Central Christian Church

God has ordained us to reach a place where we are not here for what we can get, but what we can give. (1 Sam. 18:6-9; 2 Sam. 6; & Selected Scriptures)

When we learn to obey in the natural things we will more readily respond to the Holy Spirit’s leading in spiritual things. The Holy Spirit’s message to us from Bethlehem is: bring the kingdom of God to your everyday life! (1 Samuel 16 & 17; 1Cor. 15:44-46; Luke 16:10-12)

Jesus had a journey between Bethlehem and the right hand of the Father. He was not born on the throne, but in a manger—a lowly, common place. There was a process that carried Jesus into all authority, and we are subject to that same process. (Matt. 11:29; 1 Tim. 3:5-7; Prov. 16:32; Gal. 5:16-17)

Today we must consider how we can daily, diligently, and deliberately weaken our greatest enemy—pride, and strengthen our greatest friend—humility, all motivated by grace in the shadow of the cross. (1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:6-7; Ps. 127:2)

God asks, “How much would you give for My Kingdom?” (Luke 10:38-42; 7:37-50)

Worry is common but deadly. It can kill us. Tomorrow belongs to God. Today is to be lived by faith. The opposite of trusting God is worry. (Matt. 6:24; Prov. 3:5-6)

Jesus’ first miracle tells us a few things about God and about what we can do to witness and receive his miraculous intervention in our lives today. (John 2:1-11)

Running from God equals despair. God’s mission is received, rejected, and restated in Jonah’s life until God’s love finally prevails. The final victory is the Lord’s. (Jonah 1; Psalm 139:7-10; John 3:16; Phil. 2:10-11)

Presentation of the vision, mission, and goals of International Student Inc Ministry and how we can be involved.  Missions in your own backyard. (I Thess. 1:4-5)

Let’s talk about being attentive to the unique opportunities that are often neglected. The Spirit-led, Jesus-like response would be, “Someone I’ll meet today needs my touch. They are seeking more than a professional response." (Luke 8:41-48)

A one-winged plane or bird has one flight pattern: A downward spiral.  It takes two wings to fly: Responsibility & Faith. (Prov. 3:5-6; Philip. 2:12-18)

We cannot do the Lord’s work in the devil’s ways. Every time that we embrace ways other than the ways of Jesus, try to manipulate people or events in ways that short-circuit personal relationships and intimacies, we are doing the devil’s work. (Matt. 4:1-11; John 14:1-6)

Many Christians have been told that information leads to transformation and that all we need to do is download the right data into our heads and we will become Christlike.  The process of transformation is more like a journey than a data download. (Matt. 9:35-38 & Selected Scriptures)

In this story from Luke 10, Jesus is asking you to act on what you already know. What inconsistencies are keeping you from reaching your potential—of being all Christ wants you to be; of becoming who God created you to be? (Luke 10:25-29)

Be it good or painful, the hours and years you spend with her—or don’t spend with her—change who she is. Making the heroic choice at work, in marriage, and throughout your life will shape your daughter, who she is and what she becomes. (Prov. 6:20; James 1:2-4)

Missions work in Honduras past and present. (Luke 9:56; 19:10; Mark 10:45; John 3:17; 12:47)

No matter where you are or who you are if you are seeking God he will find you! (Acts 8:26-39; Isaiah 53)

Do you trust God with your life? (Proverbs 3:5-6)

At whatever financial level your at or stage of life your in—the Wonder Years, the Wage-Earning Years or the Wealthy Years; Paul instructs you to “do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19)

There is no more influential or powerful role on earth than a mother’s. Stay at it, dear ladies. Never doubt the value of your calling. Without your positive supportive partnership, the family simply could not survive. (Proverbs 24:3-4 & 2 Timothy 1:3-7)

The 10-10-80 Plan is the biblical teaching that says the first 10% goes to God; the second 10% goes to your savings; the remaining 80% is for you to live off. God wants us all to be good stewards of all that he has given us. (Prov. 3:9-10; 21:20; 23:4)

The key is your spending habits and attitude towards money. We are mere managers of God’s resources. We will find the deepest satisfaction and fulfillment from spending our lives and resources for His cause. (Luke 16:1-13)

There’s a way of hearing that can keep me deaf to what I’ve heard. There’s a way of seeing that makes me blind to what I should see. There’s more to “us” than meets the eye. This is not all of “us.” We need to tag our neighbors and say, “You’re us!” (Psalm 117)

By approaching suffering seriously it gives meaning and dignity to the person who suffers, and leaves the healing up to God in Christ on the cross. When you embrace suffering it will lead to good grief that, in the end, enables you to say, “I hope!” (1 Cor. 15:12-19, 51-57 & Other Selected Scriptures)

Fear has a limited capacity to deter our hearts from sin. We must add fascination to it. Resisting is empowered by rejoicing. Reading the law of God is for the purpose of rejoicing in what is read. (Luke 15; Matt. 22:2-12; Ps. 1:1-3; Isaiah 61:10; 64:6)

We should pray for knowledge of truth that will change our lives rather than simply inform our minds. The experience of being able to forgive is preceded by some experience of being forgiven. Simply put: Forgive One Another! (Luke 15; Matt. 18:21-22; Col. 3:12-15)

The point of the Christian life is not to simply be received back into the welcoming arms of love of the Father but to become like the Father. (Luke 15; Isaiah 53:3-7, 10-11; Acts 9)

Because both sons have not yet faced their own sin, they cannot possibly understand what reconciliation means or what it costs. Which son are you? (Luke 15:25-32)

To the extent to which I am in touch with my “lostness” and brokenness is the extent to which I grasp the glory of the Gospel and am able to revel in the Father’s love. (Luke 15:20-32)

In the deepest sense the prodigal is not going home. He is going back to servanthood. At the edge of the village he is still lost. Faith is the radical trust that home has always been there and always will be there. (Luke 15:11-32)

Seeing Luke 15 in its cultural context can lead to a Copernican-like Revolution in our understanding of the gospel Jesus teaches in this parable. The emphasis here is not on the one who is lost as much as it is on the One who is searching. (Luke 15:1-10)

Does this simple revolution have any significance to churches and church leaders? Emotional health and spiritual maturity are inseparable. It is not possible to be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature.

Without authentic spiritual and relational vitality in a local gathering of believers, the church does not have the resources that are demanded to engage transformation and to influence the world. (Acts 2:41-47; Matt. 25:35-40; Isa. 6:5-7 & Other Selected Scriptures)

If we agree that imitating Jesus is the key to success as a Christian, why don’t we do what he did? The transformation we should be seeking is the ability to do the right thing regardless of the pressure in our lives to do differently. (John 4:31-34)

The lesson of perseverance has more to do with faith than it does with our existing culture. If you’re always moving on, you’ll rarely move forward. While perseverance doesn’t always pay off, giving up rarely does.

God doesn’t want you to do more for Him. He wants you to be more with Him. If your life bears a lot of fruit, God will invite you to abide more deeply with Him. (John 15:1-11; Ps. 42 & 43)

The gospel is the work of God to restore humans to union with God and communion with others, in the context of a community for the good of others and the world. The sure indicator of the gospel in a local community is how those Christians live.

We’re well educated and equipped to earn a living. The problem is we’ve failed to learn how to live. The Psalmist and Jesus both confront us to live in the present, something many people avoid most of their lives. Today, well-lived, is the answer. (Ps. 118:24; Matt. 6:25-34)

When we struggle to earn our way into God's presence it is usually not the case that we have overestimated our ability to earn. Perhaps it is that we are underestimating the love we are longing to keep. You cannot earn his heart, nor his reward. (John 3:16; 1 Cor. 1:30-31)

Is there anything so beautiful as watching someone use their gifts in the prime of life? The answer is yes. It's watching someone in their second prime. (Luke 2:25-40)

One of the major reasons for us to cultivate our own life with God is because only God can produce in us the character we need to be the influences our kids need. Cultivating our character and soul makes us more ready to receive the gifts God gives.

God is also the God of restored relationships and fresh starts. Sometimes only when we come to the end of our dreams that God gives us his dream in a way that we can finally see it. (Matthew 1:18-25)

We must begin with the end in mind. Becoming one who truly wills above all to act with the kingdom of God in mind and to cultivate God's kind of goodness will not happen overnight. (Phil. 1:3-8; 1 Cor. 3:10-11; Eph. 5:25b-27)

God wants to transform our lives for His good purposes. If Satan can destroy the wholeness in family community, he can stall spiritual formation in the lives of individuals because we need the whole community to grow. Rom 12:9-21;1 Pet 2:9-10;Gal 5:13-26

Lack of connection is the greates human dilemma of all times. The need for connection and community is THE greatest theological truth we can know and experience. (Genesis 1-3; John 17; Rev. 21)

Your body is a sacred place. Don't squander what God paid such a high price for. Let people see God in and through your body. (1 Cor. 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 4:16)

Gail gives a full description of the relationship between the potter and the clay - how, why, and what for questions are explored. (Jeremiah 18:1-6)

5 key points to transforming your heart to be Christ-like.