Sundays @ North Side

Your Marriage

by

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.

READ MORE

Walking in the Light

by

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!

READ MORE

A Different Look

by

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.

READ MORE

Focused Lighting

by

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!

READ MORE

Behind the Curtain

by

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!

READ MORE

Out of the Darkness

by

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.

READ MORE

Knowing His Work

by

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:

READ MORE

Knowing His Mercy

by

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).

READ MORE

Knowing His Thoughts

by

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!

READ MORE

Knowing His Gifts

by

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…

READ MORE

One Worship

by

Today, we worshiped to: The Longer I Serve Him The Heart of Worship – Matt Redman Sing to the King – Billy Foote Amazing Grace – North Side Worship How Great is Our God – Bethany Dillon How Great Thou Art – Paul Baloche 3 services, 2 buildings, 1 flowsheet.  One worship. Today was incredible.  After Michael George gave us …

READ MORE

One Family

by

Over the years, we have been blessed to see numerical and spiritual growth in our congregation.  We are at a place where we are not experiencing disharmony, but we are experiencing detachment.  So how can we turn this many people into one functional family? It was a great day all around as we focused on One Family during our One …

READ MORE

One Doctrine

by

[This picture was taken before soundcheck on my phone.  The light hit perfectly catching my two youngins eating breakfast and getting ready to jam out with Daddy and Mommy.] Wow.  What a huge day to celebrate Jesus and focus on North Side striving together for one doctrine. In an increasingly biblically illiterate society, we must commit ourselves now more than …

READ MORE

One Mission

by

I firmly believe that today was the start of a whole new era of North Side as we began the One Initiative.  Today, we focused on what it would mean to have truly One Mission? Our church has always been faithful at engaging in the Great Commission.  But what could happen if we all focused in one direction to reach …

READ MORE

The Pure: Joseph

by

What a great day at North Side!  The picture above is of my two aspiring musicians during soundcheck this morning.  Obie walked in with his toy guitar today and said, “Play the guitar in the church house like Daddy?!”  Love my life.

Today, we worshiped to:

So humbling to hear and watch you sing out today.  It was great to see how a CD can lead in worship in that so many of you were singing out to songs we haven’t done on a Sunday yet but were recorded on the Overcome CD.  Love worshiping with you and pray that album is a blessing to you!

READ MORE

The Pretender: Judah

by

Another wonderful Sunday at North Side as we continued in our “Ancestors” series through key figures in Genesis.  I had planned a service based on Jeff preaching from Genesis 37 with Joseph and Potipher’s wife.  Instead, he felt led to go in a different direction:

For the sake of comfort, most people pass over Genesis 38, but Judah’s story is too similiar to situations today.  Many people are living for the moment without a thought concerning responsibility.  No matter how hard we try, our sin will find us out just like it did Judah.

I’ll be honest, when I saw what direction he was going, I just started praying that it would connect and not keep people’s mind in the gutters when he went to that passage.

READ MORE

The Persistent: Jacob

by

Another great day at North Side as we were in week 3 of “Ancestors” as we focused on Jacob. Jacob was born persistent.  While that persistence got him into trouble, it also paid off from him at times.  His wrestlings with God reveal a man who struggled in life but who never gave up on being blessed by God. Great …

READ MORE

The Prototype: Issac

by

What a great day at North Side as we were in week 2 of Ancestors. Only one chapter, Genesis 26, in the bible is totally dedicated to Issac.  Issac is a man that spent most of his life either in the shadow of his father Abraham or his son Jacob.  But no man has ever stood taller than he did …

READ MORE

The Pilgrim: Abraham

by

We started a new series called “Ancestors” today focusing on the second half of Genesis and looking at our spiritual heritage to learn from the mistakes and failures of those gone before us. From the very beginning, our spiritual family was rooted in faith in God.  Before the Law was introduced, Abraham proved to be a prototype for us to live …

READ MORE

The Coalition

by

At the Tower of Babel, a coalition formed in an attempt to reach God.  More than a historical architectural attempt, this event reveals the pride in mankind’s heart.  We think we can reach God on our own terms.  God often has to remind us that he is still God and we are not. What a great day at North Side …

READ MORE

The Catastrophe

by

What a great Sunday at North Side! Today, we worshiped to: New Doxology – Gateway Worship (Beach) Overcome – North Side Worship (Agnew) [will be released 10.10.10] Nothing Is Impossible – North Side Worship (Agnew) [will be released 10.10.10] I have to give it up to our worship team this morning.  We had so much sickness and crazy stuff happen …

READ MORE

Good News from the Garden

by

Satan’s tactics in the Garden of Eden are the same he uses today.  His attempt was successful at luring Adam and Eve away from God’s Word, and his goal with us is the same.  But even in the garden, there is hope and there is a promise. My friend and mentor, Dr. Chuck Lawless came and preached for us this …

READ MORE

The Origin of Marriage

by

What a great day @ North Side!  We started a new series called Origins as we study through Genesis 1-11. Today, we worshiped to: God of Wonders – City on a Hill How Great Thou Art – Paul Baloche Worthy – Travis Agnew The Stand – Hillsong It was great to be able to lead the new song, “Worthy” today. …

READ MORE

Expected to Grow

by

What a great day as we concluded “Solitary Confinement.” We’ve encouraged people to join community groups, but we’ve never really expected people to join.  If God expects us to grow, and he uses relationships to help us grow, then shouldn’t we make Christian relationships a priority? Versus hyping people up today and trying to get them to join a community …

READ MORE

Authentic Christian Community

by

What a great Sunday at North Side as we continued through our 2nd week of “Solitary Confinement” as we focused on the big idea of “Authentic Christian Community.” Some of us struggle to grow in our walk with Christ because we fail to get in the right environments.  In authentic Christian community, God uses other believers to strengthen us.  Are …

READ MORE

The Community Life of Jesus

by

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 series “Solitary Confinement.”  The picture …

READ MORE

Overcoming Temptation

by

Powerful Sunday as we concluded “Tempted.”  Jeff’s message was so powerful and practical. Today, we worshiped to: Break Our Hearts – Billy Foote Nothing But the Blood – Traditional Jesus Messiah – Chris Tomlin Jesus Paid It All – Kristian Stanfill The Cross of Calvary – Travis Agnew Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) – North Side Worship version Before …

READ MORE

Understanding Temptation

by

What a Sunday!  We started a new series at North Side entitled “Tempted.”  Today was all about understanding temptation.  From start to finish, it all was geared to us understanding what temptation is, how bad sin is, but how good God is to us helping us fight temptation. Jeff blew up his sermon.  It was crazy.  What’s even crazier is …

READ MORE

Help Us Reach the Unreached

by

How we can focus on sharing the gospel solely with those who have heard numerous times when there are those who have never heard it once?  There are unreached people groups in the world who have never even heard the name of Jesus.  This week’s prayer is all about helping our church reach the unreached.  Is it time for us …

READ MORE

Help Us Make Disciples

by

What a great day at North Side!  Jeff threw a bomb on us again this morning as we went through the “Dear God” series. Jesus defined Christianity by a simple phrase: “make disciples.”  How much of that actually takes place in our lives?  Jesus’ call was not for an institution to do that, but we, as individual believers, are to …

READ MORE

Dear God, Make Us One

by

This second week in the “Dear God” series we heard Jeff’s 2nd prayer for our church: “Dear God, make us one.”  In a church, truth, convictions, and preferences are always present.  Unfortunately, we normally focus on our preferences or convictions more than we do the truth.  If our church is truly to become one, we must lay aside our preferences …

READ MORE

Dear God, I Want to Please You

by

  As our church focuses on prayer in the “Dear God” series, our pastor has four prayers for our church that he wants answered.  The first prayer is: “Dear God, I want to please you.” Too often, we come to God just to fix our problems.  God wants to fix you, not your problem.  In Colossians 1:10-12, Paul reveals four …

READ MORE

Looking for a Feeling

by

What a great Sunday!  One of my favorite things was we got to ordain Luke Tolbert into the ministry.  Luke, Patty, and Anna Kate have just finished seminary and accepted the call to service at Malvern Hill Baptist Church in Camden, SC.  I LOVE this family so much and wherever they go, the church is better discipled – excited about …

READ MORE

Looking to the Unqualified

by

Happy Father’s Day!  We had a great day celebrating fathers and the church.  Great moments: The Spearmans Testimony – So great to see a father and sons going and serving on mission together Romania Commissioning – Great time commissioning the Romania team for their trip – they leave on Saturday Worship – It was a great time of worship, so …

READ MORE

Looking the Other Way

by

Item #3 that could kill North Side: looking the other way.  What can bring a congregation down?  When we fail to engage in church discipline. Yes, you could hear a pin drop today in services. In his message, Jeff preached on the need for discipline within a local church body.  To his admittance, he stated that the concept of church …

READ MORE

Looking Out for #1

by

Passionate, honest day about being the church at North Side.  2nd week into our “5 Things That Will Kill This Church” series and we stated the 2nd thing that could kill this church: “Looking Out for #1.”  When selfishness infests a church, it is a dangerous place to tread. Today, we worshiped to: Kingdom Come – Travis Agnew Marvelous Light …

READ MORE

Looking at the Wrong Scoreboard

by

What a fabulous day with the North Side family! We kicked off a new series called “5 Things That Will Kill This Church.” Today, we worshiped to: How Great Thou Art – Paul Baloche Let God Arise – North Side Worship (Tomlin) Center – Charlie Hall Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) – North Side Worship (Tomlin) Amazing to hear …

READ MORE

The Hope for the Suffering Church

by

We concluded the New Testament 101 series today with another great Sunday @ North Side!  I snapped this picture in between services of two of the most dedicated team members anyone could ever ask for.  David Hjalmers runs sound most Sundays and is dependable and encouraging as they come.  Jessica Griffith Wolfe, serves as my assistant on staff, and she …

READ MORE

The Most Misinterpreted Verse in the Bible

by

Today was a great day to be a part of North Side. The praise band led us in this amazing time of “unplugged” worship (have I told you people lately I am working myself out of a job?!) – thank you Eric, John, Peggy, and Leah.  Breathtaking and genuine: Made to Worship – Chris Tomlin Make Me Holy – North …

READ MORE

The Church on the Move

by

Today was a great Mother’s Day at North Side. Our family dedicated Eli along with many other families dedicating their homes to new additions.  Such a great time to introduce the new Agnew to the church family. The praise band did a wonderful job (without me again – I’m really going to lose my job here).  They led us in: …

READ MORE

+ MORE POSTS