Northplace Church Podcast

Over the last several weeks we have been in our series called Reset. This weekend we conclude a 21'day season of fasting and prayer...that has been a phenomenal time in many of our personal lives and within our church as whole. We are resetting our lives to restore connectivity with God. Our prayer times have been full of hungry people and full of the presence of God...our services have been life changing. Many of us are growing deeper in our walk with Christ and over 100 people in the last few weekends of committed their lives to Christ for the first time. God is doing something really special at Northplace and because we are in the middle of it, we may not appreciate it until we look back on it...but we ask the Lord to open our eyes and let us see the magnitude of what is happening among us... For the video go to http://northplacechurch.com/watch

In the first couple weeks we looked at how being intentional with our new year’s goals will allow for a reset in our lives. We looked at how prayer and fasting works to restore our intimacy with God. Last week, Sujo showed us how God can take tragedy, devastation and the evil aimed at us and turn it around to reset the direction of our lives for God’s glory. Today is going to be altogether different. Over the last few days, God has placed a heavy burden on our pastor's heart to have a conversation with the church. But two things came to mind: First, It wasn’t what was in the original plan. Second, he had a similar conversation with our church back at the end of May and early June about this very topic. We know what it means to trust God, but if we were to be honest, is worry more natural than true? Has trying to do something to "help God out" become easier than waiting on him to be God? To watch the video and for more info visit http://northplacechurch.com/watch

How can you refocus your life after a tragedy strikes? Listen to this message from Sujo John, a 9/11 survivor, telling how the worst day of his life propelled him ton change his approach to life. Watch the video at http://northplacechurch.com/watch

A hard reset can restore our connectivity issues. That’s the reason why we started this year with a sermon series called Reset. What all of us need at the beginning of 2016 is a Reset. We need a fresh start, a new beginning…a do over. For one reason or another we are having connectivity issues with God…and maybe even with the people in life that we love. The first of the year is a perfect time for us to hit the reset button and recalibrate our lives for connection with God. For the video visit http://northplacechurch.com/watch

A hard reset, also known as a factory reset or master reset, is the restoration of a device to the state it was in when it left the factory. All settings, applications and data added by the user are removed. 1 I love the reference to a Master Reset because that reveals my intent. When a device has a Master Reset, it returns to its purest form...its original design. All the things I have added to the device over time that may affect its performance are removed. It’s a clean slate to start all over. I think what all of us need at the beginning of 2016 is the Master’s Reset. We need a fresh start, a new beginning...a do over. So much so... many of us have already posted our New Year’s resolutions on social media or written them in our journals. We have evaluated areas of our lives that need more attention and intentionality and we have committed to focus on a few areas for improvement. To watch the video go to http://northplacechurch.com/watch

For more information visit http://northplacechurch.com/watch

The “expectant waiting” of Advent is almost over. Like the ancient believers from scripture who ached in longing for their anticipated Messiah, the 4-week season of Advent compresses those feelings and emotions for us. As we march toward Christmas Eve and the celebration of the birth of Jesus on Christmas day, we experience similar emotions as those early believers. Long before there were sleepless Christmas Eve nights with children anxiously waiting for what new gadget would be under the tree, there were centuries of anxious waiting by God’s people. They were looking, longing, hoping...waiting in faith for their promised King. The prophet Isaiah was one of those people and in Isaiah 9, he reveals his waiting heart and what this coming king will be like. He says: Isaiah 9:6 NIV 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

We often think… if I just had this, had that, lived in that house, drove that car, married that girl, that guy, landed that job, my instagram account had this many followers, people liked my status on facebook, forget my status, if people just liked me… Don’t let excuses keep you from having Joy. Don’t let people keep you from having Joy. Don’t let your job keep you from having Joy. Don’t let your mind, your insecurities, your disabilities, your hurt, your shame, your current situation keep you from having Joy! The question isn't where did I put my joy; the question is, why did I ever let it go? For the video of this sermon visit http://northplacechurch.com/watch

When you go looking for love you find it in the most unexpected places…and if we are talking about finding love in the Christmas story…our minds automatically go to the more obvious and common expressions of love. We could easily and rightly say that Advent is the time John 3:16 became a physical reality. That God expressed his love for us by giving us his only begotten son. He loved us so deeply that he wrapped himself in human flesh and became a baby in a manger. He came to live and die in our place so that we might have relationship with the father. Whoever believes upon him have can have eternal life.

Until a few years ago, Northplace had not focused that much on Advent. Traditionally, Advent has been something celebrated primarily among liturgical churches like the Anglican or Lutheran traditions. But for us Christmas has been commercialized, the word twisted to mean what it shouldn’t, and the season hijacked by materialism. We wanted something that anchored us in rich theology, biblical history, and the real story of God wrapping himself in human flesh. For the video go to http://northplacechurch.com/watch

Several weeks ago the Lord dropped something in my heart to share this weekend that was supposed to prepare our hearts for Thanksgiving. I started working on what I believed to be a spirit inspired sermon called The Discipline of Celebration. I had no idea the events that have unfolded over the last few days would happen. The Paris attacks where scores lost their lives… and the heightened terrorism risk here and around the rest of the world were not on my radar when I began thinking about this weekend’s sermon. As these events unfolded, I seriously questioned the topic. The mood seems somber not celebratory. I prayerfully asked, “Shouldn’t I be preaching something else this weekend?” But I kept feeling impressed to move forward with this conversation about celebration. The more I prayed, studied and researched the scripture the more I understood wanted God wanted us talking about this today…even with all these things going on. We are not having this conversation in spite of the recent devastation in our wor

Each week we have focused on one key piece that makes up the underlying elements of our culture. These things are what make us…uniquely us. Today I want to focus on our commitment to The ongoing work of the Holy Spirit…in our lives and in our church. As we said from the beginning of this series, one of the most important things a pastor can do, is create, cultivate, and contend for a gospel centered culture in the local church. Today we are contending for or reaffirming Our commitment to be Spirit empowered people who crave Spirit empowered environments. For the video go to http://northplacechurch.com/watch

This is week 7 in our conversation about the culture of our church. We have committed over the last couple of months to talk about those things that make us… uniquely us. Each week I have focused on one key ingredient that makes up a part of the culture of Northplace. We have talked about our commitment to generosity, courageous faith, biblical balance, missional focus, and doing less better. If you missed any part of this series, each message is available under the “Resources” tab of our website at northplacechurch.com/watch

We are in our sixth week of a very important conversation as a church family. We are reminding some and education others about the unique ingredients that make up the Northplace culture. Every place… whether be a school, a restaurant, a business, a family, or a church, has a unique feel or environment that becomes synonymous with that place. That familiar environment and that familiar experience you have when you go there is all a part of the culture of the place. At Northplace, we have been intentional in crafting our church’s culture. From the hospitality of the parking lot greeters… the size and layout of our expansive lobby… the choices of warm colors throughout the building…to the spirit empowered environment here in the sanctuary…we have been intentional in creating environments and experiences that reflect who we are as a people. Over the least several weeks we have highlighted one key ingredient of our culture that makes us…uniquely us. If you are just joining us and want to catch up on the prev

We’ve been defining the power of a culture and contending for the key ingredients that make Us…Us. We’ve said that the easiest way to define Culture is “the way do things around here.” We’ve also said… An unhealthy culture can suck the life out of vision, plans, and dreams. A healthy culture is the environment that causes all those things to flourish. Over the last ten years we have been intentional about creating culture at Northplace. Our pastors and elders take this culture thing seriously. We’ve addressed our commitment to Generosity, our commitment to living lives of courageous faith, our commitment to having biblical balance in our church in contrast to a world that worships extremes. Today, I want to talk to you about our commitment to Missional Focus. A missionally focused church is more concerned with reaching the outsider than accommodating the insider. People who live missionally focused lives are willing to spend their lives doing whatever is necessary to bring people into a relationship with

After 25 years of serving the local church, I would say that church culture is as bad or worse in its love of the extreme. I have watched what seemed to be steady, well-grounded people get caught up in some new fad that sweeps through the church. Before long they are so certain this “new thing” is the only thing…that they celebrate the new fad more than they celebrate Jesus and often look down with condemnation on those who don’t embrace the fad as passionately as they do. Those of you have been around a while can already start filling in the blanks of what those “fads” and “new things” have been during your church experience and you can probably start naming the people who fit the description I just gave. I could give you a list the names of people I’ve personally known…some ministry leaders… who were swept up in some fad…people who became self-righteous in their new found zeal…people who became critical of other Christians who didn’t share the same zeal for this “new thing”…people who after the fad wore off

Courageous faith sets miracles in motion. It’s comprised of sacrificial obedience, complete trust, and total surrender boldly displayed through tangible acts of faith. Courageous faith is what makes our church take risks. Courageous faith is what keeps us from settling for the status quo. It keeps us dreaming for what seems impossible and planning for things we can’t afford and believing for things that make other people think we have lost our minds. We are not sure, and it may cost us everything...but maybe...just maybe... if we risk everything to take this hill...the Lord will act on our behalf. That’s not the mentality of most Christians or most church cultures. We let fear dictate our decisions. We have a better-safe-than- sorry mentality. We live as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Maybe it's time for a paradigm shift. When did we start believing that God wants to take us to safe places, to do easy things? Here's a thought: The will of God is not an insurance plan. It&apo

Last week, we spent a great deal of time laying the foundation for a conversation about the culture of our church. Most of our time was spent defining the power of a culture. We said that the easiest way to define Culture is “the way do things around here.” We also said…An unhealthy culture in a church can suck the life of its vision, plans, and dreams. A healthy culture is the environment that causes all those things to flourish. The longer I serve in the local church them more I realize the importance of creating, cultivating, and contending for a gospel centered culture within the church. Our society tries to inject its culture into ours…and if left to us…we are by nature selfish and sinful…we will allow the church culture to become the same as us. We must create, cultivate, and contend for a culture within our church that reflects the heart of God. For more info visit http://northplacechurch.com

Today we begin a several week conversation that will attempt to explain what makes Northplace different. Notice, I didn’t say better. Our “different” is better for some and serves them well…but on occasions our “different” is not what is wanted or need in a persons life…and we get that. But those of you are apart of this family or considering making this place your faith family it is important for you to understand what makes the Northplace culture unique.Visit our website for the video of this message.Northplace Church on FacebookNorthplace Church on InstagramPastor Bryan Jarrett on FacebookPastor Bryan Jarrett on InstagramPastor Bryan Jarrett on Twitter

For more info visit http://northplacechurch.com