Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
And the Lord said:
“Because this people draw near with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
“Because this people draw near with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
He went on from there and entered their synagogue. And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him. He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.
As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.
Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.
Just about all training provides growth and self-discipline. Students will experience training in many areas they choose (sports, music, clubs), and in many areas they may not choose (coursework, policies, evangelism). Benefits from all training have long been established, with even greater results received when experienced in a team or as a community. While training generally provides an improved performance in the area of focus, training at CCS is intended to lead students to the heart of Jesus Christ. We willingly surrender to training so our character is revealed and transformed by the Holy Spirit into the very image of Christ.
Our character reflects the heart of Christ. Our consistent compliance to God and His authorities brings glory to God. But compliance without Godly character, built upon the fear of man rather than the fear of God, is an end in itself. The motivation behind compliance (fear of the Lord) is of greater importance than the compliance itself.
Our surrender to God is perfected as we practice respect to authorities and are quick to serve others. As engaged disciples, we are responsible for others in our community and how each of our decisions impacts each other's growth as disciples. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus describes to not only perform our duty, but to go beyond our duty in love. How we love others is a reflection of His Spirit at work within us.
The presence of boundaries in community is to bring the life that freedom provides. When the betterment of the community is established and celebrated, and the works of the flesh are placed in check, the pleasure of the Spirit of God flourishes.
Classrooms and other activities are structured to provide welcome and safe environments that promote active and challenging learning. The humility that comes with agreeing to submit to another’s decision is transformative. It provides spiritual resilience. It’s training for your heart and spirit, so when you need it, but don’t feel strong enough, you will have the strength as you have been working on it on more auxiliary things.
A lifestyle not conformed to the world but transformed through God's truths provides life-giving hope. The school community is not a shelter from the world, but a base of operations for safe training for deployment of hope into the culture of the world. Just as Daniel and his friends chose to not defile themselves with the culture of the Babylonians, the lifestyle of disciples provides a stark contrast which points to the life found in Christ.
For the sake of others, we choose to strategically surrender our wants to maximize our opportunities to share Jesus through our words and actions.
Disciples discover, develop, and deploy an authentic faith through the following 3 values.
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Discover Character
We are committed to the training of disciples in the fear of the Lord for the transformation of their hearts. |
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Develop in Community
We are committed to loving God and loving others in a distinctively Christian environment that embraces both joy and professionalism. |
“The more I considered Christianity, the more I found that while it had established a rule and order, the chief aim of that order was to give room for good things to run wild.” - G.K. Chesterton
