2013... Time for a fresh start

by Jon Sampson

Happy New Year!

As I write this, my thoughts turn to tomorrow. You see, I'm heading back to work full-time at the Daily Times Herald as a graphic designer. For those of you who've known me a long time, you'll remember I worked there from 1997-2005. So it's a bit of a homecoming for me. I appreciate the second opportunity and look forward to a fresh start and second chances.

Second chances, you may ask? One of my regrets in life was not being more open and sharing with my faith while employed at the newspaper. Plus, in my early years there, I was a little too legalistic. OK, a lot legalistic. I blew chances to really reach co-workers for Christ. This morning, I asked Jesus to help me be bold and clever at work this year. I pray that He'll give me opportunities to share Christ in love and spiritually season my speech. I ask for your prayers in this matter as well and encourage you to take up this challenge as well in your own workplace and life.

Let's make 2013 a year of growth and movement at Central!

I'll leave you with a poem I found this morning on about.com/christianity...

I tried to think of a clever new phrase—
A slogan to inspire the next 365 days,
A motto to live by this coming new year,
But the catchy words fell flat to my ear.

And then I heard His still small voice
Saying, "Consider this simple, daily choice:
With each new dawn and close of day
Make new your resolve to trust and obey."

"Don't look back caught in regret
Or dwell on the sorrow of dreams unmet;
Don't stare forward anchored by fear,
No, live in this moment, for I am here."

"I am all you need. Everything. I Am.
You are held secure by my strong hand.
Give me this one thing—your all in all;
Into my grace, let yourself fall."

So, at last I'm ready; I see the way.
It's to daily follow, trust, and obey.
I enter the new year armed with a plan,
To give him my everything. All that I am.

--Mary Fairchild

Yours in Christ,

Jon

Thoughts from the Connecticut School Shooting Tragedy

We thought we would post a couple of thoughts from two of our Church Leaders about the tragedy that occurred today at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut   We ask that you join us in praying for the families of the victims and would welcome your thoughts below.

As many of you are aware, our nation has yet again been struck by tragedy.  Many lives were lost today at an elementary school in Connecticut.  While I do not have words to express my feelings right now, I know the families of those involved in this shooting need our prayers.

I can't even begin to imagine what these parents are feeling, and my heart aches deeply for them.  This is not a time for us to debate political agendas; it is a time to pray for peace and healing to fall on all of those affected.  This goes to show that we really do need more of Jesus in this broken world.  Will you join me in praying Isaiah 40:28-31 for these families, victims and speak it loud for our nation? I know I will be hugging Chloe and Jireh a little tighter tonight. 
-Pastor Ryan

While I can be a very emotional person, tragedy in this fallen world has sometimes left me numb to express feelings, however, this tragedy in light of the book I am reading has me heartbroken and unapologetically crying for not only these families, but this nation.  I am a lucky one, I was raised by great faithful parents, however, I am confessing, I was not a great parent/husband, or even a good parent/husband, and this is why I am so heartbroken because I was not a parent/husband that I would have liked our kids to emulate.  I /we can rationalize all I want about how we are at different stages in our walk with the Lord, but, the only person holding me (us) back from walking closer is ourselves, no one else.

I know that good parenting can still result in troubled children, however, our (my) obedience to the word of God “while” I was a faithful churchgoer during the raising of our children was in all seriousness, pathetic.  This tragedy “should” make us all re-evaluate, how are we raising our children, what am I showing my children through my marriage, what seriously have I changed in my life over the last week, month, year that would make God stand up and take notice that I am serious about following him.  This isn’t about your spouse, about your children, or your neighbor, this is for “YOU” to think about and then (as Pastor Ryan says) BEG God to help you change by the power of the Holy Spirit.  As we try to evangelize this community, this is so doubly important, because we as a church live in a fishbowl.  Yes, we can’t be perfect, but even in our imperfection, do others see Christ in us to how we then respond to that imperfection.  Are we the first to apologize?  Are we the first to reach out, or are we settled into our way of life, and this is just the way it is going to be.

Tragedy brings about some change – however, as we learned with 9-11, as time goes along, things just get back to normal, and we start settling into how we always have been – may this not be the case for Central.  

-Stan Bream

Bondage Week 1- Snapshots of Your Past

Bondage Week 1- Snapshots of Your Past

How many church services do you think are blessed with so many visual props to make a point?  I don’t know about you, but when I walked in Sunday to see a 6 foot high steel cage sitting there in the middle of the stage, I couldn’t wait to see what exactly pastor had in mind.  I can’t say I would have been completely surprised if he had stepped out in wrestling tights with someone announcing “L-L-L-L-et’s get ready to R-U-M-B-L-E!”  (Ryan, feel free to use that if you run short of ideas).  

But as he began hanging up each of those pictures, it reminded me of how holding on to the past creates a barrier between us and God.  Sins of our past, if we we refuse to let them go, build a wall that prevents us from seeing God.  Imagine, if you will, that pastor had continued to post pictures of everything he had ever done against God in front of him.  Little by little, his view outside of himself would be diminished.  Pretty soon, he wouldn’t be able to see out around them at all.  He would lose sight of God.  

Who of us can claim anything different?  I certainly cannot.  When I sit down and reflect over all of the wrongs I committed against God, I wonder how he did not give up on me.  How could he possibly continue to love me as I denounced his very existence at one point in my life?  The quick answer is: he is God, and can pretty much do whatever he wants.  But for those of us that need further explanation, the answer can be found in Ephesians.  In chapter 1, verse 4, Paul writes “For he chose us in him BEFORE the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his site, IN LOVE.”  God’s love for us is so great that, even while He knew exactly how we would each fail Him, he still chose us.  So God chose us from the beginning of time, He loved us then, and His love is never-ending.    

Because of salvation, our sins are washed away--completely.  2 Cor 5:17 tells us that “if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:  The old has gone, the new is here!”.  Paul goes on to write in verse 19 “that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting peoples’ sins against them.”  Ephesians 1, vs 4 says, “In him we have redemption through his blood...”  In Romans 8:38-39, Paul confirms that nothing will stop Christ from loving us.  This includes our past sins, as well as sins that we will inevitably be guilty down the road. As pastor pointed out, the “snapshots” of our lives don’t define us,  Christ’s redemption does.  Jesus does not hold our sins against us.  Through accepting Him, we are cleansed.  His blood washes away every one of those pictures of our past we are holding onto.  WE ARE FORGIVEN!   So if Christ does not hold what we’ve done against us, what right do we have of not letting go? 

So how do we avoid allowing our guilt of sinning to interfere with our future in Christ?  In Phillipians 3:13, Paul explains, “But one thing I do:  Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.”  If we focus on how we have failed to follow the Word, we lose sight of God and his future for us.  By allowing those snap shots to collect and multiply, we become distracted, and barriers are formed between our hearts and God.  Satan certainly loves it when we do this.  It’s guaranteed that he’s right there beside each of us, striving to remind us how short we fall. We must avoid allowing our past to prevent us from moving ahead in Christ.  We must resist the subtle reminders that satan loves to insert into our thoughts.  Because, as pastor put it, if we obsess about the voice of the enemy, we cannot hear the voice of God. 

  Lord God, thank you for not giving up on us.  You knew every sin that we would commit, you knew every time we would fail to keep you in our hearts, even before we were born.  Yet you still created us. You allow to go through those times, and never give up on us.  Thank You!   You were always and will always be there.

What snapshots are in your life?  Take time to reflect on anything that might be obscuring your view of God, and ask Him for the power to let it go.  Please feel free to share in whatever way you are lead.  Comments, critiques are always welcomed.  

--Jim

What Do You Follow?

Watching, listening and talking to people the last several weeks leading up to the election has been a real eye opener for me.  Don’t worry, I’m not going to espouse the virtues of one candidate or the other.  I’m not going to try and tell you which party to support and vote for.  But what I have found interesting is that a lot of people base their beliefs on preconceived notions that are in no way based on fact.  

These notions are many times fallacies generations old and sometimes planted in us by our parents, a friend, mentor and/or the media, or maybe it’s simply just what we want to believe.  But when people are told fact, and it contradicts those preconceived notions they either react w/anger or just simply turn a deaf ear. 

It doesn't matter how much proof is presented.  I have found this in politics as well as in the church.  In my few short years in church leadership, it has disappointed me to see people walk away from a church, from close relationships, even family, because they were told something they did not want to hear.  It is human nature to gravitate towards the things that “Tickle our ears”.  Things that make us feel good.  “Please tell me what I want to hear!”  But how can we expect to grow if we are following falsehoods? 

Hosea 4:6 “Is God’s charge against the nation of Israel…:“my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.” 

I truly believe we are a people, a nation, a world that is being destroyed due to a lack of knowledge.  The truth is not always palatable, but I would rather swallow a bitter medicine and be saved than feast on candy (or Taco Johns) and die. 

I need to add here that we are given the task of studying so that we know what and why we believe.  We are not to blindly trust.  Question everything.  Take it to the Word of God.  Take it to Him in prayer.  The Bible says that the enemy will appear as an angel of light.  We can be so easily swayed by the “pretty music” others share, but don’t get caught swallowing the hook.   

John 8:32  “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 

God loves us.  He wants us to be healed, set free and saved.  Open your hearts to God’s truth.

-Koze

Solomon's Temple

By Angela Noble

Dear Church Family,

 

I usually receive a daily bible verse via email and a couple of days ago it was 1 Kings 9:1, "Now it came about when Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all that Solomon desired to do."  This verse inspired me to Google Solomon's Temple and try to find the verses that held the description of the temple itself.  This led me to 1 Kings 6, where the physical characteristics of the temple are described and the building process.  With God’s instruction, Solomon had built a grand and lavish temple, filled with floors of gold, grand cherub statues and intricately carved designs on huge olive wood doors.  This magnificent structure took seven years to be built, each item handcrafted and then brought to the location.  As a lover of historic buildings, how awesome it would have been to see such grandeur and splendor.  A temple designed by God, but hand-crafted by men. 

 

We, at Central Christian, also have a temple.  It is our building just east of town on Highway 30.  Now….it doesn’t have gold over-laid flooring…it has carpet…. and it doesn’t have any intricately carved designs on the walls or doors.  I’m pretty sure the walls are mostly made of drywall and probably factory wood doors.  However, it is still God’s house….a place where we come together and worship and learn to be better followers of Christ.  How grateful I am that we have a building to come to on Sundays and other days of the week.  For those members that have been here for over 4 years, you know that it wasn’t always the case. 

 

As the church continues to grow and the building is used more and more for various outreach ministries, it is going to become increasingly important to maintain it properly.  The Church Cleaning Ministry is an important part of making sure Central’s temple is maintained and is able to continue to support the children, adults, members, attenders and guests that will be coming and going throughout the week.  I would like to ask if there is anyone out there who would be willing to spend a couple hours a month to dedicate towards maintaining the building’s interior.   I need a couple of individuals, families, or groups to commit to clean for 1 week a month for next 6 months.  Tina Boell and I clean the first full week of every month and will continue to do that.  The total time I spend that week cleaning is only 2-2.5 hours.  If anyone is willing to do that…..please email me at anoble227@yahoo.com so that I may get a calendar together for the next 6 months.  The time commitment is small and I have to confess that I probably spend more time a week watching TV than it takes me to clean the church!

 

Thank you in advance for your help…..I really, really, really need it!

 

Angela Noble

anoble227@yahoo.com

Jacob’s Vow

by John Sklenar

In Genesis 28:20-22 it says “Then Jacob made a vow, saying “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.””

Jacob made a vow.  He made it conditional.  He said he would give God a tenth of all he receives if God watches over him and gives him food and clothes and safety.

How did it turn out?  Jacob thrived and God blessed him, and Jacob kept his part of the bargain.

Jacob became the father of a nation; the nation of Israel, which was the apple of God’s eye.  His first love.  This has huge implications for us.

If things aren’t going well for you, meditate on what Jacob did.  Dare you to make a vow with your creator?

In the 90’s, Virlee and I made this vow to God.  We would tithe no matter what, expecting Him to bless us.  I was a bit selfish in doing so.  We had just become committed to the Lord, and decided to dismantle our “empire” and shed nearly $500,000 of debt.

Our Lord keeps his promises.  At times it was tough to tithe, but we did anyway.  The Lord taught us that he is a “just in time” God.  He always keeps his end of the bargain.

Sometimes, with the Lord, 100% minus 10% equals more than 100%.

Proverbs 3:9-10; King Solomon, the wisest man ever said, “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops, then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine.”

So…if you give the Lord the first 10% of all you receive, you will end up with more than you started with.  As a CPA, the math doesn’t work for me.  (100% minus 10% equals more than 100%?)  As a citizen of the Kingdom, I know all things are possible when the Creator is involved in my life.

Level Up Week 3

Isn’t it incredible how Jesus never gives up on any of us?  No matter who we are or what we’ve done, he always searches for His lost sheep.  When I think back about what my life was like, what I was like, before I returned to Christ, I’m amazed.  I was living for myself, and no one else mattered.  Period.  I did not take a passive role in falling away from Christ, either; I actively proclaimed how He did not exist.  I was more than willing to share these thoughts with anyone at anytime.   But Christ stayed with me.  He protected me.  He did not give me what I deserved, but instead gave me gifts of love and grace.  He never gave up. 

Why?  Because I am His.  None of us are just a number to Jesus.  Each of us matter.  Wouldn’t it be great to have the ability to see people the way Christ sees them; to love with his love?  What a gift it would be to see past who we think a person is now, and be able to see with God’s eyes who they have the potential of becoming.  To trust that God has a plan in mind.  Considering how He never gave up on any of us, it should be easy to seek after everyone with the same perseverance.

  But Pastor reminded us Sunday that it is so very easy to forget what it’s like to be lost.  It is almost natural, I think, to fall into that legalistic mindset that the Pharisees reflected in Luke 15:2.  Instead of sharing God’s love and grace with others, we like to assume the role of judge and jury.  “Look how so and so is doing such and such.  Oh yeah, they’re definitely going to hell.”  Does anyone else have that problem?  I certainly do.  I thank the Lord that He did not give up on me like I so easily give up on others.  

How easy is it, how natural is it, for us to forget that we are all sinners?  As Pastor had mentioned, the problem with sin is everyone of us do it.  We don’t have to read a book about it, we don’t need any instructions from siblings on how to do it.  We are sinners even in the womb.  If there is one thing all of us are accomplished at, it’s the ability to sin.  Thankfully, Jesus is a friend of sinners; if He wasn’t, none of us would be in a relationship with Him.  None of us are any better than anyone else.  There are not the “sinners” and the “non-sinners” in the world.  There are only the lost and the found.  There are those who are living for the world, and those who are living for Christ.  

Which one are you?  I’d like to say I always fall on the “righteous” side of this spectrum, but it wouldn’t be honest.  I struggle continually with passing judgement on others, with writing others off as unworthy.  A little over a week ago, I was watching a testimony video on iamsecond.com.  (If you have an extra 10 minutes today, I strongly suggest you take a look).  The woman’s name is Karen Green.  She describes her life before Christ.  How she had been molested at an early age, pregnant by her mother’s boyfriend at age 13 and kicked out of the house because of it, used drugs to fill her emptiness, turned to prostitution to pay for her drugs.  All the while, raising her son alone.  Then one day, someone came into her life that looked past what she was.  They did not pass judgement.  They saw a child of Christ.  A lost sheep.  Now Karen has a ministry that goes out on those same streets and shares Christ with other prostitutes.  She uses her past to reach out to others.  

Would I have done the same as the person in Karen’s life?  Not likely.  It would just be too easy to go the other direction and automatically condemn.  I just don’t think I would have been able to recognize the lost sheep.  It would be too easy for me to forget where I was when Jesus called me back.  It’s too simple to overlook how much He has forgiven me in my life.  To admit that I am no better than a prostitute is humbling.  Unfortunately, it’s the truth.  We are all sinners, but Jesus loves us anyway.  

Lord Jesus, thank you for never giving up on me.  Thank you for always loving me.  Please forgive me for not sharing this love  in all situations.  Please help me to never forget that everyone of us matter.  We are all your children.  

These are just my thoughts over Sunday's topic.  Please feel free to share yours!  We would love to hear what others have taken from the messages.   God bless!

Jim