NHCC Sermons & Teaching PodPoint

Romans 8:28, And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.
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What causes you distress? Maybe it is a child or spouse who might be hurting physically or spiritually. Perhaps it might be the loss of a job, or financial stress. Whatever it might be, distress comes in two basic forms: those things that others have done to me and those things that I have done to myself.
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Either way, the simple answer is obedience to God. By obeying Him, you are accepting that whether the source of your distress is from someone else or from your own actions (sins), God has the capability to bring it around for your good. Whatever the circumstances are, God makes a way where there can sometimes seem to be no way.
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It is the story woven throughout the book of Judges--God brings deliverance to His people even when they don't deserve it and even in situations that seem otherwise hopeless.

Judges 21:25, In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
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Judges, perhaps more than any other book of the Bible, shows us the failure of humanity to live out God's call on our lives. The book's final words sum up the picture: "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes." (Judges 21:25)

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! --Matthew 23:37

One of the wonderful things about having a godly mother is that it allows us to have an insight into the character of our Creator. Rather than assuming God has feminine or masculine characteristics--as some would foolishly do--we recognize the character seen in our mothers is actually a reflection of the nature of the One in who's image our mothers were recreated.
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This Sunday on this Mother's Day, Frank addresses those very godly qualities so many of us appreciate in our moms, but ultimately, first see them in our Heavenly Father.

John 21:25, Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
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Belief in Jesus Christ is not conceptual. We cannot assume to simply assert that we intellectually accept that Jesus existed. True, biblical belief calls for a conviction based on that fundamental belief that not only did Jesus exist, but that He was born of a virgin, died on the cross for our sins, was resurrected on the third day, ascended to heaven and will return again one day.
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Unless that is the whole truth and nothing but the truth, it becomes meaningless. If Jesus is not the Son of God and not God the Son, then our belief is more "human-based" and not heaven-based. That conviction we should have must find its faith foundation in the divinity of Christ. As a wise man once said, "You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror." [James 2:19]
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We do God nothing for God by simply accepting that He exists. He has no confusion over that. What truly matters is when our belief is tied directly to our faith and that faith produces a conviction that affirms our commitment to Him.

John 17:17, Sanctify them in the truth; Your Word is truth.

The philosophical notion of truth in our society and culture can best be described as fluid. To many people today, truth is not based on an absolute concept but rather more based upon each person's personal opinion and/or perception of it.
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Of course, with God, truth is something vastly different. It is one of the defining character traits of our Heavenly Father, and it is absolute in its meaning and impact. If truth was pliable rather than definitive, then it severely undermines the sovereignty of God. This Sunday, Frank shares a message teaching on God's character defined by such absolute truth.

Micah 6:8, He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
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More and more, we live in a world and are saturated by a culture that attempts to further and further blur the lines between what is right and wrong... between what is acceptable and unacceptable... between what is appropriate and inappropriate.
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The only way we can truly keep our "spiritual wits" about us, is to remain grounded in the simple truth that God alone is the true standard of justice. This Sunday, we will touch on the foundational aspect of God's character.