Northgate Christian Community

God's kingdom is above any kingdom of this earth. In this time of uncertainty and turmoil, Jon reminded us of this verse: Isaiah 9:7…of the increase of His government and peace, there will be no end." Keeping that verse in mind, we need to put our hope in Jesus and be at peace because we know who holds the future. Regardless of whether or not we like the outcome of the election, we can be at peace because God's kingdom is above all. Pastor Jon shared with us the story of David from the Bible and which points us David's dependency on God. Dependency on the Lord is a vital part of our relationship with the Lord. Overall, we are dependent on a giving, loving, generous God. To illustrate this further, Pastor Jon invited Kate Vacanti of the Let Them Laugh Out Loud Ministry (LOL) to share her story. LOL recently built a new volunteer center next door to NorthGate. The LOL ministry helps provide clean water in Sierra Leone by drilling water wells. Along their building project, there were many moments in which Kate and the LOL team felt at the end of their rope. There were several examples she shared which portrayed their need to depend on God – even when their circumstances were tough. The building across the street is just one example. Kate also told the story of LOL's newest project – a safe house. God had spoken to Kate about starting a campaign to build a safe house, even thought she was not ready to do so. She reluctantly listened to God – and long story short – God provided $20,000 for the completion of the safe house. Pastor Jon concluded his message with the story of NorthGate. At almost every point of the story, NorthGate took steps of faith and depended on God's provision. God provided and still continues to provide. Pastor Jon reminded us that when we feel helpless or without hope, we need to look to God. This helps us change our perspective and invites the Lord to help us.

Fran McGreevy served as a guest speaker and conveyed some of the material he uses in presentations in the secular school environment. He wove in biblical principles to emphasize God's views on this widespread issue, Burnout. At the beginning of his message, Fran defined burnout as the dislocation between who people are and what they do. He mentioned that burnout could be caused by work overload and/or a lack of control, reward, and fairness. Another cause could be a breakdown of community. He also illustrated an example where he asked a teacher what they truly wanted. This teacher was so busy with her work, family obligations, and stress that she did not even know how to answer the question. Fran simplified the story into the basic wants that need to be fulfilled in order to avoid burnout: relatedness (we are hard-wired for relationships), competency (everyone wants to be good at something), and autonomy (people desire to make choices based on authentically who they are as people). He concluded his message by explaining the concept of vulnerability by debunking the notion that vulnerability is equivalent to weakness. He described vulnerability as emotional risk, exposure, uncertainty, and honesty. It is our most accurate measure of courage. He described Matthew 13:23 which states: "But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." He further emphasized Matthew 16:23-25, explaining that if we lose our lives for God's sake we are saving our lives rather than losing them.

Chris Parker introduced his message by walking through the concept of clichés and explained how clichés and mottos can be dangerous for Christians. He mentioned that many people in the world today are looking to get the most out of life, but will often explain poor decisions and behavior patterns through the motto "you only live once." He also walked through a definition of "news:" something that happened in the past, which affects our perception of the present, and changes our expectations of the future. Chris elaborated on just how much Christ loved us through 2 Corinthians 5:13-21. He pointed out that all of our sins were put on the cross. Many people live their whole lives trying to rid themselves of sin to get closer to God, but the point is that it is already finished. The second point he mentioned was that God became our sin so that we are righteous. He did this to remove every obstacle between us and the Father. Chris concluded his message by urging us to embrace a new motto: "live life like we've been given a second chance."

Jon Hasselbeck

Jon Hasselbeck

Chris Sullivan

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1 ESV). In Matthew 4:19, Jesus called to his disciples and said "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." However, many times fear hinders our pursuit of the purpose laid out for us. Through digging into his word and repentance, Christ works within us to change the way we think so that we become more Kingdom minded and see past the lies and temptations of the enemy (Matthew 4:3-4, 17). As His disciples and a member of the body of Christ we have each been given a unique set of giftings and purpose in His Kingdom (1 Corinthians 12:1-31). Sometimes this purpose will push us out of our comfort zone, just as it did for Peter when he was called to walk out on the water (Matthew 14:22-33). However, we do not have to run this race alone – we have our brothers and sisters in Christ to help support us. Together, keeping our eyes on Jesus and with the support of other members of the Body, we can run the race that we are uniquely qualified to run with endurance!

Jon & Yolande Hasselbeck Pastor Jon introduced the new semester of Lifenet groups by explaining real-world examples how we are better together. Pastor Jon opened with a simple question: "how can being part of a community change your life?" He then asked Yolande to share some of the things she learned from the book she has been reading called "The Happiness Connection". Yolande explained that one of the key points of the book was that people who have endured hardships in their lives are more likely to overcome their challenges if they have a support system around them. She also described the fact that we are hard-wired for relationships, specifically we desire to be connected with one another. Genesis 2:18 references the fact that when God created Adam, He mentioned that man was not created to be alone. Yolande expressed that we are not meant to be alone in our homes, our neighborhoods, and our work environments and that we can all be the change agents in our environments. Pastor Jon concluded the message by explaining that one of the key risk factors in the health of the general public is isolation, indicating that isolation increases the risk of addiction. In summary, God has chosen to execute His will through people, and we can take joy in the fact that God has called us to lives of greatness as a result.

Jason & Laura Stiffler