Everything that we encounter in life leads to a response. With that in mind, these responses can be both good and bad. But no matter the case, something happens. So it is with matters pertaining to the church. For centuries, the church has been placed in countless moments where there has been an opportunity to respond or react to all sorts of things. One example comes to us from Acts chapter 8. Acts chapter 7 ends with the persecution of the Apostle Stephen. Such a trying time for the movement of the early church. Then, chapter 8 introduces us to a man named Saul. A man who was there at the stoning of Stephen and a man who was determined to end the movement of the early church. So how did the church respond? How did they respond to Saul giving approval to the execution of Stephen and his full commitment to dragging off God-fearing men and women to prison? Acts 8:4-5 says this from the ESV, “4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.” The early believers were scattered because of the great persecution that was taking place, but they still stayed on point. They continued to live out the mission that they were commissioned to do. How about you? How would you respond? My hope, for all of us, is that we would stay on task. That we would continue to live out the mission that we were commissioned for. Think about it. Pray about it. God bless. Men Follow Men This past Sunday, some of the men of Central came together to enjoy a meal, spend some time in fellowship, and to also spend some time connecting through discussion. The opening thoughts that I gave to our time were those three words you see above, MEN FOLLOW MEN. The desire of the leadership here at Central is to see our men, and our women, rise up to be the church that Jesus died to save. We can all look at the status of our society when it comes to the state of kids and families and churches. Then, for us to understand that leadership is a God-given gift that all of creation is blessed with in one fashion or another, what we do next matters. So then, please pray as we take our steps forward into ministry over maintenance. Please pray as we move into this exciting new adventure that God has prepared us for and is continuing to prepare us for. These are exciting times at Central. Good things, Godly things, are happening. We just find ourselves where a lot of our churches have been throughout the history of Christianity; we need leaders to rise to the occasion. Godly men and Godly women. No age requirement has been applied. Passion and determination and patience a must, but make no mistake, we can’t do it without you. Men follow men. Women follow men. Christians follow Christians. Disciples follow disciples. So, who’s in? Think about it. Pray about it. God bless. As I watched the faces of those in the audience, I found myself experiencing moments of joy of what is and what is yet to come. This is what is exciting about new adventures. I am one of those that likes to be as prepared as I can going into different situations, but as usual, God reminds me to keep the faith. You see, the unknown can be scary. The unknown can be, well, unknown. And, with that, the very thought of experiencing joy with certain adventures that we are not privileged with knowing all the details, seems such a foreign thought. In many occasions, joy is the last thing we would experience. As a matter of fact, we would feel some completely different emotions. Those emotions could be fear, anxiety, an uneasiness, loss of control, etc. But, when it comes to our walk with Christ, we understand what it means to experience joy as we venture into unknown seasons of life. You see, it was persecution that set all this into motion. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, and then the 40 days that He spent with the disciples after His resurrection is what lead some ordinary followers to deliver a Spirit inspired message that could be heard and understand by everyone within earshot. It was a persecution experienced by Stephen that helped to spark a movement that began in Samaria and continued on to the ends of the earth. No matter what, where we go next (we being Central), we go with a Spirit inspired message. A message that leads to unity. A message that leads the lost and the saved to Christ. But make no mistake, it is a message that needs to be told. And, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news (Romans 10:15)!” So, are you ready to be difference makers? Think about it. Pray about it. God bless. “For the past hundred years in some theological circles, resurrection has been misrepresented as a doctrine that promotes indifference. Somewhere along the way this core truth of Christianity changed from a revolutionary story to one that maintains the status quo. We started hearing the resurrection of Jesus presented as a way of saying, ‘If you just wait ’til you die, things will get better. So, don’t rock the boat now.’ But Acts offers us a different idea about what resurrection means. It’s not this idea that endorses the way things are. Instead it is a story about a person, and a hope that what God did for that person is going to happen for the entire world. Some of the riots in Acts are directly tied to Jesus’ followers preaching the resurrection. Because the resurrection isn’t always seen as a good thing. If the status quo works for you, if the world benefits you, you might not like the idea of a God who is turning the world upside down.” (From, “How to Start a Riot” by Jonathan Storment) Starting Sunday the 10th, we are going to begin a journey through the book of Acts with a series titled, “NEXT.” NEXT is about seeing things the way they are and discipling in those moments. NEXT is about understanding where we came from but seeing what needs to be or what must be done in order to take that NEXT step into being the church that Jesus gave His life for. So, who’s ready to take that NEXT step? Who’s ready to start a riot? As Storment puts its, Support Your Local Jesus Revolution. Think about it. Pray about it. God bless. “The Holy Spirit is living and active in your heart and mind in order to move the church to where it should and can be.” Is this a statement that we believe to be true as it pertains to Central? I pray that your answer is yes, but I might also add that the answer is likely “yes, but…” Yes, but we can always be more attentive to the who, what, when, where and why of the Spirit’s calling and leading. In other words, there will always be ways that we can be more in tune with the Spirit. There will always be days where we feel that we missed out on opportunities that the Spirit was leading us to or opening doors for us to enter. But then again, there’s not a one of us who couldn’t make this statement. So then, what do we do about this? Do we just throw our hands up in the air? Do we simply give up because we never seem to get it right? No! Our response should not be to give up but to give in. Give in more and more every single day to the Spirit. Give in to the Spirit all our fears and concerns. Give in and let the Godhead give you what you need to speak into the lives of the hurting. Give in and let the Godhead give you what you need to be a difference maker for His sake. “The Holy Spirit DESIRES TO BE living and active in your heart and mind in order to move the church where it should and can be.” Maybe we should’ve started out with this version of the statement about the Holy Spirit. But remember, let’s only use this version as a launching pad so that we can change the word DESIRE to IS. Think about it. Pray about it. God bless. On Mission If there is one chapter I identify with in the Bible more than any other, it is Romans 7. Paul speaks of this battle that he faces where the things he wants to do he doesn’t and the things that he doesn’t want to do he does. I identify with this because that is where I have found myself often. As I type this, Fear is a Liar is playing on my laptop. What a powerful message that comes through this song. Satan wants us to think that we are helpless and hopeless because of our past, but God. Isn’t it awesome that there is a BUT GOD available to us all as we go through seasons of chaos! God steps in and reminds us that we are filled with the Holy Spirit and thus makes us worthy. What He does next is just as amazing. He looks at us and tells us that He has enabled us for a purpose. He tells us that we are not defined by our past mistakes. He tells us that we are now defined by the Father of Truth instead of the father of lies. Zach Williams delivered us a powerful song in “Fear is a Liar” and God delivered us His Son in the most powerful way. What happens next is amazing. Our life becomes a song. A song that is all about the mission that God has prepared us for and equipped us for when He poured out His Holy Spirit on all of us. Think about it. Pray about it. God bless. |
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