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
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)
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
Called To Be…
A guest blog by Shawn Blythe. As we enter the book of Romans in our Bible readings, I am struck by one of the opening items in Paul’s greeting. He starts his letter with “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God”. In particular, I was drawn to Paul’s statement that he was “called” to be an apostle. Most of us know the story of Paul’s conversion and Christ’s direct intervention