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 of the prophet Joel helps us with that.

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 relate to God.

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 quite a challenge and a lot of fun.

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 together and be known by her unity. It is that unity, Jesus says, which teaches the world about God. We are called to be the answer to Jesus’ prayer. So, during this next year we’ll explore God’s call for community in the Minor Prophets as we unite Together for the 757.

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 as well.

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.