Freeing people to enjoy God, hear His truth, grow in diverse community and engage the world with the renewed dignity that comes from Christ.

Christ Central Church seeks to be a culturally competent church community. We strive to be a church that is Biblically authentic and true in its worship of God. We desire to communicate and grow spiritually from the message of the gospel as it is read, preached, shared and taught faithfully, clearly and relevantly. We long to be a community filled with loving and encouraging relationships. We seek to spread the good news in word, thought and deed as a community of individuals and families that are faithful to serve, trust, share, grow and spread the redeeming love of Jesus everywhere, in everything and with all people.

The Apostles Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic* church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

*catholic here refers to the universal church, not a specific denomination

John 4:27-42

Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him. Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Reader: “This is the Word of the Lord.”

Congregation: “Thanks be to God.”

April Atchley is an abstract artist born and raised in North Carolina. She earned a degree in Interior Architecture and a minor in Fine Art from Samford University. Although she practices interior design full time, she enjoys any time she’s able to pick up the paint brush and create on canvas. April’s husband and three kids are her favorite supporters. They inspire her to create bright, cheery paintings that match their enthusiasm for life.

Artist Website: aprilatchleyart.com

This painting began in darkness. The first layers are heavy with deep, shadowed tones, reflecting the brokenness, pain, and weight that exist in the world and within the human experience. These darker hues are not hidden, but rather they remain present, forming the foundation of the work, just as suffering often underlies our stories.

As the painting developed, lighter colors were gradually introduced. These brighter tones do not erase the darkness beneath them. Instead, they emerge through it, interacting with it, transforming the painting. The movement from dark to light reflects a journey that speaks to restoration rather than denial.

The lighter layers symbolize the redemption and hope brought through Jesus. They represent a presence that meets brokenness where it is and brings renewal without ignoring the past. The contrast between dark and light is intentional, emphasizing that beauty, grace, and healing are powerful when they arise out of places of pain.

This work is ultimately about transformation—the coexistence of suffering and hope, and the belief that light does not simply replace darkness, but redeems it.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION:

Almighty Father, you have triumphed over sin and death through the resurrection of your Son, and you have given us new life in him.

Yet we confess that we have not lived as a resurrection people.
Though you have called us out of darkness into your marvelous light, we often return to the shadows.

You have raised us to walk in newness of life, but we cling to old habits, old fears, and old sins.
We live as though death still reigns, as though hope is uncertain, as though your victory were not complete.

We confess our spiritual complacency, our fear of man instead of faith in Christ, our love of the world rather than the things above where Christ is seated.

Forgive us, we pray.
By your Spirit, make us alive to righteousness.
Lift our hearts to the risen Christ, that we may seek the things that are above and walk as those who have been raised with him.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON:

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Romans 8:31-34