Kevin and Anna Barrett, educators by trade and by nature, shared an autobiographical message depicting the importance of God's word in the concept of Marriage. They shared there have been many outlets that teach on the subject of Marriage, Men are from Mars and Women are From Venus by John Gray is an example they gave, yet none of these educational seminars or books seemed to work. They stated that these other systems didn't work because they were not rooted in the Word of God. Perhaps the subtitle of Gray's work describes Anna and Kevin's point best; it states, "A Practical Guide to improving Communication and Getting What You Want From a Relationship". The Barrett's encourage us to not focus on getting what YOU want out of the relationship, but to focus on what the other person in the relationship wants. They told us to do the following: 1) Remind ourselves where we came from: a place of Grace and Love2) Become Imitators of Christ3) Make Disciples

Pastor Jon invited Carl Hempel from CRU to share their vision for college students and how his life has personally been impacted by their ministry. Carl mentioned that college can be a difficult and challenging place for young adults and it can be a time filled with loneliness. This tied perfectly into Pastor Jon’s message. Pastor Jon offered encouragement to us by referencing Exodus 3:1-3 and the story of Moses and the burning bush. He described how God is still with us when we find ourselves in lonely places like Moses did. He added that there is nothing that we can do to make God love us any more than He already does and that we don’t need to struggle in an attempt to earn our Father’s love. Pastor Jon also told the story of Davis and Goliath, concluding that the only way David was able to claim the victory over Goliath was by being both a worshipper and a warrior. He concluded his message with a call for the congregation to be intentional about making our lives less busy over the coming weeks and to use that time to draw closer to God.

Pastor Jon speaks about all the changes at Northgate and our partnerships with InterVarsity and other churches in the area. As God filled the empty vessels for the woman in 2 Kings 4, so He will fill up the empty vessels in Buffalo who need His love.

Chris Sullivan served as a guest speaker for the church on Sunday and posed an interesting question: what are we created for? He offered scripture from Psalms that explained how all of creation worships the Lord. He showed a compelling video that portrayed the importance of our work as a form of worship. Chris added that many humans work with the goal of having time off (the weekend, vacation, retirement). However, he mentioned that Jesus worked and had a full time job for the majority of his life on earth. He also offered encouragement to those in the congregation that are having difficulty in their work, whether it is at school or in our careers. Chris explained that our jobs and tasks in the renewed world will be the best jobs of our lives. He concluded his message by explaining the fact that worship is that which cares for and cultivates God’s creation, as He is the Creator.