First Champaign-urbana

Throughout history, the church has stood out for many reasons. One thing about churches on mission that sticks out from the world is their love for others. Whether that was the development of hospitals, schools, food pantries, or other forms of good—the church makes a difference. This week we look at our value of Outward Compassion.

The great sitcom Cheers has an iconic line of being a place “where everyone knows your name.” We believe that churches are to be places filled with people who not just know each other by name but go beyond to show genuine love for each other. This week, we look at our first value of being A Loving Community.

How do you know if you've arrived if you don't know where you're going? This goes for a road trip, the trajectory of your life… and for the Church. While the mission and message of the Church haven't changed for centuries—the methods may. In week one of FIRST Things First, we roll out FIRST's new mission statement!

Psalms | Week 5 by First Christian Church Champaign

Most often, we think of Psalms as songs of praise. While our worship is more than music and singing, it is definitely a huge part! As we continue our Psalms series, we take a look at Psalms of praise.

Where does wisdom come from? Sometimes age, sometimes experience, and sometimes learning from our past. No matter what, wisdom should be shared for others to learn. In week 3 of our Psalms series, we see how Psalms of wisdom help us discern how to live a life with God better.

Have you ever had your heart broken? Sometimes it’s because we’ve been hurt or experience a mistake—and other times, it’s because we yearn for things to be whole again. Either way, we call this lament. In week two of Psalms we see how to express lament for ourselves and the world around us faithfully.

We all have had those moments where we tried to express something, but it just came out wrong. Do you ever wish there was a way to peer into how to express our faith towards God? In week one of our quick series in the Psalms we see how these songs and prayers guide us to express our faith.

It takes two to tango... You can’t waltz alone... Grab your partner do-si-do… Whether it’s line, swing, or ballroom dancing, one thing is sure—we don’t dance alone. We believe the same thing applies in the Christian life. As we wrap up our Rhythm series, we see why living out our faith is not something we do by ourselves, but always with others.

Your favorite song has quite a few different parts—instruments, lyrics, melody, bridge, etc. Yet, it comes together as one piece. In many ways, the Bible is like a good song because many different parts come together to tell a single story. In week 3 of Rhythm we learn how to read God’s Word in our dance with the Spirit.

Think about the first time you made a mixtape. Chances are it had your favorite songs of different styles and genres collected together in one place. Now, think about your prayer life. Would you say it’s a mixtape or more of a hit single? In week 2 of Rhythm, we look at the mixtape of prayer.

Have you ever taken a dance lesson before? Some of the first things they teach you are to feel the rhythm and let one person lead. Why? Because two fighting to lead doesn’t blend well. As we kick-off our Rhythm series, we see why we need to let the Spirit lead our daily dance with God.

Sometimes seeing the effects of something gives us the proof to believe. Think about the wind. You can’t see wind, but you can see the impact of the wind. As we wrap up our series on The Holy Spirit, we see how the Holy Spirit moves and works in the life of disciples and the church.

Why? - is such an essential and foundational question for a lot of things in life. Typically, when we ask why, we are seeking to know the value or purpose of something. So, why the Holy Spirit? What is the purpose of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian? In week 2 of this teaching series, we look at how Jesus answered why we were given the Spirit of God.

From microwaves to photosynthesis, many things impact our lives that we can’t fully understand or explain. So, what about our faith? Is it possible to believe in the power of something - Someone - without being able to fully understand? Join us for week 1 of The Holy Spirit, as we seek to get a foundation about who the Holy Spirit is in our lives.

Would you rather be around someone who is prideful or humble? Kind of a no-brainer, right? As we wrap up our series, Chasing Carrots, we look at how putting pride to death is a necessary step in following Jesus.

If someone asks you, “tell me about yourself,” what might be some of the first things out of your mouth? It may be things anywhere from where you work to details about your family. While those may be things about us, they never fully explain who we are. In week 4 of Chasing Carrots, we look at where we need to find our identity before everything else.

We’ve all been there before - Land of ER. You know—he is rich-ER, she is pretty-ER, they are funny-ER. If we’re not careful, a quick visit becomes a temporary residence. Join us for week 3 of Chasing Carrots to see how to achieve victory over comparison.

From fame or fortune to a career or relationship, we chase a lot of carrots in today’s world. But why and how do we know what we are pursuing truly matters? Maybe it is what we were taught or all that we know. This Sunday is Easter—a weekend to be reminded of the faith, hope, and love found through Jesus.

What really makes for a happy life? A dream job, a bigger house, or a new relationship? If you’re always hungry for the next big thing, but frustrated because it never seems to satisfy, you might be Chasing Carrots. It’s time to hop off the treadmill and chase after something real. This five-week series is about the things people commonly chase after that only bring fleeting happiness, fulfillment, or validation.