Central Christian Church

At whatever financial level your at or stage of life your in—the Wonder Years, the Wage-Earning Years or the Wealthy Years; Paul instructs you to “do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19)

There is no more influential or powerful role on earth than a mother’s. Stay at it, dear ladies. Never doubt the value of your calling. Without your positive supportive partnership, the family simply could not survive. (Proverbs 24:3-4 & 2 Timothy 1:3-7)

The 10-10-80 Plan is the biblical teaching that says the first 10% goes to God; the second 10% goes to your savings; the remaining 80% is for you to live off. God wants us all to be good stewards of all that he has given us. (Prov. 3:9-10; 21:20; 23:4)

The key is your spending habits and attitude towards money. We are mere managers of God’s resources. We will find the deepest satisfaction and fulfillment from spending our lives and resources for His cause. (Luke 16:1-13)

There’s a way of hearing that can keep me deaf to what I’ve heard. There’s a way of seeing that makes me blind to what I should see. There’s more to “us” than meets the eye. This is not all of “us.” We need to tag our neighbors and say, “You’re us!” (Psalm 117)

By approaching suffering seriously it gives meaning and dignity to the person who suffers, and leaves the healing up to God in Christ on the cross. When you embrace suffering it will lead to good grief that, in the end, enables you to say, “I hope!” (1 Cor. 15:12-19, 51-57 & Other Selected Scriptures)

Fear has a limited capacity to deter our hearts from sin. We must add fascination to it. Resisting is empowered by rejoicing. Reading the law of God is for the purpose of rejoicing in what is read. (Luke 15; Matt. 22:2-12; Ps. 1:1-3; Isaiah 61:10; 64:6)

We should pray for knowledge of truth that will change our lives rather than simply inform our minds. The experience of being able to forgive is preceded by some experience of being forgiven. Simply put: Forgive One Another! (Luke 15; Matt. 18:21-22; Col. 3:12-15)

The point of the Christian life is not to simply be received back into the welcoming arms of love of the Father but to become like the Father. (Luke 15; Isaiah 53:3-7, 10-11; Acts 9)

Because both sons have not yet faced their own sin, they cannot possibly understand what reconciliation means or what it costs. Which son are you? (Luke 15:25-32)

To the extent to which I am in touch with my “lostness” and brokenness is the extent to which I grasp the glory of the Gospel and am able to revel in the Father’s love. (Luke 15:20-32)

In the deepest sense the prodigal is not going home. He is going back to servanthood. At the edge of the village he is still lost. Faith is the radical trust that home has always been there and always will be there. (Luke 15:11-32)

Seeing Luke 15 in its cultural context can lead to a Copernican-like Revolution in our understanding of the gospel Jesus teaches in this parable. The emphasis here is not on the one who is lost as much as it is on the One who is searching. (Luke 15:1-10)

Does this simple revolution have any significance to churches and church leaders? Emotional health and spiritual maturity are inseparable. It is not possible to be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature.

Without authentic spiritual and relational vitality in a local gathering of believers, the church does not have the resources that are demanded to engage transformation and to influence the world. (Acts 2:41-47; Matt. 25:35-40; Isa. 6:5-7 & Other Selected Scriptures)

If we agree that imitating Jesus is the key to success as a Christian, why don’t we do what he did? The transformation we should be seeking is the ability to do the right thing regardless of the pressure in our lives to do differently. (John 4:31-34)

The lesson of perseverance has more to do with faith than it does with our existing culture. If you’re always moving on, you’ll rarely move forward. While perseverance doesn’t always pay off, giving up rarely does.

God doesn’t want you to do more for Him. He wants you to be more with Him. If your life bears a lot of fruit, God will invite you to abide more deeply with Him. (John 15:1-11; Ps. 42 & 43)

The gospel is the work of God to restore humans to union with God and communion with others, in the context of a community for the good of others and the world. The sure indicator of the gospel in a local community is how those Christians live.

We’re well educated and equipped to earn a living. The problem is we’ve failed to learn how to live. The Psalmist and Jesus both confront us to live in the present, something many people avoid most of their lives. Today, well-lived, is the answer. (Ps. 118:24; Matt. 6:25-34)