Below are the passages of Scripture we’ll be reading and studying each Sunday in worship. If you like, read and reflect on the passage during the week prior to that Sunday. Additionally, jot down thoughts you have or questions that arise so you can discuss them with other NCF attenders or your community group.

NCF Spring 2012 Scripture Readings

Below are the Scripture readings for the remainder of 2011 (until Christmas).  We want to read these texts together during the week, then study them on Sundays.  You should fine the date (beginning on a Monday) and four readings.  Try to find some time to read each of them throughout the week.  The more you can read them the better.

 
NCF Scripture Readings 2011

As we have seen in 1 Corinthians, the church is a body of Christians who are co-laborers for the progress of the Gospel.  Here is a brief questionnaire that will get you started as you consider ways to participate in the Gospel’s progress with people at NCF.

Ministry Survey 2011

Here is a quote from the great seventeenth-century theologian John Owen that offers somewhat of a commentary on what we desire at New Covenant:

“A church full of love, is a church well built up. I had rather see a church filled with love a thousand times, than filled with the best, the highest, and most glorious gifts and parts that any men in this world may be made partakers of.” – Sermon 21 (Colossians 3:14)

At 7:06 PM: New Covenant is currently still planning to meet tomorrow, depending on weather conditions. We’ll have another update around 9:30 PM.

UPDATED 9:47 PM: We have canceled our worship service in the morning due to the winter weather warning. Blessings to you, and a very Merry Christmas!

Often at Christmas/Advent we focus only on what has happened: the birth of Jesus Christ. But the Advent season is just as much about Jesus’ second coming as his first. This year at New Covenant let’s look forward with great anticipation to that day when all is made right, when the Kingdom of God is established in all its fullness, and when we are made complete. Christmas is a time to celebrate what has occurred with a view toward what will occur.

There are (at least) four activities in the community of faith that is practicing authentic Christian community:

1. Worship
Worship is participation in the progress of the Gospel. This progress is only and always through the proclamation of the Story of God at work in Jesus Christ reconciling the world to Himself. Christians worship when we remind one another of that Story in our weekly gatherings. When we sing, for example, we tell the Gospel to one another.

2. Community
When we do life with each other as Christians, it is so we can share life in the Gospel. Our friendships are the occasion for us to enjoy the Good News of God’s work in Christ making a people for himself from all nations.

3. Scripture
Because we belief Scripture is the self-revelation of God, we listen to it. And as listeners we both hear and obey. The Bible describes God, His work, and His way of life, so we conform ourselves to the way of life it prescribes for the people of God.

4. Mission
The Bible tells the Story of God’s mission to make a people for himself from all nations. This is Good News for all people! As participants in this mission of God we live Gospel-centered lives and tell the News of God’s grace in Christ to all people. What a great privilege to join God in his gracious work of reconciling the world to himself.

At New Covenant, we celebrate, practice, and proclaim the Story of God’s work in Jesus.

This brief list of ways to help your child learn to participate in corporate worship has just been posted on our “Youth and Children Page,” but we wanted to highlight it here as well:

Suggestions for Helping Your Child Worship

Sometimes the difference for children between enduring Sunday morning services and enjoying Sunday morning services is simply a matter of preparation and training. It is our heartfelt prayer that your child will come as a participant in the service to worship our great God. To that end, we have prepared a few suggestions that might help you lead your child to worship this morning.

1.  BE PREPARED FOR WORSHIP
Sunday morning starts Saturday night– lay out clothes (find all shoes!), get offerings ready, rehearse memory verses, gather together everything you need to bring with you, etc. before Sunday morning.  Keep Sunday simple– Make a simple breakfast and leave the house with time to spare. Remind your child of your expectations of his behavior during the church service.

2.  BE A ROLE MODEL FOR YOUR CHILD
Start your morning with a positive attitude, a cheerful tone, a spirit of anticipation and enthusiasm, and a heart for worship.

3.  WALK YOUR CHILD THROUGH THE SERVICE BEFORE IT STARTS
Look over the bulletin; point out what will be happening and how your child can participate. This may mean teaching him a refrain of a responsive reading or teaching him a phrase from a song or chorus and asking him to listen for it.   You may want to pray with your child before the service starts.

4.  ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILD TO PARTICIPATE
By teaching your child hymns and choruses at home he will be able to participate in the service. If he cannot learn the whole hymn, teach him the refrain and signal to him when it is time to sing the part he knows. Encourage your child to sit and to stand at the appropriate times, to clap when appropriate, etc. Show him the words in the hymn book, moving your finger along as the hymn is sung. (Even if your child is a nonreader, this will help to focus his attention and encourage him to pay attention to the words.) Have your child bring an offering and place it in the plate.

5.  HELP YOUR CHILD BECOME AN ACTIVE SERMON LISTENER
Help your child to focus on the sermon by quietly whispering instructions to him– i.e. “Listen to this story”, “Can you draw a picture of…”. This is not a time of long instruction, but just very short statements to focus their attention. It is also not a time for your child to whisper back to you. Encourage a younger child to listen to the sermon and to draw a picture of something from the sermon. (This should not be seen as a time for doodling, but for active listening.) If your child is very young and has a hard time sitting for a long time, after he has listened to the sermon for awhile, you may want to let your child look at small (nondistracting) Bible storybooks.  As your child gets older and learns to write, model for him how to take simple notes– Let him copy your notes at first; then encourage him to take his own.  Keep a spiral notebook that is specifically for Sunday morning.

6.  STRETCH YOUR CHILD’S ABILITY TO SIT ATTENTIVELY
If you have an active child, you may need to take your child out of the service part way through. Keep stretching him until he can sit through the whole service. You may need to be firm. Reaffirm positive behavior.

7.  TALK ABOUT THE SERVICE ON THE WAY HOME
Speak positively with your child about the service, and ask him if he has any questions. Encourage him to share his drawings or notes.

© 2005 Bethlehem Baptist Church.  Spreading a passion for the supremacy of GOD in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is simple: God at work in Jesus Christ reconciling the world to Himself. That reconciliation includes the forgiveness of sin, the restoration of Life through resurrection, and reunion to a right relationship with God, and is effected through faith in Jesus Christ. Want to know more about that Story? The New Covenant Fellowship of Raleigh is the place for you.

New Covenant Fellowship: Authentic. Christian. Community.