The Centre Community Church

Author: Admin

  • The Gospel: What are we saved from?

    The Gospel: What are we saved from?

    The gospel. Good news. Salvation. New life. Eternal life.

    Christians are called to take the Gospel (which literally means “Good News”) and tell all people, everywhere about it. We are called to tell others about Jesus, and how we can have Salvation through Him, how we can have a new life, an eternal life in and through Him. But what does it all mean? If we are being saved (what salvation means), what are we being saved from? And as we are saved, what are we saved to? What is our new identity and what are we called to do?

    Over the next two weeks we’re going to look at the gospel and answer a few questions. The first week we’re going to focus on the first question, “What are we saved from?” What happens if we’re not saved, if we don’t know and accept the gospel message? The next week we’ll answer, “What are we saved for?” If you have friends or family members that are struggling with these questions, or are searching for answers, this will be a great series to start or further the conversation.

    Our Sunday gathering starts at 6pm – we’d love to see you there.

    Pastor Mike

  • Vision Sunday 2017

    Vision Sunday 2017

    And so it begins: the unofficial start of Fall as summer holidays draw to a close and school begins (remember to drive safely and keep an eye out for kids!). The change of seasons always reminds me of how God is in control, how He established all of creation, set the stars and planets in motion to “serve as signed to mark sacred times, and days and years” (Gen 1:14), and how His plan is unfolding even today. He is not absent, but always present, guiding and directing, encouraging and supporting, moving His plan forward towards its fulfillment when Christ will return to make all things new. And we get to play a role in this! We’re invited to care for creation and all who are in it, spread the good news of Jesus and tell others of the hope we have in Him. This is our role, our duty and responsibility as followers of Jesus.

    At The Centre we see the South End neighbourhood of Lindsay as our place in His plan. This is the area to which He has called us to minister and care. This is the community in which we will spend the majority of our time and energy reaching out, building relationships, and blessing those who live there in the name of Jesus. There’s much to be done, but we know that because God has called us here, we’re not alone. He goes before us preparing the way, He follows behind us protecting and watching over us, and He walks with us guiding and directing our path.

    This coming Sunday is what I like to call our Vision Sunday. We will be sharing about The Centre, the vision and mission that God has called us to for the South End neighbourhood of Lindsay. This is a great Sunday to get to know The Centre, and is perfect for someone coming out for the first time. Please help spread the word, invite people out, and partner with us as we go out into this community in the name of Jesus. Our gathering begins at 6 pm — hope to see you there!

    Pastor Mike

  • Acts: Peter’s Miraculous Escape

    Acts: Peter’s Miraculous Escape

    This Sunday marks the end of summer, and also the end of our summer series in Acts. (We’ll pick it up next summer where we leave off.) I’ve really enjoyed spending time looking at the early church, learning about the lessons they learned and how they matured, and applying these lessons to us both individually and as a church. And since there’s still time left in the summer, there’s still time to sit down and read through the whole book in one sitting (or at the very least, the first 12 chapters that we covered this summer).  This coming Sunday we’ll be looking at Acts 12, Peter’s miraculous escape from prison.

    I’ve never been to prison like Peter, but I have been in a few tough situations in which I couldn’t see a way out. I think most people have been. It can be suffocating and overwhelming, not knowing what to do or where to turn. You are quite literally helpless. And this is exactly the situation that Peter found himself in, a helpless situation, locked securely in a jail cell. As I’ve read, and reread the story, one thing stands out each time — Peter was sleeping peacefully between two guards. He didn’t know the outcome of the situation, but he knew who did, and because of that he had peace. He fully trusted in God, and knew that God had everything worked out according to His plan. All Peter needed to do was trust God, and then act when God’s angel said get up! I don’t know the situation that you find yourself in today, but I do know that God does, and He is still active and still calls us to put our complete trust in Him, especially when we don’t know what the outcome will be.

    If you’re not going away for the long weekend, or if you’re visiting the Lindsay area on Sunday, we’d love for you to come and spend some time with us learning about God.  Our gathering starts at 6pm.

    Pastor Mike

  • Acts: The Gospel For All

    Acts: The Gospel For All

    Our culture is one that values security and safety. Recently on my computer an update came out for two-factor authentication — basically what that means is that there are now more steps for me to perform in order to make a change on my computer, which means it’s harder for an unauthorized person to change things. We like things safe and secure.

    In this way we’re very similar to the Jewish people around the time of the early church. They had made rules upon rules upon rules in order to keep themselves safe and ceremonially clean. These rules were based on God’s law (sort of), but were taken to such an extent that they limited the Jews ability to live amongst others. For example, the Jews would not eat with a Gentile, not because it was prohibited by God in Scripture, but because it could lead to them breaking a law that was in Scripture. A modern example of this way of thinking took place just yesterday wit the solar eclipse. People were warned continually not to look up at the eclipse as doing so could cause permanent eye damage. Most people on any normal day don’t look directly at the sun, and so just going through their day as they normally did would be fine! But some wanted to make sure that they, and their whole household were safe, and so they stayed inside all day with their curtains drawn. At the end of the eclipse, both those who went about their day normally, and those who were locked inside, were still able to see just fine!

    As followers of Christ our role is to make Jesus more accessible to those who don’t know Him. We do this by going to where those who need Him are, by using language that they’ll understand, and by letting them know that they can come as they are to Him. We do a great disservice to the Gospel message when we add rules, regulations, and expectations to it. As Paul said in his letter to the Galatians, “If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!” (Gal 1:9). Strong words, but necessary. If we add to the Gospel it stops being the Gospel.

    This coming Sunday we’ll be continuing our summer series in Acts and will be looking at chapter 11. Be sure to read it before Sunday so that you’re familiar with it. Also, there’s still time to read the book of Acts in one or two sittings before the end of the summer!

    Blessings,

    Pastor Mike

  • Acts: Search and Rescue

    Acts: Search and Rescue

    This past weekend my family enjoyed some time camping on Lake Ontario, not too far away from the air force base in Trenton. More than once we saw huge, military planes flying practice missions overhead. On one occasion there were two very large search and rescue planes flying low in a very obvious grid pattern, practicing a search and rescue mission. They would follow the same pattern, but each time they  would shift slightly to the north and east so that they covered the area completely. Naturally, this made me think of evangelism!

    Quite often we will try to cover an area in a similar manner, covering every square inch, trying to find someone who is lost. This approach takes a lot of time, energy and resources, and may or may not produce any results. Now I know that ultimately it is not us that saves a person (or even finds the person!) but that it is by God’s grace and direction, and that got me thinking, what if we were directed by God to our destination in the first place? What if instead of searching over a large area we went directly to where we were needed – following God’s homing beacon as it were?

    This Sunday at our weekly gathering we’re going to be looking at Acts 10. This is the story of Peter going to a Roman Centurion’s house after being directed there by God. He obeys the call, goes to the Gentile’s house (a big no-no for a Jew), and shares with the household the good news of Jesus. And when they hear the Gospel, the Holy Spirit comes upon them and they’re saved! A most effective search and rescue mission! In order to prepare for this Sunday you’ll need to read all of Acts 10. And while you’re at it, read Psalm 146 for good measure!

    Pastor Mike

  • Boot Camp for New Believers

    Boot Camp for New Believers

    I know that August has just started, but I’m already looking toward the Fall (and *gasp* Winter!!) as I plan what we will be looking at on Sundays at The Centre. The series that we’ll be doing in October is called “Boot Camp for New Believers” and part of this series will feature frequently asked questions. You can help me prepare for this series by giving me questions that you might have, or that you’ve been asked by others in the past. If you have a question(s) that you’d like discussed, please email me the question (mike.kleinhuis@gmail.com). I’m not promising all will make the final cut, but I will look at all of them. And even if you don’t come out on a regular basis, still feel free to send me your questions. The more I get, the easier it will be to plan the series.

    This coming Sunday the Kleinhuis family will be on a short get-a-way enjoying some time with family. John L’Allier will be speaking at the service, and if you haven’t heard John preach before you should come out!

    We will be continuing  our series in Acts the following week. If you haven’t already read through the whole book of Acts I’d encourage you to do so before the end of the summer, and to do it in one sitting if possible. When you read large sections of Scripture at one time you can often see better how things flow and fit together.

    Pastor Mike

  • Acts: Miraculous Conversions

    Acts: Miraculous Conversions

    Do you remember when you were first saved, when you first accepted the need for a Saviour and called out to God? If you are a Christian today, then that means at some point in your life you weren’t. The bible teaches us that all of us, every single person, was at one time an enemy of God (read through John 5 to get a clear picture of this), that we were spiritually dead in our sins (Ephesians 2 and Romans 3), and we needed saving — this was why Jesus came (look at Luke 19:1-9, or Matthew 9:9-13). The fact is at one point we were walking in rebellion to God, but then we were saved from our sin, were turned 180 degrees, and now we are walking with God.

    This coming Sunday we’ll be looking at Acts 9. This is the story of Saul’s radical conversion, going from a hunter of Christians to a follower of Christ. It is a remarkable story of grace and redemption, and should give us hope that no one is too far gone that they cannot be saved. This week as you’re reading through Acts 9 I’d encourage you to remember and reflect on your own conversion, when you became a follower of Jesus. It may not be as radical as Saul’s, but one thing I can assure you of is that it was miraculous. You were once dead in your sin, but now you are alive! That’s pretty amazing! Praise be to God!

    Pastor Mike

  • Acts: Spirit-led Discipleship

    Acts: Spirit-led Discipleship

    One of our Core Values at The Centre is discipleship. We are striving to be a church with disciples who make disciples who make disciples who make disciples. More than growing numerically at The Centre, we want each person who calls us home to grow in depth and maturity in their relationship with Jesus (what the apostle Paul calls growing up into Christ – see Ephesians 4:1-16). But the only way that will happen is if we’re led and directed by the Spirit.

    Acts 8 gives us a great picture of what it means for people to be led by the Spirit in their discipling relationships. The first half of the chapter tells the story of Simon the Sorcerer who wanted to buy the power of the Holy Spirit so that he could give the power to other people, likely for a fee. He wanted to control the Spirit rather than being controlled by God. The very next story is about Philip and the Ethiopian. Here is a man who was being led by the Spirit into truth and saving knowledge of Jesus. He wanted to live in obedience, and without delay.

    This is a good reminder that in each of our discipling relationships there needs to be three parties involved: the disciple, the one being discipled, and the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit is not guiding and directing this relationship then what will likely happen is the person may become more morally upright, but they will not be any closer to God.

    At The Centre we do not want to pursue behaviour modification, we must pursue heart transformation, and this is only done through the power of God’s Spirit.

    To help you prepare for this Sunday’s message, read through all of Acts 8, and compare the different responses of Simon the Sorcerer and the Ethiopian Eunuch. See you Sunday at 6pm!

    Pastor Mike

  • Acts: Courage in the face of Challengers

    Acts: Courage in the face of Challengers

    This past Sunday The Centre welcomed Shannon McConnell from Equip Church, a brand new church plant that will be starting soon in Peterborough. His sermon will be up on our website later this week, and it’d be a good thing to listen to in order for you to prepare for this Sunday’s message. And then you should read Acts 7.

    We don’t know exactly how long Stephen had been serving in the early church, but it was long enough to draw the attention of the Sanhedrin, the temple rulers. Once again, they didn’t like their power and authority being undermined by others (see Acts 4 and 5), and so they brought Stephen in for questioning based on false charges. Basically they accused him of not being a good Jewish citizen, and speaking against the customs and cultural practices of the day.

    How would you respond? How do you respond when people question your faith, your motives, your way of life? What would you base your response upon? You may think that something like this will never happen to you, but it will. Eventually, if we are living out our faith in a public way (and I don’t mean preaching on street corners, or going door to door!), if people know that you are a Christian, they will ask questions and challenge your beliefs. Are you prepared for this? How will you respond?

    This Sunday we will look at Stephen’s response, his faith and courage, and my prayer is that we will recognize the source of his strength, and the wisdom of his response. Our gathering begins at 6pm – hope to see you there.

    Pastor Mike

  • Our Understanding God

    Our Understanding God

    Nothing surprises God. Nothing can ever catch Him off guard. And on top of that, there’s nothing that we can experience that He doesn’t have personal knowledge of. While on earth, Jesus experienced what we experience in our own lives – pain, frustration, loneliness, anger, abandonment, but also joy and love, peace and encouragement. The author of Hebrews says this about Jesus: “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

    Jesus knows us perfectly. He knows what we’re going through, and what we’re feeling. He also knows what we need. Don’t hold back from Him. Speak to Him openly and honestly — He already knows what you’re going through. And He will comfort you. Jesus promised that He would never leave us or forsake us, and He also promised that we would have the Holy Spirit with us at all times. So remember, you are never alone. I pray that you would experience His peace, joy, and love today.

    This Sunday Zac Gazdik who is the youth pastor at Trentside Baptist church in Fenelon Falls/Bobcaygeon will be speaking. He’ll be sharing from Luke 18:18-30 — it’d be good if you read it before coming to prepare yourself.