Wow! What a year 2009 has been at North Side. This week, we are reflecting back and looking forward. One of those areas is looking back over what God taught us this year through the series at North Side. As I have been developing sermon series with Jeff since the summer of 2006, I have never experienced such a powerful …
The last Sunday of 2009 served to be a great day to serve as a transition into next year. On the last Sunday of “A Pastor’s Wish List,” we focused on the topic: “For Men to Rise Up.” The Apostle Paul stated that when he became a man, he put childish ways behind him. The Bible gives instructions on how …
North Side Worship’s Christmas worship album, “Offering” has been released for almost two weeks, and I have been extremely humbled by the encouraging words we have received. We are pretty excited about the fact you think it sounds great. We are even more excited about how many of you have been giving the CDs out and sharing the love of …
I wanted to present an “Offering” edition of North Side Storytellers for the song, “What, Then, is Christmas?” Take it away, bud: Guest Blogger: Woody Nivens Christmas was a very special time for me as a kid. It was my mother’s favorite time of the year. She would spend days decorating our house, and she always enjoyed hosting Christmas parties. …
Last night, I had our band and spouses over for some fellowship time and the group’s first opportunity to listen to the “Offering” Christmas Worship CD all the way through. We were missing a few last night, but most everyone involved in the project could come. I just loved watching their faces as they listened to it. Most individuals had …
A long-awaited package is in the mail and that means North Side Worship’s newest album will be released this Sunday at North Side. The cover is above which was designed by the ever-so-talented, Cory Wilson. Polly Brown was so gracious to let us use her hand for the cover – thanks! This Christmas worship album was produced by the grand-master …
Last night, in our worship team training, I asked the question: when does excellence in leading worship become a distraction? As we are spending this month focusing on worship value #3: capability – leading with excellence, a tension arose in my mind. Psalm 33:3 says: “Sing to Him a new song, play skillfully with a shout of joy.” As musicians, …
Today is the day! We are uploading the CD graphics and mailing the audio files for North Side Worship’s Christmas CD to start production. We have a few things to finish before sending it off, but I am so pleased with it. I can’t wait for you to hear it. The plan is for it to be released Sunday, December …
It’s going to be one of those exciting but busy weeks. As Monday begins, I’m glad to have OG here with me in the office for an extra set of hands – even if they are constantly hitting me. Here’s a rundown of what’s going on so you can either attend, help, or pray. Finish Mix on Christmas Album – …
This week’s worship team training starts us focusing on our third installment (#1 was humility, and #2 was credibility). Worship Team Value #3: Capability – leading with excellence Big idea: We are better than I. We do want to lead with excellence. Our musicians, vocalists, and technicians, we want to lead with quality. We do so not to draw people’s …
We had scheduled the next Emerald City Worship to take place on Tuesday, November 10th. As we have been approaching time, we have experienced some scheduling difficulties, some AVL issues, and some stuff just wasn’t feeling right. The approaching evening was feeling like a burden to me, and it was never meant to be that. Then Rob Dempsey from His …
Last night, we had a special tech team training and appreciation event. I knew this before last night, but it served as a great reminder – our tech team is incredible! They are sincere servants. They have massive skills and incredible hearts! It is an honor to serve with them. While we spent time vision casting and fellowshiping, we also …
2010 is only weeks away, and we are deep in the process of planning sermon series at North Side. I often have people ask how we decide on series, and I thought I could share a little behind the scenes look today. Elders’ Meeting – Elders join to pray, study, and brainstorm biblical concepts that need to be addressed in …
We are in official crunch time with Anthony over at Addeybug Studio right now. The North Side Worship team is cranking out some jingle bell rock to get this in your hands by Christmas time. Everything is coming together quite nicely. This is an ambitious endeavor. We have some full band tracks and then some acoustic tracks, and we have …
Today I am sharing the second installment in our worship value #2: crediblity – leading with integrity. This lesson’s big idea: Worship leaders should direct but never distract. The job of the worship leader is to direct people’s attention towards God, not distract them from it. A worship leader has a tough balance of engaging the people without distracting them. …
Last month, our worship team training focused on our first value: humility – leading with perspective. This month, we are focusing on #2: credibility – leading with integrity. If the first month focused on who God is, this second month is a focus on who we are as leaders. Credibility – leading with integrity Big Idea: If your reputation and …
“When I get to heaven, I’m going to ask…” (responses below submitted by my friends on Facebook) “Why were my parents not alive?” “Why couldn’t we stop bad people from doing bad things to children or others in this world?” “How did prayer work? Did our prayers actually work?” “Why did I get into that wreck on my way to …
This month’s core worship value: Humility – leading with perspective This week’s worship training one-liner: The cure for lethargic worship is a good memory. In Psalm 30, David expresses praise to God based upon his faithfulness in the past. What’s interesting about this psalm is that the title infers that this was written for the dedication of the temple. Only …
I can’t begin to sum up into words what happened last night at the Greenwood Community Theatre. Churches united under the umbrella of Emerald City Worship. I was asked by a man last week who would be delivering the message that night. I had a great response for him five minutes after that conversation. We would be offering the message. …
That’s right. I’m calling you out, week. The week of Sept. 13-19, 2009, you are going to try to take me down, but you have been misinformed. Christ in me, the hope of glory. I will survive. The Holy Spirit lives in me, and I will not be shaken. If I do waver this week, no worries – I have …
Humility – leading with perspective True worship isn’t supposed to lift us up, it is supposed to bring us facedown. As we are going through this series on end times at North Side, I wanted to focus on some worship passages from Revelation. So rich. In Revelation 4, the Apostle John sees a vision of heaven in which the 24 …
I’ve been challenged as of late by a very wise and creative friend to hone my skills as a leader. One of the things he asked me this month was: “How do you help train and develop your worship team?” Hmmm. “Does it count that I took the people who recorded a worship CD last year to a Chris Tomlin concert?” …
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, …
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 …
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. …
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 …
I have heard more questions about the song “Beautiful” the last two weeks at North Side than any other song in a long time. Just so you know, I post the songs and artists each week on my blog so that you know how to get a song you like. Phil Wickham wrote the song “Beautiful.” I had heard him …
I wanted to take a minute to tell you about our worship services. Often I’m asked, what’s the worship like at North Side? When someone asks that question, they mean are we traditional, contemporary, or blended? Are we seeker sensitive or are we more driven by the desires of our members? But worship has a lot more to do than …
We had a great Mother’s Day at North Side. As we celebrated mamas, had a family dedication, continued in the Legacy series, and even had our first Home Invasion, it was a great day. Hopefully, I can share the Home Invasion video with you later this week. Thank you, McCalls for letting us invade your home. Message Synopsis: After Joshua …
A few months ago, Jeff called me to tell me that a Gospel Celebration was live on BET. I had forgotten that it was on, so I quickly turned it to the channel. At the end of the show, Hezekiah Walker performed one of his newer songs, “God Favored Me.” North Siders will know Hezekiah for his song, “I Need …
Every parent leaves a legacy. Will your child benefit from yours? The Compass is in, the set list is prepared, and the message is almost done. This Sunday, we are going to start a new series at North Side that has been prayed about and thought about for over a year now. Sunday, we begin Legacy. This study through the …
Tonight, Fusion is wrapping up for this semester with a special worship service at the Greenwood Community Theatre at 7:30. Jamie, Cory, and myself will be leading a night of worship/concert of sorts. I am going to preach with my bass guitar. I am actually going to have a message about the change that happened in me in college, but …
Isaiah 53 1 Who believes what we’ve heard and seen? Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this? 2-6The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling, a scrubby plant in a parched field. There was nothing attractive about him, nothing to cause us to take a second look. He was looked down on and passed over, a …
This Sunday, we will be doing a new song for our congregation that I am very excited about. The song is from Hillsong entitled “High and Lifted Up.” The first time I heard this song was last year riding on my lawn mower listening to my iPod. I almost had to pull the lawn mower over and park it because …
I was honored a few months ago when some of the ladies from the South Main Street Baptist Church’s Women’s Ministry asked if they could use one of my songs for the theme song of their upcoming retreat. That retreat was this weekend up at the Cove led by my good buddy, Ruth McWhite. Even though I wasn’t there and …
While we have one week left of our current series, “What Happens in Vegas,” February will kick off “Marriage by the Book.” I am so excited about this series. Jeff and I did some planning over the services this morning, and I am extremely excited about what is going to happen Sundays @ North Side in February. For those wanting …
This week’s book of the week is Andrew Hill’s “Enter His Courts with Praise!” This treatment is a thoroughly biblical study of worship. Looking at how worship was prescribed in the Old Testament, Hill attempts to give guidelines for New Testament worship. Top 5 Ideas: “For our purposes Shaper best captures the idea and ideal of worship when he characterizes the event of worship …
During The Perfect Gift series, I was honored that so many people have told me that God used the “Mighty God” message on Dec. 14 in their lives. It’s simple why it impacted you: when we lift Jesus up, everything else comes into perspective. Since I preached it three times, the conclusion was a little different each time, but I tried …
We have experienced some problems with the website over the last few weeks, but now the sermons are back up and things should be normal. Go to northsidebc.org and you can listen to the latest messages and even the message from Christmas Eve!
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