Tried and True – Chance Encounter

Key Bible Verse: The wise, when rebuked, will love you all the more.  – Proverbs 9:8

Bonus Reading: Proverbs 9:7-12

As Lauren and I walked through Rome in the summer of 2005, we passed a guy who looked awfully familiar. “Coach Dungy!” he called out. “It’s me! Regan Upshaw.”

Regan was vacationing in Italy with his wife and children, just as we were. After we made introductions all around, Regan brought up our time together with the Buccaneers.

“Coach, I just want to thank you,” he said. “I remember how you were always talking about responsibility and doing things right off the field. Why are you on me about all this stuff that doesn’t matter? I thought.

But those things you were telling us are the reason I’m married today and why my kids are doing so well. They made no sense to me at the time, but they do now. I can’t thank you enough for staying on me.”

The next time I saw Regan was at our hotel the night before the Super Bowl. Tarik Glenn, our Pro Bowl offensive tackle, had been Regan’s teammate at the University of California, and Regan had come to see him play.

Once again, Regan thanked Lauren and me for the example we’d been to him and then joined Tarik at our chapel service. I saw a real difference in Regan—ten years after missing those appearances at that fourth-grade class.

—Tony Dungy in Quiet Strength

My Response: Do I resent or appreciate someone who points out a flaw in my behavior?

Thought to Apply: Nothing in life can take the place of dependability. Brilliance, genius, competence—all are subservient to the quality of faithfulness. —Wallace Fridy

Adapted from Christian Reader (9-10/01).

Prayer for the Week: Ask God for the resolve and discipline to be consistently faithful with routine matters in ordinary times.

 

 

Tried and True – Little Symptoms, Big Problems

Key Bible Verse: Those who … keep their promises even when it hurts… . Such people will stand firm forever.  – Psalm 15:4-5

Bonus Reading: Psalm 15:1-5

I was upset the Wednesday before our game against the Raiders, but not about our losing streak. Two players had missed personal appearances. Errict Rhett was 30 minutes late for a car dealership autograph session.

Regan Upshaw missed a fourth-grade class visit, rescheduled after missing his first appointment! I’d just read a letter from that teacher. She’d explained Regan’s first absence as a misunderstanding. Now, reading about the class’s disappointment when he didn’t show up the second time, I was beside myself.

I began the team meeting by telling the guys we weren’t going to talk football. Instead, I related the incidents involving Rhett and Upshaw. “Forget the Raiders,” I told them; “we need to focus on us—our own accountability. Obviously your word isn’t important to you if it doesn’t involve football. But we’ll never win consistently until you ditch that attitude.”

Errict and Regan weren’t the disease, I told the team, but symptoms. Too many of our guys were unwilling to give 100 percent if they didn’t think it was important. “Champions know it’s all important,” I said. “Knowing I can count on you is just as important to me as your talent. Finding excuses for not doing what you’re supposed to do is what creates a losing environment.”

—Tony Dungy in Quiet Strength

My Response: What “off-the-field” area in my life needs shaping up?

Thought to Apply: Privilege accepted should be responsibility accepted—Madeleine L’Engle (author)

Adapted from Quiet Strength (Tyndale, 2007)

Prayer for the Week: Ask God for the resolve and discipline to be consistently faithful with routine matters in ordinary times.

 

 

Tried and True – Good Faith Offer

Who Said It … Fred Smith Sr.

Before establishing his food packaging brokerage in Dallas, Fred Smith Sr. was vice president of operations for Gruen Watch Company and consultant to Mobil, Caterpillar, and Genesco.

Fred was a Christianity Today International board member, and a contributing editor for Leadership journal for 20 years.

As a mentor, Fred had few equals. He died in 2007 at age 91, but his sage advice can still be savored in his book, Breakfast with Fred (Regal, 2007).

What He Said … Good Faith Offer

Sanctification flows into the Christian’s life not from the pump of works to manipulate God’s favor but through the pipe of faith.  By faith he looks to the Scriptures for principles to live by.  Every time he puts them into practice, he is living by faith.

One time when I was in negotiations with the steelworkers’ union, our lawyer was convinced that they were going on strike.  Therefore he recommended that we not make an offer because it would be used as the basis for the next negotiation.

As I left home to go to the meeting, I did something I’d never done before.  I opened the Bible and read the first verse I saw: “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them” (Proverbs 3:27).

I knew what my decision would be.  Against the lawyer’s recommendation, I opted to make a reasonable offer.

To our amazement, the union members readily accepted it. So we avoided a strike.  I felt that I had been given divine guidance.

Adapted from Breakfast with Fred (Regal, 2007)

Prayer for the Week: Ask God for the resolve and discipline to be consistently faithful with routine matters in ordinary times.

 

 

Tried and True – Heart Conditioning

Key Bible Verse: Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.  – Proverbs 4:23

Bonus Reading: Hebrews 12:11-13

As I consulted with the leadership team of a major medical system’s cardiac care division, I was startled by what one nurse told me. Modern medicine, she said, can repair or even replace a heart and save a person’s life—but only temporarily.

“We can repair the heart,” she asserted, “but we can’t change the behavior or the environment.” Many patients return to an environment that encourages the poor eating habits that contributed to their first attack. The hearts of patients who fail to replace old habits with new ones will grow weaker over time.

Our spiritual situation is similar. Out of his endless love for us, God gave us new hearts with the capacity to hear his guidance and overcome any obstacle we face.

But he didn’t give us new hearts so we could revert to our previous way of living. He gave them so we could see through deception and choose to do the right thing. It’s up to us to change our thinking, amend our habits, make new choices, and find our path in life.

A heart, if not exercised, will weaken and atrophy. A heart that is nourished and exercised will grow healthy and strong. We exercise our hearts every day by being obedient to his call.

—Larry Julian in God Is My Success

My Response: A habit that undermines the health of my God-given new heart is …

Adapted from Breakfast with Fred (Warner Faith, 2005)

Prayer for the Week: Ask God for the resolve and discipline to be consistently faithful with routine matters in ordinary times.

 

 

COVID-19 – US New Hospital Admissions – 5-26-2023

End of “Public Health Emergency” Declaration:

After 13 renewals, the public health emergency expired on May 11, 2023. Authorizations to collect certain public health data expired on that date as well.

After expiration of the public health emergency, COVID-19–associated hospital admission levels will be the primary indicator of COVID-19 trends to help guide community and personal decisions related to risk and prevention behaviors.

 

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After the HHS’s “public health emergency declaration” expired on May 10, 2023, and as 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. )  
  

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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

Central Church – Online Worship Service 161 – Pentecost Sunday – 5-28-2023

On this warm and sunny Pentecost Sunday, 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=772980800945805 YouTube –   https://youtu.be/AUzZkTFA7wQ (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

 

Central Church – Online Worship Service 160 – The Seventh Sunday of Easter – Heritage Sunday – Ascension Sunday – 5-21-2023

On this warm and sunny seventh Sunday in Eastertide, when we welcome Rev. Emmett Anderson as our Guest Speaker and celebrate Mothers’ Day, 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=1043340683736947 YouTube –   https://youtu.be/GyEbuHwBY7Q (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

Two, Four, Six, Eight; Who Do We Appreciate? – Be a Positive Force to Others

The salutations of the letters Paul wrote to fledgling churches and to ministry colleagues were far from routine.  They revealed that he was out to do more than present theoretical truth.

He was addressing individuals he cared about deeply, with whom he’d forged strong ties, and for whom he wrestled in prayer.

Interact with God’s Word:  1 Thessalonians 1:2-3; 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4; Romans 1:8; Ephesians 1:15; Philippians 1:3-5; 2 Timothy 1:3-4

1. In each greeting, what does Paul say about his feelings toward his letter readers? How do you think this affected their openness to his instructions?
2. What aspects of the Thessalonians’ faith (1 Thess. 1:3) did he single out to thank God for?
3. What was the environment in which the Thessalonian believers (2 Thess. 1:3-4) were “flourishing”?
4. What qualities of the Ephesians did he commend?
5. Paul maintained that he constantly interceded for those he wrote to. Do you think this was a figure of speech or actually true?
6. Are you surprised by the intensity of Paul’s loneliness for his understudy Timothy?
7. What were Paul’s prayer requests for his fellow believers? (See also Ephesians 1:16-19.)

Spend Time in Prayer:  Ask God to help you model Paul’s example of generous praise and fervent prayer for fellow Jesus followers.

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

2 We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. 3 As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 1:3-4

3 Dear brothers and sisters, we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing. 4 We proudly tell God’s other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering.

Romans 1:8

8 Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world.

Ephesians 1:15

15 Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere …

Philippians 1:3-5

3 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. 4 Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, 5 for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.

2 Timothy 1:3-4

3 Timothy, I thank God for you—the God I serve with a clear conscience, just as my ancestors did. Night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 I long to see you again, for I remember your tears as we parted. And I will be filled with joy when we are together again.

Prayer for the Week: Teach me, Lord, how to mirror you by becoming a positive force in the lives of my family and acquaintances.

 

 

Two, Four, Six, Eight; Who Do We Appreciate? – Royal Treatment

Key Bible Verse: If your gift is to encourage others, do it!  – Romans 12:8

Bonus Reading: Proverbs 25:11-13

The first time I met the pastor of Parkway Hills Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, was at a prearranged lunch discussion. I soon realized that this man had a magnetic personality that made people just want to be around him. As we entered the restaurant together, we were greeted by the maitre d’, a man who spoke with a heavy foreign accent.

In the blink of an eye, Pastor Dennis was placing his hand on this man’s shoulder and saying, “Sir, I don’t believe I’ve had the opportunity to meet you. My name is Sam Dennis. This is the fourth time I’ve been here, and I want to tell you how impressed I am with how you treat everyone who walks in your doors. You always greet them with a smile and a word of kindness. I think the owner of this place should give you a big raise, and if he’s here, I’ll tell him so myself.”

Talk about making someone’s day! The maitre d’ was smiling like he’d just won the lottery. I was completely dumbfounded as I watched this unfold.

“And by the way,” Sam added, “I’m the pastor of a church down the street, and we’d love to have you be our special guest. If you’ll come, I’d be honored to have you and your family sit with me and my family.”

—Greg Vaughn in Letters from Dad

My Response: A person whose day I could make if I gave him a word of appreciation is ____.

Thought to Apply: Appreciative words are the most powerful force for good on earth! —George W. Crane (columnist)

Adapted from Letters from Dad (Integrity, 2005)

Prayer for the Week: Teach me, Lord, how to mirror you by becoming a positive force in the lives of my family and acquaintances.

 

 

Two, Four, Six, Eight; Who Do We Appreciate? – Words Left Unsaid

Key Bible Verse: How we thank God for you! Because of you we have great joy in the presence of God.  – 1 Thessalonians 3:9

Bonus Reading: 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20

As a youngster, I ached to hear my dad tell me, “Lee, I’m proud of you. You’re really special to me.” I hungered to hear him say, “Son, I really like who you are.”

Not hearing any of that from him created a wound in me that I eventually tried to heal through workaholism, striving to earn from him the respect I so needed.

My dad died while I was away at law school. I flew back for the wake. As I sat by myself, a steady stream of my dad’s friends, none of whom I knew, stopped by to greet me. “Are you Wally’s son? Oh, he was so proud of you. He used to brag about you all the time. When you went off to Yale Law School, he was just thrilled. When you’d have a byline in the Tribune, he was always showing it to everybody. He couldn’t stop talking about you! You were such an important part of his life.”

I sat there stunned. I had no idea my dad felt that way. He hadn’t told me. I had to wait until he was dead to find out. What would it have done to our relationship if he’d told me himself while we still had time together?

The lesson is this: never assume that your friend, wife, or child knows how you feel about them. Tell them!

—Lee Strobel in God’s Outrageous Claims

My Response: I realize I need to let ____ hear me say, “I’m proud of you.”

Thought to Apply:I don’t care how great, how famous or successful a man or woman may be, each hungers for applause. —George M. Adams (columnist)

Adapted from God’s Outrageous Claims (Zondervan, 1997, 2005)

Prayer for the Week: Teach me, Lord, how to mirror you by becoming a positive force in the lives of my family and acquaintances.

 

 

Two, Four, Six, Eight; Who Do We Appreciate? – Soaking Up the Praise

Key Bible Verse: Kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.  – Proverbs 16:24

Bonus Reading: Deuteronomy 3:28, Proverbs 15:23, Ephesians 4:29

James was out on his first “daddy/daughter date” with his four year old. They’d gone to a local fast-food restaurant where his daughter ordered pancakes.

When the food came, the father took her hand in his and prayed for the food. He then told her, “I want you to know how much I love you and how special your are to Mom and me. We couldn’t be prouder of the wonderful girl you’re growing up to be. If we lined up every girl your age in the whole city—and we could pick only one—guess who we’d choose every time? You!”

Finished, James released his daughter’s hand and picked up his fork, but he never got the fork to his mouth. His daughter reached out her little hand and laid it on top of his. In a soft voice, she pleaded, “Longer, Daddy. Longer.”

After James listed more reasons and ways they loved her, he finally got to eat his breakfast. But that morning his daughter was hungrier for his words of praise than pancakes.

Did all that affirmation really make a difference? A few weeks later, this same daughter ran up to her mother, jumped in her arms, and spontaneously said, “Mommy, I’m a really special daughter. Daddy told me so.”

—John Trent in Christian Parenting Today

My Response: Today I’ll look for and voice something praiseworthy for each family member.

Thought to Apply: Let’s play darts, Dad. I’ll throw and you say, “Great shot!” —a little boy

Adapted from Christian Parenting Today (Summer/05).

Prayer for the Week: Teach me, Lord, how to mirror you by becoming a positive force in the lives of my family and acquaintances.

 

 

Two, Four, Six, Eight; Who Do We Appreciate? – Doghouse Blues

Key Bible Verse: We were as gentle among you as a mother feeding and caring for her own children. – 1 Thessalonians 2:7

Bonus Reading: 2 Corinthians 2:5-8

After we’d been married for a year, Steve and I decided we’d get a puppy. McPherson, a young, untrained German shepherd/Australian shepherd mix, had a lot to learn. So did we.

Like all puppies, McPherson loved to chew. He chewed on Steve’s work boots until he put a hole in one. We showed him the shoe and scolded, “Bad dog!” He looked at us with his big, brown puppy eyes and slunk away.

Another time I was baking a special pie for Steve. McPherson jumped up at the table and swiped the mixing bowl with his paw. Sticky, sweet apples splattered across the kitchen floor. Again I yelled, “bad dog!” and shooed him outside. We yelled at McPherson a lot more than we hugged him. Soon his puppy spirit was broken. He didn’t play with us as much. He no longer looked us in the eyes with his puppy smile.

We finally realized we were doing things wrong and asked others for advice. McPherson, they told us, needed to hear “good dog” to know what he was doing right. He needed more approval than correction, and the correction should be gentle. We took the advice. Soon McPherson was running, jumping, and joyful again. He could see and hear that we loved him.

—Connie Fleishauer in Four Paws from Heaven

My Response: To motivate more by approval than by correction, I’ll …

Thought to Apply: Praise loudly, blame softly.  —Russian saying

Adapted from Four Paws from Heaven (Harvest, 2006)

Prayer for the Week: Teach me, Lord, how to mirror you by becoming a positive force in the lives of my family and acquaintances.

 

 

Two, Four, Six, Eight; Who Do We Appreciate? – How I Became a Math Whiz

Key Bible Verse: I have the highest confidence in you, and my pride in you is great.  – 2 Corinthians 7:4

Bonus Reading: 2 Corinthians 7:13b-14; 8:16-17

I was poor in math until I hit eighth grade. For some now unfathomable reason, I found it easier to cheat and get failing grades than study and get passing grades. My math teacher caught me cheating but never told my parents. He had the grace to help me see the difference between what I was becoming and what I could be.

He came alongside with helps that appropriately addressed self-esteem, learning skills, and socialization. I was pretty much an introvert in those days. What he did was always exude optimism about my potential and the inevitability of becoming an A student. He created a space into which dropped hope. I became as hopeful as he was.

He sheltered me from the ridicule of other students and the rejection of my parents, and had nothing but confident expectation in my ability to succeed. I did succeed. To this day I’m the math whiz in the family. I never cheated again.

My world is a far different place now, not simply because I succeeded at junior high math. It’s different because in the eighth grade someone breathed hope into my life—and showed me how to breathe it into the lives of others. When I became a believer a decade later, this lesson took on new meaning.

—Jeff Jernigan in The Power of a Loving Man

My Response: Someone whose life I could breathe hope into is ____.

Adapted from The Power of a Loving Man (B&H Publishers, 2006)

Prayer for the Week: Teach me, Lord, how to mirror you by becoming a positive force in the lives of my family and acquaintances.

 

 

Central Church – Online Worship Service 160 – The Seventh Sunday of Easter – Heritage Sunday – Ascension Sunday – 5-21-2023

On this warm and sunny seventh Sunday in Eastertide, when we welcome Rev. Donna Doutt as our Guest Speaker and celebrate both Heritage Sunday and Ascension 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=1175957639762148 YouTube –   https://youtu.be/rY2UQuMx5JM (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

Two, Four, Six, Eight; Who Do We Appreciate? – Infectious Quality

Who Said It … Tim Stafford

Tim Stafford started his writing career with Ignite Your Faith magazine (then Youth for Christ’s Campus Life). He moved his family to Kenya and founded Step magazine, for Christian youth in Africa.

With Philip Yancey, he co-authored notes for the popular Student Bible. Now a senior writer for Christianity Today, Tim has written many books. He lives in Santa Rosa, California, with his wife Popie, a counselor.

What He Said … Infectious Quality

I learned about affirmation from the woman who became my wife. She and a circle of friends blew the cover off my guarded words. When they saw something they liked in someone, they just said it. They showed appreciation with hugs and smiles. They were so free and warm some people didn’t know how to take it. But everyone who came into their circle was delighted.

I could see stiffness and cynicism falling off others as they fumbled to acknowledge the compliments given to them. I saw their lives begin to open up and respond. For the first time, I realized that affirming words were more than a social grace. They had the power to change lives and relationships.

Almost without my realizing it, a response was awakened in me. I began to do my own share of affirmation. One friend told me he was quite startled at the bloom of compliments, hugs, and pats from me. Appreciation can spread from one person to another and through a whole community. But somebody has to start it.

Adapted from Personal God (Zondervan, 2007)

Prayer for the Week: Teach me, Lord, how to mirror you by becoming a positive force in the lives of my family and acquaintances.

 

 

 

Find Your “Happy Few” – Real Friendship

David and Jonathan. Even centuries later those names linked together spell close, committed male friendship. They shatter our era’s stereotypes.

These men were, after all, battle-hardened warriors with a daredevil streak. And natural rivals. But mutual loyalty took priority over career calculations.

Interact with God’s Word:  1 Samuel 18:1-4;1 Samuel 20:8-17;1 Samuel 23:15-18

1. From the get-go (18:1), Jonathan and David hit it off. Have you ever felt that way about another guy?
2. What do you make of Jonathan’s vow (18:3)? Why does maintaining a deep friendship require deliberate effort?
3. What do Jonathan’s words, in 20:9, tell you about the transparency a close friendship requires?
4. Their covenant (20:14-16) committed David and Jonathan to sacrificial care for each other. How do we know (see 2 Samuel 9) that David took this obligation seriously?
5. Jonathan’s concerns were as strong for David’s welfare as for his own, we’re told in 20:17. What did this mean (23:17) for prospects of succeeding to his father’s throne?
6. Commitment to God (23:16) anchored David and Jonathan’s relationship. Is another man encouraging you to stay strong in your faith? Are you doing the same for him?

Spend Time in Prayer:  Ask God to help you build a mutually supportive relationship with at least one other man—one that digs deep into matters of faith and character.

1 Samuel 18:1-4;1 Samuel 20:8-17;1 Samuel 23:15-18

1 Samuel 18 1 After David had finished talking with Saul, he met Jonathan, the king’s son. There was an immediate bond between them, for Jonathan loved David. 2 From that day on Saul kept David with him and wouldn’t let him return home. 3 And Jonathan made a solemn pact with David, because he loved him as he loved himself. 4 Jonathan sealed the pact by taking off his robe and giving it to David, together with his tunic, sword, bow, and belt.

1 Samuel 20 8 Show me this loyalty as my sworn friend—for we made a solemn pact before the Lord—or kill me yourself if I have sinned against your father. But please don’t betray me to him!”

9 “Never!” Jonathan exclaimed. “You know that if I had the slightest notion my father was planning to kill you, I would tell you at once.”

10 Then David asked, “How will I know whether or not your father is angry?”

11 “Come out to the field with me,” Jonathan replied. And they went out there together. 12 Then Jonathan told David, “I promise by the Lord, the God of Israel, that by this time tomorrow, or the next day at the latest, I will talk to my father and let you know at once how he feels about you. If he speaks favorably about you, I will let you know. 13 But if he is angry and wants you killed, may the Lord strike me and even kill me if I don’t warn you so you can escape and live. May the Lord be with you as he used to be with my father. 14 And may you treat me with the faithful love of the Lord as long as I live. But if I die, 15 treat my family with this faithful love, even when the Lord destroys all your enemies from the face of the earth.”

16 So Jonathan made a solemn pact with David, a saying, “May the Lord destroy all your enemies!” 17 And Jonathan made David reaffirm his vow of friendship again, for Jonathan loved David as he loved himself.

1 Samuel 23 15 One day near Horesh, David received the news that Saul was on the way to Ziph to search for him and kill him. 16 Jonathan went to find David and encouraged him to stay strong in his faith in God. 17 “Don’t be afraid,” Jonathan reassured him. “My father will never find you! You are going to be the king of Israel, and I will be next to you, as my father, Saul, is well aware.” 18 So the two of them renewed their solemn pact before the Lord. Then Jonathan returned home, while David stayed at Horesh.

Prayer for the Week: Lord, I invite you to work in my life through a real friend. And please use me in his life as well.

 

 

COVID-19 – US New Hospital Admissions – 5-19-2023

End of “Public Health Emergency” Declaration:

After 13 renewals, the public health emergency expired on May 11, 2023. Authorizations to collect certain public health data expired on that date as well.

After expiration of the public health emergency, COVID-19–associated hospital admission levels will be the primary indicator of COVID-19 trends to help guide community and personal decisions related to risk and prevention behaviors.

 

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After the HHS’s “public health emergency declaration” expired on May 10, 2023, and as 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. )  
  

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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

Your Child Won’t Be a Pro Gymnast, So Why Are You Missing Church?

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During my own youth, which really wasn’t long ago, stuff didn’t happen on Sunday mornings, evenings, or Wednesday nights. Sports, music events, whatever.

And if it did, I missed it. I didn’t get to play baseball. I didn’t get to sing. I didn’t get to go. Or, at least, I’d get there late or leave early. No questions asked.

In general, at least in the buckle of the Bible Belt, the prevailing culture respected this. Though there is much about my religious background I’d rather forget, this is one of those important things that has stayed with me.

I’m not going to be the one that will condemn anyone for missing a Sunday here or there. Even in my current life as a professional Christian (i.e. one who is paid to be in church), I get to take an occasional mental health Sunday, though I will generally worship somewhere else on that day.

I respect the fact that church is extraordinarily difficult for many. There may be seasons when Sunday mornings are a non-negotiable for work. Don’t forget that there are plenty of churches offering services and Masses at other times over the weekend. It might not be convenient, it might be exhausting, but it’s certainly possible.

Seeing as how this is something we do every week, you can’t argue, as some might wish, that once or twice a month constitutes regular church attendance. Or attending whenever dance competition season winds down. Or when baseball season winds down. Or when the show closes. Or when out-of-town family leaves. What you’re teaching your kids is that you should go to church if no other important things are happening in your lives. In other words, you’re teaching them that church really isn’t that important.

(Oh, and as a fan myself, I’m here to tell you that baseball is not meant to be a year-round sport. Tommy John surgery at 16 is not normal. For the love, stop burning your kid’s poor arm out.)

Regular church attendance is being there practically every time health and weather permit. The church’s liturgy, regardless of popular opinion, isn’t merely one particular way in which a person of faith can worship or find strength. It isn’t supposed to be just another church ministry, a way in which we bait and switch outsiders into nominally aligning themselves with us for a time, before they too stop coming regularly.

No, friends. The worship gathering is central to the Christian life. Your children need to participate in worship more than they need all those other activities. Imperfect as each individual body is, the church is perfected by the work of Christ. It’s the only place in which you and your children can be fully nourished as gospel people. And if they have to go without some extracurriculars, even if they are otherwise valid pursuits, so be it. That’s a sacrifice God’s people are called to make.

The church is complicit in this, no doubt about it.

By refusing to catechize people on the importance of liturgy, we’ve de facto taught them the opposite lesson.

By creating a smorgasbord of “worship” options, we’ve made worship completely optional.

By making worship all pop music and no Word and Sacrament, we’ve taught them that they can get everything they think they need from a podcast and some jesusy records.

But we parents ought to know better. It’s our duty to know better, even. If our kids don’t understand the discipline of weekly worship, that’s completely, unequivocally on us. If we don’t teach them the importance of liturgy, especially as it grows more into the counter culture, who will?

Look around you, parents. There’s nobody else.

Central Church

72% of U.S. Pastors Concerned About ‘watered-down gospel’

In a new study that kicks off its “State of the Church 2020” project, Barna Group reveals that U.S. pastors are most concerned about “reaching a younger audience” at the local level and “watered-down gospel teachings” and increased secularization at the national level.

For the survey, titled “What’s on the Minds of America’s Pastors,” Barna interviewed more than 500 U.S. senior pastors about their top concerns—both for their own church and for the American Christian church as a whole. Researchers plan to “dive deeper into the findings” throughout 2020, using new technology in conjunction with its first “State of the Church” report in 10 years.

Pastors’ Concerns at the Congregational Level

Slightly more than half (51 percent) of U.S. Protestant pastors report that “reaching a younger audience” is a major issue within their ministry. (Twelve percent list it as the top concern, while one-third list it as a top-three concern.)

Following close behind at 50 percent is a concern about “declining or inconsistent outreach and evangelism.” According to Barna, those results match up with its recent finding that increasing numbers of Christian Millennials aren’t fans of sharing their faith.

Pastors’ other top concerns for their own churches include “declining or inconsistent volunteering” (36 percent), “stagnating spiritual growth” (34 percent), “declining attendance” (33 percent), and “biblical illiteracy” (29 percent). At the bottom of the list are concerns about real-estate matters, economic models, and multi-campus management.

Pastors’ Concerns at the National Level: Secularization

When asked about the U.S. Christian church as a whole, pastors express the most concern about issues related to secularization. The top two matters they cite are “watered-down gospel teachings” (72 percent) and “culture’s shift to a secular age” (66 percent). Those are followed by “poor discipleship models” (63 percent) and “addressing complex social issues with biblical integrity” (58 percent).

On a big-picture level, 56 percent of pastors say they’re concerned about “reaching a younger audience” with the gospel in America. Barna states: “When paired with data about aging pastors, the growing group of atheists, agnostics, and ‘nones,’ and declining church attendance among younger generations, faith leaders may well be getting a glimpse of the next generation’s tenuous relationship to the church.”

Other notable concerns at the national level include “prosperity gospel teachings” (56 percent), “political polarization in the country” (51 percent), and “church leader burnout/exhaustion” (40 percent). At the bottom of the list are concerns about challenges to the traditional church model and keeping up with technology trends.

Big-picture concerns about American Christianity garnered a stronger response than local concerns did. That, Barna notes, “alludes to many of the opportunities, debates, and divisions taking place within the church right now, from leader burnout to church abuse scandals to women’s roles in ministry.”

Central Church

Find Your “Happy Few” – No Walls Between Friends

Key Bible Verse: A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.  – Proverbs 17:17.

Bonus Reading: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Recently I underwent a battery of medical tests to determine the cause of severe stomach pain. I feared the worst. An upper G.I. test revealed some kind of inflammation in the intestines. There was also a spot on my spine that looked odd. I lost about seven pounds and became so overwhelmed by fear that I closed up and sealed myself off from others.

During that week of tests, a friend came over to the house to see how I was doing. Since I hadn’t reached out, he reached out to me. Paul just fired away. “Hey, Todd, how come you’re not letting your friends stand with you during this time? You and Kenny [Luck] are writing all this curriculum about how men need to be connected with other men, and here you are isolated! How come you’re shutting out your best friends when you need them most?”

Yikes! Did he really say that? But he was right. I’d called some of my friends to let them know what was going on, but I hadn’t really included them in the process. It was too painful. I didn’t want to talk about it. I just wanted it to go away. You always know who your friends are. They’re the ones who never give up on you.

—Todd Wendorff in Being God’s Man … in Tough Times

My Response: How does the male tendency to tough it out alone frustrate friendships?

Adapted from Being God’s Man … in Tough Times (WaterBrook, 2003)

Prayer for the Week: Lord, I invite you to work in my life through a real friend. And please use me in his life as well.

 

 

Find Your “Happy Few” – Real Soul Brothers

Key Bible Verse: There was an immediate bond of love between them, and they became the best of friends.  – 1 Samuel 18:1

Bonus Reading: 1 Sam. 18:1-4; ; 20:8-17

If a friendship deepens over time, intimacy increases in depth and breadth. In fact, this is one of the best measures of a growth in a friendship.

Spiritual friends share with each other at the level of their soul. This doesn’t mean that they talk about only serious, personal, or spiritual matters. However, if they never share at this level, the relationship is not worthy of being called a spiritual—or soul—friendship. Soul refers to the whole person, with particular attention to one’s inner life. Soul intimacy, therefore, is built on sharing the inner self. Sharing at the level of their souls means that friends’ intimacy is not restricted to experiences with the external world.

Friends who enjoy soul intimacy never settle for gossip or simple information exchange. Instead, they use the data of events as springboards for the sharing of feelings, perceptions, values, ideas, and opinions.

The conversations of such friends are never merely about what happened in their lives or the world, but move from this to how they experience, react to, and understand what happened. Dialogue continually moves from the surface to the depths, from the external to the internal. This is the crucial distinctive of dialogue in spiritual friendships.

—David Benner in The Transformation of a Man’s Heart

My Response: Would I find sharing at this level scary or attractive? Why?

Thought to Apply: “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.” —William Shakespeare (Henry V’s St. Crispin’s Day speech)

Adapted from The Transformation of a Man’s Heart (InterVarsity, 2006)

Prayer for the Week: Lord, I invite you to work in my life through a real friend. And please use me in his life as well.

 

 

Find Your “Happy Few” – Why Friendships Wither

Key Bible Verse: Never abandon a friend—either yours or your father’s. Then in your time of need, you won’t have to ask your relative for assistance.  – Proverbs 27:10

Bonus Reading: Proverbs 18:24; 19:4,6; 20:6; 19:4,6;; 20:6

There’s a line in Woody Allen’s film Annie Hall where he says to Diane Keaton, “A relationship, I think, is like a shark, you know? It has to constantly move forward or it dies. And I think what we’ve got on our hands is a dead shark.”

Some friendships die because they aren’t moving forward—from stagnation or neglect. You meant to call but didn’t. You knew it was his birthday but were too busy to celebrate.

Friendships need to be nurtured. When we’re busy, we only do what comes easily, and even good friendships aren’t always easy. So if your friend has an annoying trait, if he’s loud, or cheap, or a habitual complainer, say, you’re more likely to neglect the relationship. Of course, the same is true when your friend is neglecting you.

But whether it’s you or him, neglect is sure to cause a rift. And when it does, it almost always catches us off guard, when we’re going through stressful times at school, work, or home that makes us less attentive and less able to respond. That’s why it can seem that the best friendships fail precisely when we need them the most.

—Les and Leslie Parrott in ChristianityToday.com

My Response: In what ways do I do “what comes easy” in relationships?

Thought to Apply: The most fatal disease of friendship is gradual decay. Friendships must be kept in constant repair. —Samuel Johnson (English writer)

Adapted from ChristianityToday.com (12/02).

Prayer for the Week: Lord, I invite you to work in my life through a real friend. And please use me in his life as well.

 

 

Find Your “Happy Few” – Beyond Comfortable to Stretching

Key Bible Verse: As iron sharpens iron, a friend sharpens a friend.  – Proverbs 27:17

Bonus Reading: Prov. 27:6, 9

There’s a certain “niceness” to friendships where I can be, as they say, myself. But what I really need is relationships in which I’m encouraged to become better than myself, developing to be more Christlike each day.

Stanley Jones, an American missionary to India, wrote of penning a response to a letter from a harsh critic. Irritated by the letter, Jones gave vent to his feelings of hurt and defensiveness. But before he mailed his response, he offered his friends a chance to read it and to offer judgment. When the unsent letter was returned to him, he saw that one of his “happy few” had written across the top “not sufficiently redemptive.” Wise man that Jones was, he destroyed the letter. His friends had held him to a higher standard.

Among my “happy few” are a couple of thinkers who are unafraid to poke and prod into my mind with different viewpoints than I have. They challenge my politics, my theology, and my self-confidence about life-direction. They won’t let me slide by with intellectual superficiality.

Looking back across the years, I’ve asked myself, Who were the people I’ve appreciated the most? Almost every one of them is someone who was tough with me, who expected me to rise higher in character and conduct than I might have by myself.

—Gordon MacDonald in A Resilient Life

My Response: Have I given a friend permission to hold me to a higher standard?

Thought to Apply: To speak painful truth through loving words is friendship. —Henry Ward Beecher (minister)

Adapted from A Resilient Life (Nelson, 2005)

Prayer for the Week: Lord, I invite you to work in my life through a real friend. And please use me in his life as well.

 

 

Find Your “Happy Few” – From Casual to Close

Key Bible Verse: Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.  –  Romans 12:10.

Bonus Reading: John 13:34-35

Some people make friends easily. It’s harder for the rest of us. Most friendships begin casually and will stay that way, because they’re based on a few things you have in common (like where you work, where you live, or where you worship). But with some casual friends, you’ll sense similar commitments in faith, character, and integrity. You’ll intentionally start spending more time together. That’s how meaningful friendships begin: slowly.

Close friends appreciate each other’s similarities, but don’t allow each other’s differences to divide them. They encourage each other. Overcoming their natural inclinations to hold a grudge, they’re quick to forgive each other. Why? Because they firmly believe the other would never do anything to intentionally offend them, and because it interferes with the relationship.

Your casual friends will be around whenever they need you. But when the going gets tough, shallow friendships evaporate. Your closest friends will be around whenever you need them. Tough times strengthen a close friendship because the bond of commitment to each is revealed. Difficult circumstances usually give one friend the opportunity to act sacrificially for the sake of the other.

—Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz in Simple Matters

My Response: Someone I could benefit from spending more time with is …

Adapted from Simple Matters (Promise Press, 2001)

Prayer for the Week: Lord, I invite you to work in my life through a real friend. And please use me in his life as well.

 

Central Church – Online Worship Service 159 – The Sixth Sunday of Easter – Mothers’ Day – 5-14-2023

On this warm and rainy sixth Sunday in Eastertide, when we welcome Rev. Emmett Anderson as our Guest Speaker and celebrate Mothers’ Day, 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=1043340683736947 YouTube –   https://youtu.be/GyEbuHwBY7Q (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

Happy Mothers’ Day!

For the Christian, biblical truths are an opportunity to hear our Heavenly Father’s voice! That’s why this Mother’s Day, we can think of no greater gift than to share with moms everywhere a few of the biblical truths that have meant so much to my wife.

God chose you to be their mother. Of all the possible scenarios that could have been, God chose you to be the mother of your children. Not the women you idolize on social media. Not the perfect version of yourself that you are chasing. Shocking as it may be, God is in control and Psalm 135:6 even says that He does what pleases Him. Even after considering the character, strengths, and weaknesses of both you and your child(ren), God hand-picked you to be their mother.

God knows you need peace. In our house, the term “hot mess” is very popular. Family is running around doing a hundred things. Sprinkle in an argument. Add a dash of impatience. Garnish it all with a threatening “if one more person tracks dirt through this house…” Voila, absolute pandemonium. And while Target is a magical dreamland that us men do not understand, only time with Jesus provides the lasting peace you need. As Martha learned from Mary (Luke 10:38-42), the chaos of life can wait and the only thing worth being concerned with is quality time with Jesus Christ. At any moment of any day, He is your comfort and rest.

 God loves your children. Like, absolutely adores them. Even more than you do. And that’s important for two reasons. First, God’s love is perfect. Mom, there is nothing you want more than to know your children are loved and taken care of. God has an everlasting love for your children that will provide grace for the days you might not win Parent of the Year. Second, God’s love is eternal. The most important legacy you leave behind will be that you trusted on Jesus Christ for salvation, and looked forward to the hope of heaven. God desires a passionate relationship with your children, one that will last for all eternity. Our daughter Sophie will excitedly tell you the truth if you ask her who loves her the most: “God!” Slow down and take time to thank God for his love for you and the hearts of your children!

Maybe it’s on a painting in your house, maybe you whisper it under your breath to avoid snapping, but children are a blessing and reward from the Lord (Psalm 127:3). The bible also says in Proverbs 31 that ultimately, a mother’s children and husband will bless and praise her!

Mothers, today we celebrate you and all that God has done through your life! Infinitely more exciting than cards, macaroni projects, or a day at the spa, will be the day your perfect Heavenly Father holds you close and you hear Him say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

 

Find Your “Happy Few” – Disposable Friendships?

Who Said It…Jerome Daly

Jerome Daly pursues the passion of his life—intimacy with God and people—in partnership with his wife, Kellie. Through oneFlesh Ministries, the Daleys speak, write, and lead worship.

Jerome likes to return—with his three children or alone on writing retreats—to the house his grandfather built in a Blue Ridge Mountain town.

What He Said…Disposable Friendships?

We live in a disposable society—we change jobs, change cities, and change relationships with dizzying frequency. But that’s our culture, not our spiritual DNA. We’re designed for lasting relationships—lifelong marriages and, yes, even lifelong friendships.

I’m convinced that community ripens over time and only grows sweet and nourishing in the context of commitment and longevity. We mustn’t be such willing slaves to the dictates of this world’s system! The practice of replacing our friendships as regularly as we replace our wardrobes or automobiles assures us of an untested crew when the inevitable storms arise.

And these are just the personal deficits; what about the larger losses? The world is supposed to recognize us as Jesus’ disciples because of our committed love for one another; this uncommon selflessness will demonstrate the lordship of Christ in a way no preaching can. However, if we bail on one another as soon as we encounter difficulty, then we merely reinforce our superficiality. The Kingdom of God requires more of us.

Adapted from When God Waits (WaterBrook, 2005)

Prayer for the Week: Lord, I invite you to work in my life through a real friend. And please use me in his life as well.

 

 

Biblical mothers: not a job for the faint of heart

It has been 100 years since U.S. President Woodrow Wilson declared the second Sunday in May as a special day to honor mothers, especially those who had lost their sons to war.

Did you know Anna Marie Jarvis and fellow members of the Methodist Episcopal Church led the charge to make Mother’s Day an official observance?

The church still plays a prominent role in Mother’s Day.  So how do we keep the focus on worshipping God, while celebrating and honoring the gifts of mothers?

The answer seems obvious:  Just turn to the Bible.

For quick capsules on Eve, Sarah and Hagar, Rebekah, Mary (mother of Jesus), and Ruth, click on Just turn to the Bible.

Happy Mother’s Day!

 

Hold Back or Open Up? – Authentic Christianity

Paul devoted his first letter incorporated into Scripture to passionately refuting the claims of Jewish agitators.

They were telling converts from his first missionary journey that they must conform to Jewish law to insure right standing with God.

Paul insisted that, empowered by the Spirit, they had been set free from the power of sin, set free to love and serve Christ and others.

Interact with God’s Word:  Galatians 6:1-3

1. After assuring his Gentile readers that weren’t subject to Jewish ceremonial law, Paul speaks (v. 2) of obeying the law of Christ. What do you think he is referring to?
2. As Christians, how do we practically share each other’s troubles and problems?
3. Why (v. 3) are we not excused from helping each other?
4. How about being on the receiving end? Should any Christian ever think he is totally independent and doesn’t need help from others?
5. Think of a Christian brother (v. 1) who needs correction or encouragement. How could you gently and humbly reach out to that person?

Spend Time in Prayer:  Ask God to help you to move beyond self-centeredness to the interdependent godliness that Paul describes in these vers

Galatians 6:1-3

1 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.

Prayer for the Week: Lord, help me to live an authentic faith for all to see.

 

LET’S HONOR MOTHERS!

Praise her for the many fine things she does. These good deeds of hers shall bring her honor and recognition from people of importance. – Proverbs 31:31 (Living Bible)

Please join us in honoring the mothers in your life by commenting on our Mother’s Day post. Share some words of encouragement, a scripture or a picture of a mom who is special to you.

 

 

 

COVID-19 – Beaver County Metrics – 5-12-2023

End of “Public Health Emergency” Declaration:

On January 31, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared, under Section 319 of the Public Health Service Act, a U.S. public health emergency because of the emergence of a novel virus, SARS-CoV-2.*

After 13 renewals, the public health emergency expired on May 11, 2023. Authorizations to collect certain public health data expired on that date as well. Monitoring the impact of COVID-19 and the effectiveness of prevention and control strategies remains a public health priority, and a number of surveillance indicators have been identified to facilitate ongoing monitoring.

After expiration of the public health emergency, COVID-19–associated hospital admission levels will be the primary indicator of COVID-19 trends to help guide community and personal decisions related to risk and prevention behaviors; the percentage of COVID-19–associated deaths among all reported deaths, based on provisional death certificate data, will be the primary indicator used to monitor COVID-19 mortality.

Many people in the United States have some protection, or immunity, against COVID-19 due to vaccination, previous infection, or both. This immunity, combined with the availability of tests and treatments, has greatly reduced the risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19 for many people.

At the same time, some people—such as those who are older, are immunocompromised, have certain disabilities, or have certain underlying health conditions—continue to be at higher risk for serious illness.

As of May 11, 2023, test positivity data from COVID-19 Electronic Laboratory Reporting has been removed from COVID Data Tracker and archived at healthdata.gov. After May 11, the National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System will become CDC’s new source for testing data.

As of May 11, 2023, COVID Data Tracker is no longer reporting aggregate cases and deaths, COVID-19 Community Levels, COVID-19 Community Transmission Levels, or COVID-19 Electronic Laboratory Reporting (CELR) data.

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After the HHS’s “public health emergency declaration” expired on May 10, 2023, and as 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. )  
  

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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

Hold Back or Open Up? – Contagious Candor

Key Bible Verse: So put away all falsehood and “tell your neighbor the truth” because we all belong to each other.  – Ephesians 4:25

Bonus Reading: Galatians 6:1-3

A team of Christian men recently conducted a Manhood Without Models seminar at Seattle Pacific University. Each of us on the team—two pastors, three laymen— honestly shared our own stories, including both failures and victories, and the lessons we’d learned from them.

Dwight, one of those who attended the seminar, was an elder from a prominent local evangelical church. “I’ve never heard honesty like this before,” Dwight said in one of the small discussion groups. He went on to share his own story of private pain about his rebellious son, who had run away from home twice in the last year.

“I haven’t told anyone else about this before today,” he admitted, “especially anyone at church. I was too afraid of what they’d think. But hearing you men share about your own struggles has helped me to see that I need to reach out for help too.”

I called Dwight a couple of weeks after the seminar to ask how he was doing. “Great!” he exclaimed. “My son and my wife and I have started working with a family counselor, and it’s going really well! I can’t thank you and the other men enough for modeling that it’s okay to reach out for help.”

—Patrick Means in Men’s Secret Wars

My Response: What experience of failure or victory should I share to help my buddies get real?

Thought to Apply: You can never establish a personal relationship without opening up your own heart. —Paul Tournier (Swiss psychologist)

Adapted from Men’s Secret Wars (Revell, 1996, 1999, 2006)

Prayer for the Week: Lord, help me to live an authentic faith for all to see.

 

 

Hold Back or Open Up? – What They Chew Over

Key Bible Verse: I’m eager to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.  – Romans 1:12

Bonus Reading: Romans 1:10-12

Jay’s men’s group has met at 6:30 at a coffeehouse every other Friday morning for the last three years. Long enough to get used to each other stepping into the hard spaces of one another’s lives.

Recently Shaun reported that he hasn’t been struggling with Internet porn at work. Ed said his business trip was “uneventful” and that he shared his faith with a guy on the plane. Matt described the “good flow” that he and his wife, Carol, have been enjoying—an answer to prayer after the previous week’s “doghouse” tale.

When Jeff announced that his sister was recently diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease, the guys just listened. Travis, who didn’t have anything dramatic to share, felt led to offer Jeff a frequent-flyer ticket to Denver to see his ailing sister.

As for Jay, he took advantage of the time to confess that he’s struggling to connect with his wife, Alene, and asked for advice on how to break through the resentment preventing him from loving her the way God loves him.

No subject is taboo as God’s Word is brought to bear on it. Advice from guys who care about one’s spiritual welfare can be trusted. And it feels good to have someone watching your back.

—Kenny Luck in Every Man, God’s Man

My Response: Who do I need to watch my back? Whose back could I watch?

Thought to Apply: We are born helpless. … We need others physically, emotionally, intellectually … if we are to know anything, even ourselves. —C.S. Lewis

Adapted from Every Man, God’s Man (WaterBrook, 2003)

Prayer for the Week: Lord, help me to live an authentic faith for all to see.

 

 

Hold Back or Open Up? – Masculine Matters

Key Bible Verse: As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.  – Proverbs 27:17

Bonus Reading: Proverbs 27:6

When we ask guys if they’re connected spiritually somewhere, they often reply that they’re in a couple’s Bible study. Then we ask them if, in their couples’ group, they’ve ever talked about their struggles with porn on the Internet or with hot babes at work. We’ve yet to hear a positive response.

When in the company of women—including our wives—we simply don’t discuss the things we need to deal with. Lust and temptation aren’t the only topics. We need to deal candidly with the dynamics unique to men in marriage, career, and parenting.

Most importantly, we need to be real with one another about our progress in commitment to Christ in all areas of life. Men become men in the company of other men. Ask any warrior in any culture.

Connecting with other men isn’t optional for men who want to do life God’s way. As they share their commitment to spiritual growth, they can sustain their momentum and achieve personal changes faster than if they attempt to go it alone. No big mystery; that’s God plan.

—Kenny Luck & Todd Wendorff in Being God’s Man by Pursuing Friendships

My Response: Have I volunteered for serious discipling in a male-only context? How could I get started?

Thought to Apply: We Christian men need each other. There is strength in numbers. When isolated and separated from our brothers, we are easy picking for the enemy of our souls.  —Robert Daniels (author pseudonym)

Adapted from Being God’s Man by Pursuing Friendships (WaterBrook, 2003)

Prayer for the Week: Lord, help me to live an authentic faith for all to see.

 

 

Hold Back or Open Up? – Banter Breaker

Key Bible Verse: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  – James 5:16

Bonus Reading: Matthew 18:19-20

Years ago I was part of a group of guys who got together for breakfast every Saturday. We liked to think we had some deep relationships going, but our talk was mostly about “da Bears,” “da Bulls,” “da Cubs,” and “da Hawks.” (Hey, this was Chicago!)

One day one of the guys was quiet. We routinely asked him how things were going, expecting a smile and a “Fine, how ’bout you?” Instead, he blurted out, “Guys, my marriage is falling apart and I don’t know what to do!” I was so shocked that I almost dropped my toast. With one outburst he’d shattered our group’s veneer.

Suddenly we found ourselves rallying around him, praying for him, and revealing things about ourselves we had suppressed in the past. The experience drew us together like we’d never been before, and it changed the dynamics of our group forever. One person’s risk-taking had revolutionized our relationships.

Going deep requires disclosure. Transparency should be appropriate, equal, and gradual, and it should come after trust and confidentiality have been established. But at some point it has to come, or the relationship will remain shallow and ultimately unfulfilling.

—Lee Strobel in God’s Outrageous Claims

My Response: My guys group fellowship would go deeper if we agreed to …

Thought to Apply: When friends stop being frank and useful to each other, the whole world loses some of its radiance.  —Anatole Broyard (literary critic)

Adapted from God’s Outrageous Claims (Zondervan, 1997, 2005)

Prayer for the Week: Lord, help me to live an authentic faith for all to see.

 

 

Hold Back or Open Up? – Cut and Run?

Key Bible Verse: The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”  – 1 Corinthians 12:21

Bonus Reading: Hebrews 10:23-25

I can’t believe I’m doing this, Clayton thinks as he maneuvers his Ford Taurus through the early-morning rain. At least there’s no traffic at this hour. Well, in 90 minutes it’ll be over. And if it’s weird, I’ll tell Ted, “Sorry, but it’s just not for me.” What had Ted called it? “A men’s accountability/prayer group”? Clayton just can’t picture a bunch of guys sitting in a public restaurant (okay, a private room, but still!) talking openly about their problems and asking each other personal questions.

As Clayton switches lanes, he toys with turning around and heading home—or fleeing to the office. How safe is it to share your problems with a bunch of guys you barely know? Besides, I don’t have any real crises. What if I say something innocent and all of a sudden they want to pray for me? … put their hands on me? If they do that, I’m outta there!

Through his rain-streaked windshield Clayton sees the restaurant ahead. Moments later he finds himself inside the small meeting room. Guys are smiling and introducing themselves. Ted comes over and says, “Hey, Clayton, glad you decided to join us!”

Clayton smiles weakly. “Good to be here,” he mumbles, slipping into the chair closest to the door.

—Len Woods in Tough Choices

My Response: When does opening up seem most risky to me?

Adapted from Tough Choices (Multnomah, 1998)

Prayer for the Week: Lord, help me to live an authentic faith for all to see.

 

 

Central Church – 2022 Apportionments – Paid More Than 100%!

Well done again in 2022, Central Church!

Central Church

Central Church – Online Worship Service 158 – The Fifth Sunday of Easter – 5-7-2023

On this warm and rainy fifth Sunday in Eastertide, when we welcome Rev. Emmett Anderson as our Guest Speaker, 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=775384800909570 YouTube –   https://youtu.be/8cn-D7ikEuw (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

Hold Back or Open Up? – Marks of Authenticity

Who Said It … Jamie Bohnett

Jamie Bohnett directs the Redmond, Washington-based Fathering Forum (and its sponsoring foundation established by his own father). Earlier, he partnered in a family restaurant, managed a meat market, developed community relations for a Bible college, and served in a Christian discipleship organization. Jamie and his wife Cindy are big on short-term mission trips. And he’s into weight training, biking, and kayaking.

What He Said … Marks of Authenticity

“My father collected pistols,” said Bob, a small-business owner. “I inherited from him a rare 1848 pistol. Since there are less than 50 of them in the world, it’s worth thousands of dollars. How can you tell it’s authentic?” he asks, and answers, “By the gun’s imperfections: its scratches and nicks.”

Bob led the launch of a men’s ministry in his church based on simple authenticity. “Men are either going to be performance-based or trust-based,” he insists. “Once we realize that we’re loved by the Father, and that nothing we’ve ever done or will do can cause him to love us less, we’re set free to be real with each other.”

Bob leads by example, creating an atmosphere in which men can safely take down walls of attempted self-sufficiency. Openly sharing burdens, weaknesses, and struggles with sin fuels prayer focused on real spiritual battles.

What happens when men stop trying to cover up those scratches and nicks?

Authentic, joyful Christian fellowship!

Prayer for the Week: Lord, help me to live an authentic faith for all to see.

 

COVID-19 – Beaver County Metrics – 5-5-2023

COVID-19 Integrated County View:

Here are the weekly COVID-19 statistics for Beaver County, PA as of May 5, 2023, showing Beaver County as the only county in Pennsylvania still continuing in the HIGH category.

 

• The Incidence Rate increased from the prior reading on April 14 of 45.2 to 62.2 (an increase  decrease of 17.0 , or 37.6%), in the LOW category.
• The PCR Positivity Rate decreased from 11.2 to 11.9 in the SUBSTANTIAL category.

(Allegheny County’s figures continued in the MODERATE category during the past week, at 13.7 and 6.4%.)

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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 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.

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• 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.

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• 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.
  • Since we are currently at 8.8, resuming small group meetings may not be feasible for the immediate future.

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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. )  
  

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Active Air Filtering Measurement at Central Church

Here is some good news!

In order to continuously monitor how effectively our air filters are scrubbing the Sanctuary air for us, our Trustees have added an active air filter meter in our Sanctuary.

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 we are measuring for that level of particulates.

Our Sanctuary is disinfected prior to every worship service, so any particulates that are floating around are mainly routine 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 our Sunday in-person worship services, when the air filters are in full use, the Sanctuary air readings hover between zero and 1, except for when we were singing hymns, when it briefly increased a few points before resuming its steady decrease down to 1 ppm, so our air filters are definitely doing their job of effectively scrubbing our air!

• 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 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

What are you grateful for today?

Living a life filled with gratitude is key to our spiritual journeys.

“I think gratitude is really the catalyst for all of our spiritual growth because it opens the door for us in so many ways to experience God’s goodness, to recognize God’s goodness.

It impacts how we respond in service, in relationships, in our ministries, in our family,” says the Rev. Cathy Boileau, pastor at First United Methodist Church in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. “The power of gratitude is that it allows us to see how God is working in our lives and that God is the center of the story and not us.”

Growing in gratitude requires intentionality. We have to work at it.

“What we count, we tend to increase… If we are a person who tends to count our blessings, there are more blessings to count,” says Dr. Kent Millard, president, United Theological Seminary and author of “The Gratitude Path.” “If we count our problems, there are more problems to count. Am I complaining or am I giving thanks? They are mutually exclusive,” Millard says.

Take a cue from Jesus

The story recounted in all four gospels of Jesus feeding 5,000 people near Bethsaida illustrates Jesus modeling gratitude.

“And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people” (Matthew 14:19 NIV, italics added).

Later in the New Testament we learn Paul was also a big fan of the practice. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 the apostle leaves no room for anything but gratitude when he writes, “In everything give thanks.”

The Rev. Susan Oeffler, pastor at First United Methodist Church of Rice Lake and Canton United Methodist Church, both in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, advocates that gratitude can bring balance to lives and to a world that can feel out of control.

“The uncertainty of the world is not going to change, but we can change. We are not built to always be stressed out,” she says, adding that gratefulness in our lives leads to feeling grace, which leads to seeing beauty in the world and reduces anxiety.

“Every time someone asks you ‘how are you doing?’ return with ‘I am grateful,’” Oeffler says. “These simple words cause each of us to recheck our gratitude meter and be thankful.”

Pain is real

When Millard’s wife of 47 years passed away, he found an unexpected relationship between his grief and gratitude.

“I found myself writing about how lonely I was and how much I missed her,” he says. “In the midst of writing about the pain, I could not deny that I was deeply thankful for a community of people who walked me through the loss.

“When I expressed my gratitude, the grief began to dissipate.”

Though painful situations do occur, Boileau believes that gratefulness helps us better navigate challenges.

“Grateful people are more resilient,” she says, “because they understand everything they have is a gift. So when that ‘thing’ disappears, they are more able to thank God for the gift.

“Gratitude is that which calls to mind God’s presence,” she says. “I think focusing on what God is doing helps us to trust Him with all the things that aren’t healed or aren’t full enough.”

Cultivating gratitude step-by-step

John Stephens, senior pastor at Chapelwood United Methodist Church in Houston, echoes Millard’s idea about choosing to focus on our blessings rather than our problems. Philippians 4:8 calls us to do just that, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8 NIV)

“Paul is saying, ‘I want you to change the way you think.’ And you’re going to have to allow God to help you,” Stephens says.

“All of that gets you to a place where you’re able to live a life of thanksgiving and gratitude, because as God starts pulling us back together, that oneness, that quiet, that rest, that peace of God that comes in our lives, that expands our spirit,” he says. “That’s what allows us to live a life of gratitude.”

Unexpected benefits

“When you have a gratitude mindset, it’s easier to not have fear and denial and perfectionism control your thoughts,” Oeffler says. “It also may lower your blood pressure, increase your energy and block those negative feelings.  And you recognize that even though there are things that can go wrong, you still have things to be thankful for.

“That’s so great,” she says, “that something as simple as giving thanks can do all of that.”

*Crystal Caviness works for UMC.org at United Methodist Communications. Contact her by email or at 615-742-5138.

 

Life Is Too Short – Living the Christian Life

What was Jesus’ life too short for?

Answering that question makes sense of passages in which Jesus urges people to keep mum about being healed by him, or (in Matthew 16:20) about discovering his true identity.

Following the Father’s timetable first meant resisting going to Jerusalem (John 7:1-10), then (Luke 9:51) making it a priority.

Interact with God’s Word:  Luke 4:42-44; 5:12-16

1. The people of Capernaum (4:31) wanted Jesus to remain as their synagogue’s resident rabbi. What (4:43) was Jesus’ response?
2. What (4:42; 5:16) appears to have been behind Jesus’ decision to move on?
3. Jesus found it essential to lay his plans and goals out before the Father for frequent evaluation. Have you ever submitted your plans and goals to the Lord like this?
4. How (v. 43) did Jesus define the Father’s calling for him at this time?
5. Why do you think Jesus told the cured leper (5:14) not to tell how he’d been healed? How could excessive demands for miraculous healings have restricted his ability to accomplish his primary goal?
6. Why do you think Luke juxtaposes reports of Jesus’ mushrooming following and reputation (5:15) with his making time (5:16) for solitude?

Spend Time in Prayer:  Ask God for the insight and strength to resist being run ragged by the expectations of others or by your own misplaced priorities.

Luke 4:42-44; 5:12-16

42 Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them. 43 But he replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.” 44 So he continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea.

12 In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed. “Lord,” he said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.”

13 Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared. 14 Then Jesus instructed him not to tell anyone what had happened. He said, “Go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.”

15 But despite Jesus’ instructions, the report of his power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.

Prayer for the Week: I want to devote my life to Your purposes, Lord. Help me work that out in my responses to the situations I face every day.

 

Life Is Too Short – Go for the Gold!

Key Bible Verse: “I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich.”  – Revelation 3:18

Bonus Reading: Revelation 3:14-22

In the 1984 Summer Olympics, Carl Lewis won four gold medals. Despite his outstanding performance, some critics accused him of holding back in the long jump. Instead of going for the world record in that event, he stopped competing after his first jump, confident that he’d win the gold. He stood by and watched as other jumpers tried unsuccessfully to best his distance.

Lewis later said that the Olympic trials had taken more out of him than he had expected, so he decided to save his strength for the other events. He was there to win gold medals, he explained, not to set records that would probably last only a short time.

Mart De Haan, president of RBC Ministries, notes that the Bible has something similar to say about choosing to devote our time and energy for pursuits that have lasting value. The believers at Laodicea failed to do this. Our Lord perceived their misplaced values by the pride they took in their riches and their self-sufficiency. He warned that they were lukewarm spiritually and not relying on him. They had to decide, he told them, whether they’d keep pursuing temporal things in order to impress others, or go for the eternal gold of his approval.

—Harry Genet

My Response: What am I pouring my strength into? What eternal value does it carry?

Thought to Apply: The man who is always available isn’t worth much when he is available. —Elton Trueblood (author & university chaplain)

Prayer for the Week: I want to devote my life to Your purposes, Lord. Help me work that out in my responses to the situations I face every day.

 

 

Life Is Too Short – Holy Ruthlessness

Key Bible Verse: “I must preach the Good News … in other places, too, because this is why I was sent.”  – Luke 4:43

Bonus Reading: Luke 4:42-44; 5:12-16

I hadn’t studied very hard my junior year at college—and had the marks to prove it! Now it was summer. My senior year would determine if I could go on to grad school and an academic career. But I’d also committed to lead my university’s Christian fellowship, gotten engaged, and was teaching the church high school Sunday school class. How to cope?

I learned of a theologian who graduated from a Canadian university while leading an InterVarsity chapter. So I wrote to him for guidance. I received a page-long reply he’d typed himself: “You should focus on that to which you believe God has called you, even though others might misunderstand, even resent, your priorities. Some might think you ruthless, but you must obey God, not other people’s agendas.”

That holy ruthlessness, I now realize, is key to the successful Christian life. Jesus modeled it. Regardless of what his disciples, family, or the crowds wanted him to do, he obeyed his Father—often in ways that astonished, even dismayed, his associates.

Taking this scholar’s advice, allowing my own agendas to be overruled, helped me through that crucial year. I’ve tried to follow it ever since.

—John Stackhouse Jr. in FaithToday

My Response: My focus is ____, and I will avoid distractions by …

Thought to Apply: Don’t take on things you don’t believe in and that you yourself are not good at. Learn to say no. —Peter Drucker (business consultant & trainer)

Adapted from FaithToday (9-10/02)

Prayer for the Week: I want to devote my life to Your purposes, Lord. Help me work that out in my responses to the situations I face every day.

 

 

Hell Is Our Default Destination

Most people assume that as long as they don’t mess things up in their time here on earth, they’ll go to heaven when they die. But Scripture says the opposite. God created us for heaven, but the rebellion of the human race, in which we are all participating, has destined us for hell. Hell, not heaven, is our default destination.

Notice the breadth of who is described as going to hell in Revelation 21:8: “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (ESV).

Hell Is Our Default Destination

Included in that list are the ones you’d expect: murderers, sorcerers, etc. The “really bad” guys. But it also includes a lot of people who could be found in the church, like:

• The cowardly – those who would never stand for Jesus in front of their friends.
• The faithless – those who went to church but never really trusted God enough to obey him with their relationships or their money.
• Idolaters – those who wouldn’t put God first in their lives.
• Liars – those who came to church but whose submission to God was not sincere.

Hell , the default destination, is an eternal place of torment, and all of us—no matter where we fall in that list—are deserving of its agony. That reality makes me think of the words of Charles Spurgeon: “These are such weighty things, such that when I dwell upon them, I feel far more inclined to sit down and weep than to stand up and speak to you.”

The images described in Revelation are awful, including fire and burning sulfur. There is some question as to what is metaphorical and what is literal in Revelation, but even if these things are symbols, the default destination they are pointing to is unspeakably awful.

And, we have to assume hell is eternal, because the same word that is used for “everlasting life” is used for “everlasting death.”

You say, “But how is that fair? An eternity in hell for only 70 years of sin?”

Sin gains its wickedness by the one it’s committed against. If you punch a hole in a wall, you have to pay for the wall. If you punch a dog, that’s worse. If you punch the woman behind you in the grocery line, you’re going to jail. If you approach the Queen of England with your fists raised, something worse than jail may happen to you. Sin against an infinitely holy God is infinitely wicked.

You say, “Why can’t God just let it go?”

Because he is just. And justice demands restitution in some way. The desire we all have for God to ultimately right all wrongs and restore justice to the universe—that necessitates judgment.

You say, “Well, why doesn’t God do something about it?”

He has! He put on Jesus the full punishment for our sin. He took on every single ounce of it so nothing would be left for us.

There are only two ways to pay for sin: The eternal Son of God can die for it, or we can pay for it eternally in hell.

And if we don’t receive what he has offered to us—the free gift of salvation through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross—then what other choice does God have? If we won’t accept salvation, if we continue to push God away, if we insist on subverting his will and exalting our own, what more can God do? As C.S. Lewis said, there are, in the end, only two groups of people—those who say to God, “Your will be done,” and those to whom God says, “Your will be done.” Hell is a door locked from the inside.

The predominant image of hell in the Bible is that of fire. Fire represents insatiable desire. Leave a fire unchecked, and it continues to grow. Nurse a particular sin—jealousy, lust, racism, pride—and that fire will eventually consume you, burning brighter and brighter until you are indistinguishable from it. Hell is the place where God removes his hand and allows you to become your sin.

But it doesn’t have to be that way for you.

Look at how John ends Revelation: “The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price” (Revelation 22:17).

The last voice you will hear as you step out into a godless eternity is Jesus’, pleading with you to take his hand, to receive life, to come.

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This article on the default destination of Hell was written by J.D. Greear

http://www.jdgreear.com

J.D. Greear, Ph.D., is the pastor of The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. Under Pastor J.D.’s leadership, the Summit has grown from a plateaued church of 300 to one of over 12,000. Pastor J.D. has led the Summit in a bold vision to plant one thousand new churches by the year 2050. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Chick-fil-A since January 2022 and recently served as the 62nd president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Life Is Too Short – Opportunity Mindset

Key Bible Verse: So be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. … Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do.  – Ephesians 5:15, 17

Bonus Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:16-17

Are today’s Key Bible Verses about overloading your schedule with church events and obligations? … or turning normal relational moments into abnormal witnessing encounters?

No!  They’re about committing daily life to God’s purposes.  So …

• Make the most of every area in which God has placed you. Are you single, married, retired, parent, child, friend, employer, employee, student, or grandparent? See these callings and seasons of life as opportunities to display the grace of Christ.
• Avoid a “get through this season” mentality. We say to ourselves, If I can just get through this busy season of life, then I’ll be okay. This is an ungodly understanding of our current responsibilities and opportunities. I tend to do this with parenting: If I can just get through the diaper phase … Next it becomes: If I can just get through these early years of elementary school, then I can minister to others. But if I’m not careful, I’ll wish my life away and miss many opportunities to love and serve my children … to die to self and grow in grace. God wants us to see the daily struggles of life as critical moments of redemptive opportunity rather than hindrances.

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

My Response: A current redemptive opportunity I need to grab hold of is …

Thought to Apply: Every day is a day of reckoning.  —John W. Gardner (educator, government & philanthropy administrator)

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

Prayer for the Week: I want to devote my life to Your purposes, Lord. Help me work that out in my responses to the situations I face every day.

 

 

Life Is Too Short – Skirmishes Decide Wars

Key Bible Verse: “Awake, O sleeper …” Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days.  – Ephesians 5:14, 16

Bonus Reading: Ephesians 5:14-17

“Redeeming the time” is how today’s Key Bible Verses were traditionally translated. The Greek word for “time” used here isn’t chronos, referring to the passing of time in hours and days.

Instead, kairos is employed, which in the Bible refers to the time between Jesus’ first and second comings. An appropriate rendering would be, “As you go about your life in this in-between time, use it to its fullest to display the grace of Christ to others.”

What is Paul urging?

• Seize the little moments of life (where 95 percent of your life is lived). Suppose a husband and wife are upset with each other. Will they turn toward each other or remain angry? This redemptive moment is huge! Imagine if this couple misses thousands of these over the course of their marriage. Where will their marriage be in 20 years?

• See the context in which the details of life take place. Paul says, “Because the days are evil.” You live in a war zone. Every morning as you get out of bed there’s a battle raging for your soul, your life, your friendships, and your marriage. You can’t afford to waste these moments. The war is won in the little skirmishes that take place throughout your life. “Wake up!” Paul says, “you’re at war.”

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

My Response: What “redemptive moments” have I been failing to take advantage of?

Thought to Apply: We speak of spending time; the Bible speaks of buying it.  —source unknown

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

Prayer for the Week: I want to devote my life to Your purposes, Lord. Help me work that out in my responses to the situations I face every day.

 

 

Life Is Too Short – Life at Full Throttle

Key Bible Verse: There were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat.  – Mark 6:31

Bonus Reading: Mark 3:20-21; 6:30-32

As Robert pops out of bed and hits the floor, he knows he’ll have to run full speed just to stay up with the pace of life. Breakfast is three big swallows of orange juice and a granola bar he grabs as he rushes out the door at 7:00 A.M. …

At 7:30 P.M. Robert rolls into his driveway. He sits at the dining room table and shovels down a reheated dinner while cranking out a couple more hours of work. Finally, exhausted, Robert flops onto the couch, turns on the TV, and shifts into neutral. Eventually he drags himself to bed and tries to put his frazzled mind to rest. But in numb desperation he admits to himself that he can imagine no way out of this daily cycle.

Is Robert the protégé of some Fortune 500 company? Hardly. He’s a normal high school freshman who works hard to get good grades, plays an instrument in the school band, and excels at two sports in the school year. By the time he gets home from his soccer game after a day of school, he still has homework for three classes.

—Kevin Harney in Seismic Shifts

My Response: Our culture cheers for those with breakneck schedules. Am I ready to break ranks on this?

Adapted from Seismic Shifts (Zondervan, 2005)

Prayer for the Week: I want to devote my life to Your purposes, Lord. Help me work that out in my responses to the situations I face every day.