Northgate Christian Community

Pastor Jon spoke about the discipline of study and meditation on the word of God. He noted that the bible was written by people who were inspired by the working of the Holy Spirit and how the stories of the bible were be woven together as if they were told by the same person because all of the writers were inspired by God. God promises us great things when we meditate on his word. Pastor Jon mentioned that it is important to not only focus on the teaching of the scriptures from an intellectual perspective, it is also important to allow the Holy Spirit to teach us through meditation on the scriptures. He concluded his message by describing the triumphant entry of Jesus on a donkey and how that served as a prophetic declaration of Jesus' love for us.

The world operates on and demands from us an attitude of restlessness. If you aren’t working, someone else is working to get ahead. If you aren’t doing something, you are wasting your time. Even now, some of us are thinking about something we should be doing or something that has to get done. Jesus was busy, but he also took time to rest (John 21:25, Mark 6:31). Our God is a God who rests and offers rest (Matthew 11:28-30). He invites us as we are, not as we should be and says, come to me and I shall give you rest. Chris examines three forms of rest and how the rest God gives us fits into these paradigms:1. Leisure – fun – fellowship: freedom from activity or labor2. Sleep: repose, sleep; specifically: a bodily state characterized by minimal function and metabolicactivities3. Rest for the soul

Pastor Jon spoke about the discipline of fasting and outline the fact that fasting is an opportunity to encounter God. He mentioned that fasting allows us to dial in and receive the goodness that God is pouring out on us. He concluded his message by mentioning various reasons for fasting; so our families can come into what God has for us, so we can become more sensitive to the Spirit, so we may break habits or bondage in our lives, and so we can build our lives around eternal priorities. Fasting develops self-control, which is a fruit of the Spirit.

God’s kingdom is a kingdom of giving. God gave His kingdom to Jesus, Jesus gave his kingdom to us, and we are called to give His kingdom to others (Luke 22:29-30, Matthew 10:8, John 20:21 ). His Kingdom culture is a giving culture. As disciples, we are invited to become givers because:1. God is the great giver and Jesus invites us to come and follow Him2. Giving establishes our trust and confidence in God, not in other people or ourselves3. We give in response to God’s grace4. Giving reminds us that God alone is our provider5. Giving helps keep our priorities straight6. God honors and rewards giving7. When we give, we get to partner with GodWe don’t have to give, we get to give!

Pastor Jon spoke about the importance of prayer and emphasized that prayer is not an obligation, it is a privilege. He also explained that times of struggle and difficulty allow for discipline and give way to perseverance. He concluded his message by explaining a series of five reasons why we should pray: to develop a relationship with God, to understand that God rewards those who pray, to counter the fact that we are constantly under attack from the enemy, to bring the peace of God into difficult situations, and to demonstrate the fact that God's kingdom is on earth as it is in heaven.

Penn Clark writes, “One directive of the great commission is for us to make disciples. I believe this means helping people become disciples Of the living Christ, not disciples of us. It's amazing to realize Jesus is still calling and training disciples today, just as he did over 2000 years ago. The only difference is now he is invisible but he relates to us much in the same way he did with his disciples when he walked around Galilee spending time with us, letting us ask questions, teaching us about how the kingdom works. If we embrace the process, he will train and equip us as he did the original 12.” The bottom line is this: Jesus must become our master, teacher, and we must be his disciples first and foremost. Discipleship means I don't have to follow Jesus, I get to!

Chris Parker speaks with us this week on what it means to be a "Christian". He shares his perspective on being the light and salt in the world.