North Way Christian Community

Is your heart sold out to your political party or in the Kingdom of God? Do you believe you can have peace under the person you want to be elected? “It’s the most important election of your life time.” We’ve heard this phrase everywhere. But this phrase was created to drive the narrative of fear. 2000 years ago, real hope arrived in Jesus - not a political candidate. Fear is crushing almost everyone. You may not even be aware that you have had fear peddled to you non-stop for a long time now. Or that you are perpetuating it. Unknowingly it could be the cause of your stress and anxiety right now, the reason why you are simply: exhausted. Whether you’re on the extreme left or the extreme right… or what some call “the exhausted center” our devotion should be to God and not a party, a person or an agenda. There isn’t a party that God is looking down on right now and saying “you’re the one I want to win.” Taking aim at the fear narrative means we have to try to stop co-opting God into our candidate and party. You can find peace in the Kingdom. Speaker: Pastor Scott Stevens

Your home shapes who you are and how you live. But what do you if you wake up one day and realize that you may have been operating out of the wrong home? Have you heard the phrase: “be in the world, not of the world”? It’s actually not a verbatim phrase in scripture. It’s not specifically written in the Bible. Jesus said our home is not this earth, it’s in Heaven. He asked God to make us holy. He teaches us how to live from the home of heaven, not the home of earth. Because home shapes who we are and how we live… it also shapes how we vote. This time of year you always hear “vote your conscience.” But when was the last time you checked your conscience? How is your conscience informed from a heavenly perspective? Speaker: Pastor Dave D’Angelo

There is a lot of political noise out there right now. With everyone so diametrically opposed and trying to get their message out there, from yard signs, to political ads, to social media posts - it’s hard to actually hear anything. The story of the friendship between the late Justices Ginsberg and Scalia became big news after RBG’s death a few weeks ago. Why? When love eclipses our differences, the world notices. People are so opinionated, and mean, and bullying. And while that may not be you, you may be one to “present yourself well”, but what if the world could HEAR your thoughts? Internally, are you opinionated, and mean, and bullying? We are to go out of our way to love those who are opposed to us. As human beings, we bare God’s likeness. As Christians we believe that every person is made in His image and is fearfully and wonderfully made. Donald Trump is made in God’s image, Joe Biden is fearfully and wonderfully made. God loves them both. Loving unconditionally is primary, even if it’s counterintuitive to us. Are you loving EVERYONE in this way? Speaker: Amanda Beggs

Who really wants to talk about politics right now? We’re looking for moments to distract ourselves from this incredibly tense political atmosphere we’re living through. So, for the next five weeks we’re going to talk about the Gospel and politics. To see how we can handle this tension. All throughout this series, more important than who wins the election, we’re focusing on the condition of our heart. We need to be intentional about shepherding our hearts. The Bible talks a lot about our hearts, they’re the wellspring of our life. How we protect them and who we give them to shapes our eternity. Who/what has your heart should be the priority of your life and remember, if you have more than one priority, you actually have no priority. It’s God’s likeness that is stamped on your heart. Are we willing to see our politics through a filter of faith? You probably think you already do. But would you be willing to challenge your own belief in yourself, just for a moment? If you’re honest, you probably actually see your faith through a filter of politics. How do you have a faith-first filter? This week we examine this question and open up the box of Christianity and politics. Speaker: Pastor Dave D’Angelo

Just because your prayers have not been answered, doesn’t mean your story is over. Keep going. This week we’re exploring the restoration in God’s big story. And, whether you realize it or not, restoration is the part of the story we’re living in right now. Jesus said “the kingdom of God is at hand.” This was a common theme throughout Jesus’ teaching. He was here to announce it. God’s kingdom is to be our first priority. We cannot explore restoration in God’s story without looking into the book of Revelation. This can feel apocalyptic and scary, but there is much more to it. John provides us with important imagery about the future. One of the strongest images in this book is that of what heaven will be, it’s perfection. Something you may be seeking right now? God is restoring things to the way he wanted them to be all along. This is the segment of the story we’re living in right now! But what does all of this mean for us today? It’s not here…yet. Restoration is a time of both now and later. Speaker: Pastor Dave D’Angelo

A broken creation can only write broken stories. But this isn’t something you only see in the Bible. Broken stories are all around you. But, if you’re honest, it’s not just the world around you… it’s you too. Brokenness is not the end of the story though, because of God’s promise to you. There is a phrase in storytelling called “breaking the fourth wall”. This refers to the moments when the storyteller speaks directly to or refers to the audience. In the story of the Bible, Jesus is God’s way of breaking the fourth wall. He came to have a relationship directly with you. To help you with your brokenness. Eden was never meant to be your home. Redemption was always part of the story, it was the plan from the very beginning. Today we discuss the “what” and “why” behind the redemption Jesus brings to us. Speaker: Pastor John Reilly

We inherit certain traits from the generations before us. Have you ever asked yourself “why am I this way?” This is one of the most important questions we can wrestle with. Because, when we understand who we are, we can understand what we really need. We don’t really read the story of the Bible, the story reads us. The Fall is where everything goes off the rails. Even if you’re unsure about God, when you examine the story of “the fall”, you can see yourself in it. Just like you inherit traits from your parents and the generations before us, you inherit traits from Adam & Eve. No one has to teach you to sin, it comes naturally. It takes so much more work to not sin. Sin leads you to believe that real happiness is in being god, and not being with God. You will only flourish if you operate inside God’s design. Where are you trying to control where you’re not in control? What if you made God - God, and were content to be WITH him? Speaker: Amanda Beggs

The Bible has 66 different books, written by 40 authors, in three languages over 1,500 years. And, It's all telling one big story. The Story of God. The story is written in four parts: • Creation • Fall • Redemption • Restoration This is the story of God, the story we're living through. Your moments, the good ones, the hard ones, the fun ones… all of the moments of your life, are part of a grander narrative found in the scripters. When we understand the scripture, we begin to know our moments. We need to understand the difference between reputation and reality when it come to God. Where we start this week, we begin to dive into the reality vs the reputation. Have you ever taken the time to look at the reality the scriptures reveal about God? Let's not miss: Who God is & what He does. Speaker: Pastor Dave D'Angelo

As Christians, we are called to hold a certain worldview. A worldview that is not of our own, but one that is God-centered. But, sometimes, we tend to drift from that view to more a secular one and things such as doubt, worry, shame, and fear creep in. We might fall into the trap of focusing on what’s temporary rather than focusing on the truths of the Gospel. What would it look like if we fought the drift and started focusing on what’s most important: A Godly worldview and Jesus? Instead of worry, shame, fear, and doubt, our hearts could be filled with powerful and sacred signs when we seek the presence and guidance of God. Clinging to a Christian world view in an ever changing secular world isn’t easy, but standing firm in the name of Christ is always worth fighting this drift. Instead of winning people to a cause or a candidate, we could start winning people for Christ. Speaker: Pastor Scott Stevens

Drift happens. Think: Gym memberships, diets, relationship goals, and on and on. We start off so eager, but over time, we start to… drift. Intentionally or not, we start to drift from these goals. When we do it can become detrimental in our every day lives, our spiritual lives, and to the lives of those around us. It can also become detrimental to our relationship with Jesus. With so many ways to drift these days, we can lose sight of what’s really important around us. This week, we want to land on fighting the drift against repentance. Repentance can sometimes be that “churchy” word that we tend to run from, but we want to take a bit of a different approach when it comes to the word; a more constructive and beneficial approach to what it means to repent and how our lives can dramatically change because of it. Jesus came and died for each one us and opened up the direct avenue of communication to Him that we can use to confess our sins. Our encouragement this week is to examine our hearts where we could use the Lord to right our ships (lives) and fight the spiritual drift. What is the thing that’s holding you back from simple repentance? Speaker: Pastor Paul Hunter