Operation Christmas Child boxes = 135+

Christmas service attendance (Christmas Eve + Christmas Day) = 400

Student Missions giving to Speed the Light = $2648

Total Giving to Special Missions Projects (like Convoy of Hope) = $15,407

Thanks be to God for the obedience of those who worship & follow Jesus together at North Central!

Can’t wait to see how God grows this in 2012.

Pastor Dan

We’re happy to announce that his primary role will be leading our youth ministry as our full time Youth Pastor & also serving our entire church family as an Assistant Pastor, as needed.  He’ll be officially joining our team February 1st.

Rob Kirk

PASTOR ROB’S FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/rob.kirk2?ref=ts

Here’s a little “bio” intro from Pastor Rob in his own words:

Youth Pastor One Phrase Job Description:

To follow Jesus and create environments that encourage

students to do the same.

Ministry Purpose Statement: “To make disciples of Jesus Christ who are authentically walking with God

within the context of intimate Christian community”

Philosophy of Youth Ministry and It’s Role Within the Context of a Faith Community:

The youth ministry is to see itself first and foremost as a tool to help further the mission of the entire faith

community in word and deed. This means that what is best for the entire church is best for the youth

ministry so that we do not create a ministry that competes with the vision of the entire church body and its

various ministries. This philosophy of ministry will be present in such things as the budget, conflicting dates

with things on the church calendar, and volunteer staff involvement. The youth ministry is to act as an

extension of the overall vision of the church leadership as well as reflect the values and approach to

ministry that dictates the functions of the overall church ministries.

Experience

Youth Pastor at Binghamton First Assembly of God [2007-2011]

Part-Time Youth Pastor at Destiny Christian Center [2006-2007]

Youth Ministry Intern at Binghamton First Assembly of God [2004-2005]

Education

Bachelor of Science in Youth Ministry from Valley Forge Christian College [2001-2005]

Certifications

Ordained by with Assemblies of God [2010]

Credentialed with the Assemblies of God [2007]

God isn’t Santa.  Obvious, right?  Well sometimes, we convert Him to a personal Santa whenever we approach God with our prayer WISH LIST, without intending to:

“God, I want…

…and could you just,

…and according to Your will , please…”.

His Love, the Christ-child, came down in the flesh to fill our NEED for a Ruler & a Shepherd. (Matthew 2:6)  He defined our need, and then He graciously filled our need.

Whether we want to or not, we NEED to see & be with God primarily for who He is, not just to petition Him for the things we WANT.

When we learn to rely on God as our personal Savior, it looks very little like relying on Him as our personal Santa.

To help this settle into our life, we got some Worship Service homework this past Sunday.

The homework was to spend all your time with God this week, when you’re alone with Him, focusing in to :

Read, Study, Reflect, & Journal on Revelation 7:9 – 17

CAUTIONS:

*try to refrain from petitioning God for all kinds desires: neither wants NOR needs.

*put aside the prayer request list and just spend time noticing & adoring God for who He is.

*explore his attributes & put yourself before him primarily as a worshiper of who He is and not what He gives us.

And don’t forget, I’m praying for your experience to be rich and satisfying.

Pastor Dan

Our Holiday Schedule:

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service: Saturday December 24th: 5pm-6pm  (No child care)

Christmas Day Worship Service : Sunday December 25: 11am -12pm

(No Christian Education Classes, Nursery or Children’sChurch)

New Years Day Worship Service: Sunday January 1st: 11am-12pm

(No Christian Education Classes, Nursery or Children’s Church)

New Stuff! Message & Membership Series

Every Sunday you should come together for worship expecting…expect to be challenged.  Most of us have reduced the gospel to something much less than it is.  As we work our way through the series, expect your thinking about the gospel to be challenged & expanded.  Don’t be surprised to find yourself experiencing a mixture of enthusiasm, hope, and honesty, along with indifference, anxiety, skepticism, guilt, & cover-up.  We are all people who REALLY need Jesus every day.  

It doesn’t take much to understand God’s command to give generously.  In contrast, His clear  command to His Church NOT to give should take us all by surprise.  And perhaps more shocking than the command not to give to some people, is His follow up command to DIS-associate with someone who’s in need.  Of course, all this is commanded as a means of provoking the repentance of the undisciplined, irresponsible, and disorderly busy-body, not their punishment. Here at North Central, obedience to the Scripture means more discernment as to WHO we give benevolently to and WHAT kind of help we are actually offering.  Within our church family, we will always strive to be caring & generous, for God’s Name’s sake.  And while we’re aiming for obedience in all areas, we must consider the biblical wisdom in advising all people to be willing to work, and then generously hand out more cold COUNSEL (*see Proverbs scripture list) than it is to give out more cold CASH.   In the long run, sharing a wealth of CONVICTIONS, might help someone in need more than sharing the wealth of your CHECKBOOK.  After all, living on financial PRINCIPLES is healthier than living on financial PAYOUTS & regular TRAINING is better than regular TAKING. (Scripture text list)

• AVOID AND WARN ANYONE WHO’S LIFE HAS DRIFTED TO IDLE!  (2 Thessalonians 3:6-15)
• ALL THE CHURCH MEMBERS GAVE & THEN ALL THE CHURCH MEMBER’S NEEDS WERE MET. (Acts 2:44-45)
• GIVE VOLUNTARILY, WILLINGLY, AND CHEERFULLY.  (2 Cor 9:7) • GIVE SACRIFICIALLY.  (Mark 12:42-44)
• GIVE REGULARLY & PROPORTIONATELY , ACCORDING TO YOUR ABILITY. (1 Cor 16:2)
• FIND JOY IN GIVING GENEROUSLY, EVEN IF YOU’RE AFFLICTED IN POVERTY. (2 Cor 8:2-3)
• BUDGET OR GO BROKE. (Proverbs 21:5)
• IMPULSIVE SPENDERS AREN’T TOO SMART. (Proverbs 14:15)
• PEOPLE WITH NO SAVINGS PLAN SUFFER PREDICTABLE CONSEQUENCES.  (Proverbs 22:3)
• IF YOU BUY WHATEVER YOU WANT & WHENEVER YOU WANT, YOU’RE INVESTING IN YOUR OWN POVERTY.  (Proverbs 21:17)
• WANNA’ BE SOMEONE’S SLAVE? BORROW MONEY FROM THEM. (Proverbs 22:7)

NEED FINANCIAL PEACE?

Sunday’s Invitation Response

Thank God for working in the hearts of the 2 people who responded to this week’s invitation to place their trust in Jesus.  Pray with us that they, like others, accept the invitation to take their next steps toward worshiping Jesus, going public in water baptism, pursuing all that God has & the infilling of the Holy Spirit, and a lifetime of transformation.

Jesus says that a shepherd caring for his flock would leave the ninety-nine in order to find the one sheep that was lost. The implication is that he would not relent until he was successful. When he found the sheep, he would call for a celebration.

Our mission as believers is clear. We are to work towards the salvation of every individual on the earth. Every person matters and every soul is valuable to God…so much so that heaven rejoices in celebration when even one person decides to follow Christ. It is important that these principles be instilled in the hearts and minds of our students. Passionate participation is an acknowledgement and embrace of Jesus’ cause. His mission is the reason we strive to provide our missionaries with the “essential transportation and creative communication” tools they need for effective evangelism.

Excerpt from Speed the Light

Speed The Light Offering (and Convoy of Hope Update)

Thank you again for your generous giving, in this case, to Speed The Light. You gave $743!
We also received another $210 for Convoy of Hope bringing us to a total $6,572 for our One Day to Feed the World Offering.

*Thank you again for taking advantage of the various opportunities to give.  We recognize that different people identify with different causes and it is our intention that God will speak to you to give towards different causes and in varying amounts, if at all. These offerings are intended to be opportunities for generosity and not obligations.

Chet’s Message at North Central Sunday November 27th

At the very beginning God designed things purposefully. And since He created all things, and all things belong to Him (Psalm 24:1) , He has given us a MANDATE to subdue the Earth.  Serving as a “steward” empowers us as God-ordained managers over everything He created, subduing it for our enjoyment & for His glory.  It’s our privilege & responsibility, as the human race, to intentionally “babysit” the planet, our personal life, possessions, and the poor.  Let’s get it straight: cherish God’s creation, don’t worship it.

Nothing has been more responsible for spreading the superstition of the Christian faith like the charity expressed by it’s followers – not just to their poor, but to ours as well.

Julian the Anti-Christian Emperor of Rome

Convoy of Hope – One Day to Feed the World Offering

We received $6,362 on Sunday for Convoy of Hope. Through One Day to Feed the World™ you helped Convoy of Hope feed tens of thousands of children, respond to disasters and reach into communities with help and hope.

Once upon eternity, God was and is and would ever be.  He is the starting point of the story, the source of all Creation.  God made Earth, home to a perfect Garden paradise where the first humans – Adam and Eve –  were to live as worshippers by loving Him, serving Him and enjoying relationship with Him.  There was perfect harmony rooted in love, acceptance, and intimacy, by which Adam and Eve enjoyed immense freedom to steward creation.  Just one restriction was imposed for their good: God commanded them not to eat fruit from a specific tree.

As amazing  as this perfect world was, God’s enemy wanted to destroy it.  Soon, dark clouds gathered over paradise: The enemy tempted Adam and Eve to disobedience.  In rebellion, they chose to disobey God and eat the fruit.  The consequences were devastating.  Sin came into every human and into all creation, destroying harmony.  Adam and Eve, and all humans since, were now fallen and separated from God, in desperate need to be made right with Him once again.

God did not leave his creation to suffer forever under sin’s grip.  A promise made by God set our hope upon a rescue through a perfect Savior who could conquer sin and the enemy. In Jesus Christ, God’s Son we see that promise kept.  By Jesus’ sinless life and substitutionary death, he secured the only possible rescue from sin.

One day, those who have put their trust in Jesus alone will experience the fullness of the rescue secured through Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross.  When God makes all things new, everything will be restored to its original perfection.  Then all who have put their faith in Jesus Christ’s perfect life, atoning death, and conquering resurrection will be forever with God, loving Him, serving Him, and enjoying a relationship with Him forever, just as God had intended from the beginning.

From The Story

Check out some great verses to reflect on from The Story.

Operation Christmas Child Update

Our goal this year was 100 boxes!  We are at 156 and counting.  Boxes are still getting dropped off!

Feel free to drop off your Operation Christmas Child shoebox at Redeemer Covenant Church ( 7565 Morgan Road, Liverpool, NY 13090 )