Jesus' arrival signaled an end to one way of relating to God and began something entirely new. Unfortunately, many of the negative things we associate with the church brand were never intended for the new way. Join us January 15, as we begin to explore Jesus' brand new way to relate to God.
Life is better connected.
All of us drift. If we aren't careful, we naturally drift away from almost everything that is good for us. Then on top of that, as Christians we believe that this drifting principle also intersects our relationship with God, which takes intentionality, time, discipline, and some delayed gratification. In every area of life that is important, the current of life rarely takes us in the right direction.
One of the coolest things about Christianity is that while we may be called to swim upstream, we have not been called to swim alone. We have been called to swim together. It is so much easier when you are in community with, in friendship with, in a "circle" with people who share your values & the same destination in life.
However, many of us are still tempted to attempt to swim alone. This isn't a new thing however. Back in the 1st century, the early church leaders wrote about the need for community, particularly about not swimming upstream alone.
In Hebrews 3:12-14, the writer talks about the drift that happens within - in our hearts. In Hebrews 3:12, the writer gives the solution to the drift we all experience at some point. It comes through the plural nouns in the verse. This verse is not an individual/personal command; it is a group imperative. Not only should you keep track of your own heart, but also the hearts of those around you. Unfortunately these types of relationships won't fully develop just on Sunday mornings.
Because a row doesn't know what is happening on the inside - mostly because we are so good at walking into church looking good even we might not be. The only way anybody is going to know about your sinful, unbelieving, drifting heart is if you are in a circle/group with them where they have access to you.
Following this message, we encouraged everyone to consider connecting to a group. If you are interested or would like more information, go to the link above or to nlnc.org/groups.
New Fruit in 2017
As we 2017 is upon us, there is a sense of a fresh start even a new start. However, the list of resolutions that can seem like a helpful thing can easily become burdensome & overwhelming.
- What if instead of trying to accomplish a long list of things, we focused on just 1 thing?
- What if at the end of 2017 we could look back knowing that we added 1 new positive character trait that we didn't have previously?
In Galatians 5:22-23, Paul actually gives us the long list of resolutions - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. What if instead of trying to add all of them to our lives, we just tried to work on 1 in 2017?
Here are 3 ways, we would love to help you do that!
This app can give you a reading plan to better understand the fruit you are working on, read about Jesus' comments on the subject, and how to produce this fruit in your life. Go to the app, select "Plans", and search for your fruit reading plan.
We created some phone & desktop wallpapers to remind us each time we open our phones or laptops of the one new fruit God is growing in us in 2017.
We all need someone to help encourage us & keep us accountable. Someone to ask us the tough questions and cheer for us when we are struggling. We believe Life Groups are a great place for this to happen! Click the button above for more info or to sign-up. New groups are forming starting January 15.
Christmas Eve Service
*A few times a year, we combined with our Chinese Congregation. This was one of those times.
Christmas can be complicated. Several factors make Christmas complicated:
- the older we get
- the more kids we have
- a divorce somewhere in our families
- "interesting" family dynamics
- the loss of a loved one who we miss dearly
- shopping & schedules
There is no magic potion or formula to uncomplicate that part of Christmas. However, if there is anything that should never be complicated about Christmas, it should be the simple message & story of Christmas.
The angel who announced the Savior's birth to the shepherd described it as "good news" that will bring great joy to all people." At the heart of the story of Christmas & Christianity is the simple idea that Jesus is Good News for all people. Even if you aren't a Christian, or have doubts about Christianity, it is hard to proclaim the message of Christmas as bad news. If you think of Christians or Jesus as anything but Good News, it is probably because someone either misrepresented Him or distorted the Good News of Jesus. That is our fault, not your Heavenly Father's.
One of Jesus' closest followers, John, who knew Jesus, ate with Jesus, watched Him live, watched Him die, saw Him after the resurrection, and cared for his mother, wrote His account of the life of Jesus. In John chapter 3, he is recounting a conversation between a religious leader & Jesus, when he gets too excited and bursts into the conversation an incredible statement.
For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. - John 3:16-17 (NLT)
God loved - Which for Greeks & Romans was contrary to how they viewed the gods. They thought, "The gods played. The people paid." Yet this God loved the whole world, not just the Jews and not just people in this time period.
God gave - He so loved the world that He did what in love people do - He gave...His Son! Then His Son, Jesus, continued that trend and gave His life for the world.
We believe - Our response to this love & gift is to believe or place our trust in Him. Not to trust completely or partially in ourselves, but to put our energy, weight, and trust in Him.
We receive - In exchange for our belief, God gives us eternal life. Eternal life is not just life in Heaven, but Jesus defined it as a relationship, or intimate knowledge of God.
He came to give us a gift. If you believe, you can receive it.
Characters of Christmas - Week #3
There are several areas in our lives where our "control" of that thing can actually give us a false-sense of security like driving in the snow, managing money, or maintaining relationships. While all of us like control, over use of it doesn't really bring peace or happiness. In fact, it usually does the opposite.
King Herod's involvement in the story of Christmas as the Roman authority over Judea really was all about control. He was very smart, talented, politically astute, and very, very ambitious. But what got the best of him in the end was his desire to control his legacy & the future.
As we read Matthew 2, King Herod is about 70 years old and has a very painful kidney disease. He is trying to consolidate his power and preparing for the passing of power & his legacy to his heir. Then he finds our there is a new toddler king just 5 miles away!
The wise men come to worship & bring gifts to the King of the Jews, the Messiah. While they were looking for him, Herod learned of this baby Messiah. Herod was so disturbed about this because his whole life had been built around preserve, protect, and control. He's not about to bow his knee, worship, or surrender to anyone. Because the wise men didn't help him find the baby king and in order to maintain a sense of control, he decided to have every baby 2 and under killed in Bethlehem. As much as Herod tried to control the outcomes, carry on his legacy, and maintain control, he became a supporting character in the story of Christmas.
- What will your story be in relationship to this Savior of the world, Jesus?
- Will your story be like that of King Herod - controlling & resisting?
- Will your story be like that of the Wise Men - surrendering & worshipping?
Characters of Christmas - Week #2
While we all may have different adult Christmas experiences, if we compared our Christmas experiences as kids, they probably would be quite similar. Most of us experienced the agonizing wait for Christmas to arrive. As kids it seemed like it took forever, but the good thing was that Christmas always came!
The dynamic of waiting, waiting, waiting, actually setup the first Christmas. For many, many generations there was a remnant of Jewish people who waited eagerly for the arrival of the Messiah God promised. However, over the years many Jews would abandon their hope & trust in the God who "may" have given this promise hundreds/thousands of years earlier. There were 2 followers who didn't lose their hope & trust in this God & His promise.
This is an important story because at some point in all of our religious experiences, God is so quiet. God seems so inactive. In those moments, seasons, years or periods of life, it is normal to ask "Why am I doing this?"
In Luke 1:5-27, we read about Zechariah & Elizabeth's faithful service to God and yet they couldn't have kids even into their old age. Even though all the circumstances around them said God wasn't coming through personally or nationally, they continued to live their lives as if God was faithful and would come through. The story of Christmas renews our hope & trust in God. The story of Christmas is a reminder that your faith & hope in God are not in vain.
Will you be a part of that remnant of people who continues to place their hope & trust in God?
Characters of Christmas - Week #1
Regardless what you believe about Christmas, many people would agree there are some interesting characters connected to the story of Christmas. There are the obvious characters of baby Jesus, Mary the mother, and Joseph the father. However, some of the supporting characters provide interesting perspective and even the ability to relate to this amazing & peculiar story.
Matthew starts his account of Jesus' life with a genealogy, which might seem strange to many of us. However, Matthew's main audience was Jewish people wanting to know if this was the real Messiah. All of them knew that the real Messiah would have come through the family line of King David. So Matthew starts off with the genealogy to answer that question first.
In doing so, Matthew includes some rather odd family members, especially 4 women. In this time, histories were written by hired men to make kings, emperors, and generals look good, almost always leaving out the defeats & unsuccessful children or at least downplaying them. And just about every time women were not mentioned - just men. However, Matthew had a purpose to include these women:
- Tamar - a sketchy story to say the least
- Rahab - a woman with a past
- Ruth - a non-Jewish woman
- Bathsheba - the woman who committed adultery with King David
It would be reasonable to wonder why would Matthew include these women and seemingly unnecessary distractions to proving Jesus was from David's family?
Matthew knew these somewhat shady, unexpected characters & situations were the point of the story he was about to tell. Matthew knew their sin & distance from God was the issue that Jesus came to address. Jesus didn't just come for sinners. Jesus came from sinners because...
The story of Christmas includes sinners & those far from God.
From Matthew's experience being with Jesus for 3 years, hearing Jesus teach, watching Jesus interact with various types of people, seeing Jesus die on a cross, and standing at His empty tomb, he experienced this purpose of Christmas. Matthew's own story (Matthew 9:1-13) of being an outcast sinner (tax collector) who was far from God also was part of the reason he wanted to include these scandalous characters in Jesus' genealogy. He knew better than many that Jesus came for sinners from those far from God.
Characters of Christmas
Every family has those "interesting" characters:
- that uncle with the checkered past
- the cousin who gets into everything
- the grandparent who tells those stories.
Jesus' family was no different. Join us starting December 4 and bring a friend with you, as we discuss these interesting Characters of Christmas.
The Power of an Invitation
At every major intersection in our lives, there has probably been an invitation of sorts. Somebody invited you somewhere to something, for something, or for someone. Some of the greatest things in our lives were the result of an invitation. Some of our greatest regrets were the result of an invitation. Invitations are powerful, sometimes life changing things.
You have the power to change someone's life through an invitation. In John 1:35-49, we see several examples of this principle in Jesus' life. People would discover Jesus was the Messiah, and they would invite their friends and family to come as well. Those people doing the inviting knew they couldn't answer all the questions, prove Jesus was the Messiah, or convince anybody of anything. However, they did know to invite their friends and family to "Come & See!"
As people come and be a part of the church, God does that thing that only God can do. When people, who are far from God but want to be close to God or have been beaten up by sin are facing its consequences, when they come and are among people who are following Jesus, something special happens.
We want to be a place for unchurched people to feel comfortable and welcome, while removing all possible obstacles to trusting in Jesus. As we enter the Christmas season, who could you invite?
for dinner?
for coffee?
for Christmas Eve?
Message adapted from North Point Community Church.
How to Neighbor - Week #4
Almost all of us have experienced the generosity of a friend, family member, neighbor, or co-worker. Generosity is powerful. Generosity tears down walls. Generosity is hard to resist.
There is a theme throughout Jesus' teachings & the New Testament to be generous with no-strings-attached. In Luke 6:32-36, Jesus moves people to that standard by saying:
- Love your enemies.
- Do good to those who can't or won't do good to you.
- Lend money without expecting to be repaid.
Then in Luke 6:35, Jesus lays out the reason why we are to be generous "you will truly be acting as children of the Most High". God's generosity toward us causes us to be generous toward our neighbors. This type of generosity was not common in Jesus' day, in fact it was a complete paradigm shift. These people knew "liberalitas" - to give to get something in return. There was no reason to help those who couldn't return the favor, but Jesus said NOT so in my Kingdom. The Jesus follower's reason for generosity is because God has been so generous to us.
Historians tell us the early Christians lived extraordinarily generous lives even though,
- They had NO wealth.
- They had NO building.
- They had NO voice.
- They had NO political power.
When plagues would hit a village, the Christians were the only ones to stay and care for the sick. When famines would threaten to devastate families, the Christians would give what little food they had to feed those who were hungry. When the pagan poor had no one to care for them, the Christians would care for them, so much so that the Roman Emperor Julian would take notice!
In Philippians 2:15, Paul describes how that type of generosity can impact those around us, "Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky". That kind of generosity can still capture the hearts of people today.
The challenge for this week is to be generous by supporting our Food Drive by bringing canned goods to our Lobby this Sunday 11/27.
How to Neighbor - Week #3
As followers of Jesus, it can be very easy for us to focus on answering the question "What must I do to make & keep things right between God & me?" If we aren't careful our relationship with God can really be all about us and what we benefit from it.
Jesus challenged this self-spirituality all the time. In Matthew 25, we read of one particular instance when Jesus was referring to the last days, particularly about who will inherit eternal life in God's Kingdom. His point through this example is that serving God means loving our neighbors. Those who...
- Feed the hungry
- Care for the thirsty, sick & stranger
- Cloth the naked
- Visit those in prison
When you love & serve those neighbors, it is as if you are actually serving God. Following Jesus is an invitation to leave what's all about you and embrace the neighbor beside you. Your devotion to God is illustrated, demonstrated, and authenticated by your love for your neighbors. We are to care for others' sake - just like Jesus came for others' sake.
Andy Stanley, a pastor in Georgia, has a great question to help us determine if we are simply embracing ourselves or really loving our neighbor "What does love require of me?" Thinking about perfect love, how would someone with perfect love respond to that neighbor? Following Jesus is not only for your benefit, but the benefit of your neighbor.
As a way to practice loving our neighbors, we have an opportunity to serve with West Valley Community Services. On Saturday, November 19th from 9am-12noon, we will help clean their food pantry that serves many local people everyday. To ensure we have enough participation, please register by Thursday, November 17. This is a great opportunity to partner with a local organization who does some amazing work in our community!
How to Neighbor - Week #2
You might not have experienced being adopted, but maybe your life was impacted by some caring adults who invested in & mentored you. You might not have been a foster sibling, but maybe you have friends who are foster parents. Many of us have been impacted by hearing stories, knowing people, or watching families foster or adopt kids.
In Galatians 4, Paul discusses God's desire for us that goes way beyond just a simple legal response of being forgiven. Even though we are all slaves to the laws we have broken, God chose to send His Son as the payment for our sin. Unfortunately, every law we have broken created a debt/debtor relationship with God that we could never pay back. In a legal sense, God through Jesus took care of erasing our debt to allow us to be forgiven.
However, Paul says that isn't all God has done through Jesus. God wants so much to be in relationship with us that He has chosen to adopt us! When Paul wrote this, his audience would have understood this to be an adult adoption. This means that God would choose to adopt you not just as an innocent baby, but as a guilty grown-up. If you place your trust in Jesus, you have been adopted into God's family. If you have questions or would just like to talk with Pastor Chris, click the button below to email him.
As a response to God adopting us into His family, we have challenged our members to consider helping the huge foster care problem in Santa Clara County through Foster the Bay. Here are 3 ways we are challenging people to get involved:
- Attend an Interest Meeting - to learn more about becoming a Support Friend, Foster Family, or volunteer with Foster the Bay.
- Volunteer - to help provide child care, host food, or setup & tear down for their meetings.
- Donate - to expand their reach, equip more families, and support local agencies.
How to Neighbor - Week #1
Clarity is very helpful for following through and getting things done. Confusion or fog does the opposite and takes away our urgency to act.
When it comes to loving our neighbor, sometimes we all try to fog up God's command. His command though is pretty simple & clear, "You must love the Lord your God...And love your neighbor as yourself." However, we say things like, "It's not as simple or easy as that." Or we ask what a religious expert asked, "Who is my neighbor?"
In Luke 10:25-37, we see Jesus tell a parable that doesn't answer the man's question of "who is his neighbor". Rather, the Good Samaritan parable answers the question of "how to neighbor". It really is quite simple. We should help our neighbors who need help.
Our challenge from this week of the series is to give to support & share the amazing gift of Christmas with kids around the world through Operation Christmas Child.
How to Neighbor
Fearful or Freedom
Freedom can have many different meanings.
- Freedom is acting without restraint.
- Freedom is not forced to behave in a certain way.
- Freedom is not free.
- Freedom means you are not enslaved.
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.””
God came into history to set people free from the uncertainty of their status with others or with gods. But what is holding you back from trusting God more?
If your fear is that...
- You can never be good enough.
- You can never get over this particular struggle.
- You can never get rid of your fear.
You don't have to live in fear. God offers to set you free.
- What does that look like in your life?
- What fear do you think might be a necessity for you?
- What fears do you have that you can allow yourself to be free from?
Fearful
At some point we all have to answer the question "How fearful are we going to be?" We could allow parenting to make us fearful...the safety of our homes, the security of our jobs, the future of our country, and on and on. At some point, we all have to decide how we are going to respond to the anxiety and fear in life, including the upcoming election.
For Christians, Jesus gives us some pretty specific instruction on how we are to handle fear. For those not sure about Jesus or religion, we have to determine how far we will let fear control our lives and who/what we will trust in beyond that.
Jesus used almost any event to teach his disciples about this. In Matthew 8, Jesus uses a stormy boat ride to challenge their trust in Him beyond what the storm could do to their body. Then in Matthew 10, Jesus prepares them for the difficulty & persecution they will face in the future as He sends them on their own.
Then, Jesus summarizes how we should respond to fear:
Don't be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell. - Matthew 10:28 NLT
Who or what is making you fearful?
Do you think that person, circumstance, or thing could hurt you beyond this life?
What is holding you back from the kind faith in God that overwhelms your fear?
Message adapted from Andy Stanley.
My Bad Religious Experience - Week #5
How do you feel when you realize someone just wants something from you? Maybe your boss, your friend, or that marketing phone call, if that is the general direction of a relationship, it is not as enjoyable.
If that is your view of religion and God (that He only wants something from you), then that definitely could lead to a bad religious experience. Thankfully Jesus' philosophy of life was different.
As we look at John 13, we see that Jesus was close to His crucifixion, He was still trying to love & prepare His disciples for the future. Immediately after He knew that His Father had given him authority over everything, He washed His disciples feet. He could have done anything, asked for anything, and leveraged anybody for His benefit, but He chose to serve others instead. He continued to demonstrate who God was...
God doesn't want anything FROM you.
God wants something FOR you.
Series adapted from North Point Community Church
My Bad Religious Experience - Week #4
For some people, their bad religious experience began when the religion behaved like a location or valued the location/building over the people. When religion behaves like a location, it can make for a bad religious experience.
Jesus speaks directly to how Christians should behave and what the church should be. In Matthew 16, Jesus gives us insight into his intentions for what the church should be. Keeping in mind this context of Jesus & the disciples, it is even more amazing:
They didn't travel more than 30 miles around Jesus' home
The religious leaders hated Jesus
There were only 13 of them
The Romans had conquered everything
With that in mind 2,000 years ago, Jesus predicts a global gathering or movement of people that will be unstoppable. He didn't predict a location, a building, or a cathedral. He predicted a gathering or congregation of people.
For us to be a movement not just a building, we have to :
move towards messes
have some disorganization
embrace change
impact the community
Series adapted from North Point Community Church
My Bad Religious Experience - Week #3
Have you ever been bored in a religious service? We all could probably relate. Maybe it was uninteresting, irrelevant, unhelpful, just unnecessary, or something outside the communicator's responsibility. Whatever the reason, the longer we are bored in a religious experience the more we begin to endure the religious experience. The longer we endure the religion the more likely we are to endure "god".
At that point, we probably don't have a completely accurate view of "god", but rather
a pocket-sized "god"
a religious checklist
do's and don'ts
In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus said some helpful words to an audience who were weary & burdened from enduring religion. They had been enduring a religion that was handed down to them through the generations. They had ten main laws that became surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of other laws meant to support the ten main laws. However, those extra laws made their religion so cumbersome it wasn't a relationship anymore. Jesus came to change that.
Some of the problem can come from religious aspects that are meant to help us with our relationship with God - prayer, scriptures, serving & giving. Focusing on the relationship with not the responsibility to God can help.
Series adapted from North Point Community Church
My Bad Religious Experience - Week #2
Many of us have had a bad religious experience for one reason or another. For many people, the main cause of the bad experiences is judgment about their past. In some way the religion or church has judged, alienated or made people feel disqualified because of their past.
There are several reasons why this happens, but when we look at Jesus and the Bible, we see something different. In the book of Acts, we see Saul/Paul who had a very bad past - worse than all of ours! Yet Jesus chose to use Paul to spread His message around the world!
If there is hope for Paul, there is hope for ALL! Your past doesn't have to stop God using you. There are three ways to deal with your past:
Acknowledge it.
Deal with it.
Leverage it.
The second is where we can help. If you would fill out this form about your situation, we will contact you about ways to deal with your past and possibly allow God to leverage it to help other people.
Series adapted from North Point Community Church