Central Baptist Church, Portsmouth, Virginia

The idea of judgment usually doesn’t get people excited, usually judgment produces at least some fear. Peter connects fear and judgment for the believer as he writes. So, what does the coming judgment for the believer entail? Why is fear connected to it? We’ll talk about those topics and more as we continue our study through 1st Peter.

The world teaches us that what we do defines who we are. The Bible flips that around and says who we are ought to define what we do. As we continue our study in 1st Peter we’ll see that a firm understanding of our identity gives us the confidence to live right side up in an upside down world.

How do you react to thought of more pain or suffering? Many of us try to avoid that as much as possible. We place a high value on safety and comfort. While we know we are empowered to make disciples sometimes that calling seems too messy and makes us uncomfortable. Peter wrote two letters to encourage the church that there is strength in the face of trouble, that those troubles are temporary, and that we can have confidence while living on mission. This next year we are going to do a deep dive into 1st and 2nd Peter. Our theme will be Confidence. Through it, my prayer is you will press on, living the life God made you to live. It is in the darkest times that the collective light of the Jesus’ church shines brightest.

This Sunday we are wrapping up our Defining a Disciple series. We’ve defined a disciple based on how Jesus called and then commissioned his disciples. So, we’ve said a disciple worships Jesus daily, is consistently being changed by Jesus, and is increasingly committed to the mission of Jesus. This week we’ll discuss how to move from a clear definition to a practical plan for being the disciple-makers we were saved to be.

The Bible tells us that we were saved for good works that God prepared for us. Chief among those good works is the disciple-making mission that we’ve been called to. It’s really the Jesus mission. This week we’ll see that a disciple is increasingly committed to the mission of Jesus, and we’ll explore some strategies to increase our commitment to his mission.

You’ve probably heard the joke never pray for patience, because then God will give you situations that will really test your patience. The truth is we all have areas in our life where we need to grow or where change needs to take place. One of the marks of a disciple is that we are consistently being changed by Jesus. This week we will study from Paul’s 2nd letter to Timothy some common areas where Jesus changes all of us.

Dr. Ron Minton, a missionary to Ukraine and Bible scholar, will be leading a seminar titled, How We Got Our Bible.

As followers of Jesus, the command we are perhaps most familiar with is the great commission. We know that as we go, we are to make disciples. However, as energizing as that is, so few Christians actually make disciples. One of the reasons for that is if you ask 20 different people what makes a disciple – you will probably get 20 different answers. During our next series, Defining a Disciple, we will partner clarity with strategy so that we can all take the next step as effective disciple-makers.

We’ve all had times when we know we should do something, we even tell ourselves we’re going to do something, but for whatever reason we don’t do it. As we finish our series, In Between, we will be talking about living in between knowing and doing. We’ll discover that while that’s a dangerous place to live there is a key that takes you from one place to the other.

God is our ultimate authority, but we live with worldly leaders. Often times earthly leaders and God have entirely different world views. How do we live between God and Caesar? We’ll explore what Jesus said in Matthew’s gospel to gain a healthy perspective on this important topic.