Close Menu X
Navigate

Pastor Steve's Corner

Welcome to Pastor Steve's Corner! Here you will find thoughts, ideas, updates, and announcements related to the discipleship ministries of CNCC, as well as personal thoughts from Pastor Steve. (All content is solely my responsibility-don't blame anyone else for what you read here!)

Posts by Steve Braun

Subscribe to the RSS Feed
  • Featured Posts
  • All Posts

Your Prayers Are Too Small

Habakkuk

People often view prayer in simplistic terms: Prayer is about telling God what you want and waiting for Him to give it to you. Sure, you thank Him when He does what you want, and you give Him praise to make sure He’s listening, but prayer is a magic formula to make your life better and satisfy your desires. This popular conception runs into problems when your prayers are...

Keep Reading

Reason to Hope

Flower in cracked soil- hope

When the world seems to be falling apart, people seek hope. They are looking for something to hold on to, anything that will help them get through their crisis. They are looking not only to weather the storm but to find themselves in an even better place than they had been. Hope is a powerful motivator and comfort, enabling us to survive and endure while we wait for the be...

Keep Reading

Relationships: Released and Restored

web3-mary-and-john-at-the-feet-of-jesus-waiting-for-the-word-raplh-pallen-coleman-cc-by-2-0

For many people, family ties are very important. The connection that we have with our parents, our siblings, our children, or other relatives is one we do not want to lose. Even where the whole family isn’t very close, we usually have one or two family members with whom we share a special bond. When a family relationship is broken, we are devastated. If we are able to re...

Keep Reading

From Rebellion to Reverence

10bdf87365130fb7be3146c060b84edf

In preparation for Good Friday, I have been looking over the readings for the Tenebrae service. The first reading is from Psalm 2. It is a psalm that in its historical context referred to the rightful Davidic king of Israel, but has been seen throughout history as referring to the Messiah. To some it seems out of place on Good Friday, with its insistence on the right of Go...

Keep Reading

Turning Our Hearts to the Faithful God

Jeremiah

In times like these, people may question everything they thought was true. Our world is turned upside-down. Things we took for granted are no longer available, our daily routine is restricted, and the future is so uncertain we’re not even sure how worried we ought to be. When our world is this crazy, it can be tempting to question where God is in all of this....

Keep Reading

When your god fails you.

Ramman

Our nation and our world are in a state of panic right now. The COVID-19 virus has had long-reaching and devastating effects not only on the health of people but on the economic well-being of billions. People are uncertain about their future, frightened of a potentially deadly disease, and seeking any answers they can find to the question of what their future holds. In our...

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 30: Hebrews 10:21-25

A final encouragement to continue to spend time with the Lord every day...

Keep Reading

30 Day sin the Bible, Day 29: Luke 18:9-14

Our attitude matters when we serve the Lord...

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 28: Revelation 3:14-22

Why don't our churches impact our society more for Jesus?...

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 27: Revelation 3:7-13

The need for endurance in serving the Lord...

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 26: Revelation 3:1-6

Standing for Jesus in the middle of pressure to stand for ourselves...

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 25: Nehemiah 4:1-6

How we should handle the mockery of an unbelieving world...

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 24: Exodus 20:8-11

Keeping a day of rest as a day of rest...

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 23: Proverbs 6:6-11

What happens when "ants" work together?...

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 22: Hebrews 6:9-12

How doing good shows the world and ourselves that we are new in Christ...

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 21: Proverbs 16:1-3

The proper focus for our planning...

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 20: Acts 6:1-7

Choosing servants in the church while maintaining unity...

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 19: Matthew 25:41-46

Our attitude toward our works makes a difference....

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 18: Matthew 25:31-40

Does Jesus imply that we can earn our way into heaven?...

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 17: 1 Samuel 15:20-23

Does obedience to the Lord make religious observances unnecessary?...

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 16: Matthew 6:1-4

Is it always wrong to receive praise from people when serving God?...

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 15: Leviticus 19:9-10

Showing compassion to the poor is part of our service to the Lord...

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 14: Micah 6:6-8

How Micah helps us summarize the Christian life- if we're careful....

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 13: Malachi 3:8-12

Where is our faith when it comes to giving to the Lord?...

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 12: James 2:14-26

What does it mean to believe in God?...

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 11: 1 Peter 4:8-11

Another perspective on why we serve the Lord...

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 9: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11

The purpose for Christian service, as outlined by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12...

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 10: Ephesians 4:11-16

Why do we serve the Lord? More importantly, why do YOU serve the Lord?...

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 8: Romans 12:1-2

To discern the will of God, a change of thinking is needed....

Keep Reading

IMPORTANT CORRECTION to the 30 Days in the Bible devotional

Correction to Scripture passage for 30 Days in the Bible, Day 9...

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible: Day 7: John 13:12-16

When is a job beneath us? Jesus gives His disciples an answer....

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 6: Mark 10:42-45

The way to greatness in Jesus' kingdom...

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 5: Luke 10:38-42

Striking a balance between devotion and work in our service to Jesus...

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 4: Joshua 24:14-24

Whom do you choose to serve? Facing the choice Joshua gave to Israel today....

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 3: Ecclesiastes 3:9-13

Finding eternal meaning in a life that can seem meaningless without God...

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 2: Deuteronomy 10:12-17

The true meaning behind the rituals of circumcision and baptism isn't in the outward sign, but the inward reality....

Keep Reading

30 Days in the Bible, Day 1: Genesis 2:15-18, 21-24

God's intention for us to work together here on earth...

Keep Reading

Explore the Bible: Joshua 1:1-9

What Joshua's interaction with the Lord teaches us about the origin of the Bible...

Keep Reading

Explore the Bible: 2 Peter 1:12-21

Peter's statement on the inspiration of Scripture, and what it means for us today....

Keep Reading

Explore the Bible: 1 Peter 4:12-19

An examination of why Christians are persecuted, when it's not persecution, and how we should respond when facing opposition to our faith...

Keep Reading

Explore the Bible: 1 Peter 4:1-11

How should we live in the midst of our sinful, challenging world? Peter's instructions to his readers apply just as powerfully to us today. ...

Keep Reading

Explore the Bible: 1 Peter 3:13-22

What exactly did Peter mean in 1 Peter 3:19-20? A look at several interpretations of this passage, and my thoughts as to what it means. ...

Keep Reading
Subscribe