Central Baptist Church, Portsmouth, Virginia

We all know that certain boundaries, certain limits are healthy. Healthy people have boundaries, healthy people have limits. Even in relationships there is such a thing as too many flowers, too many phone calls, too many messages, too many unexpected visits. That can cause things to get weirdly uncomfortable real fast. So, what do with a God who knows no boundaries who has no limits? Well, the end...

There are certain phrases and images that find a way to etch themselves into our hearts and minds. As we continue our study of the minor prophets we will be spending the next two weeks exploring the prophet, Joel. He writes in such a way that his words tend to stay with you. He paints images so vivid that they don’t go away. These images are profoundly helpful as they instruct us how we should rel...

This week we jump into the first of our minor prophets as we study the prophet, Obadiah. As we jump in we’ll see that we are wading right into the middle of sibling rivalry that spiraled into a terrible family feud. This feud resulted in pride, unforgiveness, violence, and more. But the prophet tells us these problems don’t simply characterize this family, but all nations. This Sunday will be quit...

Over the last year and half our culture and our world has been told about the importance of distancing and isolating. For longer than that, we’ve been trained to be very introspective and to discover our own identity. At the core of humanity is this bent toward safety and self. However, when Jesus prays in John chapter 17 He prays for something so much more. He prays that the church would come tog...

We are wrapping up our Disciples making Disciples series this week in exciting fashion. We’ll see being a disciple maker requires the qualities of a soldier, and athlete, and a farmer without those qualities you risk never completing the task. However, when we are focused God creates a legacy of impact that reaches down the generations. Make sure to take part in this exciting conclusion.

Have you ever been caught off guard by something or someone? It’s not a very fun feeling, is it? Sometimes we can be caught off guard when disciple-making opportunities are right in front of us. No matter where we are in our walk with Jesus we always need to be praying for God to open doors. We’ll learn that from Paul, a master disciple-maker, this week.

If you’ve ever seen an animal in captivity and then seen an animal in the wild you know there is a big difference. The animal behaves differently and depending on the animal we respond differently. Well, this week we are examining what it’s like to live free, in the wild, as opposed to the safety of Christian captivity. It’s going to be exciting.

We’ve all had conversations that have changed the course of our lives. We’ll always remember where we were when we heard certain news or talked with people in a certain way. This Sunday we’ll talk about a conversation like that. It’s a conversation that Jesus just had to have.

Have you ever had high expectations for something only to have them exceeded by the actual event. Jesus sends his followers out to represent him and that comes with a lot of expectation. It can stir up fear, excitement, adventure, and the list goes on. This week we’ll explore how Jesus sent his first disciples out. That experience provides us with some fascinating discoveries with how we’re sent a...

Have you ever had your heart broken? Have you ever experienced the sting that is so deep that the hurt and pain seemed to linger around? If so, you are in good company, Jesus experienced heartache also. Jesus had a heart for others. As we continue our series, Disciples Making Disciples, we will see how Jesus showed compassion to all people and challenges you to do the same.

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...

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...

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 help...

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 S...

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 princip...

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...

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....

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 desper...

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 se...

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.