The Stairway to Heaven
Right now in our 2026 bible reading plan, we’re going through selected readings from the book of Genesis. The stories are all amazing. But they are also difficult. When we’re reading Genesis, we have to remember that we are reading literature from thousands of years ago from a totally different culture, worldview, language, and society – and – it’s literature that is written to be heard and pondered over repeatedly over the course of a lifetime. Just like following Jesus, It is
Thriving in Exile
Over the last four weeks at Central Youth, we were in a series called Aliens: Thriving in Exile. Below is a summary of the lessons looking at the stories of exile in Scripture and what that means for our lives today. There’s a pattern that runs through the entire story of Scripture, and once you see it, you start noticing it everywhere—including in your own life. Israel is trapped in Egypt, crying out for freedom. They want out; out of oppression, out
A Pastoral Word of Love, Truth, & Justice
Good morning Central Baptist. I hope you are staying warm on this very cold day, and endured last weekend’s snow well! Let’s hope we’re not in for another one this weekend – I miss being together! And after last Saturday, I really wish we were together. If we were together on Sunday (rather than the pre-recorded message), I would have taken some time to reflect on what we all saw, from multiple angles, out of Minneapolis this past weekend. It is disturbing,
Sad News on a Cold Day
Good afternoon Central Baptist. I hope you are staying warm on this very cold day.I want to start off with some sad news: this morning, at about 9AM, Bill Taylor passed away peacefully. He is now with Jesus, which as Paul tells us, “is far better” (Philippians 1:23). Bill was such a good and kind man, a loving husband and father, and a gentle and warm presence, friend, and brother to us all. He will be greatly missed. Please pray for
Blind Old Bartimaeus
In this morning’s men’s bible study, we discussed one of the stories we read for today’s bible reading plan: the story of blind Bartimaeus.It’s one of my favorite stories in Mark for two reasons.First, when I was interviewing for to be the pastor here at Central, I was asked to lead a bible study – and this is the story I chose to do. As I was reflecting on the story in preparation of that bible study, the ideas and message
Storms In and Out
A blog by Next Generation Pastor, Rebecca DeLucia Life has a way of throwing storms at us; some we can see and others we carry quietly inside. In Mark chapters 4 and 5, we encounter two powerful stories back-to-back that show us something essential about Jesus: He has unmatched authority over both external chaos and internal captivity. In Mark 4:35-41 Jesus and His disciples are crossing the Sea of Galilee when a violent storm erupts. Waves crash over the boat. Water fills it.
All Things New!
Happy New Year’s (Eve)! Tomorrow is a day where, at least by the calendar, we start over: start the new year, start new resolutions, start again. We hope that things go better this year than last. We hope that we can do what we didn’t manage to last year. We look forward to a fresh, clean canvas for the year and hope that the picture that’s painted is a good one. We hope that the new is better than the old. In
His Gospel is Peace!
Truly He taught us to love one another;His law is love and His gospel is peace.Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother,and in His name all oppression shall cease.Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,let all within us praise His holy name.Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever!His pow'r and glory evermore proclaim!His pow'r and glory evermore proclaim! Merry Christmas Eve! Above is the final verse from O Holy Night, where we sing that “His
What Makes for Peace?
Because of this weekend’s snow, Sunday was an odd Sunday. The roads were very unsafe, so we encouraged you NOT to come to the worship service…odd indeed! In fact, one of the songs we were going to sing was “O Come All Ye Faithful”, which I had us cancel – because we were encouraging all you faithful NOT to come on Sunday morning! Instead, we encouraged you to watch online – and hopefully you did (and you still/always can right here). But if
It’s Like a Community Within a Community
On Saturday evening after the Atlantic Highlands Tree Lighting, we threw our 4th annual Light It Up! After Party. For what was a lightly attended tree lighting, our after party was not: it was filled with kids familiar and not, new friends, visitors, and many of you. It was a GREAT party. Thank you to all who made a soup or chili, who helped set up or clean up, ran crafts, or who was just there to be warm, friendly, and fun. I had a