The Next Four Years
Well, it’s Wednesday. The election is over, and someone won…or maybe they’re still counting votes – I don’t know…because I’m writing this on Tuesday morning before the polls opened or a single state was called! So I don’t know whether Harris or Trump (or the third party surprise write-in!) will be our President for the next four years. But regardless of who our next President will be, what will we be for the next four years? We will be the church of Jesus Christ. We will
Mourn With Those Who Mourn
I hope you’re able to enjoy this beautiful fall day a bit. Go out for a walk and appreciate God’s good creation. Also – tomorrow is Halloween – so thank you to all who are going to give out candy here at Central (as well as those who donated it). It’s a great chance to be a light in our town. (Also note: Sunday is Daylight Savings "fall back"!) The big news of course, which weighs heavily on all of our
Intentional or Not…
On Sunday, our fall “Step Up” discipleship series began, and this week, our Step Groups are kicking off. It’s an exciting week around here! (By the way, if you didn’t get your book – we have them at the building now!)As I was going through the material in “Discipleship Essentials,” the book that is guiding our Step Groups, I was continually struck by one word: intentional. He uses the word in the “Core Truth” for the week:Discipling is an intentional relationship in which
How Beautiful Are the Feet
Hopefully you are following along with our Central Reads bible reading plan, because today’s reading is a beauty. It’s Isaiah 52 – a VERY important passage for how the New Testament writers understood Jesus and all God was doing through him. It begins the oft-read “Suffering Servant” song (which continues into chapter 53…he was pierced for our transgressions…by his wounds we are healed…) that forms so much about how we understand Jesus’ life and death for us. Beautiful and powerful. But it’s verses
Now is the Time to Take a Step!
If you haven’t caught wind of it yet, let me remind you: this year at Central, it’s the year of discipleship. We kicked off the ‘church’ year in the beginning of September when we asked the question “what does the Lord require of you?” Remember that? The answer from Amos, but reiterated by Jesus, is to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God. The way we put it is to always be taking “steps” along the path of following
We Are So Ready!
Every week since August during Central Kids, two cute twins have asked me, “when does Central Learns start?” At the mum sale for the elementary school I had a parent ask me, “When does your after school program start back up? We are SO ready for it!” We are excited the answer to both questions is in two short weeks! Central Learns starts every Wednesday on October 16th! This year, we have received an ABCNJ Communities in Action Grant which will allow us
The Most Politically Radical Thing You Can Do
The book of Revelation has been on my mind recently. In part, because I knew I’d be preaching from it last Sunday, but also, in part, because I know of a large bible study organization that is focusing on it this year and it’s come up in conversation a lot. As I said on Sunday, it tends to be a book that scares people and/or is just so hard to understand, so people just kind of shy away from it (or
More Than Just a Picnic.
This past Sunday was our yearly church picnic…but this one was a little different, and in my mind, it was such an amazing event. Here’s why…This year, we decided to do what we normally do at the picnic - food, games, good time together - but there was one big difference: we did it in the middle of town at the harbor in Atlantic Highlands. We invited anyone who was walking by to grab some free chili or hot dogs,
No Author? No Problem.
A guest blog by Shawn Blythe. As our Bible readings take us to Hebrews, you might be somewhat surprised at the lack of the normal introductory format that most letters in the New Testament follow. These letters typically started with a clear indication as to who the letter was from. James begins his letter with “James, a servant of God”. Peter begins his two letters similarly, with I Peter stating “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ”. Jude does the same with
Take A Step With Us.
This past Sunday was a big Sunday here at Central, as we kicked off the “new church year”. During the sermon, I introduced a new and big idea for the church that I want to make sure you all know about. I’d tell you to watch the livestream to find out more (which you can do here), but we mistakenly had music playing through the livestream during the entire service (so it’s like I’m preaching with loud background music!). Kind