No Sweeter Name!

No sweeter name than the Name of Jesus
No sweeter name have I ever known
No sweeter name than the Name of Jesus

You are the life to my heart and my soul
You are the light to the darkness around me
You are the hope to the hopeless and broken
You are the only truth and the way

Tomorrow & Today!

Hi Everybody!

Welcome to December! Tomorrow is the First Sunday of Advent. During the morning we'll conclude the Advent Conspiracy series, light the first candle... the Candle of Love, and we'll celebrate communion together! See you at 9am or 11am. Come early, linger late... it's Christmas!

Tomorrow Night is our ADVENT SERVICE at 6pm. Come as we "Prepare the Way" for the coming of the Lord! It will be a very special beginning to this most holy season. We want to prepare our hearts for Jesus...

Today's reading is amazing! Have you read your Bible today? In our Life Journal the reading for December 1st is Romans 5-8. This was the passage I suggested several Sundays ago for those of us who are struggling with habitual sin (and the guilt that naturally comes along with it). These four chapters in Romans have it all! We learn what God has done for us in Christ; the problem with sin and the destruction it brings; the truth about our identity in Christ; and the freedom and victory we now have in Jesus! Go! Go right now... Go read your Bible!

See you in the morning! :)
Neil

p.s. GO DUCKS!

What A Night!

Wow!

The Thanksgiving Eve service tonight was amazing! God was strongly present, receiving our worship and grateful praises...

I'm so thankful for a church like ours... with leaders like ours... a worship team like ours (thanks Chip!)... and a Savior like ours!

Thanks again to the Elders and wives for hosting the Simple Supper. You are loved! Thanks for loving us...

The Ushers told me that there were 175 of us in attendance tonight. That's some kind of record, I'm sure. What's more, I've never heard you sing louder! And rambunctious! You had a lot to praise God for, it was obvious. Thank you for such hearts! And for the many of you that didn't have chairs at the Simple Supper, sorry! We'll work on that! (smile)

Again, I'm grateful for a community of faith like Norkenzie. You are dear friends... God bless you this Thanksgiving!

Much love,
Neil

The End of an Amazing Day!

It's safe to say that I've never celebrated Pentecost Sunday with as much passion as I did today. Worship this morning at Norkenzie was amazing! There's such a sweet, humble, heart for God kind of spirit among the people - it's fantastic. Especially when "God shows up" and moves among us as He did today.

Pentecost Sunday really is something to celebrate. It's the Day that God decided to dwell in and among His people. We are the temple of the living God. Amazing!

This afternoon (4-6pm) was our local expression of the GLOBAL Day of Prayer at Civic Stadium in Eugene. That was a total expression of the Body of Christ coming together and raising the banner of Christ. We're all commissioned now to go out into the community and serve. I really do believe that if the whole Body of Christ in Eugene/Springfield was mobilized to serve and bless this community, we really could make a difference! We're the salt of the earth... the light of the world. Matthew 5:16

Having a babysitter, Alisa and I then went out to dinner with some great friends (you know who you are!). Laughter is truly a gift from God. All in all... a great day!

Mission Field

I just listened to the announcement from my second favorite church in the country (Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY) that they are adding their first multi-site campus across the river in Southern Indiana. They cited the figures that 33-40% of the people in that community have "no faith involvement." They intend to reach those 36,000 people for Christ.

Of course I'm excited about that! I have a great respect and love for that church. They have inspired me from a distance for many years. They have taken great leaps of faith, etc., etc.

Then it occurred to me. Through the 2000 Census we learned that 92% of the people in Lane County have "no faith involvement." Rounding it to 90% (for the sake of the Kingdom and easier math), of the 250,000 that live here in Eugene/Springfield and surrounding areas, 225,000 people don't know Jesus. This doesn't include those who's faith is nominal (Christmas & Easter attenders).

I'm broken and humbled to pray. I live in a mission field.

I'm just a little dense...

Last night was the first of 10 Days of Prayer in the City Church as we approach the GLOBAL Day of Prayer on Sunday, May 27th. You can get all the details here.

The last day (26th) is for everyone, but will be youth led on the 3 buttes in our community: Kelly, Spencer and Skinner’s Butte. (The Norkenzie family is gathering at Skinner’s Butte, 10:30am.)

So at last night’s prayer meeting Pastor Steve Buss mentioned that it was “Ascension Day.” It was a light bulb turning on over my head. I know I’m a pastor, but sometimes I’m just a little dense…

Ascension Day is the observation of when Jesus, after His resurrection, ascended into Heaven. Remember these verses?

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

Acts 1:8-9

When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

Luke 24:50-53

Jesus’ ascension was 40 days after His resurrection… 10 days before the Day of Pentecost! The 10 Days of Prayer leading up to the GLOBAL Day of Prayer is not arbitrary! It’s not just a round number… it’s biblical! (For all of you who knew this, please reply to this with a simple “Duh.”)

Did you notice what the disciples did after Jesus ascended? “Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.” (Luke 24:52-53) And again in Acts, notice what they did for those 10 Days…

They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Acts 1:14

Last night’s prayer meeting was amazing! God’s Presence was clearly in the place as His people from throughout the city joined their hearts and voices in prayer and worship. I was convicted of my own prayerlessness. I get too busy with things and I start going too fast to pause to pray. No, that doesn’t make any sense! And yet the Savior that saves me from all of my sin saves me from that one too. He is gentle with us, encouraging us… I’m so thankful for His mercy.

Mercy is what our community needs. We need to pray for this place we call home, that God would come and transform this place. Do you agree?

These 10 Days of Prayer give us the opportunity to pray! To come out of our stupor of prayerlessness and seek the One who can and does make all of the difference. We need God.

I already know that I won’t be able to make all of the prayer meetings in these 10 Days, but I can still pray. And I am… If you hear God’s Spirit asking you to seek Him and pray, I hope to see you at one of these very unique opportunities to pray with brothers and sisters in the City Church.

Each prayer meeting is in a different location, but all (except the “Prayers from High Places” on the 26th) go from 7 to 8:30pm. Here’s the remaining schedule:

Tonight: Springfield Faith Center
Saturday: Emerald Bible Fellowship
Sunday: First Baptist Church
Monday: Calvary Open Bible Church
Tuesday: Eastside Faith Center
Wed: The Lighthouse
Thursday: Faith Center
Friday: Hosanna Christian Fellowship
Saturday: “Prayers From High Places,” 10:30am