I call the things I have mine. My truck, my house, my yard, my paycheck, mine, mine, mine. But the truth is that someone else holds claim on what I call mine. A bank holds the mortgage on my house and yard, a different bank holds the title to my truck, and government takes a … Continue reading Our Possessions

This coming month our lessons at Central will focus on the Revolutionary Grace that God supplies in Christ. As I was previewing some material, I recalled this poem I wrote in 2012. This is Grace Satan is a powerful enemy, His mission is but to deceive. He wants me to ignore God’s promise, In grace … Continue reading This is Grace

We live in a time of uncertainty and fear. We do not know what the next day brings, much less the next year. We are facing a viral pandemic that we now understand as an endemic, meaning we will deal with this virus for years to come. Many countries face civil unrest, including the United … Continue reading Facing My Fear(s)

Peter writes to Christians, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had … Continue reading He Chose Me

Two weeks ago we looked at how this world of sin can stain our lives - our souls. We explored keeping ourselves unspotted from this world, but the reality is that our past and our inconsistency stains us. The Good News is that those stains are not permanent. God provides stain removal through the blood … Continue reading Joy, Joy, and More Joy!

An advertisement from my childhood promised to remove "ring-around-the-collar" every time. A well-known infomercial of a decade or two ago demonstrated the stain removing power of an oxygen boosted powder. The products these commercials promoted seemed almost too good to be true and to be over-selling the abilities of their products. You may think otherwise. … Continue reading Removing the Stains

I have a collection of what I call "yard-work" or "car-work" shirts and jeans. They have stains from daily use. Likely, I was wearing a shirt or pair of jeans while cooking or moving something greasy or oily and permanently stained those clothes. Those clothes then moved from the "wear in public" drawer to "I … Continue reading Stained!

This Sunday at Central as we are learning about Revolutionary Families and to be Christians who stand apart from the world, we are looking at marriage. I know, you know (or you need to know) that Marriage Matters, so I am taking today as a preview to Sunday and to encourage you to focus on … Continue reading Focus on Your Marriage

When is the last time someone sincerely told you thanks? Maybe they told you in person, or maybe they sent a note or card in the mail; whatever method they chose, you felt blessed. When was the last time you told someone thank you? You know how receiving thanks makes you feel, have you blessed … Continue reading The Grace of Thanks

I was walking through the building with this sword in hand and our ministry intern looked at me quizzically. Last year, I set this sword on a table in the front of auditorium at Central as I preached. Why does Scott have a sword? The short answer: Because I wanted one. This one is a … Continue reading A Sword?