September 25th, 2022

I'm sure you've met all kinds of people - more and more lately - who would agree with the sentiment...

"I'm good with Jesus, but I don't want anything to do with His Church.

It's CHRISTIANS who I'm done with"

I dare say we've all had enough hurts and frustrations with people to at least sympathize with that idea.

The thing is, Jesus had a Kingdom dream. A dream that involved being part of a PEOPLE. You can see it in His own ministry and in His vision to change the world. It also happens to be the best way to change OURSELVES.

Growing in our relationship with God is best experienced by growing in the faith community He's called us to.

We really are "better together"

It's part of being able to proudly say...

#WE

ARE

NAC

We kick off this new ministry year with a re-vamped, re-imagined vision that will guide us into the next season of our church.

What does it mean to truly BE the Church?

What does it mean to BE NAC?

We think it can be boiled down to 3 things. Simple, but not easy by any means.

Find out what it means to be able to say...

#WE

ARE

NAC

Most of our faith is spent in the middle.

NOT in the wonderful "honeymoon" phase where everything feels new, exciting and passionate.

NOT even near the finish line where the Apostle Paul had finished his race well.

It's in the middle where we are tempted to drift. Where things feel "same old-same old".

The same can be said for our marriages, vocations, disciplines... perhaps the impetus behind the "midlife crisis".

As we come to a new vision this month in what is increasingly feeling like a "re-launch" of NAC following COVID, I want to challenge the majority of us who call Newmarket Alliance their home.

Don't give up in the middle.

God's not done with us.

God's not done with you!

LABOUR DAY WEEKEND!

It got me thinking about the two extremes we see many people erring on.

The one extreme is seeing your work... your job... as your primary identity. The place where you receive your greatest sense of worth and accomplishment. We see the value we place on this when the first question we ask someone is "So what do you do for a living?" (Guys can be particularly bad for this).

At best it's deeply out of balance. At worst, it's actually idolatrous!

But the other extreme is looking at our work as just a means to an end; Something to endure. A result of the Genesis "curse". We see a version of this in the newly coined phenomenon of "quiet quitting" which at its best means having some work-life balance and not getting sucked into the rat-rce BUT at it's worst it means putting in the absolute bare minimum to keep your job... perhaps even holding down TWO virtual-work jobs and doing each mediocrely.

What if we saw work as a "calling" - a word not just reserved for Pastors and Missionaries. What if we even saw it as a gift from God - the creator of work? What if there was work in HEAVEN - perfect, meaningful, life-giving work.

Take this job and LOVE it!

The message perpetuated in culture today - in fact often in CHRISTIAN culture - is a message that sounds something like this...

You can be a world-changer

Your life could influence millions

Live in such a way that you'll be remembered for generations

There is something inspiring about those kinds of "vision talks" and assuming those are good-faith motivations, there's nothing inherently wrong with being inspired that way,

BUT...

Once again, the message of Jesus is so counter-cultural, counter-intuitive... part of Jesus upside-down Kingdom.

It's repeated over & over and it goes something like this...

To be greatest, you need to be a servant

(Matt. 23:11)

The first shall be last and the last shall be first

(Matt. 20:16)

I must decrease, Christ must increase

(John 3:30)

Only a seed willing to die will produce a harvest

(John 12:24)

Is this a culturally POPULAR message? Absolutely not!

Could it just be a life-changing and freeing message?

Absolutely.

Hope you can join us as we welcome our dear friend IAN KNIGHT back to NAC as he shares a message that's been on his heart.

A bonus podcast!

From our outdoor service and "party in the park" at Fairy Lake on August 21st, 2022.

We hear the word "gospel" a lot in Christian circles. The 4 biographies of Jesus are called "Gospels"... there's the "gospel coalition", "gospel music", "gospel business man's association"...

Maybe you know enough to know that the original word literally means "Good News" but maybe "The Gospel" has become such a ubiquitous Christian word that it starts to lose meaning for us.

So what IS the gospel and why is it even better news than we could possibly imagine?

A lot of parenting is filled with feelings of guilt and regret.

There. I said it.

Sounds glamorous and enticing, right?

Don't get me wrong; I don't know one parent who would trade for the joy and privilege of raising a child. Children truly are a gift from God (Psalm 127:3)

Yet there are so many messages from the culture, advertising, family and friends, our own unrealistic expectations AND even from - maybe ESPECIALLY from - the Church or our interpretation of Scripture.

There's no shame quite like spiritual shame.

So after we've done everything we thought we could to raise and train our kids with integrity, morality, and spirituality - maybe even tried to keep them in a bubble, protected from all negative influences - and they STILL make disastrous life decisions or even turn their back on God, how are we supposed to reconcile that?

Can we hold these two things together in tension - that our parenting absolutely does matter AND it may not produce the "results" we had longed for?

We’re believing for some guilt-ridden parents to be set free!

Some of you old-school O.G's will remember Tupac popularizing the phrase (and ubiquitous tattoo):"Only God can judge me"

I suppose that's true... but only to a point.

Lots of people mishandle the admonition of Jesus to not judge, lest you be judged. (Matt. 7:1)

One tells himself: "You know, God is awesome - He really DOES give me strength. We won!"

They can use it as their own "shield for sin", a barrier to keep others at arm's length from speaking into their life about moral boundaries or accountability.

"Aren't we all sinners after all? What gives you the right to make moral judgments about someone else? Isn't that God's job?"

That SOUNDS reasonable, doesn't it? Especially in an age of hyper-individualism but it also doesn't seem to be the full intent of Jesus's message. There's more going on here "than meets the ear".

Pastor Glenn brings us Part 6 of "Coffee Mug Christianity: Bringing Clarity to Cliches"

Two athletes face off against each other.

Maybe fighters, hockey players or quarterbacks.

Each has their favourite verse tattooed or whispered as a pre-game warm up.

I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength!

At the end of the day, only one of them will be declared a winner.

Each of them drive home and stare out the window and have two completely different thoughts.

One tells himself: "You know, God is awesome - He really DOES give me strength. We won!"

The other says: "Where was God when I needed Him today? I guess His strength is not as strong as I thought"

So, which athlete was right?

I'm going to propose that both of them are wrong BUT if they understood the context, they might see how much BETTER this amazing verse is than they first imagined.

Part 5 of "Coffee Mug Christianity: Bringing Clarity to Cliches"

There's misunderstood verses

Misappropriated verses

Mishandled verses

But this has to be one of the all time misQUOTED verses

it's usually quoted like this...

"Well, as the Bible says, 'Money is the root of all evil"

That's not actually what the Bible says. It's only missing a few words but those few words can make all the difference in our understanding.

Some of you have already caught the misquote.