North Boulevard Church of Christ Sermons: Audio

David Young's third lesson on the Book of James covers James 3:1-18. The focus: there is power in your words. Treat each word like a match, for Jesus says "But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." Matthew 12:36-37 (NIV)

James 3:9-12

"With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water."

(NIV)

In the second lesson on the Book of James, covering James 1:19-2:26, James discusses the importance of the perfection of the Scripture, and the need to obey it. He then discusses the importance of servitude and that if you love your neighbors, you will help them. We are not to favor the rich, but serve the poor, and what the poor need most is someone to disciple them in following Jesus. James then goes on to discuss that those who have faith will show it through works. Faith without obedience is useless. Put your faith in motion!

James 2:19 - 2:26

"Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder... As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."

(NIV)

As James begins his open letter to Christians in the first century, he encourages them to see resistance and trials as a joy-filled opportunity to put their faith into motion. The book of James: A very wise book. The book of James is a Jewish book, with lots of similarities to the OT book of Proverbs and the NT Sermon on the Mount. The book reflects the simple wisdom, morality, and ethics of a Christ-follower. The book is not as concerned with sophisticated theological arguments as it is with how you live out your faith. This first lesson covers James:1:1-18.

This lesson discusses who James was, the point and emphasis of the Book of James, finding joy when facing trials, seeking wisdom, and learning to trust in God, the Father of the heavenly lights.

James 1:13-18

"When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created."

(NIV)

An update on North Boulevard's 2020 Vision.

North Boulevard is committed to a vision of sparking a world-wide spiritual awakening. We call this the 2020 Vision.

The New Day Vision includes:

1. New Day Television Program

2. School of Christian Thought

3. Making Disciple-making the main thing -

(1) North Boulevard has developed a simple tool for disciple-making—Discovery Bible Study (DBS)

(2) North Boulevard has a full-time disciple-making coach, Thad McKellar.

(3) North Boulevard has a school of discipleship that has trained more than 150 people

(4) North Boulevard is the host of the New Day Conference, designed to lead others to become disciple-making churches.

(5) 400-500 of us are in disciple-making relationships

4. Planting 60,000 Christ-centered, biblical churches

5. Developing NB into a multi-ethnic church

6. Ordaining our widows to be in constant prayer for NB

Romans 1:8

"I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world."

(NIV)

Sermon by Steve Flatt

The final lesson on the six fundamentals of the faith given in Hebrews 6 about the sixth fundamental: Judgement. Because God is a good God, He is a just God. If God were not a just God, He would not be a good God. He gives what the people of the world decide that they want. Those who refuse Christ will get what they want: eternity without him. Those who follow Christ will get what they want: eternity with Him, and each of us is guilty of capital crimes, but if you trust Christ, you have the world's best attorney. He has paid your price.

The Good News: God is a just God. God has appointed a day in which He will judge everyone. The Best News: God is a merciful God.

2 Timothy 4:1-8

"In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead,and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."

(NIV)

Watch the Coach Rick Insell Interviews at vimeo.com/213445182 and vimeo.com/213445319. Watch the full interview at vimeo.com/214531431.

Did you know that the Bible does not teach that we spend eternity as souls in heaven? The Old and New Testament actually teach that our souls only temporarily live in heaven, and our souls will reunite with our body's and we will all resurrect into the New Earth. Living in light of the resurrection is living to win. The resurrection of the dead is the cornerstone of the Christian hope. Resurrection is not resuscitation, resurrection is not immortality of the soul, and resurrection is not reincarnation. It is a resurrection of the dead, of whom Jesus was the first, to prove who he was and where he came from, and to show us the hope that we have.

The bigger picture of the resurrection: the resurrection is the renewal of paradise. We will return to a new and better Paradise—where there’ll be no more sin, suffering, or sorrow. God Himself will live among us. The name for this is “the renewal of all things,” and it is the bedrock of our hope.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

"Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words."

(NIV)

Watch Mason Brandon's testimony at vimeo.com/210774351/edc3c65362

If you want to follow Jesus, use your hands. Everyone needs love. Lay on your hands to express love and communion. Lay on your hands to ordain people to specific jobs. Lay on your hands to invoke the power of God.

How do I lay on hands today? When conferring the blessing of love and support, be quick to lay hands. When laying on hands as an act of ordination, be slow to lay hands. When praying over those in need, remember that God has awesome power.

Acts 13:1-3

"Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas,Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.' So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off."

(NIV)

Watch Katie Boyce's testimony featured in this sermon, originally uploaded as a discipling story during the Net Work series, at vimeo.com/198495805.

Also find North Boulevard's collection of baptism videos at https://vimeo.com/album/3910724.

This third lesson on the fundamentals of the faith focuses on baptism and the many misconceptions on what the Scriptures say about baptism and its importance. What happens in baptism?

In baptism we imitate Christ and fulfill all righteousness. In baptism we are born again. In baptism our sins are washed away. In baptism we receive the Holy Spirit (though He works outside baptism, too). In baptism we are buried with and united with Christ then raised to a new life. In baptism we are clothed with Christ. In baptism we are saved.

Don’t just be baptized; live baptized!

Romans 6:1-11

"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."

(NIV)

West Campus celebrates 3 years together, and West Campus Minister Glenn Robb encourages the West Campus family with thoughts on baptism.