Chewing On This Week's Message At Northview

The Greatest Stories Ever Told: Sibling Rivalry

2009-01-07T11:58:00.009-05:00

Here are a couple resources that go along with this weekend's message:

Balance - A message on Grace at NVCL

2008-01-25T13:03:00.000-05:00

What do you do with the Christian Doctrine of Grace?

This is an opportunity for you to "push back" on this weekend's message. What are you thinking about? Struggling with? Excited about...when you think about God's Grace in your life? I would invite you to wrestle with the following questions...

Is Religion Good Enough?

2008-01-25T12:58:00.000-05:00

Read Romans 3:20 - 31. Where in my life am I relying upon the law (and my good works...Religion) to save me? Am I/have I been guilty of legalism? In what areas of my faith journey do I have false pride? What do I do that is “mere religion?” Where am I guilty of “just going through the motions of faith?”

Abusing Grace

2008-01-25T12:55:00.000-05:00

Read Romans 6. Am I still a “slave to sin?” In what specific ways am I taking advantage of God’s grace?

Living Sacrifice? Really?

2008-01-25T12:51:00.000-05:00

Read Romans 12:1-2. Am I a “living sacrifice?” What does it look like for me to be walking around on the altar of life? Do I live a lifestyle of worship?

Swimming In God's Grace

2008-01-25T12:50:00.000-05:00

Do I “Swim in God’s Grace?” Do I really accept the free gift he’s given? How is the Balance in my life between legalism/the law on one side of “the rope” and taking advantage of God’s Grace on the other side? If I “slip off the rope,” which side do I fall in?

Extra Credit :)

2008-01-25T12:48:00.000-05:00

Consider reading the book of Romans this week to dig deeper into this concept of living by grace and balancing the Law with abusing Sin. To learn more about God’s grace and the freedom we have in Christ, consider reading the book of Galatians.

Revealed - A Sermon at NVCL

2008-01-11T15:05:00.000-05:00

What do you see when you look in the mirror...Spiritual Mirror?

This is an opportunity for you to "push back" on this weekend's message. What are you thinking about? Struggling with? Excited about...in your own Spiritual Growth Journey? I would invite you to wrestle with the following questions. And invite you to allow them to be a kind of self-guided Spiritual Growth Inventory.

And while you're online, I would urge you to take twenty minutes to take an online survey for us called REVEAL (click here). (West Lafayette campus click here.) This will help us as we try to assess where we are as a church in the Spiritual Growth area. And then, if we know where we are, that will help us provide a better roadmap to where we would like to be...

A Question to Ponder...

2008-01-11T14:38:00.001-05:00

Which of these two pictures best describes your Spiritual Growth thermometer?

Is Jesus "Top of Your List?" or "Center of Your World?"

After wrestling with that question, why don't you answer for yourself a few of these questions (below)...

Spiritual Growth - Prayer

2008-01-11T14:33:00.000-05:00

1. I tend to pray:
· Throughout the day
· Daily
· A couple times/week
· A couple times a month

2. When you pray, do you also allow time to just listen to God...rather than talk?

3. When you have a problem/concern/worry, to whom do you go first? God? Spouse? Friend? Parent? Other?

4. When you pray, do you feel that God is a friend with whom you are comfortable sharing both your difficult times and your joys? If not, why not?

Spiritual Growth - Reading the Bible

2008-01-11T14:32:00.000-05:00

1. I tend to read my Bible:
· Daily
· Weekly
· Monthly
· Rarely
· Never

2. When I read my Bible, it’s mostly out of:
· Obligation
· Guilt
· Bible study requirement
· Desire to know more about God
· Desire to spend time with God

3. Do you believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God?

4. Do you believe that the Bible gives us all the answers that we need to live as believers on this earth? ie...answers on marriage, parenting, business, etc?

5. Use at least 15 adjectives to describe God.

Spiritual Growth - Daily Living according to the Biblical Model

2008-01-11T14:30:00.000-05:00

1. Would you feel comfortable explaining the Biblical model of Marriage? Do you feel that your marriage is an example of one?

2. Would you feel comfortable explaining the Biblical model of Parenting? Do you feel that you try to model this?

3. Do you tend to make your daily decisions based on how you feel or on God’s truth? (I don’t want to forgive her because I’m angry vs. I will forgive her despite how I feel because God commands me to.)

4. My communication tends to be loving and patient:
· Never
· Rarely
· Sometimes
· Usually
· Always

5. Name an area in your life that you have given over control to God.

Spiritual Growth - Evangelism

2008-01-11T13:55:00.000-05:00

1. When it comes to sharing the Gospel with someone, I am:
Super comfortable
Somewhat comfortable
Not comfortable
Very uncomfortable
Depends on the situation

2. How many people have you shared the Gospel with in the past year?

3. How many people have you invited to Church in the past year?

4. About what percentage of your friends, extended family, colleagues are believers? Who do you have in your life who is not yet? How are you going to bump that percentage up?

5. Are your kids comfortable with sharing the Gospel with their friends?

Spiritual Growth - Service

2008-01-11T13:53:00.000-05:00

1. How much of a priority is serving God in your life?
· High
· Medium
· Low

2. In what ways do you serve God on a regular basis?

3. Approximately how many hours per week do you spend serving God?

4. Do you pray regularly to God to ask Him to show you how you can better serve Him?

Spiritual Growth Plan

2008-01-11T13:49:00.000-05:00

1. Pick at least one area (from above) in which you would like to concentrate on growing this coming year.

2. Write a plan of how you would like to accomplish this including a schedule if necessary.

3. Share with your spouse (or a trustworthy friend) about your plan and ask him/her to hold you accountable. This will require regular meetings on the matter in order to keep on track.

4. Are you in a Life Group? Do you have a group of Believers around you to help you grow? If not, take steps to make that happen!

Comments and Questions on "Foolishness" Message 12.29.07

2007-12-28T22:10:00.000-05:00

What is your reaction to what you heard this weekend? Do you have any questions? (Note: I (Stan) will not be able to check this until later in the evening on Sunday. But, from that point until the end of the week, I'm looking forward to dialogue...and journeying with you on this topic.)

Comments and Questions on Christmas and Consumerism Message...12.08.07

2007-11-26T14:21:00.000-05:00

Some Questions to Wrestle With:

2007-11-26T14:17:00.000-05:00

Have I ever had an honest sit-down conversation with my family about the true meaning of Christmas? If not, why not?

What specific things have I seen in culture around me that are symptoms of consumerism or greed? What symptoms do I see in my own life? Do I see symptoms of the sickness in my kids?

Am I willing to “own up” to the fact that the illness of consumerism might be living within me? What am I going to do about it?

What am I going to do about all of the opportunities in the lobby and the Horizon International Gift Catalog today? Will I slow down and investigate? Am I willing to “give up” one of my Christmas gifts in order to give to someone else?

Am I “on guard” against “all kinds of greed” in my life? What do I do with these words of Jesus?

Comments and Questions to 10.06.07 Message

2007-10-05T11:16:00.000-04:00

A Question

2007-10-05T11:10:00.000-04:00

Re-read Nehemiah chapter 3. Spend some time talking about the people who have contributed “bricks” to your spiritual walk.

Some questions to wrestle with might be: Do the existing “bricks” in my life know what they’ve meant to me? Who has built into my life that I need to encourage this week (perhaps by email, or a note, or a phone call)?

Or, perhaps, you could use this site as a "public forum" to encourage them. [Please keep in mind this is a very public arena. And let's make sure our comments are actually encouraging :). ]

Another Question

2007-10-05T11:00:00.000-04:00

Read Matthew 1:1-17. Isn't this an interesting list of people? Who stands out to you? Talk about the “stinkers” in the list? Why would God include imperfect people in the genealogical record of Jesus’ lineage? In the spirit of Matthew 5:23-24, are there any forgiveness issues in your life that need to be dealt with? Is anyone holding an unhealthy grudge? Now, after dealing with this, how can we “build each other up?”

Another Question

2007-10-05T10:50:00.000-04:00

Read 1 Peter 2 (to the right). Who do I really know? Who really knows me? Is my honest answer good enough? Am I satisfied with this definition of Church?

Seriously. What existing relationships do I have that God is calling my to take deeper? What action steps am I willing to take to begin to accomplish that goal this week?

Another Question

2007-10-05T10:45:00.000-04:00

Read Ephesians 2 (to the right). How would I assess the health of my Christian community? Is Jesus really my cornerstone? If so, how? If not, who/what is?