Archive for

Oct 31

The Difference One Can Make – Hanging Tough in the Tenderloin

Key Bible Verse: “Everyone will know that the Lord does not need weapons to rescue his people. It is his battle, not ours.” – 1 Samuel 17:47

Bonus Reading: 1 Samuel 17:32-37

Leaving his job in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district one day, Roger Huang discovered that he had a flat tire.

While waiting for a tow truck, he watched a group of teens pick on a younger boy and wondered what he’d do if it were his son.

For the next eight years, Roger worked two jobs to support a rescue mission that he leads there. He also started a Christian school.

The 35-block neighborhood has at least 48 liquor stores and 14 porn shops. Some 10,000 homeless pass through it every night. Tenderloin averages three major crimes per hour.

Tired of it all, in 2004 Roger decided to get city leaders’ attention. He sat outside city hall on a hunger strike.

Prodded to action, Mayor Gavin Newsome initiated a “scrubdown”: the police department assigned more officers to walk the streets to detain those suspected of drug-related activity. The public works department ordered more sweepers to clean up.

One city supervisor studied limiting liquor licenses; another introduced legislation to prohibit new strip clubs and porn shops within 1,000 feet of schools, playgrounds, and daycare centers. After 33 days, when he felt the city had made enough progress, Roger ended his hunger strike.

—Rob Moll in Leadership

My Response: What should be turned around in my community? Where could I start?

Thought to Apply: God is always calling on us to do the impossible, [but] anything Jesus did here on earth is something we should be able to do, too.—Madeleine L’Engle

Adapted from Leadership (Summer/04)

Prayer for the Week: I’m available, Lord, for any assignment. Use me to make a difference in Your Kingdom.

Oct 31

The Difference One Can Make – Hanging Tough in the Tenderloin

Key Bible Verse: “Everyone will know that the Lord does not need weapons to rescue his people. It is his battle, not ours.” – 1 Samuel 17:47

Bonus Reading: 1 Samuel 17:32-37

Leaving his job in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district one day, Roger Huang discovered that he had a flat tire.

While waiting for a tow truck, he watched a group of teens pick on a younger boy and wondered what he’d do if it were his son.

For the next eight years, Roger worked two jobs to support a rescue mission that he leads there. He also started a Christian school.

The 35-block neighborhood has at least 48 liquor stores and 14 porn shops. Some 10,000 homeless pass through it every night. Tenderloin averages three major crimes per hour.

Tired of it all, in 2004 Roger decided to get city leaders’ attention. He sat outside city hall on a hunger strike.

—Rob Moll in Leadership

My Response: What should be turned around in my community? Where could I start?

Thought to Apply: God is always calling on us to do the impossible, [but] anything Jesus did here on earth is something we should be able to do, too.—Madeleine L’Engle

Adapted from Leadership (Summer/04)

Prayer for the Week: I’m available, Lord, for any assignment. Use me to make a difference in Your Kingdom.

Oct 30

Central Church – Online Worship Service – The Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost – 10-30-2022

On this warm, sunny 21th Sunday after Pentecost, when we celebrate Reformation Sunday, and when the coronavirus prevents many of us from gathering in Central Church’s Sanctuary to worship in body, let us join together in spirit with our online worship service.

Today’s online worship service includes a favorite HYMN with lyrics so you can sing along!

Our prior online worship services are available in our online library, and can be viewed on demand, and be sure to join us in worship, either online or in person, every week!

AND…

Both the video on Facebook and the video on YouTube now have closed captions (if you turn them on) so you can read along with the spoken words during the service!
- To activate captions in Facebook, click on the Settings “gear” symbol in the bottom right corner of the image, and then click on the “Off” button to change it to “On” for “Auto-Generated Captions”.
- To activate captions in YouTube, click on the “CC” icon in the lower right corner of the image to toggle captions On and Off.
  - A brief comment on our new closed caption capability – The closed captions on our videos use voice-recognition software similar to that used on Television broadcasts, and with similar accuracy! Sometimes, the captions are not entirely accurate, so if you read something incongruous, back up the video a few seconds and listen carefully for what is actually being said.
  - Also, it takes a while to generate the captions after the videos are published, so if the captions are not available immediately after the video is published, just check back a little later.

To begin, simply click on one of the links below to join with the folks who have already made their way into our digital Sanctuary. You can find this week’s online worship service on both Facebook and YouTube at the following coordinates:

- Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=503915134986982
- YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0-SSlgbjm8

(If the video doesn’t come up after clicking on the link, just copy and paste the address into your browser search bar.)

Special Note: The featured congregation hymn this week in both the in-person and online worship services is “Standing on the Promises”. Check out the interesting change in the chorus on the online version sung a cappella by the Scottish Festival Singers. It’s a particularly engaging and effective Scottish rendition.

Central Church

Oct 30

The Difference One Can Make – Borderline Situation

Key Bible Verse: Those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness. – James 3:18

Bonus Reading: Nehemiah 6:1-13

Aqeela Sherrills lived in Watts, a part of Los Angeles ravaged by feuding youth gangs. His neighborhood was wedged between a district dominated by the Bloods and another by the Crips, with bystanders often caught in the crossfire. He escaped Watts by going east to college.

But there Aqeela became convinced that he was created to make a difference in gangland. So he returned to L.A. in 1989 and organized members of his neighborhood to agitate for “Peace for Peace’s Sake.”

“Both gangs tolerated us,” Aqeela said, “allowing us to march, even listening to our rhetoric.” At first nothing changed. But they joined forces with football great Jim Brown to form Amer-I-Can. In it, older men began mentoring younger men, steering them toward positive goals.

Then Aqeela and his brother, Daude, held a meeting to motivate the group to appeal directly to the gangs. “We were afraid for our lives,” Aqeela said. “But I said to the group, ‘We’re on the border. So we should be the ones to stand between the Bloods and Crips and bring the neighborhoods together.’

We committed to march into both territories with a message of reconciliation.” Their intervention led to a “peace treaty,” and eventually to reconciliation.

—Everett Worthington Jr. in Forgiving and Reconciling

My Response: I’ll ask God to show me for what I was created to make a difference.

Adapted from Forgiving and Reconciling (InterVarsity, 2003)

Prayer for the Week: I’m available, Lord, for any assignment. Use me to make a difference in Your Kingdom.

Oct 29

Finding Common Ground – Personal Evangelism

Levi is better known by his other name: Matthew.

Jesus’ invitation to join His crew meant guaranteed unemployment. Yet he didn’t hesitate.

Was that because he sensed genuine acceptance by Jesus? Jesus gave him a new purpose for his record-keeping skills as he compiled his gospel narrative.

Interact with God’s Word: Luke 5:27-32

Why were the religious leaders so upset by the way Jesus mingled with irreligious people from different social levels?
Which do you think Jesus perceived as more receptive to His gospel: the religious leaders or those outside their synagogues?
Would you say the non-Christians you know are hostile to the gospel or have never meaningfully encountered it?
By socializing with the tax collectors and “sinners,” was Jesus endorsing their practices and lifestyles?
For Levi, did leaving his tax-collecting business to be Jesus’ disciple mean breaking off contact with his colleagues and friends?
Do you have as many non-Christian friends now as you did when you first became a believer?
How could you introduce your friendship network to Jesus, like Levi did with his banquet?

Spend Time in Prayer: Ask God to help you find creative ways to get involved in the lives of people who are not yet Christ followers.

Luke 5:27-32

27 Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. 28 So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him. 29 Later, Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi’s fellow tax collectors and other guests also ate with them.

30 But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?” 31 Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. 32 I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”

Prayer for the Week: Teach me, Lord, how to live the gospel naturally among those that You care deeply about.

Oct 28

COVID-19 – Beaver County Metrics – 10-28-2022

COVID-19 Integrated County View:

Here are the weekly COVID-19 statistics for Beaver County, PA as of October 28, 2022, showing Beaver County continuing in the HIGH category.

The Incidence Rate decreased from 101.2 to 79.9 (a decrease of 21.3, or 21.0%), moving into the MODERATE category for the first time in 18 weeks.

The PCR Positivity Rate decreased from 18.9 to 11.5, in the HIGH category.

(Allegheny County’s figures remained in the HIGH category during the past week, at 81.8 and 10.8%.)

The new “COVID-19 COMMUNITY LEVEL” index:

Starting on March 3, 2022, for hospitals and healthcare systems, the CDC is also issuing a new “COVID-19 Community Level“ index that measures the “current potential for strain on the health system” (in other words, the ability of hospitals to take in and treat additional folks with COVID-19.)

This new index is in addition to the CDC’s “COVID-19 Integrated County View” which they continue to publish each week.

The CDC currently reports that current “COVID-19 Community Level” moved up into the LOW category. This metric was adopted on March 3, 2022, reflecting on the potential availability of hospital beds for new COVID-19 cases.

CDC-Recommended actions when in the HIGH level:

Wear a mask indoors in public and on public transportation.
Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines.
Get tested if you have symptoms.
If you are at high risk for severe illness, consider taking additional precautions.

The “Triple Threat”:

Recently, health officials have begun referring to the combination of RSV, COVID-19 and flu as a “triple threat” because they are all circulating simultaneously — and could all fuel a spike in respiratory illnesses in the coming months.

Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is a respiratory virus that usually causes cold-like symptoms, including a runny nose, poor appetite, coughing, sneezing, fever and wheezing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

The virus can spread via coughs, sneezes, surfaces and direct contact, according to the CDC. Most people who get infected experience mild symptoms and recover within a week or two, but the virus can be serious, especially for infants and older adults.

At Central Church, in order to look out for our older folks, as well as the unvaccinated or immunocompromised, we are continuing to look to the CDC’s“COVID-19 Integrated County View” to evaluate which protective measures and protocols that we should observe to protect all of the folks who come through our doors for in-person worship or for other reasons, such as to participate in our community feeding ministry outreach.

Small Group Meetings (Sunday School, AA, other meetings):

The current guidance on when and how gatherings can take place is based upon the threshold of infection rate.

For Indoor meetings/Sunday School to resume, the 7-day average of daily cases for gatherings that include unvaccinated folks should be:

- 1.5-2.0 – for everyone except those at high risk; and
- Less than 1.0 for those at high risk.
- Our current level is 11.4, so resuming small group meetings may not be feasible for the immediate future.

As the pandemic continues, we are continuing our efforts to:

Disinfect Central Church prior to every worship service and feeding ministry event using EPA-registered products in compliance with CDC standards to kill germs and reduce the risk of spreading infection, and in compliance with EPA criteria for use against SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19; and

We have significantly expanded our new medical-grade HEPA-13 air filtration equipment in our Sanctuary, which is rated to remove COVID-19 from the air, which now provides 10.7 complete air changes every hour in our Sanctuary (every 6 minutes)!
In addition, our Parlor, Church Office, Pastor’s Office, UMYF Meeting Room, Fellowship Hall, and Nursery all offer even higher levels of air changes per hour using HEPA-13 or HEPA-14 filtration.
(5 air changes per hour is the EPA’s general recommended standard, and the EPA now recommends 8-15 air changes per hour in Churches. )

Air Filtering at Central Church – The Latest Measurements

Here is some good news!

We have had our Sanctuary air filters in place for some time now to reduce our potential COVID-19 exposure during worship services.

Our Trustees have been curious about how effectively they are scrubbing the Sanctuary air for us, so they placed an air filter meter it in the Sanctuary last week to see what our readings would be.

The actual COVID-19 virus measures about 1.5 microns in size, but it usually hitchhikes on air-borne droplets exhaled from infected humans to spread throughout a room. The size of those droplets (classified as fine particulates) is 2.5 microns, so I measured for that level of particulates.

Our Sanctuary is disinfected prior to every worship service, so the 20 ppm (parts per million) particulates that are floating around are mainly harmless dust and pollen. (The Medify air filtration equipment that we have in place are rated to remove air-borne contaminants down to 1 micron.)

During the week, the air filters are not in use, and the Sanctuary air reading averaged around 20 ppm (parts per million). When we opened the Church up early last Sunday morning, the level was still at a relatively low . We turned on the Sanctuary air filters, and then watched that level steadily decrease, except for when we were singing hymns, when it briefly increased a few points before resuming its steady decrease down to 1 ppm.

At the end of the worship service, the reading was just 1 ppm, so our air filters are definitely doing their job of effectively scrubbing our air!

It’s always nice to get a confirmation that we are on the right track!

Since our objective is to reduce any air-borne COVID-19 virus (or cold or flu viruses) exhaled by an infected person during a worship service, we are definitely protecting our folks as best we can.

Our thanks to our dedicated Trustees for tirelessly working during the COVID-19 pandemic to help protect anyone who comes through our doors.

Central Church

Oct 28

Finding Common Ground – My So-What Testimony

Key Bible Verse: I want to find a way to make the Jews want what you Gentiles have, and … save some of them. – Romans 11:14

Bonus Reading: Psalm 71:15-16

During the first week of school, a freshman, David, attended one of our meetings because a friend invited him. But he said he didn’t see what difference some guy’s martyrdom thousands of years ago made in his life today.

So instead of dwelling on the “content” of the gospel, I focused on how being a Christian helps me now. I sense a purpose and meaning to life, I said, I never feel alone, and—because I feel accepted by God—more willingly accept other people.

Being a Christian, I added, makes my marriage better, gives me a clear conscience, and fills me with optimism and hope. Then I changed the subject and asked how he was adjusting to our big urban campus.

He seemed lost. His rambling answer disclosed that he’d made few friends, liked classical music, and hated cafeteria food.

I told him that I’d been a music major in my undergrad days. We talked about Debussy and Dvorak, and how students could get free tickets for on-campus concerts. Then I invited him to play volleyball with us the next night to meet people, eat watermelon, and have fun.

David came and then, shortly thereafter, started attending a student-led Bible study in a dorm.

—Randy Newman in Questioning Evangelism

My Response: How could I share my life with another so as to create thirst for the abundant life Jesus offers?

Thought to Apply: How many people have you made homesick for God?—Oswald Chambers (British teacher)

Adapted from Questioning Evangelism (Kregel, 2004)

Prayer for the Week: Teach me, Lord, how to live the gospel naturally among those that You care deeply about.

Oct 27

Finding Common Ground – Admit You Need Help

Key Bible Verse: Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone so that I might bring them to Christ. – 1 Corinthians 9:22

Bonus Reading: 1 Corinthians 9:20-23

How can you compensate for your weaknesses and get to know your neighbors better in the process? Ask for help!

I often begin projects without knowing how they’ll end. I experiment and learn as I go.

This usually works, but when I started to build a go-cart out of a cast-off riding lawnmower, I was soon in over my head. So I invited a technically proficient neighbor to help me, and we had fun for four hours. During that time, he also shared several deep concerns.

Another time, when Amanda and I lived in a two-bedroom apartment, friends of ours from college days, Paul and Tina, arrived for a visit in an old car with worn-out brakes. I volunteered to help Paul replace them. We pulled off a wheel and began removing springs and other brake parts, but soon I knew we were in trouble.

“Hey,” I called out to a man walking by, “you know anything about brakes?”

He hesitated and then grinned. “A little bit.” He passed along a few pointers and gave me his apartment number in the adjoining complex.

That simple conversation developed into a relationship with him and his wife that lasted almost 25 years. And he became a Christian!

—Stephen Sorenson in Like Your Neighbor

My Response: How could being vulnerable help me connect with a neighbor?

Thought to Apply: The Holy Spirit can’t save seats or saints. If we don’t know any non-Christians, how can we introduce them to the Savior?—Paul Little (evangelist)

Adapted from Like Your Neighbor (InterVarsity, 2005)

Prayer for the Week: Teach me, Lord, how to live the gospel naturally among those that You care deeply about.

Oct 26

Finding Common Ground – Share-Wear

Key Bible Verse: We would rather put up with anything than put an obstacle in the way of the Good News about Christ. – 1 Corinthians 9:12

Bonus Reading: Matthew 4:18-20

In the summer of 2005, as part of National Trails Day, a few friends and I helped build a trail on Davidson Mesa, overlooking the city of Boulder, Colorado. I wore a T-shirt with a picture of Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz, who was tragically killed in a bizarre murder a few years back.

One of the guys pushing wheelbarrows up and down hills with me saw my shirt and asked me about it. He had wrestled in college, and when I told him I was a grappler, as were both my boys, we became fast friends over this common ground.

During the day we joked around and even locked up once or twice. By the end of the day, I was able to speak about some of my passions—engaging the church’s needs and sharing dreams for the community. He responded by telling me he was on the board of a large human-service agency that was looking for ways to engage the faith community in its work. Imagine that!

How different it may have been had I worn a T-shirt with “His Pain, Your Gain” or a hat with “WWJD.” It would have been hard to get someone to look me in the eye.

—Eric Swanson in Living a Life on Loan

My Response: How could I become more likeable and accessible to non-Christians I encounter?

Thought to Apply: Witnessing is removing the various barriers of our self-love to allow Christ, living within us, to show Himself to our neighbors.—Paul Frost (writer)

Adapted from Living a Life on Loan (NavPress, 1978)

Prayer for the Week: Teach me, Lord, how to live the gospel naturally among those that You care deeply about.

Oct 25

Finding Common Ground – People, Not Projects

Key Bible Verse: “And I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him [Zacchaeus] who are lost.” – Luke 19:10

Bonus Reading: Luke 19:1-10

At an evangelism conference session I led, a man asked, “What do I do if I’m trying to reach out to someone, but have little in common with him? Actually,” he added, “I don’t really enjoy being with him.”

“If this person never came to faith in Jesus,” I asked, “would you still be his friend? … still hang out with him?”

The man swallowed hard and said, “I’m not sure I’d still connect with him if I wasn’t trying to win him to Christ.”

I encouraged the man to consider stepping away from this person for a time and praying for his own heart to change. When we reach out to people out of guilt or duty, they’ll smell it and know that we see them as a chore on our checklist of things to do. When we make people our personal outreach projects without really loving them, we may actually push them away from Jesus.

However, when we walk with people on their spiritual journey because the love of God overflows in our hearts and because we see them through the eyes of Jesus—this is powerful. People outside of the family will know they’re loved by God long before they enter a relationship with Jesus.

—Kevin Harney in Seismic Shifts

My Response: You have placed _____ in my life. I’ll commit to care about and spend time with him.

Thought to Apply: We must know people—like, enjoy, and take trouble for them—before it may even be right to speak to them about spiritual matters. —Sam Shoemaker

Adapted from Seismic Shifts (Zondervan, 2005)

Prayer for the Week: Teach me, Lord, how to live the gospel naturally among those that You care deeply about.

Oct 24

Finding Common Ground – Running Encounter

Key Bible Verse: “I have come to call sinners to turn from their sins, not to spend my time with those who think they are already good enough.” – Luke 5:32

Bonus Reading: Luke 5:27-32

Norm Wakefield, author and professor at Phoenix Seminary, led a home church back in the ’80s, when it was generally unthinkable to skip Sunday morning services. The group met for worship on Sunday nights instead.

They found that it didn’t usually work to invite people to a service on Sunday mornings, because that was likely their morning to sleep in, go running, and hang out at the bagel shop. For most, dressing up and going to church didn’t provide a suitable alternative to this favorite time of week.

So Norm’s small “congregation” spent Sunday mornings running together and going to bagel shops for coffee. They would invite their friends to come with them to worship, and the response was amazing.

They didn’t look at their friends as projects. They just genuinely cared, got involved in their lives, and built relationships. As a natural result, the Sunday morning connection time brought more people to faith than most churches see in a year of services.

Of course, they had to put up with criticism from churches that thought it was improper to skip church on Sunday morning—that form was more important than function.

—Mike Bechtle in Evangelism for the Rest of Us

My Response: What, besides church, could I invite an unchurched friend to share with me?

Adapted from Evangelism for the Rest of Us (Baker, 2006)

Prayer for the Week: Teach me, Lord, how to live the gospel naturally among those that You care deeply about.

Oct 23

Central Church – Online Worship Service – The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost – 10-23-2022

On this warm, sunny 20th Sunday after Pentecost, when the coronavirus prevents many of us from gathering in Central Church’s Sanctuary to worship in body, let us join together in spirit with our online worship service.

Today’s online worship service includes a favorite HYMN with lyrics so you can sing along!

Our prior online worship services are available in our online library, and can be viewed on demand, and be sure to join us in worship, either online or in person, every week!

AND…

Both the video on Facebook and the video on YouTube now have closed captions (if you turn them on) so you can read along with the spoken words during the service!
- To activate captions in Facebook, click on the Settings “gear” symbol in the bottom right corner of the image, and then click on the “Off” button to change it to “On” for “Auto-Generated Captions”.
- To activate captions in YouTube, click on the “CC” icon in the lower right corner of the image to toggle captions On and Off.
  - A brief comment on our new closed caption capability – The closed captions on our videos use voice-recognition software similar to that used on Television broadcasts, and with similar accuracy! Sometimes, the captions are not entirely accurate, so if you read something incongruous, back up the video a few seconds and listen carefully for what is actually being said.
  - Also, it takes a while to generate the captions after the videos are published, so if the captions are not available immediately after the video is published, just check back a little later.

- Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1485392661963666
- YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LziX6IeJoHc

(If the video doesn’t come up after clicking on the link, just copy and paste the address into your browser search bar.)

Central Church

Oct 23

Finding Common Ground – Where’s the Bait

Who Said It…Mike Bechtle

Mike Bechtle has taught more than 2,000 time- and life-management seminars, many for Fortune 500 companies. He’s been speaking at conventions and churches since 1974.

He and his wife, Diane, serve as mentors to a young married couples class at the First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton, California. Mike’s doctorate is in higher and adult education from Arizona State University. He also has a degree from Talbot School of Theology.

What He Said…Where’s the Bait?

If your goal is to catch fish, you could put a hook on the line, hold it about a foot above the water, and call, “C’mon, fish. Here, fish. Come and get it.”

But you’d get no results because you’re trying to get the fish to leave the environment in which he can breathe. And there’s no worm or bug on the hook. You need to put something the fish likes on the hook and place it in the water. It’s not your job to beat the fish with the bait. If he’s hungry, he’ll notice the bait and check it out.

It’s important to go where those who need Christ live, rubbing shoulders with them. That’s why a university professor and his wife have become actively engaged in an animal rescue group—an area where they have personal passion—and get to build real, caring relationships with people who might not be interested in coming to church.

The personal transformation we may be undergoing will be ineffective for evangelism if we’re not close enough for anyone to see it.

Adapted from Evangelism for the Rest of Us (Baker, 2006)

Prayer for the Week: Teach me, Lord, how to live the gospel naturally among those that You care deeply about.

Oct 22

Look for That Silver Lining – Trust in God

The prisoner Paul, having appealed to Caesar, was transferred by ship from Caesarea to Rome. There, according to Acts 28:16, he “was permitted to have his own private lodging, though he was guarded by a soldier.”

Able to receive visitors, he boldly witnessed and taught about Jesus. The final sentence of the Book of Acts observes, “And no one tried to stop him.”

Interact with God’s Word

Philippians 1:12-18

What reversals (see Acts 21:15-28:6) are included in Paul’s “everything that has happened to me” (v. 12)?
How would most unjustly imprisoned persons react: Give up? … Turn bitter?
Do you think God planned Paul’s imprisonment to penetrate the center of Roman political power?
Who did Paul regard (v. 13) as his “captive” audience?
How do we know his witness to them was effective (see Philippians 4:22)?
What benefits from his confinement (v. 14) did Paul see for believers?
How did Paul react (vv. 15-18) to those taking advantage of his custody?
When have you seen God snatch ultimate good from apparent tragedy?
What’s at center stage in your life? … Achieving personal comfort? … Contributing to gospel advance?

Spend Time in Prayer: Ask God for the ability to trust Him to use apparent setbacks in your life for your growth in discipleship, and for the advancement of His kingdom.

Philippians 1:12-18

12 And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. 13 For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. 14 And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear.

15 It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. 16 They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News.

17 Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. 18 But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.

Prayer for the Week: Help me, Lord, not to fret or fume about troubles, but to accept them as part of Your plan for the ultimate good of Your kingdom—and me.

Oct 21

COVID-19 – Beaver County Metrics – 10-21-2022

COVID-19 Integrated County View:

Here are the weekly COVID-19 statistics for Beaver County, PA as of October 21, 2022, showing Beaver County continuing in the HIGH category.

The Incidence Rate increased from 90.8 to 101.2 (an increase of 10.4, or 11.4%) in the HIGH category for the seventeenth consecutive week.

The PCR Positivity Rate decreased from 17.0 to 18.9, in the HIGH category.

(Allegheny County’s figures remained in the HIGH category during the past week, at 78.1 and 10.9%.)

The new “COVID-19 COMMUNITY LEVEL” index:

This new index is in addition to the CDC’s “COVID-19 Integrated County View” which they continue to publish each week.

CDC-Recommended actions when in the HIGH level:

Wear a mask indoors in public and on public transportation.
Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines.
Get tested if you have symptoms.
If you are at high risk for severe illness, consider taking additional precautions.

At Central Church, in order to look out for our older folks, as well as the unvaccinated or immunocompromised, we are continuing to look to the CDC’s“COVID-19 Integrated County View” to evaluate which protective measures and protocols that we should observe to protect all of the folks who come through our doors for in-person worship or for other reasons, such as to participate in our community feeding ministry outreach.

Small Group Meetings (Sunday School, AA, other meetings):

The current guidance on when and how gatherings can take place is based upon the threshold of infection rate.

For Indoor meetings/Sunday School to resume, the 7-day average of daily cases for gatherings that include unvaccinated folks should be:

- 1.5-2.0 – for everyone except those at high risk; and
- Less than 1.0 for those at high risk.
- Our current level is 14.4, so resuming small group meetings may not be feasible for the immediate future.

As the pandemic continues, we are continuing our efforts to:

Disinfect Central Church prior to every worship service and feeding ministry event using EPA-registered products in compliance with CDC standards to kill germs and reduce the risk of spreading infection, and in compliance with EPA criteria for use against SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19; and

We have significantly expanded our new medical-grade HEPA-13 air filtration equipment in our Sanctuary, which is rated to remove COVID-19 from the air, which now provides 10.7 complete air changes every hour in our Sanctuary (every 6 minutes)!
In addition, our Parlor, Church Office, Pastor’s Office, UMYF Meeting Room, Fellowship Hall, and Nursery all offer even higher levels of air changes per hour using HEPA-13 or HEPA-14 filtration.
(5 air changes per hour is the EPA’s general recommended standard, and the EPA now recommends 8-15 air changes per hour in Churches. )

Air Filtering at Central Church – The Latest Measurements

Here is some good news!

We have had our Sanctuary air filters in place for some time now to reduce our potential COVID-19 exposure during worship services.

Our Trustees have been curious about how effectively they are scrubbing the Sanctuary air for us, so they placed an air filter meter it in the Sanctuary last week to see what our readings would be.

During the week, the air filters are not in use, and the Sanctuary air reading averaged around 20 ppm (parts per million). When we opened the Church up early last Sunday morning, the level was still at a relatively low . We turned on the Sanctuary air filters, and then watched that level steadily decrease, except for when we were singing hymns, when it briefly increased a few points before resuming its steady decrease down to 1 ppm.

At the end of the worship service, the reading was just 1 ppm, so our air filters are definitely doing their job of effectively scrubbing our air!

It’s always nice to get a confirmation that we are on the right track!

Since our objective is to reduce any air-borne COVID-19 virus (or cold or flu viruses) exhaled by an infected person during a worship service, we are definitely protecting our folks as best we can.

Our thanks to our dedicated Trustees for tirelessly working during the COVID-19 pandemic to help protect anyone who comes through our doors.

Central Church

Oct 21

Look for That Silver Lining – “Mad Dogs and Englishmen”

Key Bible Verse: Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. – James 1:2

Bonus Reading: Hebrews 12:1-4

Oswald Chambers, author of the devotional My Utmost for His Highest, served as a chaplain to British troops in Egypt during World War I.

The sweltering heat of the midday could reach 130 degrees Fahrenheit inside a tent. But with no shade to protect from the scorching sun, inside was the better option. Add to this the threat of malaria, and the thousands of flies hatched in the waste of horses, and it’s easy to understand why serving in this area of the war was hated by virtually every soldier.

Chambers, on the other hand, found that miserable place a blessing. He was constantly busy serving the spiritual and physical needs of the troops. His diary frequently recorded fits of exuberance. How could Chambers’s experience be so different from that of the others stationed there? Oswald knew the holy Lord of glory, and trusted in His ability to bring good out of evil.

In Christ, God turned the evil act of crucifying an entirely innocent man into something life-saving and redeeming. We must begin to cultivate this outlook in our own lives so that we no longer see suffering as an evil to be avoided, but something to be expected, necessary, and, yes, even a joy-producing privilege.

—Victor Kuligin in Ten Things I Wish Jesus Never Said

My Response: Is my outlook dependent on, or independent of, my circumstances?

Thought to Apply: Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.—Rudyard Kipling (English writer born in India)

Adapted from Ten Things I Wish Jesus Never Said (Baker, 2005)

Prayer for the Week: Help me, Lord, not to fret or fume about troubles, but to accept them as part of Your plan for the ultimate good of Your kingdom—and me.

Oct 20

Look for That Silver Lining – Doubly Displaced

Key Bible Verse: Everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. – Philippians 1:12

Bonus Reading: Philippians 1:13-18

In the 1930s, thousands fled what is now North Korea as the Japanese invaded. Many settled around Vladivostok.

When Joseph Stalin began developing a weapons manufacturing center there, he deemed the Koreans a security risk. So he relocated them in five areas around the Soviet Union.

One was Tashkent, hub of the 20-million-strong Uzbek people. The staunchly Muslim Uzbeks had for centuries violently resisted any efforts to introduce Christianity. But the Uzbeks welcomed the Koreans for their industry and kindness. Within a few decades, they were included in all facets of Uzbek cultural life.

In His orchestration of global events, God had planted strong pockets of believers among these transplants. Little did Stalin suspect that revival would sweep through the Koreans, and that their Uzbek and Kazak friends would begin coming to Christ.

The first public sign of the breakthrough came on June 2, 1990, when a young Korean from America preached to a swelling crowd in the streets of Alma-Ata, capital of Kazakhstan. Whole Uzbek villages were converted to Christ in the wake of the first open-air Christian meeting in the history of Soviet Central Asia.

—Bill & Amy Stearns in Catch the Vision 2000

My Response: Can I welcome upheaval in my life to benefit God’s greater kingdom?

Thought to Apply: There’s nothing written in the Bible that says if you believe in Me, you ain’t going to have no troubles.—Ray Charles (singer)

Adapted from Catch the Vision 2000 (Bethany, 1991)

Prayer for the Week: Help me, Lord, not to fret or fume about troubles, but to accept them as part of Your plan for the ultimate good of Your kingdom—and me.

Oct 19

Look for That Silver Lining – Eviction Notice

Key Bible Verse: God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. – Romans 8:28

Bonus Reading: Isaiah 42:16

For the first nine months of 1996, with attendance averaging 25, the group I pastored—National Community Church—met in a public school.

Then the person in charge of leasing the DC schools left a voicemail: Due to fire code violations, the school we met in was being closed. We were about to become a homeless church! On September 27 I wrote in my journal, “I feel like we’ve been backed into a corner.”

We explored rental options on Capitol Hill. Only one door opened: the movie theaters at Union Station. Looking back, I can’t imagine a more strategic location. More than 25 million people pass through the station every year. It’s served by a subway system, bus stop, and parking garage. There are 40 food-court restaurants right outside our theater marquee.

God perfectly positioned us. Now, doing church in the middle of the marketplace is part of our DNA. Our long-term vision is to meet in movie theaters at metro stops throughout the DC area. But it took a setback—a 500-pound opportunity disguised as a daunting problem—to get us where God wanted us to go.

—Mark Batterson in In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day

My Response: Could a setback I’m facing be reframed as an opportunity?

Thought to Apply: Often God has to shut a door in our face so that He can subsequently open the door through which He wants us to go.—Catherine Marshall (author)

Adapted from In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day (Multnomah, 2006)

Prayer for the Week: Help me, Lord, not to fret or fume about troubles, but to accept them as part of Your plan for the ultimate good of Your kingdom—and me.

Oct 18

Look for That Silver Lining – Taking It on the Chin

Key Bible Verse: “You will be dragged into synagogues and prisons, and you will be accused before kings and governors of being my followers. This will be your opportunity to tell them about me.” – Luke 21:12-13

Bonus Reading: Matthew 5:10-11

Perspective is essential for a person to endure personally directed hostility. You must see this event as part of a larger picture.

Russian Jewish believer Boris Fishbein tells of an incident in downtown Kiev as he was distributing gospel literature.

“A tall guy asked me, ‘Are you Jewish?’

“I answered, ‘Yes.’

“‘Who do you believe in?’ he asked.

“I replied, ‘Jesus is my God.’

“‘And I believe in Perun (a Ukrainian pagan god),’ he replied. Then he spat at me and hit me hard on the jaw.

“It hurt. There was darkness in my eyes. When I came around, he was gone, but another young man, Vadim, was standing nearby.

Vadim had observed the whole encounter and asked me, ‘Why did he hit you so hard?’

This seeking person stopped to talk to me because he witnessed another’s ill will. Vadim later prayed with me to receive Christ into his heart. In a sense, the blow on my jaw brought about good results.”

For Boris, the pain he endured was only a small part of a great story of a man’s redemption.

—Susan Perlman in World Pulse

My Response: When has a personal reversal created an opening for the gospel?

Thought to Apply: Jesus did not come to explain away suffering or remove it. He came to fill it with His presence.—PAUL CLAUDE (French diplomat, author, playwright)

Adapted from World Pulse (8/9/02)

Prayer for the Week: Help me, Lord, not to fret or fume about troubles, but to accept them as part of Your plan for the ultimate good of Your kingdom—and me.

Oct 17

Look for That Silver Lining – Lucky Break

Key Bible Verse: We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us. – Romans 5:3

Bonus Reading: Romans 5:2-5

In high school I’d tried for years to dunk a basketball. It was my holy grail. Ironically, it took a broken ankle for me to first achieve that goal.

As a sophomore, I was just running down the court in one of our drills, and tripped over a line on the floor. I spent the next month in a cast, and remember questioning God. After all, He could have kept it from happening.

Here’s what did happen. That semester my classes seemed to alternate between the top and bottom floors of our three-floor high school. So after every period I was hopping up and down flights of stairs like a human pogo stick. When you’re injured in one place, you’ve got to draw more strength from somewhere else.

In a process called remodeling, my right leg grew stronger to compensate for my broken left ankle. The brokenness actually increased my capacity. I dunked my first basketball while wearing a cast!

Like a broken bone that needs to be reset, God breaks us where we need to be broken. He fractures the pride and lust and anger in our lives, but He does it to remodel us into His image. And once we heal, we end up stronger than we were to begin with.

—Mark Batterson in In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day

My Response: Where have I been broken? How may God be increasing my capacity?

Adapted from In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day (Multnomah, 2006)

Prayer for the Week: Help me, Lord, not to fret or fume about troubles, but to accept them as part of Your plan for the ultimate good of Your kingdom—and me.

Oct 16

Central Church – Online Worship Service – The Ninteenth Sunday after Pentecost – 10-16-2022

On this warm, sunny 19th Sunday after Pentecost, when the coronavirus prevents many of us from gathering in Central Church’s Sanctuary to worship in body, let us join together in spirit with our online worship service.

Today’s online worship service includes a favorite HYMN with lyrics so you can sing along!

Our prior online worship services are available in our online library, and can be viewed on demand, and be sure to join us in worship, either online or in person, every week!

AND…

Both the video on Facebook and the video on YouTube now have closed captions (if you turn them on) so you can read along with the spoken words during the service!
- To activate captions in Facebook, click on the Settings “gear” symbol in the bottom right corner of the image, and then click on the “Off” button to change it to “On” for “Auto-Generated Captions”.
- To activate captions in YouTube, click on the “CC” icon in the lower right corner of the image to toggle captions On and Off.
  - A brief comment on our new closed caption capability – The closed captions on our videos use voice-recognition software similar to that used on Television broadcasts, and with similar accuracy! Sometimes, the captions are not entirely accurate, so if you read something incongruous, back up the video a few seconds and listen carefully for what is actually being said.
  - Also, it takes a while to generate the captions after the videos are published, so if the captions are not available immediately after the video is published, just check back a little later.

- Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=838020537207345
- YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBLxE_2isCU

(If the video doesn’t come up after clicking on the link, just copy and paste the address into your browser search bar.)

Central Church

Oct 16

Look for That Silver Lining – From Struggle to Struggle

Who Said It…Dave Burchett

Dave Burchett is an Emmy Award winning television sports director for Fox Sports, ESPN, and Jefferson Pilot Sports. For over 20 years, Dave has directed telecasts of Southwestern Conference basketball and Texas Rangers baseball. Highlights: televising a Nolan Ryan no-hit game and his 300th win. Dave is also an author and speaker. He and his wife, Joni, have three grown sons. They are former staff members of Campus Crusade’s Athletes in Action.

What He Said…From Struggle to Strength

God gave me the privilege of being wounded early in life. My struggles as an overweight, geeky, and generally outcast adolescent molded my heart to empathize with those hurt and ostracized by their peers.

Had I been the coolest guy, the best athlete, or the most handsome dude, I most likely wouldn’t have developed a sensitive spirit to others. So God gave me the opportunity to develop a heart of compassion for wounded others.

I didn’t enjoy that period of my life. I’d have given anything to be one of the popular kids—to be the starting quarterback or big man on campus.

But with the benefit of hindsight, I’m grateful for every refining difficulty and problem I’ve experienced. Such a dramatic change in attitude came over time, through growth in my relationship with Jesus and my trust in the truth of His promises.

Had I been freed of the burden of my tough teenage passage, I wouldn’t be who I am today.

Adapted from Bring Em Back Alive (WaterBrook, 2004)

Prayer for the Week: Help me, Lord, not to fret or fume about troubles, but to accept them as part of Your plan for the ultimate good of Your kingdom—and me.

Oct 15

Liberated Words – Godly Communication

One of the themes that Paul stresses in his letter to the Ephesians is that Christ-followers make up one family.

Because God through Christ paid our penalty for sin and forgave us, we’ve been reconciled—brought near to him.

We’re a new society. Being united with Christ means we’re to treat one another as family members and live in harmony with each other.

Interact with God’s Word: Ephesians 4:23-32

When you became a new person in Christ (v. 24) were your thoughts and attitudes renewed overnight? How would you describe the transformation process?
Why (v. 25) is transparent honesty essential to building mutual trust?
Does the way you deal with your anger (vv. 26-27) undermine relationships? How could you harness it for constructive results?
How can you shape your conversations (v. 29) to make them “good and helpful” to others?
How can you be alert to the other person’s need and choose your words to challenge or encourage him?
How can you create appropriate occasions for constructive dialogue?
What self-serving talk of yours (v. 30) has grieved the Lord and others? How can the damage be patched up?
Has realizing the extent of God’s forgiveness (v. 32) made you more ready to extend forgiveness to others?

Spend Time in Prayer: Ask God to help you speak as his ambassador in all your interactions, expressing more of his agenda for humankind and less of what vindicates you.

Ephesians 4:23-32

23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. 26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. 29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Adapted from Adapted from Relationships: A Mess Worth Making (New Growth Press, 2006)

Prayer for the Week: Teach me, Lord, to stop using my words selfishly and instead shape them to help advance your kingdom.

Oct 14

Liberated Words – Consider the Process

Key Bible Verse: Only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God … – Ephesians 4:29-30 NIV

Bonus Reading: Proverbs 15:4, 23; 16:21, 23-24

Ambassadorial communication isn’t just about the content of our words, but delivering them in a manner that will “benefit those who listen.”

We often choose to say the right thing in the wrong way or at the wrong time. Confronting a teenager five minutes before she leaves for school isn’t helpful, even if the content is accurate.

Rebuking a friend for an offense in front of others isn’t helpful. Asking your wife to consider how she hurt you as she’s trying to get to sleep isn’t helpful.

Paul’s practical model to guide our words ends with: “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit.” When you and I speak as mini-kings to get our own way, not only do we hurt and grieve other people, we also grieve the Lord.

Our relationships have been designed as workrooms for redemption, not shelters for human happiness. If we’re ever going to give grace when we talk, we need grace to free us from our bondage to ourselves.

—Tim Lane & Paul Tripp in Relationships: A Mess Worth Making

My Response: I’ll ask God to use my words today to be redemptively constructive in someone’s life.

Thought to Apply: Not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.—George Sala (English journalist)

Adapted from Adapted from Relationships: A Mess Worth Making (New Growth Press, 2006)

Prayer for the Week: Teach me, Lord, to stop using my words selfishly and instead shape them to help advance your kingdom.

Oct 13

Liberated Words – Consider the Problem

Key Bible Verse: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs. – Ephesians 4:29 NIV

Bonus Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:14-6:1

Every word an ambassador speaks is directed by the king’s interest and will. What we say must be driven by what God is seeking to accomplish in us and in the other person. God is intent on reconciliation.

He is working in every situation and relationship to reclaim our wandering hearts. He wants to make us people who are more interested in what he wants for us than what we want for ourselves. He won’t relent until we are free from our slavery to an agenda of personal happiness.

God is calling us to speak in a way that has his reconciliation agenda in view. When we do, we can be confident that our words will produce a harvest of comfort, encouragement, hope, insight, unity, and joy, and that they will stimulate love.

An ambassador is always asking, “What is the problem at this moment?”

Before I speak, I must think about what you are struggling with and what you most need. Do you need encouragement, comfort, hope, direction, wisdom, courage, rebuke, warning, forgiveness, patience, teaching, correction, thanks, insight, a job description, or something else? An ambassador’s words always address the person’s true need of the moment.

—Tim Lane & Paul Tripp in Relationships: A Mess Worth Making

My Response: Today I’ll shape my words to meet ____ at his/her current need.

Thought to Apply: Good words are worth much and cost little. —George Herbert (English cleric & author)

Adapted from Adapted from Relationships: A Mess Worth Making (New Growth Press, 2006)

Prayer for the Week: Teach me, Lord, to stop using my words selfishly and instead shape them to help advance your kingdom.

Oct 12

Liberated Words – Consider the Person

Key Bible Verse: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up … – Ephesians 4:29 NIV

Bonus Reading: Romans 15:2-3

The friendship of a couple I knew was amazing. They were able to say the toughest things to each other, things that are hard both to say and to hear, yet they could say them with love. They seemed to avoid self-serving flattery and unloving criticism. They didn’t trim the truth with one another yet said what needed to be said in the best possible way.

I was impressed by their enormous respect for each other, how easily their communication flowed, and how readily they seemed to listen to the other.

Wholesome communication is other-centered communication. Paul says I should never say anything to you that is not helpful for you. Since God is focused on remaking you into his image, I should speak in a way that builds you up. This is not just a matter of what I say but how I say it.

I now have a redemptive agenda for talking about everything. I want all of our talk to be redemptively constructive, from the most mundane details to the huge life decisions. I never want my words to be an obstacle to the work God is doing. The words of an ambassador are always other- centered.

—Tim Lane & Paul Tripp in Relationships: A Mess Worth Making

My Response: Today I’ll work at making my listening and responding less me-centered, more you-centered.

Thought to Apply: Apt words have power to assuage the tumors of the troubled mind.—John Milton (English poet)

Adapted from Adapted from Relationships: A Mess Worth Making (New Growth Press, 2006)

Prayer for the Week: Teach me, Lord, to stop using my words selfishly and instead shape them to help advance your kingdom.

Oct 11

Liberated Words – A Mini-King or an Ambassador?

Key Bible Verse: He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him. … We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. – 2 Corinthians 5:15, 20 NIV

Bonus Reading: Romans 14:7-9

A mini-king is always seeking to establish his will rather than submit to God’s will. He flatters his friend because he wants to be liked. He trims the truth to avoid conflict. He yells at his child about his messy room. Winning an argument is all he cares about.

There’s no end to the battle of words when two mini-kings talk to each other! His words reflect the self-focused desires of his heart rather than God’s work of reconciliation.

An ambassador, on the other hand, is seeking to be part of what the King is doing. He does one thing only—represent. Every word he speaks is directed by the king’s interests and will. What he says is driven by what God is seeking to accomplish in him and in the other person.

Does that mean that an ambassador quotes Scripture incessantly or constantly points out the sin in others? Does it mean he can never talk about sports, the weather, or family schedules? Speaking as an ambassador isn’t about using biblical words; it’s about speaking with a biblical agenda.

—Tim Lane & Paul Tripp in Relationships: A Mess Worth Making

My Response: A self-promoting spin on my words that I should abandon is …

Thought to Apply: What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. —Westminster Shorter Catechism

Adapted from Adapted from Relationships: A Mess Worth Making (New Growth Press, 2006)

Prayer for the Week: Teach me, Lord, to stop using my words selfishly and instead shape them to help advance your kingdom.

Oct 10

Liberated Words – “Everyday” Doesn’t Mean “Insignificant”

Key Bible Verse: “What you say flows from what is in your heart.” – Luke 6:45

Bonus Reading: Matthew 12:33-37

Your everyday communication influences the shape, quality, and direction of your relationships. Every day your words give your relationships their tone.

Every day you tell people what you think of them, what you want from them, and what you’d like to enjoy with them.

But you don’t do this in grand moments of oratory. You do it in quick side comments in the bedroom as you get ready for work, at the curb as you hop into your car, in the kitchen as you grab a sandwich, over dessert at the local bistro, or in the family room during a commercial.

Because our talk lives in the world of the ordinary, it’s easy to forget its true significance. It’s easy to forget the impact our words have on every relationship.

There has never been a good relationship without good communication. And there has never been a bad relationship that didn’t get that way in part because of something that was said.

Our ability to express ourselves verbally is anything but ordinary. It gets right to the heart of who God made us as our Creator, and how he is remaking us as our Savior. The Bible can help you diagnose where you are in your talk and how to get where you need to be.

—Tim Lane & Paul Tripp in Relationships: A Mess Worth Making

My Response: A recent casual comment of mine that threatened a relationship was …

Adapted from Adapted from Relationships: A Mess Worth Making (New Growth Press, 2006)

Prayer for the Week: Teach me, Lord, to stop using my words selfishly and instead shape them to help advance your kingdom.

Oct 9

Central Church – Online Worship Service – The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost – 10-9-2022

On this frosty 18th Sunday after Pentecost, when the coronavirus prevents many of us from gathering in Central Church’s Sanctuary to worship in body, let us join together in spirit with our online worship service.

Today’s online worship service includes a favorite HYMN with lyrics so you can sing along!

Our prior online worship services are available in our online library, and can be viewed on demand, and be sure to join us in worship, either online or in person, every week!

AND…

Both the video on Facebook and the video on YouTube now have closed captions (if you turn them on) so you can read along with the spoken words during the service!
- To activate captions in Facebook, click on the Settings “gear” symbol in the bottom right corner of the image, and then click on the “Off” button to change it to “On” for “Auto-Generated Captions”.
- To activate captions in YouTube, click on the “CC” icon in the lower right corner of the image to toggle captions On and Off.
  - A brief comment on our new closed caption capability – The closed captions on our videos use voice-recognition software similar to that used on Television broadcasts, and with similar accuracy! Sometimes, the captions are not entirely accurate, so if you read something incongruous, back up the video a few seconds and listen carefully for what is actually being said.
  - Also, it takes a while to generate the captions after the videos are published, so if the captions are not available immediately after the video is published, just check back a little later.

- Facebook –https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=766252718002431
- YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig2gmAvNy7A

(If the video doesn’t come up after clicking on the link, just copy and paste the address into your browser search bar.)

Central Church

Oct 9

Liberated Words – Word Problems Are Heart Problems

Who Said It … Tim Lane and Paul Tripp

Tim Lane and Paul Tripp work together as counselors at the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation in Glenside, PA. They lead church-based counseling training courses and also lecture at Westminster Theological Seminary.

Both men were previously pastors—Tim in Clemson, SC, and Paul in Scranton, PA. Books they’ve co-authored are How People Change and Relationships: A Mess Worth Making.

What He Said … Word Problems Are Heart Problems

Did you ever say, “Oops, I didn’t mean to say that!”

Would it have been more accurate to say, “I’m sorry I said what I meant”?

Proverbs tells us that “the tongue can kill or nourish life” (Proverbs 18:21). Jesus said that what a person says is an “overflow of his heart.”

You stain your relationships with thoughtless words as you gossip on the phone. You turn the gift of words into a weapon as you criticize your wife at dinner or publicly mock a friend. If the thought, attitude, desire, emotion, or purpose hadn’t been in your heart, it wouldn’t have come out of your mouth.

Sometimes we all put our feet in our mouths. But our problem with words isn’t primarily a matter of vocabulary, skill, or timing.

Christ asks us to own the connection between our thoughts, desires, and words. Our real communication problem—what we want to say and why we want to say it—is shaped by the heart. So if we hope to transform the way we talk with one another, the heart must change first.

Adapted from Adapted from Relationships: A Mess Worth Making (New Growth Press, 2006)

Prayer for the Week: Teach me, Lord, to stop using my words selfishly and instead shape them to help advance your kingdom.

Oct 8

Kick-Off of Our Parsonage Garage Replacement Project!

After 102 years of faithful service, our Parsonage garage had finally reached the point where we could no longer repair and maintain it.

The walls were starting to lean in, and the roof had developed many soft spots from over a century of rain and wind, Winter snow, and Summer heat.

Last month, City inspectors confirmed our view that we needed to take action to replace our building before it became a safety issue.

Thankfully, the Trustees had started a fund over 15 years ago to replace the garage, so we were in a position where we could afford, with careful planning, to undertake this project.

Our Trustees promptly solicited bids from every contractor in our area, and this past week, the bulldozers and excavators and work crews arrived to take our old garage to its final resting place in a local landfill.

(We asked them to leave the concrete pad in the South end of the garage since Jim Balmer had installed it in 1984 and it is still in excellent shape.)

Beginning early in the morning on Wednesday, the excavator huffed and puffed, and, by lunchtime, had blown our old house garage down!

As soon as the dump trucks finished hauling the debris away, work immediately began on preparing the site to receive a new concrete pad.

On Friday, the cement truck arrived, and the workers poured, leveled and floated the new concrete until, at the end of the day, we had a new concrete pad.

The new concrete will now slowly cure over the next week or two, after which we hope to be ready to begin construction of our new Parsonage garage!

Stay tuned for our next chapter when construction begins in a few weeks!

Central Church

Oct 8

Weed Out Worry – Eliminate Worry

David wrote this psalm after his own son, Absalom, had staged a coup and had himself crowned king. David and his men (see 2 Samuel 15-19), fled Jerusalem and retreated across the Jordan River.

Eventually, in a battle there, Absalom was killed and his army defeated. David was reinstated as king and returned to his capital.

Interact with God’s Word: Psalm 62:1-8

From ground level (vv. 3-4) how does David describe his situation?
Do you think David feels resentment toward those who’ve placed him in harm’s way?
How does David believe his antagonists evaluate his position?
How does a “bird’s-eye” view (v. 7) alter the equation?
What key conviction about God does David repeat (vv. 1-2 & 5-6) to shore up his own confidence?
What does David see as his appropriate response to this confidence?
Why did David write so many psalms? What is his advice to his people (v. 8) when they face periods of stress?
Do you find that laying out your anxieties before God in prayer releases tensions you’ve been feeling?

Spend Time in Prayer: Ask God to forgive you for worrying and for forgetting how much He loves you and cares for you.

Psalm 62:1-8

1 I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. 2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken. 3 So many enemies against one man—all of them trying to kill me. To them I’m just a broken-down wall or a tottering fence.

4 They plan to topple me from my high position. They delight in telling lies about me. They praise me to my face but curse me in their hearts. 5 Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. 6 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.

7 My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. 8 O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.

Prayer for the Week: You are my hiding place.

Oct 7

COVID-19 – Beaver County Metrics – 10-7-2022

COVID-19 Integrated County View:

Here are the weekly COVID-19 statistics for Beaver County, PA as of October 7, 2022, showing Beaver County continuing in the HIGH category.

The Incidence Rate decreased to 93.3 (a decrease of 32.3, or 25.7%) in the MODERATE category for the first time in eighteen weeks (although our county remains in the HIGH category due to the high PCR Positivity Rate.

The PCR Positivity Rate increased from 14.1 to 14.7, in the HIGH category.

(Allegheny County’s figures moved into the MODERATE category during the past week, moving from 87.3 to 60.8 and from 15.0% to 12.1).

The new “COVID-19 COMMUNITY LEVEL” index:

This new index is in addition to the CDC’s “COVID-19 Integrated County View” which they continue to publish each week.

CDC-Recommended actions when in the HIGH level:

Wear a mask indoors in public and on public transportation.
Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines.
Get tested if you have symptoms.
If you are at high risk for severe illness, consider taking additional precautions.

At Central Church, in order to look out for our older folks, as well as the unvaccinated or immunocompromised, we are continuing to look to the CDC’s“COVID-19 Integrated County View” to evaluate which protective measures and protocols that we should observe to protect all of the folks who come through our doors for in-person worship or for other reasons, such as to participate in our community feeding ministry outreach.

Small Group Meetings (Sunday School, AA, other meetings):

The current guidance on when and how gatherings can take place is based upon the threshold of infection rate.

For Indoor meetings/Sunday School to resume, the 7-day average of daily cases for gatherings that include unvaccinated folks should be:

- 1.5-2.0 – for everyone except those at high risk; and
- Less than 1.0 for those at high risk.
- Our current level is 13.3, so resuming small group meetings may not be feasible for the immediate future.

As the pandemic continues, we are continuing our efforts to:

Disinfect Central Church prior to every worship service and feeding ministry event using EPA-registered products in compliance with CDC standards to kill germs and reduce the risk of spreading infection, and in compliance with EPA criteria for use against SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19; and

We have significantly expanded our new medical-grade HEPA-13 air filtration equipment in our Sanctuary, which is rated to remove COVID-19 from the air, which now provides 10.7 complete air changes every hour in our Sanctuary (every 6 minutes)!
In addition, our Parlor, Church Office, Pastor’s Office, UMYF Meeting Room, Fellowship Hall, and Nursery all offer even higher levels of air changes per hour using HEPA-13 or HEPA-14 filtration.
(5 air changes per hour is the EPA’s general recommended standard, and the EPA now recommends 8-15 air changes per hour in Churches. )

Air Filtering at Central Church – The Latest Measurements

Here is some good news!

We have had our Sanctuary air filters in place for some time now to reduce our potential COVID-19 exposure during worship services.

Our Trustees have been curious about how effectively they are scrubbing the Sanctuary air for us, so they placed an air filter meter it in the Sanctuary last week to see what our readings would be.

During the week, the air filters are not in use, and the Sanctuary air reading averaged around 20 ppm (parts per million). When we opened the Church up early last Sunday morning, the level was still at a relatively low . We turned on the Sanctuary air filters, and then watched that level steadily decrease, except for when we were singing hymns, when it briefly increased a few points before resuming its steady decrease down to 1 ppm.

At the end of the worship service, the reading was just 1 ppm, so our air filters are definitely doing their job of effectively scrubbing our air!

It’s always nice to get a confirmation that we are on the right track!

Since our objective is to reduce any air-borne COVID-19 virus (or cold or flu viruses) exhaled by an infected person during a worship service, we are definitely protecting our folks as best we can.

Our thanks to our dedicated Trustees for tirelessly working during the COVID-19 pandemic to help protect anyone who comes through our doors.

Central Church

Oct 7

Weed Out Worry – Distrustful Thoughts

Key Bible Verse: Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall. – Psalm 55:22

Bonus Reading: Isaiah 8:11-13

One morning as I fretted about an important decision in my life, I took a walk to clear my head. Across a park lawn, I saw a beautiful golden retriever frolicking alongside his loving master.

Oh, I mused, to be as carefree as that dog, to play and run freely, knowing that your master will provide for all your needs.

Even as I thought this, I sensed God’s voice respond to my heart. “Don’t you know that I’m your faithful Master? Don’t you believe that I care for you more than any earthly master could ever care for his dog? You, too, can run free of worry? I’m the good Master. Trust in Me.”

When we worry, we’ve unthinkingly questioned God’s wisdom (that He knows what’s best), His love and goodness (that He cares for us and wants what’s best), and His sovereignty (that He’s able to do what’s best).

I recalled a cowering stray dog a friend of mine had found. Even after she adopted it, the dog trembled each time someone reached to pet it. My friend believes the dog was probably abused by its former owner. When I allow my heart to tremble in anxiety, am I communicating to others that my Master is uncaring and unfaithful?

—Stacey Padrick in Discipleship Journal

My Response: Could my anxiety stem from unbelief or doubt in God’s character?

Thought to Apply: Those who fear God face life fearlessly. Those who do not fear God end up fearing everything.—Richard Halverson (former U.S. Senate chaplain)

Adapted from Discipleship Journal (7-8/00)

Prayer for the Week: You are my hiding place.

Oct 6

Weed Out Worry – Shaky or Sheltered?

Key Bible Verse: Just as the mountains surround and protect Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds and protects his people. – Psalm 125:2

Bonus Reading: Psalm 125:1-5

As a child I walked a mile to school with my two best friends. Along a quarter of that distance was a railway. We always walked on the rails. Each wanted to make it that whole stretch without falling off, but didn’t want the others to similarly succeed. We’d throw things at each other to upset balance, or say things to divert attention, cry out that the train was coming, or announce that there was a dead body in the ditch.

Some have supposed that that’s what Christian living is: teetering and wobbling along a rail, taunted by the devil. With some skill and a lot of luck, we might just make it to heaven, but it’s an uncertain business at best.

Psalm 125 says it’s not that way at all. Being a Christian is like sitting in Jerusalem, fortified and secure. So the last sentence is “Let Israel have quietness and peace.” A colloquial, but in the context accurate, translation would be “Relax.” We’re secure. God is running the show. Neither our feelings of depression nor the facts of suffering are evidence that God has abandoned us. There’s nothing more certain than that He’ll accomplish His salvation in our lives and perfect His will in our histories.

—Eugene Peterson in A Long Obedience in the Same Direction

My Response: How can I factor God’s protection and provision into my outlook?

Thought to Apply: Do you know what the most frequent command in the Bible turns out to be? It is “Fear not. Don’t be afraid.”—N.T. Wright (British theologian)

Adapted from A Long Obedience in the Same Direction (InterVarsity, 1980, 2000)

Prayer for the Week: You are my hiding place.

Oct 5

Weed Out Worry – It’s the Big One

Key Bible Verse: The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. – Psalm 121:5

Bonus Reading: Psalm 121:1-8

One summer we visited Yolanda’s parents in Desert Hot Springs, California, where temperatures hit 119 degrees.

As I began a late-morning run down the street, the dry heat felt invigorating. But after more than two miles of virtually effortless gliding, I decided to turn around and head for the house.

Desert Hot Springs is perched on a 15-degree incline, and my in-laws’ house is near the top. Facing more than two uphill miles in triple-digit heat under a cloudless sky, I ran four blocks, walked one; ran two blocks, walked one; ran 30 feet, walked the rest. By the time I lurched through the front door, I was seeing spots.

An hour after hydrating and a cooling shower, I still felt weak. Yolanda and I left for a drive to Palm Springs, but my anxiety heightened as I drove. Everything seemed dark. I’d never passed out before; was I about to? Was I having a heart attack? An aneurysm? Heat stroke? Glaucoma?

For miles I bravely kept my fears to myself. But after ten minutes of agony, it was too much. I tried to be delicate in notifying Yolanda of my imminent death. “Everything’s going black!” I whimpered. “I don’t know what’s happening!”

She took it well. “Oh, yeah,” she said, “it’s the eclipse.”

—Chris Blake in Searching for a God to Love

My Response: A major worry of mine that proved to be baseless was …

Thought to Apply: Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.—Swedish Proverb

Adapted from Searching for a God to Love (Word, 2000)

Prayer for the Week: You are my hiding place.

Oct 4

Weed Out Worry – Pregame Jitters

Key Bible Verse: “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not!” – Luke 12:25

Bonus Reading: Luke 12:22-26

I look around the locker room and see my players trying to get into the “zone.” I’ve worked hard to get them prepared, but the team has the pregame jitters!

Maybe they think they aren’t as talented as their opponent. Or they lack confidence in the game plan. Maybe they don’t want to look bad in front of all those fans and media. Or they’re nervous that they won’t live up to their own expectations. Whatever, the result is worry and a lack of focus.

All of us who’ve competed know that pit-of-the-stomach feeling. Sometimes we’re not even sure if it’s fear or excitement, whether we should scream or cry. The men around Jesus had the jitters, too. Like us, they had anxiety about everyday life.

But in today’s Bonus Reading, Jesus put the “game” in proper perspective for His followers. He told them that if God takes care of the needs of ravens, He’ll also take care of those worth much more to Him than birds.

Jesus went on to remind His disciples that worrying is wasted energy. Then, in case they were still tempted to worry, He went further, proving God’s faithfulness by willingly taking their sins to the cross!

So why should we worry about our game?

—Michael Hill in Heart of a Coach

My Response: On what can I focus to replace my fears?

Thought to Apply: Worry is like a rocking chair; it gives you something to do, but doesn’t get you anywhere.—Reggie White (football defensive end)

Adapted from Heart of a Coach (Regal, 2005)

Prayer for the Week: You are my hiding place.

Oct 3

Weed Out Worry – Too Vulnerable?

Key Bible Verse: You are my hiding place. – Psalm 32:7; When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. – Psalm 56:3

Bonus Reading: 2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Michael sat on his bed in a rented room in Tucson, Arizona. With guitar in hand and Scriptures open before him, he experimented with setting part of Psalm 32 to song.

At 27, Michael Ledner was on fire for God—but also separated from his wife of nearly ten years, and feeling rejected. Writing “You Are My Hiding Place” in an hour or so was cathartic. He recorded it, put the tape on a shelf, and ignored it for nearly a year.

“I’d be in congregations sharing songs, but I didn’t do anything with that song,” he says. “It has words I felt were not real manly: hiding, afraid, and weak. Later I realized that we all hide.

What’s important is what we do with that. When I’m afraid, I can try to do something in my own strength to make me feel strong, or in weakness I can go to the Lord and really be strong in Him.”

When his publisher learned about the song and released it, people immediately identified with it. Eventually, Michael says, he realized, “Hey, it’s honest, good, and manly even, to sing that.”

—Phil Christensen & Shari MacDonald in Celebrate Jesus

My Response: What do I do when feeling inadequate or rejected?

Adapted from Celebrate Jesus (Kregel, 2003)

Prayer for the Week: You are my hiding place.

Oct 2

Central Church – Online Worship Service – The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost – Worldwide Communion Sunday – 10-2-2022

On this cool 17th Sunday after Pentecost, when we celebrate Worldwide Communion Sunday, and when the coronavirus prevents many of us from gathering in Central Church’s Sanctuary to worship in body, let us join together in spirit with our online worship service.

Today’s online worship service includes a favorite HYMN with lyrics so you can sing along!

Our prior online worship services are available in our online library, and can be viewed on demand, and be sure to join us in worship, either online or in person, every week!

AND…

Both the video on Facebook and the video on YouTube now have closed captions (if you turn them on) so you can read along with the spoken words during the service!
- To activate captions in Facebook, click on the Settings “gear” symbol in the bottom right corner of the image, and then click on the “Off” button to change it to “On” for “Auto-Generated Captions”.
- To activate captions in YouTube, click on the “CC” icon in the lower right corner of the image to toggle captions On and Off.
  - A brief comment on our new closed caption capability – The closed captions on our videos use voice-recognition software similar to that used on Television broadcasts, and with similar accuracy! Sometimes, the captions are not entirely accurate, so if you read something incongruous, back up the video a few seconds and listen carefully for what is actually being said.
  - Also, it takes a while to generate the captions after the videos are published, so if the captions are not available immediately after the video is published, just check back a little later.

- Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1084739632187678
- YouTube – https://youtu.be/-_Kh2QZDoDQ

(If the video doesn’t come up after clicking on the link, just copy and paste the address into your browser search bar.)

Central Church

Oct 2

Weed Out Worry – This Climb’s a Cinch

Who Said It…Eugene Peterson

Eugene Peterson is known for his contemporary translation of the Bible, The Message. But this Montana-raised man isn’t in to public acclaim. He’d rather teach a class than speak to a large audience. After years as a pastor in Maryland and as professor of spiritual theology at Regent College in British Columbia, he’s now retired.

Eugene used to climb mountains and run the Boston Marathon. Those activities are out now, but still in are picking banjo and telling bear stories.

What He Said…This Climb’s a Cinch

When mountain climbers are in dangerous terrain, on the face of a cliff or the slopes of a glacier, they rope themselves together. Sometimes one of them slips and falls—backslides. But not everyone falls at once, and so those who are still on their feet are able to keep the backslider from falling away completely.

And of course, in any group of climbers there is a veteran climber in the lead, identified for us in the letter to the Hebrews as “Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in” (Hebrews 12:2MSG).

Traveling in the way of faith and climbing the ascent to Christ may be difficult, but it is not worrisome. The weather may be adverse, but it is never fatal. We may slip and stumble and fall, but the rope will hold us.

Three times in his great Sermon, Jesus, knowing how easily we imagine the worst, repeats the reassuring command “Don’t worry” (Matthew 6:25,31,34). Our life with God is a sure thing.

Adapted from A Long Obedience in the Same Direction (InterVarsity, 1980, 2000)

Prayer for the Week: You are my hiding place.

Oct 1

An open table: How United Methodists understand Communion

During a Confirmation Class, the pastor asked a group of mostly 13- and 14-year-old students to name some things Christians—and specifically United Methodists—do that most other people do not.

One of the girls raised her hand and said with a smile, “We dunk our bread in grape juice.”

Yes, that is different.

The sacrament of Holy Communion is such a common occurrence in the landscape of our worship that its uncommon richness sometimes gets lost.

Regular Communion

Due to a lack of ordained clergy in the early days of the church in the United States, a history of receiving the sacrament quarterly (four times per year) is the habit in some places.

The vast majority of United Methodist congregations in the United States (97% in the most recent study) now celebrate the Lord’s Supper at least once per month.

One sacrament, several names

The Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, and the Eucharist are all names for this sacrament celebrated by United Methodists. Each of these names highlights an aspect of this act of worship.

The Lord’s Supper reminds us that Jesus Christ is the host and that we participate at Christ’s invitation. Jesus invites us to take part in the special meal he ate with his disciples the night before his crucifixion, and other meals he shared in homes and on hillsides.
The term Holy Communion invites us to focus on the self-giving of the Holy God which makes the sacrament an occasion of grace, and on the holiness of our communion with God and one another.
Finally, “Eucharist, from the Greek word for thanksgiving, reminds us that the sacrament is thanksgiving to God for the gifts of creation and salvation.

“Open Communion”

“Ecumenically, the term ‘open communion’ … means that all of the baptized are welcome to receive,” explains the Rev. Taylor Burton-Edwards, director of worship resources with Discipleship Ministries.

This distinguishes our invitation from some other Christian denominations that may require additional rites before one is welcome to the table.
“United Methodists do not practice ‘wide open communion,’” Burton-Edwards continues. “We are instructed to use the invitation as it appears in our ritual to make clear whom Christ does invite to his table.
It is those who ‘love him, earnestly repent of their sin, and seek to be at peace with one another.’ While we serve all who present themselves, not questioning their integrity in response to the invitation, these are actual conditions.”

Invitation

Our communion liturgy begins with words spoken on Jesus’ behalf inviting “all who love him, who earnestly repent of their sin, and seek to live in peace with one another.”

There are no conditions for church membership or completion of a class required.

The baptized present are all invited, even if they belong to a different church. Those not baptized are not barred from receiving, but should be counseled and nurtured toward baptism as soon as possible,

In addition, there is no minimum age. Even baptized infants are invited. To whatever degree they’re able to participate in the Great Thanksgiving—even if that’s simply being held in their mother’s arms while they sleep—they are there. They are part of what we are all doing together, so they are welcome to receive.

Confession, Pardon, and Peace

During the next part of the service, we prepare ourselves to offer a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving by repenting of sin and seeking to live in peace with one another.

After praying a prayer of confession, we share words of pardon that remind us of the grace freely available to all who repent, “In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!”

The Peace then follows, where we offer one another signs of reconciliation and love, affirming our desire to live as a reconciled community in Christ.

The Elements of Communion

The Bread

It is appropriate that the bread eaten in Holy Communion both look and taste like bread.

The use of a whole loaf best signifies the unity of the church as the body of Christ and, when it is broken and shared, our fellowship in that body.

The Cup
A single cup or chalice may be used for intinction—dipping the bread into the wine—or for drinking,

The use of a common chalice best represents Christian unity, but individual cups are used in many congregations.

This story uses the word juice over wine because historically, United Methodists have been committed to use “the pure, unfermented juice of the grape.” That came out of our involvement in the temperance movement in the 19^th century and into the 20^th century. It is also out of an ongoing concern for persons for whom alcohol may be a problem.

The Great Thanksgiving

During the next part of the service, the pastor leads the congregation in a prayer called The Great Thanksgiving.

Our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving is The Great Thanksgiving. That’s why it’s essential that the people participate actively in this.

We join in the ancient tradition of sacrifice by offering God our praise and thanksgiving for the wondrous gift of salvation (see Psalm 141).

We offer ourselves and our gifts of bread and wine to God with thanksgiving. Then we ask for the Holy Spirit to be poured upon us and these gifts, that they may become for us the body and blood of Christ, nourishing us, who have been redeemed by his blood, to be the body of Christ in the world.

We conclude praising the Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—before uniting our voices in the Lord’s Prayer.

Then the bread is broken, and the body and blood of Christ are given to those who come to receive.

Prayer after receiving

Holy Communion brings together our worship and our work in the world.

Communion is our meal, It is our feeding. We need that sustenance and we need it regularly.

In the prayer after receiving, we affirm this. We pray, “Grant that we may go into the world in the strength of your Spirit, to give ourselves for others, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.”

All this is God’s gift to us. We are fed with the body of Christ by the Father and empowered by the Spirit to live as Christ’s body in the world.

Dipping bread into juice may seem a little odd, but it is an important sign of our life as disciples of Jesus Christ.

What we’re doing in the Eucharist is two things:

When we receive ‘the body and blood of Christ that we may be for the world the body of Christ redeemed by his blood,’ we are remembering.
At the same time, we are also re-membered, put back together again. We pray that we may be ‘one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world.’

God’s work of making us one and uniting us with Christ, with each other and in our witness and life in the world—is the ordinary way by which God feeds us, sustains us, and empowers us to live as Christians in the world.

Oct 1

Effective Stewardship – October 2022 Theme

Our October 2022 Stewardship Theme:

Here’s a little true or false test. Be forewarned that the question is somewhat tricky. True or false: A Christian can expect to have all of his or her needs supplied by God.

On the surface, that would seem to be true. After all, Philippians 4:19 says, “And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” But what many people fail to realize is that this promise is a conditional promise. The reason God will supply all of our needs is based on Philippians 4:18 where the Apostle Paul describes how his needs were met by the Christians at Philippi through the sacrificial offering which they had sent to him.

In other words, although those first-century Christians gave to Paul with the desire of assisting him in his ministry to the early church, because of their giving, they earned the “right” to expect that God would fully meet all of their needs. Because of their willingness to share their resources with Paul, as he indicated in Philippians 4:17, fruit would abound to their account. They could then look to God to supply all of their needs. Although they did not “give to get,” they would “get” because they gave.

That same principle holds true today. As one person expressed it so well, “We do not give to get, but when we give, we get.” That’s what the Lord Jesus said in Luke 6:38. He indicated that by whatever measure we give, we will in turn receive.

Jack Hartman, a Christian businessman, said it this way: “ . . . the more we give to God, the more this opens the channel for Him to see that we receive abundantly in return. If we withhold our giving, we are actually withholding the blessing that God wants to give us.”

Someone described non-essentials in life as “ . . . playing Scrabble on the Hindenburg or rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.” Maybe that’s a picture of how you view giving — as a non-essential, something not very important in the totality of life. Could it be that is why your needs are not being met in full?

Think about this: What would happen if you began to place a rightful priority on your giving, even to the point of giving sacrificially? You see, you would then have the “right” to claim Philippians 4:19 with the expectation that in response to your giving, God would meet all of your needs. Your obedience to God’s direction in your life to give would then result in having Him meet your needs, even with the same “measure” that you give to Him.

Central Church

Oct 1

Defining Choices – Choices

We think of the Psalms as wonderful examples of praise to God and powerful expressions of the range of human emotions in relating to God.

We probably don’t think of them as instructional. But here’s a catechism lesson!

Interact with God’s Word

Psalm 15:1-5

What does David’s question imply about God? … about what separates people from Him?
Why isn’t David’s answer about ritual purity or offering sacrifices?
Is the conduct David describes an unreachable ideal or a basic reflex that can be drilled into our lives with the help of the Holy Spirit?
What kinds of consistency are required by verse 2 over time? … between words and actions? … between the public and private? … between ends and means?
Does mere external conformity to moral standards cut it for David?
Could you do the things to be avoided (in v. 3) while remaining strictly truthful?
What does verse 4 tell you about being morally discerning?
In our interest-based economy, what kinds of “gouging” are still prohibited?
What does “stand firm forever” mean? How does it refer back to David’s question?

Spend Time in Prayer: Ask God for the strength of character to actually be what you claim—as a model to those who observe your life, and to prepare you to live in His presence.

Psalm 15:1-5

1 Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?

2 Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts.

3 Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends.

4 Those who despise flagrant sinners, and honor the faithful followers of the Lord, and keep their promises even when it hurts.

5 Those who lend money without charging interest, and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent. Such people will stand firm forever.

Prayer for the Week: May the choices I make, Lord, honor You, showcasing Your transforming power at work in my life.

a community of caring believers located in Beaver Falls, PA sharing the good news of Jesus Christ through worship, celebration, and service.

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AND…

COVID-19 Integrated County View:

The new “COVID-19 COMMUNITY LEVEL” index:

The “Triple Threat”:

As the pandemic continues, we are continuing our efforts to:

We have significantly expanded our new medical-grade HEPA-13 air filtration equipment in our Sanctuary, which is rated to remove COVID-19 from the air, which now provides 10.7 complete air changes every hour in our Sanctuary (every 6 minutes)!

In addition, our Parlor, Church Office, Pastor’s Office, UMYF Meeting Room, Fellowship Hall, and Nursery all offer even higher levels of air changes per hour using HEPA-13 or HEPA-14 filtration.

Air Filtering at Central Church – The Latest Measurements

Here is some good news!

AND…

COVID-19 Integrated County View:

The new “COVID-19 COMMUNITY LEVEL” index:

As the pandemic continues, we are continuing our efforts to:

We have significantly expanded our new medical-grade HEPA-13 air filtration equipment in our Sanctuary, which is rated to remove COVID-19 from the air, which now provides 10.7 complete air changes every hour in our Sanctuary (every 6 minutes)!

In addition, our Parlor, Church Office, Pastor’s Office, UMYF Meeting Room, Fellowship Hall, and Nursery all offer even higher levels of air changes per hour using HEPA-13 or HEPA-14 filtration.

Air Filtering at Central Church – The Latest Measurements

Here is some good news!

AND…

AND…

Stay tuned for our next chapter when construction begins in a few weeks!

COVID-19 Integrated County View:

The new “COVID-19 COMMUNITY LEVEL” index:

As the pandemic continues, we are continuing our efforts to:

We have significantly expanded our new medical-grade HEPA-13 air filtration equipment in our Sanctuary, which is rated to remove COVID-19 from the air, which now provides 10.7 complete air changes every hour in our Sanctuary (every 6 minutes)!

In addition, our Parlor, Church Office, Pastor’s Office, UMYF Meeting Room, Fellowship Hall, and Nursery all offer even higher levels of air changes per hour using HEPA-13 or HEPA-14 filtration.

Air Filtering at Central Church – The Latest Measurements

Here is some good news!

AND…

Our October 2022 Stewardship Theme:

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Sunday School: 9:45 am

Contact Us: 1227 Sixth Avenue P.O. Box 311 Beaver Falls, PA 15010 Pastor: Rev. Janice C. Davis Phone: 724-846-3474 E-mail: centralumchurch@gmail.com

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Contact Us:

1227 Sixth Avenue

P.O. Box 311

Beaver Falls, PA 15010

Pastor: Rev. Janice C. Davis

Phone: 724-846-3474

E-mail: centralumchurch@gmail.com