NMC Audio Podcast

Whether we like it or not, conflict is a part of living. It’s how we do it that counts. In the beginning there was a conflict between Adam and God. There was a second conflict between Adam’s sons. And the story continues with a new chapter written every day. If this is truly one of life’s realities it would only make sense that we learn the best ways for handling conflict; God’s way for doing it right. None of us is perfect in conflict. All of us can improve. When we commit to doing conflict God’s way it’s amazing how much better life can be.

Hard issues, difficult circumstances, tough choices – every family, every church, every generation has grappled with them. It often feels like a head-on collision where opposing positions and viewpoints collide. Those moments feel like a lose-lose proposition. As much as we despise them they won’t go away. In our church family we will face them, like it or not and how we face them will determine our level of effectiveness in making fully committed disciples.

Friendly fire! Collateral damage! Those are military phrases used to describe what happens when innocent people are injured in conflict. While no one intended for the innocent to suffer it often happens. That’s the same for the church. God created the church to be a mighty force for impact yet, many working inside the body of Christ have been wounded. Some wounds are so deep that the pain keeps people from being part of a supportive and redemptive community. Did your church hurt you? Has that wound stymied your spiritual growth? You don’t need to live wounded. God desires you to live connected, alive and growing in this gathering called the church.

For the church to accomplish its designed purpose, its people must take the message of the Gospel and make it personal. When the people apply the truth of Scripture in their daily lives, the work of the church will shine brightly in a darkened world.

So what happened? How did that which Jesus designed to be impactful - this thing called church, get off course? What happened that caused a triumphant prevailing cause to become totally irrelevant in many areas? How was it that a mighty army morphed into a slow-moving turtle? Understanding the subtle shifts allows us to redeem church. it shows us what changes can be made so that we can recapture the heart and essence of what Jesus birthed. We can be what Jesus designed as we reshift toward Him.

Rediscovering what God designed can be a thrilling adventure. Rediscovering God’s design in marriage sparks a lost romance. Rediscovering purpose energizes us. Rediscovering, redeeming what God designed for this thing called the church can take us to a whole new level of living. While the cynics and critics tear the church to pieces, God’s blueprint has withstood the test of time. There’s something divine about this gathering God created. There’s incredible impact when God’s people redeem ‘church.’

It’s a word that’s far too commonplace in our lives – love. We use the same word to describe how we feel about a car, a sports team or an article of clothing to describe how we feel about God. The ‘love’ word in the English language just isn’t adequate to express what it is we need to be sustained through the hard times. Peter presses us to forget just loving and move to a much deeper level called ‘deep love.’ It’s a love that will sustain us when the lights go out.

A new gospel, which is really a false gospel, teaches that following Christ will eliminate pain and discomfort in your life. Follow Him and all your dreams will come true. Your home will be better, your cars will be better and pain will be eliminated. Unfortunately that gospel is a myth. It creates false expectations and disappointment. Suffering is often a part of God’s plan for our lives. Developing a theology of suffering and embracing its pain is part of God’s way of forming us into His image. As difficult as it is, suffering can be used by God to take us to higher levels in our walk with him.

Today in our service with the absence of our Sr. Pastor Dave Engbrecht, Sr. Associate Pastor Joe Focht will be continuing our current teaching series entitled, “Big Deal” with an emphasis on introducing and hearing from our regional partners in Gary, Rochester, South Bend, and Topeka, IN. He’ll be sharing from Acts 1:8, where we are promised to receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on us to be witnesses.

So what’s a big deal to God? What is it that He loves? When we look into the heart of God we can discover what He loves; what He died for. There is a constant stream throughout all of scripture which shows the heart of God is a heart for the nations. His desire is that the nations would know Him and love Him. When our hearts grab ahold of God’s heart, we too are transformed with a heart for the nations.

Any doctor will tell you that taking care of your heart is essential to good health. Not caring for it could lead to death. Just as physical heart health is critical, caring for our spiritual heart is even more important. Heart disease can be deadly. That’s why it is essential to let God examine our heart. After a thorough examination there needs to be a new way of living. It’s all about HEART HEALTH.

We are the sum total of all of the choices we make in our lives. Chance, while important, isn’t near as important as choice. Knowing that God loves us should motivate us to seek his guidance as we desire to make wise choices. Yet unknowingly we often factor him out of the decision-making process. One question should drive us – Lord, what do you want me to do?

Some things in life just aren’t worth fighting for. The time and energy spent to keep them just doesn’t pay off. Yet some things are worth fighting for. They are worth so much that we will fight with every ounce of our strength for them. One of those things is the next generation – the generation of our sons and daughters; our grandsons and granddaughters. They are worth the investment of all of our resources.

It was God’s idea! It is a great idea! It’s called the family. God created families as a place where we could be loved, protected and guided. Few things are more beautiful than a family done right. Because healthy families are so valuable in living out God’s Kingdom here on earth, it’s no surprise that the family is under attack. That which was designed to be strong is often broken. Yet there is hope! When God touches a family incredible things happen. Pieces of the puzzle start fitting together.

Have you ever dreamed about what you could become through the power of prayer? What would happen if you were able to elevate to a whole new level in your prayer life? When unleashed, the untapped potential of prayer can change nations, even reversing the course of history. When God’s people pray something happens