We’ve just integrated our brand new weekly email updates through a service called Mailchimp.
We’ll be sending weekly emails updating you on the latest happenings at New Life Community Church and reminding you of important information pertaining to life in our community.
Be sure to send your updated email and contact information to our office. Call or email Sheryl Shaff; sshaff@nlcca.org – Please use the email you check regularly, we won’t use this information to spam and won’t sell the list. We have such a diverse church we need an effective way to communicate all the exciting opportunities going on and keep you up-to date.
Remember to invite your friends and family this week for the lead-up into our “40 Days of Freedom” series which will begin September 19, 2010. This week Pastor Steve will be preaching a powerful message setting up the series beginning the following week.
What a service this last Sunday! It was a packed house, the worship was powerful and the message was ‘wow’! God was moving indeed. We have such a wonderful church family here at New Life, I hope you have been able to share with or participate in one of our many ministries we have on offer. We exist to build multiplying disciples of Christ by loving God, growing together, and serving others… we’re here to see you become ALL that God has created you to be.
I hope you enjoyed our little treat this weekend, having Frankie Barranko and Lori Morrison out to share their ministries with us. If you missed getting a hold of their music and CD’s you can visit the websites at: www.frankiebarranco.com and www.lorimorrison.com
This Sunday, September September 12, 2010 begins the introduction of our 40 Days of Freedom series. It will be 40 days of life-transforming ministry where we come together as an entire church to discover who God had made us to be, uncovering the things that hold us back from living in the full FREEDOM of Christ.
Life groups will be meeting weekly, visit our LIFE GORUPS page to join a group today if you aren’t already in one. During these life group sessions you’ll not only get the opportunity to meet new people and enjoy some fellowship, but we’ll be diving into the Word and discussing in depth realities of FREEDOM in Christ.
Get set…. 40 Days of Freedom is about to begin! Invite your friends, colleagues, neighbors, family and more.
Wow! What a wonderful worship service we had yesterday… God was moving! I want to encourage you to grab these songs from itunes and add them to your personal worship collection, they will bless you greatly!
A picture paints a thousand words and stories paint the picture.
This week at a church planting conference in Atlanta, we learned the power of telling God’s story and presenting the Gospel to people who have never heard of Yahweh.
Plans are underway for starting a church planting movement in Peru among unreached people groups and population segments. We’ll be telling Gods story to folks who are hungry for truth. It will be an exciting adventure… more to come.
This weekend I was challenged by Ps. Steve’s message, particularly the section he focused on our words. I want to take a moment and reflect on how our words relate to worship.
Too often we are careless about the words we speak to others, especially our families. Our words can be used to build up, or tear down and surprisingly words CAN last a lifetime. I can recall times when encouraging words were given to me by people I love and trust and those words have given me great strength and encouragement, and still do today. On the other hand I can also recall a number of times when harsh/cutting words were spoken to me that often return to haunt me when I’m in a place of despair or weakness. The old saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me” is not entirely true.
The book of James 3 refers to our tongue as a “rudder” capable of steering a ship. Such a small instrument is a rudder, but it has the power to turn and direct even the greatest sea vessel, and in the same way our tongue can help steer and direct others. Why is this worship? Because God loves his people, we are His bride, His beloved and He sees us not as we are (sinful, broken) but as we’ve been redeemed (through Jesus). Therefore our words should be used to give life, to build-up others, to bring love and joy, to breathe comfort and peace and to empower others to be the very best they can be.
So this week, reflect on the words you speak. Be intentional about building others up, especially your families and loved ones. When we do so, its remarkable how quickly ugly attitudes and bitterness can melt away… Let’s worship with our words!
What a jam-packed service yesterday was! It was exciting to hear the wonderful reports from our mission team in Honduras and from Elizabeth Stump returning from India. We look forward to “Skyping” more of our missionaries in the future.
A quick recap yesterdays worship:
Songs – (You can find these on itunes.com for download)
Wow, what a wonderful service we had yesterday. God really moved in unexpected and spontaneous ways! I’m so proud of the worship team and what God is doing in their hearts, every week I introduce new songs (this week 3 of them) and they never complain, but instead jump at the fun of learning new songs. I wanted to post the set-list from yesterday for those of you unfamiliar with the tunes so you can get them and worship at home with them. Powerful songs indeed! You can find them all on i-tunes,
King – Tree 63
Rain Down – Jesus Culture
All I Need – Hillsong United
I Love You Lord – Kathryn Scott – Live Worship At Focusfest
Most people I know are somewhat jaded by this issue of homelessness, especially here in America. Often peoples first thoughts are “well, there is no real reason to be homeless here in America”, or “It’s their own fault”, or “God helps those who help themselves”… over the years I have heard these statements and many others like them from the mouths of good and not-so-good people alike. I believe it highlights the desperate need for “re-education” on this topic and a shift in attitude from the general public, because whether we like it or not, homelessness is a huge issue in Americaaffecting over 3.6 million people .
For me personally, 5 years ago I probably would have been found in this camp and said similar ‘ill-informed’ statements like the above. However that changed when my wife and I volunteered at the local homeless shelter here in Nashville TN. Sitting down with people, hearing their unfortunate and heartbreaking stories made me very aware that for some people, life throws many lemons, too many that one can bear alone. In mounting desperation some people find themselves without anything, shelter, family, food or money, these people end up on our “invisible streets”.
So to help ‘re-educate’ ourselves on this issue of homelessness in America, I want to share two stories with you. I hope that hearing these stories you might re-think your prejudices and begin to join the fight for ending homelessness here in our wonderful country.
Meet Jim
I met Jim in Vegas on a 116 degree day. Like many others I met, he came out here to start a new life. Instead, he wound up on the streets.
Jim lives in a tent city that has been moved eight times. He says his only other alternatives are jail or leaving town. The most heartbreaking thing about Jim’s story is that he has AIDS but not healthcare, so he doesn’t receive badly needed medications. The only public assistance he receives is food stamps.
One of Jim’s closing statements still haunts me, “it’s hard on everybody, it’s just a little more hard on the homeless.”
Kenneth is a straight shooter. He’s been sober for four years and is taking the right steps to move forward with his life. But it isn’t easy. He has been to prison, so finding a job is more complicated than usual. He’s getting old, he says, so his job skills aren’t what they used to be. But he remains optimistic, “I just roll with the punches. But believe me, if there was some other way, I wouldn’t be here.”
Kenneth offered an interesting street perspective. He says that there are more shelters today then there were 20 years ago. At the same time, he says that even more shelters are desperately needed, because the need has not been met. He knows of people who are still sleeping under bridges at night because they have nowhere else to go.
A picture paints a thousand words and stories paint the picture.
