Infertility is a reality, and many of you might have troubles reading stories about having children because at this point, you do not have any of your own. As you pray concerning children, maybe you should consider that God has given you children already – you just may not have birthed them yourselves. James wrote, “Pure and undefiled religion before …
Summer was great, but it sure has been great seeing all these college students come back around Greenwood the last few days. We have revamped our college ministry this summer, and we are so excited to share it with you. If you are returning to North Side or are wanting to check out North Side for the first time, here …
My first book, Freshman 15, went on sell on May 26th. I posted this back on May 22nd: I normally have a hard time promoting something I have done, but I don’t have a problem now because of two reasons. The answers in this book are God’s answers rather than mine – His ideas are a lot better. Each chapter …
When was the last time you checked to see how spiritually healthy you are? During checkup, we are performing a spiritual inventory. This week, we want to help you work on your personal impact upon the world. Do you have a contagious lifestyle? You can’t experience an impact on the world without getting close to the people around you, because …
It’s true! The Agnews are expecting baby #2! We have been trying to keep things quiet for a while now, but we had to inform some people, and I think some got a little overambitious with who they told and it seems that the word is getting out. This week, we have a had a few people ask us if …
This week’s church sign states: “GOD WANTS TO KNOW YA’LL BETTER. IF YOU HAVE TIME. IF NOT, HE LOVES YOU ANYWAY!” I love the South. I love the word “ya’ll.” Something tells me this sign isn’t located in the North. Do you have any even more Southern sounding phrase that you would like to see on a church sign?
7 Then the LORD God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being. 15 The LORD God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the …
Last Sunday night, we had a meeting for parents of teenagers at North Side to make a big announcement – the person the elders are recommending for Student Pastor. Yesterday, in our services, Jeff presented this couple to the congregation. I am so honored to be share that selection with you now: Ben & Christina Hjalmer. Ben stepped up during …
What a powerful day. Jeff kept talking to me during this week about his message development. I woke up this morning at 5:20 wide awake to hear God speak through it. I loved his transparency. He talked about from the platform what many people have been talking about in the secret: C-Groups are messy. They are hard. They don’t work. …
The real story behind the picture is here. Can you please provide your best attempt at a caption for this picture? Let your creativity run wild. Comment below.
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created …
Today, I am writing asking you to consider joining one of our Sunday morning tech teams. As the need is growing, I want to have 4 teams full of volunteers who serve one week a month. With the growing needs, I need volunteers to come to practice on Wednesday evening and Sunday morning. If you can’t be there on Wednesday, …
I recently had a conversation with a friend who is a member at another church. He said that his church didn’t communicate anything. He was upset because he missed an event and swore that no one told him about it. I began to ask him questions concerning his attentiveness during announcements and how much of the church’s publications he read …
Inability to delegate due to lack of time is short-term thinking. Time lost in delegating on the front end is recovered at the back-end.
Today, we started a new series at North Side entitled “Checkup.” Week one focused on “Vital Signs” – how is your personal relationship with Jesus going? Are you living a lifestyle of worship? Great message – you need to listen to it here. Matt Ware and the Emerge band led worship this morning. These college students, high school students, and …
Tuesday through Thursday, I went to Hickory Knob State Park with North Side’s leadership team to strategize and to simplify. We worked on the year’s upcoming budget and calendar and also tweaked a few things that needed improving. While there is no way to include everything we worked through, I can give you a few topics so you can be …
Have you ever worked in a volatile work environment? I recently talked with a friend who was in this situation. How do you handle it? You can’t be responsible for what others do, but you can be responsible for how your respond. I strive to maintain consistency within my personal relationships, because I have been close to people whose personalities …
In my first semester teaching a world religion course at a secular university, I learned the vast number of worldviews that could be prevalent in one location. As I taught through different religions’ teachings, many students would show their disbelief or disapproval of certain ideas. Once we got to Christianity, one of the selected texts was concerning marriage relationships in …
A lot of exciting stuff is going on in my world right now. Very exciting times with some things coming to a close and other things just beginning. Thought I’d give you an update on some of them: Light at the End of the Seminary Tunnel – My approved draft of my dissertation is due September 1 to graduate in …
We had another great Sunday @ North Side. The services all geared around “How Do I Find God’s Will?” Many people submitted comments on the blog wanting to know how to discern between two options when God’s Word doesn’t explicitly say something about it. “You will never know the will of God until you know the worth of God.” – …
Scripture: (Gen. 2:23-25) 23 And the man said: This one, at last, is bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called woman, for she was taken from man. 24 This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 Both the man and his …
I had a lot of great conversations after last Sunday’s message. I hope people are still processing the message and at least having the conversation with God about whether not they should be drinking or not. If it’s OK to drink socially, then we should not be scared to spend some time with God concerning the issue. If we are …
Normally, I’m not a fan of most church signs, but this one I dig. Even though it is a picture of a white, American Jesus which isn’t that close to reality, the message should get some people to think twice. Enjoy the picture and the context: Confront the elephant in the pew!
The “You Asked for It” series has been unbelievable this summer. Many churches talk about a loss of corporate momentum through a summer slump as attendance varies from week to week, and people’s interest just seems to wane. Having our church members submit their questions through the blog and be answered from the pulpit has definitely kept people perked up. …
“Sometimes I think when we are sick we are more concerned about healing than we are about the glory of God.” -Jeff Lethco That statement was taken from Jeff’s message today on “Do Baptists believe in healing?” as we continued through our “You Asked for It” series. Jeff did a great job going through the Scriptures. He showed that nowhere in …
I have many areas in which I need to improve. One of the most critical that I always must work on is my role in the home. I must continually develop my leadership within my home so that my wife and child receive the best that I have to offer. Due to my great ambition for the ministry, I could …
One thought today: “What if we really lived by what we say we believe?” How would the American Church change? Your thoughts – go!
You need to make plans to come out to North Side’s Chapel tonight @ 6pm. Cornel and Duncan, friends of North Side mission teams, will be joining us all the way from Nairobi, Kenya to share a special message. Cornel Onyango and Duncan Kimani, African Co-Directors of CARE for AIDS, have traveled from Nairobi Kenya to share the vision of …
Yes, it’s true. Today is my birthday. I am a whopping 28 years old today. So much to be thankful for, I thought I would list 28 reasons why on the 28th of July I am a grateful man: “But God demonstrated His love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8)! My …
That’s right people – it is officially Christmas in July. I have been spending some time with the band and in the studio doing some pre-production for a North Side Christmas album! We have not nailed down the complete list just yet, but we are getting closer. The album will have half full band tracks and the other half will …
With Jeff on vacation this week, I had the privilege of handling another volatile topic in our “You Asked for It” series – “Is Social Drinking OK?” I prayed that the message would cause everyone to at least reconsider casually addressing this subject. I pray that every person at North Side will truly seek God’s Word and seek God through prayer to …
North Side has launched its new website! While some of the look is similar, the layout has completely changed to help you navigate through it easier. Here are some of the highlights: Updated Homepage – The homepage is updated every time you come back. You will see the most updated videos, sermons, events, and blog posts every chance you visit. …
This week’s bad church sign of the week states: “WE SALUTE OUR MEN & WOMEN WHO HOSE TO SERVE” Do you think they are missing a “C” or are they saluting firemen and firewomen? What do you think?
The most common wedding ceremony used starts with the words, “Dearly Beloved, we are gathered together here in the sign of God…” As you think about your own marriage, where are some ways that you can start to “live” out a change this week? Below is a list of key phrases from this ceremony. How good of a job have …
I posted some pictures on Facebook and sent some Tweets last week updating everyone on the status of my sister and her baby, but I haven’t had time to post some stuff here. So… My sister, Tara, and her husband Richard had a precious baby, Harper Elizabeth, who was born on Thursday @ 1:40 in Charlotte. She was 7 lbs …
Continuing in our “You Asked for It” series, today we looked at the topic: “Did the Devil Make Me Do It?” In his message, Jeff answered the following three questions: What’s the work of the devil? How does he go about doing that work? How do I stand against it? If you didn’t get to hear it, you should listen …
Pastor Andy Stanley wrote a book entitled Choosing to Cheat which describes the tension between the demands of a family and the demands of a vocation. His premise is that you will have to choose to cheat in one area – either your family or your work will get the best you have to offer. Which one will you choose? …
“Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” -2 Tim. 3:12 This is not many people’s favorite Bible verse. I rarely hear devotions or sermons on 2 Tim. 3:12. We like to remember God’s promises of well-being and good fortune our way, but when do we ever receive persecution and rise up and thank God. …
We announced on Sunday the upcoming series for October, “The Elephant in the Pew.” This one has been churning around for a couple of years, and we finally feel that the time is right. Watch the video for more info on the different things we are going to be talking about. North Siders, pray because we are going to do …
The Pharisees once asked Jesus if God disapproved of divorce, why did Moses give instructions for a proper handling of a divorce in the Old Testament? Jesus replied, “Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended” (Matt 19:8). Is divorce permitted? Yes. Is it ever the best option? …
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