Casco Bay Church: Recent Episodes
Casco Bay Church
We are a family of believers committed to following Jesus. We believe that salvation is available only through Jesus Christ and through faith in His grace. We believe that God's grace calls us to submit to Christ in repentance and baptism and then to a life of loving God - loving Him with all our hearts, souls and minds, and loving our neighbors as well as ourselves.
The Bible is our standard, and we make every effort to ensure that the Scriptures are carefully, accurately and powerfully taught in our various services and meetings. We are convinced that every aspect of life - marriage, family, friendships, work and school - is transformed by the message of Jesus. If you are seeking a relationship with God, we hope you will get in touch with us so we might seek Him together!
Sunday Sermon by guest speakers Peti and Virag Szabad from Fitchburg, MA. Recorded on June 16th, 2024.
Beginning lesson of the Midweek series on deeper Bible Study. Recorded on February 1, 2023
Hospitality is an enormous aspect of being a Christian. As we strive to be hospitable like Jesus, we should realize that hospitality can lead to salvation.
There is a spiritual war happening right now and it affects everyone. Although God has ultimately already won this war, the number of casualties has yet to be determined. And God has forged very specific weapons to be wielded against the enemy!
Even Jesus' disciples had doubts about their faith. Therefore, we should not be surprised to have personal doubts. But if we seek the answers to our doubts, our faith will be strengthened!
Every person is a beloved creation of God. But God has a broken heart because so many people are rebelling against His love.
Our goal for this next sermon series is to develop the life and heart of a missionary. And the life of a missionary is messy!
There is a noticeable wave of excitement that courses through your body when you catch a fish. Jesus calls us to be fishers of men. Our excitement for "catching" and saving souls should be exponential in comparison to catching fish!
To grow as missionaries we must first understand the extent of God's love for us. When we understand this, we can share this love with others.
There is a micro, individual vision that God reveals to each of us slowly. But there is also a macro, common vision revealed to us in Philippians Chapter 3.
The probability that a single Messiah would fulfill all of the prophecies in the Bible is so ridiculously implausible... that it could only be orchestrated by God Himself!
When Jesus returns, God will create a new heaven and new earth for all souls who have received the gift of eternal life. The new heaven is not going to be a place in the clouds with harps and clouds floating everywhere. And the new earth is going to be right here! But these new places will no longer be subject to decay and aging. Instead, they will be so amazing that we literally do not have the ability to describe them in words!
When you are resurrected, you will not become a ghost. Instead, you will become a spiritual body that can interact with physical things.
Have you ever thought about what happens when you die? If we die before Jesus returns, where do we go? The Bible tells us that purgatory does not exist, and the Bible tells us that we do not go right to heaven or hell. So where do we go?
The heart behind discipling is love. When we speak to and train one another, we must learn to do so in a loving but truthful way.
Do you want to know what is going to happen to you after you die? Today we speak about Judgment Day. Scriptures guide us through the misconceptions of this Last Day, "The Day of the Lord," and bring us to the truth of the matter.
Because of Christ's victory over death, we too have victory over death. And this should change our lives NOW. We should be walking this earth as victors.
If you learn how to receive discipling, you will make it to heaven! Join us as we learn to be humble like a child and hungry for discipling!
Sin brought death into the world, and the fear of death poisons us with sin. But in Jesus Christ, death has no power over us.
If there is no God, then there is no judgment and everything in life is meaningless. But because there is a God, there is a judgment. And because there is a judgment, everything matters!
Life is not always what we expect it to be! Ecclesiastes helps us to see that our own perspective is limited, but gives hope that God is always in the picture.
The Bible is full of optimistic teachings. However, we find in Ecclesiastes 7 and 8 that pessimistic teachings can be just as powerful in our lives.
The book of Ecclesiastes is meant to give you perspective. If you look at things from a worldly perspective, everything looks bad. But if you look at things from God's perspective, everything changes.
What exactly is discipling? And what role should it play in our daily lives as Christians? Join us as we uncover the Master's plan for transformation!
When you walk into someone's home, the items hanging on the walls tell a person's story. Maybe your walls have family photos, or proof of hunting/fishing expeditions. But maybe your wall has a mat hanging on it like we see in Luke chapter 5. What is your story?
It is so easy to become offended and bitter in our society. Jesus teaches us that we can train ourselves to be unoffendable.
The Kingdom of heaven is worth EVERYTHING! It is worth more than any of us have. Is your heart in it?
Communion should be a time to examine your relationship with Jesus and remember why you fell in love with the Lord. Where is your heart right now? Is your heart fully in the Kingdom? Is Jesus still the Lord of your life?
We need to have deep convictions about what life is supposed to be like spiritually. We need to understand that death is just a part of the beginning for us as disciples. Even more, we need to realize that our legacy is with Christ and not with this world. This chapter pinpoints how religious individuals should address God.
In our society, we are constantly thinking about what we are doing next, either to get ahead or even just to survive. But the book of Ecclesiastes challenges us to keep the end in mind and to start every day remembering that today might be our last day. Enjoy it!
Today we start a new series that focuses on the book of Ecclesiastes. In this book, the wisest human being in all of history, King Solomon, seeks the meaning of life. What does he find?
Now that we are armed with the gospel, we must not just sit on the gospel and not dream. Each of us must pursue his or her own spiritual ambition! What is yours?
"Everything that does not come from faith is sin." Are you living by faith or are you condemning yourself by not walking with God?
How are Christians supposed to act toward authorities, especially authorities that are not Christians themselves?
In view of God's mercy, destroy yourself. Stay on the altar. Be a living sacrifice. Re-gift it. Truly accept, then walk in , then give away the grace that God has given you. Be a real Christian. Let love be genuine. Love deeply. Let God's truth and love and grace make you a joyful and obedient slave.
In Romans 10 and 11, Paul speaks about WHY the Israelites rejected Christ. Romans 11 provides the cure leading to salvation!
In Romans 10 and 11, Paul speaks about WHY the Israelites rejected Christ. Romans 10 contains the diagnosis while Romans 11 contains the cure!
Romans 9 is about the anguish of Paul's heart toward the Israelites and God's past relationship with His chosen people. From this relationship, we can forge onward in our faith if we can accept where we are in our journey!
Chapter 8 is the powerful ending to the Gospel message in the book of Romans. Read it, meditate on it, learn from it - because it will change your life!
Last week we focused on the breakthrough goals of our family groups within our church. Today we will focus on how to have breakthroughs in our individual spiritual lives.
As we take a break from our Romans series this week, let's focus on what it would take for each of us to have a spiritual breakthrough this summer!
When intentionally used as spiritual disciplines, silence and solitude help us to seek God and connect with Him. Journaling helps us unite God's word with our daily lives.
Being a servant is the essence of who Jesus was and He went above and beyond when He served. Tonight we look at some of the ways that He served, including how He even broke the rules about serving!
We are all slaves, but what we are slaves to is up to us. Are you a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness?
Anxiety and fear are very prevalent in today's world. But God does not desire us to worry or fear. How do we navigate these feelings with God who loves us unconditionally?
What is the biology behind anxiety, depression, and mental illness? What is the connection between mental health and faith?
If you are a true disciple of Jesus, you are called to serve in God's Kingdom. Serving God should be motivated by obedience to God, gratitude, gladness, forgiveness, humility and love. Every Christian has been blessed with a spiritual gift and is called to use this gift to serve others.
Why do you believe what you believe? Why do you do what you do? We should not be doing things for the sake of doing them or for the sake of tradition. We should have great reasons for our actions. The Bible tells us why we should be giving every week!
Communion may be the most important reason that we come together every week. By remembering to BE THERE and BE AWARE, we can focus our hearts every week to allow communion to impact us like it did the very first time.
Justification in Christ is the only true source of spiritual peace. None of us are righteous before God, but each of us can be justified freely by His grace!
God created man and invited him into His Kingdom. Then He appointed men to be stewards of His Kingdom. This includes our finances, time, talents, etc. But how do we discipline ourselves to be good stewards with what God has given us?
Christianity would not exist if someone did not rise from the dead in bodily form! As Christians, we often think we know and understand Jesus. But do not settle on what you think you know about Him. There is so much about Christ and the power of the resurrection that you have yet to learn!
Today we are hosting a Suicide Prevention Workshop taught by a Maine military chaplain. This is a great opportunity to learn about better helping our friends, family and neighbors.
Sometimes we can find ourselves doubting God's love, especially when we consider our personal mistakes and sins. But the truth is that God's love endures forever!
Every person whose name is not found in the Book of Life will be thrown into the lake of fire on the final day of judgment. We must discipline ourselves to evangelize the world so that all people have the opportunity to find salvation!
To be a slave to sin is to be in a terrible place. Today we continue in Romans 2 and 3 to learn what the Bible teaches regarding freedom from sin.
God requires us to have faith in Him in order for Him to work in our lives. But this is not a complex faith; instead, it is a simple (but not necessarily easy) faith. This simple faith is trust and belief in who God is and in His abilities.
We worship because as we worship, we become more like God. And being more like God is exactly what we are striving to do!
Racism, race, and culture bring deep passion and potential conflict in the world. As Christians, these issues affect us, our mission and our unity. But every potential problem can be a pitfall or a platform. Come learn about the amazing opportunity to put the power and wisdom of the gospel on display as we learn how to become like Jesus by crossing the line. We welcome guest speaker Michael Burns, an author and international Biblical teacher on topics of unity and diversity.
Racism, race, and culture bring deep passion and potential conflict in the world. As Christians, these issues affect us, our mission and our unity. But every potential problem can be a pitfall or a platform. Come learn about the amazing opportunity to put the power and wisdom of the gospel on display as we learn how to become like Jesus by crossing the line. We welcome guest speaker Michael Burns, an author and international Biblical teacher on topics of unity and diversity!
Racism, race, and culture bring deep passion and potential conflict in the world. As Christians, these issues affect us, our mission and our unity. But every potential problem can be a pitfall or a platform. Come learn about the amazing opportunity to put the power and wisdom of the gospel on display as we learn how to become like Jesus by crossing the line. We welcome guest speaker Michael Burns, an author and international Biblical teacher on topics of unity and diversity!
Racism, race, and culture bring deep passion and potential conflict in the world. As Christians, these issues affect us, our mission and our unity. But every potential problem can be a pitfall or a platform. Come learn about the amazing opportunity to put the power and wisdom of the gospel on display as we learn how to become like Jesus by crossing the line. We welcome guest speaker Michael Burns, an author and international Biblical teacher on topics of unity and diversity!
Racism, race, and culture bring deep passion and potential conflict in the world. As Christians, these issues affect us, our mission and our unity. But every potential problem can be a pitfall or a platform. Come learn about the amazing opportunity to put the power and wisdom of the gospel on display as we learn how to become like Jesus by crossing the line. We welcome guest speaker Michael Burns, an author and international Biblical teacher on topics of unity and diversity!
Did you know that there are thousands of Christian denominations? This can be problematic when we consider that the Bible states that there is only ONE church. Only God knows which disciples will make it to heaven. Here at Casco Bay Church we believe that God is clear about what He desires His disciples to be, and we want to do everything we can to make sure that every member makes it to the party!
In 1 Corinthians 12, the Word explains that the church body is composed of many parts. Each member of the body is hand selected by God for a specific role, and each member is required for the body to operate as one. Yet sometimes as we build God's kingdom, there will be challenges and conflicts within the body. But Scripture shows us how to interact with one another to become the body that God designed.
Tonight we are focusing on embracing the call to seek and save the lost. But sharing our faith with others can be a struggle. Each of us must pinpoint what holds us back from letting our light shine!
If God's church is going to be great, every person must make the individual decision to rise up and contribute! We have 3 ways to do this: love God, be a disciple maker, and give your best to God!
It is so easy in today's world to be distracted from building God's house. Satan has even found ways to make us so comfortable that we instead focus on building our own houses. But God says, "Go build, and I will take care of the rest!"
Many clubs and groups and organizations exist in our world. But the only one that is eternal is the church. Jesus gave His life for the church and then entrusted us with it.
Are you on the Lord's side or are you on Satan's side? No one chooses to be on the losing side. But Satan is not trying to convince you to say, "I am fighting on Satan's side." What Satan really wants is to persuade you that you are on the Lord's side when you are actually on Satan's side.
For the first part of 2019, the men and women of the church will be having separate midweeks! The men will be completing a series from the book titled "Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life" by Donald Whitney. Join us as we learn to take our spiritual disciplines higher!
Church is the most unique thing in the world - because the people who come into the church literally have nothing in common in this world. What we have in common is NOT OF THIS WORLD!
It is easy to confess with our words that Jesus is the Son of God. It is difficult to live it. But the cornerstone of the church is Jesus Christ and we must be convicted about what this means.
Is church just a place that you go to on Sunday? Or do you have the conviction that this is OUR church and we need to build it according to God's will?
Inevitably, people change. It is up to each of us to determine who or what influences us along the way. If we choose to be with Jesus during this change, Jesus will always be with us.
Entering into 2019, let us focus on ourselves as disciples. Each one of us is God's vision of the church. If each one of us focuses on living the life that Jesus calls us to, we will affect the greater Kingdom is amazing ways this year!
What does it mean to be strong in the grace? This profound statement may be the difference between those who make it to heaven and those who do not.
As we end 2018 and prepare for 2019, we learn from Simeon and Anna, two amazing people who were inspired by baby Jesus!
The Bible does not mention Joseph too much, but the little information that we do have allows us to infer some great things about him!
More than anything, God wants a relationship with us. And to have this connection with Him, He wants for each of us to grow up and become like a child.
Mary was the first person to give up everything for Jesus. This took incredible faith and we can learn a tremendous amount from her!
Jesus came to Earth in the Old Testament before He came as a Galilean carpenter in the New Testament!
Many, if not all, of us experience doubt during our faith journeys. If not addressed, this doubt has the ability to completely undermine our faith in Christianity. Today we learn what the Gospel of John has to teach us about doubt through the apostle Thomas (also known as "Doubting Thomas") and his interactions with Jesus.
We will never be able to out-give God, but we can learn to imitate His heart in giving!
Join us as we learn how a brash, uneducated fisherman became a pillar of the New Testament church through progressive sanctification!
As we continue our series about the Gospel, the sinful woman teaches us to be grateful for the Good News!
Paul was converted from Christian-killer to arguably the greatest Christian of all time. This is the power of encountering Jesus!
In Matthew 22:14, Jesus said, "For many are called but few are chosen." What does this mean for us today?
As we examine how Jesus loves us through the Scriptures, we are challenged to implement His ways in our own lives!
Race is one of the biggest topics in our country. How should Christians think about race and racial issues? How would Jesus respond to today's social climate? The same way the early church did: through the Gospel! Join us to hear the Good News that still speaks to us today. Our speaker, Darryl Owens, is an African American Boston Police Officer and elder who teaches on this topic in the Boston area.
When we read God's Word, we should be thinking about the "Why" and the "How" of the messages, not just the "What." With this in mind, we dig into the events surrounding Jesus and the bleeding woman.
As we continue our "The Good News" series, we learn from the Pharisee named Nicodemus who learned the way to everlasting life directly from Jesus.
Today is the 8th anniversary of our church! Join us as we celebrate His love in our life and the privilege to serve the King.
You cannot have the good news without a person speaking it! The Gospel message in Luke 19 teaches us through the actions of Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector in Jericho.
Do you remember the first time you heard the GOOD NEWS? What was it like for you when you first heard that Jesus Christ died on the cross for YOUR sins?
The Gospel is a message from God that brings salvation to EVERYONE! It is POWER to those who believe!
Join us as we start a new series that will rekindle the power that we felt when we first heard the gospel message!
Only when you are alone with God can you truly stop all of the noise of life and spontaneously worship God!
There is an immeasurable potential of power in private worship. To tap into this power, we must prepare ourselves to seek God in worship!
Without Christ, your world is veiled. In order to worship God and uncover the majesty of His creation, you must lift the veil!
Everyone worships something. As a Christian, the ultimate goal of worship is to pursue and know God. But be wary of idolatry - we need to worship the Creator, not created things!
God reconciled the world through Christ. And as a co-worker of God, you are an ambassador for Jesus Christ. By learning from His example, Christ's love can transform your daily motivation so that you can share the love with others.
If you can learn the secrets of joy through the book of Philippians, you will be able to truly rejoice!
Our thoughts have powerful effects on our lives. Negative thoughts invite destruction. But God specifically reveals to us how we should focus our thoughts. And if we focus on these thoughts, we will find true joy!
Are you convinced that what you believe regarding the origin and design of the universe is true? In this special sermon, we consider the question, "Is there a Creator to the universe?"
The secret to joy is found in Philippians 3. And we findthat Jesus learned obedience through suffering.
What do the bloody cross and resurrection mean to you? You should rejoice in what Jesus did for you on the cross!
God is always working in you, even (and sometimes especially) through the difficult times in your life!
Everyone is invited to this party of parties, but you must show up to receive salvation!
We learn from Jesus through the book of Philippians that the source of joy is in serving with humility!
Part 4 of a 4-part message! From their own lives, disciples share practical ways to strive to grow in joy!
Part 3 of a 4-part message! From their own lives, disciples share practical ways to strive to grow in joy!
Part 2 of a 4-part message! From their own lives, disciples share practical ways to strive to grow in joy!
Part 1 of a 4-part message! From their own lives, disciples share practical ways to strive to grow in joy!
As we continue with our vision to rejoice in 2018, learn how to discover joy in your life!
Can you purposely set aside an extra $5 every week? It may not seem like much, but this sacrifice can do wonders!
Are you ready to start the best year of your life? What you will need to do will surprise you!