What would North Park become if:

• we lived each day to prove that we serve a God that is alive?
• we would really see the world as God sees it?
• we really believed that God's infinite love can be experienced everyday?
• we became so missional that praying about reaching the world would become a reality and not just a prayer journey and fancy church talk?
• we would take the Word of God serious and live it out to the entire world?
• we would be disciple makers?
  
• we would ALL adjust our beliefs, behavior, character, and values to line-up with God's ways?
• we would identify where God is at work and join Him?
• we ALL committed together that we are going to give as God gives---freely, joyfully, and sacrificially?
• we loved our neighbor as much as we loved ourselves?
• we shared the message of salvation with every lost person that came into our lives?

What would North Park be? A NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH!!

7 Reasons I Want To Be at North Park This Sunday

Things are really exciting around North Park these days. The Sunday morning worship experience is stinkin' AWESOME! This Sunday is going to prove to be incredible as well. Let me give you a few reasons that I am major pumped about what the Lord is doing here at North Park AND WHY I DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS SUNDAY!
1. God is being genuinely worshiped by genuine, authentic people. We sing and praise Him like crazy and then He challenges us with His Word. We talk to Him--He talks to us---sounds like a relationship, doesn't it?

2. I don't know about you, but I have really been out in the world this week Serving the Savior and Reaching the World? I need to be around fellow believers for encouragement.I need to hear you worship with me. I need to hear from God with you. I need to know you're battling with me to win this world for Christ.

3. The music. I love listening to NP's praise band rockin' for God. Music prompts me to worship and converse with God. I can't wait to sing with you.

4. The offering. I really get excited about giving back to God for the sake of the Kingdom. When Kassandra and I give, we partner with you--then we all partner with the Lord to reach every need that we possibly can for His glory.

5. The Word. I have really been challenged by the Word during this Sold-Out series. I really want to be serious and have a passion for what the Lord has specifically given to one local church--NP.

6. My family. We all can worship here. My little girl attends the first service and sits with her mom and then second service--she gets to go to an awesome childrens center and be impacted by an awesome childrens team that is teaching her about an awesome God. She is learning more about being a disciple of Christ than she ever has--I love it! And my boys, they sit with their friends and love to worship at NP--now that makes a dad/pastor happy.

7. I am not looked down on because I dress casual. The me you see is the me I will be! I tend to worship the Lord more genuinely when I can just be who I am in Christ and I don't have to pretend to be something I am not.

See you Sunday.

What If Pharisees Had Twittered?

This blog was originally posted by Perry Noble at www.perrynoble.com. Obviously I cannot take credit for it, nonetheless it is so stinking true, I had to post it. We read this blog this morning in the office and had a good laugh. The below statements are somewhat comical but also so very true that it is heart breaking. Enjoy Noble's blog entitled:

What If Pharisees Had Twittered?

• “Heard this guy named Jesus teach today, not very impressed. All He did was tell stories, didn’t really go in depth like the guys do at the tabernacle.”

• “That Jesus guy healed a dude on the Sabbath right in front of everyone, which was so disrespectful. Sure, it was nice that the person got healed, I just don’t agree with the way He went about it.”

• “BIG DEAL! So this Jesus guy fed over 5,000 men with five loaves and two pieces of fish. Seems to me like He is just into trying to do entertaining things to get people’s attention rather than teaching them anything of substance.”

• “The people that seem to be following Jesus and taking on some responsibilities for Him have not been to seminary…this is not acceptable!”

• “This Jesus guy keeps talking TO and ABOUT ‘lost people.’ I think His singular focus is going to be destructive to His ministry.”

• “This Jesus guy won’t answer any of our questions. I think He is arrogant to not listen to us…doesn’t He understand who we are?”

• “Jesus didn’t wash His hands before He ate a meal with me last night, I did, therefore I am so much cleaner than Him!”

• “Jesus called me a snake/viper today, I am not quite sure that was appropriate language and I think that kind of talk is going to damage His reputation.”

• “Jesus always calls me and my friends out for His perceived problems with us…and quite often isn’t very ‘loving’ in the way He does it. I think He has temper issues and should stop being so reactive.”

• “Jesus keeps hanging out with the wrong people…doesn’t He know that the people who are closest to Him don’t have their act together?”

• “Jesus lost His temper today and threw things and people out of the temple. His irreverence for the things that matter to me is quite disturbing.”

• “This guy Jesus waters down His teachings, the way He is presenting things ANYONE can be forgiven!”

Why Do I Doubt--What Can I Do? (part 2...kind-of)

What do I do when I doubt my salvation? Why do I doubt my salvation? If I have doubts, am I lost? Please, help!!
First things first—have you had a genuine, life-changing experience with Jesus Christ? Have you confessed your sin and given your life to Him? To be saved is to be born-again. To be born-again is your spiritual birth—when was it? If you have questions about your salvation, email me so I can pray for you but also help place someone in your life that can guide you to a living, lasting relationship with Jesus Christ.

To go through a season of doubt does not mean that you are lost. 99% sure does not equal 100% lost. There are reasons that a Christian sometimes goes through a season of doubt.
1. Strong preaching on God’s holy standard. Such preaching forces people to see their sinfulness and acknowledge that the holiness of God calls them to a lofty standard of living. God requires much from you—give it to Him.
2. Guilt. If a Christian has difficulty accepting God’s forgiveness for such a tainted past, doubt often fills up their life. You do not have to live a life of doubt---God’s forgiveness is as faithful as He is (1 John 1:9).
3. Trials and tragedy. Often heartache, pain, and fear will bring on a season of doubt. Just ask John the Baptist. Prior to his death, he sent some of his friends to make sure that Jesus was who He said He was—John the Baptist just wanted to make sure (Luke 7:18-28).
4. Continual sin and lack of confession. It has been said that high degrees of assurance cannot be enjoyed by those who persist in low levels of obedience. You cannot live in constant sin and live in 100% assurance. Check out Hebrews 10:22. Confess and quit doing the sin that you are doing.
5. An inconsistent walk with the Lord. This means an inconsistent prayer life and Bible study time. You cannot have an on-again-off-again relationship with God and live in 100% assurance. In other words, a daily relationship with God brings about the feeling of certainty of His love. It’s just like trying to have an intimate relationship with someone and then to refuse communication with them—it just doesn’t work. Get on your knees and in His Word.
6. Lack of church attendance. Enough said—GO TO CHURCH AND GET INVOLVED!!! Read Hebrews 10:25.

Am I Really Saved?

As a pastor, my heart is often burdened when I hear there are Christians who live or go through seasons of doubt concerning their salvation. Furthermore, my heart aches when I observe the life of a church member who proclaims to be a Christian but the fruit they produce is tainted and poisonous...or there is no fruit at all---just a lot of busy religious work to satisfy a longing and emptiness in their life.

In this blog I would like to address the Christian who struggles with the assurance of salvation. Do you remember the time that you asked Jesus to become Savior and Lord of your life? Do you remember times in your life when you were so "on fire" for the Lord Jesus? Do you remember when prayer and Bible study were so prevalent in your life? Do you remember producing fruit for God’s Kingdom? But today, you just don't know where you stand with the Lord. You are spiritually miserable (not just backslidden), you are so spiritually sick that you doubt whether or not you were ever saved. Dear friend, until you nail down the certainty of salvation you will never enjoy the full measure of God's grace. Read the below letter and see if you identify:

To My Pastor,

I’ve been attending our church for a long time now. Actually, I think I’ve been attending church all my life except for a few “drop-out” moments that most people seem to experience. As a result of a growing conviction in my heart, your preaching, and my seemingly powerlessness against the temptations which arise in my heart and which I constantly succumb to, my growing doubts have led me to believe that I’m not saved.

How sad it is, Pastor, for me not be able to enter heaven because of the sin which clings to me and from which I long to be free. How bizarre for one whom as had advanced biblical training and who can easily be a teacher in our church, as a matter of fact, I have been and done so with heartfelt conviction. So many times I have determined in my heart to repent, to shake loose my desire to sin, to forsake all for Jesus, only to find myself doing the sin I don’t want to do and not doing the good I want to do.

After my fiancée and I broke up, I memorized Ephesians as part of an all-out effort against sin, only to find myself weaker and more painfully aware of my sinfulness, more prone to sin than ever before, and grabbing cheap thrills to push back the pain of lost love. This occurs mostly in the heart, Pastor, but that’s where it counts and that’s where we live. I sin because I’m a sinner. I’m like a soldier without armor running across a battlefield getting constantly shot by the enemy. I hurt!

I couldn’t leave the church if I wanted to. I love the people, and I’m enthralled by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But I’m a pile of manure on the white, pure marble floor of Christ, a mongrel dog that sneaked back in the back in the door of the King’s banquet to lick the crumbs off the floor, and being close to Christians who are rich in the blessings of Christ, I get some of the overflow and ask you to pray for me as you think is best.

Signed, “Not Too Sure If I Belong”

Wow!!! Is that you? What if you could take a test to see if your life really lines up with what the Bible says about being saved? In other words, you can know that you “really belong” not based up how you feel or what you have done, but rather by evaluating your life based on the perfect, inerrant Word of God. The test that you are about to take is presented by the Apostle John in his first epistle, entitled 1 John. The purpose of John writing this letter was to address the very subject of the assurance of salvation (I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life--1 John 5:13).

1. Have you enjoyed fellowship with Christ, and the Father?

a. Read 1 John 1:2-3

b. Read John 5:1

c. It is characteristic of any believer to love God and Christ. A relationship with God is basic to salvation.

d. Read 1 Corinthians 1:9

2. Are you sensitive to sin?

a. Read 1 John 1:5-10

b. True believers have a right sense of sin. They know if they are going to have fellowship with God, they have to be holy. When sin occurs, they have the conviction and desire to confess sin.

c. NOTE: Confession (1:9) means to agree that the sin you have committed is wrong. True Confession also carries with it true repentance. In other words, stop committing that sin. Read 1 John 3:4-9

d. True believers realize they do not have to sin. But when they do, they know whom to go. Read 1 John 2:1-2

3. Do you obey God’s Word?

a. Read 1 John 2:3. NOTE: The Greek word for “keep” means “watchful, careful, thoughtful obedience.”

b. What steps do you take to ensure that you obey God’s Word?

4. Do you still love the world and what the world offers you?

a. Read 1 John 2:15

b. Read 1 John 5:19

c. Read 2 Corinthians 4:4

5. Do you love other Christians?

a. Read 1 John 3:10

b. Do you have a desire to be in corporate worship with fellow believers?

To go through a season of doubt does not mean that you are lost. Tomorrow I will post some reasons that we will sometimes go through these seasons. If you are in need spiritual counsel, email me at schanon@northparkbaptist.com and I will pray for you and help find someone to minister to your needs. I’ve been there, and praise God for fellow Christians who taught me and guided me to “get through” a tough season. And you never know, I may be there again one day.