The Centre Community Church

Author: Admin

  • Philippians: The Mindset of Christ

    Philippians: The Mindset of Christ

    “Have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.” This was the challenge that Paul gave to the Philippian church as he called them to be unified. He then goes on to describe what Christ’s mindset really was all about — sacrificial love. Jesus put others before Himself, and didn’t use His power to force His way into anything. He put God first and humbly served others, not thinking about His own comfort or needs. God first, others second, Himself third.

    And He did all of this willingly. He wasn’t forced or coerced. He wasn’t bribed. He did this knowing full well what it would cost Him, even giving up His rights and eventually His life. This is the mindset of Jesus, and it’s what we’re called to strive for, and how we’re to act towards each other each and every day.

    It’s not easy. And we will never do it perfectly. But we’re called to try. Each one of us, those who call themselves followers of Jesus, we are all called to have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. Some days will be better than others, and we will often fall short, but we are called to never give up trying and striving to follow Him.

    So as you see other Christians trying to imperfectly follow our perfect Saviour, don’t belittle them or put them down when they mess up, instead you should encourage and support them, and strive alongside them. In this way we will share the same mindset as Christ Jesus.

    If you want to prepare for this coming Sunday’s message, read through the whole letter to the Philippians — it won’t take that long, I promise! And make sure you pay close attention to Phil 2:1-11.

     

    Pastor Mike

  • To Live is Christ, To Die is Gain

    To Live is Christ, To Die is Gain

    How would you like to be remembered? If you passed away, or even if you simply moved away, how would your neighbours or co-workers remember you? What would be some ways in which they described you? What stories would they tell? What memories would they share? If you could eavesdrop on a conversation about what people thought of you would you like what heard, or would you be embarrassed or ashamed?

    For Paul, I think he would be happy with what people would say. The guards who watched over him probably would say something like, “No matter what we did to him, he was happy! He was even fine with dying!” For those trying to slander him, or get him in trouble they’d likely say, “As long as people were hearing about Jesus, he was happy. Even if it meant that he got into more trouble with the Romans.” Others might say, “We ridiculed him, beat him, almost killed him, and still he kept praising Jesus!” Jesus was the focus of his life — everything revolved around serving God, and bringing glory to Him. That was what mattered the most.

    So what would people say about you if you were gone? What is your defining characteristic? What is the subject you talk the most about? Are you joyful, even in the middle of frustration? Are you loving and caring? Do you bring peace and comfort?

    This Sunday we will be looking at a passage of Philippians that has one of the more popular verses in Scripture — to live is Christ and to die is gain. Paul had the attitude that no matter what happened to him, Jesus would always be first and foremost in his life. Could this be said of you? On Sunday we will learn how he was able to say that, and see how we can apply that to our lives. Our gathering begins at 6pm – hope to see you there!

    This Sunday is also our first year anniversary! It’s incredible to think The Centre Community Church is already one year old! Praise God for how He has provided for us and opened doors for us to serve the South End of Lindsay. Please come out and celebrate with us. There will be cake!

    Pastor Mike

  • When Things Don’t Go According To Plan

    When Things Don’t Go According To Plan

    I think everyone can tell about a time in their life where things didn’t go according to plan. For me it’s happened more than once. One instance was about a decade ago when I was applying to be a police officer in Hamilton. I’d resigned from my teaching position in order to completely pursue this goal. Everything was going well, and it really felt that this was the direction God was leading me. And then one day in February 2006 I got a call from the force saying thanks, but no thanks — try again next year. I was crushed. I felt for certain this was the path God was leading me down, and then I simply hit a dead end. I didn’t know what to do — I was lost.

    It wasn’t until later that year that I saw the next step in God’s plan for me. I’d been appointed as an elder at my church and at my very first meeting the youth pastor announced his resignation. I felt God gently nudge me and say, “Here’s what I want you to do.” Making a long story short, just over a year later I came on staff as the next youth pastor at Hughson St. Baptist Church. It hadn’t been my plan, but it was God’s, and it was perfect.
    I was fortunate enough to see this part of God’s plan for my life unfold. Many people don’t get to see, or perhaps understand, how their life fits into God’s overall plan. Sometimes the effect isn’t seen until years later, but in the meantime we are still called to trust God that He knows what is best. It isn’t easy. It takes faith. It takes patience. It takes courage.
    The apostle Paul probably didn’t plan to be beaten and thrown into jail, to be shipwrecked, or to be held in prison for as long as he was. But he trusted God that He had a plan, and so Paul was obedient and waited faithfully and patiently, all the time proclaiming Jesus’ name. To get the whole picture read through Philippians 1:12-18 and Acts 21-28 (especially ch. 28, but 21-27 gives the whole backstory).
    This Sunday we’ll be looking at how God works through our broken plans bringing His perfect plan of redemption to completion. Our gathering begins at 6pm – hope to see you there.
    Pastor Mike
  • Partnering For The Gospel

    Partnering For The Gospel

    Have you ever tried to do a big project on your own, perhaps a renovation around the house, trying to fix something wrong with a vehicle, or maybe it was teaching someone a new skill? These things take time, energy, and patience, and can quickly overwhelm us if we’re not careful. Depending on what the project is, it is most often in our best interest to get help. A second set of hands, a different skill set, a new way to look at things — each of these can help a project go more smoothly and efficiently.

    When it comes to serving God we need to remember that we’re not an only child. We are adopted into God’s family, but so are a whole boat-load of other people! And each person has unique insights and skills that can and should be used for building up God’s kingdom. As we look to God for guidance and direction we should also look for ways that we can partner with other brothers and sisters in Christ. We should not think that we can do everything on our own — to do so would be selfish and prideful. Instead we should look to see how we can be a blessing to others, and allow others to be a blessing to us as they use the gifts God has given them, and together work towards sharing the love and joy that is only found in Jesus Christ.
    This Sunday we begin a new series on the letter to the Philippians, starting with 1:1-11. I’d encourage you to read through the letter each week while we’re working through this series. It will only take 20-30 minutes. Allow God’s word to go deeply into your heart.
    If you picked up the reading plan this past Sunday for reading through the Bible in a year I’d like to encourage you to keep at it! If you didn’t pick it up, there’s still time to start. Here’s the link to the website: https://thebibleproject.com/reading-plan/ — there’s a great phone app that goes along with the plan that will send you a reminder each day, that keeps track of your progress, and it also has all the videos right there as well.
    Pastor Mike
  • Merry Christmas!

    Merry Christmas!

    This week we celebrate Christmas, although really it seems like all month we’ve been celebrating. This isn’t a bad thing, to stretch out the Christmas season. In fact, this is something that I believe is closer to what we should be doing. The birth of Jesus is a momentous event! The Creator and sustainer of everything, came into His creation by allowing Himself to be born as a helpless baby. Before He was even two years old He became a refugee, fleeing with His family to a foreign country. After they returned He lived a humble, unremarkable life in a small, backwater town in a country that was occupied and oppressed by an invading empire. And then, after a few years of public ministry, he died a criminal’s death, broke and alone, abandoned by his closest friends. And He chose this life to demonstrate His immense, perfect love for us! It was through His perfect life, and sacrificial death that He defeated sin and death and has given us new life and set us free! This is why it is good and right, and incredibly important that we celebrate His birth. We should not be ashamed, for this is our Saviour and our King. Celebrate and worship with joy! And stretch out the season for as long as you can. What’s a few more days in light of eternity?!

    Sunday we will be meeting for church at 4:15 pm and then walking over to St. Paul’s to join with them for Christmas Dinner. All are welcome to come, but we would appreciate you letting us know ahead of time so that we can let St. Paul’s know how many from The Centre they should expect.

    From The Centre Community Church, we do wish you and your family a very joyous Christmas! Celebrate the birth of our Saviour and King with joy and enthusiasm!
    Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!

    Pastor Mike

  • Advent Week Four: Love

    Advent Week Four: Love

    This Sunday we will be lighting the fourth candle of advent, the candle of love. As we reflect on what it means to love, ask yourself the following questions: How do you love someone who for you is hard to love? How do you care for someone who has no care for you, and who likely wouldn’t even acknowledge any help you might give them? How can you offer something in kindness to another person knowing full well that they might turn their back on you without so much as a thank you as soon as you give them their gift?

    It’s easy to give a gift to someone who will likely give a gift back, or who will at least say thank you for the gift you gave them. Giving to people who are like-minded and who have similar values and morals is easy. But we are called to be sacrificial givers (see Matthew 6:1-4 or 2 Corinthians 9:6-15), and give the way that Jesus gave to us. He loved us so much that He gave His life, and He did this while we were still His enemies (Romans 5)! Some people have chosen to follow Him and accept Him as their Saviour, while others just take the blessings God gives, and offer no thanks to the giver (see Matthew 5:43-48). If we have accepted Jesus as Lord of our life, then we need to give to others as He gave to us, freely and openly to all with no hope of getting anything, not even a thank you, in return. Our joy and blessing and satisfaction comes from serving and loving God first, not from the thanks we might receive from others. Our SundayGathering starts at 6pm – we hope you can join us.

    Pastor Mike

  • Advent Week Three: Joy

    Advent Week Three: Joy

    This coming Sunday will be the third Sunday of Advent – the Sunday of Joy.  What brings you joy?  What is something in your life that grabs your attention?  When do you feel most alive?  For some it’s a hobby, and for others it might be their job.  Some find joy in their friends or family.  Others in their stuff.  But all of these things are short lived, fleeting joys.  Our lives are but a vapour (look at Psalm 90 or James 4:14), and our stuff will rot away.  What remains?  What is eternal?  Only God, and that’s ultimately where we need to find our joy.

    In the story of Jesus’ birth we read about the Shepherds and their response to the angels (Luke 2:8-20).  Here we can clearly see their joy and their enthusiasm, how they didn’t delay but immediately acted on the message from the angel.  What is our response?  What is our first action?  How do our lives reflect the reality of Jesus in our lives?  This Sunday I hope that you’ll be able to come and share in the joy once again, and respond in a way that is similar to that of the Shepherds.

    Pastor Mike

  • Advent Week Two: Peace

    Advent Week Two: Peace

    Before you read the rest of this post, read Isaiah 8:19-9:7.

    There are many places and ways in which we try to find peace. We try to get away or escape from our everyday routine. We try to lose ourselves in a movie, a good book, or on social media. We look for answers to our problems through the latest self-help fad or diet. All the time we are trying to find peace, quiet, rest.

    We’re no different today than people who have gone before us. The styles and fads may have changed, but what people are searching for is still the same. We’re looking for peace.

    Peace means assurance. It means confidence and satisfaction. When someone has peace it means they are no longer searching or seeking, for they have what they need. Peace means wholeness. God promised that He would fix the brokenness within creation and make things right, that He would bring peace.

    “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

    This Sunday I hope you’ll be able to join us at The Centre as we celebrate the Prince of Peace, and the peace we can now enjoy.

    Pastor Mike

  • Advent Week One: Hope

    Advent Week One: Hope

    This Sunday marks the first Sunday of Advent. Traditionally, this is the Sunday of Hope, of looking forward towards the promise of the Messiah. It is a time of anticipation, of believing and trusting that what God promises is true and will come to pass. Hope is a sign of faith, it’s a sign of belief.
    It’s not always easy to be hopeful, especially when it looks as if things are impossible. Abraham, the man God promised to make into a great nation, whose offspring would be more numerous than the sands on the beach or the stars in the sky, suffered through decades waiting on the Lord. God promised him an heir, a son to carry on the family name, but he and his wife were childless, and they were old. And yet still God promised it would come true. Read for yourself the story in Genesis 15-18, 21, and as you do keep in mind that over 25 years elapses from chapter 15 to 21 — that’s a long time to wait patiently and hopefully.
    What are you waiting and praying for? How are you hoping that God will act or come through for you, or for someone you love? Is it easy being patient? This advent season, I hope that you’ll be reminded that God is in control, that He knows the beginning from the end (and all points in between), that His plan will come to pass, and that ultimately He knows what is best. Let us wait patiently and expectantly for our God and our King.
    Pastor Mike
  • Understanding the Trinity

    Understanding the Trinity

    How would you explain the Trinity to someone? Some have tried to use an egg as a metaphor — shell, yolk, white — all three different yet all connected. Another popular way is to say the Trinity is like the three states of water — gas (vapour), liquid, solid (ice). Another way has been to say it’s like the same person having three different names — dad, husband, brother. The unfortunate thing is that all of these fall short of describing the God head. Actually, there is no way in creation to explain the Trinity because they are outside of creation.  How do you use something that is finite to explain something that is infinite? You can’t.

    So why is belief in the Trinity so important for followers of Christ? Why must it be central to our core beliefs if it is something that is hard to explain, and in fact can often be a stumbling block for people to believe in God? I’ll leave you with a hint (so that it’ll entice you to come here the whole answer on Sunday): it has to do with how we’re created, and in who’s image.

    To help you prepare for this Sunday you may want to look at some of the following passages: Isaiah 9:1-7; Matthew 3:13-17; Hebrews 9:14; Ephesians 1:3-14, 4:4-7; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6. Hope to see you this Sunday!

    Pastor Mike