A weekly blog post or devotional from the Pastor of Center Barnstead Christian Church in Center Barnstead, New Hampshire.
Hope—a simple word yet filled with profound meaning. Hope is powerful, shaping the way we see the world and the choices we make. It’s an essential part of every person’s life. But what do you place your hope in? Relationships? Family? Your career? Your health? Your wealth? These arenas of Read more…
Have you struggled with connecting with others? Maybe you have lots of acquaintances but few if any real friends that know and care for you deeply? You are not alone. We live in a society that has progressively embraced technology that removes genuine connections with others. The result is that Read more…
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, Read more…
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Read more…
In our Americanized version of the New Testament church we often measure a local church’s health by how many people attend services, the number of programs that are offered, and the size of its budget, etc. This should not be surprising as in our society we view the success of Read more…
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. Read more…
Working long hours and being extraordinarily busy has become a badge of honor in our society. The idea that success and fulfillment in life have a direct correlation to the time we invest in our labor permeates our culture. Of course a key reason for this thinking is due to Read more…
All organisms have a genetic code. This genetic code is referred to as DNA. It is DNA that gives each organism a specific expression. The New Testament makes it clear that the church is a living organism. Consider a few of the terms that are used to describe it: a Read more…
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He Read more…
When we think of the purpose of the church, it is common to think primarily in terms of what the church does, whether it be for the faith community, those in the world, or even for God. The New Testament communicates a lot about the functions of the church and Read more…