In just over a week we will be heading to our bi-annual ladies' retreat. I'll spare you the details (you can find them on the retreat portion of the website), but I want to share a little bit about what the retreat has meant to me over the last six months of preparation.
There are hundreds of details surrounding a retreat. You have to put a leadership team together. Then each member of the leadership team needs to put their own team together. There are meetings to schedule, which involves having all of your ducks in a row (not an easy feat). There are songs to choose, activities to plan, catering to arrange. There is registration to run, contracts to be negotiated, and welcome packets to create. We have sound systems to set up, candy bars to arrange, games to plan, and guests to ... Continue reading...
Have you ever been right at the heart of grief and had someone tell you that grief is wrong? That to struggle is to sin? I know I have! I know that I have even come across that way when talking to friends of my own who are grieving. There's a fine line that can be hard to find when you are trying to offer hope to someone you love who is struggling with heartache.
2 Corinthians 4:7-9 says, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed..."
We are pretty much guaranteed that we, as Christians, will suffer in this life. If Christ Himself was persecuted, why should we expect to... Continue reading...
Okay, so a couple of weeks ago we talked about loving "anyway," versus loving them "because." God loves us because of who He is, not because of who we are, so we should strive to love people because our nature is a loving nature, not because of anything they do or don't do for us.
That's a great theory, right? But what about that brother or sister in Christ who just gets under our skin? I'm not talking about annoying little habits. I'm talking about someone who is just doing us wrong. Someone who is so busy making noise and causing problems. We've all had those friends, right? We've all known someone who thinks they know best and have all of the answers, and in the process causes a lot of pain and hurt and uncertainty. How do you love them "anyway"? How long do we have to "put ... Continue reading...
Luke 6:32-36 says, "If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful."
I heard that lesson in Sunday School and in youth group when I was growing up. It encouraged me to love my enemies. To love those who don't run in my circle of friends, who ... Continue reading...
Aren't those comforting words? Whatever our heart problem is, He is the answer! He doesn't say that He knows the answer... rather that He is the answer! In Matthew 11:28 He urges, "Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, And I will give you rest." In John He tells us that He is the bread of life (6:35); the light of the world (8:12); the gate (10:9); the Good Shepherd (10:11); the resurrection and the life (11:25); the way and the truth and the life (14:6); and in 15:5 He says, "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."
Are you tired? Weary? Hungry? Worn down? Broken? Confused? Do you feel like you're surrounded by darkness? By doubt? Are you looking for truth? Ans... Continue reading...
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Women’s Ministry
As the women of Northpoint we support and share in the mission of our church family by increasing in the knowledge of God, living lives worthy of the Lord, and bearing fruit in every good work.