The Importance of Dialog
A guest blog by Shawn Blythe. They are seven short words buried in the middle of I Corinthians that are very easy to overlook. After extolling the Corinthians about divisions in the church, wisdom and sexual immortality, Paul begins chapter 7 with the statement: “Now, for the matters you wrote about . . . “ We are very used to reading the letters in the Bible as one-way correspondence from church leaders to the churches. We are less familiar with communications in
More Thinking Like Jesus
This last week or so was a busy one. We had the Juneteenth Celebration at St. Paul’s, our first Summer Hang Out at the Sandbox, Onwards & Upwards on Sunday, and a wild power-knocking-out storm (the church lost a few roof shingles…not too bad!). What a week!I want to remind you that this Sunday is our next All In New Members Class. If you’re thinking of becoming a member at Central, looking to learn more about the church and membership, or
You Gotta Serve Somebody
When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” Exodus 32:1 Today, in our Central Reads 2024 bible reading plan, we read the (in)famous story of the golden calf. It is a foundational story that,
I Am Who I Am
A guest post by Rebecca DeLucia, Next Generation Pastor In 2015, I was teaching second grade at a small Christian school and our Bible curriculum for the year walked through Genesis and Exodus. During our Bible Reading Plan this week I was reminded of an activity we did together. As a class we were discussing Exodus 3:13 in which God tells Moses, “I AM WHO I AM” and I asked these 7 and 8 year olds what they thought I AM
At our Crossroads
A guest blog by Shawn Blythe. We often encounter Biblical characters at a crossroads in their lives. They are brought to our attention at a pivotal moment in which they either rise to God’s calling or fall to their own misgivings and fears. These crossroads raise questions regarding the “right” decision or why we are in this situation at all. I am often reminded of Mordecai’s advice to Queen Esther (Esther 4) when she struggled to handle a difficult situation (paraphrased)
Block Party Thoughts…
As you know, this Sunday was our first ever “Block Party”. The weather was beautiful, the food was delicious, and the time we had was great. We learned a lot about what to do next time, what to change, what to keep the same. I’m wired to think that everything can always be better – so I’m always thinking and looking out for ways to make that happen (and I’m all ears – please hit me up with ideas, improvements, innovations!). I’ve been
Jesus. Party Time. Excellent.
Jesus loved a good party. He was happy to be the guest of honor at Levi’s party. He demanded a party at Zacchaeus’ house. In his mind, the only proper response to finding what was lost (whether a coin, a sheep, or a son) is to party (“we had to celebrate” – Luke 15:32). He gave instructions on how to act at a party and then told a parable about one (Luke 14). His first miracle was to save a party (John 2)! I
Living In The World of Psalm 24
A guest blog by Shawn Blythe The reading for last week included Psalm 24. Although it immediately follows the most famous Psalm, apart from a verse or two made popular by a variety of worship songs, Psalm 24 is not one of my “go to” Psalms. It made me wonder what else I was missing right around Psalm 23. Psalm 22 is a plea for help in the midst of nearly unimaginable suffering. It is perhaps best known for containing a direct
The Toughest Person to Forgive
What a gorgeous day! Hopefully you can get out today and enjoy it a bit. First things first – this Monday is Memorial Day, and we’re marching in the parade again – so check out those details below.Last Sunday, we kicked off a new series on forgiveness called Easier Said Than Done. We heard about what forgiveness is, and why it truly is ‘easier said than done’. It costs a lot, as we learn to absorb the cost in forgiveness.
Unity Among Us
This morning at our men’s bible study, we kicked off a new study on Paul’s letter to the Romans. It’s a big letter, covering all manner of things – but the (easily overlooked) intention of the letter is what we spent the most time on today: The pivotal importance of the unity of the church. For the Romans, it was a matter of the Gentile Christians and the Jewish Christians learning not just to get along, but to love one another and