thinking out loud
thinking out loud
Christ Community Church of the South Hills
We are a community of Christ followers in Pittsburgh, PA – men and women, boys and girls – committed to living by faith, serving as a voice of hope in our world, and growing in our love for God and others.
Blessed & Broken (10): A Hidden God
In this message, Terry Timm continues the "Blessed and Broken" series by turning to Genesis 37 and the beginning of Joseph's story. He explores how God's promise moves through a deeply fractured family, a mysterious dream, and circumstances where God seems hidden. Through Joseph's journey, Terry invites us to trust that even when we cannot see God's hand, God is still faithfully at work.
Aug 9
26 min
Blessed & Broken (9): The Struggle Is Real
Terry Timm explores Genesis 32 and Jacob's wrestling with God, showing how God meets us at the end of our strength and forms us through struggle. He highlights Jacob's new identity as Israel, reminding us that wrestling with God is not failure but part of a faithful relationship with Him. The message invites listeners to bring their "limp"—their weakness, pain, and dependence—to Christ, where the struggle is real but so is the blessing.
Aug 2
27 min
Blessed & Broken (8): When the Deceiver is Deceived
Richie Reeder explores Genesis 29 and the story of Jacob, Leah, Rachel, and Laban, honestly naming the discomfort of patriarchal polygamy, deception, family dysfunction, and cultural brokenness. He shows how Jacob, the deceiver, becomes deceived, revealing the blind spots, unhealthy patterns, and relational wounds that run through the story. Yet the message emphasizes that God remains faithful in the midst of human brokenness, working through imperfect people and painful circumstances without endorsing the dysfunction itself.
Jul 27
25 min
Blessed & Broken (7): When Hard Places Become Holy Ground
In this message, Richie Reeder walks through Jacob's encounter with God in Genesis 28, where a fugitive with a stone for a pillow discovers that heaven is far closer than he imagined. Richie shows how God meets us not after we get our lives together, but right in the wilderness of our fear, regret, and exhaustion—turning hard places into holy ground. He then challenges us to recognize the "Bethels" in our own lives, seeing our workplaces, relationships, and struggles as places where God is already present and at work.
Jul 20
28 min
Blessed & Broken (6): The Trades We Make
In this message, Terry Timm explores the story of Jacob and Esau in Genesis 25 to show how the everyday "trades" we make reveal what we truly value and shape who we are becoming. He contrasts Esau's impulsive surrender of his birthright for a bowl of stew and Jacob's grasping for what God had already promised with Jesus' call to "seek first the kingdom of God." Throughout, Terry urges listeners to trust in the slow work of God, resist settling for immediate satisfaction, and bring their brokenness into the light so God's grace can shine through.
Jul 12
30 min
Blessed & Broken (5): Blessings Despite Brokenness
In this message, Katherine Sikma Wadsworth reflects on the story of Rebekah and Isaac in Genesis 24, framing God as the true "matchmaker" who guides Abraham's servant to Rebekah in the midst of a deeply patriarchal and broken system. She highlights Rebekah's extraordinary generosity, courage, and faith, drawing parallels to Abraham's own risky obedience while clearly naming the injustice and danger women faced then and still face today. The message concludes by affirming that God does not will our suffering, yet continually wrestles beauty and blessing out of brokenness—like a mosaic or kintsugi pottery—inviting listeners to trust God's redemptive work in their own vulnerable places.
Jul 5
26 min
Blessed & Broken (4): The God Who Provides
In the fourth message of our "Blessed and Broken: God's Promise Through Imperfect People" series, Terry Timm explores the story of God testing Abraham in Genesis 22. He unpacks how this difficult and weighty text reveals God's provision, Abraham's radical trust, and the foreshadowing of Jesus as the ultimate sacrificial Son. Terry invites us to consider our own "Isaacs" and what it means to trust God with what we hold most dear, even when we cannot yet see God's provision.
Jun 28
24 min
Blessed & Broken (3): The God Who Sees the Outcast
In this message, Richie Reeder preaches from Genesis 21 on the story of Hagar and Ishmael, showing how God sees, hears, and provides for those who have been pushed to the margins. He explores themes of broken families, rejection, and being an outcast, connecting the biblical narrative to the painful but familiar experiences many carry today. Richie concludes by emphasizing that even when others cast us out, God does not cast us aside, and he invites listeners to both recognize God's provision in their own deserts and pursue those who have been forgotten.
Jun 21
27 min
Blessed & Broken (2): Laughing at the Promise
In this second message of our "Blessed and Broken" series, Terry Timm explores the story of Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 18, where God brings an impossible promise close to an aging, imperfect couple. He shows how their initial laughter of disbelief is transformed into joy as God proves that nothing is too wonderful or too broken for Him to redeem. Terry invites us to recognize God's presence in the ordinary places of our lives and to keep trusting God's promises, even when hope feels far away and painful.
Jun 14
19 min
Blessed & Broken (1): Into the Unknown
This first message in the "Blessed & Broken" series explores the call of Abram and Sarai in Genesis 12, showing how God's promise moves through imperfect, unfinished people. It contrasts the human impulse to "make a name" for ourselves with Abram's shift to calling on the name of the Lord, highlighting faith as a step-by-step journey into the unknown. Terry's message  invites listeners to see themselves in Abram's story—blessed yet broken—and to come to the communion table as called, hungry people who are still learning to trust God.
Jun 7
26 min
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