Sundays @ North Side - TravisAgnew.org

1 Peter Recap

April 25, 2017January 26, 2014 by Travis Agnew

What a fantastic day to celebrate as a church! To finish up the 1 Peter series, we read through the entire book as a church and worshiped at every turn. We did all 13 tracks from the “Stand Firm” album as Jeff read through the passages. We have introduced these songs along the way, but doing it completely through this …

Standing Firm Together

April 25, 2017January 19, 2014 by Travis Agnew

We stand best when we stand on the truth and we stand together. Today was the final sermon from 1 Peter. Spending six months in that book has been incredible – so much I am still processing. It couldn’t have been a more timely message series for our congregation. I got the privilege of praying over this service and planning …

Standing Firm

April 25, 2017January 12, 2014 by Travis Agnew

What a powerful day. Loved it all around. Our Scripture focus was 1 Peter 5:6-11. As Peter concludes his letter, he reminds us of several truths that encourage us to stand firm in times of trouble. We started the service with “Friend of God.” To know that God cares for us (1 Pet. 5:7) is still an overwhelming thought for …

Shepherding the Flock

April 25, 2017January 5, 2014 by Travis Agnew

Such a great way to start 2014. Loved hearing the rowdy worshipers get after it at first during “How Great Thou Art” and “We Rejoice.” After that Lacy Little interviewed Stacie K. about her upcoming work in South Asia. Stacie was a part of North Side during her time at Lander. It was so great to hear how God used …

Rejoicing Through the Pain

April 25, 2017December 29, 2013 by Travis Agnew

For the Christian, pain and rejoicing are not mutually exclusive. We can and should experience them both at the same time. As the last services of 2013, we were able to receive some wonderful encouragement through Scripture. 1 Peter 4:12-19 serve as a great look back over last year and a great perspective for the year to come. Suffering is coming …

Getting Ready for the Pain

April 25, 2017December 22, 2013 by Travis Agnew

I love celebrating Jesus with our church family. Today was a rainy Sunday before Christmas and yet the house was full of joy! Each Sunday this month we have started our services with some type of instrumental piece. Today, we started with a flute choir and they did fantastic. Led by Leah Wilson, we had five ladies who played, and …

Standing Firm While Suffering

April 25, 2017December 15, 2013 by Travis Agnew

Great day to celebrate the life in our church! We started the services out with a piano Christmas instrumental. Inspired by the Piano Guys, we wanted to come up with our own arrangement of Christmas carols but take the lid off the piano and get a bit creative. The biblical call is to “play skillfully on the strings” (Psalm 33:3) …

A Reason for Our Hope

April 25, 2017December 8, 2013 by Travis Agnew

December has been such a special time at North Side. So much energy and focus – I love it. Each week we are doing some type of instrumental Christmas number to begin our time together. Today, Gary Funderburk did a great version of “O Little Town of Bethlehem” on the saxophone. We then did the wonderful song “Let There Be …

The Good Life

April 25, 2017December 1, 2013 by Travis Agnew

Special day, today. We focused on how to experience the good life. How to have peace on earth. To begin the services, we played a little Trans Siberian Orchestra and told the story of the cello player in Bosnia where the melody originally came from. After the Allens did a great job welcoming us into worship, we did a worship …

Know Your Wife

April 25, 2017November 24, 2013 by Travis Agnew

Special day today. I loved watching God at work impacting homes. We focused on 1 Peter 3:7 today. One verse drove our services. It all focused on how husbands are called to live with their wives. As we focused on a time of worship geared on our thankfulness to God, it was great to hear our church express gratitude towards …

A Word to Wives

April 25, 2017November 17, 2013 by Travis Agnew

Such a specific day at North Side. What I mean by that is oftentimes you can leave from a gathering and unable to sum up what the point was. Today, it was very clear: wives need to live for Jesus in front of their husbands to bring them closer to Jesus. Mama Barnes and the Faith Home did a fantastic …

Suffering for Doing Right

April 25, 2017November 10, 2013 by Travis Agnew

After a long weekend of worshiping at Epworth, our worship team was riding on one of those exhausted momentum moments. You know the kind when you are tired yet excited all at the same time? We were so glad to have the Peak band lead us in worship this Sunday. These students are so advanced beyond their years in so …

Submission and the Believer

April 25, 2017November 3, 2013 by Travis Agnew

As we left the church campus today, I told Amanda I am sure that I have never heard a complete message on what it means to submit to governing authorities. And I also don’t think I have ever heard a preacher talk so specifically even as a sidebar of what that means. Today was straight up real talk, folks. “Submission …

The Battle of the Soul

April 25, 2017October 27, 2013 by Travis Agnew

1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. As we continue through 1 …

Chosen People

April 25, 2017October 20, 2013 by Travis Agnew

Today was a great day to worship with the church family. We got to 1 Peter 2:9-10 this week as we discussed being God’s chosen people. We introduced a new song from our “Stand Firm” project. The song was entitled “Declare Your Praise.” It was based on the Scripture for this week and surrounding weeks. Someone commented after worship that …

Living Stones

April 25, 2017October 13, 2013 by Travis Agnew

We focused today on the “Living Stones” described in 1 Peter. Built upon the cornerstone of Jesus and solidified by the Word of God. In addition to some worship music focusing on these elements, we also highlighted our partnership with End Bible Poverty. We are raising the funds to translate 1 Peter for the Mushere people of Nigeria. The map …

Grow Up

April 25, 2017October 6, 2013 by Travis Agnew

The Word of God causes us to be born again and can also cause us to grow again. Therefore, we should both desire it and consume it, especially since we know how good it is. Focusing on the need to “grow up” spiritually, the service was planned all around understanding the goodness of God and the willingness for that good …

The Enduring Word of God

April 25, 2017September 29, 2013 by Travis Agnew

This was my Sunday: Soundcheck. Worship. Worship. Surprise Lethcos. Banquet. Clean up. Set up. NSU. Community group. Hopewood Haven awareness night. Drive thru. Recliner. It was great. I wouldn’t trade anything for it. It was a full day but it was a great day. The entire time of worship was great. Surprising Jeff and Sandy was stellar. The church’s encouraging …

Motivation for Holy Living

April 25, 2017September 22, 2013 by Travis Agnew

I got to be a part of today’s worship while I was on the beach with my family. We had taken a quick family vacation, and we had family worship together around the table that morning, but as I was getting the kids ready for the day, I got to join in worshiping with the church family over my phone. …

Be Holy

April 25, 2017September 15, 2013 by Travis Agnew

“Some people can’t be holy because they are seeking someone else’s approval.” -Jeff Lethco

What a strong word today on what it means to be holy. Digging into 1 Peter 1:13-16 was incredible. God’s call on us is clear. We are to be holy because our Father is holy. He is different. He doesn’t fit into this culture and neither should we.

The time of worship today was so rich. I love seeing all the new faces worshiping with us. God has been working on lives among us and calling people into deeper levels of holiness.

What They Didn’t Know We Do

April 25, 2017September 8, 2013 by Travis Agnew

Today is going to be a busy but fantastic day:

Soundcheck, 2 worship services, college lunch, teach NSU, lead discipleship group, Gathering practice tonight. I can’t think of better ways to spend my time than that!

What They Didn’t Know We Do [Series: Stand Firm]

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:10-12

As believers, we can be encouraged by realizing we know things that neither the prophets knew or the angels know! With this knowledge, we can patiently persevere and follow the example of Christ who experienced glory after his time of suffering.

Trial by Fire

April 25, 2017September 1, 2013 by Travis Agnew

On a Labor Day weekend with a bunch of college football enthusiasts up late last night, I was concerned at the energy level of everyone this morning. I should have never worried. It was such a great day with some genuine, engaged worshipers.

We started our services with family dedications and it was such a special time as always. We also watched a video on persecuted Christians from around the world. This served to guide our prayer time and it also always helps to worship with the big “C” Church in mind.

Today, we worshiped to:

Living Hope

April 25, 2017August 25, 2013 by Travis Agnew

We joined with 40+ churches in the area today to pray for spiritual awakening. Alan Quigley at South Main Street Baptist Church led the initiative and there were a lot of great things going on this weekend. The prayer was for spiritual awakening to happen in churches all over Greenwood. Love it when people focus on churches working together rather than competing with one another.

I’m not sure about other local churches, but God is continuing to do some amazing things at North Side. Loved our prayer time for spiritual awakening, and I love to hear stories of people who are being discipled at our church.

Today, we worshiped to:

Elect Exiles

April 25, 2017August 18, 2013 by Travis Agnew

I was so excited to start our new series today, “Stand Firm.” This study in 1 Peter will last a few months and focuses how believers are to endure through the trials of this life. I can’t think of a more timely series.

We started our worship off today with a spoken word video from Amena Brown as the band built into the first song. The service was built all around the passage of the day, 1 Peter 1:1-2. I’m gonna be emphasizing that even more in the weeks to come hoping to help connect the dots for everyone.

Today, we worshiped to:

The Discipline of the Church

April 25, 2017August 11, 2013 by Travis Agnew

We finished up our “Church Matters” series today as we focused on “The Discipline of the Church.” This isn’t a topic you would normally hear about in a sermon series on the church, but if we neglect this issue we are avoiding a serious issue in the New Testament.

Jeff mentioned in his very practical sermon on this matter that we have replaced God today with the god of tolerance. America’s favorite verse to quote is “judge not” and it is taken out of context and not understood. If we don’t keep one another accountable within the church then our witness and stand in the world weakens.

Today, we worshiped to:

The Integrity of the Church

April 25, 2017August 4, 2013 by Travis Agnew

“If you want to be a shepherd, you have to smell like sheep.”

That was just one of the best lines from today’s sermon. This was our second week focusing on the biblical role of elders. In 1 Timothy 3, Paul tells Timothy some of the characteristics and traits that an elder or a pastor is supposed to have.

A true pastor must desire the calling. It’s a noble thing. This was one of the best things I have ever heard on calling and the danger that many treat it with mysticism. If you are called, you desire this work.

You must be above reproach. There must be a good set of morals and living them out. I never really thought about the trait of hospitality like I did today. A true pastor is going to be around sheep. He is going to have them in his home. He is going be near the people in his congregation or he’s really not a good elder.

Today, we worshiped to:

The Leadership of the Church

April 25, 2017July 28, 2013 by Travis Agnew

I loved having my birthday on a Sunday. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than with my family and church family. The day was just fantastic.

The worship service centered around the leadership of the church. As we were going to talk about elders, I wanted to focus on lifting Jesus higher and us getting out of the way. Christian leaders are called to decrease because Christ must increase.

Today, we worshiped to:

The Stewardship of the Church

April 25, 2017July 21, 2013 by Travis Agnew

As we continue through our “Church Matters” series, we come to week 8 – “The Stewardship of the Church.” As far as the planning of the service goes, we focused on finding our satisfaction in God and not in our stuff. The worship time was intended to lead people to realize that all of our contentment can be found in our relationship with God.

Jeff’s message was so legit. I loved how he started it sharing how oftentimes money sermons go in a church and how he promised not to do that. He said something to the tune of “I can preach on tithing here at this church or anywhere and the offering will go up for about 2 months and then go back to the regular amount…I’m just gonna be honest with you. I refuse to preach the Word of God so that we will get more money. My job as one of the pastors of this flock is not to get more money out of you but my job is to help you become greater worshipers of the Almighty.” It was the best sermon I have ever heard on what stewardship truly is.

Today, we worshiped to:

The Servants of the Church

April 25, 2017July 14, 2013 by Travis Agnew

“Sovereign God, thy cause, and not my own, engages my heart.”

That quote comes from “God’s Cause” in the Puritan Book of Prayers, The Valley of Vision. As we focused on the servants of the church today, that was our focus. The entire service wrapped around the desire and the strength that we need to live for God’s Kingdom rather than our own. Through the videos, testimonies, prayers, and songs, we tried to drive home that point. I loved how our servant panel expressed how each of their roles in the church are pivotal!

Today, we worshiped to:

The Worship of the Church

April 25, 2017July 6, 2013 by Travis Agnew

As we focused today on the worship of the church, I was eager to lead something I have had churning in my head for a while now.

We led worship music from 6 centuries in about 12 minutes. I took the theme concerning the greatness of God, and showed how it’s a constant theme through the ages, and that the style doesn’t really matter. It was a very special moment at the end of our services as we united with the Church over hundreds of years.

As the medley progressed, I posted the year each song was written as we started in the 1500s and ended up in the 2000s. The lyrics for the medley is available here: The Greatness Of God (Worship Medley) – lyrics (I never chorded out the song since I was playing it on the piano by myself for most of it and had liberty to adjust as we went along).

Today, we worshiped to:

The Discipleship of the Church

April 25, 2017June 30, 2013 by Travis Agnew

We had one of those days at North Side where you weren’t sure if the roof was gonna come off or Jesus was gonna come down! I love worshiping with our family when we get after it like that. I loved the diversity in our worship today and the intensity at every corner. Our worship team works so hard to lead people to Jesus each week and I am so honored to lead beside them! Today was simply a joy.

The above picture was my personal prayer focus for the day. We took time and prayed specifically for military chaplains serving today. As I was going through the prayer cards, I found one for a college friend, Jason Sluder. It was great to be able to pray for him and the other chaplains today with our Be the Church highlight. Such an honor to help support this ministry through our offerings each week!

Today, we worshiped to:

The Missionary of the Church

April 25, 2017June 22, 2013 by Travis Agnew

It was such a great day today to BE THE CHURCH. We have partnered with a fantastic missionary family in Africa for almost 2 years now, and they were finally able to join us in person today! Greg preached an incredible sermon on the reason our church partners with places that are hard to reach, dangerous to reach. Sharing from the Word and personal testimony about their work among the Hausa people of West Africa was incredible.

Our worship time focused upon the praise of the nations. We focused on our response to take the gospel. We won’t relent until every nation has heard the gospel. It was a gospel-saturated, nation-focused worship time bent on the glory of God. Loved it.

Today, we worshiped to:

The Mission of the Church

April 25, 2017June 16, 2013 by Travis Agnew

We had some guest worship leaders helping out this Sunday for Father’s Day at North Side. I assembled some of the band to recruit their children to help lead in worship and we had a stage full. I was so honored to have my two sons leading beside me. Obadiah and Eli are passionate singers and musicians. Many people commented on their energy, and I told them this was them on calm. If you were out of town, watch online here.

Family is important at North Side. We prize lifestyles of worship lived within the homes. This wasn’t a stage idea for Sunday, this was an example of what real life in the home should look like – men leading their children to love Jesus.

That’s what was great about the other elements in the service today. It was about fathers and sons going on mission together. Men of God stepping up to lead in the Great Commission.

Today, we worshiped to:

The Membership of the Church

April 25, 2017June 9, 2013 by Travis Agnew

What a special day to be a part of North Side! Our service started out with the band leading and then we got the joy to pass the microphones over to Point of Grace’s Leigh Cappillino and her husband, Dana, and their daughter, Darby. I tried to give them some band names for the day but they never stuck (The VonCapps, The Flying Cappilinos, The Cappillino 3, Leigh & the Cappillinos).

Jo Anne Reinhardt gave a great testimony about giving or going to Shake-n-Shine this year, a great church membership testimony from Terri Budreau, and then we got to hear a fantabulous message on church membership.

Leigh Cappillino sang with the Parlers and Kennerlys in college at Charleston Southern and have remained friends since then. They were nearby visiting family and were gracious enough to pop in and sing for us this morning. What I love about this family is how real they are. With all the success Leigh and Point of Grace has had over the years, they are so grounded, humble, and genuine. And in addition to their character, they are phenomenal musicians! They did such a great job!

Today, we worshiped to:

The Authority of the Church

April 25, 2017June 2, 2013 by Travis Agnew

While Jeff Lethco can preach anything well, I love the stride he gets in when talking about the church.

It was a powerful start to our “Church Matters” series today as we focused on the authority of the church. For us, it’s Scripture. We won’t be conditioned by expectations. We don’t have to cave in to comparison traps. We don’t have to try to woo or keep anyone based on preferences. We want to be obedient to God’s Word. And oftentimes, churches can begin to base all of their activity and identity on something that is totally absent in the Bible.

Today, we worshiped to:

The Story of Job

April 25, 2017May 25, 2013 by Travis Agnew

What a wonderful day of worship at North Side! I got the incredible privilege to preach to finish up our 2-week series, “Through the Storms.” Ken Petrus did such a fantastic job sharing his heart last week, and it is an honor to follow his lead!

During his message last Sunday, I felt the direction to go in a different path than previously scripted. I feel like the Holy Spirit was guiding me to preach through the entire Book of Job.

From the perspective of Job.

I went into character for the message today. I even grew a beard for this message (that’s commitment ;))! I tried to convey what it’s like when you go through a storm and want to ask God why you are in it. Then, what it is like when he actually responds. As I traveled through the book, we would put up key scriptures to keep people moving along. At the end when God finally speaks, we used some really neat pictures of God’s creation to drive home the truth that God is in control. The band went right into “Indescribable,” which much of the imagery there comes straight out of Job 38-42.

Today, we worshiped to:

Through the Storms

April 25, 2017May 19, 2013 by Travis Agnew

Such a heavy, beautiful way to worship today. It was honest, authentic worship. We started a 2-week series today entitled “Through the Storms.” Ken Petrus, Executive Pastor at North Side, preached this first week.

4 months ago today, Ken’s youngest child, Eric, went to be with Jesus after an 11-year fight with cancer. Eric had asked Ken to preach his funeral. At that funeral, I witnessed one of the most beautiful expressions of faith, hope, and the peace surpasses all comprehension that I have ever seen. When Jeff and I were planning out the remainder of the messages for 2013, 2 weeks at the end of May were vacant. I asked Ken if he would want to address the congregation that had prayed so much for his family. With tears in his eyes, he said he would love to.

He did an incredible job. He shared the story but kept pointing us back to the Word as the source of our hope. He had also asked for some specific songs in today’s service. He asked Stacy Wideman to sing “It Is Well” as she lost her son a few years ago and can sing that song with more meaning than most. He asked for Ted to sing “How Great Thou Art” which he sang at Eric’s funeral. And “Amazing Grace” meant so much to the family to know that Eric’s chains are truly gone and he is finally free.

Today, we worshiped to:

3 John (Don’t Be a Diotrephes)

April 25, 2017May 12, 2013 by Travis Agnew

We finished up our “Knowing That You Know Jesus” series today by studying 3 John. The entire study since the beginning of this year has been so good. Jeff’s message on 3 John concerning encouragement and confrontation within the church was so insightful and practical. The Apostle John was encouraging Gaius concerning opposition he received from Diotrephes – a person within the church who loved to be first. Don’t be one of those.

Since it was Mother’s Day, we had our ladies lead us in worship. I thought about giving all these moms the week off, but then I realized that maybe someone else responsible for watching the kids that morning might be a welcomed treat. My wife and the other ladies did great. While they sing great, they lead great. They are worship focused themselves.

Today, we worshiped to:

The Deceivers

April 25, 2017May 5, 2013 by Travis Agnew

Even though the rain was still coming down in Greenwood, the worship was going up. It was such a special time today as we studied 2 John and celebrated the release of our “Knowing Jesus – Live” CD and DVD. The above picture was from soundcheck with my lil’ man Eli worshiping alongside me. He doesn’t miss a beat or a lyric. Rock solid. I need to get him up there with me past soundcheck some time.

The time of worship was really special. We did only music from “Knowing Jesus” and had a ton of singers, band members, choir members, kids’ choir, and teach can percussion ensemble. It was a lil’ rowdy this morning.

Today, we worshiped to:

1 John Recap

April 25, 2017April 27, 2013 by Travis Agnew

A few months ago, we looked at the calendar and needed to plan how we were going to end the series on 1 John – “Knowing That You Know Jesus.” I had this random idea. I began to tell Jeff what I was thinking, and he said, “I was thinking the exact same thing. Let’s go with it.”

So, anyway, that “go with it” happened this morning. It was powerful and unexpected.

We simply read through the Book of 1 John. At the end of different sections, we worshiped according to the truth read. It was so simple and powerful just letting the Word speak. No commentary. No need for explanation. And we know it did not return void.

Gus Burgdorf did a great job sharing his work with the Gideon’s ministry. The Word is powerful (getting the theme yet?).

Today, we worshiped to a lot of music:

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