New Year's Resolution

My New Year's resolution is to see God and too see the good.

I want to seek God early in my day, then look for Him during my day. I want to see what He is up too. I ask that he would give me eyes to see and ears to hear what he is doing, so I can be a part of it and give him glory for it. At the end of my day I want to reflect on God's presence in my life.

I think one of this best ways to do this is too look for the good. God is good. When God looked at his creation he said it was good. Jesus called himself the good shepherd. We are commanded to think on whatsoever things are good, so I will look for the good. That does not mean that all situations will be good(although many will) but that God is good in every situation. I will look for the good because I know all things work together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose.

Jesus, in 2010 help me to see God and to see the good. God forgive me of my attitude that looks for the bad and negative. God you are good all the time.

I love you guys.

In Jesus' Service,

Leviticus 18:3

Leviticus 18:3 So do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life.

Egypt worshiped Pharaoh. Egypt worshiped their nation. Egypt worshiped national pride. God says don't do that, you worship me.

Canaan worshiped pleasure. Canaan worshiped what feels good. Canaan worshiped making life easy. Canaan would make up gods that fit their lifestyle. God says don't do that, you worship me.

I think these two traps are easy to fall into. America has gone in both of these directions. God forgive us, we return to you.

In Jesus' Service,

Preach the Word.

I use to go with a college group to feed and minister to the homeless in Orlando Florida. I was still very wet behind the ears when it came to preaching and felt quite nervous and unsure that I could preach. A friend of mine on our ministry team named Jason would slap me on the shoulders, look me right in the eye, and raise his voice and say, "PREACH THE WORD!" His confidence was infectious. His confidence came from the Word not from his self. That lesson has always stuck with me. I often will say to myself before going into the pulpit, "PREACH THE WORD!"

I would encourage all of us when we feel like we cannot make it through our day, our circumstances, and our life to "PREACH THE WORD" to our day, circumstances, and life. Find the confidence you need from God's Word and not yourself. Speak God's truth throughout your day, speaking directly to your day. You don't have to be a master theologian to do this either.

I no longer feel that same nervousness that I felt 11 years ago when it comes to preaching. It is the Word that has brought me this far. I will continue to trust in God's Word to take me where God needs me to go over my next years. I believe you can trust God to do the same for you through his Word.

I love you guys,

In Jesus' Service,

3 Life Lessons- by Mark Batterson

I really enjoyed these 3 life lessons. We need to be reminded of these from time to time. Pastor Todd

This weekend I was reminded of a few lessons that have to be relearned all the time.

1) Go the extra mile

We have core value at NCC: go the extra mile. So many people made that reality this weekend. I was shocked to find one staff member shoveling in front of Ebenezers on Saturday morning. And it wasn't in her portfolio! That is going the extra mile. So many others stepped up to help make our weekend services happen.

2) All You Can Do Is Smile

When you find yourself in a situation you cannot control, all you can do is smile. We cannot control the weather but we aren't going to let the weather control us. For the record, we don't cancel services. And we had some joyous services this weekend. Some of them only had acoustic worship and very pared down ministries, but it actually makes me appreciate what we pull off every weekend at NCC.

3) Do Little Things Like They Are Big Things

I'm not sure how to say this, but our band at Ebenezers played like there were thousands of people in a packed out concert venue. By they way, in case you care, I give our Ebenezers band a different name each weekend. It's tradition. This weekend I called them Whiteout (inspired by a combination of the 80's band, Whiteheart, and the record snowfall in DC). But I added an addendum afterward. Whiteout Rockout. So proud of the way they played and worshipped.

This weekend brought back memories of preaching to 25 people. And I can honestly say that I preached those sermons like they were the most important sermons I'd ever preach. You can't just "show up" when there are thousands of people. You've got to preach your heart out when there are only a few people.

If you do little things like they are big things, God will give you big things to do.

In Jesus' Service,