People from all over the world commemorate the day of Pentecost on this very weekend. Pentecost has a rich history in both the Old and New Testaments. The term Pentecost comes from a Greek word that means 50. In this case, we are talking about the 50th day after the Passover. In the Old Testament, we know that Passover was the time that God delivered the nation of Israel from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. Approximately 50 days after that, Moses received the Law (Torah) from God and gave it to the people (Exodus 20-23). In the New Testament, Jesus is our Passover Lamb who gave His own life so that we could be delivered from our bondage to sin. Fifty days after this Passover we read where God poured out His Holy Spirit in order to write His Law (Torah) on the hearts of those who believe (Acts 2).

Pastor Ben continues his series on Spiritual Warefare.

As we celebrate Mother’s Day we recognize that God is the one who actually calls us to honor our mothers. In Exodus 20:12 we read, “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.” This happens to be the only commandment with a promise which means that God places a very high priority on honoring our parents.

Nobody would dispute that mothers are worthy of honor, but today we are going to discuss some of the why behind our honor. We begin by saying thank you to all of you who are mothers and we pray that you are refreshed and encouraged on this special day!

As we follow Jesus faithfully, we find that there is very real opposition to our personal growth and Gospel advancement. Spiritual warfare is a part of our lives, but God has not left us to figure things out on our own. He has given us His Word which enables us to overcome opposition by attaching our faith to the truth and destroy lies in our own lives and those around us. In our teaching today we will learn how to use the weapon of God’s Word to overcome every enemy and emerge as overcomers in Jesus’ name.

Whether we realize this or not, every Christian is engaged in spiritual warfare on some level. There is more going on behind the scenes and it is vital for us to have a clear understanding and sharp discernment about the nature and activity of our enemy. Our goal today in this message is not to focus on the enemy but rather to expose him and clarify our posture in order to remain strong in the Lord.

As you read the four Gospels you encounter many who were curious about Jesus for various reasons. Some wanted to hear what He had to say. Others wanted to see His miracles. There were some who truly wanted to know if He was the Messiah and if He was, they would commit their lives to following Him. In our text today we will read about someone who started out as curious about Jesus and through a real encounter with Him made a real commitment to Him. This is not only a good story to read, but it’s a testimony we want in our lives as well.

In this powerful gospel message Pastor Ben Dixon preaches the proof of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because Jesus rose from the dead we have hope; life after death, fuel for our faith, and the power of sin broken.

Northwest Church is ON MISSION with Jesus to see the lost saved and disciples made. This is our mission statement and the four words that help summarize HOW we accomplish our mission as a church family are: REACH, RESTORE, EQUIP and SEND. We have discussed what the church is and now we are looking at what the church does – and specifically what we do here at NWC. This week we are going to discuss how to build community with one another as we seek to accomplish the mission of Jesus.