Central Baptist Church, Portsmouth, Virginia

We live in a world where so many people have opinions about how we should think, what we should do, how we should fee. The prophet Zephaniah spoke during a similar time in Judah’s history. Amid so many voices vying for Judah’s attention, Zephaniah said be quiet because there is only one who has the say. This prophet speaks right to our culture today.

It's always nice when someone responds to what you're saying. Momentum can be gained, relationships deepened, and progress made. We see that in the book of Haggai. The people were teachable and progress was made. It makes us wrestle with the question, "Are we teachable?".

Do you ever feel like you're spinning your wheels? Moving in slow motion? Like the clock has stopped? The daily distractions of life and difficult events can make us feel like all our best efforts are futile and useless. It's easy to get stuck. This Sunday we resume our study in the Minor Prophets with the book of Haggai, and we'll see a people who had gotten stuck in futility and had lost their way. And we'll see God swoop in to rescue them and get them back on the right track, just like He does so often.

He is Risen! It is finished! This radical reality effects all of history – the past, present, and future. When you are confronted with the risen Christ it’s almost difficult to know what do with something so grand. The disciples struggled at first. This Easter we’ll look at Jesus’ final words from the cross, It is finished, and the implications of that.

Sometimes when life is scary or hard we retreat back to the moments or teachings from when we were kids. It’s that wisdom that we tend to lean on and recall. Jesus wasn’t any different. From the cross he prayed a prayer that he would have prayed as a child. Prayer marked Jesus’ life and should shape ours as well.

This week Pastor Steve takes a look at the statement from Jesus, "I thirst". We also get to hear from Ron Minton, our missionary to the Ukraine, on how he and his wife, Nancy, are making disciples.

We’ve all dealt with struggle and hardships. No one is a stranger to pain and despair. It may surprise you to know that Jesus can relate. As we continue to look at what Jesus said from the cross we’ll see that he knows heartache all too well. What’s more, he knows the way out. He can navigate us through difficult seasons of life so that we can be overcomers. Check out this week’s message to learn how.

As we continue Missions Month here at Central in our series of the Seven Sayings from the Cross. We will take a look at Jesus’ third statement, “Woman, behold your son.” Together, we will see Jesus’ compassion on full display. Even in the pain, stress, and extreme pressure He endured, he still showed compassion to others.

Our days are full driving by and walking past so many people who are nameless to us. This Sunday, as we look at Jesus' second statement from the cross we'll meet perhaps the most well-known nameless person. And we'll be encouraged that no matter how loud life may get no one is ever nameless to God. He's always present in every moment of everyday.

Sin is deadly and grace is extremely expensive. On the cross, all of the sin of humanity was placed upon the Lamb of God who takes it all away. From that cross Jesus made 7 statements. Statements that demonstrate both the ugliness of sin and the cost of grace. Together, we’ll study those 7 statements and discover how Jesus is calling us to be people who experience grace and then pay the cost to extend grace to others. The series will culminate with an exciting finish on resurrection Sunday.

Every once in a while we read something so striking that it causes us to reread it, to ask questions, to make sure we understand it. This week we as we continue our Minor Prophets study we will begin looking at the book of Nahum. It's a short book full of beautiful and yet brutal poetry. It's a book that almost stops us in our tracks as it is designed to cause God's people to trust in God and God alone.

Every once in a while we read something so striking that it causes us to reread it, to ask questions, to make sure we understand it. This week we as we continue our Minor Prophets study we will begin looking at the book of Nahum. It's a short book full of beautiful and yet brutal poetry. It's a book that almost stops us in our tracks as it is designed to cause God's people to trust in God and God alone.

Last week, Clarence helped us wrestle with the fact that life presents some hard, difficult questions. We saw the importance of remaining faithful even when so many of our questions are unanswered. This week, as finish up our study of Habakkuk we’ll see that God desires for us to move past our confusion to place of thriving. The conclusion to God’s conversation with this prophet is wisdom we all need.

Do you remember when life was simpler? You know, that time when it just seemed that you had the answers to most of life's questions. That is definitely not the case now, in fact it is quite the opposite. Often, life does not make much sense at all as we have so many questions and the answers to those questions just don't seem to be sufficient. The lack of answers can sometimes leave us in a state of confusion. As we continue our journey in the Minor Prophets and begin in the book of Habakkuk, we will see how the prophet has questions that he needs answers. Bring a friend along this Sunday and join us as we look together at this exciting passage of scripture.

This week we wrap up the Minor Prophet of Jonah.

We all want God’s favor and his blessing on our lives. However, sometimes we fail to realize what that favor and blessing often entails. This week we’ll begin looking at the familiar book of Jonah. It’s a story we know well, but some of the lessons from the book can take a while for us to learn. Join us this Sunday as we dig into this most well-known minor prophet. A prophet we often relate to all too well.

Often times in life there are certain things in life that we want so desperately. Then, once we get those things we realize what we wanted isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Join us Sunday morning as Micah pleads with a group of people who have everything they want, but are missing what they truly need. As you read Micah it’s a lot like reading the headlines of the day.

We get back into our study of the Minor Prophets with Micah.

Happy new year Central! As we start off 2022, you might already have a plan of how 2022 is going to go. You might even have some new year’s resolutions already going strong. But what happens when things don’t work out according to plan? What if we find ourselves in the worst-case scenario? We might be tempted to try to work things out on our own or even fold under the pressure. Thankfully, there is another option available to us - we can choose to trust God no matter what circumstances we are going through.

Merry Christmas! I hope you that you and your family have a wonderful Christmas celebrating the birth of Jesus, his life, and the life he gives.