Here’s a place where you can share your own thoughts. Each week we’ll post a review of the previous Sunday’s worship gathering in our bulletin and/or on our website. If you have a certain thought that you’d like to share concerning your worship experience, please contribute. If you have a specific question or topic that you’d like to converse about, let us know. If you’ve found a video or picture you’d like to share related to our theme of “Gifts”, this will be the place. We’ll post it for you, or you can post it yourself if you like, by using the form below.
Think of it as a “Gift” to your Northshore family.
Our new Women’s Bible Study is doing a great book entitled, “This Isn’t The Life I Signed Up For, But I’m Finding Hope and Healing”. During our discussion time last Friday we talked about how vital it is to know God’s Truth and to stand on His Truth. I’d like to share something that came from some notes we found on this topic:
“What do you do when you don’t like the circumstances of your life and it seems as if those circumstances aren’t going to change anytime soon? There are many answers to that question, but one stands out as being of supreme importance. When you deal with bad circumstances that may or may not ever change, you must go back and find out where God is in the midst of all your frustration. Good theology can save us when nothing else will help. Good theology can save your life. We all know it can save your soul but in times of trouble, if you know the TRUTH and if you remember the TRUTH, what you know and remember can save you from despair.
What things are we talking about?
God is good
God is faithful
God knows what is best
He is quick to forgive
He will never leave me
His mercy endures forever
He makes no mistakes
God has a purpose
He is working out His plan for me
God still loves me
The Holy Spirit indwells me
Jesus is alive today
He will return someday.”
Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
Deuteronomy 6:5-9 says:” Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. ”
Our very wise God repeats throughout the Bible the importance of knowing His Word. Hide His word in our hearts. Impress His word on our children. Talk about His word when we’re at home, when we’re out walking, when we lie down and get up. Put them in our home where we can be reminded of His Truth. He’s serious about it so shouldn’t we be?
No matter the circumstances of your life–especially if you’re thinking, “This isn’t the life I signed up for…….” knowing God’s word, His Truth, CAN save you from despair. When times seem the darkest, go back to the Father, the One Who loves you right where you are. Go back to His word and remember His goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, forgiveness, mercy and grace. Here you will find Hope and Healing!
Randall Mooney’s song was such a blessing to my heart last Sunday. I touched a place that had been dry. It was a wonderful to worship with this church family.
The church is a family
My neighbor and my brother and my grams and me
If you want to feel a love that’s heavenly
Then join the wedding of the Lord.
It doesn’t matter what shape you’re in
Full of the Spirit or filled with sin
He will take you back again
Into the body of the Lord.
God loves you despite your mistakes
and he’s calling you while your heart breaks
There could be no higher stakes
Than life from the living Word.
So come on join us while we pray
As Jesus leads us in the Way
You shouldn’t wait another day
To get life from the living Word.
I’ve been to a lot of churches as I’ve lived in a lot of places. Most feel churchy, that is a service following the sing-pray-passtheplate-sermon formula just like everyone expects, and most importantly you try not to make eye contact with the person next to you even if the guy up front is preaching about loving your neighbor. But at a few rare places, I feel like, yep, this is the Church, this is the family God created for us as believers, and it’s the same in Indiana or California or Florida or Mississippi. God is the same everywhere, and his Church has a purpose. One day during and after the service at Northshore, while feeling particularly thankful to God for all that he provides, I was thinking thanks for the Church, and that’s when I put down those lyrics. Thank you God for giving us one body to be a part of.
It was a sweet time of prayer… I think the nice thing is I don’t know how long we prayed… seems like about 15 or 20 minutes?? The nice part was that I never felt rushed to get through, or nervousness over “dead air” between the times when people were praying. It was a ministering.
Also, for me, the testimony of John Piper about the importance of memorizing was quite profound.
http://bit.ly/eOcDpw
One of the highlights for me last week was the prayer time. Does anyone know how long we prayed? And then the song that Randall shared immediately after, seems like it was written for just that moment. Here are the lyrics to his song – written just a few weeks ago:
I Pray
by Randall Mooney
When I’ve reached the end, can’t go any longer
The pressure of my journey, requires that I be stronger
What do I do – what can I do
When peace has escaped me, and pain has surrounded
My hopes and dreams have faded, and fears have abounded
What do I do – what can I do
I pray to the Father in the name of the Son
I pray to the Spirit, we pray as one
I pray, I pray, I pray…
And when I pray I hear His voice
Healing my pain and calming my heart
Making all things new and forgiving the past
Releasing this captive to be free at last
When I pray…I pray…I pray
I pray to the Father in the name of the Son
I pray to the Spirit, we pray as one
I pray, I pray, I pray…
© 2011 randall mooney