Empty Plates

Written by Gary Taylor

Every plate was, as they say, licked clean.

Jon brought it to my attention.  We sat around the Thanksgiving table - actually two tables end to end - 13 of us in total.  After a 20-minute feeding frenzy, a drizzle of gravy or a dab of cranberry sauce were the only things left on the plates.  Thirteen hungry people sat down to eat.  Thirteen people with an appetite for turkey and stuffing and ham and mashed potatoes and green bean casserole.

After we ate it, we sat and talked about what we ate.  The food was that good.

The image of a cleaned plate symbolizes what I would love to see happen at Central in 2018.  I'd love for everyone to develop a voracious appetite for the Word, a hunger for Scripture.  And by the end of 2018, like a 365-day meal, we devoured it all.  There's nothing left unread.  We licked the pages clean.

And in 2019 we go back for seconds.

I want to let you know that we are rolling out a great Bible Reading Plan for this upcoming year.  It's broken into bitesize readings, and you have the option to include accountability with your friends; friends with whom you can sit around and talk about it after you read it.  The Bible is that good.

As a warmup, of sorts, we found a 25-Day plan specifically for Christmas.  It highlights Christmas Carols (a major theme of our Sunday sermon series), and includes Scripture verses pointing to the birth of Jesus.  In the craziness and distractions of this season, it's a great way to press pause and remember the reason.  

If you have our church app then this Christmas Reading Plan is already on its way to your phone.  Don't have our new church app?  Give yourself an early Christmas present by texting "CENTRALSJAPP" to 77977.  Or you can download the YouVersion Bible and search "Carols: A Christmas Devotional."

Heavenly Father, we are hungry.  In this special season, we thank you for sending us the Bread of Life.