Msg: With God

Today we celebrated the 4th Sunday in Advent - Joy! Although the weather outside was frightful, the Spirit inside was delightful. We thanked God for holding off the snow and strong winds so we could gather again to worship Him.

As we looked to the Bible and what it says about the angel Gabriel visiting Mary, we compared her story to that of Zechariah being told his wife would bear a child (John the Baptist) in her old age. Both stories are about an angel predicting a baby, but that's as far as the similarities go. Listen in and consider the amazing reaction this young woman gave to the news that she would bear the Christ child. Although the story may be familiar to you, let God's Spirit make it as fresh to you today as the falling snow around us.

May you experience the joy of the Lord this Christmas!

Msg: Trailblazers

As we celebrated the 3rd Sunday of Advent today at Northland, our focus was on the theme of love and the one God sent ahead of Jesus to prepare the way - John the Baptist. John was a trailblazer in every sense of the word. He went ahead of others and marked a trail for others to follow through the wilderness to return to God.

Two questions to think about:

1. Who are the people in your life that prepared the way for you to be ready for the Lord?
2. Are you letting God use you to prepare the way for anyone?

I pray the message will cause you to ponder your relationship with a loving heavenly Father and those around you.

Msg: Peace Foretold

As we battled through the fresh snow to get to Northland today, we were reminded of a beautiful picture. Snow represents a cleanness before God that we experience when we've asked Jesus into our lives. We came today to celebrate the second Sunday of Advent, the day of Peace.

The Bible gives us lots of examples of prophecy about the coming Prince of Peace, which were and one day will be fulfilled in Jesus. We invite you to take a listen and ask yourself the question, "Does the peace of God rest on me?" If you're not sure, that's okay - we'll let you know how.

Msg: Something Unexpected for Christmas

To begin the Advent season at Northland, we started with the opening verses in Matthew. I'll be the first to admit that not too many people think genealogies (lists of names) are that exciting, but there are four names that jump off of the page when you know their story. The first Sunday of Advent is traditionally a day of hope, as we look forward to the coming of Jesus. If you take a listen to the story of these four ladies and think about their inclusion in the Christmas story, you just might find the hope you need in your life as you think about your relationship with God and His desire to know you and use even you in His grand story.

Msg: All The Time

You may know that the shortest verse in the Bible is "Jesus Wept," but there are some other short ones with a lot of impact as well. Two come back to back: "Be Joyful always;" and "Pray Continually." But do you know where to find these and why they are so powerful together? The verse that follows helps put it all in perspective.

Click on the title to this post to here the audio from this week's message at Northland.

Msg: Helping a Leader in Crisis

We were blessed this past weekend to have Pat Jones the Director of Healthy Church Ministries in the Traverse City area. His message to Northland is posted here. Just click on the title for this post and choose the "Play" or "Download" buttons.

Can People Change?

What do you think?

We've been studying the life of Joseph from the Old Testament at Northland and life has been quite a roller coaster for him. From favorite son to slave to inmate to leader of a country. But what about his jealous brothers that started all of this? Have they changed any in the last 20+ years?

What about you? Are you the same you were 20 years ago? In what ways are you different and why?

On Top of the World

Have you ever been thrust into a position of leadership beyond anything you "felt' you had been trained for?
We've been studying the life of Joseph from the book of Genesis for the last few weeks at Northland. Yesterday, Joseph took the bold move of telling the king of Egypt what he should do in response to the dreams God had given him. Because of his boldness and blessings, Joseph was immediately made the #2 man in all of Egypt!
What do you think? Could you handle that much power without it going to your head? This Sunday we'll see how Joseph did and get some pratical tips for you and me and the leadership positions we get put into. I hope to see you there.

Ruby Cherry Funeral Arrangements

I got a call on Sunday morning that Ruby Cherry had passed away. Harold and Ruby Cherry served in our former Michigan conference for many, many years. Here are the details of the arrangements.

Funeral Services for Ruby Cherry, Harold Cherry's wife and Kevin Cherry's mom will be Wednesday at Eden United Brethren Church at 10 AM with Pastor Milan Maybe officiating.

The family will receive guests at Gorsline Runciman Funeral Home , 900 Michigan Ave. Lansing, MI on Tuesday 1-3PM and 5-8PM and also 1 hour prior to the funeral at Eden.

Contributions for those desiring to do so can be to the Gideon International or Global Ministries of the United Brethren in Christ.

VBS 2008 Wrap Up

Wow! We are so excited about God's Big Backyard Vacation Bible School. The weekend went awesome!Last year we set a goal to have 40 children attend VBS and we met that goal. This year we wanted to reach 50-60 children and their families. We held VBS on Friday evening, 9-2 on Saturday and Sunday morning during the worship service. Not only did we serve a total of 55 children, but we had probably a dozen visitors in our Worship service.

At the conclusion of the service-themed VBS, we took the children to an assisted living facility just down the road from the church. The children sang a couple of songs to the residents and gave them each a sun catcher they had made during the weekend. Even the smallest children willingly gave gifts and hugs to the residents. We wanted to give the children and their families an immediate opportunity to serve their community and they did.

All of these things are great but the best part of the weekend was when 10 children, 3 from our own congregation, accepted Christ. We were so excited last year when 3 children made commitments. We have been asking God to show us needs in our community that we could meet and through this He has shown us lonely people who need companionship, parents who crave safe activities for their children and many children and families who need hope. We got to share that hope with so many this weekend. We praise God for showing up in such a powerful way.

Vacation Bible School

When:

August 8th: 6:00-9:00PM
August 9th: 9:00AM-3:00PM (We'll provide Lunch!)
August 10th: 10:00AM-1:00PM

Who:
Children ages 3-sixth grade

Register: Please call 946-9693 to register