Travis Agnew 
At North Side, we focused on prayer this Sunday. Instead of talking about prayer, we wanted to actually pray. So the service was built around prayer.
We studied in John 16 as Christ taught to pray in his name, so our worship time focused on the name above all names.
Today, we worshiped to:
I was blessed to go to North Greenville University (it was College back then). The Spirit used some special people to lead me there, and I remember when I knew I wanted to go to school there. I was sitting in the President’s office listening to Dr. Jimmy Epting talk about the figurine on his table. It was a picture of Jesus washing a disciple’s feet. Here was the President of this school telling a high school senior that he saw that as his job at the school. He was to serve others and point them to Jesus.
In a time when the other schools I was looking at were drifting further from the Bible’s teaching, here was a man who embraced it wholeheartedly. The other people I met along the way were just confirmation. I went to school there and it served as some of the most impacting, pivotal 4 years of my life.
That’s why when I was asked to be a part of 2 things this year at NGU, I was beyond humbled.
I was asked recently by a man who was struggling to stay faithful to his wife: “How can I keep myself sexually pure?”
Here’s how I responded:
I wanted to share another story behind the song from one of the tracks off of our “Enter His Gates” album (You can get your copy of the album at the church or on iTunes). This song, “Worship Your Name,” was penned by our very own John Kennerly years ago, and I felt the need to bring it back.
The song was recorded on the first live album North Side recorded probably in 2003. John had written the song earlier than that, and it was a special call to worship song for our church.
In this recording, we took a very acoustic, folksy turn on the song. John is a singer-songwriter. He is great in a coffeehouse setting telling a story and singing and playing his heart out. I wanted to create the feeling on the track that there were a few guitars, voices, and percussion pieces sitting around a circle in a room. We were very pleased to say it feels that way.
When we were in Africa, we got the privilege to be a part of Hausa Church one Sunday morning. As we sat on the dusty porch with flies swarming us, I would hum along to whatever song our worship leader sang. I knew one of the songs before I came, but the rest I just enjoyed listening and praying along.
One song they began to sing in Hausa, then they sang in English. These were the words:
“Your presence is heaven to me.”
What a wonderful day to be the church. I loved our time together as we focused on John 16 and Jesus’ promise that joy will come from sorrow. As we worshiped today, I was so moved worshiping with our church family and seeing the authenticity in the room. As a church, we share life together. And so when one hurts, we all hurt.
As our worship service (songs, message, video, prayers, etc.) all focused on finding our joy in Jesus even during hard times, watching those who were hurting worship from the depths is an impacting thing. Even in hard times, Jesus is good.
Today, we worshiped to:
The Press Secretary for the President of the United States has an intense job. Regularly, he is scrutinized on the administration’s activity and answers to the problems of the day. In each situation, he must be prepared to speak on behalf of the President.
The only way he can confidently speak for the one in charge is that he has spent a lot of time with the President. He is confident of his agenda. He knows how the President would answer the question, and therefore, he answers on his behalf.
Wouldn’t it be great if that could be said of you concerning your time with God?
“You can take all the pleasures of this world, for You are my portion.”
I wanted to share another story behind the song from one of the tracks off of our “Enter His Gates” album (You can get your copy of the album at the church or on iTunes). Track #11 is entitled “My Portion” and was birthed out of a United Youth Worship event we were having at North Side.
I was gathering together a collective of worship leaders from different churches to form a band for the event. As we prayed about songs, I felt led that a message needed to be sung that we couldn’t find the perfect song for, so we wrote it.
We are so excited to welcome our summer missionaries back today! Their flight will be landing this afternoon and heading back this way by this evening.
These six girls have been prayed for so much by the North Side family. While members have been praying for each ones, one morning we also gave all worshipers the name of one girl that they were specifically supposed to pray for. It’s been neat to have different people ask me how one of the girls was doing and if there was anything specific to pray for.
A few weeks ago, I drove through miles of farm in West Africa to a medium-sized village. The road was incredibly rough as we navigated through crops. As we approached the village, I saw a sight that would have been worth the entire trip.
What a passionate and eclectic day of worship today. We went everywhere from gospel to a capella and about everything in between. Last week, we had nothing but an acoustic set from the floor, this week, we had about everything else!
We were very blessed to have One Heart help lead us in worship this Sunday. Peggy is a part of our normal worship team, but she also sings with an a cappella group called One Heart. Becky and Beth were gracious enough to join us for our worship this Sunday. As we focused on the Holy Spirit, I asked them to do a medley of Spirit songs. I don’t think they had ever sang that arrangement until this morning, and it was so fantastic. What a way to welcome the Spirit’s presence.
Got to see some sights from last week’s Shake-n-Shine camp and hear stories from Jeff. Such an incredible mission-focused summer (Africa girls get back tomorrow). Jeff’s message on the Spirit was so refreshing. Baptists need to “remember” the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, he is the often neglected member of the Trinity. This message was a powerful reminder of the Spirit’s work in salvation.
Today, we worshiped to:
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