A Video to Watch

A member of Central sent me a link to this video. Please take 11 minutes and watch it and then ponder deeply the complete message. We need the completeness that Jesus has given us.

The Gospel

Thinking About Giving

A week or two ago, one of the other pastors at Central shared with me the video linked below. It is a short two minute clip that talks about giving and I think challenges us to think about the why God and the Bible call us to give. Money and issues related to giving are always a little bit tricky for most of us. As a pastor, I am well aware that churches are often viewed as just being after people's money. I also know that verses like 2 Corinthians 8:7 call us to grow in the grace of giving and in 2 Corinthians 8:24, Paul connected of giving as proof of our love. Six years ago I had the privilege of speaking with a respected Christian leader. He had served as a missionary, a pastor, and a seminary professor. He had and has a heart to see people come to Christ and grow to maturity in Christ. He said a number of things to me that day, but one thing has stuck out to me, both as a person and as a pastor. He said, "Money is the final frontier of the Lordship of Jesus Christ."

Money and giving are issues that we wrestle with as people. I believe finances is an area where we desperately need God's help. Please take two minutes and watch the video link, and then think about what God is asking you to with your money and your giving. If you have questions or comments on this subject, I would love to hear them.

Why does God want your money?

Do we need to talk about sin?

One of the other pastors at Central drew my attention to the article linked below. Sin is not something that we like to talk about. We seem to really like forgiveness and grace, but who wants to have to face up to sin? Back in the early 70s, a psychiatrist Karl  Menninger wrote a book titled, Whatever Became of Sin? He wrote out a concern that by labeling sin as a cultural taboo or a social blunder was doing noted damage to people. Dr. Menninger was not, at that point at least, a follower of the Lord Jesus, but he saw the need for people to take sin seriously.

I believe God's grace and forgiveness are incredible. We should talk about them much, but we also need to talk about sin. Sin is a reality. Please read the article and share with me any of your thoughts.

Why Doesn't Anybody Talk about Sin Anymore?