A Word for the New Year
Hello, and merry Christmas again! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was very nice, as it was a good time with family and friends. The Christmas Eve services at Central were a highlight for me as well, as we got to celebrate the birth of our Lord together, meet some new folks, and be reminded of the ‘bell’ that rung on that very first Christmas day to alert us that the Messiah has come. Or as we sung… Joy
Sharing Love this Advent
This Sunday is the big one – not only is it the fourth Sunday of Advent (the theme of which is love) – but it’s also Christmas Eve!!! We’ll be doing two services this Sunday – one at 9:30AM, and one at 5PM. Each will be completely different services, different messages, and so on. We’ll have full childcare and classes at the 9:30AM service, but at the 5PM service, we will just be offering childcare up to 5 years old. We’d
Finding Joy this Advent
This Sunday will be the third Sunday of Advent – the theme of which is joy. As this week is the “joy” week, I want to invite you to check out the Bible Project’s Advent video on ‘joy’. It’s a good one – and fills in so much that is usually missing from our understanding of joy.We think of joy as a feeling, like happiness…and that is a part of it, but joy is so much more. Happiness is more
Finding Peace this Advent
This marks the second week of Advent – the theme of which is peace. In our Advent bible study, we discussed the biblical use of the word “peace” (watch the video here to get it – it’s REALLY helpful!). Peace is more than the absence of conflict.It’s wholeness, completeness, restoration.It is shalom. As the video said, it’s not just two rival nations no longer at war; it’s the nations now working together. It’s not just letting go of hard feelings; it’s true
Finding Hope this Advent
Christmastime is here, happiness and cheer!I want to start by saying THANK YOU to all who came out and helped decorate the building for the Christmas season. You are awesome, and the place looks great. We have a lot of exciting events and services through Christmas – so it is so great to have it look the part!The first event is our Light It Up! After Party – THIS SATURDAY – after the Atlantic Highlands tree lighting (at 4PM, so the party
A Thanksgiving Reminder
Happy Thanksgiving! I sincerely hope that your Thanksgiving is a good one, filled with delicious food, good laughter, and rest. Take time today to give thanks – to thank God for all that God has given us. When you stop and reflect on all of the reasons we have to be thankful – it can just be overwhelming (in a good way!). Sometimes we forget that.And so sometimes we need a reminder. I was reminded of this on Monday when we were
Love God / Love Neighbor
I enjoy writing these weekly emails (well, most weeks…last week, Rebecca wrote it!). It causes me to pause, and reflect on what I’m thinking, on what you (the church) needs to hear, and so on. It gives me a chance to reflect on what’s happening in the world in a non-sermon/speaking form, and that’s important. But if I’m totally transparent… Some Wednesdays, I sit down to write – and I can't write - and I think to myself, “I have no ideas
Finding Identity, Belonging, and Purpose
Research being done around Generation Z shows us that Emerging Adults (EAs) primarily care about three core things: identity, belonging and purpose. The goal of TEAM (The Emerging Adult Mission) is to be a missional community that meets all three of these desires. Before I break down what those three things mean to EAs and how TEAM aims to meet them it's important to define what a missional community is. Very simply a missional community is a group of people who
To Pray a Kingdom Prayer
I’ve been reading a few different authors and their take on The Lord’s Prayer as I’ve prepared for the “We Need to Talk” series. The one I keep coming back to though, is N.T. Wright. So for today’s Central Thoughts, rather than give you my thoughts – I’ll just give you his…because sometimes other people’s thoughts are better than my own. Talking about what we covered in Sunday’s message (take a moment to read this carefully!), What then might it mean
Signing On For The Kingdom
During the time of Jesus (and his teaching of the Lord’s Prayer), it was common for sons to learn the trade of their fathers – to be apprenticed in their father’s vocation – so that as they grew, they could follow in their dad’s footsteps, learn the trade, and essentially, establish their vocation in life.As New Testament scholar and theologian, N.T. Wright, points out in his book “The Lord and His Prayer”, for Jesus to address God in prayer as “Father”