Summer Bible Study

Are you looking for a good Summer Bible Study? Here are two and both of these you can do on your own or with a group if you'd like.

BRING IT - This is our current sermon series at NorthStar on the book of James. Each week you can get daily devotions here called Digging Deeper that help lead you through the passages. The first one was May 31st, but you can catch up quite easily! The sermons can be heard here.

The second study is with Living Proof Ministries and they are starting on June 23rd with ME, MYSELF AND LIES by Jennifer Rothschild. You can find all the details for this one on their blog. I really like Jennifer and will get to hear her speak later this summer...so excited!!

If you have another summer study, let me know. I always feel like the schedule is a train wreck in the summer, but being in God's word is a priority.

Worship

During church on Sunday, we sang a song called Stronger (by Reuben Morgan and Ben Fielding).
I've heard the song before and really like it. During the chorus, our worship leader, Eric, moved away from the microphone. I don't think I've ever heard such great worship from MEN!
It was such an awesome moment, I just stood and listened and it took my breath away. Eric didn't ask only the men to sing, it was just that there were so many and they were really letting the worship flow. So glad I didn't miss it. Great job Eric!

Here's the chorus:

You are stronger, You are stronger,
Sin is broken, You have saved me.
It is written, Christ is risen
Jesus, You are Lord of All.

A Pure Heart

Last week I had a conversation with a friend. We had both been vacationing in different states, and we're in different stages of life. However, we had the same thoughts concerning our weekends. We had been angry, impatient, aggravated beyond our limits. SINFUL. That's it...nothing pretty about it. We had both been dealing with family and friend drama, and came away feeling less than Christlike. And it was definitely weighing heavy on our hearts as we talked.

Later I began to read Psalm 51. This Psalm was written by David after he was confronted about his adultery, his sin. Verse 10 says, "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."(NIV) David didn't ask for his heart to be repaired, or put back together, or to even clean it up. He asked for a new one. He realized that nothing good was in him, only through the power of God at work in him could he be made right. The same is true for me and my friend. The only way we can deal with our concerns in a godly way is to let God deal through us and in us.
The Message version of the same verse reads, "God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life." This week that's my goal. To watch God make a Genesis, a new creation, out of my chaos.

National Day of Prayer

Today I went to a prayer service at a local christian school. My friend Tracie was the coordinator and it was so neat to watch the day unfold. Tracie opened the service by talking about how sometimes God puts a seed in your heart, a desire that you have. Our job is to grow that seed, to water it, fertilize it...not dig it up! We need to believe that what God says is true. I so needed to hear that. Too often I let the thoughts and concerns of others sway what I know God has taught me, what He has given me. God's word says in Mark 11:24 "whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." My prayer today is that I will be a pray-er and a believe-er.

Later in the service, another friend shared how God had answered prayers over the course of the past couple of years for she and her family. In the midst of some very scary and life-altering moments for their daughter, she was able to be gut-wrenchingly honest with God. The rawness of knowing God hasn't left you, but feeling like He has, was hard to hear. But even more amazing is that we can actually speak that honestly with our Creator and know that He loves us and He's not forsaken us.

Today I hope that you take some time to pray.

2nd Place!

Congrats to Hannah and the Rampage Girls! They came in 2nd place in their softball season.

Villain Part 2

This week I've pondered much about part 2 of the Villain series we're doing at church. One sentence has played over in my head all week.

"Sometimes when we're tempted we feel like we're out of God's will, when in fact we're right where God wants us." This statement is based on Luke 4:1 which says, "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert...." Verse 2 thru 13 tells the story of the temptations that the villain begins to throw at Jesus and how Jesus uses the scriptures to refute him at every turn. The truth prevailed.

What I've most held to this week, is that the TRUTH of God's word is still the most powerful weapon we have has believers. No matter if the temptation I'm facing is physical, relational, financial or otherwise, God's Truth prevails...everytime.

You can read some great devotionals on this week's sermon here.

James 1:27

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27NIV



I read this post today and it is a must read for any student of scripture...especially the next to last paragraph on this verse.