I Do Not Cease Giving Thanks for You
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