Northeast Christian Podcast

This week we're grateful to have Guest Speaker, Clayton Hentzel. Clayton is Lead Pastor of The Crossing Church.

Today we're hearing from a panel of parents who are all at different stages in their parenting journeys.

Life is full of firsts. Naturally, parenting is too. From your baby's first steps across the living room to their first steps out into the world as an adult, your children will experience many things for the very first time. As a parent, you have a role in how these "firsts" contribute to the formation of your child. The experiences they have are largely out of your control, but you can help form them as they slowly become adults who experience life for themselves. Today, we're thinking through how you can contribute to your child's spiritual formation by discipling them through all the "firsts" along the way.

If you want to raise kids that are leaders of consequence in the kingdom of God, you need a plan. But before you make a plan, you need to catch a vision. This week of Intentional Parenting is super practical. Whether you still have kids in your home or not, you'll learn how to catch a vision for intentional parenting, identify your values, and make a plan to help you stay on track. We've created four worksheets to help you work through this process. Download them through the link below: https://www.necchurch.org/intentional-parenting-vision-values-plan/

There's no such thing as the perfect parent, but it is possible and necessary to be an intentional one. So how is it done? How can you bring intentionality to your children's spiritual development with the same passion and devotion you bring to the rest of their development? We're spending the next five weeks exploring these questions together. Even if you aren't a parent, this series is sure to provide practical tools for your spiritual formation.

Guest Speaker, Mark Moore, concludes our Summer of Prayer series. Praying for the lost always has a cost. If you're a "sideline" Christian, the cost to your comfort, relationships, and time will be too high. Mark walks through four different types of prayers Jesus prayed, and poses a challenge to all who claim to follow Jesus: are you willing to follow in Jesus' footsteps and pay the cost to reach the lost?

Prayers of adoration remind us of the character of God. This week, we're looking at examples from Scripture of what it looks like to adore and praise God through prayer.

Seeking control is not the solution to the human condition. It's the problem. Fear happens when you feel out of control. So how do you overcome fear? The logical answer may be to seek more control over every little detail of life, micromanaging until there is nothing left to fear. But this "control" is an illusion, and all it takes is one unexpected turn to feel afraid and out of control all over again. The solution? Be honest about your lack of control and lean in to the grace of "withness" through prayer. Prayer is simply being with God, sharing your unfiltered thoughts with him. If you want to overcome fear and control, you can't do it alone; you must learn the practice of "withness".

Even though "cultural Christianity" has largely lost social power and influence, it's clear that people still long for the transcendent. People still long to know God and access spiritual power in their lives. As followers of Jesus, we know that true spiritual power comes from prayer.

This week we're learning from James 5:7-20 about how to persevere through hard times with patience.

This week, we learn from James 3:13-18 about how to mature in wisdom. Worldly "wisdom" is not the same as godly wisdom. How do we know the difference? How do we ensure we're walking in godly wisdom?

This week, we're learning from James 1:1-18 about overcoming suffering and trials.

"Consumer Christianity" says that "God, the world, the church, and everything else orbits around me. They exist for my desires and my problems". The Way of Jesus, however, defies Consumer Christianity. Jesus had compassion on crowds, but he also strategically resisted them so that he could invest in his core of committed followers. Jesus invites all people to "come and see", but at some point we must decide whether we will truly follow him in sacrifice.

Jesus was never in a hurry. When you look at his life and ministry in the gospels, you see that he took the time to be where he was, never rushing himself or his disciples along to the next thing. In this series, Next Steps, we're looking at five different ways you can "take a step" in your faith. This week, the invitation is to slow down and live your life at the pace Jesus did. 1 John 2:6 says, "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus walked". If we are going to walk as Jesus walked, we have to match his pace. We're not running, we're not hurrying. We must learn to step BACK and evaluate what matters most, then step forward unhurried and ready to prioritize seeing and loving others like Jesus did. This week, take the step of daily praying, "God, help me to slow down and walk with you so I can be intentional with what matters most."

So you came to church... now what? The first step to making a change is deciding not to stay where you are. Going to church doesn't make you a disciple of Jesus, but it's a great first step. 1 John 2:6 says, "Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus walked." Wherever you find yourself in your spiritual journey, you have a next step. In this new series, we're exploring five steps you can take right now towards being a mature disciple of Jesus. If you're new to Northeast, your next step is Northeast Basics. Getting connected in a new church can feel overwhelming, especially in a place the size of Northeast. We’re making it painless for you to take your next step at Northeast with our four week course, Northeast Basics. Northeast Basics will answer the foundational questions: Who is Northeast? What do we do? How do we do it? How can I help? Northeast Basics is offered every weekend so you can easily hop in when you’re ready to get connected. Visit necchurch.org/basics to register today.