Think Great Thoughts

Pastor Craig Carter I’m happy to report that construction at our Fusion campus is now in full swing after a number of delays. Praise the Lord! Over the past several months we’ve had work stoppages for a variety of reasons. We’ve had to wait on plans to be drawn and permits to be granted, we’ve…

Becoming Great

Pastor Craig Carter When my daughter Abby was little, you could predict her answer to just about any question. How was your day? “Good. How’s your lunch? “Good.” How was children’s church this morning? “Good.” Like it was for Abby back then, life for most of us is pretty good. And good is certainly all…

It’s Lived Out In Mission

Pastor Craig Carter Have you ever wondered why, after we accept Christ and are saved, God doesn’t just immediately transport us into heaven? After all, wouldn’t it make things a whole lot easier? We wouldn’t have to go through the trials and tribulations of living in this world. It would eliminate theological arguments between Baptists…

It’s Focused on Relationships

Pastor Craig Carter It’s hard to believe, but the campaigning for the 2020 presidential election is in full swing. For the candidates trying to find “the it factor” among voters, they’d probably do well to steal a page from the playbook of one of the greatest campaigners of all time – former President Clinton. During…

It’s All About God

Pastor Craig Carter Last week I introduced a new sermon series called “The It Factor.” The series is based on the premise that some churches and Christians have “it,” while others do not. But “it” is really a He, the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Of course, all believers receive the Spirit of…

The It Factor

Pastor Craig Carter There’s an old adage: “You either have it or you don’t!” What is “it”? You know…it! Some people have it and some people don’t! “It” is hard to define, but we know it when we see it. Example: The singer on “America’s Got Talent” who sounds like many others but she’s clearly…

What makes God laugh?

Pastor Craig Carter I don’t know how you view God, but according to Scripture, the Divine Being is not stoic or passionless. Instead, the Bible portrays the Lord in a personal manner as One who has thoughts, feelings and emotions. And apparently, at least according to the psalmist, He has a sense of humor. So…

What is Baptism?

Pastor Craig Carter My daughter, Abby, lives in Pensacola and is attending a church of another denomination. I won’t say what it is but they talk a lot about being baptized. In particular, finding out she was raised a Methodist, they have pointed out their objections to infant baptism and sprinkling. On a recent trip…

One-Liners I Live By (Part 3)

Pastor Craig Carter RELATIONSHIPS WITH SPOUSE As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way…Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each…

One-Liners I Live By (Part 2)

Pastor Craig Carter In my previous post I shared some of the “Family One Liners” my wife Lee and I have developed to help us relate to our children. In this post, I’ve summed up what we’ve learned about relating to our parents. I was fortunate to have two loving, involved parents. My wife Lee…