Central Baptist Church, Portsmouth, Virginia

We’ve all been stuck in traffic jams. Sometimes they make us a few minutes late, other times we miss meetings or appointments altogether. In those moments of waiting and feeling stuck I think most of us would confess we don’t wait well. As we continue tracing the big picture of the Bible, we’ll see that even as God begins his rescue plan, we struggle to wait well.

Have you ever been way up high? Maybe on top of a mountain, or a tower, or in an airplane? When you look down from there people look like ants. Cars and houses look like toys. On a clear day you can see for miles. It’s amazing what a change of perspective does. Most of the time as we study the Scripture we look at the details. We study a paragraph or two and then move to the next several paragraph...

This week we wrap up our series titled, The Table. I hope this study has deepened your understanding and appreciation of how the table symbolizes God’s provision for you and His presence with you. The table is this exclamation that yes, God can prepare a table amid your messiness. It’s a reminder that there is no more altar, Jesus paid it all. We’ve seen that we aren’t merely served from a table,...

Life is full of many exciting mealtime celebrations. So much so, that most celebrations seem incomplete if there isn’t any food present. Throughout our table series, we’ve seen that humanity often asks the question from Psalm 78, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness?” And God continually demonstrates to humanity that yes He can. Yes, He has, yes, He does, and as we’ll see this week, yes, He w...

There is something so simple about having a meal around a table. Some of the best moments in life are spent in those simple places. So, is it any wonder that when Jesus wanted to give us a picture of his provision and his presence, he didn’t give us a statue or a tower – he gave us a table. We’ll discuss all of that and more this week in our series, “The Table”.

Have you ever been invited to someone’s house for dinner? The joy of the meal is not simply the food, it’s also the people who you share the food with. In fact, it would be strange to be invited over for a meal and then the hosts leave you to eat the meal alone. The provision is simply the means to presence. We see that even in an Old Testament table. You will not want to miss this week as we cont...

God gives his people a variety of images in the bible to convey truth. The rainbow was given so that we would know because of God’s love He is never going to flood the earth again. We are given bread and wine, communion elements, to be reminded of Jesus’s sacrifice for us. That ties into the most iconic Christian image, a cross. There’s another image that appears from Genesis all the way through R...

Have you ever camped under the night’s sky in a place that was not polluted by light? You look up and you see the brilliance of the heavens. Did you know there are more stars in the sky than grains of sand on the earth? Perhaps that’s one of the reasons the sky speaks of God’s majesty and glory. The night’s sky sometimes spurs us toward pondering the deeper things of life. It did that for David. W...

We talk a lot about following Jesus with all our hearts. David prayed for that exact same thing in Psalm 86. He recognized the help he would need in order to have whole-hearted devotion. This week we’ll study the psalm from a couple different angles and learn what it means to have a united heart.

Did you know that Martin Luther, famous for the reformation, also wrote hymns? His best-known hymn is probably “A Mighty Fortress”. He wrote that hymn based on his favorite psalm, psalm 46. Luther lived a hard life full of many difficulties. Psalm 46 was a reminder of God’s strength for him.

We’ve all been in that situation where we’re busted. We must come clean about the wrong we’ve done. Sometimes, we think that’s kind of how confession works. Biblical confession is so much deeper, and the results are so much more freeing.

Have you ever had someone jump out from behind a corner and scare you? We all know that heart-racing, adrenaline-pumping feeling. However, those momentary scares are nothing compared to the fears we sometimes face in life. This Sunday we’ll confront our fears in Psalm 34 and learn how to trade anxiety for God’s peace.

Have you ever noticed that often you can have more confidence when you’re with a group, as opposed to when you face something alone? It was common for the Israelite king to gather with his people to seek God’s help as they prepared for battle. We might not be preparing for a physical battle, but Psalm 20 instructs us that in our day of trouble as when trust in the Lord our confidence grows.

Traditionally to develop photographs you had to go into a dark room. By using special equipment like trays, a safe light, and a focus finder pictures are developed and the beauty of the scene is captured. Sometimes, we step into the dark room of life but when we grieve biblically we emerge in the light. Join us this Sunday as we explore Psalm 88.

I am so excited that this Sunday you will have the opportunity to hear Andrew Fry preach to us from Psalm 128. Andrew and Heather have been an active part of Central for about a year now. Andrew is currently studying at Liberty University and we’re excited that he is interning with us this summer. So, make this Father’s Day meaningful by worshipping with us and be encouraged with a psalm that help...

Life is full of ups and downs - highs and lows - and everything in between. The human experience is full of a myriad of emotions. During some seasons of life talking to God can be challenging. Our prayer life can become stagnant or routine. The Psalms are songs that help give us words when we don’t know how to pray. During this next series, we will study several Psalms that help us understand the...

After an exciting year studying through 1st and 2nd Peter, we are coming to an end of our “Confidence” series. Peter ends his 2nd letter on a high note of encouragement to the church. His conclusion ought to stir your heart and your mind toward usefulness and fruitfulness.

It’s that time of year when one day feels like a thousand years … Will the school year ever end? Will the school day ever end? How many more days until summer? When will my tomatoes be ready? When will the AC kick on? Amid delay and deferred dreams, we can become discouraged and get misdirected. And that’s one reason why it’s so important for us to gather together as the church—so we can remember...

Some of us enjoy vegetables while for others they may be an acquired taste. However, almost all of us recognize their nutritional value so we try to develop in our kids a palate for vegetables because we want them to be healthy and strong. We come to a passage in 2 Peter that most would not run to as their favorite passage in Scripture. However, this warning passage from Peter is of critical impor...

Waiting is one of the most difficult things to do. Whether it’s waiting for graduation, Christmas, or waiting all day for Sunday night in the fall. We want things to happen quickly, as they should be, and on our timetable. But what do we do when the unexpected happens and what we have been waiting for turns into an impossible situation? We will dive into what our response should be in the waiting.

Have you ever had to raise your voice at someone – not in a sinful, emotional way, but in a protective way? Or maybe there was a dangerous moment in your life when someone raised their voice towards you and saved you from a lot of harm. As we continue our study of 2nd Peter, Peter effectively raises his voice to the church to save them from what would be certain destruction. His warnings are just...

Have you ever been conned? Maybe someone sweet talked you into a deal that sounded to good to be true and then it was. It usually happens because someone gains your trust, but then turns out not to be trustworthy. As it turns out there are those who use the name of Christ, and call themselves Christians only out of greed. Peter has a lot to say about the effect of false teachers. This important me...

What causes you to stop and pay attention to what someone is saying? Maybe it’s the seriousness of their voice, or the seriousness of the situation. Peter grabs the attention of his audience by telling them he doesn’t have much time left. That, maybe like nothing else, has a way of grabbing your attention. He had a reminder that was of critical importance for the church. It remains of critical imp...

Sometimes, you will run into someone you haven’t seen in a long time and they will say, “you haven’t changed a bit.” As we age, that’s always a nice thing to hear. No one wants to be greeted with someone saying, “wow, I can’t believe how you’ve changed.” However, what may be true physically is not true spiritually. We should all be changing.

We’re familiar with the expression – “things have gone from bad to worse.” We’ve all seen examples of that. In some ways that was the context of 2nd Peter. Not only was the church dealing with the persecution and sufferings that Peter addressed in his 1st letter. Now, there was a growing tide of heresy and false teaching that threatened the church. There are many parallels to the church today and...