans 6, Paul describes the natural human condition as enslaved to, or imprisoned in sin and death. But to the praise of God’s grace, through faith in Christ there is freedom. For those who have been set free by the love of God, we too should join God in extending love to those who are imprisoned both spiritually and physically. Psalm 107 reminds us that those behind bars are loved by the triune God, inspiring us to extend compassion and the gospel to them.
Why Hickory?
Why plant a church? And more particularly, you might ask, why plant a church in Hickory? We are planting CTK in Hickory because we see both tremendous need and wonderful opportunities in our community.
God Loves Wanderers
Psalm 107 reveals a God who doesn’t just love people from all over, but a God who pours out His never-giving-up love on all kinds of people. The reach of God’s love has no bounds! God loves all kinds from all over with a sure and steady love. One particular kind that God draws into his divine love are wanderers. The wanderers are making their way through a desert looking for a secure city, food to fill, and water to quench. In the love of God our wandering hearts finally make it home.
Why plant a church?
We are new church plant. That fact alone often generates a number of questions from people. Often, chief among those questions is: why? Why start another church? As a church, we believe there are three great reasons to invest our time, energy, finances, and lives into the effort to plant a new gospel work. We believe that church planting is (1) biblical, (2) effective, and (3) God-honoring.
God Loves All Kinds
Psalm 107 celebrates the expansiveness of God’s love—his love extends to all corners of the earth and to all kinds of people. The body of Psalm 107 deploys four vivid stories of God’s love in action. According to these stories, not only does God’s love reach into four different geographies, but also into the lives of four kinds of people. The point is this: Go in every direction and you will find people that God loves, and you will find that God loves all kinds of people.
Worship Fuels Mission
Psalm 107 reminds us that mission overflows from worship. Praising God for his redeeming love is the fuel for proclaiming that love to our neighbors and the nations. Mission wells up from worship and leads to worship.