When Something Stands Between You and God: Reclaiming Clear Vision for Your Family
Family Month 2026

Centerpointe Apostolic Church •
September 28, 2026

6 Minute Read

There is a simple but sobering experiment worth trying. Hold a book directly in front of your face. Nothing about you changes. Nothing about the room changes. But suddenly, your ability to see everything in front of you is gone. Something came between you and your view, and that was enough.

That image captures one of the most quietly dangerous realities in the spiritual life. We do not lose our vision of God all at once. We rarely wake up one morning and decide to walk away from faith, abandon our values, or let our family drift. Instead, it happens gradually, almost imperceptibly, through small compromises, misplaced priorities, and subtle distractions that inch their way between us and the God we love. One quiet decision at a time, our vision becomes blurry.

The First Commandment Is About Position, Not Rank

When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, He said something worth examining very carefully. He did not say, "You shall have no other gods above me." He said, "You shall have no other gods before me." The distinction matters enormously. The issue is not merely about rank or hierarchy. It is about position. Whatever stands in front of God in your life will eventually distort how you see Him.

An idol, in the truest biblical sense, is not limited to a golden statue or an ancient pagan deity. An idol is anything that moves between you and God until it begins to shape how you see Him. It could be a career, a relationship, money, or ambition. It could also be something less obvious: the need for approval, the grip of fear, the bitterness of offense, or the comfort of control. None of these things are inherently evil. The danger comes when a good thing moves into God's place. As the saying goes, a blessing becomes an idol the moment it occupies a position that belongs to God alone.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 that the enemy's strategy is not to steal your Bible or silence the gospel. His aim is to blind the mind. If he can distort your vision of who God is and what God can do, he does not have to force your decisions. Your distorted vision will make them for you.

A Miracle in Two Stages

In Mark chapter 8, Jesus heals a blind man in an unusual way. Rather than restoring the man's sight instantly, He does it in two stages. The man first says he can see people, but they look like trees walking. Jesus touches him again, and then he sees clearly. This has puzzled many readers over the years. Why would Jesus, who is fully capable of instant healing, work in stages?

The answer becomes clear when you read the surrounding context. In the same chapter, Jesus asks His disciples who people say He is. Peter gives the remarkable answer: "You are the Christ." It is a moment of genuine revelation. But just a few verses later, when Jesus begins to explain that He must suffer, be rejected, and be killed, Peter pulls Him aside and rebukes Him. Jesus responds with a sharp correction: "Get behind me, Satan, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."

Peter did not lose his faith. He lost his clarity. He had received genuine revelation about who Jesus was, but his personal expectations and ambitions had stepped in front of that truth. He wanted a Messiah who fit the version of victory he had imagined. When Jesus did not match that image, Peter tried to reshape Him.

The two-stage healing is not a picture of limited power. It is a picture of the Christian journey. Sanctification is a process. We see in part, we grow, we are corrected, and we see more clearly. The danger comes when we assume that because we have received light in one area, we see everything perfectly. Spiritual maturity is not reaching the place where you have all the answers. It is remaining teachable enough for God to keep correcting your vision.

What You Place Before God, Your Children May Place Beside God

This is where the conversation becomes deeply personal, especially for families. Exodus 20:5-6 speaks of God visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations. The word translated as "iniquity" carries three literal meanings: bent, twisted, and distorted. Idolatry does not just affect the worshiper. It bends the home, twists the priorities, and distorts the lens through which the next generation learns to see the world.

Children are not born believing that success is life's greatest pursuit. They learn it by watching what the adults around them celebrate. They are not born thinking church is optional. They learn that by watching what is made optional. The choices made within a family's sphere of influence have a way of outlasting the people who made them.

But here is the extraordinary hope embedded in that same passage. While the consequences of rebellion may reach three or four generations, God's mercy extends to thousands of those who love Him and keep His commandments. His grace is always longer than the reach of sin.

The Declaration That Changes Everything

In Joshua 24, a 110-year-old man who has fought battles, buried generations, and led a nation to the promised land gathers everyone together for his final message. He does not give a long list of rules. He simply draws a line and makes a declaration: "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Joshua identifies three categories of gods his people were tempted by: the gods of their ancestors, the gods of their past bondage in Egypt, and the gods of the surrounding culture. The progression is familiar. Inherited idols, personal idols, and cultural idols are still the three great temptations facing every family today.

His message is not complicated. It comes down to one word: choose. Faithfulness is never an accident. It is always a decision.

Your greatest legacy is not what you leave to your children. It is what you leave in them. You can leave them material wealth, but if they never learn how to call on the name of God in a moment of crisis, what was the gain? A heritage of prayer, of worship, of knowing how to seek God in the dark, is worth more than any financial inheritance.

Whatever has been broken in your family line is not the final word. Mercy is longer than your history. And today, you can be the generation that draws the line and says: it stops here.

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September 28, 2026 • 6 Minute Read
When Something Stands Between You and God: Reclaiming Clear Vision for Your Family
There is a simple but sobering experiment worth trying. Hold a book directly in front of your face. Nothing about you changes. Nothing about the room changes. But suddenly, your ability to see everything in front of you is gone. Something came between you and your view, and that was enough. That image captures one of the most quietly dangerous realities in the spiritual life. We do not lose our vision of God all at once. We rarely wake up one morning and decide to walk away from faith, abandon our values, or let our family drift. Instead, it happens gradually, almost imperceptibly, through small compromises, misplaced priorities, and subtle distractions that inch their way between us and the God we love. One quiet decision at a time, our vision becomes blurry. The First Commandment Is About Position, Not Rank When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, He said something worth examining very carefully. He did not say, "You shall have no other gods above me." He said, "You shall have no other gods before me." The distinction matters enormously. The issue is not merely about rank or hierarchy. It is about position. Whatever stands in front of God in your life will eventually distort how you see Him. An idol, in the truest biblical sense, is not limited to a golden statue or an ancient pagan deity. An idol is anything that moves between you and God until it begins to shape how you see Him. It could be a career, a relationship, money, or ambition. It could also be something less obvious: the need for approval, the grip of fear, the bitterness of offense, or the comfort of control. None of these things are inherently evil. The danger comes when a good thing moves into God's place. As the saying goes, a blessing becomes an idol the moment it occupies a position that belongs to God alone. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 that the enemy's strategy is not to steal your Bible or silence the gospel. His aim is to blind the mind. If he can distort your vision of who God is and what God can do, he does not have to force your decisions. Your distorted vision will make them for you. A Miracle in Two Stages In Mark chapter 8, Jesus heals a blind man in an unusual way. Rather than restoring the man's sight instantly, He does it in two stages. The man first says he can see people, but they look like trees walking. Jesus touches him again, and then he sees clearly. This has puzzled many readers over the years. Why would Jesus, who is fully capable of instant healing, work in stages? The answer becomes clear when you read the surrounding context. In the same chapter, Jesus asks His disciples who people say He is. Peter gives the remarkable answer: "You are the Christ." It is a moment of genuine revelation. But just a few verses later, when Jesus begins to explain that He must suffer, be rejected, and be killed, Peter pulls Him aside and rebukes Him. Jesus responds with a sharp correction: "Get behind me, Satan, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." Peter did not lose his faith. He lost his clarity. He had received genuine revelation about who Jesus was, but his personal expectations and ambitions had stepped in front of that truth. He wanted a Messiah who fit the version of victory he had imagined. When Jesus did not match that image, Peter tried to reshape Him. The two-stage healing is not a picture of limited power. It is a picture of the Christian journey. Sanctification is a process. We see in part, we grow, we are corrected, and we see more clearly. The danger comes when we assume that because we have received light in one area, we see everything perfectly. Spiritual maturity is not reaching the place where you have all the answers. It is remaining teachable enough for God to keep correcting your vision. What You Place Before God, Your Children May Place Beside God This is where the conversation becomes deeply personal, especially for families. Exodus 20:5-6 speaks of God visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations. The word translated as "iniquity" carries three literal meanings: bent, twisted, and distorted. Idolatry does not just affect the worshiper. It bends the home, twists the priorities, and distorts the lens through which the next generation learns to see the world. Children are not born believing that success is life's greatest pursuit. They learn it by watching what the adults around them celebrate. They are not born thinking church is optional. They learn that by watching what is made optional. The choices made within a family's sphere of influence have a way of outlasting the people who made them. But here is the extraordinary hope embedded in that same passage. While the consequences of rebellion may reach three or four generations, God's mercy extends to thousands of those who love Him and keep His commandments. His grace is always longer than the reach of sin. The Declaration That Changes Everything In Joshua 24, a 110-year-old man who has fought battles, buried generations, and led a nation to the promised land gathers everyone together for his final message. He does not give a long list of rules. He simply draws a line and makes a declaration: "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua identifies three categories of gods his people were tempted by: the gods of their ancestors, the gods of their past bondage in Egypt, and the gods of the surrounding culture. The progression is familiar. Inherited idols, personal idols, and cultural idols are still the three great temptations facing every family today. His message is not complicated. It comes down to one word: choose. Faithfulness is never an accident. It is always a decision. Your greatest legacy is not what you leave to your children. It is what you leave in them. You can leave them material wealth, but if they never learn how to call on the name of God in a moment of crisis, what was the gain? A heritage of prayer, of worship, of knowing how to seek God in the dark, is worth more than any financial inheritance. Whatever has been broken in your family line is not the final word. Mercy is longer than your history. And today, you can be the generation that draws the line and says: it stops here.

Centerpointe Apostolic Church

September 23, 2026 • 5 Minute Read
The Weekly - September 23, 2026
This Week At Centerpointe 👋 This is your one-stop spot for everything happening in our church family. From kids to adults, Connect Groups to special events, here's how you can get connected over the next seven days. Join us tonight at 7pm for Midweek at Centerpointe. We will continue with Week 3 of Family Month Midweek. Take a look at the screen when you come in for tonight's classes. Come early, grab a coffee and find your class. We can't wait to see you as we work together to strengthen our families! Sundays are always the best and this week is no exception. Join us as FAMILY Month continues at Centerpointe. This week is Family Worship, Red Bag & Legacy Sunday. Missionaries Joshua & Christine Moreno from Greece will be joining us for this special service. Bring your family and friends for a wonderful day in the House of the Lord! Life Class starts at 10:30am & Worship Service starts at 11:30am. If you're unable to attend, service will be available LIVE on YouTube. Last Sunday's Message "Every generation stands in the middle of two others. You inherit something from those who came before you, and you pass something on to those who come after. The question is not whether you will leave a legacy — you will. The only question that matters is what kind of legacy it will be..."Last Sunday's Message Upcoming Events Semesters Semester 4 begins this Sunday, September 27 and will continue through Sunday, November 22. There are new classes, teachers and rooms. Click the link below to see them all. Come early, enjoy a coffee at the Cafe, and find the perfect class for you. Life Classes meet every Sunday at 10:30 am.Learn More About Semesters Family Month At Centerpointe, we believe that strong families build strong churches. Every September, we take extra time to focus on the family. Each Sunday & Wednesday beginning on September 6, we will have different themes and classes to better equip your family to build stronger relationships and grow closer to God. Click here for Topics, Times & Teachers. Pastor Appreciation Join us on Sunday, October 4 as we celebrate our amazing Pastor and First Lady! We are truly blessed with the best, and this is our opportunity to show them just how much they mean to us. Whether you bring a card, write a heartfelt note, give them a hug, or simply take a moment to tell them how much you appreciate all they do—we want to make sure they feel loved and celebrated! Be The Church Day We invite you to join us for Be The Church Day at Centerpointe on Sunday, October 25 at 11:30am. This is the perfect time for you to invite your family, friends, and co-workers to experience what God is doing at Centerpointe. For more information, clickHERE! Other events to add to your calendar September 27 - Unplugged - 5-8 pm October 4 - Hispanos Worship Service - 11:30 am in the Chapel October 6 - Ladies Connect Night - 7 pm October 10 - 60+ Fall Festival October 25 - Fall Festival - 5-7 pm Outreach Opportunities Join us this Sunday, September 27 for Red Bag Sunday, the last Sunday of the month! It's a wonderful way for Centerpointe to support our community through Nourish Food Bank. Every donation helps! Thanks for your ongoing support. Click HEREfor this month's list. Also, join us on Sunday, September 27 at Journey Home. We serve every 4th Sunday of the month. Sign Up For Journey Home Prayer Opportunities Pre-Service Prayer - Sunday mornings at 11:15 am in Room 101 Ladies' Prayer - Tuesday mornings at 10 am in the Prayer room Men's Prayer - Thursday mornings at 6 am in the Prayer room *For access to the 24 hour prayer room, email info@centerpointetn.com September Prayer Chain & Family Prayer Join us on Saturday, October 3 for our 24-hour Prayer Chain beginning at 6am and continuing through 6am on Sunday, October 4. Sign up for a 1-hour time slot to keep our prayer chain unbroken and get your confirmation email with the prayer room code. The Prayer Chain will be held in the Chapel. Click HEREto reserve your spot now! Also, come and be a part of Family Prayer on Monday, October 5 at 7 pm. We will meet in the Sanctuary. Bring your family as we continue to grow together in prayer.Reserve Your Prayer Chain Spot New to Centerpointe? Join First Steps! First Steps was designed to clearly explain who we are and what we value at Centerpointe. Everyone has a First Step - maybe you are new to Centerpointe or you have been a member of the family for some time. This course is designed to help you get plugged in at Centerpointe. First Steps is made up of four steps that equip you to follow Jesus, connect to the church, discover your purpose, and serve others. We invite anyone who has not been through First Steps, whether new or old, to come and learn with us. Justin and Amanda Martin are the First Steps Coordinators. They meet weekly on Sundays at 10:30am. There is no First Steps on 5th Sundays.Join First Steps Stay Connected 📩 Subscribe to The Weekly to get these updates delivered directly to your inbox. 📱 Download The Church Center App and stay connected. 📸 Follow us on , Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. 🎶 Centerpointe Worship playlist on Apple Music & Spotify 💬 Questions? Connect with us here. Services: Sundays at 11:30 am · Wednesdays at 7:00 pm 1800 New Lascassas Pike, Murfreesboro, TN 37130 Church Office: Monday - Thursday, 9 am - 3 pm | 615-893-5906

Centerpointe Apostolic Church

September 21, 2026 • 6 Minute Read
Dysfunction Is Not Your Destiny: Breaking the Cycle and Building a Lasting Legacy
Every generation stands in the middle of two others. You inherit something from those who came before you, and you pass something on to those who come after. The question is not whether you will leave a legacy — you will. The only question that matters is what kind of legacy it will be. This is not a small question. The answer shapes families, communities, and futures that extend far beyond what any of us can see. The Power of Generational Influence Psalm 78, written by Asaph — a gifted musician and prophetic composer from the era of David and Solomon — opens with an urgent call to listen, to learn, and to teach. The psalmist declares that the stories of God's faithfulness must not be hidden from the next generation. They must be told, passed down, and lived out, so that each generation can set its hope anew on God rather than repeat the failures of those who came before. That phrase — "set its hope anew" — is worth sitting with. Every generation must discover God for themselves. Faith cannot be inherited like a piece of furniture. It must be personally pursued, personally embraced, and personally lived. But the environment in which that pursuit happens is shaped enormously by the generation that came before. This is the weight and the wonder of generational influence. What the Data Actually Shows In the mid-1700s, two men lived in roughly the same time and place in America. One was Jonathan Edwards, a revivalist, pastor, and theologian who rose at four in the morning and spent up to thirteen hours a day in prayer and study of Scripture. The other was a man named Max Jukes, whose life went in a drastically different direction. Nearly 150 years after their deaths, an American educator traced the descendants of both men. The contrast was staggering. From Jonathan Edwards came one U.S. vice president, three U.S. senators, three governors, thirteen college presidents, sixty doctors, one hundred lawyers, one hundred clergymen, and two hundred and eighty-five college graduates, among many others. From Max Jukes came seven murderers, sixty thieves, one hundred ninety prostitutes, four hundred forty alcoholics, and three hundred who died prematurely. Two men. Two directions. Centuries of consequences. This is not a story about perfection. Edwards himself came from a family that was far from spotless — his grandmother was considered a disgrace, and his family tree included violent criminals. He had a choice about which influence would define him, and he made it deliberately and daily. The Truth About Generational Curses There is a concept that circulates widely — the idea of generational curses, the belief that the sins of previous generations are somehow genetically transferred and inescapably passed down. This idea, while it contains a kernel of truth about consequences, can become deeply destructive when taken too far. It can become a prison. A person begins to believe that the dysfunction they were born into is simply the hand they were dealt, and there is nothing to be done but live inside it. Or it becomes an excuse — a way of shifting responsibility for present choices onto past generations rather than taking ownership of one's own life and decisions. Ezekiel 18:20 is clear that each person is accountable for their own sin, not the sin of their parents. Every individual stands before God on the basis of their own choices. Romans 5:12 confirms that death spread to all people because all have sinned — each person's own sin is the issue, not a curse inherited from someone else. What Deuteronomy 5:9 does describe is not a curse in the mystical sense, but the very real consequences and influence that flow from one generation's decisions into the next. Bad decisions produce painful consequences, and those consequences can ripple outward for generations. That is sobering. But it is not the whole story. One Generation Can Change Everything Deuteronomy 5:10 is where hope breaks through. While the consequences of rejecting God may affect three or four generations, God lavishes His unfailing love on a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commands. The math is not close. One generation of faithfulness opens the door to a thousand generations of God's overflowing goodness. All it takes is one person who decides to turn the tide. One father who declares, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." One mother who refuses to let tragedy define her family's future. One young adult who looks at the dysfunction they were raised in and says, "This stops with me." The story of Joseph in Genesis is a stunning illustration of this truth. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob formed one of the most famously dysfunctional family lines in all of Scripture — marked by deception, favoritism, jealousy, and betrayal. The pattern of lying ran so deep that it passed from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob without interruption. But Joseph refused to pick it up. Thrown into a pit by his own brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused, and forgotten in prison, he had every reason to become bitter, to deceive, to retaliate. Instead, he maintained his integrity at every turn. And in the end, he looked at his brothers and declared that what they had intended for evil, God had turned for good. One man's faithfulness reversed the momentum of generations. The Decision in Front of You The failures of a previous generation do not have to define your future. The dysfunction of the past does not have to be the blueprint for your present. Just because a home was broken does not mean the next home has to be. Just because addiction, deception, or bitterness marked those who came before does not mean it must mark those who come after. The gospel exists precisely for this moment. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the ultimate reversal — the point at which every curse of sin meets its match. By His wounds, healing is made available. Not just physical healing, but emotional, relational, and generational healing. You are standing in the middle of two generations right now. What will you pick up? What will you leave behind? What will you pass on? The direction you choose today is already shaping tomorrow. His mercy is forever. His kindness is forever. His goodness is forever. And one faithful generation is all it takes to set a thousand more on a completely different course.

Centerpointe Apostolic Church

September 14, 2026 • 6 Minute Read
Empty Vessels and Open Hands: What It Means to Let God Pour Into You
There is something quietly profound about an empty container. A bowl sitting on a counter, a jar waiting on a shelf — these things have no value in their emptiness alone. Their purpose is found only when something is poured into them. That image, simple as it is, captures one of the most important truths a person can wrestle with: God is ready to pour, but we have to be ready to receive. The Foundation That Holds Before anything can be poured out, there has to be something solid underneath. In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus draws a vivid contrast between two builders. One hears the words of God and puts them into practice — and when the storms arrive, his house stands. The other hears the same words and does nothing with them — and when the storms arrive, his house collapses completely. The storms, Jesus makes clear, are coming either way. The rain does not skip the house built on sand just because its owner showed up to hear good teaching. The difference between the two houses is not the weather they face. It is the foundation underneath them when the weather hits. This is a truth that cuts through every layer of age and experience. It is not enough to sit in a room where the Word of God is being spoken. It is not enough to nod along, to feel the warmth of a worship service, to appreciate a moving message. The Word has to move from the ears into the hands and the feet. It has to become action. It has to become the daily choices we make when nobody is watching, the way we treat people when we are tired, the values we hold onto when holding on is costly. Hearing is the beginning. Doing is the foundation. A Woman, Two Boys, and a Little Bit of Oil In 2 Kings chapter 4, there is a story that does not get enough attention. A widow finds herself in a desperate situation. Her husband has died. A creditor has arrived at her door with a legal claim — pay the debt, or surrender her two sons. She has nothing. Almost nothing. She has one small jar with a little bit of oil inside. She does the only thing she knows to do. She goes to the man of God and lays her problem at his feet. His response is unusual. He tells her to go home, gather every empty vessel her neighbors can spare, and then begin pouring from her small jar. She does it. And the oil does not stop. It fills every bowl, every pot, every vase, every container she managed to borrow. The oil keeps flowing until there are no more empty vessels left. Then, and only then, does it stop. The detail worth sitting with is this: the oil stopped when the vessels ran out. Not when the miracle ran out. Not when God grew tired. The limiting factor was not the supply. It was the number of empty containers available to receive it. She paid her debts. She provided for her sons. God did not just rescue her from the crisis of that afternoon — He gave her a future. Dirty Dishes and Clean Hearts Here is where the image gets personal. A vessel that is already full cannot receive anything new. And a vessel that is dirty is not one anyone wants to eat from. Before God pours into a life, there is some housekeeping to do. The theological word for it is repentance, and it is less complicated than it sometimes sounds. It simply means coming to God honestly and saying, I have done things, said things, and thought about things that go against your Word. I am sorry. Will you forgive me? Will you help me turn and start making better choices? That is it. That is the beginning of a clean vessel. Repentance is not a punishment. It is a preparation. It is the washing of the dish before the meal is served. The plan laid out in Acts 2:38 follows this same logic. Repentance comes first, making room. Baptism in the name of Jesus Christ follows, representing the washing away of what was there before. And then God fills the vessel with His Spirit — the Holy Ghost, the presence of God living inside a human life. The sequence is not arbitrary. It is the order of a God who wants to pour into people who are ready to receive. When Prayers Move Mountains The widow's story is ancient, but the same God who multiplied her oil is still working today. The pattern has not changed. People face impossible situations. They go to God. They do what He says, even when it sounds unusual. And He moves. Prayers offered in faith still reach the ears of a God who listens. Doctors still sometimes walk into hospital rooms with reports that contradict everything they said five days earlier. Families that have been far from God for decades still find their way back. A father goes to church. A sister follows. A brother-in-law comes through the door for the first time in his life. A niece learns worship songs at home and sings them without being asked. God does not just answer the prayer in front of Him. He answers the prayers that have not even been prayed yet, moving in lives and generations that are still downstream. The oil did not stop because God ran out. It stopped because the vessels ran out. Hold Out Your Hands The question this story leaves behind is not whether God is willing to pour. He is. The question is whether we are positioned to receive. Are we built on a foundation that can hold when the storms arrive? Have we done the work of repentance, clearing out what should not be there? Are we holding out open, empty, clean hands and asking Him to fill us? Whatever you are carrying into today — fear, grief, debt, distance from God, a family situation that feels impossible — there is a God who sees it. He is not out of oil. He is not out of miracles. He is not out of grace. He is simply waiting for empty vessels.

Centerpointe Apostolic Church

September 8, 2026 • 6 Minute Read
Who Is Forming Your Family?
The family is under attack. That may sound like an alarming way to open a conversation, but if you have been paying attention to the world around you, it is not a surprising one. The pressures bearing down on the home today are relentless, and what makes them so dangerous is that most of them never knock on the door and announce themselves. They simply become part of the atmosphere, quietly shaping the way we think, the way we spend our time, and ultimately, the kind of family we become. So here is a question worth sitting with today: Who or what is forming your family? Something is. The only real question is whether it is something you have chosen, or something that has simply filled the vacuum left by the absence of intention. The Power of Intentional Legacy Psalm 78, verses 5 and 6, captures a vision that has been God's design from the very beginning. In it, God commands His people to teach His instructions to their children, so that the next generation might know them, and the generation after that, and the one after that. Faith was never meant to be accidental. Truth was never meant to be absorbed by osmosis. A lasting legacy is built on purpose, or it is not built at all. If we are not intentionally building something into our families, we will unintentionally pass along something we never meant to give them. By default, the inheritance becomes one of brokenness rather than blessing. The enemy of our souls is extraordinarily intentional. He comes, as Scripture says in John 10:10, to steal, to kill, and to destroy. He is particularly focused on the family because the family was God's institution, God's design, and therefore his primary target. The antidote is not perfection. It is intentionality. The Battle for Our Time Ephesians 5, verses 15 and 16, urges believers to walk carefully, not as fools but as wise people, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. The word translated as "circumspectly" in some versions carries the idea of looking around, being aware, not sleepwalking through life. A full calendar is not the same thing as a full life. A family can be involved in everything and deeply connected to nothing. The activities filling our schedules are not necessarily bad. Sports, school, work, appointments, and even church responsibilities are good things. But we must ask a harder question than whether we can fit something in. The better question is: What is this schedule producing in our family? Is it enhancing us or eroding us? Are we becoming the family God called us to be at the pace we are living? Protecting your family sometimes means saying no. Not every good opportunity is a God opportunity for your specific season of life. The goal is not an empty calendar. It is an intentional one. The Battle for Our Identity Colossians 2:8 warns against being taken captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy that depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. Culture is relentless in telling us who to be, what success looks like, and what we should want. And because we are constantly absorbing information, comparison becomes almost unavoidable. But here is the liberating truth: we do not have to reinvent ourselves every time culture changes its mind. Our identity begins with the God who created us. Genesis 1:27 reminds us that we are made in His image, male and female, purposefully and uniquely designed. That foundation does not shift with trends or social movements. Our families need more than rules. They need to understand why we believe what we believe. Difficult questions deserve honest engagement, not avoidance. When our homes become safe places where truth is spoken clearly, questions are asked honestly, and love is never in doubt, we give our children something far more durable than a list of dos and don'ts. Conviction without relationship can feel like rejection. But relationship without truth eventually becomes abandonment. The goal is both, held together. The Battle for Our Thinking The pace of technological change is unlike anything previous generations have faced. Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant concept. It is embedded in our phones, our schools, our workplaces, and our homes. And like all powerful tools, it carries both potential and peril. The pursuit of unrestricted knowledge has always led God's people into trouble. The account of the Garden of Eden is instructive here. God did not withhold knowledge from Adam and Eve because He wanted to keep them ignorant. He wanted the relationship first. Through relationship, He would guide them into what they could handle. They short-circuited that process, and the consequences were catastrophic. The same dynamic is at play today. AI can assist our thinking, but it must never replace it. It can generate an apology, but it cannot humble a heart. It can produce a devotional, but it cannot build an altar in a home. It knows Scripture and will quote it back to you, but it will do so in service of validating your feelings rather than challenging you toward transformation. Proverbs 4:7 says that wisdom is the principal thing, and with all of our getting, we should get understanding. We need the Holy Spirit operating in our lives now more than ever, giving us the discernment to know the difference between what is real and what is imitation. The Battle for Our Attention Matthew 6:21 tells us that where our treasure is, our heart will be also. Whatever repeatedly receives our attention will eventually shape our priorities, our desires, and our affections. We are giving our attention to something every moment of every day. The only question is whether we are choosing it deliberately. Technology has made us the most connected generation in human history, and yet loneliness is at epidemic levels. Presence is not simply occupying the same room. It is the gift of focus, of eye contact, of listening to the mundane at 10:30 at night because that is when someone finally felt safe enough to open up. Protected spaces matter. A technology-free dinner table. An hour before bed without screens. One honest conversation. One prayer offered together. One Faithful Step You do not have to change everything today. But you can begin. One protected evening. One question asked and genuinely heard. One decision to put the phone down. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. That declaration from Joshua 24:15 was not made from a position of perfection. It was made from a position of resolve. It is available to every family, in every season, at every table. Something is forming your family. Make sure it is something you have chosen.

Centerpointe Apostolic Church

August 31, 2026 • 6 Minute Read
The Principle That Changes Everything: Putting God First in Every Area of Your Life
There is a thread woven through the entire fabric of Scripture, from the opening chapters of Genesis all the way through the letters of the New Testament, that most people either overlook or quietly choose to ignore. It is not a complicated thread to follow once you see it. But once you see it, you cannot unsee it. It is the principle of first fruits, and it has the power to reorder everything about the way you live, give, and trust God. More Than a Financial Conversation Before anything else, it is worth establishing something clearly: this is not really about money. Money is simply the lens through which a much deeper spiritual reality comes into focus. Jesus spoke about finances more than almost any other subject during His earthly ministry, and He did so because He understood the connection between our treasure and our heart. As He declared in Matthew 6:21, where a person's treasure is, that is precisely where their heart will follow. He did not say the reverse. He did not say that your treasure follows your heart. He said your heart follows your treasure. That distinction matters enormously. What we consistently invest in, what receives our time and energy and sacrifice, is what eventually captures our deepest affections. This is why the principle of firstfruits is not simply a financial strategy. It is a declaration of lordship. It is a statement about who is actually in charge of your life. A Principle From the Very Beginning In Exodus 13, God established something foundational with His people. He declared that whatever opens the womb, both among people and animals, belongs to Him. The firstborn was His. This was not an arbitrary rule. It was the establishment of a principle that runs like a river through the rest of Scripture: the first belongs to God. The principle deepened when God instructed in Exodus 23:19 that the very first of the first fruits of the land was to be brought to His house. Proverbs 3:9 echoes this same call, connecting the honoring of God with the first fruits of all increase to the promise that barns will be filled with plenty and vats will overflow. The order matters. The first portion is not what is left over. It is what comes first, before anything else is touched. The Story of Cain and Abel, Revisited Few stories in Scripture have generated more confusion than the account of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4. Why did God receive Abel's offering and not Cain's? The answer is embedded in the language of the text itself. Abel brought the firstborn of his flock. The Scripture is specific and deliberate about that detail. But when it describes what Cain brought, it simply says he brought an offering in the process of time. There is no mention of first fruits. There is only the suggestion that time passed, a harvest came, and eventually Cain brought something to God. The implication is clear. Cain did not make God first. He gave God what was convenient, what remained after time had passed and other priorities had been addressed. And God, who looks at the heart behind every offering, did not receive it. This is not a story about God being harsh. It is a story about the importance of priority and the posture of the heart. The Redemptive Connection Here is where the principle becomes breathtaking in its depth. In Exodus 13, the law regarding the firstborn specified that what was clean was to be sacrificed, and what was unclean had to be redeemed with a lamb. Centuries later, when John the Baptist stood at the banks of the Jordan River and pointed to Jesus, he declared in John 1:29 that this was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The language was not accidental. Jesus was God's firstborn, clean and unblemished, offered as the first fruits sacrifice that would redeem everything that was unclean, which includes every one of us. Romans 11:16 states that if the first fruit is holy, the whole lump is also holy. This is the redemptive logic of the first fruits principle. When the first portion is consecrated to God, it sanctifies the rest. When you honor God with the first of your increase, the remainder of what you have comes under His blessing and His covering. What This Looks Like in Practice The practical application of this principle is straightforward, even if it requires genuine faith to live out. It means that when income arrives, the very first financial decision made is to give to God. Not after the mortgage is paid. Not after groceries are purchased. Not after every other obligation has been satisfied. First. Before anything else. This is not a prosperity doctrine. It is not a transaction where a certain gift guarantees a specific financial return. God does not operate like a vending machine. What He does promise, as stated in Malachi 3:10-11, is that He will open the windows of heaven and rebuke the devourer on behalf of those who honor Him with their tithes and offerings. Sometimes that looks like unexpected financial provision. Sometimes it looks like a car that keeps running, an appliance that holds together longer than it should, or a crisis that never materializes because God quietly intervened. The blessing does not always arrive in a form you can deposit. But it arrives. The Deeper Question The principle of first fruits ultimately asks a question that reaches far beyond finances. It asks whether God is truly first in every area of life. First in your schedule. First in your relationships. First in your ambitions and your plans and your future. First in your family, because even family can become an idol when it is elevated above God. Abraham was asked to offer Isaac, his only son, the very fulfillment of God's promise to him, as a sacrifice. God did not ultimately require Isaac's life. But He did require Abraham's willingness. He required proof that the promise had not replaced the Promise-Giver in Abraham's heart. That is the question the principle of first fruits places before every person who takes it seriously. Not simply, do I tithe? But rather, is God genuinely first? Is He Lord of all, or is He Lord of only the areas where surrender is comfortable and convenient? The invitation is open. Give God the first and the best, and watch what He does with the rest.

Centerpointe Apostolic Church

August 24, 2026 • 6 Minute Read
Who Holds Your Wallet? Rethinking the Way We Give
There is a question that most of us would rather not sit with too long: who is actually in charge of your finances? Not who manages the budget, not who pays the bills, but who is the true authority over the money that flows in and out of your life? It is a question that cuts right to the heart of faith, trust, and what we actually believe about God. Money is one of the most spiritually loaded subjects in all of Scripture. Jesus addressed it more than almost any other topic. In Matthew 6:24, he made a statement that was as blunt as it was profound, declaring that no one can serve two masters — a person will either love one and hate the other, or be loyal to one and despise the other. He concluded that no one can serve both God and money. That is not a suggestion. That is a diagnosis of the human heart. So the real question is not whether money is important. It clearly is. The question is whether money is your master or your tool. The Difference Between Tithing and Offering Most conversations about church giving stop at the tithe. Ten percent. One in ten. It is clean, it is mathematical, and once you have it figured out, it feels manageable. But Scripture does not stop at the tithe. In Malachi 3, God confronts his people with a piercing question: will a man rob God? When they ask how they have robbed him, the answer is telling. Not just in tithes. In tithes and offerings. Both. Together. The tithe and the offering are connected, and ignoring one while honoring the other leaves something unfinished in the spiritual economy of your life. The tithe is the foundation. It is the acknowledgment that everything you have came from God in the first place. The offering, however, is something different entirely. There is no fixed percentage attached to it. It is not a formula. It is a response — a willing, heartfelt, Spirit-led response to the goodness of God in your life. A Willing Heart Changes Everything When Moses was commissioned to build the tabernacle, he did not send out invoices. He did not mandate a percentage. He asked for offerings from everyone whose heart moved them to give, as described in Exodus 25. The qualification was not wealth. It was willingness. God wanted the sanctuary built from the overflow of grateful hearts, not reluctant checkbooks. This matters because it reframes the entire conversation. Giving is not a tax. It is not a religious obligation you check off a list. It is an act of worship that flows from a heart that has genuinely reckoned with how good God has been. When you stop and honestly consider the health you have, the abilities you possess, the relationships you enjoy, the income you earn — and you trace all of it back to its source — something shifts. Gratitude has a way of loosening the grip of self-sufficiency. And self-sufficiency is the real enemy here. The American ideal of being a self-made person sounds admirable on the surface, but underneath it is a quiet declaration of independence from God. It says: I do not need anyone. I can take care of myself. That posture, however culturally celebrated, is spiritually corrosive. It turns financial security into an idol, and idols always demand more than they give. The Blessing of Becoming a Giver Here is what Scripture consistently promises to those who learn to live with open hands: a blessed life. Acts 20:35 records these words of Jesus — it is more blessed to give than to receive. That is not a platitude. It is a principle woven into the very fabric of how human beings are designed. Generous people are, over the long arc of life, happier, more connected, and more free than those who hold tightly to what they have. There is even a physiological dimension to this. When you give willingly, your body releases chemicals associated with joy and connection. When you withhold stingily, your body produces cortisol — the stress hormone. It is as if God hard-wired generosity into the very biology of the human body, making it impossible to separate spiritual health from the posture of an open hand. Beyond personal joy, generosity builds relationships. It leaves a legacy. Psalms 37:25 describes the righteous person as one who is always generous, and whose children become a blessing. Generous parents raise generous children. The way you handle money in your home right now is teaching the next generation either to trust God or to trust themselves. The Widow and the Offering Pan Perhaps no story captures the spirit of true giving better than the one recorded in Mark 12. Jesus sat down across from the offering area and watched as people brought their contributions. The wealthy gave large amounts — impressive by any human measure. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins, worth almost nothing in practical terms. Jesus called his disciples over immediately. He told them she had given more than everyone else. Not because the amount was larger, but because it cost her everything she had. The smallest offering ever recorded became the most celebrated act of generosity in the New Testament. It was not the size of the gift that moved Jesus. It was the size of the trust behind it. Settling the Question The invitation here is not to give until it hurts for the sake of hurting. It is to settle the question of who is actually Lord of your life — including the parts that feel most personal, most protected, most yours. For most people, that place is their finances. What would it look like to hold your income with an open hand? To ask God not just how much to keep, but how much to give? To become so naturally generous that giving feels less like a decision and more like a reflex — like tying your shoes? The promise on the other side of that question is not just a full barn, though Scripture speaks of that too. It is the freedom that comes from no longer being enslaved to your possessions. It is the joy of being used as a conduit of God's love in the world. It is the deep, settled peace of knowing that the one who holds your future is the same one who holds your wallet — and he is very, very good at his job.

Centerpointe Apostolic Church

August 20, 2026 • 5 Minute Read
Church Center Transition
Project Overview For the past couple of months, we’ve been working on transitioning our church management system from Church Community Builder (CCB) & Subsplash to Planning Center. If you’ve been around Centerpointe for a while, you probably recognize all of those names already... We currently use CCB to manage contact information, Serve Team scheduling, Kids check-ins, Connect Groups, general communication, and many behind-the-scenes processes. We currently use Subsplash for online giving, event information, registrations, live streaming, media archives & Connect Group communication. In addition to CCB & Subsplash, we use Planning Center to plan our services. At the end of the transition, everything will be stored and managed in Planning Center. Reasons for the change We’ve used these two systems in parallel for a long time, but there are an increasing number of issues as we grow. Some of the main benefits of the transition are: A unified system | We have contact information in both CCB and Planning Center, but that information is often outdated in one or the other. By moving to a single system, we will only be maintaining one set of information, meaning fewer errors and less confusion about which information goes where. It simplifies things for staff, leaders, and members. Better reporting and behind-the-scenes tools | One of the major frustrations we’ve faced with CCB is the difficulty of generating reports and managing data. The interface is frustrating and not intuitive, which means we are not able to use the information we have as well as we could. The corresponding tools in Planning Center are much easier to use and updated regularly. Better support and training | The team at Planning Center is constantly improving the platform as well as creating training materials for users. Whether you will use Planning Center to manage groups or teams at Centerpointe or to just update your personal information, there are great tutorial videos on YouTube and help pages on their website. What this means for you Our goal for the transition is to simplify and make things easier for everyone. We realize that there will be a small learning curve in the next couple of months, but we think this will help us greatly in the long term! The transition mainly impacts things behind the scenes, but there are a few things we need your help with: Online giving/donations | The biggest change is to online giving. If you currently give online through Subsplash (Centerpointe App or Website), we will ask you to set up a new giving profile in Planning Center. We will send out more information about setting up your profile, and we will have someone available after church for several Sundays to answer any questions! Connect Group Leaders | If you lead or co-lead a Connect Group, we’ll be moving away from CCB Groups to Planning Center Groups. Leaders will receive more training resources as we finalize the transition. Serve Teams | If you’re already using Planning Center to volunteer at Centerpointe, not much will change! We will be cleaning up some of our existing information in Planning Center, but you will continue to receive scheduling requests and reminders just like you do now. If you receive your Serve requests through CCB, your Serve Leaders will be sending you instructions in the coming months. Centerpointe Apps | Since our current church app is hosted with Subsplash, this will go away when we transition in September. This includes our current mobile & TV apps. While most of the tools on our app will move to the new Church Center App, things like "Media" & "Bible" will go away. Don't worry! All of our church services, both Live Stream & archived, can be found on our YouTube Channel. Planning Center? Church Center? We know it can seem confusing but, simply put, Church Center (app & site) is how YOU will access Planning Center's suite of services. Planning Center Planning Center is a flexible church management system that offers many different services. Services include: Giving Volunteer Scheduling Groups Calendar Event Registration ...and more! Church Center A community-centered mobile app and site that enables you to access Planning Center What’s Next? Step 1: Create Your Account Click the link to get started: https://centerpointetn.churchcenter.com/setup Follow the prompts to create your account. Pro Tip: Go ahead and add your profile picture, email & phone number Step 2: Add Your Household During setup, you will have the option to add your household. Important for all households: This applies to families with children Please have ONE adult complete the initial setup All adults need to create their own profile. After setup, stop by the Pointe or fill out the form below to have your spouse added to your household. Help is available: Every Sunday & Wednesday at The Pointe (starting 6/28) Or fill out this form

Centerpointe Apostolic Church

August 17, 2026 • 6 Minute Read
The King's Invitation: Three Calls That Will Change Everything
There is something uniquely powerful about receiving a genuine invitation. Not the kind that simply needs a body to fill a seat, but the kind that opens a door to a world you never knew existed. Think about the invitations that have shaped your life -- the person who saw something in you before you saw it in yourself, the mentor who pulled you into a larger vision, the relationship that permanently expanded the boundaries of your world. Those moments carry weight because they were personal, intentional, and life-altering. Now consider this: the greatest invitation ever extended is not from a mentor, a leader, or even the most admirable person you could imagine meeting. It comes from the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And according to Revelation 3:20, that King is standing at the door of your life right now, knocking, waiting for you to open it so that he can come in and share the most intimate kind of fellowship with you. That invitation deserves your full attention. Throughout the ministry of Jesus, three specific invitations emerge that form a complete picture of what it means to truly follow him. Each one builds on the last. Each one is essential. Together, they represent the full scope of the life he is calling us into. Come and Drink The first invitation is found in John 7:37-39, where Jesus stood during a great feast and called out to anyone who was thirsty to come to him and drink. He was not talking about water. He was speaking about the Holy Spirit -- the very presence and power of God that would flow from within every believer who received him. This is where everything begins. The Holy Spirit is described in Scripture as both a comforter and a guide, and it is worth noting that those two roles are deeply connected. Where the Spirit guides, comfort will be needed. Following God is not a passive experience. It will take you places that are uncomfortable, challenging, and sometimes costly. The invitation to drink deeply of the Spirit is not a luxury -- it is a necessity. There is an important distinction to hold onto here. Believing in Jesus Christ is powerful and transformative. Something genuinely changes the moment a person places their faith in him. But belief is conception, not birth. The new birth that Jesus described to Nicodemus in John 3 is a specific experience, one accompanied by the evidence of speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives utterance, just as it was on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. This is not a denominational preference. It is a biblical directive, and the invitation stands open to anyone who is thirsty. Do not let family tradition or religious tradition talk you out of coming to drink. The Spirit of God is available, and he is the power source for everything else that follows. Come and Die The second invitation is the one most people quietly try to skip. In Matthew 16:24, Jesus made it plain: anyone who wants to follow him must deny themselves, take up their cross, and come after him. In the days when those words were spoken, no one misunderstood the imagery. A person carrying a cross was not coming back. The cross was an instrument of execution, and Jesus was using it deliberately. Self-denial is not a single dramatic moment. It is a continual series of choices. It is choosing God's commands over personal comfort. It is choosing forgiveness when revenge feels far more satisfying. It is choosing to war against sinful desires and selfish ambitions rather than letting them run unchecked. It is refusing to let your mind wander freely into territory that diminishes your spirit and weakens your walk. We live in a screen age, and the screens are winning. The unguarded mind is revealed in what we scroll through and what we choose to watch. An undisciplined thought life leaves us wide open to whatever the culture wants to feed us, and then we wonder why we feel spiritually malnourished. First Peter 1:13 calls us to gird up the loins of our minds -- to take our thought lives seriously, because the mind is by far the most productive area of our entire being. Here is the critical connection between the first and second invitations: you cannot fully accept the invitation to come and die without first having accepted the invitation to come and drink. The Spirit is what empowers the dying. It is what gives you the strength to forgive the person you grew to hate, to lay down the ambition that was consuming you, to step off the throne of your own life and let someone greater sit there. Philippians 4:8 gives us the alternative diet for our minds -- whatever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. These are the things worth thinking about. This is the table worth eating at. Come and Rest The third invitation is the one that makes the other two sustainable. In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus extended one of the most tender calls in all of Scripture, inviting everyone who is worn down by labor and weighed down by burdens to come to him and find rest. His yoke, he said, is easy. His burden is light. The image of a yoke is instructive. When two animals are yoked together, one is always stronger. Jesus is our pulling partner, and when we are yoked to him, he decides the direction, the weight, and the speed. Isaiah 40:31 reminds us that those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength -- they will soar, they will run, they will walk without fainting. The key word is wait. The key posture is yoked to him, learning of him, following his lead. The theme running through all three invitations is the same single word: him. Come to him. Die to self for him. Rest in him. Learn of him. The King is knocking. The invitation is real, it is personal, and it is for anyone who will open the door. Whatever you need -- a drink of his Spirit, the grace to die to yourself, or simply rest for a soul that is exhausted -- he is offering it right now. Open the door.

Centerpointe Apostolic Church

August 10, 2026 • 6 Minute Read
Who's the Boss? Reclaiming Dominion Over Money, Materialism, and the Masters We Choose
There is a question that most of us never stop long enough to answer honestly. It is not complicated. It does not require a theology degree or years of biblical study. But it may be one of the most searching questions a person can sit with: Who is actually in charge of your life? Not who you say is in charge. Not the answer you would give in a Sunday school class or around a dinner table with family. But who is genuinely, functionally, practically running the show when the bills come in, when the paycheck lands, when the opportunity presents itself to hold on to just a little more than you were planning to give? That question is at the heart of what it means to pursue something the Bible calls dominion. Back to the Beginning The concept of dominion is not a modern invention. It stretches all the way back to the opening pages of Genesis, where God spoke creation into existence and then did something remarkable. He invited humanity into partnership with Him. In Genesis 1:26, God declared His intention to give human beings dominion over the earth, establishing a relationship of stewardship and shared authority between Creator and creation. But something went wrong. Adam, placed in the garden by grace and given authority by God, reached for something through human effort that God had already promised to provide through divine grace. He was impatient with the process. He wanted the shortcut. And in doing so, he forfeited the very gift he had been given. The lesson embedded in that ancient story is painfully relevant. More often than not, the greatest damage in our lives is not done by our enemies. It is done by our own impatience, our own insistence on doing things our way, on our timeline, by our methods. But the story does not end in the garden. Hebrews 2:9 reminds us that Jesus, through His suffering and death, reclaimed what was lost. What Adam forfeited through sin, Jesus came to restore. The path back to genuine dominion, to ruling and reigning in the way God originally intended, was paved through the cross. The Uncomfortable Competitor Here is where the message gets personal, and where many people quietly begin to disengage. Jesus, in Luke 16:13, made a statement that is simple in its language and staggering in its implication. He said that no servant can serve two masters. He did not say the competing master was Satan, or temptation in some abstract form. He named it specifically: you cannot serve God and money. Why money? Because money is uniquely positioned to do what few other things can. It promises security. It promises freedom. It promises happiness and control. It does not announce itself as a rival to God. It simply, quietly, gradually takes up more and more space in our thinking, our planning, our decision-making, and our sense of safety, until one day we realize that our trust has shifted from the Provider to the provision itself. Money is not evil in itself. The Bible does not say that. But it has an extraordinary capacity to become an idol, to set itself up as the thing we serve rather than the tool we steward. Colossians 3:5 is striking in this regard, listing covetousness alongside sexual immorality and impurity, and then adding something that stops readers in their tracks: covetousness, it says, is idolatry. It is the one item on that list given that specific label. That is not a small claim. That is the Bible saying that an unhealthy grip on money and possessions is functionally the same as bowing down to a false god. Abraham's Defining Moment Few stories in scripture illustrate this tension more vividly than the encounter recorded in Genesis 14. Abraham, returning from battle after rescuing his nephew Lot, found himself standing between two very different offers representing two very different kingdoms. On one side stood Melchizedek, the king of Salem and priest of the Most High God, who brought bread and wine in a covenant meal and blessed Abraham in the name of the God who possesses heaven and earth. On the other side stood the king of Sodom, representing an entirely different set of values, who made Abraham a straightforward offer: keep the goods, just give me the people. That offer deserves a long, slow look. Keep the stuff. Give me the people. It is the same offer the world makes today, just dressed in different language. Take the promotion, give me your priorities. Take the lifestyle, give me your family. Take the financial security, give me your time, your presence, your attention, your soul. Keep the goods. Just give me the people. Abraham's response was immediate and unambiguous. He lifted his hand to the Lord, the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth, and declared that he would not take so much as a sandal strap from the king of Sodom. He refused to allow anyone or anything to take credit for what God had done in his life. He had already decided who his source was. Breaking the Grip So how does a person break the power that money and possessions can accumulate over a life? The answer is both simple and deeply counter-cultural: you give it away. Tithing, the practice of returning a tenth of what one receives to God, is not primarily a financial transaction. It is a declaration of lordship. It is the act of saying, with your hands and your wallet, not just your words, that God is the source of everything you have. Psalm 24:1 states that the earth is the Lord's and everything in it. When we tithe, we are agreeing with that truth in the most concrete way possible. The tenth is not a tax. It is not a church fundraising strategy. It is an act of worship that breaks the grip of covetousness and reorients the heart toward the One who gives every good gift. The Question That Remains Biblical dominion, the kind God intended from the beginning and Jesus restored through the cross, is not about accumulating power or wealth. It is about surrendering to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in every area of life, including the areas we most want to keep for ourselves. The question is not complicated. But it is searching. Who is the boss?

Centerpointe Apostolic Church

August 2, 2026 • 6 Minute Read
Simply Spoiled: Why Every Victory Belongs to God
There is a word in the New Testament that carries far more weight than most modern readers realize. When the apostle Paul wrote to the church at Colossae, he described what Jesus accomplished at the cross using a word that every person living in the ancient world would have immediately understood: spoiled. Not spoiled in the way we think of a child who has never heard the word no, but spoiled in the way a victorious army understood it after marching through a conquered city, stripping it of its gold, its weapons, its livestock, and everything of value. Paul declared in Colossians 2:13-15 that Jesus disarmed principalities and powers, made a public spectacle of them, and triumphed over them. He did not barely survive the cross. He did not negotiate a peace treaty with hell. He marched into enemy territory, defeated sin, death, and the grave, and walked away with the keys of victory in hand. The cross was not a defeat. It was heaven's greatest triumph. But here is where the story takes an unexpected turn, and where one of the most sobering lessons in all of Scripture comes into focus. The Danger That Comes After the Victory The greatest danger does not always come before the battle. Sometimes it comes after the victory. Because with every victory comes a hidden temptation, the temptation to slowly begin believing that somehow we deserve the credit, that somehow we earned what only God could have accomplished. The story of Jericho in Joshua chapter 6 is one of the most recognizable victories in all of Scripture. Israel crossed the Jordan River after forty years of wandering and stood before a massively fortified city with no siege towers, no battering rams, and no conventional military strategy. God gave them a battle plan that made no human sense, march around the city in silence for six days, and on the seventh day march around seven times, blow the trumpets, and shout. And the walls fell. Before the first trumpet sounded, before the first shout echoed through the valley, God declared the outcome in Joshua 6:2, saying in essence that he had already given the city into their hands. Not that he would give it, but that he already had. The battle belonged to God before Israel ever took a single step. God also gave a clear command alongside the victory. Everything in Jericho was to be devoted to him. The gold, the silver, the garments, all of it. Not because God needed the gold, but because Jericho was the first city, the first fruits of the promised land. Giving it entirely to God was Israel's declaration that the victory was his, not theirs. The Pattern of Temptation Then came a man named Achan. In the chaos and celebration following Jericho's fall, Achan saw a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold. And he described what happened next in three devastating words recorded in Joshua 7: I saw, I coveted, I took. That progression is worth sitting with. Long before sin reaches our hands, it captures our eyes. Long before it changes our behavior, it changes our desires. James would later describe this exact pattern, explaining in James 1:14-15 that temptation begins when a person is drawn away by their own desires, and when that desire conceives, it gives birth to sin. But here is what makes Achan's story particularly instructive. His problem was not a lack of provision. God had fed the Israelites daily for forty years. His problem was forgetting the source of his provision. Somewhere between the shout at Jericho and the picking up of that Babylonian garment, Achan forgot whose victory it was. He began to think he had earned it. He had marched. He had fought. Surely he deserved this one small piece of the spoils. This is the enemy's most effective tactic. He rarely tempts us with something that looks evil. He tempts us with something that looks deserved. Sin Is Never as Private as We Think What Achan buried beneath the floor of his tent did not stay buried. Israel marched confidently toward the next city, a small town called Ai, without even consulting God. They evaluated the situation themselves and decided they had it handled. They did not. Thirty-six men died in the defeat, and Joshua fell on his face before God in confusion and grief. God's response in Joshua 7:11 is striking. He did not say Achan has sinned. He said Israel has sinned. Because sin is never as private as we think. One man's hidden compromise became thirty-six families' heartbreak. One man's private decision affected an entire nation. The enemy always tells us it is our life, our decision, and that no one else will ever know. But sin has never stayed inside the boundaries we try to build around it. It always reaches further than we intended and costs more than we ever imagined. Conviction Is Mercy God's response to Israel's defeat was not rejection. It was restoration. Before another battle could be won, before another promise could be possessed, God had to deal with what was buried beneath the surface. Because he loved his people too much to let hidden sin remain hidden. That same truth applies today. When the Holy Spirit shines a light into an area of our lives, he is not trying to embarrass or condemn. He is trying to free us. Conviction is not judgment. It is mercy. It is God drawing us back into the right relationship before the cost grows higher. We Are the Spoils Paul's declaration in Colossians was not simply a celebration of what Jesus did. It was a celebration of what Jesus redeemed. The victor always claims the spoils. And when Jesus walked out of the grave on resurrection morning, he did not just conquer sin and death. He claimed a people. Peter described it in 1 Peter 2:9, calling believers a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own special people, called out of darkness into his marvelous light. Paul reminded the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 6 that they were not their own, having been bought with a price. We are the spoils of the greatest victory ever won. That means the question worth asking today is not whether God has been faithful. The evidence of his faithfulness is written across every answered prayer, every restored relationship, every open door, every moment of grace extended when judgment would have been deserved. The question is whether we have quietly buried something in the tent that was never ours to keep, and whether we are willing to bring it into the light while a merciful God still waits with the power not only to forgive, but to fully restore.

Centerpointe Apostolic Church

July 27, 2026 • 6 Minute Read
The Fence God Built: Why His Commands Are Protection, Not Punishment
There is something deeply human about looking at a fence and wanting to know what is on the other side. As children, fences represented mystery. They invited curiosity. A "No Trespassing" sign somehow made the other side more appealing, not less. But something shifts as we grow older and wiser. We begin to build fences ourselves, around our backyards so our children can play safely, around swimming pools to protect lives, around property that holds something valuable. And in that shift, we discover a truth that changes everything: Nobody builds a fence around something they do not value. That single insight has the power to completely reframe how we read the Bible. Creation Is Always Preaching Psalm 19 opens with David gazing at the night sky. He is overwhelmed by what he sees, the stars, the heavens, the vast expanse of a universe that declares the glory of God without speaking a single audible word. Day after day, night after night, creation preaches. Every sunrise announces that God is still faithful. Every star-filled sky reminds us that He is still in control. The prophet Isaiah describes God measuring the waters of the earth in the hollow of His hand and spanning the heavens with His fingers (Isaiah 40:12). The entire known universe fits within the reach of His hand. Let that settle in for a moment. The God who holds galaxies in His palm is the same God who knows your name, knows where you are, and knows exactly what you are going through right now. If He spoke the universe into existence and it has operated in perfect order ever since, then His voice carries more than enough authority to speak into your life as well. The planets do not argue with their Creator. The sun does not decide to skip a morning. Creation remains ordered because it remains submitted to the design of God. And here is the profound truth David arrives at in Psalm 19: the same word that governs creation is meant to govern our lives. From the Heavens to the Scriptures Almost seamlessly, David shifts his gaze from the stars above to the scriptures in his hands. He does not describe God's word by what it prohibits. He describes it by what it produces. He calls it perfect, trustworthy, right, clear, pure, and true. He says it revives the soul, makes the simple wise, brings joy to the heart, and gives insight for living. He then declares it more desirable than the finest gold and sweeter than honey dripping from the comb (Psalm 19:7-10). That does not sound like bondage. That sounds like a blessing. So why do so many people experience God's commands as a cage rather than a covering? The answer may be simpler than we think. Rules without relationship produce rebellion. When we do not know the heart of the one making the rules, the rules feel arbitrary and oppressive. But when we know the Father, obedience becomes trust. We follow not because we are forced, but because we are loved, and because we love in return. Jesus Himself said it plainly: if you love Him, you will keep His commandments (John 14:15). Not His suggestions. His commandments. God Always Sees the Cliff Here is what the enemy never advertises: the other side of the fence. He promised Eve independence. He promised Samson pleasure. He promised Judas power. He promised the prodigal son freedom. But he never showed Eve the curse, never showed Samson the blindness, never showed Judas the rope, never showed the prodigal son the pig pen. Temptation never comes with a warning label. It only shows you the excitement, never the consequences. But God sees what we cannot see. He stands outside of time, looking back at the beginning from the end. He knows every road and where it leads. He knows what waits on the other side of the boundary. When we look at a command in Scripture and see a restriction, God sees the cliff He is steering us away from. Proverbs 14:12 tells us there is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way of death. God always sees the end. We rarely do. That is why His commands are not random rules designed to make life difficult. They flow from the wisdom of a Creator who understands how human life is meant to function. He is not operating out of insecurity. He is protecting what He loves. And what He loves is you, your marriage, your family, your calling, your testimony, and your future. The Battle Is Always in the Heart David closes Psalm 19 with a prayer that reveals where he understood the real battle to be. He does not ask God to build a taller fence. He asks God to cleanse him from secret faults and keep him from presumptuous sins (Psalm 19:12-13). Presumptuous sin is the sin we talk ourselves into, the one where we quietly tell ourselves that grace will cover it and move forward anyway. David understood that the problem was never that God's fence was too weak. The problem is that our hearts sometimes become attracted to what is on the other side. Jesus confirmed this in Mark 7, saying that evil things proceed from within, out of the heart. The fence is not the issue. The heart is. So David prays the most honest prayer a person can pray: Lord, change my desires. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight (Psalm 19:14). He is not asking for more rules. He is asking for a transformed heart, one that no longer spends its energy looking for holes in the fence but instead stays close to the one who built it. The Greatest Evidence of Love Perhaps we have misread God's boundaries our entire lives. Perhaps the greatest evidence that God loves you is not that He lets you do whatever you want. Perhaps the greatest evidence of His love is that He loved you enough to tell you where the danger was, and then gave you His Spirit to give you the capacity to stay within the boundaries His word laid out. The fence was never meant to keep joy out. It was always meant to keep destruction out. Every loving father protects what he loves. And you are deeply, completely, irreversibly loved.

Centerpointe Apostolic Church