Central Baptist Church, Portsmouth, Virginia

The incarnation of Jesus wasn't the end of God's work in human life, it was just the beginning. Enjoy the reality that our lives don't have to be perfect, we just need to have enough faith to follow Jesus. (The fun quiz on the Christmas story in this message is more black and white, though!)

Everyone knows that in any kingdom there is only room for one king. That’s what makes the Magi’s request to Herod so startling. Herod is the king of the Jews and they ask to see the king of the Jews, but they’re not talking about him. What a scene that must have been. We explore it together in this sermon as we consider the question of who is on the throne of your life? Remember, there is only room for one king.

Last week we were reminded that a relationship costs everything, anything less is just a contract. This week we will be reminded of several miracles in the Scriptures and I'm sure we all believe them. But, the question will come - do you you have the room to believe God can do more in your life? This is a message you will not want to miss.

The sights, the sounds, the smells of Christmas. It is truly a season like no other. It’s a season of joy and fullness… It can be so full, in fact, that we don’t know how we can squeeze in another party, another event, another program. Maybe you feel like the innkeeper with a no vacancy sign hanging on your life. Because as you look around, you think you’ve got no room in your inn. Join us this Christmas season and be challenged as we look at our lives to be sure there’s room for Jesus.

This series on Being More of a Neighbor has been convicting. And yet, so far we've just used the culture's definition of "neighbor." In this sermon, we'll see how Jesus defines a neighbor.

Holiday time is full of families eating together. Aunts, uncles, children, grandchildren, everybody together laughing and eating. Those are good times, aren’t they? And have you ever noticed something about family gatherings… it seems that no matter how many people come or how small the house is, there’s always room for one more. There’s room for you and your neighbor in God's family tree.

Have you ever heard a child say something and you know exactly who they picked that up from? It’s a funny thing about kids, they catch a lot. We realize the same thing about faith. Our faith is much more caught than taught. What are our kids and our neighbors catching from our lives? Join us for the next message in our Being More of a Neighbor series on how to make your home a ministry center.

We live in an increasingly mobile and global society. Many have hundreds of "friends" through online social platforms and yet oftentimes we don't even know the names of our neighbors down the street. Jesus commissioned us to love our neighbors as ourselves. To love them, surely we must know them. Get ready to be challenged and equipped during our new series, Being More of a Neighbor. In fact, why don't you be good neighbor and share it with someone.

Are you familiar with the phrase that came out of the enlightenment, “I think therefore I am?" That idea has been prevalent in modern society for several centuries now. We see the ramifications of elevating the individual over and above the community all over society. But could that same thinking have unwittingly infected our churches as well? Come, let us reason together as we pursue the shift from more guilt to more love.

Have you ever heard the phrase “for this reason”? Or maybe “I told you all of that so that…”? That’s how Paul begins chapter 3 of Ephesians. All of that foundational knowledge of shifting from more effort to more Jesus and from more volunteers to more masterpieces served to set the stage for what Paul would write next. It’s some of the most gripping prose ever written.

Have you ever felt like a stranger? It's awkward and uncomfortable. It's not your place, your area, your people. In this sermon we see how God took strangers and made a family. It's our last look at the need to shift from more volunteers to more masterpieces.

“I did it!” Those are three very powerful words. They are words that each of us have probably declared proudly at one point or another. Being able to say those three little words bring us feelings of confidence, joy, accomplishment, and relief. But what happens when we can’t say those words, and all we are left with is a defeated “I can’t do it”? It’s a vulnerable place to be, but it forces us to look outside of ourselves for the solution. In this sermon, we continue our walk through Ephesians and see how God responds to the biggest “I can’t do it” of all.

Do you ever feel like you’ve got a million things on your mind or on your to do list? Are there emails sitting in your inbox that you feel like you should get to? It’s so easy, and all too common, to become so engulfed in the day-to-day that we lose the obsession of Jesus growing ever larger in our minds, our hearts, our homes, and our church. We’re tempted to settle for a little Jesus. Join us as we build one another up to shift from more effort to more Jesus.

What is your reason for being? Jesus designed His church to take the fullness of Christ into every corner of culture and every sphere of society. That is a huge calling and God handpicked you to be a part of it. We're praying our theme will shatter your small dreams and God will awaken you to the reality that you were made for more. Join us as we begin our new sermon series and theme for the year, Made for More.

There are so many distractions in our world aren’t there? What if we’re missing things God wants to teach us because we’re so busy doing good things, but we miss the best thing? The problem isn’t unique to us, people have dealt with this for centuries. Join us Sunday, we’ll be amazed by all 66 books of the Bible as we consider what it's like to learn from Jesus Face to Face.

It is said that people are like icebergs. We reveal about 15-20% of what is really going on in our lives. The other 80-85% we keep hidden below the water line. Imagine someone coming along who knows everything you've ever done, the full 100%, every last skeleton exposed. And right when you're about to be embarrassed and ashamed, they say I love you anyway.

Sometimes we can’t kind find what we’re looking for because we are looking in the wrong place. Where do you look when you want to celebrate? We’ll talk about that as we celebrate together this Sunday.

God designed church to be a team sport because we, His people, are the church. Inherit in that very design, God created a body without any spectators. Each member has a role to play. We are so excited for Involved Sunday this week, because it is an opportunity for each member to pray about how God has made you to build up the body. We hope to see you here this Sunday and you’ll be sure to be encouraged to get off the bench and into the game.