Pastor’s Blog
Fear Not! Stand Firm
6-15-2022
J. Fields
Over these past several weeks it seems that every time I turn on the news there is nothing
but negative and evil information. For a few months now the war between Russia and Ukraine
has been leading the headlines but most recently there has been a string of shootings that have
grabbed the headlines. As I sit and read and watch all this sadness take place, I become more
disappointed and frustrated with the direction of our world. No matter who is in the White
House, Congress, or whomever the Pope might be none of those folks are going to be the answer
that will fix the problem. Now before you get too frustrated “believe me I feel you” I have some
information that I think will help you feel more at ease.
Scripture has warned us that all this evil was going to happen, I have no idea when the
end will come but one thing is for sure when it does, I’ve got a ticket out of here! In Matthew 24
the followers of Jesus were asking the same thing we are today; when the judgment will take
place on Jerusalem and how will they know the end is near. Jesus lays out the things that must
take place first, but don’t grow weary these things must take place as part of the plan. Matthew
24:6-13; “ You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such
things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the
beginning of birth pains. 9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and
you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith
and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many
people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one
who stands firm to the end will be saved. ”
As Christians, we shouldn’t just sit back and do nothing even though we know how
everything will turn out. The world is completely lost and we have something that everyone
needs, Jesus Christ. As believers we should be a walking example of the change that is needed,
we should be overflowing with fresh fruit. Is it okay to be angry, yes! Is it appropriate to be
broken-hearted with what we are seeing, of course! Should we just stay silent so that we don’t
ruffle any feathers, no! The world needs its toes stepped on just a bit, not in a rude and mean
way but in a truthful and loving way. What we are seeing is not okay and the church can’t stay
silent and then wonder why change isn’t happening. Yes, we need to love another but sometimes
true love hurts. I’ve heard it said that we should love the person but hate the sin.
Don’t lose hope, don’t think that it’s too late for change, and don’t just stay silent because
of the fear of hurting someone’s feelings. We shouldn’t be rude and hateful but we should stand
up and say enough is enough, the “church” is standing on the promises of God Almighty! We
are One Nation Under God and there is no evil in this world that is going to prosper. Rise up,
church! I’ve got good news, I’ve read the end of the Book, God and all those who are His
followers will win!
Be blessed,
Pastor Jason
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The Hard Truth
5/24/22
C. Hayden
Jesus was such a wonderful teacher. He often spoke with gentleness and lovingkindness as He led His
disciples in the ways of God. He waxed eloquent at times, poetic in others. And at times, He would give
the hard truth in such a manner that you knew He meant exactly what He was saying. See Matthew
23:27 as He informs the Pharisees of their membership in the “White-washed Tombs” club. And if you
think Jesus only spoke hard truth to the religious leaders of His day, look at Matthew 23:37 as He
reminds all of the Jews in Jerusalem who rejected Him how He wanted to gather them to Himself, BUT,
they would not do it (thereby rejecting their Messiah). Hard truth.
Jesus spoke often of hard truths that are not easy hear.
Listen to just of few of the difficult sayings of Jesus:
“Why do you call me good. There is no one good but God alone” Matt. 19:17
“Love your enemies. Do good to those who despitefully use you” Matt. 5:43-44
“Whosoever, is angry with his brother without a cause is in danger of judgment…
whoever calls his brother “a fool’, will be in danger of hell fire” Matt. 5:22
“If any man come to me and not hate his father, and mother, and wife, and children,
and brethren, and sisters, yes, and his own life, he cannot be my disciple” Luke 14:26
Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. There are many more.
So what are we to make of these hard truths? Well, first, context is key. Jesus often gave hard sayings
for a reason. Following Him is not the same as signing up to be a member of the Kiwanis or Rotary club.
Believing in Jesus is not just giving mental assent to a great guy. It is recognizing that you are unable to
save yourself and making a life commitment to Jesus the Christ as Lord and Savior of your life. In other
words, Jesus is to be first place in your heart. It is then that life change can begin so that as we are
saved by grace, we also reveal this salvation by evidence of our Christian faith resulting in consistent
obedience to Christ good works (Ephesians 2:8, James 2 18). More truth that can be hard to swallow yet
tastes good when received by the Spirit that dwells in us. Don’t reject the hard truths that we see in
God’s Word. Recognizing and applying the easy sayings along with the more difficult directions from
Scripture, leads to tremendous spiritual growth and much, much, much fruit.
Be blessed even more!
Pastor Chris
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Trust the Way Maker
5-15-2022
J. Fields
As I’m sitting here thinking about what God wants me to write about, I keep thinking about how God made a way when there seemed to be no way. If you don’t mind, I’d like to just be real with you for a few minutes.
I’m absolutely blown away by the love of Jesus Christ. There’s nothing special about me but because of the grace of God, I am where I am today. I’m not sure about you but, I believe in
miracles! Did you know that God healed me of a heart condition when I was younger? Did you know that the doctors told my wife and me that we couldn’t have children? Three children later
we can say that the devil is a liar! I’ve seen so many miracles not only in my life but in many of my friends and family, but what happens if the miracle doesn’t come? I’m not sure why some people get healed while others don’t, but God hasn’t asked me to question Him rather, He has asked me to trust Him. Scripture tells us that His ways are much greater than ours; Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Life is full of seasons; some seasons are amazing
while others are full of pain and regret but I encourage you to not give up on what God wants to do in your life. I’m standing here only because He made a way. Don’t allow the enemy to get
you down, don’t allow your joy to be destroyed, keep your eyes on Jesus.
I’m praying, God come, and turn this thing around, God, turn it around, God, turn it around God, turn it around.
I’m calling on the name, that changes everything, yes, God, turn it around, God, turn it around God, turn it around.
All of my hope, Is in the name, the name of Jesus, breakthrough will come, come in the name the name of Jesus.
All of my hope (is in the name), is in the name (said), the name of Jesus, said, breakthrough will come, come in the name, the name of Jesus.
God, turn it around, turn it around, oh, oh, God, turn it around, turn it around, turn it around….”
Blessings,
Pastor Jason
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Why Wars Rage! (Part 2)
C. Hayden
5-1-22
This month we look at another aspect of why wars break out in our world. Not only do people fight over
what appears to be finite resources (which God says He would give if we would just ask Him with a pure
heart), or coveted wealth leading to pleasure, we have adolescent leadership operating unabatedly
within our nation’s Halls of Power, chasing their own egotistical agenda, having little care for real people
and their day-to-day problems. When children attempt to tackle problems, having the mindset of a
child, they lack the ability to view issues in more than 1 or 2 dimensions. Therefore, their judgment
centers are often fraught with naivete, self-centeredness, short-sightedness, lacking complete
understanding, lacking unbiased insight and abounding in premature and immature conclusions. They simply are unable to see the big picture in situations, while simultaneously lacking the ability to focus on the truth involving those pulling the levers behind the curtain. They play checkers, not chess.
It is for this reason that when a nation, culture, or other governmental or religious system decides to walk away from the
Word of God as their authority, He will find a very simple way of bringing that body of leaders to their
knees in order to regain their attention. He allows adult leaders to arise to power who are emotional
children, not mature enough to lead with the best interest of their people or best interest of God, in
mind. Unfortunately, it is those without power that often suffers the most (i.e., the people of any
country suffering because there are despots and dopes in leadership around and for them). This is
illustrated in the Old Testament when God decrees against Judah and Jerusalem for their sin and
rebellion.
Isaiah 3:1-4 says this, “ For behold, the Lord, the L ORD of hosts, takes away from Jerusalem and
from Judah the stock and the store, The whole supply of bread and the whole supply of water; 2 The
mighty man and the man of war, the judge and the prophet, and the diviner and the elder; 3 The captain
of fifty and the honorable man, the counselor and the skillful artisan, a nd the expert enchanter.
4 I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them .” Sound familiar?! Does this seem
relevant today?! Leaders that act one way to benefit themselves only, then tells the rest of the world to
act another way, also for leader child’s benefit?! If it feels like the leaders in our world are acting more
like selfish, insolent and insensitive children, maybe we need to begin praying that we, Lord’s Body,
return in prayer to the God of our Salvation so that perhaps the Lord will bless the world, as He has done
in the past, with mature, adult, Godly leaders who live out the Word of God, benefitting all.
Be blessed even more!!
Pastor Chris
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Unconditional Love!
4-15-2022
J. Fields
I love this time of the year for multiple reasons, Spring is right around the corner which means flowers and trees are blossoming, warmer weather, green grass, and most importantly it’s the season that we celebrate our risen King! For just a moment I’d like you to close your eyes and picture the Easter story. I’ve re-watched clips of the Passion of the Christ movie several times and I’m continually heartbroken every time I see the clips of Jesus being beaten, carrying the cross while blood drips down his face, having a crown of thorns jabbed into His skull, and the gruesomeness of these huge nails being stuck through His hands as He hung on a cross. Can you believe you are loved so much that someone went through all of this for you? Jesus Christ died the most gruesome death for each
one of us, now if that doesn’t make you understand how much you are loved I’m not sure what will, but…. I have even more fantastic news!
Not only did Jesus die on a cross for the forgiveness of your sins, three days later He conquered death for you by being raised from death. That’s right, Jesus Christ loves you so much that He kicked the enemy right in his face so that you and I could have a life that is above sickness, death, and defeat. We were never told that life would be perfect or that we wouldn’t have any battles but He did promise that if we have. a relationship with Him that He will give us a comforter. John 14:15-18 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
Since God loves us so much that He would send His only Son to hang on a cross for us don’t you think we could at least fall in love with Him in return? Some people may call me a Jesus freak or they may say oh Jason you just don’t understand how life really is, well, let me share this with you, you don’t know my story. When I was lost God snatched me from the hands of the enemy, before I was ever born, He knew exactly who and what He wanted me to be like, He created me and you in the most beautiful way, He said “Jason, I love you so much, look at what I did for you, won’t you accept all of me and be a fire for me all the days of your life?”
This Easter I pray that you will grasp all that He has done and continues to do for you. Jesus Christ isn’t just sitting on the throne twiddling His thumbs, He is sitting to the right of His Father working on our behalf so the next time a negative thought comes into your mind just give it to God, the next time the enemy tries to knock you don’t, give it to Jesus. You are beautifully, wonderfully, and perfectly created and loved. Death was conquered once and for all for those who know and have a relationship with Jesus Christ, if you don’t know Him or if you have someone in your life that needs Him, I pray you will share the Easter story with them. Let me leave you with this. As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul longeth after Thee. You alone are my heart’s desire, And I long to worship Thee. You alone are my Strength, my Shield, to you alone may my spirit yield. You alone are my
heart’s desire and I long to worship Thee. You’re my friend and You are my brother , even though You are a King I love You more than any other. So much more than anything , you alone are my Strength, my Shield , to you alone may my spirit yield. You alone are my heart’s desire and I long to worship Thee.
Happy Easter!
Pastor Jason
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Why Wars Rage! (Part 1)
4/1/2022
C. Hayden
What was thought to have lasted only days has now extended to over a month. The Russian invasion
continues, more lives are lost, and threats of escalated aggression and violence rises. Is it a Russian and
Ukrainian problem? Yes, but it is so much more than that. Not only is there the risk of other nations
being dragged into the conflict, but there are a plethora of consequences and conditions that mankind
has foisted upon itself because of our rebellion and lack of faith in our everlasting Savior. The world’s
rejection of the one true God and ongoing efforts to remove Jesus Christ from the public square has
placed individuals, communities, and entire countries in an ever-progressing cycle of precariously caustic
and destructive world.
James 4:1-3 says this, “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from
your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet
and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not
receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your
pleasures.” National leaders, whether in Russia, China, or here
in the United States, want more power, security, and resources, so
they battle others to obtain them. People want more power,
security, and resources as well, so they often do the same in one
way or another. The world has turned away from God and
therefore squabble within itself and among its members to obtain
what it wants regardless of the chaos it creates.
If we would only turn our planet and living residents back over to the Creator, we would see a revival that would, literally
as well as figuratively, make our world into a paradise where all needs are met.
It continues to be one of the missions of the Church of Jesus and the members of His Body to
maintain the call for the world to repent and turn back from the path non-believers are on. This
message is not just for Putin and the Russian leadership, but for all the peoples of the earth. At this
moment neither Putin nor Biden are currently reading my monthly blog. But maybe as we continue to
be representatives of God, ambassadors for Christ as stated in 2 Corinthians 5:20, we may play a part in
reconciling others to the King, thereby changing and bringing peace to our little corner of world. And as
we all play our part in building the Kingdom of God, as all believers are called to do , perhaps at least
some of our earth-bound leaders (the clueless ones), whether locally or nationally, will finally get the
message. More on “Why Wars Rage! Part 2 next month.
Be blessed even more!!
Pastor Chris
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Grow the Kingdom
3/15/2022
J. Fields
I recently preached on a message about the role and purpose of the church, as I
mentioned during my sermon this was a message that God has been stirring up within me for a
while now, for what I believe is many different reasons, I’ll get to those in a second. The thing
for us all to remember is it us who is the “church” – Yes this means that if we want the “church”
to look different the change must start within our own lives. Some people have asked; how can
you tell if the church is healthy and my response is…. Are souls being transformed for the glory
of God? Are people becoming mature in their relationship with God? Is the flock going out and
inviting others to church? Is the church living their lives in a way that you can see God through
them? These are all ways that a healthy church will shine.
Central Christian is a church that we should all be proud of; I know for my family it has
been a true blessing. Even though I do believe we are a spiritually strong church our work isn’t
done, the church should never be satisfied rather we should stay hungry for more of God. The
thing we don’t want to do is become comfortable in the way we do “church” instead we should
seek ways that God can stretch us, to take us out of our comfort zone. Let me explain why I
believe uncomfortableness is actually a good thing.
Before I share this story, please understand that I understand personally I have a long way
to grow and I am in no way trying to say this to bring praise to myself, I understand that I am just
a tool that God can use. A couple of years ago the Kendrick Brothers came out with a movie
called Courageous during this movie there was a moment where the men could take an oath
before God and their family stating that they would be the men that God has created them to be.
A gentleman in the church that I was attending at that time came up to me and asked me if I
would sign his declaration stating I would help hold him accountable, he said that he is asking
me to sign it because I’m the first person who ever spoke to him at the church and made him feel
welcome, talk about a powerful but humbling moment! From that moment I understood that
God has blessed me with the personality that I am to do His work in all circumstances. The point
is you never know the difference you may make in someone’s life so just be obedient, be
stretched, and allow the Holy Spirit to have its way within you, be the church.
Here’s the reason I believe God has been stirring this message about the purpose of the
church within my heart. The church isn’t supposed to be a comfortable social or country club
rather it is supposed to be a house of prayer, a place we go to worship, praise, speak to, and
glorify the King. While God should always be the reason, we attend church, He also calls us to
not only love Him but also love others? Church Family, we are entering one of the most crucial
and exciting times of the year, Easter! We must shine like the church should shine, we must
allow God to be alive within us and we must go reach everyone for Jesus! We can’t sit back and
just have church we must go a step further and be the church. We are going to get some groups
together and walk neighborhoods and invite others to church, we are going to let them know the
reason we celebrate Easter, will you join me and tell Huntington that we have GOOD NEWS and
HIS name is JESUS!!!!
Mark 16:15 “ And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole
creation.”
Blessings,
Pastor Jason
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Why Crime Rates Rise (Part 2)
3-1-2022
C.Hayden
Before we leave this subject of facing increasing crime, we want to explore another Biblically based reason for this
ongoing scourge in our nation today. Not only have we allowed the removal of God and His moral principles from
the public square of our societal consciousness, we have allowed many of America’s leaders to remove the Word’s
obvious truths with the demonic circus of the bizarre. Now, any type of perversion people can dream up appears
to have individual groups and society’s leaders working to promote as acceptable. I don’t want to get into the
weeds by listing all of the craziness our world strives to normalize, but when sports organizations accept men into women’s sports, when we can no longer count on our elementary age daughters having privacy in public restrooms from adult males (and vice versa), when education systems allow scientific theories to gain traction that declare that life on earth came about because space aliens used our planet as a petri dish by dropping off their DNA here, and when we allow the justice system to sentence child molesters to parole, we have a problem.
When there is a plethora of evidence for God and Biblical truth, and with little to absolutely no evidence for theories and
practices such as these that reject God, well, we certainly have jumped the shark just a little bit.
The Bible says this in 1 Corinthians 1:18-20, “ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are
perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the
wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.’ 20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe?
Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” When the world, any
person or group of people untether themselves from the truth that is in God’s Word, they will start believing in any
type of foolishness that comes down the pipe. That will in turn not only affect what a society believes, but will also
generate anti-social, and even criminal behavior in communities that allow it. We certainly are reaping what we
have sown and continue to sow. What is the solution? Reject the foolishness of the world in our own lives, teach
our children and all who will listen the truth t hat is in God’s Word, and love the world enough to preach the good
news of salvation through Jesus Christ to whosoever will choose to believe. The foolishness of this world is just
another sign of the soon return of the Lord.
Be blessed even more!!
Pastor Chris
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God Goes Before Us!
2-15-2022
J. Fields
Over the past couple of years, we have all faced a completely new challenge in our lives. Almost two years ago Covid-19 hit our world in a way that I doubt any of us ever would have imagined. The world was in complete shock and for many, the jolt of stress was almost unbearable. People all over the world lost their job, restaurants were closing, shopping centers were running out of food, toilet tissue, and of course cleaning supplies, it literally felt as if the world was coming to an end. Anxiety, stress, and the overall quality of life have become out of control. Fast forward two years and we are still wrestling with this evil sickness called Covid.
I’ve often pondered and have spoken with God many times about why He just doesn’t end this whole Covid ordeal. Like many of you, I am burned out wondering if every time someone coughs are they spreading Covid, or every time I touch something do I need to drench myself in hand sanitizer and don’t even get me started about wearing a mask, oh how I’m tired of masks! At the end of the day, I want to be healthy, I want to stay as far away from Covid as possible but even with all these “so-called proper disinfecting procedures” I still ended up getting Covid. Even though these past couple of years have not been the most exciting I’ve still learned some important lessons.
What I’ve come to understand is that you can and should try and protect yourself from anything unclean but at the end of the day if you slip up just a tad bit what is unclean doesn’t stop trying to make you dirty. Isn’t that exactly how the enemy is Unfortunately, because of the “fall of man,” we now live in a world that is completely consumed by sin. The enemy doesn’t take a day off, he is constantly on the prowl like a lion looking at whom he can devour. If you are in a relationship with Jesus Christ, you have nothing to fear. The enemy wants to fill you with worry, stress, and doubt but that poison can only pierce you if you allow it to.
If you have made the decision to surrender your life to Jesus then you are protected with the strongest protection available, the Holy Spirit. The enemy understands that he can’t attack your heart because once you say yes to God the Holy Spirit takes over dominion within your heart so what satan will do is attack your mind. If you aren’t filling your mind with Scripture, you are leaving open space that the enemy can slide into. If doubt, worry, stress, or anything else that you know is not of God starts to come to your mind I want you to stop what you are doing, tell the enemy he is not welcome in your head, and remind him who it is that you serve. Don’t allow anything negative to take root within your body. You are a child of the Almighty God, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Stop trying to fight every battle on your own, believe me, if you do it alone you will fail. If you say yes to God He will say yes to you, it will never be you fighting your battles but the Lord fighting for you. Jesus wants you to lean on Him. He wants to take away everything that makes you stressed or anxious and replace it with joy and peace.
The enemy is similar to Covid, if “you” try and protect yourself no matter what “you” do you can still be consumed but if God stays in control, He will be the one fighting the enemy so you don’t have to. Luke 10:19 “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.”
Blessings,
Pastor Jason
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Why Crime Rates Rise
1-20-22
C. Hayden
If you have been watching the news this past year you have probably been inundated with reports of
overwhelming crime increases in our larger cities in this nation. It must be very frustrating for residents of these
large metropolises as they struggle to deal with increased robberies and violent crimes that have become a plague
in our country. We are fortunate to live in a smaller city that seems to not trend in the same direction as bigger
communities. But make no mistake, we do not go unscathed as this criminal pandemic will eventually touch us all
in some way whether financially, physically, psychologically, or spiritually. Why are we experiencing this rise in
criminal activity?
The answer can be made into a complicated soup of mashed together
excuses. Here is a list of causes, some more valid than others: The existence of
poverty, lack of fathers in the home, deteriorating family values. not enough
policing, anti-police idiocy, corrupt political leaders, ignorant political
leaders, lenient and ineffective judicial system, lenient criminal processing, gangs
allowed to thrive, drugs and drug laws. You name the crime, we have multiple
excuses for it. Not that these reasons for crime are untrue, but the Bible boils the
problem to simpler reasons.
In 1962, prayer was outlawed as an allowed activity in our public schools.
In 1973, the killing of unborn babies was legalized in all states. In 1980, the Ten
Commandments were removed from those same schools where open prayer had been removed. What has
happened? We have slowly but surely turned our face and heart from seeking God. Psalm 14:1-3 says, “ The fool
has said in his heart, “ There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who
does good. 2 The L ORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand,
who seek God. 3 They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No,
not one. ” In James chapter 4, we are told that fighting and wars amongst ourselves occur because of our lustful
desire to have, and the reason we don’t have is because we refuse to ask God. The 2 nd book of Chronicles says it
like this, “ 14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn
from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
So why are crime rates rising? We have slowly but surely kicked God out of the public square and out of
our hearts. He is no longer invited in our schools to shape the lives of our children, so what did we expect would
happen? So how do we change this pandemic, take the advice of God from 2 Chronicles 7:14, turn to God, seek His
face, and He will heal our land.
Be blessed even more!!
Pastor Chris
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