I’m reasonably certain that most, if not all, who read this are familiar with the term “Trojan horse.” According to Greek mythology, a huge wooden horse was constructed during what was known as the Trojan War. The people of Troy allowed the horse to enter the city because they were convinced that the Greeks had deserted the war and that the horse was an offering to Athena, the goddess of war.  In actuality, the horse was hollow and “housed” Greek soldiers. Once inside the city gates, the soldiers inside used the nighttime to emerge from the horse, open the city gates, and allow their fellow soldiers who had not at…

Many of us have heard a feather pillow used in connection with sermons/lessons/advice about gossip. It usually goes something like this: In an attempt to demonstrate how seriously we need to avoid things like gossiping, lying, defaming others, etc, we are asked to imagine going into a house and bringing a feather pillow out to the porch – maybe especially on a windy day. We are then asked to imagine opening the pillowcase and let all of the feathers in that pillow flutter away.  The point is then made that getting all of those feathers back is equivalent to (or could be easier than) “taking back” all of the words we…

We live in an ocean of words. From things said to things written to things typed, words are constantly going into our eyes and ears. As such, sometimes we struggle to feel as if what we have to say can or will get noticed. When that happens, we can feel almost a pressure to make our language more exciting. We feel a need to use superlatives in order to make something seem bigger, better, or more interesting. To a point that is understandable, but at other times, it could be possible that our words undermine us and our faith. Take, for example, how we now so often describe a fun…

We rarely post on Fridays (unless we release a podcast…which…well…we don’t do often), but I wanted to share a rare Friday post today. The reason is to let you know about some other things in which I (Adam) am involved on a regular basis through Central that you may find encouraging. While we do other things online from Central (livestreaming services, “Central Focus” videos, and more), here are three that are fairly new that I hope you find encouraging. Central Sermons Podcast. While we have podcasted our sermons before, we have run into a lot of trouble with our feed in the past. So, recently, we relaunched our sermon podcast…

Several years ago, a former NFL coach became a meme when he was fuming about how many people get into trouble for things they text or share on social media. The meme was him very quickly and passionately saying, “Don’t press send!” My article today is a “backup” article. By that I mean this: I had one ready to publish (I try to have ideas done several weeks in advance in possible and then write the posts out a week or so ahead of time) and it was done except for the graphic. Then…I re-read it. While I actually think the article is true and the overall message is one…