Get all the Growth Group info at https://www.christiscentral.org/growth-groups/

Meeting #1: 10/24/2021

Bottom Line: JESUS CAME TO GIVE US A BETTER STORY, NOT A HAPPY STORY.

Focus Scripture: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10

Meeting #2: 11/14/2021

Bottom Line: HAPPINESS DEPENDS ON CIRCUMSTANCES.

JOY TRANSCENDS THEM.

Focus Scripture: Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything. 2 Cor 6:10 NLT

Meeting #3: 11/28/2021

Bottom Line: THE PATH TO A BETTER STORY IS RARELY AN EASY PATH.

Focus Scripture: Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings,

because we know that suffering produces perseverance;

Meeting #4: 12/12/2021

Bottom Line: USING POWER TO SERVE OTHERS IN LOVE CREATES A BETTER STORY FOR EVERYONE, INCLUDING YOU.

Focus Scripture: Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an

example that you should do as I have done for you. John 13:14-15

Meeting #5 & #6: 12/26/2021

Bottom Line: YOUR STORY IS EITHER MOVING TOWARD LOVE OR AWAY FROM IT.

Focus Scripture: The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives;

Here is also a Recent Message from our Cuban Family in Christ

“Las herramientas que ustedes dejaron cuando vinieron nos han ayudado mucho. Les estamos muy agradecidos por toda la inversión que hicieron en su viaje, por los equipos y herramientas. También se mantiene la cocina que construyeron. Tenemos otros proyectos así que les esperamos pronto. Dios les bendiga rica y abundantemente.” – Tony Fernandez

WELCOME to CENTRALCHURCH OF CHRIST: Not a place, but a people connected by a common bond of Christ our Savior with a common mission to show HIS love, tell HIS story, and be HIS people!  We’re on our last week of an expository sermon series this week that I’m calling the “ROMAN ROAD.”  Expository means we learn from the text, and bring out it’s points, rather than topical, which is where we have a point and use the text to support it.  So here we are digging in for a while in the beautiful letter to the Romans from Paul. 

“…I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.” Romans 9:3-5

“Did God reject his people?” (The Jews) Romans 11:1

“Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery?” Romans 11:11

“I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.” Romans 11:1

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” Matthew 23:37

“I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” Romans 11:4

“Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: ‘Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved.’” Romans 9:27 Quoting Isaiah 10:22

“In that day, I will gather the lame; I will assemble the exiles and those I have brought to grief. I will make the lame a remnant, those driven away a strong nation. The LORD will rule over them in Mount Zion from that day and forever. (Micah 4:6-7)

“And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the remnant whom the LORD calls.” Joel 2:32

2 Chronicles 16:9 “…the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him…”

“So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.” Romans 11:5

“You will say then, ‘Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in. Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief…” Romans 11:19-20a

“And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!” Romans 11:23-24

“(Israelites) were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.” Romans 11:20-21

“We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.” Hebrews 2:1

“See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.” Hebrews 3:12

 “… they (Israelites) were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid.  For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.  Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.” Romans 11:20-23

ROMAN ROAD: That restoration process is listed throughout the book of Romans to bring us toward salvation.

1. The Human Problem (Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, and Romans 6:23).

The first part of the Romans Road confirms the state of every human as sinful and the state of God as holy.

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages ²⁶ but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— ²⁷ to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

WELCOME to CENTRALCHURCH OF CHRIST: Not a place, but a people connected by a common bond of Christ our Savior with a common mission to show HIS love, tell HIS story, and be HIS people!  We’re on week 6 of an expository sermon series this week that I’m calling the “ROMAN ROAD.”  Expository means we learn from the text, and bring out it’s points, rather than topical, which is where we have a point and use the text to support it.  So here we are digging in for a while in the beautiful letter to the Romans from Paul.  I’m thankful for Patrick and Joelah filling in for me while I invested time with my family in the Harding Lectureships and visiting God’s natural beauty around the country.

ILLUS HAYDEN: For example, the great classical composer Joseph Hayden, was criticized because his church music was too cheerful (and you thought “contemporary music” was a tough sell).

  He replied: “I cannot help it.  I give forth what is in me. When I think of the Divine Being, my heart is so full of joy that the notes fly off as from a spindle. And as I have a cheerful heart, He will forgive me if I serve Him cheerfully.”

Romans 7:25a  “THANKS BE TO GOD— through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

“But THANKS BE TO GOD that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.” Romans 6:17

  “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

   When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

   “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

   But THANKS BE TO GOD! He gives us the victory (over death and the grave) through our Lord Jesus Christ. I Corinthians 15:51-57

ILLUS PAUL IN PRISON: This legend tells of a wealthy merchant who had traveled to Rome to find this preacher he’d heard so much about. In his search, the merchant found Timothy… and Timothy arranged a visit.

  At the time, Paul was a prisoner in Rome. Stepping inside the cell, the merchant was surprised to find a rather old man, physically frail, but whose serenity and magnetism challenged the visitor. They talked for hours.

  Finally the merchant left and outside the prison, he asked Timothy “What is the secret of this man’s power? I have never seen anything like it before.”

  Did you not guess?” replied Timothy. “Paul is in love.”

  The merchant looked bewildered. “In Love?”

  “Yes,” the missionary answered, “Paul is in love with Jesus Christ.”

  The merchant looked even more bewildered. “That’s it. That’s all?”

  Timothy smiled and then replied, “Sir, that is everything.”

https://sermons.faithlife.com/sermons/25819-paul-the-apostle-in-love

“Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

Simon replies “I suppose the one who owed the greater debt.”

  ”You are correct” says Jesus

Then Jesus turned to the woman and said

  “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.  Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven— for she loved much.

   But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” Luke 7:36-47

Romans 7:25 Paul says “THANKS BE TO GOD— through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

“Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.” Ac 22:16

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners— of whom I am the worst.” 1 Timothy 1:15

“But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.” 1Timothy 1:16

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Mt 6:19-20

“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

   Thanks be to God— through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 7:24 – 8:2

In a moment, we’re going to sing the song TRUST and OBEY.  The hymn was inspired in 1886 when the composer of the music, Daniel B. Towner (1850-1919), was the music leader during one of Dwight L. Moody’s famous revivals

“We were in Brockton, Massachusetts, and I had the pleasure of leading singing. One night a young man rose in a testimony meeting and said, ‘I am not quite sure—but I am going to trust, and I am going to obey.’ I just jotted that sentence down, and sent it with a little story to the Rev. J. H. Sammis. He wrote the hymn, and the tune was born.”

Invitation: If you are thankful for the salvation that Jesus brings, if you are saying along with me, “Thanks be to God!”  Then the next move after thankfulness is trusting and obeying. 

“Trust and obey—for there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”

The Law can be funny sometimes can’t it!  The following is a list of police comments that reportedly were taken from actual police car videos where police arrested various law-breakers:

1. One officer told a man who was complaining about how tight the handcuffs were by saying: “Relax; the handcuffs are tight because they’re new. They’ll stretch out after you wear them awhile.”
2. Another criminal looked like he was going to run: “If you run, you’ll only go to jail tired.”
3. A drunk was pulled over and asked a series of questions ending with this one: “Was Mickey Mouse a cat or a dog?”
4. “No, sir, we don’t have quotas anymore. We used to have quotas, but now we’re allowed to write as many tickets as we want.”
5. “I’m glad to hear the Chief of Police is a good personal friend of yours. At least you know someone who can post your bail.”
6. “You didn’t think we give pretty women tickets? You’re right, we don’t. Sign here.”
7. “Warning? You want a warning? O.K., I’m warning you not to do that again or I’ll give you another ticket.”

https://www.heartlight.org/articles/200605/20060527_warningtickets.html

WELCOME to CENTRALCHURCH OF CHRIST: Not a place, but a people connected by a common bond of Christ our Savior with a common mission to show HIS love, tell HIS story, and be HIS people!  We’re on week 2 of a new expository sermon series this week that I’m calling the “ROMAN ROAD.”  Expository means we learn from the text, and bring out it’s points, rather than topical, which is where we have a point and use the text to support it.  So here we are digging in for a while in the beautiful letter to the Romans from Paul.   I learned that there is this “Roman Road to Salvation” that has been preached & taught in religious circles today, but it seems more like a cherry picking of verses.  We want to walk through Paul’s words and see what God’s Holy Spirit inspired him to say to believers. Last week we saw  in Romans 1 that God is there and he really cares for us!

Romans 6:23 tells us of that penalty: “…the wages of sin is death…”

Paul wrote: “through the law we become conscious of sin.” Romans 3:20

“All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God…” Romans 3:23

“So that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.” (Rom3:19)

The Law’s main focus was not to cleanse people… it was to point to our need of to be cleansed

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,” – Ephesians 2:8

 

This distinction is starkly demonstrated by comparing a parable taught by Jesus with a similar story found in Buddhist literature. Both stories involve sons who became rebellious and left home, but who then saw the error of their ways and decided to come back and be reconciled with their families.

  In the Buddhist story, the errant son is required to work off the penalty for his past misdeeds by spending years as a slave.

  But you know how the Christian parable of the Prodigal Son ends — with the repentant son being warmly welcomed home by his loving father and being given UNDESERVED GRACE.

https://www.comparativereligion.com/prodigal.html

“… justified freely by his GRACE” (vs. 24)

“… because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions— it is by GRACE you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4-5

Romans 3:24.  “… are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Heb 2:14-15 – “Since the children have flesh and blood, (Jesus) too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death— that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”

• In 1963 someone created a movie which told the story of Camelot among King Arthur, Guinevere, & Lancelot.
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancelot_and_Guinevere

  Mordred (who hated his father and wanted to destroy everything Arthur held dear) gleefully declares:

“Arthur! What a magnificent dilemma!

            Let her die, your life is over;

            Let her live, your life’s a fraud.

            Which will it be, Arthur?

            Do you kill the queen or kill the law?”

 “Well, you’re human after all, aren’t you Arthur? Human and helpless.”

 https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon-illustrations/6607/tale-of-two-kings-by-sermon-central

When nothing else could help, not even the Law, Love Lifted Us.

Love lifted me,
Love lifted me,
When nothing else could help,
Love lifted me;
Love lifted me,
Love lifted me,
When nothing else could help,
Love lifted me.

“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? Psalm 8:3-4

WELCOME to CENTRAL CHURCH OF CHRIST: Not a place, but a people connected by a common bond of Christ our Savior with a common mission to show HIS love, tell HIS story, and be HIS people!  We’re beginning a new expository sermon series this week that I’m calling the “ROMAN ROAD.”  Expository means we learn from the text, and bring out it’s points, rather than topical, which is where we have a point and use the text to support it.  So here we are digging in for a while in the beautiful letter to the Romans from Paul.   I learned that there is this “Roman Road to Salvation” that has been preached & taught in religious circles today, but it seems more like a cherry picking of verses.  We want to walk through Paul’s words and see what God’s Holy Spirit inspired him to say to believers.  And so he starts with Creation:

“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? Psalm 8:3-4

Psalm 136

”Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever

to him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever.

who by his understanding made the heavens, His love endures forever.

who spread out the earth upon the waters, His love endures forever.

who made the great lights— His love endures forever.

the sun to govern the day, His love endures forever.

the moon and stars to govern the night; His love endures forever.

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities— his eternal power and divine nature— have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” Romans 1:20

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_M5bBKfTxp6s/R1SGnkCfZOI/AAAAAAAAALM/OJRjoGyV6fI/s1600-R/05-03-07-Cartoon-CLR.gif)

(GOLDILOCKS ZONE)

https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/resources/323/goldilocks-zone/

Back in 1968, Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders took pictures of the earth and he noted that “It was the only color we could see in the universe…”

Romans 1:18 “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness”

“They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator— who is forever praised. Amen.” Romans 1:25

One site declared “Enjoy Nutrition as Nature Designed:” – Raw Food Diet

            https://www.naturalnews.com/raw_foods.html

Another site proclaimed “Jewelry Designed By Nature”

            https://www.boredpanda.com/floios-jewelry-designed-by-nature-from-up-cycled-silver-nature-is-created-in-golden-proportion-and-shouldnt-be-changed-by-people/?

In another place someone stated “nature designed you to hold as little muscle and as much fat as possible” (that should give us at least good excuse for being overweight!)

            https://indexarticles.com/retirement/mens-fitness/ask-the-strongman-2/

But my favorite quote was from the title of a book by an evolutionist at Amazon.com:

***“Moral Minds: How Nature Designed Our Universal Sense of Right and Wrong”.

            https://www.amazon.com/Moral-Minds-Nature-Designed-Universal/dp/B001PO6ACW/ref=sr_1_2?

***Back to ROMANS 1:18 – THE WRATH OF GOD – ME & PHOTOGRAPHER PIRACY!

            https://www.stockphotosecrets.com/questions-answers/can-i-use-photos-from-facebook.html

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities— his eternal power and divine nature— have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” Romans 1:18-20

One person said it this way: “Only God is in a position to look down on someone.”  Habeeb Akande

            https://www.quotes.wiki/only-god-is-in-a-position-to-look-down-upon-som/

“All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23

Paul gives us a whole litany of the sins of people who are

“filled with every kind of wickedness,

They are evil, greedy and depraved.

They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice.

They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful;

 they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;

they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

And although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” – Romans 1:29-32

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” Romans 1:16

Consider the simple “wooly worm” or caterpillar. (saw my first one yesterday)

            https://www.almanac.com/woolly-bear-caterpillars-and-weather-prediction

Isabella Tiger Moth – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrharctia_isabella

CLOSE: Astronomer Allan Sandage

   “It was my science that drove me to the conclusion that the world is much more complicated than can be explained by science. It is only through the supernatural that I can understand the mystery of existence.”

https://quotefancy.com/quote/1636834/Allan-Sandage-It-was-my-science-that-drove-me-to-the-conclusion-that-the-world-is-much

Take Me Back: Code of the Martyrs

Hebrews 11:1-4,Hebrews 11:35-38 – Acts 7:54-60

            One line in the movie stuck out to me. – Sully, I’ve been flying for 40 years, but I’ll be judged by 208 seconds. 3&1/2 minutes! 

            ⁵⁴ Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶ And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” ⁵⁷ But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together^b] at him. ⁵⁸ Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹ And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

“Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one.    Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.” II Corinthians 11:24-27

***“When peace like a river attendeth my way; When sorrows like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say “It is well, it is well with my soul.” It is well (it is well) With my soul (with my soul). It is well, it is well with my soul.

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” Job 1:21

 “I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39

            History holds Polycarp of Smyrna (69-155AD) as an elder of the church that met in Smyrna, just north of Ephesus in Asia Minor. Both Irenaeus (130-202AD)and Tertullian(155AD-220AD)record that Polycarp had been a disciple of John the Apostle. Jerome(342-420AD)writes that Polycarp was a disciple of John the Apostle and that John had ordained him as an elder of the church at Smyrna. The Martyrdom of Polycarp is an ancient writing dated to about 155AD and contains the final trials and words of Polycarp before he was executed. Here are the recorded words of his final prayer.

“O Lord God Almighty, the Father of your beloved and blessed Son Jesus Christ, by whom we have received the knowledge of You, the God of angels and powers, and of every creature, and of the whole race of the righteous who live before you, I give You thanks that You have counted me, worthy of this day and this hour, that I should have a part in the number of Your martyrs, in the cup of your Christ, to the resurrection of eternal life, both of soul and body, through the incorruption [imparted] by the Holy Ghost. Among whom may I be accepted this day before You as a fat and acceptable sacrifice, according as You, the ever-truthful God, have foreordained, have revealed beforehand to me, and now have fulfilled. Wherefore also I praise You for all things, I bless You, I glorify You, along with the everlasting and heavenly Jesus Christ, Your beloved Son, with whom, to You, and the Holy Ghost, be glory both now and to all coming ages. Amen.”

https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0102.htm

       Revelation 21:4 says “God will wipe away every tear from (our) eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

“By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was COMMENDED as righteous, God COMMENDING him by accepting his gifts.” Hebrews 11:4

Hebrews 11:16 “… they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.  Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”

“From heaven even the most miserable life will look like one bad night at an inconvenient hotel.” Teresa of Avila

Changes to Wed PM Gatherings

Good afternoon church family. After much discussion & prayer among the elders last night about the coronavirus pandemic increase, our church is choosing to show community love by making temporary changes to the way we meet for study & worship. For this week only, tonight’s Wed PM will be on Zoom & Livestream @6:30pm instead of meeting in the annex. Next week we hope to make use alternative outdoor options for public gatherings. Thank you for your patience as we invest effort into offering high quality & safe gathering options. May God bless you with health & faith. 

Join us on Zoom tonight at 6:30pm.

Meeting ID: 673-063-1503

Passcode: 8362874

SIGNUP UP FOR GROWTH GROUPS TODAY: https://forms.gle/k4HybzQD7p23ueNy9

Philippians 3:17-20 – Ephesians 2:11-13

The great English preacher Charles Spurgeon told of a man who had been sentenced to death by a Spanish court.  This man happened to be BOTH an American citizen AND also Englishman and the consuls of both countries decided to intervene. 

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moa/ajf6281.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext – Page 206

https://christianchronicle.org/bradleys-afghanistan/ – John & Jan Bradley of College Hills CofC, 13 years,, schools, hospitals, now helping people flee.  And people are risking awful costs, unsafe costs to leave it all behind to get here. 

“… REMEMBER that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.” Ephesians 2:12

“Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called ‘uncircumcised’ by those who call themselves ‘the circumcision’ (that done in the body by the hands of men)” Eph. 2:11

Acts 10:44 says “the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.” 

“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us AT the beginning.” Acts 11:15

Acts 10:47 he asks the “circumcised believers” who’d come with him “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water?…”

Therefore, remember that FORMERLY you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men) – remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:11-13

****MAIL CALL TO DIOGNETUS: Refreshing, exciting, and enjoyable are some of the words I’d use to describe my experience as I read through some of the ancient letters that have been preserved from the Christian world from the 1stCentury after Christ.  This week I read a letter from someone that is labeled as “Mathetes” (which means disciple in Greek) as he describes the nature of Christians to a questioner named Diognetus.  This letter has been dated to around 117AD. Some scholars connect this letter to a student of the disciple of John, because of the regular uses of “Son” and “Word” instead of the frequently used “Christ.” Whoever the writer was, he/sheoffers us a wonderful glimpse into the world of Christians after Jesus’ ascension. Here is chapter 5 and chapter 6 of the letter to Diognetus from “Mathetes.”

CH5 –“For the distinction between Christians and other men, is neither in country nor language nor customs. For they do not dwell in cities in some place of their own, nor do they use any strange variety of dialect, nor practise an extraordinary kind of life. This teaching of theirs has not been discovered by the intellect or thought of busy men, nor are they the advocates of any human doctrine as some men are. Yet while living in Greek and barbarian cities, according as each obtained his lot, and following the local customs, both in clothing and food and in the rest of life, they show forth the wonderful and confessedly strange character of the constitution of their own citizenship. They dwell in their own fatherlands, but as if sojourners in them; they share all things as citizens, and suffer all things as strangers. Every foreign country is their fatherland, and every fatherland is a foreign country. They marry as all men, they bear children, but they do not expose their offspring. They offer free hospitality, but guard their purity. Their lot is cast “in the flesh,” but they do not live “after the flesh.” They pass their time upon the earth, but they have their citizenship in heaven.

https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.iii.i.html

THIS WORLD IS NOT MY HOME:

What is a “Growth Group”?

Click here or Sign Up Below: https://forms.gle/cXGYJZtUJvczRBc9A

Each group is directed by a leader who has reviewed the selected passages of scripture and is prepared to guide the conversation. However, no one in the group is required to speak. This self-discovery discussion format multiplies the benefits of each individual’s own study by giving them an opportunity to share insights or just “listen in” to the conversation of others.

Each group meets in a home weekly for about one hour. All lessons are self-contained and require no previous attendance, so anyone can drop-in to visit any group at any time.

2021-2022 Growth Groups

Here is our complete list of Growth Groups that will meet. All Growth Groups will begin the first meeting at 6pm on Sunday, September 12^th.

Group #1

Leader: Russ Hale

Co-Leader: Roger Mason

Hosts: Paul & Amanda Stockton

Address: 349 Darlene Dr. Sparta

Group #2

Leader: John Smith

Co-Leader:

Hosts: Nathan & Ashley Aaron

Group #3

Leader: Les Tubb

Co-Leader: Patrick Lankford

Hosts: Will & Renee England

Address: 232 Gillen Dr. Sparta

Group #4

Leader: Ty Webb

Co-Leader: Rodney Baker

Hosts: Jimmy & Pat Wallace

Address: 668 Southfork Rd. Sparta

Group #5

Leader: Topher Wiles

Co-Leader: To be determined

Hosts: Central main building

Address: 45 N. Main St. Sparta

 Group #6

Leader: Bob Young

Co-Leader: John Knox

Hosts: To be determined

• Tonight (Thursday) Gabriel and I play men’s doubles at 5pm.
• Friday night Ethan plays boys singles at 5pm and I play men’s singles at 6:15pm.
• Saturday morning at 9:15am Ethan plays boys doubles.

by: Topher Wiles

It’s really easy to get caught focusing on the gold, silver, and bronze medals decorating the elite at the Olympic games.  Take a good look at the medals coming out of Tokyo this year.  They are a marvel of intricate metal machine work with ribbons of chemically recycled polyester fibres and hardwood cases.  Obviously a lot of thought and care has gone into the metal tradition that was started in 1896 at the Athens games.  (Click this for more info and a 1 minute Youtube video.)

While the detail, materials, and thought behind the metals has changed much over the years, some traditions have changed little.  Take into account the symbol on the front of the medal, the Greek goddess, Nike, who was the symbol of victory and often prayed to in battles of war and sports alike.  Nike is not known for mercy and cooperation in Greek mythology, but was a sentinel of Zeus’ throne.  Homer even calls her the daughter of Ares, who is the God of war.  Here is a snippet from a prayer to Nike in from www.goddessnike.com 

“Charge our chariots strong & sturdy.

Vanquish without any mercy

Enemies of our valiant army

And give to us a divine glory

Furnished with medallions & jewelry

Everything that is worldly

Is only ours by your decree

We worship thee on bended knee.”

The Goddess Nike is an ancient tradition of war & games victory which lacks mercy & compassion. It’s an interesting modern choice for the medals at the largest worldwide competition existing today because so few believe in the ancient Greek pantheon.  “Hellenism” may have as many as 2,000 legitimate adherents today according to archeology.com, and Nike isn’t even one of the twelve main gods/goddesses worshipped in Greek culture.  (http://archive.archaeology.org/0501/abstracts/letter.html)

Why has the world kept this tradition rather than honoring a diety that much of the world follows today?  Why not make the medal symbol one of the Jesus, since approximately 32% (2.4 billion) of the world claims Christianity as it’s religion?   He also symbolizes victory and peace at the same time.  I surmise choosing to honor Christ on the Olympic medal could usher in boycotts from the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims, or 1.1 billion Hindi’s, or 1.2 billion unaffiliated. The Olympic committee would likely be unwilling to alienate so many using an Olympic symbol from a modern religion, even if it did promote more better the Olympic mission (to build a peaceful and better world) than NIKE. (https://olympics.com/ioc/beyond-the-games)  

Perhaps we should focus more of our time and attention on the people on whom the medals hang rather than the image on the prestigious medals themselves. I’m so grateful for Olympic medal winners such as Caeleb Dressel (attends Campus Church of Christ, Gainesville, FL) who chose not to honor and thank goddess Nike for his wins and abilities, but chose to honor God for the opportunity to represent Him to the world.  Consider how much more merciful our God is than that of Nike, as evidenced in this prayer, recited by 2016 Rio Olympian Sarah Scherer whenever she gets nervous.

 
“Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.” – Matthew 6:9-13 ESV

(https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/olympics-thy-will-be-done-is-shooters-prayer/)

The symbol on the prestigious medals may not be anything we want to model our lives after, but some of the people are worthwhile examples of faithful and compassionate victors on the world’s greatest sporting stage.  May we give the God of victory and compassion all the honor & praise for the triumphs of the athletes and for our triumphs as well.  

The word “forte” comes from the latin word “fortis” meaning strength.  Our weekly Family Forte article in The Expositor is the effort of family at Central Church of Christ to give your family the love, care, and attention it needs to become a stronger version of itself.  If we can help you in any way, please contact us at Central Church of Christ through email, topherwiles@spartacoc.com, or through our website, www.christiscentral.org.

1 Let brotherly love continue. 

2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 

3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. 

4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. 

From <https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/february-2016-400-years-ago-catholic-church-prohibited-copernicanism>

1 Peter 4:9 

Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

Romans 12:13 

Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Titus 1:8 

But hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.

1 Timothy 3:2 

Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

1 Timothy 5:10 

And having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work.

Hebrews 13:2 

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

From <https://www.openbible.info/topics/hospitality>

Luke 14:12-14 

He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

Hebrews 13:1-6 (Church in HOMES)

Do not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. – Hebrews 10:25

From <https://biblehub.com/hebrews/10-25.htm>

1 Let brotherly love continue. 

2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 

3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. 

4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. 

&&&5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 

From <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2013&version=ESV>

When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. 14:26

27a: “If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three.”

verse 27c: “. . . and let someone interpret.”

28: “But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God.” 

29a: “Let two or three prophets speak.”

29b: “. . . and let the others weigh what is said.”

30: “If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent.”

31: “For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged.”

Gordon D. Fee says of this passage: “The character of one’s deity is reflected in the character of one’s worship.” 

https://www.idisciple.org/post/the-god-we-worship

Oh, more than an obligation

It’s our foundation

The family of God

I know it’s hard

But we need each other

We’re sisters and brothers

Oh, take me back

To the place that feels like home

To the people I can depend on

To the faith that’s in my bones

Take me back

To a preacher and a verse

Where they’ve seen me at my worst

To the love I had at first

Oh, I want to go to church

Psalm 41:9- Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.

Zechariah 11:12-13- Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord, to the potter.

Zechariah 13:7b– Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/preach-the-gospel-at-all-times-st-francis_b_1627781

• Nursery: Located in the Main Building Downstairs
• K-5th: Located in the Main Building Downstairs
• 6th-12th Grades: Located in the Annex Building Downstairs
• Young Adult: Located in the Library/Lounge (Topic is 1 Timothy)
• Adult: Annex Building Upstairs (Topic is 1 John)

Scripture: Titus 3:1-8

INVITATION – Loveable Losers – Bring Christ Your Broken Life

Central Young Adult News – 2 Items: Kayaking & Sunday Bible Study

Family Forte: Invincible Love & Saving Marriage

by: Topher Wiles

How many of you were like us?  I thought that we would tie the proverbial knot, carry Ashley over the threshold, and as the fair tales say, “live happily ever after?” We dated for two years, were engaged for one, and had a beautiful wedding.  Now after 17 years of marital ups and downs, we discovered that a good marriage is so much more than a loving feeling, a lavish ceremony, and having a lot in common. I wish we had gone through some sort of organized premarital counseling. 

If we’re being truthful with ourselves, that whole “till death do us part” in the marriage vows is increasingly ironic.  According to Les & Leslie Parrot (authors of “Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts”) things are changing. In the 1930s, one out of seven marriages ended in divorce. In the 1960s, it was one out of four. On survivedivorce.com, that figure is now around 40 percent of marriages today ending in divorce. That tells us that so many couples toss the bouquet, return the tuxedos, and assume they’re heading for marital bliss while their ship is really sailing toward wedded disaster.  

We believe God has more in store for your family forte than what our current culture provides.

Here at Central Church of Christ, we believe God has set the standard on what a loving relationship is and we are preparing ourselves to help members in the community get ready for the best marital relationship possible. That’s why I and others at our church have gotten certified to offer pre-marital counseling through the SYMBIS (Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts) system to our community. This 30 minute pre-marital assessment tool and five accompanying counseling sessions are designed to give couples the following: healthy expectations of marriage, a realistic concept of love, a positive attitude and outlook toward married life, a better way to communicate feelings, an understanding of gender differences, the ability to make decisions and settle arguments, a common spiritual foundation, and a deep and abiding commitment to the bonds of marriage together.  This is the broader concept of what invincible love looks like day-in and day-out in a marriage.

Tennessee understands the value of pre-marital counseling as our state offers a $60 discount (from $97.50 to $37.50 in White County) on marriage licenses to couples who obtain pre-marital counseling within a year before the marriage.  For couples choosing pre-marital counseling with us here at Central, we ask that the couple cover the $35 assessment fee, and we will provide 5 free counseling sessions directed by the findings of the assessment. All told, you’ll come out of this saving $25 in Tennessee and saving your marriage before it starts!

It doesn’t matter if you go to church or not, you are welcome to enjoy premarital counseling with us at Central Church of Christ as we strive to strengthen families in our community through the SYMBIS assessment and premarital counseling. If you’d like to learn more about marriage and more, just contact me, Topher, at topherwiles@spartacoc.com or call our office at 931-836-2874.  

Marriage doesn’t have to be a gamble. Your lifelong partner is better than a roll of the dice. Your marriage can be better prepared to weather the storms that will come. You can enjoy “invincible love.” We’re here to help.

Hang my locket around your neck, wear my ring on your finger. Love is invincible facing danger and death. Passion laughs at the terrors of hell. The fire of love stops at nothing— it sweeps everything before it. Flood waters can’t drown love, torrents of rain can’t put it out. – Song of Songs 8:6-7

² Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic^a] called Bethesda,^b] which has five roofed colonnades. ³ In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.^c] ⁵ One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” ⁷ The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” ⁸ Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” ⁹ And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

The Truth Will Set You Free

³¹ So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ³³ They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave^b] to sin. ³⁵ The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷ I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. ³⁸ I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

• I Corinthians 10:1-2 Paul wrote: “I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.”
• Galatians 3:27 “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

Scripture Reading: Mark 10:42-45

“To the elders (presbuteros) among you, I appeal as a fellow elder (presbuteros), a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds (poimainō) of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers (episkopeō) — not because you must, but because you are willing….” (1 Peter 5:1-2)

“From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders (presbuteros) of the church…. Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers (episkopos). Be shepherds (poimainō) of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.” (Acts 20:17, 28)

Pilot and Seeing Eye Dog

https://laferianews.net/?p=6221

Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” – Matthew 15:14

“Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” I Peter 5:5-6 NKJV

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” I Peter 5:7-10

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2009/april/14/unintentional-king-air-pilot-an-interview-with-doug-white

Our Air Traffic Controller has left instructions to get us flying toward home.