Starting new churches

ChurchPlantSundayFB

On May 18th, North Village Church, is going to teach on the biblical purpose for starting new churches, and we are going to give everyone an opportunity to be involved in our $30,000 commitment.

Over the next 14 months we have partnered with 5 others churches (Who are committing $30,000 also), and this isn’t something we can do alone.  We are inviting you to prayerfully reflect on being involved financially above and beyond your financial giving.

If you have yet to partner with North Village Church financially,  this is a great time to start. If you are already giving to North Village Church, then this is a great opportunity to also be involved in what God is doing to start a new church in greater Austin.

Giving @ NVC

Theological Training

At Ntheological_training_FBorth Village Church, we desire to see all people to mature in their relationship with Jesus. It is our hope to see men and women  not only experience saving faith in Jesus, but that our faith would be burrowed into our hearts and minds so that we see a church family that is bringing greater glory to Him.  Consider the words of the Apostle Paul below:

11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. 

14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:11-16)

  • Spiritual Gifts: Do you know your spiritual gifts? Are you functioning in your spiritual gifts so that you are building up the body of Christ?
  • Equipping of the Saints: Do you love Scripture? Are you being equipped so that you can equip others? This includes friends, spouse, children, co-workers, neighbors, etc.
  • Work of Service: This implies humility. We are willingly humbling ourselves to Jesus as our leader so we can point our lives and the lives of others toward Him.
  • Maturity: Are you able to stand strong through faith so that you aren’t “tossed here and there” by the false teachings in our culture? Do you see yourself as a man or woman of character? This includes genuine love for God evidenced by holiness of life and personal integrity.
  • Speaking Truth In Love: Are you speaking Scripture over others so that you see supernatural life change? Are you pointing your heart and the hearts of others to the gospel? Are you willing to confront lies, refute false doctrine, and have really hard conversations?
  • Grow Up Into All Aspects Into Him: Are you living on mission with Jesus? Are you living incarnationally with others? Is this happening because you are resting in the gospel, and the Holy Spirit is leading you to engage His mission at your job, family, church, home, and hobby?

In March we will begin our training.  Our hope is that we will continue the training next year and provide two tracks.  If you weren’t able to get involved this year, then pray about getting involved next year!

Husbands, Love Your Wives

In January I am hosting a 4-week study to take an in-depth look at Ephesians 5:25-26.

I have found one of the greatest challenges in our spiritual lives as men is leading our wives spiritually (See 1 Peter 3:7.)  Notice the last line in verse 7 teaches us that our prayers will be hindered if we neglect to love our wives, lead them, pastor them, treat them with honor, and live with them in an understanding.

I can think of no greater response to that truth in Scripture than to gather with other men and challenge one another to step into that role in a practical way.

I know we are busy.  I know we have excuses.  I know we feel pulled in a 100 different directions.  But, don’t miss the opportunity to be spiritually sharpened and respond to the call of God’s Word on your life.

Here are the details:

January 21st (Tuesday, 7pm)
January 28th (Tuesday, 7pm)
February 4th (Tuesday, 7pm)
February 11th (Tuesday, 7pm)

Church Office:  8705 Shoal Creek Blvd #207

Put it in your calendar now!

Theology of Christmas Carols: Hark! The Herald Angel Sing

Throughout December North Village Church took some time to think critically about the Christmas songs we sing around the holidays.  These are often songs that we have heard so often, and been so commercialized that they have lost their meaning.  Below is a sample from, “Hark! The Herald Angel Sing.”

The word, “Hark” means to listen attentively.  Therefore, when we hear this song we need to ask ourselves, “Are we listening?”  It isn’t simply going through the motions of coming on a Sunday morning, reading Scripture, praying, and religious activity.  It isn’t simply going to work, parenting, and going through the holidays.  It isn’t simply going to Christmas parties, decorating the tree, and buying presents, but it is asking, “Am I listening to the message that is being herald by the angels as they sing, ‘Glory to the newborn king?”

13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

You can listen to the rest HERE.

Why Does God Allow Pain And Suffering?

There is a lie to expose in our culture. Do you hear it?  The lie to expose is that we blame God for our pain and suffering.  God didn’t create this pain and suffering.  Look at Genesis 1-2.  Look at the relationship between humanity and God that is being established.  I know some of us get distracted by the existence of dinosaurs and the age of the earth.  Stop looking for secret hidden codes, and look at the God that is being described in Genesis 1-2.

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Is there a God? Does it matter? Part 2

The next question we need to consider is, “Does it matter?”  I believe this questions matters, no matter where you are on your spiritual journey, because on some level all of humanity has already committed themselves to some type of god. Even if we say, “I don’t care about all that religious stuff.”  It isn’t true.

If you read all your psychology and sociology books they will all tell you that people have needs, and underneath all those needs is a deep, deep need to fix our hearts and minds on something, and give complete allegiance.  It is to put all your weight, trust, belief, and security in something, and at the end of the day it is our own personal type of god.

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Is there a God? Does it matter? Part 1

In Romans 1 it makes the claim that we can look at creation and see evidence for God!  Can you believe that?

20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

When you see the phrase, “Eternal Power”  in the original language it is the word “Dunamis” it is where we get the word “Dynamite.”  It means when we look at creation we can see powerful, explosive, miraculous characteristics that point god-like creator.

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Getting involved in the lives of other people:

On Sunday mornings North Village Church has been studying through the book of Esther.  A common theme we see throughout the book is that God involves people in the lives of other people.  It’s that simple.

Throughout Scripture we God involving people in the lives of other people and it is something we need to consider about our lives today.  Here are a few questions to help us reflect:

Am I Embracing My Faith?  Esther and Mordecai hid their faith for half of the book.  There are specific parts where they tell one another to “Tell no one.” Continue reading →

Where do you find favor?

On Sunday mornings at North Village Church we have been studying through the book of Esther.  In Esther 5, we see two great examples of people chasing after favor in the life of Esther and Haman.  Specifically, in the life of Esther she is longing for favor from the King of Persia, she is putting her life at risk, and the text says, “She obtains favor.”

Can you imagine how scary it must have been for Esther in those moments?  She is risking her life.  She is longing for favor to present her case to save her people.  She dresses herself in the royal robes, and then she hears, “what is your request?  Even to half of the kingdom it shall be given to you.”

Scripture teaches through faith alone in the God of Scripture (Father, Son, and Spirit) we are given a greater favor.  Esther’s favor is temporal.  It was based on her beauty, but God’s favor is eternal established in Christ’s work on the cross.  Esther’s favor was based on her effort, but God’s favor is based on grace, and unmerited.  Esther’s favor resulted in half of the kingdom, but God’s favor is greater and we are made son’s and daughter’s.

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Season of Planning

At North Village Church we are finishing up a season of planning.  It isn’t something that happens naturally, but I encourage all pastors to set aside time to work “in the ministry” and “on the ministry.”

By working “on the ministry” we focus on three areas:

  • Yearly Theme:  We look at the vision and values of our church and we begin to prayerfully consider what will be the focus of our church over the next year.  This process has been extremely helpful to shape our sermons, groups, and involvement in the community.
  • Month By Month:  We look at each month and we ask ourselves, “How are we taking steps this month to point our church family toward our “Yearly Theme.”  This process allows us to think through details, obstacles, and plan accordingly.
  • Financial Budget:  After we have spent months praying about what God wants to do in our church family we begin to see our financial budget coming together.  We work on this as elders, and then we submit our financial budget to people outside our church to receive feedback.  We have found this process extremely valuable.

In each of these steps we are prayerfully positioning ourselves in a place where we believe God has to show up for our church family to continue.  Sometimes I hear pastors neglect the discipline of planning because it might hinder the movement of the Holy Spirit.  We completely disagree.  We believe the Holy Spirit is moving in our planning and through our planning to maximize the movement of the Holy Spirit.

In the end, we hold all those plans with an open hand.  They aren’t our plans.  They are His plans, and we desperately need Him to show up so that we don’t look really stupid.

Three People In Church

On any given Sunday there are three types of people who show up on a Sunday morning:

  • Legal Larry:  Legal Larry is self-righteous.  He tends to look down on other people, quick to judge, and thinks too highly of himself.
  • Loose Louis:  Loose Louis errs on grace.  He doesn’t really worry too much about holiness, obedience, or Scripture as long as people love each other and get along.
  • Lost Lenny:  Lost Lenny isn’t sure what to think about the whole experience.  He is skeptical, guarded, and cynical from the moment he walks in the door.

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New Sunday Location: Norris Conference Center

NorrisAlthough negotiations went late into the night we were able to secure Norris Conference Center as our Sunday location between now and December 22, 2013.  Here are some details:

 

  • $700 a week (We started at $1,200 a week)
  • Price includes 5 rooms, coffee, water, projector, screen, chairs, and needed tables.

This new location has a few drawbacks, but overall we believe it will provide the following benefits:

  • Less items to set up and break down
  • More efficient drop-off and pick-up for our children
  • More consistent and reliable
  • One primary entrance and exit for new people
  • More exposure to people in the community

While we will miss the “community and personal” feel that is provided by Lucy Read, we are hopeful that we will be able to capture a few of those components through our personal relationships and interactions with one another on Sunday.

Thank you for being so flexible over the summer.  We are thankful for God’s grace to spend so many years in Lucy Read, but we are excited about this next step for our church family.  Lets all take this as an opportunity for Jesus to give us a fresh perspective on Sunday morning, our lives and our community.

With you and for you!

Norris Conference Center
2525 W. Anderson Lane – Suite 365
Austin, Texas 78757 

Worship

We can go to a football game and get dressed up in our favorite jersey, stand on our feet for 3 hours, paint our face, chant songs, and have a shared experience with 1000’s of people because we see the value.  We will go to concerts to stand, sing along, and hold up our lighters because we see the value.

Therefore, we need to ask ourselves, “If I am having trouble worshipping God then maybe it is because I don’t see the value of God.”

Think of it this way.  If your grandmother dies and leaves you her jewelry box you might get excited at first, but then you would remember, “Granny doesn’t have any jewelry that is valuable.”  It is all costume jewelry.  But, then one day a friend says, “What are you wearing.  It is awfully unusual.  You should get it appraised.”

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