Jesus

Derailed by Idolatry

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What a pivotal day for North Side.  It was one of those days where God was so clear to me in so many different areas, that it was hard to shake.  Continuing on through Derailed, here is where we landed today:

Derailed by Idolatry (1 Corinthians 10-11).  The Corinthian church had gotten into the habit of gathering together in the name of the Lord but making it all about themselves.  They had become their own idols.  In this message, we hear how this warning still applies to us today and what it means for the future of North Side.

The picture above shows holding a document entitled “The Glory of God.”  As North Side has sought God’s leading on our future, we believe he has spoken to us concerning the future of worship styles at the church.

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Anticipating the Arrival

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There’s nothing like going home to me.  I wish you could follow along with me my drive up the driveway after work every day.  The excitement is at different levels at different days, but normally I walk into 3 people jumping around and cheering like I am the best person in the world.  No matter how hard the day had been, this hysteria at 5:10 makes all things right in the world.

The other day, as I noticed Obadiah and Eli’s faces pressed against the window, banging on it with their hands, I thought they had gotten taller.  Turns out, they had climbed up on the window sill anticipating my arrival.  I don’t know why Eli was still peering out the window when I was standing behind him, but regardless, it was a special moment as they climbed up eager to see my truck arrive in the driveway (even if they did disobey by climbing up there).

The reason they get that excited is due to their perception of the person they are anticipating.  I don’t think I’m that spectacular, but in this season of life, they do.  And they show me in how they eagerly wait and celebrate my arrival.

The problem is that we aren’t that eager concerning Jesus’ return.

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Knowing His Gifts

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What a fun Sunday as we kicked off our December series, “Jesus Loves Me (This I Know)” as we started trekking through the 1st section of Ephesians.

Knowing His Gifts (Eph. 1:1-14) – We know that Jesus loves us based upon the gifts he has given us.  Through his work, he has reconciled all creation to himself and has united the church.  His immeasurable gifts are more than what we ever deserved.

Today, we worshiped to:

We are doing a really fun opener each week, and this week was the ladies’ week to get after a great gospel number.  They tore it up!  Next week, the guys are up.  All I’m saying is don’t be late…

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“That Was ‘Good’ Worship”

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I’ve been so humbled by so many comments from Sunday’s worship services.  People have gone out of their way to say how impacting the time was, how we should have just kept singing for a few more hours, how tears of joy were flooding their eyes as we sang to our King.  Most of people commented, “that was ‘good’ worship.”

I’m not gonna lie.  I thought we were about to sing the roof off that place all 3 times Sunday morning.  I personally almost sang myself back into tonsillectomy rehab cause I just couldn’t hold it back.  But was it really “good” worship?

Sure, I loved the song selections.  The band was smoking and played the dynamics just right.  The singers nailed their parts.  The choir sounded like an angelic force to be reckoned with.  The congregation was outsinging all the microphones on stage.  It was loud.  It was engaging.  It was powerful.

But was it really “good” worship?

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The Cross of Calvary – Storytellers

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“The Cross of Calvary” was a song written with the purpose of writing a modern day hymn.  I wanted to show how the cross was not an afterthought but was a part of the whole plan from the beginning.  The cross was the plan from the very start. I did a lot of phrases in …

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The Community Life of Jesus

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Authentic Christian community is more than an novel concept, it is a biblical command and practice.  Looking at the life of Jesus, one can find an example on how to share life with others.  It’s more than coming to church.  It’s doing life together. It was a great Sunday as we kicked off the new …

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Storytellers – The Cross of Calvary

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Last Sunday, we led with a new song entitled “The Cross of Calvary.”  After writing a modern-day hymn for our upcoming CD, “Overcome,” Amy Cromer’s voice was just made for this song.  Her rendition of it on Sunday and on the recording just blew me away.  What I love about her connection to this song …

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Book of the Week: The Passion of Jesus Christ

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This week’s book of the week is John Piper’s The Passion of Jesus Christ.  Love me some Piper, but I love me some Jesus even more.  This book’s tag line (and what the 2nd edition was renamed) is 50 Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. These 50 small chapters pack so much theological truth into …

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Jesus: More Than a Role Model

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Continuing on in the True[ish] series, North Side focused on “Jesus: More Than a Role Model” today.  A time to celebrate the cross and remember Christ’s sacrifice through observing communion. Today, we worshiped to: Here I Am to Worship – Tim Hughes Amazing Grace – Chris Tomlin (NS Worship Version) In Christ Alone – Stuart …

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The Trinity: 1+1+1=1

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In constructing correct doctrinal beliefs, we each must wrestle with the issue of the Trinity. The Trinity is the term used to express the belief in the Christian Godhead as one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Trinity is one of those beliefs that Christians claim to hold, but we often …

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