NP Blog Post

10.31.2019

 

Friendship that Heals a Church

By Taylor Mendoza
Pastor of Student Ministries

Hello Church Family,

The well-known pastor J. C. Ryle once said of friendship, “This world is full of sorrow because it is full of sin. It is a dark place. It is a lonely place. It is a disappointing place. The brightest sunbeam in it is a friend. Friendship halves our sorrows and doubles our joy.”

The world that we live in is full of sin and depravity. I am a sinner; you are a sinner; we both are sinners. Yet, despite a world filled with sin, God, in His amazing grace, sent His Son into the world to save sinners. In anticipation of this work on the cross, Jesus could confidently say, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” – John 15:13-15

We are friends with the God of the universe, and purpose-built to be friends with one another. This is why I call friendship “true refreshment.” Biblically speaking, friendship is not based on likes, dislikes, race, job, degree, literal-blood, or even Facebook. Friendship is not based on gossip, fear, or even social advantage. True friendship finds its proper grounds in the gospel of Jesus Christ and our common adoption into His family. This is truly refreshing.

One Example
One example of this is when Paul told Philemon to forgive Onesimus, who was one of his slaves and to see him not as a slave, but as a beloved brother (Philemon 15-17). This power of the gospel to change our relationships is not only a biblical thing but also a thing that our church needs. True friendships will heal a broken body of believers. Indeed, friendships that find their common unity in the gospel will enable us to see each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, and will half our sorrows, but double our joys.

As a body of believers at Northpoint Church, my hope is that we would cultivate friendships that comfort those in distress, bring joy to those who need encouragement, and refresh those who are weary. Esther Edwards Burr, Jonathan Edward’s daughter and the mother of the third vice president of the United States, Aaron Burr, wrote to her friend one time, “It is a great comfort to me when my friends are absent from me that I have them somewhere in the world, and you my dear … I esteem you one of the best, and in some respects nearer than any sister I have. I have not one sister I can write so freely too as to you, the sister of my heart.”

She later said of friendship, “Nothing is more refreshing to the soul (except communication with God himself), than the company and society of a friend … it is a great mercy that we have any friends—What would this world be without them? … Friendship is the life of life.”

In the meantime, how can we practically cultivate biblical friendship as a body of believers pursuing healing? I can think of three ways:

1. Recognize the depth and power of sin.
As I have already tried to point out, the Bible has a different mindset when it comes to friendship. Often, when I think others are the problem, I forget just how sinful I really am. The more that I remember I am a sinner, the more I am willing to pursue friendship with no strings attached. I expect sin in my friendships. Sin is a powerful agent that dismantles a church, wrecks our souls, and eats at our friendships. We would do well to remind ourselves of just how deep our sin problem really is. This means that repentance and forgiveness are the lifeblood of truly refreshing friendships in the church.

2. Change the way you view friendships.
The Bible seems very clear that true friendship is grounded on the gospel of Jesus Christ and our common adoption into His family. We consider one another as friends because we are already brothers and sisters in Christ. We also consider one another friends because Jesus died not just for us individually (although he did), but also for a chosen people. Some of us may need to be challenged to look at friendships differently in the days ahead. Others might need to devote attention toward cultivating new friendships during a time of trial such as this.

This in no way means that we do not have friendships with non-believers. That needs to happen. However, this does mean that friendships with non-believers are shallow at best because they are not grounded on the gospel or a common adoption into Christ’s family.

3. Don’t abandon the friendship boat at Northpoint.
Some of us may be tempted to run away from the problems in our life, in our church, or even in our current friendships. Others may distance themselves from friends in order to protect their own emotions. Regardless of how you feel, may I appeal to you to not abandon friendships at Northpoint. Rather, cultivate friendships not on shallow grounds, but on gospel grounds.

This does not mean that friendship with one another is always dandelions and roses. Friendship can be painful and sorrowful at times. However, it is worth it because if found on proper grounds, they double our joys and half our sorrows.

So, please be sure to gather with your Northpoint family in the Worship Center, at 4:00 p.m., THIS Sunday afternoon, November 3, for the All-church Meeting with NL Moore (see below) to get their full report. Let us, as friends, hear some tough things, repent, forgive one another, and rest on the sure hope of the gospel.

In Him,

Taylor Mendoza
Pastor of Student Ministries

 

10.24.2019

From the Northpoint Leadership Team

Hello Church Family,

For those of you who did not have the opportunity to attend the information meeting between services last Sunday, we want to provide an update regarding the pastoral transitions of Scott Williams and Geoff Grant, and our plans to move forward.

Thanksgiving for Scott and Geoff’s Ministry to Us: 

We want to first thank Scott and Geoff for loving and serving the people of Northpoint during their time of ministry to us. Please make sure you express your appreciation to them over the next couple of weeks. To ensure you get the opportunity, we have a planned time to say goodbye on November 10, between first and second service.

Change and the Loss of Relationships are Hard

We also want to recognize that while Geoff and Scott are taking another step in their respective ministries, and we know God is at work in their lives and ours, losing Scott and Geoff is difficult and emotional. They are friends to many and have built ministry relationships that root them into our church family. It is important to understand this as we move forward. Praying and trusting God for love, grace, and His provision through this process will allow us to adjust in a healthy and loving way. And, even in their absence, they remain our friends and brothers.

A Reminder from Scripture: We are God’s Church and We Trust Him Alone to Grow His Church

Finally, before we discuss the plans moving forward, we must be reminded of what God has said about His church. From Ephesians 4, we read: “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” – Ephesians 4:1-6– Ephesians 4:1-6

It is His church, and the pastors and members of the body are His. He works in and through us as He wills, even as His children fail and sin. And, ultimately, the work of the church happens within and among the individual members themselves. The pastors, elders, directors, staff, and volunteer ministry leaders pray, serve, and invest countless hours and years into equipping the body, by His provision, so that the body would: “grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” – Ephesians 4:15b, 16

If we forget Whose we are, Who we serve, why we serve, and how we are maturing in Christ, we will put our trust in man and serve from the flesh. Pray that God would renew our perspective, humble our hearts, forgive us for our selfishness, pride, and disobedience. As a result, may He heal us as individuals and as a body.

Plans for Moving Forward

Understanding what He has told us in Scripture, we move forward and work diligently with what He has provided. It is with this mindset that we are already making plans to redistribute the duties performed by Scott and Geoff to other individuals. The bullet points below provide information about how we are planning to proceed, given the changes.

• The Leadership Team and Northpoint staff are already developing a transition plan. It will include the redistribution of duties to the elders, remaining staff leadership, support staff, and outside help as needed.
• Scott and Geoff are staying on board through mid-November and will assist us with potential contacts and resources to ensure a smooth transition.
• The individual elders will be increasing their communication and involvement at the ministry level.
• Tony will continue to faithfully preach from the pulpit every Sunday at Northpoint. We have already expanded his role as interim pastor to include providing counsel and input to the Leadership Team. He will provide input on our decisions, propose pathways for critical needs, and assist with staffing assignments.
• To accommodate the functions Scott Williams has performed in his administrative and adult ministries role, we will likely be working with more than one outside individual to fulfill the list of functions such as on-campus ministries, counseling, oversight of small groups, along with administrative, and financial functions. These may include resources from CBU or EFCA.
• All other staff is still in place.
  o Taylor Mendoza will continue to carry out the junior high, high school, and college ministry.
  o Our Directors are still in place, and active, and will continue to fulfill the duties of their respective ministries.
  – Terilyn Brown, Director of Children’s Ministries
  – Tamene Menna, Director of Outreach and Care
  – Marti Weigman, Director of Women’s Ministries
  o The Support Staff are still in place and will be continuing to work in their service areas.
• To accommodate the functions Geoff Grant has performed, we are considering a few interim individuals who have experience leading worship. Geoff has already offered ideas and names regarding interim candidates. No definitive staffing has been defined yet. In the immediate future, Geoff has defined the Sunday morning flow for several weeks with existing internal music ministry volunteers leading services.
• NL Moore is returning on November 3 to present their final report, findings, and recommendations. We are already in communication with Nancy in anticipation of her report and recommendations.
  o Some topics that Nancy has provided to us that need to improve at Northpoint include conflict resolution, decision making, expanded and improved leadership, love and forgiveness, a willingness to be shepherded, and communication.
  o Nancy will be providing recommendations that will serve to improve each of these areas. We look forward to learning and growing from this process.

We Have Hope

• God is faithful. God has shown His faithfulness to us when past pastoral transitions have occurred and will do so again. As Scott and Geoff leave us, we know God will bless their next ministry endeavors. He is faithful not because of our faithfulness, but because He is faithful.
• God has worked before through interim leadership and ministry volunteers within the Body at Northpoint. We have hope and take encouragement from His perfect care for us in the past.

We Covet Your Prayers

Please be in prayer with us as we move forward. We are dependent on Him.

In Him,The Leadership Team

 

10.17.2019

 

All That We Need

By Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministries

“May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” – 2 Peter 1:2-4 

Hello Church Family,

We worship the Living God and His Living Son, Jesus Christ. The fact is,  Jesus is alive and reigning. Christians live out that reality in the world each and every day. God’s promises link us today with the past events recorded in the Bible. Those promises equip us for the challenges we face each day. The God who overcame in the past overcomes in our lives today.

Here are just a few of the promises on which we stand as Christians.

God’s promise to save us: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” – John 3:16-17

God’s promise of strength and help: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10

God’s promise never to leave or forsake us: “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” – Hebrews 13:5-6

God’s promise to work in us to make us want and do His will: “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” – Philippians 2:12-13

God’s promise to be with us to the end of the age: “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” – Matthew 28:18-20

God’s promise to give us eternal life: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” – John 10:27-30

God’s promise to supply our every need: “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:19

God’s promise to complete the work He began in you: “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” – Philippians 1:6

God’s promise of perfect peace and security: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.” – Isaiah 26:3-4

Promises for Christ’s Church 
The fact is, we are not building the church. The Living God has committed Himself to that task. God the Son is at work in us as individuals and as a congregation to build His kingdom, one soul at a time. We overcome the world by believing in the One who bought us for Himself with His blood. And the resurrection power of Jesus Christ is working in and through US.

Pray for a Spirit of Prayer to fall on us as a congregation: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” – John 14:12-14

Ask God to provide leaders who will feed us with the truth of His Word: “And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.” – Jeremiah 3:15

Pray for a growing awareness of God’s presence with us: “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” – Matthew 28:18-20

Expect richer fellowship with each other as we walk in the light: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” – 1 John 1:7

Pray in light of our place in the sweep of God’s mighty work to win a people for Himself from every corner of the earth: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” – Acts 1:8

Rest in the fact that Jesus is working in us to build His church: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” – Matthew 16:18

To the Praise of God’s Glory,

Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

10.10.2019

If …

By Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministries

Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. … Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God. – Genesis 28:15, 20-21

Hello Church Family,

“All we like sheep have gone astray” (Isaiah 53:6a). That truth hasn’t changed in 2,500 years—a truth that troubles our homes and dominates the news. Any honest self-evaluation will have to admit it, and God’s Word promises that self-examination and confession lead to forgiveness and cleansing. It also gives insight into the ways we tend to stray.

We have little trouble recalling that in the lives of Isaac’s family. Jacob bought his Esau’s birthright for some lentil stew. Then, with his mother’s help, he deceived his father by pretending to be his brother and lying to Isaac’s face to get his blessing. When Esau threatened to kill him, Jacob ran away and had a vision of a ladder going up to heaven, with angels going up and down on it. But what on earth does this all mean?

These stories are the Bible’s early lessons on how to walk with God—and how Not to walk with Him. A kind of a “Faith 101.” They teach us by example, how God’s children stray and how He faithfully brings us back. We take these lessons to heart, by comparing our lives today to their lives back then.

Take Jacob, for example. God clearly and spectacularly promised to be with him wherever he went and to bring him back home safe and sound. Jacob’s response was a model of thickheaded unbelief. “If God will be with me and will keep me … and will give me bread … and clothing and … I come again to my father’s house, … then the LORD shall be my God” (28:21-22). Jacob rejected God’s unqualified promise to protect and provide for him, put himself in control, and dictated terms to God.

Fear dominated Jacob’s life—Not faith. Like sheep—and like Jacob—we stray from God when …

• We focus on our needs and not on God. Jacob was preoccupied with the things of earth, not on the promise of God. He focused entirely on the stuff he needed, so he could never rest in the God who promised to provide it. Still, God poured out His blessing on Jacob, just as He promised, but Jacob was a troubled man, who wrestled with God until God had to pin him down. And his children turned out disobedient and troubled.

• We rely on our ability, not God’s. Doing things his way, Jacob substituted deceit for obedience and trickery for honesty. He paid for it dearly, fleeing from home, living in conflict, and never seeing his mother again. Still, God blessed Jacob, kept him safe, and brought him home, as He promised.

• We set conditions on our obedience and put ourselves in control. Faith lets God be in control. That’s not our nature. Jacob’s conditional obedience put him in control of events so that he could make a mess of God’s plan. God gave him twelve sons, but they lived in the conflict between Jacob’s two wives. He had abundant wealth, but he could never enjoy it in peace.

Fear dissipates, and peace comes when we let God define the outcomes of our faith and the answers to our prayers. His plan is not always easy, but it’s always the better way. Isaac dropped the baton of faith by not teaching his sons to let God be God and trust Him to keep His promises.

Promises like, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

Cultivate the habit of trusting prayer and pass it on to your children, for the sake of your peace and to the praise of God’s glory.

The Power of Prayer in Our Lives

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” – John 1:5

God has chosen His people to shine the light of truth and righteousness to the world. Northpoint is God’s light shining in the darkness. We don’t gather every week to enjoy spending time with people who share our values. We gather to be equipped by God’s Word and His Spirit so we can go out into the world to declare that our God reigns and that Jesus saves.

Ask God to accomplish His work in us and through us, as individuals and as a church body. Pray for …

• God’s Word to convict us and His Spirit to cleanse us of sin
• Confidence in the power of the Gospel to redeem others through us
• Clear prompting and guidance in sharing the Gospel with people around us
• God’s power to save souls and change lives through our ministry

As we seek the Lord for new leadership at Northpoint, pray for our pastors—present and future—to be
men who know how to …

• Lead skillfully and effectively
• Preach God’s Word clearly and faithfully
• Rely on the Holy Spirit completely
• Demonstrate integrity and accountability to God and church leadership

In Him,

Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

– Each week, Dave updates a monthly Bible reading plan and writes a Bible and prayer focus, Prayer Life. The preceding is a recent installment. You can pick up both offerings at the Information Center in the Foyer on Sundays or sign up there to receive them via email. You can also click here to find the archive: https://northpointcorona.org/ministries/prayer/

10.3.2019

9.12.2019

Gift and Giver

By Dave Dussault

Northpoint Prayer Ministries

 

“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.’ He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.” – Hebrews 11:17-19

 

Hello Church Family,

 

Early one morning, Abraham awoke and prepared for his day. One thing was on his agenda—an assignment from God. It must have grieved him deeply, though the Bible doesn’t say so. Abraham got up, saddled his donkey, and cut up some firewood. He called two men from his household, along with his son Isaac and grabbed a container carrying a small fire. Then he set out in resolute obedience to sacrifice his dear promised son as God had commanded him.

 

Sometimes God makes no sense. This was one of those times, but Abraham was undeterred. God had promised a son to him and Sarah, and miraculously Isaac was born. Now God commanded him to offer Isaac up as a burnt offering, so Abraham obeyed. Period. The Bible reveals no hesitancy. God commanded, so Abraham set out to do exactly what he was told.

The story is familiar, but amazing nonetheless. After a life of faith that came in fits and starts, surges and lapses, Abraham obeyed without question what must have been a heart-wrenching command.  

 

This was his beloved son—as dear to his heart as any father could imagine. This was the living fulfillment of God’s promise, received after decades of waiting.  What kind of faith led Abraham unswervingly up the mountain to destroy his son and the single hope of God’s promise—with his own hands?

 

Abraham knew his God and was convinced of His faithfulness. All he had needed God’s hand had provided, so when Isaac asked the obvious question, “Hey Dad. Where’s the sacrifice?” Abraham calmly replied, “God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering” (Genesis 22:8).

 

Abraham said far more than he knew.  All he knew was that God had commanded him to sacrifice Isaac, so that’s what he would do.  He knew nothing of a ram caught in a thicket.  He had no idea how ready God was to interrupt him in the act.  Abraham simply trusted the One who had been faithful in every turn of life. The God who had provided would provide—somehow.

 

The foundation of our faith is the God our faith is in. All He has done for us in the past has prepared our hearts to trust Him to provide now. The God who defeated the Canaanite kings could handle this moment in Abraham’s life. The God who spared Lot from the destruction of Sodom wasn’t about to let him down now. The One who enabled Sarah to bear a child at 90 wasn’t done with His work in her life, and Abraham, who fathered Isaac at 100 years of age, had not suddenly become an afterthought. Somehow—Abraham had no idea how—God would provide a lamb for the sacrifice. And if indeed the lamb were to be Isaac, God would have to provide by raising him from the dead.

 

And Abraham did see God provide a ram for the sacrifice, but he never saw the full picture. But we see it. Over time, God bountifully gave Abraham grandkids and an extended family. In the generations to come, God provided him with 12 great-grandsons who became the 12 tribes of Israel—God’s people. Through them came God’s Law and His Word for a light to the world. Then after some 17 centuries, God provided His Son Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29b).

 

Where do you need to see God’s provision in your life? What challenge are you facing? What have you lost? Is there something you need to give up? A delay you must endure? Go to God and tell Him your need. Unload your burden and lay it at His feet.  Trust His promise and expect Him to provide all you need and far more.

 

To the praise of His glory.

 

Prayer is about getting what God has for us, more than getting what we want from God, and true blessing comes from being in the center of His will. Prayer and the Christian life are about trusting God and believing that His plan is best.

 

So much of what happens in life is God’s way of helping us to see His goodness at all times and in everything He allows. He’s revealing the contrast between being tempted by the things of earth and seeking eternal treasures in heaven. So our call in prayer—during good times and bad—is to ask God to use events to turn others and ourselves to Him.

 

As the fire season begins and hurricane season continues, ask God to use these disasters to turn hearts to Him. Respond to news of political turmoil with prayers that spiritual peace will issue from God’s church and His Word. Let the daily news of wars and rumors of wars move you to ask God to draw people to Himself, so they can have peace with God and receive the peace of God from the God of peace (Romans 5:1; Philippians 4:7, 9).

 

Learn the reflex of asking God to use the troubles of earth to lead people to Him, perhaps using you in the process.

 

Pray for our leaders to pray, seeking God in their every effort so that He will be their power and wisdom. As they plan their way in leading our church, ask God to direct their steps, accomplish His purpose, lift up Christ, and draw others to Himself.

 

In Him,  

 

Dave Dussault

Northpoint Prayer Ministry

 

– Each week, Dave updates a monthly Bible reading plan and writes a Bible and prayer focus, Prayer Life. The preceding is a recent installment. You can pick up both offerings at the Information Center in the Foyer on Sundays, or sign up there to receive them via email. You can also click here to find the archive: https://northpointcorona.org/ministries/prayer/

9.5.2019

The Insistent Prayer of a Friend of God

By Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministries

The LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I  have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.”

Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? … Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”
– Genesis 18:17-19, 23, 26b

Hello Church Family,

Christians are audacious people. Audacity is different from pride because it’s based on God’s promise and not human vanity. Christian audacity insists by faith on receiving what is asked, believing that it’s God’s will. Christians audaciously call ourselves God’s friends, because Christ calls us His friends (John 15:14), and we go boldly before God’s throne in heaven, expecting to receive what we ask. God called Abraham His friend and used Him to teach us how to intercede for others.

Abraham lived at a time and place where human sin was reaching a breaking point. Sodom and Gomorrah were so caught up in the pursuit of their pleasures that they willingly assaulted anyone who got in their way. Riches abounded and pleasure was everything, so life was cheap.  And God had called Abraham to be a light of His holiness to the world (Genesis 18:18-19).

When the LORD went and looked at the grave sins of these notorious cities, He determined to wipe them from the face of the earth, and He told His friend Abraham His plans. Abraham never objected to God’s judgment, but his heart went out for his nephew, Lot. If God was going to use him to display divine righteousness, Abraham needed to have a grasp of what it was and what it wasn’t, so he pleaded with God to deliver righteous Lot from judgment. Abraham called God out and asked Him to protect Lot.

He asked humbly and cautiously since he was confronting the Judge of all the earth (18:25). “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it” (18:23b-24)?

God conceded Abraham’s point and relented. But Abraham wouldn’t leave the issue alone and kept pressing. “Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five” (18:28a)? And Abraham persisted. “Suppose forty are found there” (18:29). … “Suppose thirty are found there” (18:30). … “Suppose twenty are found there” (18:31). … “Suppose ten are found there” (18:32)?

Abraham wouldn’t let God off the hook but insisted that God’s righteousness align with his own understanding. And God conceded Abraham’s point and relented every time. This was more than just a logical argument for Abraham. This was personal. This was family! And Abraham got what he asked for—and learned through his persistent prayer of faith, the heart and mind of a holy and loving God.

Never be afraid to tell God what’s on your mind or to ask Him for what He puts on your heart. God’s friends know that He is God and accept His will as good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2). But God also reveals to us His heart and the wisdom of His ways, so we can grow into stronger and sweeter fellowship with Him and better share the truth of who He is.

Intercessory prayer isn’t easy. It requires persistence because God works out His will through the intercession of His people. Divine compassion far surpasses our own, but God invites our insistent prayer for others, so He can make us like Him. We’ll never fathom the depths of His justice, but God welcomes our attempts and uses them to grow us in His likeness.

Remembering my first truly adult conversations with my children makes me think that God found this exchange with Abraham satisfying—and made Him smile. To the praise of His glory!

Prayer
It’s all too easy to take potshots at our culture by making negative comparisons with Sodom and
Gomorrah. That kind of rhetoric is becoming less effective even with Christians. Christ didn’t leave us in this world to insult sin but to transform sinners by the gospel of His grace. Our job is to call sin what it is—disobedience and a slap in God’s face—and call people to repentance, accepting God’s grace along with His standard of right and wrong.

I recently read that those who oppose abortion in Africa are being called white supremacists. Clearly, righteousness is being labeled evil to coerce conformity to a standard that is far from God’s righteousness. God calls His people to proclaim His truth, which is far more than denouncing sin and error.

By God’s great might and power, He uses His people as part of His rescue. He uses us to lead people to Christ by sharing the gospel with them. He leads us in speaking to others about the forgiveness and hope that are found in Christ alone. And He brings true conviction of what is truly sin, as we proclaim the eternal truth of His Word.

And who is sufficient for these things (2 Corinthians 2:16). No one but God and those He has called to let Him work through them. That is why we must pray and pray boldly, expecting God to act miraculously in us and in the lives of others.

In Him,

Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

– Each week, Dave updates a monthly Bible reading plan and writes a Bible and prayer focus, Prayer Life. The preceding is a recent installment. You can pick up both offerings at the Information Center in the Foyer on Sundays, or sign up there to receive them via email. You can also click here to find the archive: https://northpointcorona.org/ministries/prayer/

8.29.2019

Hello Church Family,

As we head into our ministry year, we are not only preparing for the many ministries that are starting, but we are making preparations to begin the process of looking for our next lead pastor, or who we like to call, Pastor Next! 

Last week, we took a big step in finding our next lead pastor by completing the NP All-church Online Assessment. If you took the time to participate, thank you!

An important step in preparing for Pastor Next will be approving our Lead Pastor Search Committee, which consists of candidates Mark Blincoe, Rich Simpson, Erin Hanson, and Sandra Tront,  along with elders Vinoj Zachariah, Steve Flood, and Mike Russell. On September 8, NP membership will be affirming this committee during both services. There is more information on the Search Committee below in “What’s Happening at Northpoint.”

Another step happens over the weekend of September 14, 15, and 16. For three days, our ministry partners from NL Moore, a ministry search firm, will be visiting Northpoint to help their team to get a feel for Northpoint, our rich history, and our unique calling, as well as to share with us the road ahead as we move forward. To accomplish this, they will be meeting with the elders and ministry leaders.

In addition, the elders would like to give everyone at Northpoint the opportunity to hear from NL Moore, give them input into what qualities the ideal candidate for Pastor Next should possess, and allow everyone the chance to ask them questions. There will be two open meetings for Northpoint attendees during the site-visit weekend, both in Heritage Hall:

• Saturday, September 14 at 7:00 p.m.
• Sunday, September 15 at 9:00 a.m.

Please note: If you are a ministry leader and received a personal invitation to meet with NL Moore, please plan to attend your scheduled session, not one of the open meetings listed above.

Please pray for this important step we are taking at our church, and specifically that our advisors form NL Moore would gain wisdom and insight into the direction God intends for us to take.

If you have any questions, please call the Church Office at 951.734.1335, or email Michele Balga at Mbalga@northpointchurch.org.

– The Northpoint Elders

8.22.2019

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. … These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. … But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. – Hebrews 11:8, 13, 16

Hello Church Family,

God’s story is a rescue story, and His rescue is a miracle. He saves those who don’t know they’re lost but think they’re safe at home. The truth is hard to see, but God has His ways of opening our eyes to the dangers of this world and the advantages of the next.

God’s rescue began with a promise. The world we live in is solid but clearly not right, so God promises a world where sin no longer controls us, death no longer threatens us, and darkness no longer blinds us. His promise gently reassures, “I have something better for you. Come with me.”

God promised Abraham—the father of the faithful—both a house and a home. To a man who had no children, God promised countless descendants, and to his barren wife, He said, “You will bear a son.” God promised them their heart’s desire, and they trusted Him to provide it. God reached out through His promise, and they received it by faith.

But like a muscle, their faith needed to grow stronger. The soul’s alchemy—our growth in faith—takes place over time and develops through difficulty. Abraham lived his life in the land God had promised, but it never belonged to him. For a quarter of a century, he and Sarah grew older, until they were long past childbearing age. God brought them to a place where they knew they needed a miracle that only He could do. Then He brought them to a place where they believed He could and would do it.

God’s miracle required patience. God placed Abraham’s hope in the future to keep him looking forward. He fulfilled His promise to Abraham’s descendants, keeping him focused on another world and trusting God for more than he could see. But all the while, God provided enough to prove His faithfulness and keep him trusting.

Abraham and Sarah never saw the teeming millions who descended from them. But they held Isaac in their arms. They never owned the land God promised them, but they lived there, receiving their every need and being enriched at every turn. They didn’t live without doubt and often struggled in their faith, but God never lapsed in His faithfulness.

Abraham and Sarah enjoyed “homeland security,” which means more than staying safe at home. It means …

• resting in a home that’s not in this world but in the next, an eternal home with Him. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one (Hebrews 11:16a).
• trusting God’s promise to save. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25).
• believing His promise to keep us. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).
• sharing our eternal hope with others. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Christ lived for a while in our world so He could make a way for us to live in His world forever. He rescues us to make us rescuers for Him.

To the praise of His glory.

In Him,

Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

– Each week, Dave updates a monthly Bible reading plan and writes a Bible and prayer focus, Prayer Life. The preceding is a recent installment. You can pick up both offerings at the Information Center in the Foyer on Sundays, or sign up there to receive them via email. You can also click here to find the archive: https://northpointcorona.org/ministries/prayer/

8.15.2019

Praying in Faith

By Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministries

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. … And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. — Hebrews 11:1-2, 6

Hello Church Family,

There is more power in prayer than we know. Praying in faith is not a wishlist we dangle in front of God, hoping He’ll bite. Praying in faith is how we lay hold of God and obtain what we ask for. There are things that exist that didn’t use to be because people asked and received. There are situations in place that were not there until people prayed then into being.

One vivid example is nestled in a valley in the local San Bernardino Mountains—the product of the faith and prayers of Henrietta Mears and a few Christian leaders some 80 years ago. A visionary leader in Christian Education during the last century, Ms. Mears began praying about founding a Christian camp where churches from Southern California could send people for retreats to learn from God’s Word and be equipped for Christian service.

When she and a few leaders from the Hollywood Presbyterian Church drove up Highway 38 and turned up the valley to Forest Falls, they passed the Forest Home camp, which was for sale. Seeing that it cost $350,000, a fortune in 1937, Henrietta declared, “Don’t even bother to stop … we can’t afford all this.”

Two testimonies of the camp’s role in God’s mission stand out. By the chapel at the lake, a plaque tells Billy Graham’s testimony. Near that spot, God led him to resolve difficulties he had with some things in the Bible and simply preach what it says, without any doubts. That decision marks the beginning of God’s profound blessing on his ministry, which He’s used to bring tens of thousands to faith in Christ.

Also at the camp is a prayer chapel “filled with books–literally thousands of pages of personal history where guests write out their decisions, prayers, and cries to God.” I’ve looked at those pages and read about the direct, personal impact God has had on those who have come there to look to Him in prayer.

Hebrews 11 tells us that a Christian is someone who

•  looks to an invisible God to receive things we don’t see
•  is convinced that God exists and is active, right here and right now
•  expects to receive what we don’t yet have
•  knows that God commends our faith in Him
•  believes that what God wants for us is best for us

God is on a rescue mission, reaching the lost who refuse to trust Him or even believe He exists, so He can give them life by faith in Him. All of Scripture portrays God’s mission and calls His people to take part in it, by reaching out to others in faith that He is working to make them His own.

Northpoint Church is on that same mission. Every Sunday, we gather for a purpose: to praise God, receive instruction from His Word, and to ask Him to equip us for His mission, believing that God is with us and ready to bless us with success.

To the praise of His glory.

In Him,

Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

– Each week, Dave updates a monthly Bible reading plan and writes a Bible and prayer focus, Prayer Life. The preceding is a recent installment. You can pick up both offerings at the Information Center in the Foyer on Sundays, or sign up there to receive them via email. You can also click here to find the archive: https://northpointcorona.org/ministries/prayer/

8.9.2019

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1

Hello Church Family,

As the teacher said above in the book of Ecclesiastes, there are seasons of life, and we are about to step forward together into a new one in the life of our fellowship here at Northpoint.

We have started down the path to finding God’s direction for our new lead pastor. This week is an important first step: the all-church assessment of our ministry, but past, present, and future. Everyone who calls Northpoint their church home should participate, as this allows God to speak to us through His people. Every voice is important. While in the end, the answers and direction come from God, He has told us that it is wise to know the condition of our fields and flocks and to plan before starting a major project. God inspired Nehemiah with the great vision to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem, but the first thing he did was to examine their current condition.

That’s what we are going to do. Here are some key points to remember in the process:

1. While everyone can participate in taking the online assessment tool, there are just a few questions that apply to a “household” only, and those are completed by one member representing that home.
2. A link to the assessment will be available THIS Sunday, August 11, in the resource folder and in a special all-church email. Please set aside 20 to 25 minutes to pray and work through the online tool.
3. The assessment will also be available in a paper version at the Information Center in the Foyer on Sundays.
4. You will see the name “HCIC” on the survey; this is the firm that developed the questions, and nothing more.
5. Answer with how your heart is inclined to respond to the question, as if a friend were asking; don’t fret over what the “right” answer may be.
6. Questions may seem open to interpretation; don’t worry about it, answer based on how you understand it. If you’re thinking that way, likely, others are too!
7. Some questions relate to “our current pastor”; answer based on the current leadership and pastoral team.

I know that sometimes it feels like we’re always taking a survey: on the phone, after we buy something online, or down at the store. But this is much more important. This is the time for everyone to participate in the direction we think is best for the life of our church. It’s very Biblical: leaders listen to and know the people God has entrusted to their care, and this is just one way to do that. There are going to be more opportunities and listening in the weeks and months ahead. Sharing our lives together isn’t a one-time event, it’s a daily process of prayer, seeking wisdom from the Scripture, and walking together in a life of faith. It’s fellowship. It’s community. It’s loving each other. And it’s listening. And that’s what the all-church assessment is all about: listening and learning from each other.

We ask that He will give us the desire of our hearts and make our plans succeed.

The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps. – Proverbs 16:9

If you have any questions, please seek out one of the elders this Sunday, or contact us by email HERE.

In Him,

Tim East
Northpoint Elder

 

8.1.2019

Abiding Prayer

By Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministries

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. – John 15:4

Hello Church Family,

Commentator Eric Metaxes reports that one of the first events to take place on the moon was when Buz Aldrin took communion inside the space capsule, and then read the words of Jesus in John 15:4. At that historic moment, he acknowledged Christ as central in one of man’s greatest accomplishments.

Christ has been directing world events, past, present, and future working in the world and shaping history through His church. Our prayers have immense power because Jesus is alive and listening. Prayer teaches us to live in the reality of who Jesus is and how He works through His people.

Take in Christ’s words to His disciples on His final night before going to the cross. Then pray in light of what He accomplished there—conquering sin and death on our behalf.

• I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Jesus reveals the true nature of our relationship with Him. He is the Source who gives life and strength and produces all the fruit in our lives.
• Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Christ’s hand is in every event in our lives. Prayer acknowledges His right to do as He chooses with us. It sees His love in everything He allows to happen and receives the good He intends for His children.
• Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Christ made us utterly free from sin and free to live at peace with our holy God.
• Abide in me, and I in you. Living free from sin by Christ’s power keeps us connected to His provision.
• As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. We are absolutely dependent on Christ for all things.
• I am the vine; you are the branches. Relying on Christ’s power is the essential reality of the believer.
• Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. Christ alone produces fruit in us.
• For apart from me you can do nothing. Confess your utter inability to produce anything apart from Christ.
• If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. Acknowledge Christ’s absolute right to judge us and act in our lives as He sees fit.
• If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. Praying in Jesus’ name means expecting Him to answer our prayers in ways we cannot imagine.
• By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. Prayer owns our role as Jesus’ disciples and rejoices in the glory He receives and deserves.
• As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. We live in the reality of God’s infinite, eternal, and unbreakable love for us now and at all times.
• If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. Abiding in Christ means exhibiting holiness in our actions moment by moment, through Christ, who obeyed to the uttermost, triumphed over sin, and conquered death on the cross.
• These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. Through prayer, God’s children daily enter into Christ’s eternal joy at all times and in every circumstance.

Abiding in Christ means living out His active presence within us as individuals and among us as His church—the community of the living Christ—praying with power and rejoicing in the praise of His glory!

In Him,

Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

– Each week, Dave updates a monthly Bible reading plan and writes a Bible and prayer focus, Prayer Life. The preceding is a recent installment. You can pick up both offerings at the Information Center in the Foyer on Sundays, or sign up there to receive them via email. You can also click here to find the archive: https://northpointcorona.org/ministries/prayer/

7.25.2019

Not of This World

By Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministries

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. – 1 John 2:15-17

Hello Church Family,

It’s been said that Satan fell by the force of gravity. The world has tremendous pull. After all, it’s everything we see. We’re made from the stuff of earth and live in it all our days. Being made by a perfect God, it’s a beautiful place, filled with many beautiful and desirable things—things we enjoy and even need. And making our way in the world—meeting our needs, finding our place, making our mark—occupies so much of our time, effort, attention, and prayer. It’s so easy to overlook one important fact. This world is dying—just like we are.

Prayer shifts our focus from our dying world to the Lord of life. Prayer isn’t just about getting what we want from God. It’s about getting what God has for us. It teaches us to want what truly matters. The habit of prayer trains our hearts to desire what lasts forever. In Paul’s words, prayer releases our control to the God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).

Prayer overcomes gravity and the pull of earthly things by training us to desire heavenly things. Through prayer, God lifts us and uses us to lift others by the power of Christ. In a world that is passing away, prayer pursues the eternal plan of our eternal Father and embraces everlasting hope in a world where all other hopes die. Prayer makes us heavenly minded, so we can be of earthly and everlasting good.

The world lives only for what it can see. The earth’s passing pleasures are the only good it knows. Its finite resources are the only supply it can imagine. The people surrounding us are lost in darkness. They’re trapped between scarcity and longing because they believe only in what’s visible and know nothing better than what they want. The threat of anything that might deny an immediate want or take away a felt need simply cannot be tolerated.

We bring the light of hope to this dark world—the hope of Jesus Christ. We don’t see Him, but by faith, we know that everything comes from Him and that in His right hand are pleasures forever (Psalm 16:11). We worship Him and go to Him in prayer because we believe that He is God and that He is good.

Spend time with God in prayer today. Go to the eternal, invisible God and seek all your good from Him. The grace of God flows from One who spoke the world into being, then shaped and filled it by His word. Receive all you need from His hand. Imbibe eternal joys right now, right where you are.

In Him,

Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

– Each week, Dave updates a monthly Bible reading plan and writes a Bible and prayer focus, Prayer Life. The preceding is a recent installment. You can pick up both offerings at the Information Center in the Foyer on Sundays, or sign up there to receive them via email. You can also click here to find the archive: https://northpointcorona.org/ministries/prayer/

7.18.2019

That Blessed Hope

By Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministries

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. – 2 Corinthians 5:6-8

Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. – Titus 2:13

Hello Church Family,

Mrs. Murphy’s wheelchair was a fixture at my home church. Most of the time, it sat in a corner of a room off the platform, waiting for its occupant. Then, just before Sunday service, Mr. Warren, Mr. Shook, or another faithful servant would help Mrs. Murphy get her twisted body from a car into her chair and wheel her in for worship.

And worship she did! With her face cocked to one side, she’d listen to the singing, the preaching, and the testimonies. Mrs. Murphy worshiped in spirit more than body, because her body was broken. Blinded and paralyzed in a car accident years before, her movement and her life were almost entirely limited. So there was a profound irony in her oft-repeated testimony of hope and joy in the Lord, “Once I was blind, but now I see.” You see, it was not until her car accident that Mrs. Murphy found Jesus Christ.

Fanny J. Crosby, the blind hymn-writer of the 19th century, had a very similar spirit. Born blind, she often rejoiced that the very first thing she’d ever see would be the face of Jesus when she awoke after death.

It was Jesus who spoke this world into being. With an eye for beauty, He gave shape to a formless world. With a heart of love, He filled its emptiness for us to enjoy. Being the Lord of Life—the Great I Am—God gave us life, so He could give us the world for our own. Blind eyes and broken bodies remind us that sin has marred the good world God gave us. Wars and rumors of wars tell us that what’s wrong with this world is us. It was our sin that broke the beautiful world we received. But that’s not the end of the story.

A look at my life, these days, reminds me how much I need Mrs. Murphy’s testimony. My body is telling me I’m no longer young. Things I’ve aspired to all my life still seem to elude me, and with each passing year, the hope that I’m progressing becomes more of a sham. What am I striving for, anyway? When my parents passed
away, I moved up in line. Now I’m one step closer to life’s back door. The door marked, “Exit.”

Not to worry. I’ve got Jesus—or rather, He has me. I was made from the stuff of this world, and my body’s passing away with it. But in Christ Jesus, I’ve been recreated for another world, where sin and its brokenness are defeated. Jesus opened death’s door and leads to life. An old song has new meaning, ringing with hope.

This world is not my home, I’m just a passin’ through.
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door,
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

Just up in Glory Land we’ll live eternally.
The saints on ev’ry hand are shoutin’ victory.
Their songs of sweetest praise drift back from heaven’s shore.
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

O Lord, You know I have no friend like You.
If heaven’s not my home, then Lord what will I do?
The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door,
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

There’s a phrase you hear every now and then, “It’s all good!” Well, no. Not really. This world and our lives are clearly broken. It’s not all good. But in Christ, we have hope. One day it will be—and so will we.

In Him,

Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

– Each week, Dave updates a monthly Bible reading plan and writes a Bible and prayer focus, Prayer Life. The preceding is a recent installment. You can pick up both offerings at the Information Center in the Foyer on Sundays, or sign up there to receive them via email. You can also click here to find the archive: https://northpointcorona.org/ministries/prayer/

7.12.2019

Moving Forward Together – The Path Begins: Lead Pastor Search

By Tim East
For the Northpoint Elders

I will lead them; I will make them walk by streams of waters, on a straight path in which they will not stumble. – Jeremiah 31:9

Hello Church Family,

Over the past year, we have been seeking God’s direction for our church. You may recall that starting last summer here at Northpoint, we worked through some listening sessions as part of our larger effort to Restore + Rediscover + Rebuild. A great deal has been achieved, and we have seen both internal and external growth. We are now entering a new season where we’ll take what we’ve learned and begin Moving Forward Together.

We are about to step out on the path to finding our next lead pastor—one of the most important tasks in the life of our church. On this coming Sunday morning, we will be sharing all the work that is underway or starting soon. The destination is clear, but we can be sure the road will have some twists and turns. We’re going to walk this trail together, following God’s leading, but working with all our hearts toward this goal.

Finding the man God has prepared for us is a two-way conversation. We must clearly present our church to the world of candidates: what we hold to be true, what we value, and where we believe God is leading us. Every local church is a unique expression of God’s kingdom and His purposes, and we need to say who we are. At the same time, the man God is leading to us must be able to understand this so that he can be sure of God’s calling and direction for him and his family. He will then be in a good position to share his vision, passions, and life of faith with us.

There will be three broad directions we’ll be working on starting this week:

The first is a Church Assessment Process that will be announced this Sunday and start on August 11. This is a tool that everyone will participate in to gather information, shape our vision, describe our values, and see how God is working at Northpoint. All of which will help direct our search for a lead pastor.

The Church Assessment will involve everyone who calls Northpoint their church home. Everyone will receive a link to an online tool with questions that have been developed to allow you to describe your personal views, how you would prioritize various goals and ministries of the church, participation in church life, some household information, and questions about what you would like to see during the transition and in the new lead pastor. There will even be an opportunity for you to add personal thoughts. And of course, the entire assessment and input are completely confidential and anonymous.

Between now and August 11, there will be more information and instructions on how to complete the assessment, and it will then be open and available from that date through August 25. In addition to the online tool, there will be paper versions available in the Foyer and in the Church Office.

Please pray about this process and your participation in it; it’s the chance for everyone to speak into the life and ministry of Northpoint and help in setting our direction. God often speaks through His people, and this gives us all the opportunity to share our hearts and to listen. The results will be presented back to the congregation in October.

Secondly, a Lead Pastor Search Team will be formed this summer. This team will have a big job: they will define the candidate we’re seeking and then go on to review resumes, interview candidates, and present their recommendations to the congregation.  The Search Team will be made up of both elders and general members of Northpoint and affirmed by the membership.

Thirdly, a Northpoint Church Profile and a Candidate Profile will be drafted by the Search Team. The Church Profile describes Northpoint as a whole: our history, the various ministries, how we’re organized, our mission, vision, and values. The Candidate Profile outlines the experiences, educational requirements, qualities, and ministry skills of the individual we think would best fit our church.

As we’re completing the Church Assessment, the other two efforts will begin moving forward. These are just the first steps in a long path before us, but we’ll all walk down it together. If you have any questions, or would like to know more, just look for me or any of the elders this Sunday, or click HERE to email the elder team. We’ll be seeking God’s guidance in all of this.

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.” – Ephesians 3:20

In Him,

Tim East
For the Northpoint Elders

7.5.2019

The Great Prayer Revival

By Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD. – Jeremiah 29:12-14a

Hello Church Family,

The Panic of 1857 hit the North Church of New York City hard. Corruption had led to financial collapse in the region. Factories closed and people left. The Dutch Reformed congregation began to shrink, so, in July of that year, they appointed Jeremiah Lanphier as City Missionary of downtown to help increase Sunday enrollment.

Burdened by the task, Mr. Lanphier called for prayer and distributed a handbill. “HOW OFTEN SHALL I PRAY?” it asked. “As often as the language of prayer is in my heart; as often as I see my need of help; as often as I feel the power of temptation; as often as I am made sensible of any spiritual declension or feel the aggression of a worldly spirit.” That, of course, means to pray pretty much all the time. The bill announced that every Wednesday from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m., there would be a prayer meeting at the back of the church.

Noon on September 23, 1857, found the faithful servant pacing the backroom by himself. About halfway through the designated hour, Jeremiah heard the footsteps of the first responder. By the end of the meeting, six people were praying.

On October 7, there were forty people, so they decided to meet daily. In six months, ten thousand businessmen were gathering every day to pray in New York alone. Prayer moved from city to city, until over one million converts were added to American churches, as the Holy Spirit simply moved individuals toward God in prayer. Stories abound of God’s working in individual lives and civic districts.

Hell Corner in New Hampshire was a notorious stronghold. After one man unleashed a volley of coarse profanity, someone quipped, “We need a prayer meeting here in Hell Corner.” To everyone’s surprise, plans began to get one under weigh. But there was no one to lead it, so they called a deacon from a church in another town. At first, four hardened sinners came to Christ in answer to prayer. Soon a core group of believers formed around them. The gates of hell could not prevail against the prayers of God’s people. Other stories abound.

During a prayer meeting in New York, a hardware store owner urged his fellow businessmen to set a godly example. After the meeting, a manufacturer came into his store and confessed he had been cheating the storeowner for years and offered to pay back everything he had stolen.

A notorious criminal named “Awful Gardiner” embraced Christ as Savior, to everyone’s surprise. He became one of the thousands who forsook their evil ways during this spontaneous revival. A noticeable decline in crime and vice, which no legislation could hope to produce, resulted from the Great Prayer Revival of 1857-58. And God used this time to prepare our nation spiritually for the coming horrors of the Civil War.

This spiritual revival came at a time of economic decline. It followed a period of economic prosperity, marked by spiritual decline. Where are our hopes? Where does our good truly come from? What do we truly desire—the good this life has to offer or the God who gives us life, the world, and all good things? We will find the answer with God through prayer.

So let’s pray!

Summer Prayer at Northpoint:
• Vacation Bible School (July 8-12): Ask God to use this week to lead people to Christ and make them grow in Him.
o Pray for someone you can invite to VBS this year.
o Pray for the week to be completely staffed with volunteers.
o Pray for the Holy Spirit’s presence to make God’s Word come alive in us.
• Student Summer Camps: Ask God to “hit reset” on their relationship with Jesus Christ.
o Junior High camp (July 14-18): Ask God to speak into the lives of our junior high students.
o Senior High camp (July 22-27): Ask God to speak into the lives of our high school students.
o Revolve College Group: Ask God to draw our college students closer to Christ.
• Men’s Ministries: Ask God to lead the men to take their stand as men of God at the Men’s
Breakfasts on July 20 and August 17.
• Women’s Ministries: Pray for the Pieces of Love ministry and the Christmas Tea preparations that are under weigh this summer.
• Prayer Ministries: Come into Christ’s presence as you pray together with God’s people every Sunday at 8:00 AM and Monday at 6:00 PM.
• Leadership Search: Pray for wisdom for the Nominating Committee for new elders to led
Northpoint. Pray also for God’s guidance in our search for a new lead pastor to lead us to seek God in His Word and in prayer. Pray for a man who is gifted in effective spiritual leadership.

In Him,

Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

– Each week, Dave updates a monthly Bible reading plan and writes a Bible and prayer focus, Prayer Life. The preceding is a recent installment. You can pick up both offerings at the Information Center in the Foyer on Sundays, or sign up there to receive them via email. You can also click here to find the archive: https://northpointcorona.org/ministries/prayer/

One recipient to Paul’s letter to the Philippians was a merchant woman named Lydia. Something had been stirring in her heart for a long time. Successful in business, living in a reputable city, and wanting for nothing, Lydia longed for something more. For reasons only she knew, she was drawn out of the city every Sabbath, down to the river, where a few Jews gathered to pray.

When Paul came there and preached the gospel, a light came on. Jesus. He was what she’d been looking for all her life. She found full and free forgiveness by believing that He died for her sins on a cross and rose from the grave in victory. Lydia chose Him.

Then there was the slave girl. If anyone knew the darkness, she did. Deeper than the bondage of being owned by others, demonic possession held her in its grip. The great python spirit of the Oracle of Delphi used her voice to speak his words. Her lungs and vocal cavity uttered messages from someone else and told diabolical fortunes that people paid handsomely to hear. And her owners profited tremendously.

One sentence from Paul set her free in the name of Christ. Paul and his companion were arrested and beaten for disrupting business, and her life went on. But now, no demonic influence clutched at her throat and made her say whatever it wanted. She was herself again—completely free to worship her Deliverer and speak His praise.

Paul’s prison guard had a completely different background. He knew the marshal life and understood discipline and the need for order. Keeping the prison meant keeping the peace, and he kept it tight and the prisoners secure. Living in the chain of military command, this jailkeeper understood the consequences of letting just one escape.

So Paul and Silas were locked in the middle of the prison with no chance of escape. But for some reason, the savage beating they’d received didn’t keep them quiet. At midnight, he heard them praying and singing praise songs. THAT had never happened before! Neither had an earthquake so strong that it shook the prison doors open and broke the stocks holding the captives.

Life was becoming incalculable for this man of order and accountability. Of course, all the prisoners must have escaped. The only thing to do was to kill himself before the Romans did. But those two singers life stopped him, just like they had stopped the prisoners from escaping. He found himself washing their wounds with his own rough hands and feeling a deep sense of guilt in his softening heart.

So he asked, “Sirs (the word meant “Lords”), what must I do to be saved?” He believed in the Lord Jesus, just as they told him, and the Philippian jailer was saved, along with his whole household.

This Jesus, who had made an eternal difference in all these different lives, held the attention of each one. The Spirit of Jesus who had set them free now enabled them to set aside their differences to focus on the Savior. Loving Him enabled them to love each other honor His name.

With eyes fixed on Jesus, they all could tell others how to be free in Jesus’ name and live with joy.

To the praise of His glory!

In Him,

Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

– Each week, Dave updates a monthly Bible reading plan and writes a Bible and prayer focus, Prayer Life. The preceding is a recent installment. You can pick up both offerings at the Information Center in the Foyer on Sundays, or sign up there to receive them via email. You can also click here to find the archive: https://northpointcorona.org/ministries/prayer/

6.20.2019

The Church Compassionate

By Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” — Matthew 9:35-38

Hello Church Family,

“Daddy, can I help?” Those four words used to strike fear into my do-it-yourselfer heart. They meant my kids had discovered my escape and in child-like faith invaded my faltering attempts at home repair. Juggling children and my fixer-upper aspirations never exactly worked, and I was typically torn between my love for my kids and the need to get things done.

Somehow, my father never had that problem. He knew how to include me and welcomed my help.

Jesus had some pretty busy days, and the needs around Him often stacked up well above His head. Matthew records a busy time when He crossed the Sea of Galilee, taught His followers, healed a paralytic, fended off challenges from His enemies (three times), called a disciple and joined him for dinner, healed one woman and raised another from the dead, gave sight to the blind and speech to the mute, continued healing the multitudes, then looked up, only to see crowds of people coming to Him for more. Just reading about it takes your breath away!

In human form, the infinite God was limited to one body and could only do so much, yet His infinite heartfelt compassion for the masses of people wandering in a world cut off from its Creator. So the God-Man did what humans do when life gets overwhelming. He asked for prayer.

Christ came in human flesh to die in our place for our sins. His death and resurrection were central to His great plan of salvation for the whole world, in which He intends to include us. But God is no do-it-yourselfer. While only Christ could accomplish our redemption on the cross, He extends His compassion and offers His salvation through His people. Jesus wants us to share His heart and complete the task He began while He was on earth.

Jesus asked for prayer because He wants our help to reach a lost world. When the Holy Spirit descended from heaven, it answered the prayer Christ told His disciples to pray. The church is the constantly regenerating answer to Christ’s prayer for laborers to go into His harvest. We are the answer to Jesus’ request—just as He intended.

Like Jesus, we live in a world clamoring in vain for hope. Whether they know it or not, those who surround us are “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.“ Christ sees our human struggle and knows it’s of our own making, but He’s full of mercy, and in compassion, He longs to deliver.

Our job as His Church is not to add our voice to the clamor of the crowd. We’re more than just another voice competing to be heard. We are the People of the living God—the Risen Christ—who is mighty to save. And save He will, as His people proclaim the hope of the gospel to those around us—the people He sent us to.

Our heavenly Father does a much better job than I did at including His children in His work. Pray for God to send His laborers into His harvest. And when you pray, ask if you can help. In childlike faith, tell your Father, Here I am! Send me (Isaiah 6:8).

A Second Chance
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 13:43). Christ’s oft-repeated words are more than an admonition. They’re a second chance. If you think you’re free to choose as you please, think again. Being cut off from God by sin also cuts us off from the freedom and ability to hear God’s voice. Jesus offers it back.

You hear the rancor and conflict in the news, and it affects every level of society. I’ve never seen a time when people clamped their hands over their ears so firmly. Dialogue has all but disappeared, disagreement gets defined as hate, and Christian truth receives reflexive suspicion whenever it’s brought up.

Stiff knees and backs have plagued humanity since the fall, and only God’s infinite grace in Christ Jesus can enable us to kneel before our Maker. Hearing and heart problems threaten our eternal souls, because of the human impossibility to listen and respond to the Lord our God.

But Christians believe in miracles. God can give us an ear to listen to the Holy Spirit, but it will take a miracle. He’s willing to lead us to people he wants us to reach, but it will take a soft heart that only He can give. God is able to save the souls of those around you, but it will take faith that He can and will.

Ask God to give His church ears to hear, eyes to see, and hearts to respond to Him. Watch and pray and expect Him to work in miraculous ways—in you.

In Him,

Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

 

6.13.2019

Let the Fire Fall

By Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. – Acts 2:1-6, 33

Hello Church Family,

Dark images of crowds walking along the dark roads of Yosemite fill one of my earliest memories. Unbeknownst to me, as I walked, Rangers of the National Parks Service were tending a massive bonfire high up on Glacier Point. They were preparing a nightly ritual nearly 100 years old—The Fire Falls.

Thousands attended each year, anxious to see the spectacle of fire falling like a waterfall for 1700 feet. Every ear awaited the call from David Curry, “Let the fire fall!”

Twenty centuries ago, fire fell from heaven, filling Jesus’ small band of disciples and calling people from every nation, kindred, and tongue to Christ. When God’s Spirit falls on his people, great things happen.

• God moves His people to speak: They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
• Miraculously, people understand: Each one was hearing them speak in his own language.
• God speaks to people worldwide: Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven … each one was hearing them speak in his own language (2:5, 6b).
• God connects His truth to life: But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
• God saves people from sin: And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
• The gospel is proclaimed in power: This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
• Christ’s resurrection is proclaimed: This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.
• God brings conviction of sin and saves souls: Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
• The name of Jesus Christ is exalted: Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

God once accompanied his people in a Pillar of Cloud by day and a Pillar of Fire by night. He spoke often to his servant Moses from that same pillar during their 40 years wandering in the desert. The same “fiery, cloudy pillar” later filled God’s temple, making his people Israel distinct and renown in the ancient world.

But after centuries of persistent sin, God departed from His people. Ezekiel watched God’s glory ascend from the temple, move eastward, and leave the Land of Israel. By the time of Christ, it had been gone 400 years. At Pentecost, it returned.

After over 240 years of God’s blessing on the United States, our culture is systematically attempting to oust the Lord Jesus Christ from our nation. Dismayed, his church is rallying to respond. But no amount of human effort in and of itself can avail to turn the spiritual tide. But our God is now as always mighty to save.

Pray as his people, “Let the fire fall!” To the praise of his glory.

In Him,

Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

– Each week, Dave updates a monthly Bible reading plan and writes a Bible and prayer focus, Prayer Life. The preceding is a recent installment. You can pick up both offerings at the Information Center in the Foyer on Sundays, or sign up there to receive them via email. You can also click here to find the archive: https://northpointcorona.org/ministries/prayer/

 

6.7.2019

The Myth of the White Hat

 

By Dave Dussault

 

Northpoint Prayer Ministry

 

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free … everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’” – John 8:31-32; 34-36

 

Hello Church Family,

 

Back in grade school, my hero was a cowboy named Roy Rogers. I understand that he and his wife were both devout Christians and role models of moral integrity. They stood for right and fought against evil. Their weekly TV sagas reinforced essential values that gave moral clarity to me and to everyone else in American society. In one half an hour every week, the man with the white hat foiled the schemes of the liar, cheat, thief, or murderer wearing a black hat. Kids like me were entertained and instructed.

 

Children need this kind of instruction. Families and society benefit when entertainment offers moral clarity and a clear understanding of right and wrong based on universal standards of truth. In America, the Bible played a central role in defining the truth that everyone adhered to or at least felt we should follow. The years when I grew up were a kind of golden age of American ideals—days many long to return to. Good guys always beat bad guys, just like America did in World War II. It’s funny how we always identify ourselves as the “good guys.”

 

It’s essential to identify with the moral ideals we strive for. But moral integrity demands honesty and constant vigilance to be sure we’re honestly doing what’s right. Jesus’ famous command, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” That doesn’t mean it’s wrong to judge. It means we need to judge ourselves first since we ourselves will stand before God in judgment. God’s Word is a two-edged sword that cuts both ways. It judges us as well as others—the “good guys” and “bad guys” alike.

 

Honest judgment messes with our hats. The truth is, our “white hat” is dingier than we like to think, and those guys with black hats aren’t always as bad as we’d like to think. I came of age just as America was confronting its own sins—institutional racism, self-serving foreign policy, inconsistent application of the principles of democracy, hypocrisy in our personal and national standards. Moral honesty hurts. It’s healthy but hard to swallow.

 

It’s so easy to take pride in our high standards yet ignore our persistent lapses. We know standards are important but deny our inability to live up to them. We hide from the truth of who we really are and adjust our standards so we look better. Life’s more livable that way. “Nobody’s perfect,” we say, hoping we won’t be held accountable—won’t be judged. Funny. We hide from the truth about ourselves and call that freedom.

 

But clinging to a lie is anything but freedom. The ugly truth is that everything we do is fraught with sin—even our best moral efforts. The Bible does more than reveal God’s perfect standards. It exposes our wicked hearts, self-serving motives, and moral depravity. It forces us to confront the connection between our brokenness and the sin in our lives. Like surgery, God’s truth causes pain in order to bring healing.

 

One thing on earth sets us free to face the healing truth—the grace of God in Jesus Christ. No longer condemned for our sin, we can now see ourselves honestly because our sin died with Christ on the cross and longer controls us. We rose with Christ at his resurrection, so now we’re free to live in harmony with God and each other, as He intended. No longer slaves to sin.

 

Putting on a white hat doesn’t turn us into good guys. Only Christ does that. No amount of men in white hats will save our nation. The Son of Man, God the Son, has conquered sin. Christ sets people free indeed. Ask Him to lead you to someone you can lead to Him for eternal salvation, and see what He does. He’s mighty to save. For the praise of His glory.

 

The Gospel Truth

 

There’s a difference between believing that Jesus rose from the dead and trusting in the living Christ. Our faith is more than intellectual assent to a particular set of ideas. We were saved when we trusted Christ to forgive our sin, and we walk by faith that He cleanses, enables, and provides for us every day.

 

There’s a difference between agreeing with the faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3) and believing that Jesus is mighty to save. The “Church Militant” advances by winning souls to Christ. No soul can be compelled to trust Him for salvation. Everyone must choose to trust Jesus as Savior, and God is the one who accomplishes that miracle.

 

God has chosen us as Christians to proclaim salvation in His name. He calls us to speak out in faith that He will work through his saints as we tell others that Jesus died for their sins. Being a moral example and setting a scriptural standard is essential for us as Christians. But the Good News is that Jesus saves, and Jesus alone.

 

Pray for boldness and guidance in telling others about Jesus and his love. Pray for faith that He will save others through the gospel, as you tell it to them. Faith overcomes the world. That’s a fact, the hope of the world, and it’s the Gospel Truth.

 

In Him,

 

Dave Dussault

 

Northpoint Prayer Ministry

 

– Each week, Dave updates a monthly Bible reading plan and writes a Bible and prayer focus, Prayer Life. The preceding is a recent installment. You can pick up both offerings at the Information Center in the Foyer on Sundays, or sign up there to receive them via email. You can also click here to find the archive: https://northpointcorona.org/ministries/prayer/

5.30.2019

Yield and Come

By Holli Worthington
Northpoint Women’s Ministries

“Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the LORD
and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever,
and serve the LORD your God …” – 2 Chronicles 30:8

“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears,
you always resist the Holy Spirit.” – Acts 7:51a

Hello Church Family,

An interesting thing happened at the end of our women’s conference this year. As the speaker closed in prayer, she asked the Lord why so many of us have so much head knowledge and so little heart knowledge, and she felt God say, “It’s because you’re stiff-necked.” Now, this caught my attention because number one, she was teaching on Mary and Martha, not Exodus. Number two, it seemed very directed to us. And number three, stiff-necked is not something I want to be.

I see three types of responses we could have to something like this:

Denial. She’s not talking about us! We aren’t like that. I’m not like that.

Disbelief. God doesn’t speak to people like that!

Discernment. How does this line up with God’s Word? Could this be true of us? Is this true of me?

We all have the capacity, even the proclivity to be stiff-necked. In fact, God’s people are infamous for it. For 400 years, the Egyptians had enslaved God’s people, forcing them to work endlessly making bricks to build the kingdom of Egypt. They cruelly murdered the Hebrew baby boys, fearful, because the people were growing too numerous. God’s people cried out to him, and God heard and acted. He staged a rescue mission that in the coming generations would be his prime instrument for conveying his eternal plan of salvation. God was orchestrating a stunning masterpiece, and this was the prelude.

It began with the plagues he brought on the Egyptians that destroyed their land, culminating in the angel of death who killed every firstborn unless they were covered by the blood of a lamb on their doorpost. Then there was crossing the Red Sea on dry land, which ended in the drowning of the Egyptian charioteers. There was bitter water made sweet, bread from heaven, and water from the rock. God led his people with a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. He provided Moses as prophet and intercessor on their behalf. And God graciously provided a pattern of worship to show them how they could have a relationship with him.

But the people were stiff-necked (Exodus 32-34). In spite of all God’s demonstrations of power and provision, they demanded their way, in their timing. They refused to live by faith. And because of that, they never entered the Promised Land (Hebrews 3:19).

Over 400 years later in 2 Chronicles, at the dedication of the temple, Solomon warns the people not to be stiff-necked like their ancestors, but to yield to God. Centuries later, Stephen accused the Jewish leaders, right before they stoned him, of being stiff-necked, always resisting the Holy Spirit. They too refused to live by faith. Like their ancestors, they would not yield to God and believe him.

According to the dictionary, to yield is: 1. to give up as to a superior power or authority, 2. to give up or surrender, 3. to relinquish or resign.

The superior power that we are to surrender to and relinquish control to is not an enemy who is against us, but is our Father, the all-powerful God, who is full of wisdom and knowledge and understanding, who is also gracious, merciful, full of compassion and steadfast love for his own. There is no better alternative.

In 2 Corinthians 5:7, Paul says, “We walk by faith and not by sight.” This is the Christian life. Faith is what pleases God (Hebrews11:6). Trusting in his promises, believing him when all appearances are to the contrary, yielding to God’s ways when we don’t see the logic or benefit.

If you’ve ever driven outside of the U.S or even outside California, you might have come across a roundabout. A roundabout is a circular intersection where drivers travel counterclockwise around a center island. There are no stop signs or traffic signals. They are an ingenious little solution to keep traffic flowing at intersections and prevent serious accidents. Now the key to these little marvels of modern travel is the willingness to yield. As cars enter the circle, the other cars already in the circle have to yield—the refusal to yield results in chaos. To keep the flow going there is a constant yielding going on.

Constant yielding is what keeps the power of the Holy Spirit flowing in our lives. We can accumulate knowledge until our brains are full, but if we don’t humbly yield our hearts and wills to God and his ways every day—every moment, we will become stiff-necked, resisting the Holy Spirit and distant from God.

God invites us to yield to him and come into his presence. Let’s pray and ask God to give us the grace and humility to do just that.

Through Him and to Him,

Holli Worthington

5.23.2019

A Light in the Darkness

By Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. – 1 Peter 2:9-10

This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. – Acts 2:32

Hello Church Family,

Take I-10 West, exit at La Brea, go left on Wilshire, and you’ll come to the La Brea Tar Pits. You may have gone there as a child to see the discovery that brought to light the extinct species that once roamed the Los Angeles basin—mammoths and saber-toothed cats. If so, you’ll remember the depictions of how they died—struggling to free themselves from the tar that dragged them down into the pit of death.

A Bible reader can’t fail to recognize in these images the trap of human sin and its consequences. The very struggle to be free drove them deeper into the quagmire and increased the agony of their inevitable death. God’s Word honestly portrays the fate of fallen humanity, despite our noblest intentions and best efforts. All have sinned and the wages of sin is death (Romans 3:23 and 6:23). God in his grace won’t let us deny this fact, because He’s determined to save us from sin. And He’s given his message of salvation to the people He’s redeemed, so we can proclaim it to the world.

As twenty-first century Christians, we’re not eyewitnesses of Jesus’ resurrection. But as people who have set their hope in that historical fact—which the apostles witnessed and proclaimed—we’ve been delivered from the curse of sin and have eternal life. We are witnesses to the living reality that the living God has set us free from the curse of sin.

The curse of sin is more than punishment for wrongs we’ve done. The curse of sin is the grip sin has on us—on our drives and desires. Sin twists the image of God in each of us into raving defiance of our Maker. It perverts the blessings of life into ceaseless demands for more. It makes our Maker and the Giver of Life—the One faithful and true Guide for life—into our mortal enemy, because we reject Him as Lord. And so, every craving of our heart dominates our destiny, turns us against Him, and brings death.

Sin turns our highest aspirations into objects of pride that we boast of in defiance of God. The gifts God has given us—our families and homes, our work and accomplishments, the beauty we love and the truth we cherish—become objects we covet and cling to instead of God, even though they drag us away from Him and down into hell.

Sin turns our innocent pastimes into idols. The movies we watch, our favorite TV shows, sports, quilting, cooking, gardening are all joyous pastimes that easily become domineering addictions. Even ministry morphs from being our gift of service into a way to shine before others and an attempt to impress God. Charitable giving turns from a humble offering into a display of personal goodness. Worship stops focusing on praising God and becomes a matter of personal taste and self-satisfaction.

This is the evil inside each one of us. In his grace, Jesus enables us to see our sins—especially our favorite ones—and confess them for what they are so we can be forgiven. He turns our focus from the sins of others back onto ourselves, so we can see our own sin, confess it, and be clean. God has broken sin’s curse and made us new. He’s pulled us from the pit and set us free.

And of this, we are all witnesses. The good news we proclaim is the historical fact that’s central to our faith. Jesus died for our sins and rose from the grave. It’s also the present reality that Jesus reigns in heaven and in our hearts, so we’re no longer slaves of sin doomed to die.

This is the good news everyone needs to hear and the gospel we have to proclaim. To the praise of God’s glory!

The Truth about Truth
Truth is essentially binary. Darkness and Light, Good and Evil, Right and Wrong, Death and Life.
Wisdom accepts this fact, trusts God with it, and obeys Him. The world wants its own way and questions God’s right, his wisdom, and his intentions in calling the shots. There is no gray without black and white, but the doubts of this world blur essential distinctions.

Where God calls us to embrace his righteousness, the world questions the truth. While God calls us to proclaim salvation in Christ, the world asserts that no one’s perfect, but we’re not really all that bad. Permissiveness masquerades as grace, and indifference pretends to be love.

We are passing the time when passivity works. Tensions are mounting in our land, confrontations developing, and conflicts arising. Playing it safe is becoming the most dangerous thing we can do. We need to proclaim the truth. The church must be distinct, and events will no longer allow us to blend in.

Ask God to wake up his church. That’s what “revival” means. The world needs God’s people to shine God’s light, and sting with the salt of the earth. Pray for God to do what He alone can do—transform us into agents of change and ministers of reconciliation, who call the world out of darkness and into his marvelous light.

In Him,

Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

– Each week, Dave updates a monthly Bible reading plan and writes a Bible and prayer focus, Prayer Life. The preceding is a recent installment. You can pick up both offerings at the Information Center in the Foyer on Sundays, or sign up there to receive them via email. You can also click here to find the archive: https://northpointcorona.org/ministries/prayer/

5.16.2019

An Update From the NP Leadership Team

Mark Kiker
Elder Chair

Here is the latest on the Leadership Team’s efforts. As mentioned before, we have divided up the Leadership’s workload into subcommittees that will work together to frame the questions and propose solutions back to the entire team. The entire team will make the final decisions, but by having smaller groups clarify specific areas, we can make advances in many areas at one time.

Pastor Search – We have hired a ministry partner, NL Moore, to assist with the pastor search. They have a well-defined process as outlined in some of their literature: “Our approach begins with understanding. Understanding who you are, where you want to go and working together to determine the best way to get there. Our approach balances the very best objective insights with your subjective needs. Broad participation by congregation, staff, and leadership on the front end empowers buy-in and support at the finish line. One size does not fit all when it comes to pastoral leadership. Our team understands that your church is not only an organization, it is also an organism: a unique expression of the living Body of Christ.” NL Moore is involved in many searches, including leading the search for a replacement EFCA West District Superintendent.

You will be hearing more about our planning as we begin meeting with NL Moore. We have a long way to go, and we encourage you to be in prayer for our future pastor.

Elder Expansion – Within a few weeks, Northpoint members will have the opportunity to affirm the proposed persons who will serve on a search committee for new elders. Once affirmed by ballot, we will gather and finalize names and start our vetting process for new elders.

Choral Music – We continue to talk to many about this area. The subcommittee is thankful for the input from the congregation and will continue to move this discussion forward. The Leadership Team affirms our heritage of choral music and seeks to delineate how that will continue at Northpoint.

Deacons/Deaconess – We are outlining the unique role that these people might have as we designate those who can assist the elders and who lead exemplary lives in Christ. Biblical qualifications for deacons/deaconesses are in 1 Timothy and Titus.

Key Perspectives and Documents – As part of the pastor search process, we are collecting and reviewing key church documents that will be shared with candidates as we move forward.

Discipleship – We are looking at coordinating some areas of teaching and training that will assist in the growth of all who come to Northpoint. Our goal is to bring people to Christ and multiply disciples with more formalized growth opportunities.

Finance – The ministry continues to be funded – the bills are being paid, but we are slipping. We are now about $31,000 below last year’s total giving fiscal year-to-date (last month it was about $18,000 under). We are also about $100,000 under our budgeted needs for the year, again down a bit from last time. Staff is doing a great job of not spending beyond our means. Please prayerfully consider how the Lord has blessed you and how you can share that blessing with others. We are thankful for the diligent giving of our congregation, but we are entering a time of need as pastor search costs start becoming a reality.

Updates will continue as we move forward and we ask that you be in fervent prayer for God’s grace to be reflected at Northpoint.

Under His love,

Mark Kiker
Elder Chair

5.9.2019

Living the Difference

By Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. – 1 Peter 1:1-3

Hello Church Family,

Living life is a lot like driving a car. It’s a stream of decisions—of ongoing course corrections—to keep us going in the right direction. Left to ourselves, we veer off course. We only get to our destination by habitually steering back onto the road and purposefully navigating to where we want to go.

As Christians, our “navigator” is the Word of God, and our “destination” is life with God. Every day we live offers a practicum in living like a citizen of heaven, where a good God reigns and richly provides everything we need. Every choice we make steers us either closer to Him or further away.

And God makes all the difference. In a world cut off from its Maker and Sustainer, life is essentially a competition, where evil reigns. Malice and harmful motives create suspicion and destroy trust, as fallen people deceive their way to what they want or think they need. In desperate attempts to convince others—and ourselves—that we’re basically good, we pretend to have good motives and intentions, while we’re really motivated by the need to get ahead, no matter how we harm others. Put-downs and gossip become our modus operandi as we scrabble to gain an advantage.

But believers in Jesus Christ have tasted and seen that the LORD is good (Psalm 34:8). We live in His eternal abundance and infinite supply. God’s Word tells us that God did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, and the Holy Spirit assures us that He will graciously give us all things (Romans 8:32). Steering toward God frees us to turn away from the earthly scramble, trusting in the One who freely gives us all things.

So as Christians, we have a new desire for God’s truth. We take nourishment from God’s Word and feed on pure spiritual milk. Cultivating an appetite for things that make us grow into our salvation, we come to look and act like the God who came from heaven to earth for our sake.

How could Christ have done that for us if He weren’t completely confident in His Father’s goodness and certain of a positive outcome? The prayer, not as I will, but as you will, expresses more than surrender to the Almighty. Submission means trust—rest in the God of perfect love who can turn anything—absolutely anything—into good for the one who loves and trusts in Him.

Living as a Christian means steering toward Christ in every decision, feeding on God’s truth, trusting in His goodness, and growing to the place where we look and live like His Son. To this world, that makes us odd, but from heaven’s point of view, it makes us right at home, even while we live on earth.

To the praise of God’s glory!

In Him,

Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

– Each week, Dave updates a monthly Bible reading plan and writes a Bible and prayer focus, Prayer Life. The preceding is a recent installment. You can pick up both offerings at the Information Center in the Foyer on Sundays, or sign up there to receive them via email. You can also click here to find the archive: https://northpointcorona.org/ministries/prayer/

5.2.2019

Presenting Every Man Complete

By Pastor Scott Williams
Adults and Families

Hello Church Family,

This past Easter, many of our church families took advantage of the free family photo right out in front of the Northpoint water wall. For my family, like so many in our church, this has become a tradition we look forward to each year. The water wall has become the center of our campus, not only because of its location and the natural beauty it provides but because it declares one of the most central statements that we hold so dear. Have you read it recently?

It says, “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.” (Colossians 1:28)

What a clear declaration of what the church, and Northpoint in particular, is all about. We proclaim Christ as the great redeemer of a lost people, as the perfect sacrifice for sin, as the one who is supreme over all, and as the one whom our future hope rests. We also not only exalt Christ, but with God’s wisdom, we labor to admonish and teach everyone so that we can become complete or mature in Christ. The church proclaims Christ and engages in community life where we push each other to become more and more like the one in whom we proclaim.

In the next verse, verse 29, Paul adds this personal note, “For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.” Paul states here that he labors and strives to accomplish the goal of verse 28 through the power of God. This is no mere casual endeavor that Paul is engaging in, but a strenuous pursuit of helping others become mature in Christ. Paul gave himself to the ministry of helping others. His life demonstrates to us all that each believer has an obligation to labor toward the spiritual benefit of others.

One of the key aspects of being a follower of Jesus Christ is that we reject our sinful tendency toward self-centeredness and seek the benefit of others.  Mark Dever in his great little book on discipleship writes, “Being a disciple of Jesus means orienting our lives toward others, just as Jesus did. It means laboring for the sake of others. This love for others is at the heart of discipling. We set our sights on serving others for Christ’s sake, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).” Following Jesus means, like Jesus, we orient our lives toward others.

Orienting our lives toward others is something that is not just for pastors or elders, but for every member of the church. Is this a characteristic that describes you? Every week, when you pull into the church parking lot on a Sunday morning, are you thinking more about what you are going to receive, or how might you bless someone else that morning? When you attend your weekly bible study or small group, do you look to help those who are having a hard time connecting or in need of encouragement? When you walk in your neighborhood, are you praying for opportunities to have a spiritual conversation with your neighbors or an occasion to invite them to a church event?

Following Jesus means, like Jesus, we orient our lives toward others.

In Him,Pastor Scott Williams
Adults and Families

4.25.2019

The Promise that Gave Birth to the Church

By Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. – Joel 2:28-32a

 

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! – Luke 11:13

Hello Church Family,

Little Kara, our granddaughter, injured her arm last Friday. She waited bravely through long hours at the medical center, being examined and getting x-rayed. Finally, the doctor mended the arm and made it feel better by applying a splint. Then at home, when all was over, the three-year-old applied her new medical understanding, by “splinting” her baby brother’s head “so much that it will never hurt.” So cute!

And so simple. Kara, of course, had no idea of what was really happening. What that big machine did that took pictures of her little arm. What Mommy and the doctor were talking about, as they looked at the shadowy pictures. Her grasp on this vast and complex world is growing, but it’s as small as she is.

Prayer means coming to God as a child, so trust is essential. The real world is vast, beyond our growing, but helplessly simple human understanding. We really do not know what to pray for as we ought (Romans 8:26a). We pray for what we need or want. But only God knows how things work, where things are going, and what is really best.

As Israel pined away in exile, God gave them a spectacular promise. It came in the form of a prophecy they could barely understand. It’s fulfillment came in a way no one could have expected, through a chain of events that were impossible to anticipate. But God worked through centuries to bring it about.

He also worked through people, their deeds, and their prayers. By faith, a few understood that Jesus was the promised Messiah, God’s Son, but all rejected the idea that He would die on a cross for the sins of the world, rise from the grave, appear to many, then ascend into heaven. But that’s how their prayers were answered and Joel’s prophecy was fulfilled—God’s mysterious plan to send the Holy Spirit to inhabit his people and create his church.

Our grasp on the divine plan is as simple as the medical knowledge of a three-year-old. Yet we still play a crucial part in the unfolding work of God’s kingdom. God does what’s needed to advance his kingdom, as we pray for what we want and feel we need. Like children, we know in part, and our prayers reflect our limited understanding. But God answers in ways that use our prayers and actions to accomplish his great and mysterious plans for good.

Fulfilled prophecy is answered prayer—prayer that God inspires as well as answers. God’s people are not passive, but it is God who makes everything we pray and all we do effective. God cares for you infinitely, but you also play a part in his eternal plans. Out of love, He listens to your prayers with intense love and interest, but He also knows what He’ll accomplish by the way He answers.

As with you and your life at this time, God is the author of this point in Northpoint’s history, too. What seems vague and uncertain to us has a clear and definite purpose in God’s unfolding plan. He’s listening to our prayers and leading our plans. He will guide and He will answer in miraculous ways that we really could never imagine, to the praise of his glory. He’s that amazing!

In Him,Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

– Each week, Dave updates a monthly Bible reading plan and writes a Bible and prayer focus, Prayer Life. The preceding is a recent installment. You can pick up both offerings at the Information Center in the Foyer on Sundays, or sign up there to receive them via email. You can also click here to find the archive: https://northpointcorona.org/ministries/prayer/

4.18.2019

How to Walk in Jesus

By Pastor Taylor Mendoza
Northpoint’s Student Ministries

Hello Church Family,

Christians grow the most when their lives revolve around Jesus Christ. We could call this a “Christocentric lifestyle.” This means that every moment of your life has some connection to our Lord and Savior. Although the apostle Paul didn’t use the term “Christocentric lifestyle,” the concept is present when he told the Colossians to “walk in him” (Colossians 2:6). To walk in Jesus is to have a manner of life that is slow, consistent, and active. In essence, it is a life that is consistent with the person and work of Christ. When Christians walk in Jesus they grow into people who have lives that are firm, stable, and effective for the kingdom of God.

We all want to grow, but have you ever asked yourself how you could be more effective for the kingdom of God? Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the crazy busyness of life and felt guilty over the amount of Bible reading, prayer, and church attendance you have had recently? Does the concept of walking in Jesus feel fuzzy? I know that I have often felt ineffective, overwhelmed, and fuzzy when it comes to my walk. Thankfully, we don’t have to be left in the dark and we don’t have to feel this way. The apostle Paul taught the Colossians how to walk in Jesus. He did so in three ways in Colossians 2:6-7: “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”

1.    Keep being taught the truth about Christ.

One of the ways that we continue to walk in Jesus is by hearing continual teaching about the facts of Christ. Paul told the Colossians that they were taught the gospel and the mystery of Christ by Epaphras (1:6-7) and they were to look back to the first time they heard the teaching of the gospel, and to presently continue learning and thinking about Christ. This was to be done by listening to the teaching of the apostle Paul who was building off of Epaphrus’ ministry.

Practically speaking, one of the most dangerous places to be for a Christian is a place where they aren’t learning anything. Thankfully, at Northpoint Church, there are many opportunities to hear and process good Bible teaching. However, it is possible to be so spoiled by good expository preaching, great Sunday school classes, great small groups, and wonderful adult ministries that we lose our desire to keep on learning things about Jesus Christ. One incredible marker of a Christian walking in Jesus is learning the truth about Jesus. This only happens when we attend church often and listen well to teaching.

2.    Submit everything in your life to the lordship of Christ.

It is not enough to simply learn the facts about Jesus, but a Christian who walks in him also receives him. John MacArthur once commented that Christians sometimes believe “their behavior has no relationship to their spiritual status—even if they continue wantonly in the grossest kinds of sin and expressions of human depravity … [Christians] have been told that the only criterion for salvation is knowing and believing some basic facts about Christ.” Paul makes it clear that in the same way you received Jesus as King and Lord of your life, you also are to continue to receive him as Lord over your life.

Practically speaking, when you came to faith in Jesus Christ, you didn’t just believe the facts about Christ, you became a disciple of Christ. You also became a citizen of his kingdom (Colossians 1:13). A disciple learns and serves his master, whereas a citizen faithfully serves and loves his king. What area in your life doesn’t look like it has come under the lordship of Christ? Could it be the way you use your time? Let that helpful and convicting app “Screen time” be your guide. Could it be the way you spend your money? Is giving to the local church and kingdom work something that’s on your radar? The list could go on, and if you have no idea on where to begin, ask your wife, your children, or just an honest friend (if you have made it this far in the article, stop here and text or call a friend and ask them about what areas they think you have not fully submitted to Christ).

3.    Continue being strengthened in Christ.

Finally, Paul insists that Christians who walk in Christ grow stronger. He says this in a few ways. First, he speaks of Christians as already firmly rooted in Christ. Secondly, he speaks of the Christian as currently being built up in Christ. Thirdly, he speaks of the Christian as currently being established in the faith. All of these terms are done passively, meaning that God is the one who caused you to be firmly rooted (which he has) in Him, and he is currently building you up into Christ and is establishing you in the faith.

Practically speaking, although you are not ultimately responsible for your growth and strengthening in Christ, you do play some role. Your role is to keep being taught the facts of Christ and to keep submitting every area of your life to the lordship of Christ. We ultimately do this by running back to the gospel, which is about the grace of God in Christ for sinners and for his glory. Preach the gospel to yourself. Memorize the gospel by meditating on texts such as (2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 8:31-34; Isaiah 53:3-6; Romans 3:23-26; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Pray the gospel, sing the gospel, review how the gospel has changed you, and study the gospel with great biblical books.

We learn more about Christ and we submit our life to that teaching, but God gives the growth and does the strengthening. Resolve yourself to come to church often, find a small group and get plugged in, read a Christian book, and read a book of the Bible slowly. Ask self-reflecting questions, identify the idols of your own heart, and submit them to Christ. Above all, rest in the fact that God is the one who is rooting you in Christ like a tree, he is building you up like a cathedral, and he is establishing you in the faith.

In Him,Pastor Taylor Mendoza
Northpoint’s Student Ministries

4.11.2019

Freedom, Community, Meaning

By Geoff Grant
Northpoint’s Director of Worship Arts

Hello Church Family,

Perhaps some of you remember meeting my good friend and mentor, Justin Francis, during our recent Night of Psalms. Justin has been integral to my development as a worship pastor, and most of whatever wisdom I could lay claim to would likely be linked somehow back to him.

A while ago, Justin explained to me a principle of producing art that I find uniquely illustrative of something I’d like to discuss in this article. Over sushi one afternoon, Justin explained that a well-produced album (or painting, film, poem, art, etc.) exists on sort of an axis of success. It goes like this:

Time
Quality
Affordability

To produce good art, the artist or producer aims to find the right combination of these three ingredients, each at the expense of the other.

To create a really quality album really fast is very expensive.
To create a really quality album really inexpensively takes a very long time.
To create a very fast and affordable album will probably not be of the best quality.

I experienced this firsthand with our album, Songs from Psalms. We desired to create something of quality while staying within a very reasonable budget. Thus, the album, intended to be finished last October, was finally posted in mid-March. Ah, how we learn.

And so there is this give and take within producing. Each element is good and necessary and ought to work together to produce something great. This wisdom from Justin shares some unique contours with a larger principle outlined by cultural commentator and pastor Mark Sayers, and ultimately descriptive of a biblical anthropology.

Mark Sayers explains that human flourishing could be illustrated on a sort of axis with the components being freedom, meaning, and relationship (or community). Sayers uses the illustration of reservoirs— a healthy person, and in our case, a healthy Christian is orienting life around filling his reservoirs of freedom, meaning, and relationship.

Freedom: the ability to act freely on our convictions; to not be entirely dictated by external forces; a healthy inner life of choice.
Meaning: a transcendent story or narrative; a worldview; a deep identity from which we are drawing purpose.
Relationship/community: a people to belong to; a corporate identity; a community to be a part of with whom we share in life.

Now, all these are good things, necessary to Christian flourishing. However, the problem we face in American culture is that one of these ideals overwhelmingly outweighs and dominates the other two.

Freedom.

This is easily illustrated.

Perhaps you’ve been in one of these conversations concerning an intense desire for church community. “We need to do life together and really live into the body of Christ.” Yet Monday night prayer or growth group evening rolls around and we just don’t feel like it. Or better yet, we need some time to ourselves to recharge. Freedom at the cost of community.

We all desire the deep sense of connection to God that comes through long hours pouring over his Word, drinking in the life-giving story and subtleties of the gospel, but how often do we choose to sleep in, or flip on the ol’ Netflix to turn off our brains. Freedom at the cost of meaning.

It is increasingly common for a church member to attend a Sunday gathering once or twice per month. Instead, it is professional football on TV, club soccer tournaments, online church (whatever that is). Freedom at the cost of community and meaning.

We live in a culture that is supercharged with freedom. We face a barrage of options in the most simple decisions of life. The grocery store offers two hundred types of cereal. We need to read forty reviews of shovels before buying one (guilty, but to that point, I have a great shovel). We are resistant to commit our time due to a crippling fear that something better might come along.

And this is compounded by a culture that coerces us to believe this infinite freedom is some utopian vision of the good life. We see an Instagram feed from the mother of four, running four miles up a mountain, making a four-course breakfast for her kids and reading half of Genesis all before Saturday soccer games—no limitations. Movies feed us this idea that the more we can cut ourselves off from transcendent meaning, we will discover our truest self. “Be the best version of you.” The advertisement tells us that if we simply buy ________ we will have this overflowing life of joy that is demonstrated by the smiling, attractive, healthy, popular people on the screen. And friends, if you didn’t know, it’s all fiction.

Unlimited freedom is a failing vision of the good life—social media, movies, and advertisements want us to believe that the more freedom and autonomy we have the happier we will be. “Do what you want when you want, and you will find the happiness you want.”

Christ offers us a different vision of flourishing. We are actually called to sacrifice some of our freedom to embrace a life of meaning and relationship. Luke 15 provides a beautiful picture of this. Here we see the prodigal son disconnect himself from the community of his family (relationship) and disavow his the story of his inheritance (meaning) to take on a life of complete autonomy and “reckless living”  (15:13). The son is redeemed when the good father welcomes his son back into loving community and identity as his son. The son sacrifices his unlimited freedom for the goods of community and identity (meaning).

So what is all of this to say?

Friends, be cautious of the ways we as Americans embrace an intense priority of freedom. To be a part of true community is to sacrifice a measure of freedom. To put on the character and grace of Christ as our identity requires a sacrifice of autonomy.

:: “I just don’t feel like going to church this morning.”
:: “But I know the value of being in community with God’s people.”

:: “Let’s just skip growth group tonight.”
:: “Actually, we ought to discipline ourselves to live life publicly, amidst Christ-centered community.”

:: “Sermon is over; let’s beat the crowd and get to the car.”
:: “Perhaps we should linger, and spend time encouraging, being known by and getting to know the family of God.”

I encourage you, brothers and sisters, to pray that God gives each of us a hunger for gospel-enriched lives and vibrant relational living. Pray that we are willing to sacrifice personal freedoms to that end.

In that spirit, would you consider attending the all-church prayer gathering TONIGHT, Thursday, April 11, at 7:00 p.m. in the Worship Center? This is a time for us to come together to praise God for his faithfulness, confess our need for him, thank him for his provision in Christ, and plead with him to move in our church and in our city.

Here, in corporate worship and corporate prayer, we find a beautiful symmetry of these three reservoirs. We, free in Christ from the enslavement of sin, come together as a church in relationship and community, to engage with the creating God of the universe, the author of life, and the only source of truth and meaning.

In Him,

Geoff Grant
Northpoint’s Director of Worship Arts

 

4.4.2019

At Home and Abroad

By Tamene Menna
Pastoral Assistant

Hello Church Family,

Fourteen years ago, when I was in Ethiopia, I came across a mission group that was passionate to share the gospel. I quickly learned that the team came from America to reach unreached people groups in Ethiopia. At that time, I was a seminary professor, and along with my father, I was involved in mobilizing Ethiopian evangelical churches for mission and church planting. Given this, I was very excited to meet these folks.

Pastor Mark Spansel, then one of the pastors at Northpoint (who later became my close friend), was the leader of the mission team. He told us that they came all the way from Corona, California, wanting to help reach the unreached people groups in Ethiopia. I was amazed by their passion and readiness to take the gospel outside of their comfort zone to a culture completely foreign to them. I gladly joined the team for a week of mission work doing door to door evangelism—taking the gospel message to those who had never heard it before. This was my first experience of Northpoint Church, the leaders’ vision and passion for the mission and the members’ readiness and commitment to participate in spreading the seeds of the gospel to my home country. Ever since that point, Northpoint has made several mission trips to various parts of the world, including places such as Kenya, Botswana, India, Greece, Spain, and Mexico.

Northpoint’s mission commitment is not only global but local. Since 2012, the Lord has placed in our elders’ hearts a shared vision of being a multiplying church. As a result of that vision, ReBuild Fellowship was born. ReBuild is a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural church in Riverside, California and was launched in September 2016. The church is led by Dr. Kimani Gathere and his wife, Lydia. Kimani and Lydia have been members of Northpoint since 2004 and have participated in various ministries of the church.

ReBuild is a growing church plant with members devoted to unity, service, and evangelism. The church meets at a strategic location near UC Riverside, and they have continued to reach out to university students and to do evangelism in the local neighborhoods. The members meet for fellowship and Bible study at pastor Kemani’s home on the third Friday of every month. ReBuild Fellowship recently held an all-church workers orientation on Saturday, March 2, 2019, where they gave a training seminar for all the church’s ministers.

ReBuild is already involved in local church planting. In June 2018, a couple (Pastor Mel and his wife Trish Campbell) left ReBuild Fellowship to launch Fellowship Corona, meeting at Luseno School here in Corona. Fellowship Corona continues to grow. Regarding his vision for local mission, Pastor Kimani says, “We want to be active and visible locally and will find new ways to be relevant and resourceful to our community.”

Praise the Lord for how He used Northpoint to plant ReBuild and multiply its efforts. Many of you here at Northpoint have been praying for them. Some of you have been visiting, helping with their children’s Sunday school, and encouraging them. They are grateful for that. I would like to thank you all for taking part in this work of God’s kingdom.

May the Lord continue to use us together for more local missions and to see more and more people transformed in our community and around the world. As we celebrate what God has done, let us also look forward prayerfully and readily to what he will do in the future through us.

In Him,Tamene Menna
Pastoral Assistant

 

3.28.2019

An Update From the NP Leadership Team

By Mark Kiker
Elder Chair

Hello Church Family,

The Northpoint Leadership Team has been meeting with a focus on planning and progress on several items. We are making good strides forward and want to quickly update you on several areas. We have divided up the leadership team’s workload into subcommittees that will work together to frame the questions and propose solutions back to the entire team. The whole team will make the final decisions, but by having smaller groups clarify specific areas, we can advance our processes in many areas at one time.

Pastor Search– We have vetted several outside ministry partners and will be selecting one soon. These partners will help us navigate the entire process of searching for our next lead pastor. We gathered recommendations from our denomination, past relationships, and referrals. We have a conference call with one of the finalists on April 8. Once we have a partner in place, we can begin defining the series of steps needed to find the man God is preparing.

In general, we will follow these steps:

– Create: Hire a ministry partner and form a search team. The ministry partner and the elders will develop a church profile (who we are) and pastor profile (who we are looking for), and various application forms and processes. Those products will provide the search team with a framework to eventually vet candidates.

– Seek: Gather referrals, recommendations, and resumes with an initial screening application from possible candidates.

– Discern: Narrow field to a select group. Candidates will be offered a more focused application, then after review, may meet with our ministry partner and do search team interviews. We may have a team visit candidates at their present location and then engage them in deeper interviews with the elders.

– Call: We then select a single, final candidate for a Candidate Weekend. The congregation will have opportunities to interact, and then the elders will offer the name for affirmation by our members.

We have a long way to go, and we are encouraging you to pray for our process and our next pastor.

Elder Expansion– You will soon be asked to affirm a search committee for vetting prospective elders. This group will assist the elder team in finding elder candidates. A vote will be taken on a Sunday via paper ballot for our membership to define this committee. These folks will gather names, do some preliminary vetting, and create a pool of candidates. The candidates will then go through an “elder in training” process for training, vetting, and possible addition to the team.

Choral Music – As discussed at the Town Hall meeting a few weeks ago, an elder subcommittee is proactively working on this area to free up the entire elder team to focus on the pastor search and elder expansion.

Deacons/Deaconess – We are looking into identifying men and women who can serve in areas of oversight and assistance to the elders. This would also free up time for the elders to steer the other efforts with greater vigor.

Mission, Vision, and Values – We will review our existing documents in light of their contribution to the pastor search conversation with candidates. We may add clarification as needed to reflect our perspectives on the future.

Constitution – We have gotten feedback from trusted denominational leadership that our constitution might be in need of review. It was written when the church was much smaller and may not reflect the structure needed to guide a congregation our size. Any changes would be brought to the members for review and approval.
Discipleship – We need to increase our focus on disciple-making: reaching, teaching, and sending. We have many areas where we are impacting our multiplication of disciples, but desire to expand our efforts to “present everyone mature in Christ.”   – Colossians 1:28 ESV

Finances – We are stable, but have declined a bit. We are roughly $8,000 below last year’s total giving fiscal year-to-date and about $60,000 under our budgeted needs for the year. The austerity of our staff has made that drop manageable, plus we have consistent cash flow and an increasing bank balance since August when our fiscal year started. We encourage all of you to give as you have been blessed and to continue to be faithful as God calls his children to be generous in their giving for the sake of his Kingdom.

As we see God’s will unfolding before us, continue to pray for his wisdom and guidance in all things, and be prayerful about the financial area as we seek to be good shepherds of his provisions.

In Him,

Mark Kiker
Elder Chair

 

3.21.2019

Why Sing Songs from Psalms?

By Geoff Grant
Director of Worship Arts

Hello Church Family,

I find myself this week reading a book for seminary that invites some interesting discussion. It isn’t so much the content of the book that has been occupying my attention, but rather the style. The author seems to oscillate rapidly between logical, academic coherence, and artistic ambiguous prose.

This is to say, one sentence I’d comment to myself, “Wow, that is a great point.” And the next, “I have no idea what he is trying to say here.”

The reason I employ this metaphor is I believe it illustrates one of the challenges our culture faces in corporate worship. More and more, as the disciples and ideas of post-modernism challenge our already modern culture, language is following the trend of subjectivity and ambiguity. Post-modernism makes the claim that “reality is subjective,” “what is truth to you is not truth to me”—more and more progressive culture aims to strip the world of anything concrete and transcendent, saying the only thing that is objective is that everything is subjective, which is one of the primary fallacies in this worldview.

I wish I could say confidently that the church is immune to this movement. Unfortunately, I think many of us are unaware of how much the ideas of modernity and post-modernity have formed us. It is in guarding against this that I’d like to call to attention our corporate worship, the words we say, and primarily, why we sing songs from Psalms.

Two passages come to mind in thinking about the words we sing. Joshua 1:8:

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.”

The Dawn of Redemption

By Dave Dussault
Northpoint’s Prayer Ministry

11.29.2018

Unwrapping God’s Perfect Gift
From Dave Dussault

Thanks be to God for His inexpressible Gift. – 2 Corinthians 9:15

The entire Bible tells us about who God is and His plan to redeem our lost world. He accomplished that plan through Jesus—God’s only Son, wrapped in flesh. Jesus is the greatest gift there ever was, sent directly from God. Take some time to reflect on who Jesus is and all we have in Him.

Sufficient: We have everything we will ever need through Christ—Really!
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8).

Enrichment: In God’s plan, multiplied thanks come from His multiplied blessings.
You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God (2 Corinthians 9:11).

Light and Life: Unconquerable Light and Life are in Christ and ours through Him.
In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:4-5).

Abundant Grace: We receive everything through Christ, including grace to enjoy it.
For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace (John 1:16).

God in Flesh: Christ created the world, is not of this world, but He became one of us to redeem us.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

Lamb of God: Christ alone takes away the sin of the world, by His death on the cross.
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)!

Risen Savior: Through Jesus’ resurrection, we are born again to a living hope.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3).

Our Keeper: Jesus guards and keeps us on our way to heaven.
To an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:4).

Prophetically Promised: Christ Jesus is God’s long-promised King.
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days (Micah 5:2).

Assurance of All We Need: Christ gives us certainty that God will meet our every need.
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things (Romans 8:32)?

Greif Bearer: On the cross, Jesus bore our sins and sorrows.
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted (Isaiah 53:4).

Guilt Bearer: On the cross, Jesus took our punishment.
But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:5-6).

Heart of God’s Redemptive Plan: God promised Jesus at the beginning of time.
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel (Genesis 3:15).

Conquering King: Jesus is God’s Triumphant Ruler who will rule with perfect justice.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal  of the Lord of hosts will do this (Isaiah 9:6-7).

Coming King: All our hope is in Christ’s return in glory.
This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven (Acts 1:11).

Righteous Judge: When Christ returns there will be a day of perfectly just judgment.
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left (Matthew 25:31-33).

Worthy Ruler: Jesus Christ is the only One in heaven and earth who Is worthy to reign.
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing (Revelation 5:12)!

Our world is temporary and troubled. Christ is the eternal Prince of Peace. Let Him dominate your focus during this holiday season. Or, in the words of Helen Howarth Lemmel:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His Glory and Grace.

In Him,

Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

– Each week, Dave updates a monthly Bible reading plan and writes a Bible and prayer focus, Prayer Life. The preceding is a recent installment. You can pick up both offerings at the Information Center in the Foyer on Sundays, or sign up there to receive them via email. You can also click here to find the archive.

11.22.2018

You may not have noticed it. You may even wish it didn’t happen, but this morning … you woke up! You have received a gift—a new day—today. Thank God!

Some days are challenging. Some are difficult. Most seem ordinary. Some days are important—even monumental. But every day is a tailor-made gift from God, worth thanking Him for. This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24). Now that’s a good command to obey.

Thanksgiving Day is significant for countless reasons. It’s a national holiday, focusing us as a people on gratitude toward God. It’s a reminder—not of pilgrims and turkeys—but of God’s mighty hand providing for His children and the founding of our country. It’s a spur to God’s people to say “Thank You” for all He’s done and all He’s doing.

• Spiritual: In what ways has God blessed you in your relationship with Him?
• Relational: Identify friends and family members God has used to bless you.
• Physical: Notice God’s hand in your health and your life situation.
• Social: How has God blessed you with freedom and opportunity, goals and ambitions and success?
• Financial: How does God provide for you financially, even when you’re in need?

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. – Ephesians 1:3-4

In Him,

Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

– Each week, Dave updates a monthly Bible reading plan and writes a Bible and prayer focus, Prayer Life. The preceding is a recent installment. You can pick up both offerings at the Information Center in the Foyer on Sundays, or sign up there to receive them via email. You can also click here to find the archive.

“We Are Responding”
From the EFCA

In what has amounted to the deadliest wildfire in California history, 90 percent of Paradise, California, has been destroyed. More than 7,600 single-family homes and 260 commercial structures burnt to the ground. Forty-eight lives lost and hundreds more missing.

The following is an excerpt from a blog post written by Mark Lewis, director of EFCA Crisis Response, after he witnessed the aftermath of the wildfire:

“Black. Gray. White. Brown. The colors of the burn area. The landscape is charred. After 15 minutes of driving, we start to see the remains of cooked cars and piles of ash and twisted metal marking the remains of buildings. Brick chimneys stand like tombstones over the remains of still smoldering homes, neighborhood after neighborhood, for mile after mile.”

Eighty homes of EFCA congregants were destroyed by the fire, leaving just two families from Paradise EFC with homes to which to return. Eighty families displaced and facing the prospect of a nearly impossible rebuild. Still, by the grace of God, all the congregants’ lives were spared. From the ashes, God has provided hope.

As you read this, Crisis Response and the EFCA Western District are collaborating to mobilize response efforts in Paradise. Our ReachGlobal Crisis Response team is currently on the ground, responding to this horrific loss of life and property in Northern California. Along with the physical restoration, the team is focusing specifically on trauma care – providing support, counseling and love to those who experienced this disaster firsthand.

Support the Response

We’re responding, but we need your help. Amid this devastating crisis, there also lies significant opportunity. The people of Paradise, California, need the hope, love and overwhelming peace of Jesus Christ.

Will you join us, then, in coming alongside the people of Paradise, California? In response to this disaster, we need prayer, financial support and for the word to be spread:

Pray. Pray God’s peace, comfort, hope and restoration over Pastor Art Worthington, Paradise EFC and all those affected by the fire in the Paradise community. Pray also for God’s wisdom, guidance and strength for those currently on the ground responding.

Give. After Hurricane Harvey – by God’s grace – you contributed more than $1.6 million for relief efforts. The devastation of the Paradise wildfire has been even more catastrophic on our EFCA family. We need your financial support to bring restoration to Paradise.

Share. To help us spread awareness of this need, we ask that you’d share this message with your church body and dedicate a special offering to help those affected by this wildfire. To help you do so, we’ve provided: the video below (available for download on Vimeo), a bulletin insert and several prayer requests.

More information will be available in the coming days. For updates on our response to the Paradise wildfire and to get involved, visit https://www.efca.org/california-wildfire-response.

Despite the brokenness of this world, we have a sovereign God who loves, cares and restores. Amid this tragedy, let us take hope in our unchanging Savior. May God be glorified in the midst of this disaster.

Donate now.

8.16.2018

The God Who Hears

“I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.” – Psalm 116:1-2

Hello Church Family,

The Bible is full of instances of answered prayer. God brings about His plan of redemption through His people, so He pays attention when we pray. Since God’s people play a key role in His plans, our prayers have a special place in His heart. At times, though, God brings us into desperate situations to show us how desperately we need Him. When we ask Him, “Teach us to pray,” He takes it seriously (Luke 11:1b). For example, God called David from being a shepherd to become king of Israel, but also to be the ancestor of Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). And so God guarded His chosen one through all circumstances of life—even when he was suffering the consequences of his sin.

When David received the grave news that Ahithophel supported Absalom, his first response was prayer. “O LORD, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness (2 Samuel 15:31).” And immediately, God provided the answer. A friend came up to David, who was just the right person to undermine the plans of Absalom and Ahithophel.

His name was Hushai the Arkite. Promising complete loyalty to David, Hushai agreed to go back to Jerusalem and pretend to support Absalom. After Hushai won Absalom’s confidence, the usurper included Hushai in his plans and asked his advice. “Ahithophel says we should attack David now, before he can set up a defense. What do you say?”

“I don’t know,” Hushai cautioned. “David is pretty cagey. You’d better take time to gather your forces and get ready.” When Absalom took Hushai’s advice and his, Ahithophel knew the delay would bring certain defeat. As Absalom took time to prepare, his renown but devious counselor withdrew to take his own life. The deception worked. David won in the battle against his own son, and his throne was preserved. At great cost, David’s prayer was answered.

Prayer is so much more than sanctified wishful thinking. Whoever trusts Christ for salvation is a child of God. Christians are more than just another religious group. “[We] are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that [we] may proclaim the excellencies of him who called [us] out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).”

So much of what happens in our lives is God’s way of testing our faith and showing us what He is able to do for His people. God has a way of teaching us to pray in faith, believing that He will answer.

And He will answer. For the praise of His Glory.

In Him,

Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

– Each week, Dave updates a monthly Bible reading plan and writes a Bible and prayer focus, Prayer Life. The preceding is a recent installment. You can pick up both offerings at the Information Center in the Foyer on Sundays, or sign up there to receive them via email. You can also click here to find the archive.

The rest of NP News for 8.16.2018 can be found on the “This Week” page athttps://www.northpointcorona.org/this-week/

8.9.2018

I Do Not Cease Giving Thanks for You

Hello Church Family,

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. … – Ephesians 1:15-16   

I want to stop for a moment and give thanks for the many blessings that God has brought to Northpoint and to Corona through the many believers who are part of this wonderful body.

When I listened to Dr. Chute talk a few Sundays past about the signs of health that he sees in our church, I stopped for a moment and considered what I saw around me over the last month or two. I watched a group of wonderful ladies and men come together in just a few days to help put together a memorial service and reception for one of our founding members. The children, who had dispersed over the years, spoke of the kindness and sacrifice they experienced from the many Northpointers who came to serve. I’ve sat among 20-30 members, who meet on campus every Monday evening, as they prayed for God’s work and God’s people. I saw many at the congregational meeting who communicated passionately about Northpoint, calling us to excellence and trusting that God had given us the people, gifts, and resources to fulfill the mission together. I heard the many stories of those who have been overseas this summer, speaking of the powerful work of the Spirit in the church abroad.

We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me. – Colossians 1:28-29

I then had the blessing of attending one our Restore + Rediscover + Rebuild listening sessions with the members of Northpoint who spoke about their thankfulness for Northpoint’s commitment to the truth of the Word, and to God-glorifying musical worship. They spoke about community and long-term relationships that had produced great fruit in their lives. They spoke about small groups, Sunday school, youth ministry, children’s ministries, missions, and men’s and women’s ministries. I was even more encouraged by the feedback we heard regarding opportunities for improvement. One of the genuine signs of a healthy church is the desire to identify mistakes, needs, and weaknesses, and to then find solutions together. As A.W. Tozer explained in a book of compiled sermons titled Rut, Rot or Revival, if you live with the status quo, your church is headed in the wrong direction. Revival is an important and necessary part of a healthy church’s, and the healthy believer’s, walk in the Spirit.

Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. – Romans 12:1

It is in this spirit of thankfulness, and from a desire to see our body deepen its heart for God’s work, that I urge us to commit our time, prayers, and resources, to taking advantage of this transition. Pray. Pray courageously and often. Pray about where your heart is at and about where God wants to take you. He is perfecting each one of us and calls us to do His kingdom’s work.

Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 3:13-14

I am praying for all of you that you would know the Lord in His majesty, that your lives would be filled with the Spirit, and that you would be compelled by God’s love for the work of service to the church and to the world. It is in Christ’s name that we pray.

In Him,

Steve Flood
Northpoint Elder

8.2.2018

Christ, the Loving Husband

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. – Ephesians 5:25-33

Hello Church Family,

The glory of God shines in the Bride of Christ. Jesus is at work in His church to reveal Himself to the world, and He shows His love to the world primarily in the way He loves His Bride the church.

Christ is a husband to His people. How does Jesus show His love? His Word expresses it clearly, but He also demonstrates His love in the way He treats His church—the way He created us and the way cares for us and perfects us for eternity with Him.

7.19.2018

7.12.2018

When the Whole Church Shows Up!

We’ve been having a blast this week at Northpoint’s Vacation Bible School. We had 290 kids from our community officially register (the most in the last 5 years), and as I can attest, they’ve all shown up. What a blessing. Praise the Lord!

This year’s theme is Fruit of the Spirit, and the kids have been challenged to learn how the Holy Spirit grows the characteristics found in Galatians 5, the fruit of the Spirit, in their lives.

A point of encouragement for me has been watching over 100 volunteers from our church help pull off this major event. So many volunteered, that every role was filled. All of them. I wish I could name and thank each and every one of our volunteers for their dedication and hard work toward making this week so meaningful for these kids, but there are too many! I can, however, name a few main leaders: I want to give a special thank you to Terilyn Brown and Jenn Lemen for leading this year’s VBS. I also want to mention Andria Brucks, Leslie Schuller, Isabelle Cordil, Matt and Amy Beyersdorf, Heidi Holt, and Tri Nguyen for going the extra mile in leading this week.

What has struck me so far is what God can do when the whole church shows up to serve Christ and his church. VBS is one of those events in the life of Northpoint that require so many of you to make it a great success. And our body has shown up. As I have walked the campus these first few nights, I have been so encouraged to see folks from every age and stage in life volunteering in some way. Whether it has been helping with crafts, games, teaching, leading a small group, preparing food, leading worship, or performing the nightly drama, all these volunteers have demonstrated what the heart of Northpoint is all about: serving God to bring the world the saving message of Jesus Christ.

Watching all of our volunteers this week has continually reminded me of this passage from Romans 12: 4-6: “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.”

What a wonderful truth it is that when God calls us to be part of the family of God, he also gives us gifts needed to further his kingdom. Not only does he gift us, but he gifts all of his children differently so that the church can faithfully and effectively fulfill its mission—and praise God for that! Can you imagine the disaster VBS would be if all of our 100+ volunteers all had the same gift? If all our volunteers were teachers, we would we have a 2 and a half hour lecture each night with no games, worship, food, etc. I doubt seriously that anyone would have shown up for day two.

Not only does God give us different gifts, but he also promises that in our diversity of gifts, he will bring unity. Unity that is what we find when God’s people serve out of their various areas of giftedness. It’s a unity in our diversity. As that verse in Romans says: “so we, though many, are one body in Christ.” This is what I have seen during the first 3 nights of VBS 2018. And with 2 evenings remaining, I’m sure I’ll see God bringing our body an even deeper sense of unity as so many serve out of their diverse giftedness.

So thank you Northpoint, for being the church this week and serving so faithfully!

In Him,

Pastor Scott Williams

The rest of NP News for 7.12.2018 can be found on the “This Week” page athttps://www.northpointcorona.org/this-week/

7.5.2018

“Rejoicing in Our Great God”

“When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we first begun.”

We were made for worship. John Newton penned “Amazing Grace” after God transformed him from a slave trader and self-described “wretch” into an abolitionist and preacher of the gospel. Christ has freed us all from slavery to sin. Forever in heaven, we’ll delight in giving Him praise and thanks. Worship is our destiny.

Psalm 92 is a great place to start rehearsing for heaven. And now is the best time.

Ways and Reasons to Worship: The abandonment of joy in the Lord —

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath.

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

How great are your works, O LORD!
Your thoughts are very deep!

• Give God the glory for your freedom from sin. Relinquish any claim to personal credit.
• Think of the many ways God gives us to enjoy worshiping Him. Tell Him, thank you.
• Reflect on how God has shown His steadfast love and the many ways He has blessed your life. Give Him praise for each one.

Expectations in Worship: God brings down the wicked and exalts the righteous —

How great are your works, O LORD!
Your thoughts are very deep!
The stupid man cannot know;
the fool cannot understand this:
that though the wicked sprout like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction forever;
but you, O LORD, are on high forever.
For behold, your enemies, O LORD,
for behold, your enemies shall perish;
all evildoers shall be scattered.

But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;
you have poured over me fresh oil.
My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.

• The only way to know God is through divine revelation and illumination. Praise God for revealing Himself in Scripture and making Himself known in your life through His Spirit.
• Put the wicked into God’s hands and trust Him to deal with them faithfully. Rejoice in the specific things He has done to bring down wicked people and reveal Himself through His people.
• Think of ways God has protected and defended you, and give Him praise for the ways He reigns in your life and circumstances.

Hope for Worship: Rejoicing in the Lord for time and eternity —

The righteous flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the LORD;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
They still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green,
to declare that the LORD is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

• Place specific areas of your life in God’s hands, and expect His help and blessing.
• Look to God to make us, His people, flourish in ways that bring Him glory.
• Pray that you will continue to bear fruit for Jesus and proclaim His perfect goodness and righteousness.

A Life of Praise
We live every moment in the presence of a loving God. He is inescapable. Sometimes this thought crowds us with concern. Instinctively, we know our sin, so the scrutiny of the Almighty disturbs us. By nature we prefer our sin, so we find His pristine holiness confining. Little do we know the freedom God intends for His people. Little do we understand the complete abandonment Christ’s blood has bought us. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

A life of praise is a life that is free—and knows it’s free—from sin. God’s law guides us without constraining us. His Spirit makes holiness both possible and desirable. It is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). He makes Godliness what we want to do so that all holiness is all freedom.

Prayer for Northpoint
Ask God to set Northpoint free, so His Spirit defines who we are, leads where we go, and empowers all we do.

1. Our Pastors and Directors: Brent Whitefield, Scott Williams, Terilyn Brown, Geoff Grant, Taylor Mendoza, Tamene Menna, and Marti Wiegman.
• Pray for the anointing of God’s Spirit on their lives and ministries. Ask God to use them to equip us for Godliness.

2. Our Lay Elders: Tim East, Steve Flood, Mark Kiker, Mike Russell, and Vinoj Zechariah.
• Pray for the anointing of God’s Spirit on their lives and ministries. Ask God to use them to lead us where He would have us go.

3. Our Church Staff: Michelle Balga, Bob Brown, Andria Brucks, Jacob Williams, Carolee Jefferson, Amber McEwen, Mark Norland, Corie Saunders, and Teri Vaughn.
• Pray for the joy of the Lord to be their strength.

4. John Sloan, Brent Whitefield, and their families: Seek God’s Grace and guidance and blessing as they serve Him in the churches where He is calling them.
• Pray for God’s presence with them wherever they go, in whatever He calls them to do.

5. Our Church Body: Pray for the anointing of God’s Spirit in your life and throughout our church.

In Him,

Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

– Each week, Dave writes a monthly Bible reading plan and weekly Bible and prayer focus, “Prayer Life.” The preceding is a recent installment. You can pick up both offerings at the Information Center in the Foyer on Sundays, or sign up there to receive them via email. You can also click here to find the archive.

6.28.2018

Taylor Mendoza Vetting Committee Update

Hello Church Family,

As part of the “Restore, Rediscover, and Rebuild” process that we’re going through, I want to give you an update on the process. As we have discussed, the Northpoint Elders are recommending Taylor Mendoza be promoted from Director of Student Ministries to Pastor of Student Ministries. Our church’s constitution requires the elders submit a vetting committee, made up of selected elders and Northpoint members, for affirmation by the Northpoint membership. To that end, the elders recently announced the following for the Taylor Mendoza Vetting Committee: elders Tim East, Steve Flood, Mike Russell, and Vinoj Zachariah, and Northpoint members Karen Sherwood, Rich Simpson, and Keith Tront. Each of the congregational members was selected because they represent the general make up of our church. Karen has been on the Northpoint staff in the women’s ministry and is a parent of kids in our student ministries. Rich works at Cal Baptist University as the registrar, and for many years, was a youth pastor in Riverside. Keith is a longtime Northpoint member who is well versed in the Word, and who disciples several men here. This past Sunday, the Northpoint congregation voted overwhelmingly to affirm the vetting committee.

The intent of this committee is NOT to rubber-stamp the elders’ recommendation for Taylor’s promotion but to evaluate thoroughly his character and qualifications in light of scriptural requirements (Titus 1.5-9, 1 Timothy 3.1-7, and others).

For it says in 1 Timothy 3:2-7:

“Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.”

While the pastor of student ministries will not be an elder, he will be included on the Leadership Team, which is comprised of both pastors and elders. Previous student ministries pastors were on the Leadership Team, and Taylor’s presence and input there is very much needed. In fact, in many ways, Taylor is already fulfilling almost all the responsibilities of previous student ministry pastors: he leads our high school and Revolve ministries, oversees the junior high ministry associate, Jacob Williams, leads mission teams to other countries, counsels struggling teenagers, preaches occasionally in the main services, and leads communion and baptism.

Calling a man to the role of a pastor is a serious task that requires time. The answer of the vetting committee will be either yes—affirm Taylor as a pastor—or, wait—not yet. The elders’ goal a couple months ago was to be able to vet Taylor in order to present him to the congregation for affirmation as a pastor at the July congregational meeting. Due to the compressed schedule and everyone’s limited availability over the next month, we have decided the best course of action would be to hold a special meeting in the fall to allow the committee the appropriate amount of time to appraise thoroughly Taylor’s character and relationships.

We are excited to see the next chapter that God has for our body at Northpoint, and we are thankful for you as we serve alongside you. Thank you for your prayers and support. We have been extremely encouraged by you. Please continue to pray and trust that the Lord’s will be done here at Northpoint.

In Him,

Vinoj Zachariah, Elder
– On Behalf of the Elders

6.21.2018

Love: Our Relationship with Each Other

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another. – John 15:12-17

What does love look like? Look at Christ and you’ll see it. Love looks to the good of others and lays down its life to accomplish that good. Love is the mark of the church—the bond that holds us together with each other and with Christ.

Pray for love of this quality to grow in our body at Northpoint, and ask God to produce it in you. Christ-like love is a high command. Look to Christ and He will enable you to live the love He has for us.

The High Command: This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
• The love Christ calls us to is sacrificial, and He alone can produce it in us. Trust Him to do it.

Our Closest Friend: You are my friends if you do what I command you.
• Jesus commandment is to love one another as He loved us—by laying down His life for us. Ask God to lead us by faith to walk in love and trust Him with the consequences.

A New Relationship: No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
• In Christ, God is our Friend, and Jesus tells us what is on His heart for us to know. Ask God to reveal Himself to you more and more fully.

Our Call from Christ: You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide.
• Christ chose and appointed us to go and bear lasting fruit. Expect God to produce His fruit in you—especially Christ-like love.

Our Promise from Christ: so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
• We can expect God to answer our prayers so He can accomplish His call through us. Pray for
increased faith.

Our High Command: These things I command you so that you will love one another.
• Love one another is a command worth repeating and a call only Christ can accomplish in us and through us. Praise God for His patient work to perfect Christ’s character in you.

Love One Another: Things to Remember
• Christ asks nothing of us that He has not already done Himself. He is able to shape us into His image.
• Jesus Christ is your Friend. He is alive in heaven today and right by your side right now and always.
• In response to our prayers, Jesus discloses Himself to us, so we can know Him and His will.
• We are His chosen ones—Christ’s Beloved.
• Christ Himself has promised to answer our prayers. Pray expectantly.
• Rejoice in Christ’s love for us and in us.

Prayer for Northpoint

Ask God to create Christ-like love within you and within our church body at Northpoint. Pray for …

1. Our Pastors and Directors: Brent Whitefield, Scott Williams, Terilyn Brown, Geoff Grant, Taylor Mendoza, Tamene Menna, and Marty Wiegman.
• Ask God to equip them to lead us in loving each other.
2. Our Lay Elders: Tim East, Steve Flood, Mark Kiker, Mike Russell, and Vinoj Zechariah.
• Pray for God’s strength and protection on them, so that by imitating them, we imitate Christ.
3. Our Church Staff: Michelle Balga, Bob Brown, Andria Brucks, Jacob Williams, Carolee Jefferson, Josh Figueroa, Amber McEwen, Mark Norland, Corie Saunders, and Teri Vaughn
• Pray for the love of Christ to flow through each one of them as they serve Christ in our church.
4. John Sloan, Brent Whitefield and their families: Seek God’s Grace and guidance and blessing as they serve Him in the churches where He is calling them.
• Ask God to perfect His love in them as they pursue His will for their lives. Pray for personal openness to God’s work in their hearts and lives.
5. Our Church Body: Pray that God will make you open, accepting, and trusting, as He exposes areas in your life where He wants to make you grow.

In Him,

Dave Dussault
Northpoint Prayer Ministry

– Each week, Dave writes a monthly Bible reading plan and weekly Bible and prayer focus, Prayer Life. The preceding is the latest Prayer Life installment. You can pick up both offerings at the Information Center in the Foyer on Sundays, or sign up there to receive them via email. You can also click here to find the archive.

6.14.2018

Each phase has important goals and they build on each other: as we gradually complete one, we’ll be ready for the next. And as you can see, everyone at Northpoint has a part to play in finding God’s will for our congregation. Please be in prayer about your part as we grow forward together.

In Him,

Tim East, Elder
On Behalf of the Elders

6.7.2018

5.31.2018

Getting Unstuck – A Call to a Shared Vision

Hello Church Family,

King Solomon once wrote, “The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city” (Ecclesiastes 10:15). A man without direction is a fool who is stuck. In the New Testament, the wise are associated with Christians, and the fools are associated with non-believers. Christians are going to God and His city. In going to God, Christians travel the same ground that everyone else walks on, breathe the same air, drink the same water, pay the same prices for groceries, get the same distresses, and are buried in the same ground, yet with each step, the believer is preserved by God.

However, it is possible to be reminded of the providence of God and yet still be stuck. Even an entire church can be stuck. One visionary, Will Mancini, has claimed the cause for being stuck: “I remind churches all the time that the church in North America is over-programmed and underdiscipled. And in case you are wondering: programs don’t attract people; people attract people.” In other words, many churches feel stuck, yet they run to programs, and not to a vision of disciple-making for the answer. Feeling stuck as a church comes from a lack of a shared vision.

A shared vision gives clarity, inspiration, and conviction. Through much prayer, the key to getting unstuck and remaining unstuck is a shared vision. Much of this has to do with the fact that God is a God of vision. The book of Isaiah is full of pictures of the future that God puts before us. The Minor Prophets, such as Haggai, Nahum, and Micah, are filled with pictures of where God is taking His people. And in the New Testament, we see Jesus giving a vision to the apostles, to Paul, and to the entire church.

There is tremendous power in vision. Consider the powerful illustration of Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychologist, who survived the Nazi death camps of World War II. During his time in the concentration camps, he was sustained by his vision of reuniting with his wife and lecturing after the war on the psychological lessons learned in captivity. Frankl found that vision was a means of survival. Lack of vision meant death, but the power of true vision meant life. Prisoners who had died “lost all hope for a future and were inevitably the first to die. They died less from lack of food or medicine than from lack of hope, lack of something to live for.”

Think of the power of vision that resulted in hope for the Thessalonians. This led to one of the most incredible statements in the Bible made by the apostle Paul: “For we know brothers and sisters, loved by God, that he has chosen you. …” (1 Thessalonians 1:3-5) Paul essentially is saying that he knows with certainty that the Thessalonians are saved. How could Paul make such a statement without seeing what was in their hearts? The answer is in the next verse: “because our gospel came to you not only in word but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.” In other words, the Thessalonians were consumed with a Spirit-given, Word-empowered vision in the gospel that resulted in steadfast hope.

However, the Bible also makes clear that a plan must be set in place to make the vision a reality. It’s been said that vision without execution is a daydream, and execution without vision is a nightmare. Jesus alludes to this in Luke 14:28-30: “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish it, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’” Jesus’ final words are frightening. He implies here that planning is not only good but will spare someone significant embarrassment, massive stewardship problems, and even life-threatening situations.

So if shared vision is the key to getting unstuck, then it’s fair to say that Northpoint Church needs a vision, and not just a vision, but a plan to go along with it. Although I am not paving the way for our vision, my desire for you is that you would be a part of the process of finding one.

Here is how that might look:

1. Receive a vision from God for the purpose of direction. I am not suggesting by any means that we should all sit around or go out into the desert to wait for God’s audible voice, and to await a vision of chariots of fire. I am suggesting that God gives specific vision, perhaps starting with the glory of God, to a church who prays and prays a lot. God is faithful to answer the prayers of His people.

2. Get focused and motivated by the power of the Holy Spirit. Just as I said before, vision is good but is useless without a practical plan. At Northpoint Church, more than ever, we need all members to serve, give, and minister in the church. This is not to be done by our own ability, but by the grace of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. I invite you to take advantage of the summer: serve the church, serve our leadership, make disciples, plan a Bible study, read a book on prayer, and most of all, be satisfied in Jesus.

3. Aim for unity. The vision that I am proposing is not a personal and individualistic vision, but a shared vision. It is not enough for one person in our congregation to have a vision while the rest do not. As a body of believers, we are called to a shared vision because in Christ, unity matters.

4. Remember the unimportance of practically everything. Ministry without clarity is insanity. Think of the number of things Jesus accomplished in his short life on earth, yet he didn’t heal every person, he didn’t cast out every demon, neither did he teach everywhere. God had given him a vision for His people, and He completed it. While He accomplished His vision, it was also the one that was given to Him. Jesus understood the unimportance of practically everything—that is, everything else other than what the Father gave Him to do. In His case, vision involved laying down His life for His sheep.

In Him,

Taylor Mendoza

Student Ministry Director

5.24.2018

An Update from the Elders: Transition

Hello Church Family,

As most of you know, we are in a period of transition here at Northpoint, and this will involve stabilizing and clarifying our ministries focus. While it may be difficult, this is healthy for any church to engage in from time to time. Over the next month, we will be bringing on an interim pastor who will play a pivotal role in re-energizing our efforts to “make disciples who make disciples.” We are hopeful as we watch God’s will unfold over the years to come.

Some of you may have heard that another transition is happening in our staff. Brent Whitefield will be stepping aside from his position as the Pastor of Missions and Outreach at the end of June. God has called him and his family to a new ministry in Florida where he will have responsibility for mobilizing disciples for the work of ministry locally and globally. A number of things relating to this new opportunity made it clear to him that it was the Holy Spirit’s guiding work. Brent emphasized to the leadership team that this transition is not directly related to John’s departure. He reinforces and supports the elders’ efforts to stabilize and move forward. In his seven years here, God has given Brent valuable experiences to draw on as he undertakes his next role in ministry. He will be here for the next few weeks to help make a smooth transition and to continue our teaching commitment in northern India. His last day will be Sunday, July 1.

From Brent:  “I wanted to thank you all for your love and care for my family these past few years and for allowing me to minister and lead. Being a pastor here has been a great joy and privilege, and I have made friends who will be with me a lifetime. I trust that each of you will pray for and support your elders and pastors all the more in the days ahead, and for the wisdom in selecting new leaders to carry on the work of making disciples who make disciples. I believe that as a church, the best days are ahead; I can’t wait to see how God will use this body to be a light to this community and to the nations.”

At the end of this Sunday’s service, Brent will make the announcement. And then right after, the elders will be up at the front to answer questions that you might have about transition plans.

In Him,

Mark Kiker, Elder Chairman – On Behalf of the Elders

5.17.2018

An Update from the Elders: Hard work, Patience, Prayer, and Love

Hello Church Family,

As God continues to work His will and purposes here at Northpoint, it’s a good time to thank Him for providing for us and to pray for His continued guidance and direction. That’s something we can be so thankful for here;  God’s people are praying and seeking Him, which is so important right now.

God has promised to give us His wisdom. As James says so clearly: we should ask God, and He will give generously to all without finding fault—and we are certainly seeking that now.

In this light, we, your elders, want to share with you where we’re heading as a church; while much is still to be discovered, a plan for the weeks and months ahead is coming together.

First, we need to restore and rebuild our trust and relationships, and that’s where we are going to focus our attention right now. Nothing is more important than our love and fellowship based on trust, and changes in ministry can put some strains on those bonds. So for the next month to six weeks, we’ll be working diligently, meeting with leaders, staff, and members of our congregation on this. You won’t see many dramatic changes during this time; we need to renew our strength that comes from unity.

Next, we’ll start to expand our conversations and rediscover who we are and who God wants us to be, what defines us as a church, what are our strengths, and where do we need to do better. Again, we’ll be listening, praying, talking, and perhaps a little dreaming about what God might lead us to be and to do.

During this phase, you will see some gradual changes as we bring in an interim pastor to minister on Sundays and during the week, and we will gradually make small adjustments, especially to improve areas that need shoring up.

The third phase—and this might go through the summer—will be to rebuild. Guided by what we have learned, and prayerfully seeking God, we’ll start to move forward together in clearly defining what we want to be, and begin looking for a new lead pastor.

All of this will take a great deal of hard work, patience, prayer, and love for one another, but every day we see these very qualities being displayed. All around our church the works of the ministry continue: caring for one another, bearing each other’s burdens, forgiving, loving, and encouraging. We are God’s church, we are a loving church, and God has promised us that we will fulfill the good works that he called us to before the foundations of the earth—to His glory and our joy.

In Him,

Tim East
Elder

5.10.2018

Rehearsing the Gospel

Hello Church Family,

Chelsea and I enjoy canoeing more than any other hobby. There is something serenely beautiful about being on the water, slicing the calm with the paddle, hearing the ripples skirt along the boat. As much as Southern California allows us, we try to get out and keep our strokes and skills in practice. Canoeing requires repetition, and canoeing well requires keeping this practice in a regular rhythm. Knowing the strokes and learning how to “read the water” is all incredibly useful information, we’re intentional to grow in those areas and thankful when we do. However, it is the practice, the consistent rehearsal of canoeing that makes this an enjoyable hobby rather than a burdensome workout.

I would propose the same is true of most skills. Whether it is practicing your golf swing, painting a landscape, planting a garden, or building a picnic table, repetition and practice are the driving motions of learned concepts. You could watch a hundred videos on how to throw a curveball, but the theory alone will not produce a great pitcher.

In Paul’s letters, specifically those to the Colossians and Ephesians, we receive a vision for living the Christian life in community. Regularly rehearsing our faith in Christ together. Paul invites the church in Colossae to “take off” their old self, identifying the earthly manner in which they once walked, and to instead put on love. He writes:

“And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

As James K. A. Smith says, “putting on Christ takes practice” and isn’t it true that we tend to move toward what our hearts truly desire? Jesus seems to affirm this reality as he asks his first disciples, “What is it that you seek?” or “What do you really want?” (John 1:38) and similarly when he thrice asks Peter, “Do you love me?” (John 21). This call to put on Christ, to put on love, could be the habituating or rehearsing of our new identity, being in Christ.

This is my desire for our weekly gathering as Northpoint Church. I long to gather with you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, for the very purpose of:

–    putting on love,
–    letting the peace of Christ rule in our hearts,
–    putting on thankful hearts,
–    letting the Word of Christ dwell in us,
–    teaching, correcting, and warning each other in wisdom,
–    singing psalms and hymns together,
–    giving thanks to the Father in Christ.

I have recently become fond of employing the word liturgy in a more broad application. A lot of the time when we hear “liturgy” our minds ping back to “high church,” smells and bells of Catholicism, or rites and rituals of the Episcopalian church; but the term liturgy most simply refers to a particular arrangement of service or practice.

Chelsea and I have certain liturgies we perform when we canoe: we take the canoe off our car in a certain way, enter the canoe a certain way, paddle together in a particular rhythm, stop and proceed using certain set steps, and so on.

Similarly, when we gather to worship, our desire is to rehearse the reality of our identity in Christ. We have liturgies that aid us in practicing this “putting on the character of Christ”. Perhaps you have even identified these rhythms in our corporate worship:

–    we recognize God’s perfect, holy character and his creating power,
–    we recall the fall and remember our past rebellion and our present sin,
–    we celebrate and embrace Christ as our atonement and redemption,
–    we anticipate the future day when all will be made right and we will dwell with Christ himself.

Whether we rehearse these truths and respond to God’s goodness in song, reading, hearing the word, partaking in communion, or celebrating God’s grace in baptism, we desire to habituate bearing thankful hearts in Christ and finding our identity, both individual and collective, in Christ. Amidst all these things, we receive God’s grace, wisdom, and revelation in his Word. We respond in thanksgiving, and we feast on the Bread of Life together.

There is immense value in our gathering weekly to “put on Christ” together. Putting on Christ takes practice, and it can only be rightly done in the presence of other believers. My prayer is that our Sunday gatherings would grow us and aid us in our love for God, our hope in Christ and our dependence on his Spirit.

In Him,

Geoff Grant
Director of Worship

The Hope of Heaven

Hello Church Family,

In his book, The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis wrote: “We are very shy nowadays of even mentioning heaven. We are afraid of the jeer about ‘pie in the sky’, and of being told that we are trying to ‘escape’ from the duty of making a happy world here and now into dreams of a happy world elsewhere. But either there is ‘pie in the sky’ or there is not. If there is not, then Christianity is false, for this doctrine is woven into its whole fabric. If there is, then this truth, like any other, must be faced, whether it is useful at political meetings or no. Again, we are afraid that heaven is a bribe, and that if we make it our goal we shall no longer be disinterested. It is not so. Heaven offers nothing that a mercenary soul can desire. It is safe to tell the pure in heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to. There are rewards that do not sully motives. A man’s love for a woman is not mercenary because he wants to marry her, nor his love for poetry mercenary because he wants to read it, nor his love of exercise less disinterested because he wants to run and leap and walk. Love, by definition, seeks to enjoy its object.”

More than half a century after they were written, Lewis’ words still resonate today. In our current sermon series on 1 Thessalonians, we are confronting a community of believers who were not shy or reticent about discussing heaven. In fact, one of the pressing concerns of the apostle Paul in his letter is the impatience of the believers for the return of Christ and their reunion with him. The Thessalonian church was a group of people who had staked everything on the hope of eternity with Christ. They would never have dismissed yearning for heaven as ‘pie in the sky.’ Rather they were a body actively waiting, with great expectation for the return of Christ.

We do not know when Christ will return. We are not invited even to speculate on when it will be. Yet, while it is certain that we are closer to that blessed event than the Thessalonian church was, what is our level of expectation? Are we still a community which is waiting for the Lord with eagerness and anticipation? Does our excitement manifest itself in urgency in witness and service? Do we love Christ so much, that our reunion with him is the most exciting thing we can imagine?

What some dismiss as ‘pie in the sky’ is the great hope of the believer. The Thessalonian church was a great model of what a hopeful community of believers looks like, prays like, witnesses like, and waits like. May God fashion us into a body of Christ-followers who long for his return, our hope firmly fixed on our promised future in his presence.

In him,

Pastor Brent 

4.26.2018

An Update from the Elders

Northpoint Family,

As we continue to work through the transitions that have come to us since Pastor Sloan resigned, we have talked with many of you. We have heard sorrow, confusion, grief, disappointment, understanding, and resiliency. And we see people trusting in God and desiring to pray and serve. Many have defined this as a time of dependency on the Lord and watchfulness as we see His will unfold. We look to Him for guidance, direction, and comfort. As many of you are long-term attendees and members, there is a stability in the fact that our community will continue and we will grow closer to the Lord and each other.

The Sloans are in transition also. Some of you have asked what is next for them. Pastor John has taken a senior pastor position at a church outside of Huntsville, Alabama. He has already begun filling their pulpit and will be planning his family’s move at some point. Pray for the Sloans as they make arrangements.

As we call on God for direction, the elders have devoted themselves to prayer and seeking our next steps. Some of the items discussed include more conversations between the elders, pastors, and our ministry directors. These two groups provide leadership and reflect a servant’s heart as they work with all of you in the harvest fields of our campus and community. They bring insight that will help the elders guide through this time.

As elders, we will be increasing our focus on prayer and providing more opportunities to gather together. You will hear about prayer times that you can join; maybe get a prayer list that can guide your supplications. One such opportunity is the Weekly Prayer Meeting that happens every Monday evening at 6:00 p.m. The group meets either on the Heritage Patio or in the Commons. It is a one-hour, structured prayer time, open to anyone who wants to come. Please consider joining. Call the Church Office for more information.

The preaching schedule has been laid out, and we want to share that with you. Some names might swap around, but here is the tentative outline. As you know, we have begun a series working through that book of 1 Thessalonians. This will take us into June, and we will plan more as we approach the end of the book.

On Monday, April 30, the leadership team will begin to vet the ministry partners that we might bring in to assist. As the Lord wills, these persons or teams will help us map out our steps in seeking an interim pastor. Our denominational leaders are calling this person an “intentional interim,” meaning that the person will have a defined role to play as he preaches, teaches, and helps us along the road toward our next lead pastor. When the new lead arrives, the interim will step away.

Please pray for us, the process, the ministries, and the congregation, as we seek to heal, stabilize, and then move forward. We covet your prayers.  If you have any questions, suggestions or comments, please feel free to talk to us, or email at leadershipteam@northpointcorona.org

For the Elders,

Mark Kiker – Elder Chairman

4.19.2018

A Message from Your Elders:

Dear Church Family,

To everything God has created, He brings seasons of change, and we are going through such a time now. As difficult as these transitions are, they ultimately work for our good and God’s purposes.

As you may know, on March 11, John Sloan tendered his resignation and is now pursuing his next chapter in service to the Lord. We all are thankful for the years of ministry and leadership that John provided and the transformations we saw in many relationships and individuals. We are also saddened as he and his family move away.

The remaining staff pastors, Brent and Scott, will continue as they have with shepherding, counseling and leading. They, along with others, such as Tim East, Mike Russell, and Taylor Mendoza, will anchor our preaching ministry for the next few months.

Our current framework for moving forward is to bring in a full-time, interim pastor who has the experience of providing wise shepherding to a body that is going through transition. This will happen in late summer and provide a consistent pulpit ministry. We will continue to use our gifted pastors and leaders in the pulpit as well. This transitional pastor may also assist in leading staff and provide administrative support to ministries for continuity. He will then step away once we find our next lead pastor.

We will continue to work with ministry partners who can help us through this transition. We are receiving counsel and assistance from the EFCA Western Region staff. The EFCA (Evangelical Free Church of America) has deep resources that will come alongside our elders and pastors. We may be bringing in a team to help us formulate a ministry plan. This effort will take time to reach the recommendation phase. They may do an all-church written/online survey, conduct interviews with ministry leaders, and gather demographics on our congregation and community. We will then focus on the opportunities and suggestions identified by their efforts.

We have a lot of work ahead of us. There is much to be prayerful about. There will be much to research, ponder, and decide. But through it all, we are confident that our great God will show us His unfolding will. Join with us in prayer as we seek Him.

Much more will be communicated as we make progress. Feel free to talk to any elder or staff pastors at any time. You can also email us all at leadership@northpointcorona.org.

In Him,

Your Elders

4.5.2018

3.29.2018

Our TAGD for this week is a reposting of what Pastor Brent Whitefield, Northpoint’s Pastor of Missions and Outreach, wrote for Easter last year. Enjoy.

The Unique Message of Easter

Hello Family,

Easter is a wonderful occasion for Christians. Not so much because it is a “holy day.” As Protestant Christians, we are not altogether comfortable with the notion of holy days in the first place. There is nothing intrinsically more holy about this Sunday than any of the other 364 days on the calendar. Nor does the importance of Easter lie in the fact that it is a “holiday.” Every religion has its holidays, often occasions for revelry that are only thinly connected to the original event that they celebrate. Christians don’t do holidays terribly well anyway. Easter is a fairly subdued event in the West. If you like celebrations with gusto, observe Muslims at Eid, Jews at Purim, or Hindus at Holi.

Rather, the significance of Easter is that it calls us to remember and reflect on the one event that sets the Christian faith apart from every other faith. The one historical fact that, if true, renders all competing truth claims about God false: the resurrection of Christ. All other religions in the world are essentially wisdom traditions: organized attempts, through holy men and holy books, to offer prescriptions for living lives that will please the gods. All the faiths ever devised are man’s attempt to make their best guess at what God is like and what he requires of us. Christianity is unique in that there is no guesswork: we know who God is and what he requires because we know Jesus and what he has done. And through the resurrection, Jesus proved that he is no holy man pretending to be divine, but that he is indeed a member of the Godhead itself. Therefore the word of God is not the shifting sand of human “wisdom” but is a person, Jesus Christ. We can have confidence that his word never changes, never needs to be updated to suit the times of the spirit of the age.

The resurrection is one of the best-attested facts of the ancient world. So well does the evidence line up in its favor, that were it not a miraculous event, nobody would have any doubt about its historicity. And it is this fact that makes Easter the most significant event in the history of the church and the world. It is the thread that holds the whole sweater together. Because the Christian faith is based on the Word of God in the person of his son, Jesus, its whole validity and significance ride on the truth of the resurrection.

Other faiths do not live or die on the basis of historical facts. They can be molded to suit the evolving human view of God. As those who believe in and have staked their eternal destiny on the resurrection, we do not shape God’s Word to suit our tastes. We cannot. Nor do we create our own wisdom, because we have Christ, who is the wisdom of God. As Christians, we do not make up our faith as we go along because Christ is alive and with us by the Spirit of God.

So as you celebrate Easter this week, remember: Christ’s resurrection vindicates all of his claims about himself, it allows us to know, with certainty, who God is and what he expects. Most importantly, it gives us a living hope and an example: proving what Christ has done for us in his victory over sin and death, and showing us how we must then live in light of this truth. Your friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family members who don’t know of or believe in the Easter message cannot know God or have a relationship with him. And they may never hear unless they hear it from you. Won’t you tell them?

In him,

Pastor Brent

3.22.2018

3.15.2018

This week, Pastor John hands over the TAGD keyboard to Scott Williams, Northpoint’s Pastor of Adults and Families.

Heart Motives

A few years ago, I heard a message that changed my perspective on sin and the struggle with sin. Dr. John Henderson gave a talk here at Northpoint to many of our churches leaders, and he started off his remarks with this: “Whatever rules your heart rules your life.” He went on to explain that in Scripture, the heart is seen as the home base for all our meaningful thoughts, feelings, and actions, and that ever since the Fall, our sinful nature is rooted in the heart. Often times, when we discuss sin, we define it too narrowly by only thinking of it in terms of specific actions. Sin is not just specific actions that we do, but it also involves our deeper motives and desires behind those actions.

For instance, look at what Jesus says in Matthew 15:17-20: “Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.  These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” One of the things that Jesus is emphasizing here is the location from which all sorts of sin flows: our actions flow out of the desires of our heart. So, in order to truly deal with our sinful actions like slander, theft, or sexual immorality, for example, we must look for change at the heart level.

This can only truly begin, of course, when we become a Christian. Upon trusting in Christ, the Scripture says that our heart of stone is taken away and we are given a new heart. Upon salvation, one of the things that happen is that our motives and desires are renewed. However, on this side of heaven, we will still battle with our old sinful ways. Paul says in Galatians 5:16-17: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other.” According to Paul, the believer now lives in the very real struggle of either gratifying the desires of flesh or gratifying the desires of the Spirit. This, then, brings us back to Dr. Henderson’s astute observation that whatever rules your heart rules your life. In other words, if we live gratifying, or being motivated, by selfish motives, then it is sin that is ruling us. But if we live gratifying the desires of the Spirit, then it is Christ who is on the throne of our heart.

What are some of those sinful desires that can rule our hearts? There are many, but here are a few: we can be ruled by lust, which, broadly speaking, is the desire, or craving, for something that is outside our grasp. Lust can be seen as a craving for approval through money, sex, status, possessions, and the list can go on and on. We can also be ruled by a sense of fear of losing whatever we do have. In that case, our lives are ruled by a fear of poverty, suffering, disapproval, disrespect, or loneliness, for example. Yet another selfish desire that can fight for the rule of our heart is the desire for pleasure, or comfort, where we seek out only those things that satisfy that need.

While each of these desires at some point fight for the rule of my heart, the one that resonates most is pleasure. And not just not just in a physical sense, but in the sense that I can tend to evaluate the things in my life through the grid of, “Is this pleasing to me?”

Employing Dr. Henderson’s observation opened my eyes to a whole host of ways that my heart is motivated and ruled by a sinful desire to be pleased. I am pleased to be proven right. I am pleased to be liked and respected at church. I am pleased when I can come home to a quiet home, which with three small kids, rarely happens. I am pleased by music that speaks to me. I am pleased when a sermon points out the sin in others but not my own. I am pleased to be in control when I want to be, and not in control when I don’t want to be. I am pleased when my wife wants to watch “Suits” instead of “Call the Midwife.” The list of things where I seek comfort and pleasure can truly go on and on.

How often do many of us evaluate our marriage, our friendships, our work, and maybe even the church, through the sinfully selfish grid of, “Is this pleasing to me?”

BUT HE GIVES MORE GRACE. What beautiful hope-giving words those really are. It is so encouraging to know that God not only forgives our wretched self-seeking and self-pleasing ways, but he also supplies us with that which will be truly satisfying and pleasing through Christ. In fact, it was Christ who promised to give us living water so that we might never thirst again. It is only when Christ is on the throne of our heart that our motives will be driven by him, and when we will find our satisfaction in him.

In Him,

Scott

3.8.2018

3.1.2018

Thoughts Inspired by Diminutive Heroes

Hello Family,

I have been praying for you this week, that God would “strengthen you and show you a sign of his favor” (Psalm 86).

I have a sister who lives in Middle Tennessee. She and her husband have a house on 27 acres of wooded land, which includes a volleyball court, a basketball goal, hiking trails, a barn, and even cows. It’s a veritable hillbilly Disneyland. So most of the time there are more than enough options to keep nine kids—her five and my four—occupied when we visit.

However, the last time we made the cross-country trek, it rained almost every minute. Literally. And I’m not talking about the gentle spritz that we experience as Southern Californians; I’m talking about bone-drenching, bucket-filling, baseball-sized drops, the kind that soak your clothes in a matter of seconds.

So, as parents, we were huddled in the living room trying to figure out what to do with all these kids. Since six were teenagers at the time, we knew that just about every suggestion would be met with, “Meh. That sounds boring.” So we said, “Let’s go to the movies.” The first showing of the day was pretty cheap—a prerequisite when you’re buying a total of 13 tickets!—but we only had two choices: Minions and Ant-Man. The overwhelming choice was the latter. Since movies about superheroes who shrink down to the size of a bug and ride on the backs of giant ants to save the world from evil yellow jackets don’t tend to stick with me very long, I don’t recall much about that story. But I do remember one line, where the villain says as he faces impending doom, “The things I’ve done can never be forgiven.”

Even though it was a movie for young adults, I think that sentiment is one that people of all ages share: there are things that I’ve done that can never be forgiven. Who hasn’t felt that way at one time or another? I hear this statement as a pastor all the time. And I get it.

This week, our ladies of WOW studied the so-called Parable of the Prodigal Son. And I heard that Holli Worthington did a terrific job of explaining it. It’s a powerful story of rebellion, restoration, mercy, and forgiveness.

But it’s not the first of such kind in the Bible. Not by a long shot.

The book of Hosea gives a similar account concerning the children of Israel. Repeatedly, they run from God, dishonor him, “whoring” themselves out to cult prostitutes (Hosea 4:12-14.) They show no regard for the Lord who redeemed them. Instead, they worshiped and sacrificed to gods of wood and clay.

Consequently, throughout this book, we read about God’s horrific judgment that he promises to bring on his people for their idolatry, and he does, in fact, discipline them severely. But following every one of God’s judgments, it seems, are reminders of his steadfast love and the completeness of his forgiveness.

Every time God says, “I’m going to wipe you out because of your idolatry,” he says afterward, “But how could I destroy the people I love. I won’t let you wander off forever. I will woo you, and win you back to me. My love for you will never fail. You will be called mine again.”

Every time the people of Israel repented, God instantly forgave them. There was no sin too great; no offense too egregious. One Old Testament scholar says, “There is no hesitation in the divine response. It is almost as if God longed for the occasion to speak of salvation rather than judgment.”

We might say it this way: there is a relentlessness to God’s forgiveness. God delights in restoring his wayward children. It’s almost as if he cannot wait to do it. To be sure, God is not impetuous; he never gets swept away by his emotions, but his love is real. It is deep. It is rescuing. It is freeing. And his forgiveness is boundless. To his perpetually recalcitrant people, God says:

“I will heal their apostasy;
I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.
I will be like the dew to Israel;
They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow” (Hosea 14:4-7).

Perhaps you can relate to the conviction that your sins are beyond forgiveness. Take heart: God’s forgiveness is yours in Christ. Completely. You don’t have to earn it or even show that you deserve it. Our God is one who loves to forgive the repentant; he is eager to lift up the broken.

By God’s grace, he yearns to mend our broken hearts are restore our hope. This is not a consequence of willpower or doubling down on our efforts to be better. Instead, it is accomplished by the Lover of Our Souls, the one who allows us to say, “Great is thy faithfulness.”

In Him,
Pastor John

2.23.2018

1.4.2018

This week, Pastor John hands over the TAGD keyboard to Tamene Menna, Northpoint’s Pastoral Assistant. Tamene holds a PhD from Talbot. He and his wife, Tigist, have three children: daughter Lelena, and sons Liam and Lucian.

Praying Together

Hello Family,

I grew up in Ethiopia, which is located in eastern part of Africa, also known as the “horn of Africa.” Ethiopia was a communist country for about 17 years. Many of the churches during that time were underground fellowships where Christians were harshly persecuted by the communist government. During these trials, the Christians met and prayed together for hours. Through corporate prayer, those Christians received the strength to remain faithful to Christ in the face of persecution and trial. Under similar circumstances, corporate prayer was central in the life of the church in the first century. The early Christians used to worship and pray together in the temple, in the synagogue, and in their house churches. Prayer matters individually and as a church body—we pray because we believe God is at work!

Speaking of praying together, one of the things I love about our church is it’s commitment to prayer. It has been a great joy for me to pray together with brothers and sisters in Christ who are passionate about seeking the Lord in prayer. The upcoming all-church prayer meeting (see below), led by Pastor John, is one of those holy places where we come together as one body to intercede for one another, our church, our ministries, and community.

Opportunities for prayer include:
• Church prayer meeting on Mondays @ 6 p.m.
• Pre-service prayer meetings on Sundays @ 8 a.m.
• Women’s prayer gathering on Wednesdays @ 11:45 a.m.
• Hour of Prayer, February 1 @ 7:00 p.m., Heritage Hall

I would like to invite you to join us!

In him,

Tamene

The rest of NP News for 1.4.2018 can be found on the “This Week” page at https://www.northpointcorona.org/this-week/

12.28.2017

A New Year’s Prayer

Hello Family,

A little over a week ago, Jenine and I went shopping to buy Christmas gifts for our four children.  Our goal was to start and finish this (daunting) task in one day, even if it meant staying out late to do so. When we arrived at our first destination, the Tyler Mall in Riverside, Jenine asked me, “Where do you want to begin? Do you want to start in a men’s section and try to find something for Quinn and Luke?” My immediate response was, “Where’s our list?” Jenine said, “You know how hard it is to shop for teenagers; I don’t have a list. Hopefully, we’ll see something that we think they’ll like.” I then replied, rather curtly, I’m sure, “Without a list, I have no idea where to even begin.” (I apologized later for my rudeness.)

I’m a list-maker. This is how my brain works. Writing things down helps me think with greater clarity and remain focused. This is one reason that I sometimes write out my prayers.

To be sure, God desires our unrehearsed and unguarded communion with him. As John Bunyan once wrote, “In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.” I echo those sentiments. However, if we’re not careful, we can get in a rut and neglect some of the key elements of biblical prayer (e.g., worship, thanksgiving, confession, supplication).

Biblical prayer should be both spontaneous and planned. Heartfelt and prepared. Sometimes we cry out to God when we don’t know what to say and trust that the Spirit of God will intercede for us, which he does (Romans 8:26). But on other occasions, it’s beneficial to write out our prayers or even pray through words that others have penned, such as the Puritan collection, Valley of Vision, or Kenneth Boa’s Praying Through the Scriptures. Written prayers help us to focus on what matters most to God.

With that in mind, I’ve included below the prayer that I prayed this morning. Rooted in and enriched by the aforementioned Valley of Vision collection, it is both a guide and a sample of one way to write out our prayers. I’ve changed the pronoun ‘I’ to the plural ‘we’ so that we can pray it together, even while we are in separate locations.

May God stir within our church in 2018 a greater dependence on him and richer joy in him than we have yet to experience.

In Him,

Pastor John 

Our Father,

We come to you now in desperate need of your sustaining power and endless grace. We have been hasty and short in our private prayer; we have been quick to rely on our own strength and planning; we have subtly moved you to the periphery. Awaken our hearts to feel this folly; to rue this lack of understanding of you and of ourselves.

Our first sin of the day, our insistence on autonomy, leads to many others: the neglect of those around us who are in need, the presumption that we are justified in our thoughts and actions, a lack of love for our neighbor, and worst of all, a lack of love for you.

Our reliance on our strength has led to countless failures on our part. Lord, help us. Keep us this morning from robbing you of the worship you desire, and of which you are alone worthy. Keep us this morning from having lofty notions of ourselves, while entertaining thoughts of you that are mundane, and ordinary. Keep us this morning from giving ourselves the benefit of the doubt, while questioning your every motive. Keep us this morning from praising you with our mouths, while remaining spiritually aloof and disconnected.

With our voices we sing praises to you, and with our mouths we proclaim you as Lord, but our hearts are slow to feel. Gratitude eludes us.

Father, forgive us as we have dishonored you with our priorities, allowing our minds to be captivated by temporal things, while remaining unmoved at thoughts of your kindness. Your holiness. Your salvation.

May we never forget that you have our souls in your hands. You uphold us by your strong right hand. You give us everything we need, and indeed, so much more than we deserve.

Remind us of your unfailing love. Impress upon our minds the merits of Christ’s atoning work for our sin. Enable us to believe. Grant that through the lens of repentance we may see more clearly the beauty and sufficiency of the cross. Let your mercies draw us to yourself. Cause us, by your grace, to long for your coming.

Father, enable us to rest in this: to all who confess their sins to you, you are faithful and just to forgive. This is our assurance: there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ; in Christ, we are free indeed. When you forgive, you remove our offenses as far as the East is from the West. For those who trust in you alone, nothing shall separate us from your love: not trials, nor victories, not failures, not successes, neither valleys nor mountaintops. For you keep us for yourself.

Be our portion. Give us more grace. Stir our souls to trust only in you. There is no peace so rich as to rest in the finished work of Jesus, the only one through whom we dare approach you, and the one in whose name we pray. Amen.

12.21.2017

This week, Pastor John hands over the TAGD keyboard to Taylor Mendoza, Northpoint’s Director of Students Ministries

Does the Bible tell One Story?

Hello Family,

In the fall of 2012, I was a freshman in the Bachelors of Applied Theology program at California Baptist University, where I experienced an awakening. One of my professors consistently used the word, meta-narrative when he referred to the Old Testament’s story arc. The phrase meta-narrative literally means master story or the biggest story.

My professor told us that the Bible tells one cohesive story from Genesis to Revelation. Even though there are many stories captured in the 66 individual books in our Bible, God was telling us one story. Much like Sauron’s Ring of Power in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, my professor argued that there was “one story to rule them all.” For example, it is not a coincidence that the biblical story starts in a garden (Genesis 1) and ends in a garden-city (Revelation 22).

Today among theologians, the idea of a master story is all the rage. They are wrestling with the question: Does the Bible tell One Story? The answer is an enthusiastic yes! The Bible was written by a myriad of human authors ranging from Moses to Paul. Yet, at the same time, 2 Peter tells us that no human author wrote on his own. The Holy Spirit inspired these men to tell one cohesive story (2 Peter 1:19-21). You could say that the Bible has one Divine Author, namely God himself.

Beginning to look at the Bible as one story may help you put your Bible together. It may cause you to see things that you may have never seen before. It takes your Bible reading from black and white to Technicolor. It brings clarity and shape to your understanding of who God is; what He is doing; and where this world will end up. Understanding the big story is the secret to finding Jesus in the Old Testament. And it is the hinge on which you can understand all of world history.

My modest yet revolutionizing proposal for you is this: Try Reading the Bible as one big story. Today, most theologians are in agreement that the one big story is “God’s wonderful plan of redemption through Jesus Christ.” Kevin Deyoung, who has written an excellent children’s book on this topic called, The Biggest Story: How the Snake Crusher brings us back to the Garden, begins in Genesis and moves to Revelation painting a picture that explains the beauty and power of Christ in all the Bible. His book is highly recommended and a must-read for this upcoming Christmas morning.

Another way to think about this master story is to divide the Bible into four major chapters. Chapter 1 is Creation. Chapter 2 is The Fall. Chapter 3 is Redemption. Chapter 4 is Consummation. This was wonderfully displayed and masterfully articulated in our recent Choir Christmas Concert. The Christmas season is all about entering into God’s chapter of redemption.

Creation (Chapter 1)
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth (Genesis 1:1). God is the creator of both the natural and supernatural world. God has always existed in perfect love (Ephesians 1:1) and has always been one, yet distinct in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God spoke and out of nothing the world came into being. He created man and woman in his image (Genesis 1:28) and gave them a purpose best articulated in the Westminster Confession: To glorify God (by) enjoying him forever. Adam and Eve enjoyed God with personal interaction and unhindered praise. God dwelt among his creation without separation or void.

Fall (Chapter 2)
Yet, despite all the wonders of creation, our first parents disobeyed God and exchanged the glory of God, for their own glory (Genesis 3). They were removed from the Garden of Eden, death entered the world, the relationship between Creator and creation was severed, and humanity no longer enjoyed God by glorifying him. Since then, not a single person has avoided sin, but rather all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:10, 23). Paradise was lost. The wages of sin was death (Romans 6:23). Hell, along with eternal punishment, destruction, and banishment are the result (Revelation 19-20). And now all of creation groans inwardly longing for some sort of redemption (Romans 8).

Redemption (Chapter 3)
But God being rich in mercy and because of his great love, poured out his grace by bringing good news to those who have fallen (Ephesians 2). God has provided a way of salvation through the person and work of Jesus Christ. The perfect Son, the perfect solution, the perfect man would die a gruesome and humiliating death on a cross in order to redeem that which was lost (John 3:16; Col. 2:9; Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Christ has paid our debt, he took our punishment as our substitute, and he became our blood sacrifice washing us clean. The snake crusher crushed the head of Satan (Genesis 3:15; Romans 16:18-20) and bought at the price of his own blood his chosen people.

Consummation (Chapter 4)
The ultimate gift of such a redemption is the promise that we get God back. We are reconciled to God (Colossians 1:21-22). In the near future, all of heaven and earth will sing, “Holy, Holy, Holy. Worthy is the Lamb who was Slain!” All of God’s people from every tribe, language, nation, and country will stand together in worship to their great God (Revelation 7). And God will wipe away every tear, make all enemies his footstool, and create a new heavens and new earth (Revelation 21-22). Best of all, we will dwell with him again and we will see his face.

As you read your Bible ask yourself the question: How does what I am reading fit into the biggest story? What chapter am I in? Now, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ illuminate the Scriptures for you in such a way that you glorify him even more.

Merry Christmas!

Taylor

11.26.2017

This week, Pastor John hands over the TAGD keyboard to Scott Williams, Northpoint’s Pastor of Adults and Families.

‘Tis the Season to Be … Busy!

Let me ask you a question: Have you, in the last few days, weeks, or months, been tempted to answer the question of “How are you?” with the answer, “I’m doing good, but things are just really busy”? In today’s culture, busyness is almost seen as a sign of value. The notion is the busier you are the more important you must be. But let me just suggest to you that in our business, we can actually be robbing ourselves of some of the spiritual and relational fruit God wants us to receive.

When Jesus taught the parable of the sower, he made a very vital observation about how the things in our schedules can choke out our spiritual lives (Mark 4:1-20). In this parable, the sower threw seed, which represents the Word, on different types of soil, which represent the state of people’s hearts. One of the soils where the seed falls seems to be good and the seed even begins to grow until the thorns come. They make quick work of the new sprout and choke it out and it yields no fruit. In verses 18-19, Jesus says: “And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” The worries of this world, and the desire for more and more things can have a devastating effect on our spiritual lives. Most of us in the church won’t fall prey to rank apostasy or heresy, but we all could be derailed by the worries that life may bring, and the desire to find our happiness in material things.

Pastor Kevin Deyoung, author of Crazy Busy: A (Mercifully) Short Book about a (Really) Big Problem, in remarking on this passage says it well: “Jesus knows what he’s talking about. As much as we must pray against the Devil and pray for the persecuted church, in Jesus’ thinking the greater threat to the gospel is sheer exhaustion. Busyness kills more Christians than bullets. How many sermons are stripped of their power by lavish dinner preparations and professional football? How many moments of pain are wasted because we never sat still enough to learn from them? How many times of private and family worship have been crowded out by soccer and school projects? We need to guard our hearts. The seed of God’s Word won’t grow to fruitfulness without the pruning of rest, quiet, and calm.”

So as we enter into this glorious (but busy) Christmas season, let’s make sure we take time to let the seed of the Word sink a little deeper into our hearts. The adage, “Jesus is the reason for the season,” isn’t just a cute rejoinder, but it is what we need to remember and reflect upon. Not only do we need to remember that he is the reason for this season, but that he is the reason for every season. Let us continue to take time from our busyness to taste and see that the Lord is good.

Fighting busyness isn’t an easy task and it often takes the help and encouragement of other believers. That’s why this spring, all of our Growth Groups are going to be encouraged to read Kevin Deyoung’s aforementioned book. His work isn’t a “how to” on becoming less busy, but a needed explanation of the reorientation our hearts need to make as we fight against the dangers of life’s busyness. So be on the lookout mid-January in the Northpoint Foyer and pick up your copy of Crazy Busy.

By his grace,

Pastor Scott