Hays Christian Church

Advent 2022 (Part 1): Signs

Advent is a season of waiting, which requires us to be on alert. For the first sermon of Advent, Pastor Cana turns to Luke 21:25-36, where Jesus teaches that signs are our signal to stay ready for the Second Coming of Christ and the redemption He will bring. To catch those signs, we need to pay attention and not be distracted. 

The Giving in Thanksgiving

Jennifer’s son Cody Urban delivers a message to us for the holiday, focusing on what thanksgiving is. Thanksgiving is essential for prayer, as expressed in the ACTS model (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication). It is also a peace offering, a means of having fellowship with God through a communal meal. Finally, it leads to generosity when we remember that all we have been blessed with belongs to God and is not ours to keep.

Seasons of Life: Job 38:1-13

Pastor Cana looks to Ecclesiastes 3 and Job 38:1-7, 12-13 to convey that God cares about our concerns and isn’t threatened as we are when our life changes seasons. Because of this, we should feel confident rather than concerned when changes and challenges come our way.

Spiritual Disciplines (Part 12): Fasting

For this Spiritual Discipline, Pastor Cana explains that fasting desires dependance on God and a spirit willing to live out God’s will. In Isaiah 58:6-9, God tells Israel that their insincere rituals of fasting are unacceptable and fasting must be taken to heart. There are many ways we can incorporate fasting into our daily efforts to nurture our relationship with God.

Christians and Halloween

The secular holiday of Halloween is often controversial among Christians. In this message, Joanne Tramel traces the origins of the holiday and takes on the question “is it okay to celebrate?” Even a pagan holiday’s origins don’t always carry over into modern culture’s intent. Yes, Satan is real, but the Enemy is more likely to put his efforts into true evils such as hunger, drug addiction, and abuse. Only Jesus and modeling Christ-like actions can overcome Satan’s influence.

Shiprah and Puah, Midwives to Justice: Exodus 1:15-21

For Pastor Cana’s message, she takes us to Exodus 1:15-21, where Pharaoh commands the midwives Shiprah and Puah to kill newborn Hebrew boys so that the slave population could be controlled. However, these midwives dared to defy and deceive him so that many lives could be saved and eventually freed. God’s deliverance is often messy, but will offer us life if we hold fast and serve confidently.

Why Do We Worship by Singing?

Singing is one of the most common ways to worship, so Jennifer Urban discusses the role it has in our worship, why it’s so essential, and reminds us that Satan uses lies to keep us from singing. We must keep in mind that worship is not about us, but about our Savior.

 

(Contains writing by Tom Olson, Joe McKeever, Vivian Bricker, James Jack, and Jonathan Mcleod)

True Humility: 1 Corinthians 8:1-6

Pastor Cana explains context for 1 Corinthians 8:1-6, which finds the early church arguing over the rightness of eating food sacrificed to false idols, leading Paul to tell them that being right is far less important than love. We often struggle when we don’t agree with others and feel the need to be right, but to have true humility, we must love first. Love offers a willingness to humble ourselves for the sake of another.

Sabbath Rest: Exodus 20:8-11

Pastor Cana refers to Exodus 20:8-11, which lays out God’s 4th Commandment: Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. On the 7th day of Creation, God rested, blessing the Sabbath day and consecrating it for our sake. We must take time in our week to set aside our work to focus on recharging our physical, mental, and spiritual being.

Youth and Age: Titus 2:1-8

For this message, Pastor Cana brings up Titus 2:1-8, which builds a crossroads that acknowledges the gifts that young and old church family have to offer on another, while keeping in mind their responsibilities. It’s to our own benefit and growth to love, value, and learn from members of other age groups.

Spiritual Disciplines (Part 11): Celebration

The next “Spiritual Discipline” Pastor Cana introduces us to is that of celebration. We reflect on Luke 7:31-35 and John 2 from the life and teachings of Jesus and see that knowing the invitation, location, and occasion for celebrating helps us understand the agenda and move ourselves to repeat the celebratory practice in our own lives.

Good, Evil, and Community: Psalm 1

Pastor Cana introduces us to one of the Psalms of Wisdom, Psalm 1, which teaches that living a life of goodness is connected to the company one keeps. It is for this reason that we are tasked to reflect on how the people we surround ourselves with affect our thinking and behavior and seek positive influences.

Our Ministry of Labor

For this Labor Day message, Steve Tramel reminds us that work is natural, healthy, and God-ordained. Christians have 4 purposes for work: gain respect from outsiders, to not burden others, help the needy, and support ministries. We must also remember that work is a participation in what God has done for us in Christ.

(References: Gen. 3:17-19, 1 Thess. 4:11-12, Eph 4:28, 2 Thess. 3:7-9, Acts 20:33-35, & Eph. 2:8-10)

Spiritual Disciplines (Part 10): Submission

From the “Spiritual Discipline” series, Pastor Cana takes us through Philippians 2:5-11 to expand on the discipline of submission. Scriptures direct us to follow the perfect example of Jesus to freely yield to God’s will.

Prophets (Part 8): Jesus - The Greatest Prophet

Pastor Cana concludes the “Prophets” sermon series with the ultimate prophet: Jesus! John 7:14-18 & 26-29 illustrates how, as God, our Savior serves as the most direct messenger of God’s Word. To honor our role as modern prophets, we must commit our lives to the glory of God.

Prophets (Part 7): Joel - Prophet of the Return

The prophet Joel warns the Israelites of coming destruction, but in Joel 2:12-24 also presents the choices that God gives them. In this message, Pastor Cana explains that in end-of-the-world situations, God invites the community to return for mercy. Our world is in for troubled times. Recommit to a God who offers unending mercy.

Prophets (Part 6): Deborah - Prophet of the Undeterred God

Pastor Cana directs us to Judges 4:1-10 to learn about the judge prophet Deborah. The Israelites begged God to deliver them from the Canaanites and God sent Deborah to lead them. God’s good plans are undeterred by human actions and circumstances. Release your anxiety to God and be surprised by God’s unstoppable good plan.

Prophets (Part 5): Habakkuk – Prophet of Promise

Pastor Cana introduces the prophet Habakkuk, who anguished to God about the wickedness in society and God’s response was to send the fearsome Chaldeans to destroy the wicked. The Chaldeans were not exempt from God’s justice, though, destroyed by their violent ways. As the prophet concludes in Habakkuk 3:17-19, God dispenses justice in His timing, and we need only to wait and trust.

Spiritual Disciplines (Part 9): Service

For this message, Pastor Cana introduces the next Spiritual Discipline with the words from John 12:20-26. There, as Pastor Cana explains, Jesus teaches that in order to be fruitful, we must first let go of the world and our lives, and God will honor those who serve Him as He calls us.

Prophets (Part 4): Jeremiah - Prophet of Covenant

Pastor Cana’s next message in the “Prophets” series relies on Jeremiah 31:27-34, Jeremiah’s prophesy consoles the people of Israel and Judah. In it, we can infer a few things about God: God doesn’t wish for our destruction, He is swift to offer forgiveness, He promises to build and plant, and assures us that there will be a day that all people will know Him.

Prophets (Part 3): Miriam - Hope and Memory

Pastor Cana’s next message in the “Prophets” series relies on Exodus 15:1-6, 13-18, Where the prophet Miriam, leads the recently freed Israelites in a song to remind them of their stories, hopes, and beliefs. We also have the ability to serve as prophets to remind our communities of God’s promises and hope.

Prophets (Part 2): Elijah - Proclaimer and Performer

Pastor Cana’s next message in the “Prophets” series relies on 1 Kings 18:16-24, where we find the prophet Elijah visiting King Ahab to challenge his and Israel’s divided loyalty to God and shows that God is more responsive to a single prophet than Baal to hundreds. Our choice should be clear. We can choose to live divided lives or respond to God’s call to act with sole loyalty to Him.

Spiritual Disciplines (Part 8): Silence

The text for our next Spiritual Discipline, silence, comes from Psalm 46:7-11. As Pastor Cana explains, we try to solve our problems with noisemaking, but God commands silence to allow us to release our problems to God. When we do, we give God space to work for us instead.

Prophets (Part 1): What Makes a Prophet?

To begin her sermon series on the prophets, Pastor Cana looks to Numbers 11:25-29 to explain the qualifications of a prophet. God’s spirit of prophesy does not discriminate which means God’s prophetic spirit is for everyone, especially you.

Spiritual Disciplines (Part 7): Prayer

In continuing our Spiritual Discipline series, Pastor Cana references one of Jesus’ parables from Luke 18:1-8. The parable describes a widow’s persistent request for justice from an unjust judge, who is worn down and eventually grants her justice. We can have hope because our God is just and will answer our prayers when we are persistent.

Pentecost: Acts 2:22-28

Pentecost is a day for Christians to celebrate the formation of the church through the Holy Spirit’s arrival foretold by Jesus before His ascension. Pastor Cana’s text for this message, Acts 2:22-28 explains that the Holy Spirit came to tell and affirm the story and truth of Jesus. Let us rejoice in the confirmation of the Word!