newsong community church
 
Last Sunday we wrapped up our "Finding Your G.P.S." teaching series by asking, "What motivates you to give?" Pastor Nelson addressed these "matters of the heart" as he continued building on the Kingdom-based principle, "God owns it all" and challenged us to examine our motivations and heart when we give so that our offerings, tithes and sacrifices would be pleasing and acceptable to God.

If you missed last Sunday or a previous teaching from this series, visit our media archive where you can listen to the message online or download it and take it with you.
Music from Sunday was led by Travis Jarrett. Songs were: "Be Praised" (Michael Gungor), Faithful (Steve Fee), Mighty to Save (Hillsong United), Here I Am to Worship (Tim Hughes), Only the Blood (The Village Church) and 
"I Stand Amazed in the Presence" (The Village Church)
Add Comment
 
 
Picture

What's guiding your life? Last Sunday, Pastor Nelson began a new teaching series called "Finding Your GPS" which lays out what life looks like when it is guided by a "God-Purposed System." 


This series offers practical and spiritual insight for managing your resources so that you can do great things for God and also reminds us that God's system for 
success is often different than our system.
You can learn more about the series here or listen to Sunday's teaching here.
Music from Sunday was led by Travis Jarrett and Chris Donahue. Songs were: "Ancient Skies" (Michael Gungor), "You are Here" (Steve Deal), "Glorious One" (Steve Fee), "Your Love, Oh Lord" (Third Day), "The Solid Rock" (Mars Hill), and "I Stand Amazed in the Presence" (Traditional). 
Add Comment
 
 
Last Sunday we wrapped up our teaching series, "4 Ways to Live Like Jesus."
If you missed a week of the series or want to review a teaching, click here to listen to the podcast.

Over the past few weeks, we've shared that living like Jesus requires:
1. Courageous, faith-driven obedience with the resources you have
2. Existing for the mission of Jesus to seek and save those who are lost
3. Living in a sharing community where your life, faith and mission are relationally and spiritually connected to others

This week we examined our fourth area: the public ministry of Jesus.
Life in the public eye is stressful and oppressive - and those negative elements can create negative responses in us such as fear of people, paranoia and anxiety concerning other's agendas/interests, and even situations where those close to us fail us or betray us. How did Jesus deal with all that in his public ministry?

1. Jesus put his trust in the love and approval of the Father:
* He began his ministry hearing the Father's words, "This is my Son in whom I am well pleased." When we begin to fear and panic, it is important to remember that God the Father is pleased with us and supports us.

2. Jesus knew that people were not the real enemy:
* Throughout the Gospels, Jesus encountered opposition - and He knew the hearts and motivations of those opposing him. The Apostle Paul reminds us that we do not fight against "flesh and blood" but against the "powers of the air."

3. Jesus stayed connected to community and to the Father:
* Opposition and pressure can often cause us to isolate ourselves; they can trigger our self-preservation mechanisms. Jesus - knowing that he would be betrayed - connected himself to his friends at the Last Supper and to His Father in the Garden of Gethsamene.

Music from Sunday was led by Chris Donahue and Travis Jarrett
Add Comment
 
 
Last Sunday we celebrated the second week of Advent; during this forty-day period, we turn our focus and our spiritual rhythm to the incarnation of Christ and we prepare for an encounter with Jesus.
[Mark 1:1-8]
The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way" - "a voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.    
John comes, speaking of a Messiah, a Savior, who is to come... and while many respond in hope, there are still those in the crowds who must have thought, "I've heard this one before."
Our nature is prone to disillusionment; we hate to be let down and disappointed. 
Our lives seem to tell story after story of times and people that have done just that. So we are left, jaded and numb, questioning and skeptical.

But then Jesus steps in.
[John 1:14-15]
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.(John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, "This is the one I spoke about when I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'")
1. As the Word, Christ was God become vocal. Through Christ, God speaks His great and glorious message - that salvation is here - in a new and living language of life in Christ. 

2. As the Word, Christ was God become visible. Jesus portrays the mind and heart of God, reminding us that God loved the world so much, He gave Jesus so that all could believe, all could be forgiven, all could enter into life.

We should ask ourselves, "What difference does the incarnation make in my life?" As people who have been brought from darkness into light, who have heard the Word of God and responded to it, we are to make known the glorious name of Christ, the one who came to live among us and die for us. 
  • This is the Word of God – have we become jaded with it?
  • This is the Unexpected Word who came to an unexpecting world to save us in a most unexpected way – have we taken it for-granted?
  • This is the message of Christmas – are we bored with it?
  • This is the message of the Logos, Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh – are we connected to Him?
Add Comment
 
 
Last Sunday began one of my favorite times of year - Advent, the celebration of the Incarnation of the Christ. Over the next 40 days, we will turn our focus and spiritual rhythm to the anticipation of Jesus' coming.

This anticipation and celebration is often elusive to us; we so hate to be let down and disappointed. So often we would rather keep the promise of God - with all of its uncertainty - at an arm's length rather than embrace it fully, which demands our trust and faith. But if we are to truly engage in the real depth and meaning of Advent, it begins with the understanding and belief that God keeps his promises.

On Sunday we said it like this:
The promises of God are inevitable, 
yet often unexpected.
And so when Paul talks about the return of Jesus (while referencing a prophecy of the coming of Christ) he writes,"For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. 
[1 Thess. 5:2]

What we see here is:
1. We can be unaware or unconcerned about Jesus' coming
"As it was in Noah's day, so will it be when the Son of man comes. For in those days before the Flood people were eating, drinking, taking wives, taking husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and they suspected nothing till the Flood came and swept them all away. This is what it will be like when the Son of man comes." [Matthew 24:37-39]

2. We can be filled with guilt, fear, and shame at Jesus' coming 
 "What sorrow awaits you who say, “If only the day of the Lord were here!” You have no idea what you are wishing for. That day will bring darkness, not light. Yes, the day of the Lord will be dark and hopeless, without a ray of joy or hope." [Amos 5:18, 20]

3. Or we can put our faith and hope in Christ, and be filled with joy and celebration that the day of the Lord has come 
"But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night."
[1 Thessalonians 5:4-5]
Paul's directive then is that those who believe in Jesus should be: 
1) Awake and aware of what God is doing; 2) Clearheaded and have a proper perspective on this life and the next; 3) Prepared and equipped for the unexpected day and work of God.
What difference will the incarnation make in 
your life this Advent season?
Prayer for the First Week of Advent 
“Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; that in the last day, when He comes again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to eternal life; through him who live and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.”
Add Comment
 
 
Last week we wrapped up our teaching series from 1 Thessalonians, examining and discussing Paul's "final instructions" to the believers of the young church in Thessalonica. Paul lays out "what to do until Jesus returns" - an essential teaching for a society that tends to follow the hip and trendy and grows easily tired and bored with the "same ol', same ol'."

Paul's instructions break down into four areas:
1. Do what you do... with JOY
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this 
is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” [5:16-18]
 
2. Do what you do... in the HOLY SPIRIT 
  “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.” [5:19-22]

3. Do what you do... in HOLINESS 
  “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” [5:23-24]
4. Do what you do... for EACH OTHER
“Brothers and sisters, pray for us. Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss. 
I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the 
brothers and sisters.” [5:25-27]
You can listen to the message here.

This upcoming Sunday we launch into our Advent teaching series, "Unexpected," anticipating the celebration of the arrival of Jesus. We hope you can celebrate with us. In the meantime, have a great week and a Happy Thanksgiving!
Music from Sunday was led by Chris Donahue.
Songs were: "Song of the Redeemed" (Charlie Hall), "The Earth is Yours" (Michael Gungor), "Micah 6:8" (Charlie Hall) and "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" (Traditional).
Add Comment
 
 
Last Sunday we welcomed Mark and Deb Schory to NewSong. The Schory's will be spending the next few weeks at NewSong as they reacquaint themselves with the greater Boston area and seek God's leading for ministry and church-planting opportunities in New England.

Mark joined me in teaching this week from 1 Thessalonians 4 -- if you have missed a Sunday or want to listen to a previous message, you can find the message podcast here. Last Sunday, we walked through chapter 4 and discussed some of Paul's teaching in light of our big idea: that we begin to live for God fully when we are captivated by the story of what He has done for us.

This means that many of us find ourselves in an awkward situation - we realize that the Gospel has not really captured our heart and life, and we discover that we are not really living for God, we are merely imitating a life of faith. And we're not alone in this; one of the early churches faced this same situation:
"[The Lord says], 'I know all the things you do, 
and that you have a reputation for being alive - 
but you are dead." [Revelations 3:1]
1 Thessalonians 4 gives us first, some pulse checks - ways to verify that we are alive - and second, some growth points to ensure that we continue to live and develop. We can evaluate our pulse and our growth as we:    
++ Manage our relationship with GOD ++
"We urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you 
to do so even more." [1 Thess. 4:1]

++ Manage our relationship with OTHERS ++
"God himself has taught you to love one another... indeed, you already 
show your love for all the believers... we urge you to love them even more." 
[1 Thess. 4:9-10]

++ Manage our SELVES & our LIFESTYLE ++
"Make it your goal to live a quiet life..." [1 Thess. 4:11]

++ Manage our DIRECTION ++
"For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever." [1 Thess. 4:14, 17]
Jesus continually challenged his disciples and his audience not to let their lives and their faith become imitations - he wanted us to be full and overflowing with life! As he said, "I have come so that you can have life, and have it abundantly!"

To go deeper into 1 Thessalonians 4, listen to the message.
Add Comment
 
 
What a week it was! Following the previous week's snowstorm, I spent a lot of time reaching out to friends and neighbors without power, without heat... some even had to go without coffee!  ;)  It was a week of need, which means that it was a week of ministry; I was reminded yet again that even the most comfortable of us have moments of difficulty, challenge and need. 

And that's a great opportunity to live like Jesus. 
"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. 
Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." [1 Corinthians 15:58]
In Paul's letter to the young church of Thessalonica encourages them to continue ministering and meeting needs - living the Gospel - in their community, regardless of whether their situations are comfortable or challenging. In fact, Paul emphasizes that their work will not go without result, and he uses his own ministry experience to them as an example.

Paul connects the Gospel and ministry to faith -- he encourages the church to take on the challenge of faith in order to see the victory of faith.
But now Timothy has returned, bringing us good news about your faith and love. So we have been greatly encouraged in the midst of our troubles and suffering, dear brothers and sisters, because you have remained strong in your faith. It gives us new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord.” [1 Thessalonians 3:6-8]
Our takeaways from Sunday:
>> Nothing that we do out of love for Jesus is in vain
>> With that realization comes incredible hope and joy – and a desire for         more of God, to be with him, to worship him
Music from Sunday was led by Chris Donahue and Travis Jarrett. 
Songs were: "Eastern Hymn" (David Crowder), "Our God" (Chris Tomlin), "The Stand" (Hillsong), "Hallelujah" (Steve Deal), "Forever God You Reign" (Steve Deal)
Add Comment
 
 
Hey NewSong! Join us Sunday morning, October 16, as we kick off a new teaching series called "Balance." This series leads us to Paul's first letter to the believers in Thessalonica, which was written to encourage and affirm the young church as they embraced the Gospel in their lives - and to help them navigate the the path of following Jesus.

This series asks the big question: "How do you find balance between the life you're living and the life the God has for you?" Come discover the answers with us over the next few weeks as we read 1 Thessalonians.
Add Comment
 
 
"Can we only do what the Bible commands, or can we do whatever we want except what the Bible forbids?" [M. Driscoll, "The Elephant Room")

Here is the video that we used to introduce our teaching series, "Proverbia" and launch into a discussion about applying wisdom in our everyday life. Be sure to check back later this week for our Sunday Recap!
Add Comment