Sep 07

VERTICAL: New 4-Week Series on Prayer

Northshore Baptist Church, Sermons, Vertical (Prayer) 7 Comments »

“Prayer is God’s invitation to enter His throne room so He can lay His agenda over our hearts.” ~ Henry Blackaby

When I read Blackaby’s quote, here are some questions I ask. Why don’t we accept God’s invitation to enter His “throne room” more? If we do accept His invitation, what do we do when we get there? And what is His agenda that He lays over our hearts? These are some of the questions we’ll attempt answer in our new 4-week series of prayer called “Vertical: Aligning our Hearts with God’s.”

In prayer, our hearts are the most connected to God, the most transformed by God, and the most motivated for the mission of God. As we talk about prayer, our prayer practices must be grounded, shaped, and informed by a biblical perspective on prayer. And the best pattern and model for what our prayer should look like is the prayer Jesus gave us – “The Lord’s Prayer” (Matthew 6:9-13). Jesus’ prayer reveals the ultimate purpose and “how to” of prayer. We pray for relationship, for petition (our needs), and for impact. And in the experience, conversation, and process of prayer, our hearts are aligned with God’s. This is what prayer is all about.

Join us Sundays, September 11 – October 2 as we learn how to align our heart with God’s through prayer. Here are the four messages in the series:

September 11 – The Purpose of Prayer

September 18 – The Prayer of Relationship

September 25 – The Prayer of Petition

October 2 – The Prayer of Impact

I look forward to seeing you at Northshore during this important series. And I am expectant about what God will do in and through our lives as our hearts are aligned with His!

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Aug 17

Highlights from Summer Sunday 2011

Northshore Baptist Church 1 Comment »

Over 1,200 people on a beautiful Sunday afternoon

410 lbs of pulled pork

500 hot dogs

240 lbs of potato salad

75 lbs of carrot sticks

Who knows how many cookies (mostly half-baked chocolate chip… thank you!)

+ 17 baptisms for Jesus

___________________________

= ONE amazing celebration of ONE Lord who has formed us into ONE Church and called us to ONE Mission

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Dec 16

RainCity Lounge Re-cap

Missional Living, Northshore Baptist Church No Comments »

As I sat in the Worship Center (a.k.a. RainCity Lounge) during the full dress rehearsal Wednesday night before the first show, I enjoyed watching the various acts and thought to myself, “This is amazing. All the hard work and prayer for the past nine months has certainly paid off!” And sure enough, over eight performances of Christmas at RainCity Lounge, guest after guest told me how incredible the show was. There were a lot of amazing aspects to the show and experience. Northshore’s musical and artistic talents were showcased. Our heart to serve our people and our guests was evident. And our deep desire to offer people the gift of Jesus’ gospel was central.

Northshore, thank you for making Christmas at RainCity Lounge a success. We had over 2550 people attend the show. We also deployed around 800 volunteers from cast, crew, servers, designers, decorators, pray-ers, ticket sales…, and on and on the list of volunteers goes. To date, we’ve had around 80 inquiries about the Discovery class which starts January 9, 2011. This last is the key ingredient because our ultimate goal of Christmas at RainCity Lounge was not to entertain ourselves with a great Christmas show. Our goal was to invite the people of our world into a life-transforming relationship with Jesus, and the show helped and will continue to help move many people further along in their exploration of Jesus and the Christian faith.

I want to thank all of you who served, prayed, and invited guests. Thanks for using your gifts and talents to magnify Jesus and be a part of His mission. And a special thanks to Pastor Mark Kohls who oversaw the whole project, to Rose Tom who served and led as the House Director, to Cindy Swenson who was responsible for all of the creative expression on the stage and behind the scenes with the tech crew, and to Bruce Bickel who played the role of RainCity’s emcee and who will lead the Discovery class. I wish I could list everyone who contributed by name, but there are too many!

Lastly, outreach doesn’t stop here. We are called to be on mission for Jesus, taking Him and His gospel into our neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and families every day and season of the year. Follow up with your guests. Invite them to our Christmas Eve services (2:45, 4:45 & 6:45 pm). Invite them to accompany you to the Discovery class in January. And above all, continue to pray that the Holy Spirit to draw them to Jesus.

Merry CHRISTmas and many thanks Northshore!

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Nov 20

Step by Step Christmas Party

Missional Living, Northshore Baptist Church 1 Comment »

A Northshore Partnership with Step by Step

Bringing Hope & Health to Mothers, Babies and Families

On the weekend following our Christmas outreach to our community, Christmas at RainCity Lounge, we have another great opportunity to share the love of Christ, this time with families less fortunate than many.

On December 18th, from 4-7 PM, Northshore will host the annual Step by Step Christmas Party for underprivileged families in our community. The Christmas party is run through volunteer support and donations from Northshore and other area churches and we could really use your help to make this year a success.

Step by Step is an organization that works with vulnerable families, serving pregnant women and new mothers in Pierce, King and Snohomish Counties. Case workers arrange for nurses, dietitians, and counselors to come alongside clients throughout pregnancy and during the first year of a child’s life. With assistance from federal funding they provide medical care and connections to health and community resources and also offer life skills classes such as budgeting and parenting so that these families can become self sustaining.

For the past six years Northshore Baptist Church has had the privilege of hosting the annual North Sound Christmas party—Making Memories Together. At this event we serve a complete turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Clients also have an opportunity to Christmas shop for their children in our free toy store. The main floor of the church is filled with family-fun activities such as face painting, cupcake walk, cookie decorating, family portraits, and a telling of the Christmas story with a live nativity (Real animals in the Courtyard!). All of this requires a great number of compassionate, servant-hearted volunteers.

Many of the Step by Step case workers have shared that when they walk into a client’s home the only photo on the wall is the family portrait taken by the volunteers at the Christmas party. Clients cherish these photos and the gift of a professional picture of their family to hang on their wall. Throughout the evening your heart will melt as you watch families laugh, play, and make precious memories together, knowing that this is a special addition to their normally challenging lives. Volunteers repeatedly say they are honored and blessed to get to know and serve these families and their own lives are impacted through volunteering at this event.

If you’re looking to make an impact on a family in need this Christmas season, won’t you please join us for this Christmas party? You can view and sign up for the volunteer spots online at our website, nsb.org/register-online. You can also register to provide a donation of a grocery gift card, a new toy for the free Toy Shoppe or even a turkey for the dinner.

Here’s a link to this week’s featured eNews article that includes all the ways you can volunteer before and during the event.

This is a great way to live out Jesus’ call and live on mission as people who are servant-hearted & kingdom-minded.

Thanks for serving our local community with the love of Jesus!

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Oct 27

Sticky Teams Conference

Leadership Development, Northshore Baptist Church No Comments »

This week, five of us from the Northshore team attended Northcoast Church’s Sticky Teams conference. Here are some insights that I captured from the speakers and breakouts:

1. Vision Clarity. Sticky teams and sticky churches have clarity around their God-given, locale-specific vision. Too many churches mimic other successful ministries and try to be someone they’re not called or created to be. Will Mancini talked about “the Kingdom Concept” (from his book Church Unique). What can our church do better than a thousand others? That’s not a question of arrogance but a question of clarity for our church in a time and place such as this. In this Kingdom Concept are three key factors:

  • PLACE – what are the unique needs and opportunities where God has placed us?
  • PEOPLE – what are the unique resources and capabilities that God brings together in us?
  • PASSION – what particular focus most energizes and animates our leadership and people?

2. A Culture of Servanthood. Wayne Cordiero, Pastor of New Hope Church in Honolulu, shared about developing a culture, not a “program,” of servanthood. He said, “50% of what you learn, you can learn from a sermon. But the other 50% is learned when you pick up the towel of a servant.” Churches and teams that are sticky are servant-hearted. Jesus said, “Only the greatest can be servants” (Matthew 23:11). We want to be great, but we don’t want to be servants.

3. Building a Sticky (Winning) Team. Larry Osborne, Senior Pastor of Northcoast Church, shared the qualities (and contrasts) of winning (and losing) teams:

  • Winning teams guard the gate of leadership. Losing teams let anyone in. Don’t promote talent over integrity.
  • Winning teams make unity a priority. Losing teams treat it as an afterthought.
  • Winning teams focus on their mission. Losing teams focus on their success.
  • Winning teams focus on empowerment. Losing teams focus on excellence & tenure.
  • Winning teams adapt for the future. Losing teams long for the past.

I highly recommend reading Larry Osborne’s book Sticky Teams. Here’s a review that I wrote of Larry’s book.

What would you add to the list of what make a team sticky?

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Oct 21

Divide & Conquer

Church Planting, Missional Living, Northshore Baptist Church No Comments »

Today the Northsound Church Planting Network (part of Converge Northwest & Converge Worldwide) gathered with Dr. Jerry Sheveland, Converge Worldwide President, to talk about the state of church planting nationally and internationally in and through our movement of churches. Dr. Sheveland shared with us a passage from 2 Samuel 10:9-12.

Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him in front and in the rear, he selected from all the choice men of Israel, and arrayed them against the Arameans. But the remainder of the people he placed in the hand of Abishai his brother, and he arrayed them against the sons of Ammon. He said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come to help you.” (2 Samuel 10:9-11)

The armies of Israel were being attacked from the front and the rear. So commander Joab selected “choice men” to fight the battle at the front and “choice men” to battle at the rear. And his “conquer and divide” battle speech in v. is epic…

Be strong, and let us show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and for the cities of our God; and may the Lord do what is good in His sight. (2 Samuel 10:12)

This is the call of Jesus’ mission through multiplying churches and church planting movements. The battle of light vs. dark is being fought on all sides, so we take “choice men” and send them toward the battle.  Then we take other “choice men” and send them to battle on other fronts.  We are fighting for the “cities of our God.” We have been strategically placed in our local communities to love and serve them with the kingdom heart of God… and to proclaim the gospel truth of Jesus.  We are to fight for the cities of our God with the great gospel of Jesus.

Northshore is committed to the mission of multiplying followers, leaders, churches, and church-planting movements. Will you join the battle?

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Oct 11

The Kingdom of God

Bible, Gospel of Mark, Sermons, Theological Musings 1 Comment »

And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows–how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” ~ Mark 4:26-29

“The Kingdom of God is the overpowering, heavenly kingdom which is continually breaking through into human history to give it eternal meaning. And the goal of this divinely directed historical process is that perfect and unbroken fellowship of God with man which will be realized ultimately in the union of heaven and earth.” (Charles Fritsch in “Biblical Typology”)

Jesus, the King of the kingdom is inviting you into the dream & vision of God. He’s calling you to enlist in the revolution of God. And He’s sending you out on the mission of God.

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Sep 08

The Gospel of Mark

Gospel of Mark, Northshore Baptist Church 2 Comments »


“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” ~ Mark 1:1

With these words the Gospel writer Mark invites us into a new adventure… a new beginning with the greatest news the world has ever heard… the good news that God has come through Jesus Christ to bring His perfect rule and reign to earth. And God’s rule and reign calls us to be and transforms us into people who are servant-hearted & kingdom-minded.

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for man” (Mark 10:45). This is the key verse in the Gospel of Mark. This is the verse that gives us a vision of the mission of Jesus Christ, the God-Man. Matthew’s Gospel shines the light on Christ as Messiah King. Luke’s Gospel shows Jesus as the compassionate Savior to all. John’s lofty gospel focuses on proving to the whole world that Jesus is fully God.  But Mark’s picture of Jesus is earthy… focusing on Jesus as the Servant, the Son of Man, who came to give His life as the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 53).

The shortest of the four Gospels, Mark’s style is quick and compact. His style focuses on the action taking place in the stories of call, confrontation, and change. But as we get to chapter 11, it all goes into slow-motion as he fixates on the Passion Week and the Cross… the ultimate place of call, confrontation, and change… the place where the Son of Man, the Servant of God does away with sin and death and gives all of earthy humanity the opportunity to join God in His great kingdom mission… the kingdom where the first are last and the last are first.

Ultimately, Mark’s great Gospel is a call and challenge to be servant-hearted & kingdom-minded. Will you answer the call and live in the challenge?

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Aug 17

Reflections on ONE

Missional Living, Northshore Baptist Church, Theological Musings No Comments »

“There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6)

Summer Sunday at the Farm was one of the highlights of my three years at Northshore. Looking out from the stage and seeing us gathered in one place, worshiping the One Great God was a powerful, momentous experience. During my brief message Sunday, I talked about what ONE body of Christ looks like… a church that consistently and passionately pursues: (1) Unity, (2) Diversity, (3) Maturity, and (4) Mission. I see us moving in that direction. We will never “fully” arrive, but we will always press forward.  We press forward as ONE as we continue to grow in our shared understanding and experience of who Jesus is and what He has done for us, knowing that it brings a deep unity… a common Savior and a common Kingdom. But even in that unity, there is a diversity of gifts that contribute to form us into a mature church… a church living out a shared ministry one to another and a shared mission to the world around us, local and global. This is the New Testament vision of ONE body of Christ. This is our calling… our life together that shines the spotlight on Jesus’ great grace and glory. Northshore, thank you so much for being a part of the most amazing mission in the world. It is a humbling, extraordinary privilege to serve you as your pastor!

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Jun 17

Impacting our Community

Missional Living, Northshore Baptist Church 1 Comment »

 

By Kate Jones, Northshore’s Local Mission Coordinator 

Our third annual CommunitySERVE Day is August 21st and it’s bigger than ever. What started as a simple desire to share the love of Jesus with our neighbors has mushroomed into an event that is unifying churches and impacting our community with the Gospel of Christ. This year we are partnering with seven churches to bring a variety of service projects to our schools, local organizations, and cities.

Hundreds of volunteers will be working in twelve different schools—eight in the Northshore School District and four in the Lake Washington District—where budget cuts have left a major opportunity for us to step in and serve. Our teams will help teachers prepare their classrooms for the fall by making nametags, building bulletin boards, cutting out and prepping curriculum, and various other projects. We’ll also work throughout the schools to clean libraries and classrooms, weed, spread bark, paint, and attend to other projects affected by budget cuts.

Last year we were overwhelmed by the response from school faculty and staff who expressed their appreciation for our help and the positive impact it had on the start of their school year. Curtis Anderson, principal at Alexander Graham Bell Elementary said, “More than the actual work done, it was amazing to feel the support of our community.” A librarian stated, “I can’t begin to tell you what a joy it was to walk in last week and find a spotless library—I just kept looking around in amazement. Your help has given me the time to really make the beginning of the year go smoother and I’m planning some new and better things for my students.”

The letters, emails, and phone calls received were a confirmation that our schools need our support and help. CommunitySERVE Day for our local schools is an opportunity to show the love and example of Christ, “for even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.”

In addition to schools, we’ll have various projects within the cities of Bothell and Kirkland, helping to fill some gaps that budget cuts have created. Last year we were able to clean up and restore three different properties to pristine condition. One property was owned by a hoarder who had passed away and his daughter was working on cleaning things up in order to sell the property, a task which seemed overwhelming. But when a team of 60+ people from the local church showed up to help clear out the junk, pull out blackberry bushes, mow the yard, among other jobs completed that day, the burden was lifted.

Along with all the projects this year, we have a special opportunity to help with the framing of a building for a local organization called Vision House. Vision House Jacob’s Well provides transitional housing and a phenomenal program for homeless families. They have a 93% success rate in southern King County for helping families transition into permanent housing and achieving sustained income and hope to bring this same success to families in North King and Snohomish County. Much of Vision House’s original funding to build apartments and a childcare facility in the Kenmore/Shoreline area was lost when the economy turned two years ago. They are currently relying on local churches to partner with them so they can expand their program. You can go to http://www.youtube.com/user/visionhouse1 to watch a video showing the impact they are making for homeless families.

God has opened many doors for CommunitySERVE Day 2010, but no matter how many doors God opens we need you to walk through them in order for the impact to happen. We hope you will join us to make a difference. Visit CommunitySERVEDay.org to register. Invite your small group, neighbors, coworkers, family and friends to come and serve along side of you on August 21st.

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