Sermon Series
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Church of the Big Wood is excited to invite you to participate in this year’s “Fall Focus,” entitled Jesus Farewell Message. Named after a RightNow Media series by author and pastor Francis Chan, this six week study focuses on Jesus’ actions and words on His last night before His crucifixion as described in John 13-17. While everything Jesus said is important, His heartfelt words to His disciples and His actions toward them on His last day on earth are especially significant for us to understand.
November 21
Stewardship - “It Is Hard for a Rich Man”
June 13 - Guest Speaker, Rev. Al Oliver
One of the primary ways Jesus taught us was through short stories called parables, through which Jesus was able to reveal rich and deep truths about God and His Kingdom. Come join us as we learn practical lessons on faith and life from our master teacher!
"God helps those who helps themselves." "Cleanliness is next to godliness." ""Name it, claim it!"
There are some things people believe come from the Bible that are actually anything but biblical. Come join us as we take time to reorient ourselves around what the Bible really says.
It has been rightly said that the teaching of the entire Bible in general and of Jesus in particular can be summed up in one command - the command to "love." However, sometimes this has been oversimplified and reduced to a fluffy directive with little substance whose goal is to just make everybody "happy." Come join us as for four weeks we dig into what Jesus meant when He commanded us to "love" in these ways: "Love God;" "love your neighbor," "love one another," and "live a life of love."
What kind of church do we believe God is calling to be? Come join us as as for three weeks envision ourselves (in the words of a sister church) as a church where "Everybody's Welcome," "Nobody's Perfect," and "Anything is Possible."
In its opening chapter, the gospel of John has a different take on the traditional Christmas story. Instead of mangers and shepherds and the baby Jesus, John tells us the story behind the story by focusing on the pre-incarnate Jesus - on who He is, what He is like, why He came and why it matters to us today. Come join us as we are challenged by this unique perspective.
We are excited to announce that the theme of PCBW’s Fall Focus this year is based on a book by Bob Goff entitled, Love Does. By telling what stories from his own life and experiences, he pushes us to see that love is more than a theological concept, but that, in Goff’s words, “the most amazing thing about love is that it’s not just a bunch of rules or stuff we have to agree with. God’s love is different. It changes things. It’s active. It works. It risks. God’s love … does.”
What Really Matters: What is it that is central in our lives together as followers of Jesus? What are the really important things for us as His disciples in this world? We will be exploring the answers to these questions by looking at our church's core values and some of their Scriptural foundations.
The book of Jonah is much more than the story of a man being swallowed by fish. Instead, what we will see in this study is that Jonah’s story is in many ways our story. For in his story we see human brokenness, but also God’s patience with us, His pursuit of us, and of His great love for all of humanity.
For many of us who grew up in the church, The Apostle’s Creed is very familiar. We’ve memorized it. We recited it regularly during worship in the past - sometimes weekly. Even so, many of us have not taken the time to study it in depth, and hear from it the great truths of the Christian faith it contains. This is what we want to do this Lent - take some time to focus our attention on this part of our heritage, and as we do, see that it is more than just an ancient creed.
It is one thing to to have Bible knowledge, but another thing altogether to know how to apply that knowledge to our real lives. The ability to do this depends on what the Bible calls “wisdom.” Join us as we journey through the book of Proverbs and learn the foundations for this wisdom.
Christmas carols are some of the most beloved and sung songs of all times - even those who don’t claim Christianity as their faith know most of them “by heart.” This Advent we are going to look at the stories behind some of the most famous of these carols, and hear through them the good news of Christmas.
Stewardship is about being grateful, responsible stewards of the gifts we receive from God. PCBW sees stewardship as more than simply contributing money to the church; it’s also about contributing time and talents, and volunteering for ministry and mission.
What does real Christianity look like? How do I know my faith is real?
These questions lie at the heart of the book of James, the book we will be studying during PCBW's Fall Focus series. What James want to challenge us with is this truth: real faith is not seen in what we claim to be true, but in how we live.
Music and song has been an important part of every human culture - including that of the Bible! At PCBW we will be seeing this by studying the Bible’s songbook – the book of Psalms. We will see that Psalms songs touch upon the whole of human experience, and because of it have power - power not only to teach but to change us.
Our attitudes - those inner inclinations toward something or someone, make a difference in how we live. Are there attitudes we might need to adjust or perhaps even leave behind altogether in order to cultivate attitudes that will help us be the church God is calling us to be?
Spring Lenten Discipleship: The adult ministries committee is continuing the six-week spring Lenten Discipleship series entitled Fifty-Seven Words that Change the World (named after a book by Darrell Johnson with the same name), which will be a study on what is commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer. Copies of the book are available in the church office during the week for $13. If cost is an issue, please let the church know and we’ll make sure you get a copy.
How do we begin to live out this belief that we have? Find out in this series losing on how we apply our beliefs to our everyday life.