Read Ezra 10 and Malachi 2The offense of Ezra 10 revolved around the taking of idol-worshipping wives for the men of Israel who had returned from exile and resettled. This also included giving these women to the sons born during and after this return.Shockingly, what do you learn from Malachi 2:11-16 about the way these women were often obtained?What is the difference between confession and repent...  Read More

If confession of sin takes heartbreaking humility, repentance takes radical resolve.Ezra 10:1-41 While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and lying face down on the ground in front of the Temple of God, a very large crowd of people from Israel—men, women, and children—gathered and wept bitterly with him. 2 Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, a descendant of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been u...  Read More

Read Ezra 9:1-15What are your initial observations about Ezra's prayer of confession in 9:5-15?How would you divide this prayer in terms of how it moves?Does Ezra ask God for anything?  What does the answer to that say to you?Considering he didn’t participate in this particular sin, why did he keep referring to "we" and "us?"  In what ways did Ezra recount the grace of God given to Israel?What do ...  Read More

What can we learn from a prayer that makes no request? A corporate confession for historical sinEzra 9:5-75 At the time of the sacrifice, I stood up from where I had sat in mourning with my clothes torn. I fell to my knees and lifted my hands to the Lord my God. 6 I prayed, “O my God, I am utterly ashamed; I blush to lift up my face to you. For our sins are piled higher than our heads, and our gui...  Read More

If you are a man reading this, our Women’s Ministry asks that you make sure the women in your life read it and take it to heart! We want the women to whom it applies to be sure to see it! We are excited to bring CFC Moms Group back for another great year! Moms Group is a safe and easy place for moms to enjoy community with other moms. We know that moms balance so much and serve their families ever...  Read More

Exodus 34:1-16___________________  (9:1) Ezra 9:1When these things had been done, the Jewish leaders came to me and said, “Many of the people of Israel, and even some of the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the other peoples living in the land. They have taken up the detestable practices of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, ...  Read More

At CFC, we are governed by a distinct pattern for church leadership that we see in the New Testament – we are governed by a group of elders. The word elder, sometimes translated as pastors (which may also be translated as shepherd), and the word overseer are used interchangeably in the New Testament. Even though these terms often mean different things among various churches today, the New Testamen...  Read More

Read Ezra 8:21-36Using a favorite resource, how many miles do these exiles travel on their return to Jerusalem? How long does it take this particular wave of returnees?What examples/actions of faithfulness and obedience do you observe in the people here?Contrast the examples of Ezra in 8:22 and Nehemiah in Nehemiah 2:9. What do you make of this?Why do you think fasting goes with prayer? What is yo...  Read More

Ezra 8:21-36A Basic and Worthy ExampleThey trusted GodThey asked GodThey served GodThey thanked GodEzra 8:21-23And there by the Ahava Canal, I gave orders for all of us to fast and humble ourselves before our God. We prayed that he would give us a safe journey and protect us, our children, and our goods as we traveled. For I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to accompany us and...  Read More

Humans are not intended to live alone, and as followers of Christ, we should not live our Christian life alone either.  Our strong belief in “one another” can only be felt if we take it into practice by being in intentional, close relationships with each other beyond our Sunday worship service. We are called by God to love using a caring, face-to -ace interaction and thus grow in a transformative ...  Read More

Responding faithfully to the gracious hand of God includes putting the right people in the right places.Ezra 8:1-141 Here is a list of the family leaders and the genealogies of those who came with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:2 From the family of Phinehas: Gershom.From the family of Ithamar: Daniel.From the family of David: Hattush, 3 a descendant of Shecaniah.From the famil...  Read More

Read Ezra 8:1-20Ezra 8 is a macro view of the preparation involved with the return of exiles in the second wave. In chapter 7 we had a micro view of the event. We have to keep this in mind since we normally look for a chronological sequencing of events. So think of chapter 7 as zooming in and chapter 8 as moving out in scope.1. Compare the list of names in the second wave (8:1-14) with the names m...  Read More