Pastor’s Blog

A New Venture – C3

Posted on Mar 27, 2019 in Pastor's Blog |

A New Venture – C3

Hayden 2-02-19

Starting Sunday, February 17^th, we will be launching a new Sunday evening service here at Central Christian Church. On Sundays at 6:30pm, this ministry hopes to embark on a new worship experience with a modern flair, new and current music styles, aggressive outreach, relevant and Biblical preaching and teaching, and awesome times of congregational and personal prayer. It is the wish of Central Christian Church to continue the current Sunday morning worship for those who have been faithful for so many years, and at the same time reach out to a new generation with those seeking a more contemporary worship experience on Sunday evenings. It is an exciting time, albeit stress-filled as we work to plan this new venture (and an adventure it is) God has moved us toward.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” The new service, called “C3”, is a new effort for ministry that we hope to be able to utilize the gifts and ministry personalities of others for the common good, not only of Central Christian, but of the whole Body of Christ in Huntington. Having different style services is nothing new in churches, even churches in Huntington. But we hope to be able to reach into a new niche that has yet to be filled for many in our community and still fulfill the needs of those being touched by God in the present Sunday offering.

Please keep this ministry in prayer. If you are moved by a more modern, contemporary and charismatic style service, come join us Sunday evenings at 6:30pm. If you are being ministered in our present service and not interested in a modern style worship, join us Sunday mornings at 10am and consider being a support help for those on Sunday evenings. And if you are wanting to make Sunday evenings your worship time of choice, consider being a support person on Sunday mornings. We hope to have something for all, regardless of your personal worship style that will provide all a time of relevant ministry, to and by others!

May God bless you even more!!

Pastor Chris

A Holy Anointing

Posted on Mar 27, 2019 in Pastor's Blog |

A Holy Anointing

May 15, 2014 Chris Hayden

Sunday, May 19 (2013) was a special day at Central Christian Church as we honored and celebrated our men and women of the armed forces. It was a wonderful time of worship and remembrance as we gave allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ and thanked our troops for putting their lives on the line to safeguard the freedom that allows us to pursue a relationship with God, unhindered. I will never apologize for saying that our Church supports our troops even if we may have differences on the validity of our political leader’s mission (but I digress).

That day was also, what is known in the Church as, “Pentecost Sunday.” It is the day we celebrate and remember the impartation of the Holy Spirit to the Lord’s disciples and the beginning of His Church; the Body of Christ. It was now that believers were filled with the Spirit of God and received the power and promised Comforter that Jesus spoke of before His earthly departure. In the book of Acts 2:38, the Apostle Peter tells the listener to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is that same Holy Spirit that Jesus spoke of in the first chapter of Acts as the promise of the Father that brings power to witness to the world. Without this anointing of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we become spiritually impotent and anemic in our faith.

It is this very anointing of the Holy Spirit that turned a frightened fisherman, Peter, who was afraid to admit he knew Jesus, into one of God’s mightiest of apostles. It was this same anointing that took a persecutor of the Church, Paul, and made him into God’s apostle to the Gentiles. It was this Holy Anointing that healed the lame, opened the eyes of the blind, removed demons from those possessed and brought Lazarus back from the dead. It is this same anointing that draws us to God and gives us the power to do exploits in His Name. To say the least, we need the Anointing of the Holy Spirit now as much as we needed it then. Pray for God’s Holy Spirit to fill us to the full of His anointed presence.

Be blessed and be grateful,

Pastor Chris

Mar '19

Why the Ten Commandments?

Posted on Mar 26, 2019 in Pastor's Blog |

Mar '19

Why the Ten Commandments

Hayden 3-27-19

Wednesday night Refueling Bible study has been a wonderful time of fellowshipping with other believers but the study has been absolutely EPIC! We have spent the last couple of months studying the book of Exodus as a continuation of our Genesis study. We finally reached chapter 20 of Exodus, which many of you know is the Ten Commandments chapter. We examined each commandment, one by one, to unpack God’s direction to the Israelites and the meaning for each of us today. Heidi and I will be returning from Australia this week with our regular Wednesday night study of this vital book of the Bible starting back up the first week of April.

As we examined each verse, we were able to see how necessary each verse was to our understanding of God’s holiness and purity and the requirements necessary for a growing relationship with God. However, the more we looked at these Ten Commandments (not 10 suggestions!), the more we saw our inability to keep them. Well if we are completely unable to live up to these commandments, why would God give them to us just to watch us fail in our attempt to be righteous? Now it is true that knowing them is a help to live, while not totally pure, a better, less sinful life than had we not known them. And it is true that the Big Ten God gave us has become a foundation to assist societies and nations from descending into total lawlessness. But the Bible tells us that if we break one, we have become guilty of all (James 2:10) and that there is none righteous, no not one (Romans 3:10). So why give them to us?

The answer is found in Galatians 3:24-25. “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.” The Ten Commandments were given to us, along with helping people and society itself know what is right, to teach us that we need a Savior, drawing us to Him knowing that without Jesus’ sacrifice, we would have no chance to enter God’s Kingdom. Now we should continue to live with God’s law as our guide, but salvation is only by grace, through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. You do not get into heaven by being a good person, attempting to keep the Ten Commandments. It is only through Christ and the Holy Spirit He imparts that we are able to live righteously before God. And entrance to God’s Kingdom, is only by the precious blood of Jesus shed for us on the cross!

Be blessed even more and thank you for all you do for God’s Kingdom!!

Pastor Chris

Mar '19

I’m Just Ticked! Part 2

Posted on Mar 12, 2019 in Pastor's Blog |

Mar '19

Many times, Christians think of anger as a selfish, destructive emotion that is from the heart of the devil and should never be seen displayed in the lives of loving believers. There are times when it is ok to be ticked off about certain situations and circumstances, and to display our anger in a righteous, holy manner. Jesus becomes our example in this matter. When Jesus overthrew the money changers in the temple, the Lord’s anger was on full throttle as He ran out those desecrating His Father’s house of prayer for dishonest gain. Ephesians 4:26 tells us to be anger and do not sin nor allow said anger to linger past the end of the day. We are not instructed to have no angry or eliminate the feelings of anger, but to deal with the emotion in a measured and controlled fashion. Here is how Jesus dealt with anger: 1) The Lord’s anger was not selfish. He was never angry for Himself, but for others, whether for the unrighteous attitudes toward His father or because of the damage sin brought on the sinner and those affected by it. 2) His anger was always directed at the right target. Ephesians 6:12 tells us that we are not wrestling against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this age. When Jesus told Peter to get behind Him for his words of opposition to God’s plan, it was Satan that He directed the rebuke at. Jesus’ anger always stemmed from His love and concern for the spiritual condition of others. 3) Jesus was never out of control, even in His wrath. Even in Jesus’ demonstrative actions driving out the moneychangers from the temple He was always in complete control. What He did, was just and measured for the benefit of those who saw (Luke 19:47). 4) Jesus did not allow His anger to fester and continue to make Him bitter. He did not allow the sun to go down upon His wrath (Ephesians 4:26) and was always ready to forgive those of humble heart. 5) Our Savior’s anger was never an act of revenge, but always intended to bring the sinner back to Himself. Our angry, should always have the intention to respond to injustice and bring the lost back to the loving and just Captain of our souls. With these things in mind, when anger rises, be slow to respond to it, remember who the real enemy is (the devil), do not let it linger or make you bitter, be measured in your response so as to keep the door of forgiveness always open, and keep God’s Word at the center of all things. May God bless you even more!!

Pastor Chris

Feb '19

I’m Just Ticked!

Posted on Feb 27, 2019 in Pastor's Blog |

Feb '19

When I see hurting people, it makes me angry. When I see good people suffer, it makes me angry. When I see injustice perpetrated on the weak and infirm, lies passed off as truth, and evil appear to prosper, it really just ticks me off. Yes, even good Christian people can get irate about situations and circumstances that confront all us. The Bible does not say, never get angry for it is a sin. What we are told is to be slow to anger and quick to listen (James 1:19). Being quick-tempered is where anger can turn to injustice. There are a few instances where we can attribute anger feelings to our Lord. When Jesus cleared the temple of those using it as a means of personal financial gain, He showed great anger. In Matthew 21:12-13 we read, “And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. ¹³He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” In another instance, in the synagogue at Capernaum, Jesus became angry with the Pharisees because of their hard heart toward the miracles they were seeing. “And he [Jesus] said to them, ‘Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?’ But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored” (Mark 3:4-5). In both cases, the Lord’s anger was based on a holy love for His Father’s house and the Pharisees lack of love for the infirm and hurting people they were supposed to be ministering to. Anger, in and of itself, is neither moral nor immoral. Anger is an emotion. It becomes sin when displays of anger are selfish, destructive, unmeasured, uncontrolled, and improperly placed. What the Bible says concerning anger is this, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your wrath” (Ephesians 4:26). Next blog, we will look at the qualities of anger that is just and pure before God. May God bless you even more!

Pastor Chris