Busy, Busy, Busy
A guest blog by Shawn Blythe. We are busy people. I know this because when somebody amicably asks me how things are going, my first instinct is to answer “Busy!” Whether it is true or not, that is the impression that I have of my life. Busy with home repairs, daily tasks, family visits, church responsibilities, hobbies, vacations, and a myriad of other activities that fill my calendar. The 19th chapter of Matthew always resonates with me because it also seems
More Than Enough To Go Around
Today’s reading in our Central Reads 2024 bible reading plan is a bit of a tough one…at first glance. There’s a story that, quite frankly, is difficult to understand – because of how out of place it seems for Jesus. It’s the one where a Canaanite woman comes to Jesus to have her daughter healed of a demon, and Jesus responds by basically saying that he’s only come for the lost sheep of Israel, and that it’s not right to give the
Act On It.
In this week’s readings from the bible reading plan, we finished the sermon on the mount on Monday (Matthew 7). It’s an amazing bit of teaching from Jesus, world-changing, personally convicting, and far reaching. But I want to highlight how it ends – because I think it’s what is so often missed:24 “Everyone, then, who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25 The rain fell, the floods came, and
A Baptism Refresher.
The upcoming baptisms on Sunday have been a catalyst for a lot of conversations in our house about baptism, and today’s bible reading in Matthew 3 only made our pancake breakfast refocus on the topic. Baptism can be a complicated thing, especially for young children. So today I thought I would share a simple breakdown I learned to explain baptism to kids, but also serves as a good reminder for us. This explanation actually focuses on John 3:16 - “For
The One That Got Away
The One That Got Away Fishermen look back on their great fishing excursions and always have a story to tell about “the one that got away”. I've heard people talk about past loves like that. I look at the 2008 NY Giants season like that. If Plaxico hadn’t shot himself in the leg, they were going to win back-to-back championships. They were dominant that year. That was the one that got away. The same is always true (for me at least!) for sermon
Summer Gazebo Sunday Services for 2024!
This August (and 9/1), we'll be taking our worship back outdoors to the Atlantic Highlands Harbor Gazebo (right at the end of 1st Ave, on Simon Lake Dr.)! Why not take advantage of this beautiful town, our beautiful harbor, and a beautiful summer?! We'll do it every Sunday in August (except for the 11th), as well as September 1st. We'll have a kids class and nursery, as well as free bagels afterwards. These services are excellent opportunities for people who might want
Our End is Not The End
This Sunday, we will wrap up our “Need to Know” series on Paul’s letter to the Philippians. I gotta be honest though: we could spend another few months on Philippians. There’s so many little themes, points, and details that we’ve only barely touched on in the Sunday messages…I feel like we’re missing out on the riches of what Paul wrote! So here’s a bit more from chapter 3 that we won’t get to cover on a Sunday. Last week, I
A Cruciform Life
As I said in last week’s Central Thoughts blog, we’re in the middle of a Sunday series on Paul’s letter to the Philippians – and we just don’t have enough time to talk about everything. Last Sunday, for instance, I ended the sermon by talking about Phil. 3:10 and how all Paul wants is to “know Christ and the power of his resurrection” – and explained how Christ’s story IS our true story, and when we know Christ, we become transformed by the power
Go Ahead and Bet It All
On Sundays, we’re in the middle of a series from Paul’s letter to the Philippians. We’re looking at a few different moments where Paul tells us things we “need to know” to have a faith that can survive and thrive in the midst of a challenging world. Unfortunately, however, we don’t have time to look at every last verse (or else the series would be VERY long!), so we have to skip over a few things. I want to highlight one thing
Astounding Faith
A guest blog by Rebecca DeLucia, Next Generation Pastor Have you ever met someone whose faith is so astounding it leaves an impression on you, maybe it even challenges you? I imagine that Rahab was one of those people for the two spies in Jericho. She certainly ought to be for us, as we read her story in Central Reads today. The Israelites had just wandered the desert for 40 years because of their lack of faith in the God whom they saw first-hand