Calvary Assembly of God | Craig T. Owens

June 2026
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30

What Gift Are You?

February 21, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

In our Living In The Zone series yesterday, we looked at the gifts God gives to us. These gifts are to help us find the “sweet spot” where God wants us to operate. They are specifically given so that God can use us.

I love this thought from Craig Groeschel: “God’s gifts in you equip you for your gift to the world.”

You are gifted to be a gift to the world.

Check out this video we showed yesterday morning…

Did you catch this exchange near the end?

“Do you think you’re a role model?”

“I hope so! I wanna be an encourager. To encourage people to do something with their lives, instead of doing nothing. Because so many people in the world in this day and time have no gumption, have no purpose, and they don’t want to get off the couch. They wanna sit there and say, ‘Woe is me! My back hurts, my this, my that,’ and wallow in themselves, when they could get out. The more you do for someone else, the more God’s going to bless you. Even if means giving someone a cup of coffee, or a hug, or something like that. That’s what it’s all about.”

What gift(s) has God given you? What gift are you being to the world?

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary Assembly of God, Craig Groeschel, God's gift, God's purpose, purpose, quote, sermon, video. Leave a Comment »

Now That I’m Old(er)

February 17, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I love having the opportunity to speak to young(er) people. Especially now that I’m old(er), it gives me a chance to allow some of my hindsight to become someone else’s foresight. (That’s a fancy way of saying: I don’t want others to make the same mistakes I made!)

We’ve got a great group that meets at Calvary Assembly of God on Thursday evenings, called Unite. In addition to my short teaching time, there is also an open mic for local musicians (or poets, artists, comedians, etc.), a coffee bar, games, and lots of fun. If you are anywhere near Cedar Springs, come on out on Thursdays at 6:30pm.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary Assembly of God, mentoring, protege. 1 Comment »

Purposefully Living In The Zone

February 11, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

“It is the paradox of life that the way to miss pleasure is to seek it first. The very first condition of lasting happiness is that a life should be full of purpose, aiming at something outside self.” —Hugo Black

I believe God has a unique purpose for your life.

I believe God has uniquely gifted you to fulfill that purpose.

I believe God wants you to know His gifts and His purpose for you.

When you and I know what God-given gifts are implanted in us, and we know how God wants us to use them, we are living in a place of fulfillment, passion, and joy. We are Living In The Zone.

So excited to see how the Holy Spirit is going to help people move to their unique “sweet spot” as I start a new sermon series this Sunday. Hope you can join me.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary Assembly of God, purpose, sermon. 4 Comments »

Are You A Missionary?

January 21, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

My cousin is a missionary in a country that is over 98% Muslim. Every day he engages Muslims using their language, their culture, their beliefs, their traditions. He’s in their homes, their businesses, their marketplaces.

He shows them how much Jesus loves them by showing them how much he loves them.

The other day I was reading one of his recent e-newsletters where he described what a missionary is:

Missionaries engage culture respectfully, learning local languages, celebrating what is good, speaking against injustice, speaking for those too weak or abused to speak for themselves. Missionaries often love their adopted countries as much as natural citizens do. Missionaries exalt Christ and point to Him as the only answer for our common sin problem, and the only hope for lasting peace. They are a blessing to their families and society. They are loyal to their families, faithful to their authorities, and servants to their communities.

When I read this description I thought, “I’m a missionary. I do all of these things right here in Cedar Springs.” Like learning the local culture and traditions; celebrating the good in our community; speaking out for those who can’t; supporting our schools, police, fire, and elected officials.

I ♥ My Church and I ♥ Cedar Springs!

Two questions:

1. Do you agree with my cousin’s definition of missionary?

2. Are you a missionary in your community?

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary Assembly of God, Cedar Springs, culture, Jesus Christ, missional, missionary, quote. Leave a Comment »

Rescue The Innocent

January 20, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

As we approach Sanctity of Human Life Sunday on January 23, I want to encourage you again to stand up for life. All life is sacred because all life is created in the image of God. From the moment of conception until the last breath, life is God’s masterpiece.

Especially at this time of year when we reflect on the devastation that abortion has left in its wake, it’s time to pray and to speak up for the innocent who cannot speak up for themselves.

“On this 38^th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, I urge you in the strongest terms possible: pray. Pray and fast. And then roll up your sleeves and get involved in the effort to rescue these innocent children.”

Join us this Sunday as we celebrate life, and as we let our light shine for life.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: abortion, Calvary Assembly of God, euthanasia, pro-life, Right To Life, sanctity. Leave a Comment »

Light For Life

January 18, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

This week is Sanctity Of Human Life week. I’m passionate about this issue; in fact, it’s one of the main issues in politics in which I really get involved.

We’ll be celebrating Sanctity Of Human Life this Sunday, January 23, at Calvary Assembly of God. We’ll have an update on 38 years of pain since the infamous Roe v. Wade decision, and a presentation from Alpha Family Center, an organization in Cedar Springs that I wholeheartedly support.

This Sunday evening, I’m encouraging everyone to shine a light in support of life. We’ll have some special candle bags to hand out on Sunday, and we’re encouraging everyone to line their driveway or carport or sidewalk with these “I Support Life” bags. Even if you can’t come to Calvary on Sunday, you can put a small candle in a paper lunch bag. Let’s light up the darkness and speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves:

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: abortion, Alpha Family Center, Calvary Assembly of God, euthanasia, pro-life, proverbs, sanctity, sanctity of human life. Leave a Comment »

Signing A Blank Check

January 17, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

In our current series on prayer, we’re using the prayer that Jesus taught as our pattern. Yesterday we looked at this part of the pattern:

Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

This is all about trust. It’s about acknowledging to God that He is in control and He knows what’s best. It’s not about me coming into His presence and telling Him how things should work. I love the quote from C.S. Lewis:

There are two kinds of people: those who say to God “Thy will be done” and those to whom God says, “All right then, have it your way.”

When we come into God’s presence in prayer, we say, “Before I ask You for what I need, I want You to know that I trust You. No matter what.” In essence, we sign a blank check and trust God to fill in the amount.

And, by the way, the verb for “Your kingdom come” in this model prayer is an imperfect verb. That means that we have to keep on signing those blank checks, as we keep on submitting to His will and His kingdom.

Are you willing to sign a blank check to God?

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary Assembly of God, Gospel of Matthew, Jesus Christ, Lord's Prayer, prayer, sermon, submission, trust, trustworthy. 1 Comment »

So, It’s That Easy, Huh?

January 10, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I’ve been in full-blown praying/planning/dreaming mode for the last couple of weeks. I’m really looking forward to what God has in store for our church in 2011!

Somehow I thought all of this vision “stuff” was going to be a lot of work. But I just discovered a 13-page book that is going to revolutionize my church in just a matter of minutes! I just ordered my copy, and you should too.

(Don’t you wish it really was this easy?)

(Um, for those of you who haven’t figured it out yet: this is a joke. At least the “easy” part is; the “hard-work-and-lots-of-praying” part is for real.)

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary Assembly of God, dreams, funny, planning, prayer, vision. Leave a Comment »

Perfect Praying

January 8, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

We just wrapped up a great week of prayer, and tomorrow we dive into part two of our 2011 inaugural series of the new year: The Perfect Prayer.

I can’t think of a better way to set the pace for the year than to pray!

Hope to see you tomorrow for some great worship and a helpful study on The Perfect Prayer (location, service times, and other details are here).

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary Assembly of God, Lord's Prayer, prayer, sermon. 1 Comment »

The Dangers Of Camels

December 13, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

So glad this didn’t happen in our Living Nativity…

But on a bright note, the Cedar Springs Post had a couple of nice things to say about us (you can read the article here). And if you missed it earlier, the pictures from our Living Nativity are all uploaded here.