Central Baptist Church, Portsmouth, Virginia

Sometimes there are people in life we’d love to be around, but for whatever reason we can’t. So, we opt for the next best thing, being around people who know them best. Why? Because when you’ve been around people long enough they rub off on us. We take on some their mannerisms, tell the same stories, view life the same way. As we continue our series, Disciples Making Disciples, we’ll look at who a disciple is. You’ll surely be encouraged that a disciple can be any one of us, we just have to follow.

Jesus doesn’t merely teach about God’s concern for people; He sends out His followers to serve them. Now, that might sound a little intimidating. However, the disciples Jesus chose to send were everyday people who could relate well to other everyday people. He didn’t choose the pastors and religious leaders of the day, He mainly chose fisherman. And now He chooses to send you. The church is at her best when every Christ-follower takes seriously the imperative “to make disciples”. During our next thought provoking sermon series, Disciples Making Disciples, we’ll explore just how we can grow in our effectiveness in accomplishing the mission we’ve been given.

Sometimes we ask the wrong questions. We are continuing our series looking at stories of hope. This next story is the story of the sower. It’s easy to miss the point of the parable because we get distracted with other questions. This Sunday we’ll focus on the purpose of the story and you’ll be sure to be encouraged by the plans God has for you.

This Sunday, we’ll look at another one of Jesus’ stories. It’s a story about a king who sent out many invitations to see that his son would be honored. It’s a compelling story that causes us to wrestle with how do we respond to the invitation to honor the son.

Every parent wants to provide a strong, stable home for our children. We want our kids to grow up to be mature, responsible, good natured, and confident. Getting there can sometimes be an interesting journey. This Father’s day we are looking at a well known story that Jesus told where God is represented by a father. Well, that story is packed with a lot of helpful parenting principles that is helpful to parents in any stage of life.

Many times when Jesus taught he used stories. Stories of how to live, how to love, how honor God. His stories challenge our thinking and encourage our soul. During the next 5 weeks we will explore several of Jesus’ most captivating stories. Amazingly, Jesus’ timeless stories continue to connect with any audience.

We’ve reached the dramatic conclusion of the book of Exodus. There is one central question the Exodus has been dealing with and that is, “God, will you really be with us?” Because, sin the fall humanity moved from life to death, from God’s presence to God’s distance. Exodus 40 will answer that question in dramatic fashion, and yet leave with another cliffhanger. A cliffhanger, we’ll explore this Sunday. This is such an important message and I’m so excited to see you this Sunday.

We would sure love a silver bullet or a magic recipe to get fit or defying aging wouldn’t we? The truth is there is no silver bullet, it takes work. Likewise, with spiritual growth there is a cost involved. There is no secret recipe to make you a mature follower of Jesus. The Israelites would learn that lesson. I want us to see what it take as well. I’m excited to explore with you some key principles of spiritual growth.

Sometimes you fail so bad that know no matter how many do overs you get you can’t succeed on your own. That was the story of the Israelites. But, as we’ll see this week, God reached down to them, reestablished His covenant with them, and continued to involve them in the work of building His tabernacle. That was the story of the Israelites and in many ways it’s our story as well.

Do you ever feel like you’re losing hope? Like bad things just keep coming, or that you’ve messed up so bad this time, the situation is entirely toast? The good news is that God never counts you out, and His grace can handle any and every situation. Check in with us online or in-person this Sunday for the next stop in our journey through the Book of Exodus. We’ll see God restore hope in a big way that should encourage us for even the hardest moments we face in our lives!

Have you ever been waiting for something and it seems like it’s taking forever? The Israelites had been waiting for Moses to come down the mountain and they were growing impatient. Their impatience led to a whirlwind of sin, but the reality is their story often mirrors our story. Join us on Sunday as we explore the next movement of hope and that is, hope that is lost can be restored.

As we continue through the book of Exodus, we’ve made our way to section that sounds like it’s been ripped straight from the dark ages. This Sunday we’ll read about priests and garments, sacrifices and blood, stones and inscriptions. At first glance it is difficult to relate to, but as we dig a little deeper we’ll discover that all of that anticipated who we are to be today as followers of Jesus. This exciting sermon will draw on the past, look towards the future, and encourage us in the present.

As we continue making our way through the book of Exodus we’ve come to the point where God has rescued his people, he’s provided a set of standards for his people and now the time has come for him to dwell in the midst of his people. To do that God would choose as his dwelling place a tent. God so desperately wants to be with his people that he would reside in a tent. You know he wants that desperately to be with you as well. Come this Sunday and be encouraged.

If you’ve ever tried to climb a mountain you know it can be tough. Maybe one look at it and you’re ready to give up, but if you can make it to the top you know the view would be incredible. Well, this Sunday we will be scaling a difficult mountain of text. It’s a passage that is often skimmed over or skipped entirely. However, in taking the time to do the hard work of navigating this passage we see a fuller picture of the extent of God’s love. Be prepared to think, be challenged, to wrestle through some tough verses, knowing that the view from the top is worth it.

Easter is the ultimate celebration of life and hope! We believe it is the single most important event in human history. On Easter, a Divine Exchange took place. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus made a way for us to exchange our burdens for His power, our sorrow for His joy, our regret for His hope, and our death for His life. Experience the life-giving promises of Easter with us.

If you were to start listing off the laws in our country about how many do you think you could name? How many laws do you think we have? It’s interesting, humanity’s laws are always burdensome, excessive, so vague you need a mountain of judges and lawyers to determine what they mean. God’s law is simple, precise, and clear. We’re jumping back into the book of Exodus and our study, Hope for the 757, and this week we’ll learn about God’s standards for His people. Standards that when followed hope reigns.

At one point or another, in one context or another we’ve all had that defining the relationship experience. Peter thought he was the rock, but he had fallen worse than he ever could have imagined. He had denied his relationship with Jesus. And now that relationship needed to be defined. In fact, it is healthy for all of us to define our relationship with Jesus and what that means. This Sunday will help with that.

This Sunday you will be blessed by Toby Debause. He leads the Crisis Pregnancy Center here in the Hampton Roads area and is a passionate about seeing people live out the truths of the gospel.

This week we will get into John 21 where Jesus appears to his disciples again. This time it’s over a meal. There is something about coming to the family table where you learn who you are. The disciples would need that reminder again and so do we.

Faith can be hard. Jesus’ disciples knew their Messiah was dead and they hid behind closed doors for fear of the Jewish leaders. They had seen Jesus perform miracles, but they weren’t prepared for the greatest miracle of all. Sometimes we hide as well – behind closed doors, behind social pressures, behind our own insecurities and doubt. Once the disciples experienced the reality of the resurrection their fear was replaced with courage. During this next series, we will study from John’s gospel how the miracle of the resurrection ignited Jesus’ disciples. It will be sure to ignite your heart as well with a vision for how you can best share Jesus and impact people.