Northgate Christian Community

This week Pastor Jon continued his series, "Taking the Land." He stated that we are no longer forsaken because Christ paid the ultimate price for us on the cross. When we meet Christ and realize what He has done for us, we move from dread to hope and from fear to love. When we understand that we are righteous, we have the ability to bring the glory of Christ with us wherever we go. Joshua 5:15 was shared: "Then the Commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, "Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy. And Joshua did so" (NJKV). Pastor Jon explained to us that wherever God has commanded us to be is considered holy ground. Even when we are vulnerable, God will meet us wherever we are. We are able to accomplish God's plans for us not by the strength of our own flesh, but by God's grace and plans for His kingdom. He concluded by discussing Galatians 3:1-29. Galatians 3:13 states, "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us…" (NJKV). Although the enemy tries to make us believe that life's challenges are a result of our wrongdoings or a curse, this is a lie. Jesus became this curse so that we could walk in a blessing. He became sin so that we could become righteous, and whatever he has called us to do, he has already paved the way for us to do it.

1 Corinthians 13:13 states: "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." Pastor Jon introduced the second message of the series "Taking the Land" by focusing on the hope component on the belief spectrum that was shared last week. Additionally, Hebrews 6:19 was shared: "This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the presence behind the veil." The author of Hebrews refers to Christ as the anchor of our souls, protecting us from the storm that comes into our lives. Pastor Jon also explained that hope can be defined as a feeling of expectation. As followers of Christ, we should all be expecting Him to work through our lives, we just need to be willing and tuned in to what He is speaking to us. Pastor Jon concluded his message by explaining the story found in Joshua 2:1-9. In this story, Rahab was a prostitute who had an expectation that turned out to change the world. This story serves as a testament to the fact that God desires to live in a relationship with us and that the choice is ours to pursue him in our daily lives. The scarlet cord that was used in the story serves as a prophetic picture of the work that God is continuing to build upon in our lives.

Jon began his new series called "Taking the Land" - concerning the idea of walking in the flesh vs walking in the spirit. He introduced a diagram in which belief is separated by two halves (walking in the flesh vs. walking in the spirit). At the center of the diagram was Truth and Lies. Truth under the spirit and Lies under the flesh. Likewise faith hope and love and the reciprocal fear, dread, and selfishness. Using the story recorded in the book of Joshua he illustrated how to move from fear to faith (opposite sides of the diagram). He gave us two key points. First, Jon suggested, we become aware of the lies that we have been given by the enemy. Then after we have identified such lies, we should leave those stones of remembrance behind and allow God to replace those with his own thoughts and stones.

Audio from the group of people that went on a missions trip to Nicaragua in January of 2017.

Penn Clark

Penn Clark

Penn Clark

Penn Clark

Penn Clark