Church Life
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A Different Look at Attendance
It would be impossible for me to count how many times I have heard, read, or made the following comparison, but, maybe in this article, we can examine it from a different angle. For years, people have noted that, no matter the weather or almost any other factor, a football stadium on Saturday or Sunday will be filled, yet people will use many factors to not fill a church pew for worship on Sunday. Over the years, I have heard that said (and said it myself) probably hundreds of times. Nearly always, the “reason” given has to do with dedication. We are told that people are more dedicated to their…
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Week of January 5 “Into the Heart of the Bible” and “Something from the Margin of My Bible”
After a holiday break, Leah is back with a video for ladies that overviews the Egyptian period of Bible history. Click here to watch or view it below. On “Something from the Margin of My Bible,” Adam shares a brief outline from Psalm 6 that will help you be fortified against sin. Listen to the episode here.
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A Different Perspective on Evolution
By the time you read this, I will already be a few days into a practice I started a few years ago. I am not really sure about the number of times I’ve read and/or listened to the entire Bible in a year. When I began that again a few days ago, I was, as you might expect, reading the biblical account of creation. Coincidentally, a few days earlier I was thumbing through the pages of a Bible that belonged to my late father. He had made a practice of writing notes in the margins of the text of scripture, but he also used just about any space he could…
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Beginning
I’m sure today’s title is not a shock as it is only the second day of a new year when this is being published. It is a time of goal setting for some and reflection for others. I decided to explore the idea of beginnings in the Bible. I was surprised by the number of times the words “begin” or “beginning” were used in total. Of course, the most obvious was Genesis 1:1 where we read, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” It was really this thought that got my brain going. It all begins with God, so how else is that represented throughout the Bible?…
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Confluence
Today is a day I have been excited about for a long time. It’s not just because it’s New Year’s Day. It’s because it’s the first day of 2025. And that, by definition, means it’s the first day of 2025-2029. You might be thinking, so what? It has to do with our work at Central. For months, we have been thinking about, praying for, and preparing for the years 2025-2029. Back in October, we released a video entitled “Confluence” that was meant to share our vision for this five-year period at Central. The video is great, but what it represents is, I pray, far greater. You see, every goal set…
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As You Consider Those Resolutions
Some of you may have seen the following (or some of it) on Facebook or elsewhere. A woman by the name of Regina Brett published a list of lessons that she said that life has taught her. I have seen various numbers of items on her list. Her website lists fifty. I’ve chosen to “edit it down” to forty. I think those forty are more than enough food for thought as we approach a new year. That – by the way – is all that this list is intended to be – food for thought. These are not scripture. They are not even all equal in value in my opinion. I…
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A Christmas Eve “Life Lesson”
Last year, Christmas Eve was on Sunday. Something happened on that day that was both unusual and normal at the same time. Just as the congregation where I worship was getting ready to partake of the Lord’s supper, I heard the sound of a helicopter. Since our church building is fairly close to one of the hospitals in our city and since we used to live just across the street from the church building, I knew what that sound meant. Somebody was being airlifted to a larger hospital in another location because of the seriousness of their condition. In that moment, all kinds of things were happening. Christians were remembering…
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Two Upcoming Holidays that Baffle Me
We are in the hap-hap-happiest time of the year, or so they say. Some of the people I’ve seen lately don’t appear to have gotten the memo. I’m a huge fan of Thanksgiving because families gather and spend time together and just enjoy good food and one another’s company, but Thanksgiving is not one of the holidays I’m writing about. The two holidays that baffle me are Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas with our family. We exchange gifts, eat too much, sing, and play games together. That isn’t the topic for this post. What baffles me is that, all over the place, mention…
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You Don’t Love If…
First Corinthians 13 is a beautiful passage. In context, the description of love is meant to show the church at Corinth a “more excellent way” than even the miraculous spiritual gifts with which they were endowed. With the age of miracles passing, though, this description of love still challenges and loves Christians the world over. Each individual aspect of this description of love is worth serious consideration, but there is one that I want to focus on for a moment today. It is one that should cause each of us to think, but it is one that should also be taught to our children and reinforced by everyone. It is…
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It Doesn’t Take Much Sometimes
On the Saturday before Thanksgiving Day, Donna and I were in Cookeville, Tennessee to watch our granddaughter who lives there in her final performance as Maria in The Sound of Music. I had no idea that I would get an idea for a post while we were there, but I did. As we were leaving, I noticed a man just slightly in front of me and in a position where I could say something to him. I probably would not have said anything except for the fact that his long white hair and beard made him look like a certain “jolly old elf.” He wasn’t quite as portly as that…
