As a minister, our family’s schedule can be hectic. I’m not saying it’s more or less hectic than other folks, but there are unique challenges associated with my job as there are with yours. From time to time, I have been asked to get involved in certain ministry opportunities. Whether it is a chance to speak at an event, write …
I am thrilled that NSU is starting up this Sunday, Feb. 10th!
North Side University is a 2-year intensive training for those interested in growing as a disciple-maker. The training is comprised of course information, practicum experiences, and intentional mentorship. At the end of the 2 years, a completion of this program would equip a disciple-maker to effectively carry out the Great Commission within his or her specific context.
THE 2-YEAR PLAN consists of:
“The phrase ‘the will of God‘ can sound very mysterious, like a code to be broken or a puzzle to be figured out, but it is actually another way to describe ‘what God wants.‘ His will is described as both a way of living our lives that brings Him the most pleasure as well as His master plan for our lives that will bring Him the most glory” (The Resolution, page 206).
If you are like most people, you may be wondering what the will of God is for your life. What is your next step? Be assured that there is one person who wants you to know the will of God even more than you want to know it – and that is God Himself!
He will not hide it from you, and He sincerely wants you to fulfill it. Read what God’s will is for your life in Ephesians 5:15-17.
Maybe you are married, unmarried, remarried, once married, or want to be married. For anyone out there interested in how to love a wife, I want to give you some advice today. Not because I’m an expert, but because I’m learning. My wife has endured a man trying to learn how to truly love her for almost 8 years now. …
Money is a tool. Money is not moral or immoral. It is amoral. It can be used for good or bad. Money in of itself is not evil. The love of money is the root of all types of evil (1 Timothy 6:10).
In fact, God is not against you making more money. It’s actually a good thing. Read Ephesians 4:28 and find out why:
Kids are angry. So many of this up and coming generation seem to have more than a chip on their shoulder. They are angry. They are volatile. They are unable to restrain their fists or their tongues.
With every year, the culture seems to be driving families apart. In Paul’s instructions to the Romans, he describes what a depraved culture looks like. In a list highlighting homosexual sins, malicious acts, and haters of God, Paul also includes that a culture devoid of God will be characterized by children who are “disobedient to parents” (Rom. 1:30).
Have you ever wondered why it seems like this next generation is so angry and so disobedient? While we can blame media influence or peer pressure, in reality, one of the main reasons comes from within the home. Take a minute and read Ephesians 6:4:
It was an emotionally charged Sunday at North Side. In our 2nd week of Courageous, we discussed “The Family Altar.” I had a pregnant lady in our church say that she was emotionally exhausted from the service and she needed to lay down. I felt the same way, and I had no baby weighing me down! It was an intense …
[The following is an article assigned for an upcoming LifeWay curriculum. The assigned task: help people who have a bad situation with their father understand God as heavenly father.]
Some people do not like to hear a certain word in church. The word is bothersome to some. The concept is down right offensive to others. Due to so many people’s pasts, calling God, “Father,” is the worst possible name to ascribe to him and it leaves many Christians unsure of how to view God the Father.
Let’s face it: we live in a fatherless world. Deadbeat dads are the cancer of our society. A majority of children are growing up in homes with fathers either physically or emotionally estranged from them. So when a person with baggage from their earthly father enters into church settings where the Heavenly Father is talked about, you see why so many people struggle.
Pastor and theologian, A. W. Tozer stated that “What comes to your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you.” The implication of that statement can not be overstated. Your perception of God has everything to do with how you live for him.
The problem is that many people view their Heavenly Father in the same way they view their earthly father.
What a great day at North Side! We concluded a 3 month tour through the Book of Ephesians today as we studied the armor of God.
While this world is full of trouble, God has not left us defenseless. In the concluding words of Ephesians, Paul includes directions for the armor of God that is meant to defend Christians. Covered in his protection, the Church can endure the trials of this world.
I couldn’t think of a better way to end the study than the message today. Jeff’s words were so good and God used him immensely in my life to really think about the armor of God and how it wasn’t written to the individual but to the church as a whole. We are to all put on that armor so we can stand firm together!
Today, we worshiped to:
Great day at North Side as we are nearing the end of Ephesians. Today’s big idea: Your Job (Eph. 6:5-9) – For most people, a job is something you endure rather than enjoy. When we choose to see our performance in our job as an act of worship to God, it not only changes our perspective but probably our level …
What a great day with North Side! While I was hobbling from my foot and stuffy from my sinuses, our congregation carried the worship today as we gave it all we had.
Today, we worshiped to:
To setup the message on fatherhood today, I shared the story of my involvement in the curriculum associated with the upcoming movie, Courageous. After that and watching the powerful video below, people were ready to sing out, “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Today, we started our 3rd section through Ephesians. These final four Sundays, we will see that God still has the whole world in his hands, including your marriage, family, job, and spiritual protection. This week:
Your Marriage (Eph. 5:22-33) – God has a plan for your marriage. No matter how far out of control you believe it to be, God’s Word has direction to bring peace into a chaotic situation. Biblical love and respect can set a broken marriage right again.
Today, we worshiped to:
Loved our time of worship as a family today. So great to lift our voices and sing such biblical truth as presented in these songs! Jeff’s message has massive implications. Whenever you talk about submission, headship, and marriage, you always have everyone’s attention. If you didn’t hear the message, you need to listen to it. Many sermons on marriage talks about fixing problems, this sermon was about the purpose of marriage, and once you hear it, it fixes ALL problems.
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” -Ephesians 5:1
Last night in our C-Group, we dug in deep into Ephesians 5 and sought to learn what it meant to imitate God. One of the guys made a great point at how his son wanted to imitate him because he looked up to him.
I could relate. It amazes me that these two wonderful boys, Obadiah and Eli, look up to their father. Over the last few weeks, they have hopped around like they were on crutches tryinb to be like Daddy. Obie keeps telling me has a boo boo on his foot like me. On Christmas morning, when they both got guitars, they stepped up to the microphone, stomped on foot pedals, and said, we are “playing and singing like Daddy.”
If imitation is the sincerest of flatteries, then I am a flattered man.
During group last night, I realized something with massive implications: they imitate me because they want to! You may be thinking that is obvious, but do you get the spiritual implications?
I wish I could have hobbled closer to the choir for this picture, but my cast kept me at this distance. The picture is of 80-year-old Mama Barnes leading the Faith Home choir today at North Side. Before the service, she told me she didn’t want to lead the choir because she didn’t want to be a distraction.
I said, “Mama Barnes, the choir sounds great, but your dancing is amazing. Get up there.”
And boy, did she ever! Her energy and the choir’s passion in worship changed the room for sure! I can’t even begin to tell you how loud, not the band, but the congregation was this morning worshiping!
We were so honored to have our partner in ministry join us for this special day. The Faith Home, 4 decades into ministry, has cared for over 20,000 men and women in the area of Christian recovery for alcoholics and addicts. When they sang, “If he can make a change in me, he can make a change in you,” such hope and passion came out of their mouths and their souls. Amazing!
Week 2 of leading worship on crutches. If that poor stool can make it through today, it can make it through anything! This cast has made me realize I’m a bit more of a dancer than I realize I actually was 😉
Today, we continued on through Ephesians as we studied:
A Different Look (Eph. 4:17-32) – As a Christian, we are called to lay aside the old self and have a completely different look. We are no longer to live in our former ignorance, but we are to shine differently than before.
Today’s message was great. Amazing how God’s Word, written years ago, still has so much power for us today! The point Jeff ended on was so powerful. He taught how Paul taught in Ephesians that we are to get together before we try to get holy. You would think you should get holy before coming to church, but this progression teaches us to get around each other in order to make us holy.
Great Sunday of being the church at North Side! Today, we worshiped to:
It was the first time I have ever led worship in a cast, but I was so thankful to have such a wonderful supporting team who helped me to a stool and get my guitar and such. For those of you who know me, you know I don’t ask for help often, so this next few weeks are going to stretch me in all kinds of way! I did think I was going to jump off the stool a couple of times!
The City has officially launched at North Side today! This is your way to stay in the know about all things North Side. This two-way communication street for North Side. You stay updated and you can also contribute your thoughts, prayers, needs, etc. Sign up today!
Thanks so much to all the help today signing people up. Our volunteers were awesome getting people connected, and the host team does a fantastic job at connecting people to the life of the church.
I want to say an extra special word of thanks to Jamie Strutton and Jessica Wolfe who worked relentlessly to get the City up by today – you guys are amazing and this has already helped out so many people!
We had a fantastic service today!
North Side, 2011 has begun – get ready! What a great day to start off the new year. While we had a lot of our crew out of town or out of pocket, our team knocked it out of the park. Woody even called in sick this morning (that’s why I attempted to play bass and keys – boy, I missed him), and we had to change stuff around, but we a great time this morning giving God praise!
Today, we worshiped to:
We started a new series called “This Little Light of Mine” as we continued through our study of Ephesians.
It was great to worship today in the middle of the great Greenwood blizzard. We did experience some snow last night which meant the first snow for Greenwood on Christmas since 1963! The roads were safe enough to come to services, so we posted on the City our plans and we had a powerful time as the church today!
We concluded the Jesus Loves Me series (the first part of Ephesians) with this big idea:
Knowing His Work (Eph. 2:8-10) – We know that Jesus loves us based upon the work of salvation. Our salvation is all his work, and none of our good deeds influenced it, but once we are saved, our lives should be characterized by good works that emerge from a grateful heart.
Great message! Such wonderful grace! For those who had too much ice or snow on the roads to join us, the message will be here online this afternoon.
I was also thankful he made it through it. He told me that a stomach bug had been going through his house and at 8:30, he was feeling a little funny on his tummy. So, he told me to be on guard. A couple of pauses of his caused me to start leaning up in my chair, but he made it through and brought it!
Today, we worshiped to:
Knowing His Mercy (Eph. 2:1-7) – We know that Jesus loves us based upon his rich mercy. By not giving us what we deserved, we have a chance at new life due to his deep love. The fact that Jesus loves us changes everything.
What a great Sunday as we continued through Ephesians. Jeff’s message was such a clear picture of the gospel.
Today, we worshiped to:
We had some really special moments in worship today. Having the band start out with a presentation on hope, mission, and the gospel to the tune of a Trans-Siberian Orchestra number was pretty fun. It was more than a neat musical piece, with the media presentation put together by Jessica and Jamie, the experience was pretty intense. I have never been more proud of our hard working band (you can see it on Facebook here).
We had practice on Wednesday for Sunday, and everything went great except for the feeling I needed to change things up. So Friday, I sent an updated list for this morning. I wanted to scale things back and really let our voices fill up the room with praise for our King. I’m so thankful for a team that doesn’t complain when I send them an email and say we need to go in a different direction. Each team member jumped in there this morning prepared and knocked it out of the park! Great job!
Today, we worshiped to:
In addition to a great worship time, Ken also gave us a word of testimony concerning how the City has already impacted him. This is an online tool that our church is starting to use to communicate with one another. If you want to join the early group getting connected on the City before our January 9th launch, go here.
OG (the David Denton) also gave a word of testimony for our church. After losing his father this year, he went through shock and pain. But OG chose to believe in the hope we have in Christ. He cited that he was able to overcome due to the church surrounding him and caring for him. Such a great word from such a sharp dressed guy in his shiny white shoes!
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…
Today is a day to celebrate. It is exactly 6 months since the day Eli and myself landing back at GSP airport. 6 months. 6 pictures (because a pictures says 1,000 words, right?). Watch the difference 6 months can make: Ephesians 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, …
North Side entered into week 4 of the 5-week series, “Legacy,” today. The band led with: My Savior Lives – New Life Worship Made to Worship – Chris Tomlin God of This City – Bluetree My Savior’s Love – Chris Tomlin The band did great. Chris did great leading America’s attention to Jesus on this special day. The Grahams’ Home …
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