COG Webcast



December 16th, 2023

In the Image and Likeness of God

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Why does God care about humanity? The answer to this question is found in part in the book of Genesis. But this is only the beginning of the story. Here God declared, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness and let him have dominion over the earth.” The Psalmist adds to our understanding of God’s purpose in that he created human beings with a glory that was a little lower than ‘elohim’ (God). Jesus in answering the religious leaders of his day, proclaimed that he was a son of God, and yet this should not have astounded them as it did. For Jesus made the same kind of bold declaration as the Psalmist in calling men ‘elohim’ or sons of God. John, James and Paul all added insights regarding Christ’s being the image of the Father and the firstborn son of God. But the Father has a plan to bring many more sons and daughters – made in his image – into his family. Knowing this basic truth these biblical writers offer us wisdom as to how we should live our lives now in preparation for this glorious future. View the message to learn more about our transformation into God’s image and likeness as his children. More

December 10th, 2023

Chanukah — Feast of Dedication? What should Christians Know

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Maccabees

Understanding the history of the people of God through the ages gives us perspective and helps us to discern the signs of the times. God wants us to remember the lessons of history and consider the lives of those individuals who remained faithful to God in perilous times.
History and prophecy inform us of God’s plan and give us vision so we can make those daily choices that will produce good fruit in our lives. Let us consider the history behind the Feast of Dedication that was celebrated by God’s people during the time of Jesus Christ’s ministry.
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December 9th, 2023

Chanukah’s Message: Present, Past and Future — Resist Evil

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The world is trying to grapple with the events of the past few months in the Middle East, but this is nothing new. Our present situation has a powerful connection to events of the past and the prophecy of Daniel about the Seleucid Empire’s attempts to dominate Judea. And the question of good and evil is still the one that should be foremost in our minds. God warns us of the consequences of falling prey to the idea that good and evil are relative, or that good is evil and evil is good. More

December 9th, 2023

Children of God Series

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children of the Father by the spiritOur Father, the God of all creation, has a deep desire to have loving family relationships with his children. As all good fathers, God has a plan to help his children draw close to him and emulate his ways so they can grow to spiritual maturity. Let’s examine the many ways in which we become attached to God so we might become like our Father? More

November 26th, 2023

War or Peace – What is Your Vision for the Future?

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War or Peace? Our world longs for peace and a way out of misery, suffering and death. But is the world willing to make the changes necessary to eradicate war and promote peace? Are there too many people in the world who love war and hate peace? Are there those whose conflicting passions, envy, selfishness and evil deeds make war the natural consequence? The Lord God, the Word of God, makes it clear that there is no peace for the wicked, it is merely a matter of cause and effect.
The story of Jehu and his overthrow of Ahab’s dynasty is a case in point. It is self-deception to think that idolatry, murder, and deceit can produce anything but conflict — war! Yet the scriptures give us more than warnings of future warfare it also give us hope of future peace. This vision of peace is taught from Genesis to Revelation and the prophecies of a future time of peace are promises made by the God who never lies and is ever-faithful.
Do you know what the scripture teaches in regards to how peace will be achieved and the scourge of war will end? And have you considered how these prophecies are meant to impact our daily lives, giving us hope and providing us with wisdom to walk in peace now?
Let’s search the scriptures together to understand God’s mind on the matter of war or peace. More

November 18th, 2023

Is Anti-Semitism Good or Bad Theology?

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Jesus said that a good tree would produce good fruit and a bad tree would produce bad fruit. When we consider the conflict between Hamas and the state of Israel, we realize it is a theological controversy. This controversy and the underlying anti-semitism has ancient roots and the tree has either produced good or bad fruit.
But we will start to examine the story beginning with the history of the Roman world at the time of the Jewish revolts in the first and second century. We will briefly look at the causes of a rising anti-semitism in the state and a subsequent adoption of anti-semitic bias in the early Roman church. We will consider the question of why the early Roman church fathers forsook their Hebrew roots and developed a new ‘Gentile Christianity.’

Then we will examine the scriptures to determine God’s attitude towards his people and how he dealt with them when they failed to live up to their covenant. God made and reiterated promises to his people, so we must ask whether the God we worship as Christians is a God who keeps his promises. Can we count on God to be good to his word? And if so, do we have the same mindset that God has when it comes to the issue of anti-semitism. More

November 11th, 2023

Salvation is of the Jews??

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In a time of rising anti-semitism, Jesus statement that ‘Salvation is of the Jews’ seems antithetical to many who consider themselves Christians. So what was Jesus talking about and how should it direct our thought and action today?
Understanding the context of this scripture gives us the first clue and provides us with more questions. Who were the Samaritans, what did they believe and what was their relationship to the scriptures? Answering these questions in their historical context helps us understand what Jesus said and why he said it. More