Msg: Kingdom Rewards

I heard a speaker yesterday at the Big Ticket Festival say that Jesus was compelling. He spoke about the same passage of Scripture we talked about last week - Jesus telling His first disciples to follow Him and He would make them fishers of men. Today we advance the story a little further and listen to part of a message Jesus gave to a group of people that had gathered on a hillside to hear Him speak. Yeah, you could say He was compelling. And Jesus was still teaching His disciples how to be fishers of men.

You see, it's not about a gimmick or some special formula - it's about sharing the words of life that matter most. And Jesus spoke about the difference between doing things for the approval of others and what it means to have a kingdom mindset and operate out a heart for the Lord. Jesus taught that day about the rewards our Father in heaven has waiting for us when we do things to show our love to Him, not for what others might give us.

In the middle of all this is when Jesus taught on how to pray, not what to pray. And in that, he taught a truth we often forget about what blocks the blessings of our Father. But enough reading: click on the title above and hear it for yourself.

Msg: A Sea of Opportunities

Yesterday we started a new series at Northland on the Kingdom of Heaven. So many times, we get to thinking of heaven being a far off place we will be in someday. Jesus talked about it very differently. He said to change the way we think and act (now), because the kingdom of heaven is near. What did He mean? Take a listen and maybe your thoughts about heaven and your time here on earth may change. The story we looked at gave an example of four guys who changed their thinking and their lives were never the same. Sorry for the poor audio quality, one of the mics wasn't working correctly Sunday. If you're patient the sound gets better part way through.

Msg: Embracing the Negatives

It's a great feeling to know you can trust someone. As a pastor, it seems like you are always on the go. Last weekend, our denomination held it's National Conference that occurs every other year. The theme was XLR8 - Spread the Gospel quickly. You can read more by taking the link to the right for the Bishop's Blog. It was refreshing to know that I could trust God to take care of things at Northland while I was gone. It's not about me anyway.

Back home, Jeff Layman gave a great message about taking the approach God would like us to when dealing with situations in life that we would often rather not have to deal with. Give a listen and be encouraged to think about how you handle the tough stuff, and maybe you too will embrace the negatives next time.

Msg: Things to Remember - Future

Are you living for the moment, or are you living every day like you are preparing for death? I mean, death is a pretty sure thing - we just don't know when it will be. Are you ready? What do you think happens next? These are questions people wrestle with, and maybe you think you've got the answers. How do you know you are right? This message concluding our series on things to remember may make you stop and think about the answers you've come up with to these questions, and it may help you in your conversations with others you know who are wrestling with these same issues.