People of the Book, Part 2

As we prepare to wrap up the final weeks of our fiscal year, we get to remind ourselves of some of the good things that the Lord has done through Old North's ministry in the last twelve months.

I mentioned last week that our budget is posted and this Sunday you can talk to some members of our Finance Committee at 10:30 AM in the Great Room.  You'll notice that our Missions Budget is increasing to $250,000 this year (more than 15% over last year's missions and outreach budget) and several other areas of ministry are prioritized as we anticipate your continued faithfulness and generosity.

Our 40 days of Bible reading is in full swing as we continue our Sunday Series, "People of the Book."  This week we are going to ask and answer some major questions about God and life based on the passages you've been reading.  Just in case you misplaced your bookmark here they are:

- David and Goliath: I Samuel 16-17
- Solomon's Wisdom I Kings 3; 8:1-9; 9
- Elijah and the Prophets of Baal I Kings 18
- The Siege of Jerusalem and Judah is Exiled II Kings 25
- Daniel in Babylon  Daniel 2-3
- Rebuilding the Temple Ezra 3
- Isaiah's prophecy of the Coming Messiah Isaiah 9,53,61

Some of you have been giving bookmarks to friends and neighbors, so keep up the good work!  Invite them to come on Sunday, and you'll also get to meet one of our international missionaries, Russ Dean who is stopping in for the weekend as well as Sally Dubinsky whom we love to see more often.

I'll see you Sunday,

Brent


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Preparing to Die

Sunday begins what is often called the "Passion Week." It begins with the commemoration of what happened as Christ entered the City of Jerusalem on March 30, 33, AD and ends with His death on the cross. It is a holy, important time for us as Christians.


This week, in addition to recalling his Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, we are going to look carefully at what He accomplished by paying the penalty for our sin. Many people view the cross as a time of discouragement or destruction instead of the culmination of God's redemptive plan.


That said, please pray that people will hear and respond to the Gospel this Sunday. Pray for me as I put the final touches on teaching scripture from Luke 19-24 too, and look forward to being together with your church family in the ten days ahead.


We will celebrate communion on Good Friday here at 7:00 PM, and please remember that there will be three identical services on Easter Sunday- 8:00, 9:30 and 11:00 AM.


May you be blessed greatly because of Jesus.  I'll see you Sunday!


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The Romance of Providence

The Romance of Providence

One of the things we've become much better at lately is greeting and welcoming those who are new at Old North. Pastor Rick Enlow and his teams of "vine-workers" are learning to extend themselves more graciously and genuinely than they ever have before. The "ministry of the pew" we learned about on February 19th is catching in many of our minds, and we're already getting some very positive response about the "spirit" of Old North moving closer toward that Christ-centered, multi-generational community of disciple-making disciples.

This Sunday, we get to say "good bye" and commission a very special couple from Old North for ministry at another fellowship in our community. We'll also begin a new three week sermon series from the book of Esther called "The Romance of Providence". Please check out Esther chapters 1-2 if you'd like to get a jump on our time in the Scriptures this weekend.

Oh and one more thing - don't forget to turn your clocks ahead Saturday night. I'll sleepily see you Sunday!

Brent

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I Hope We Never Recover

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The Tebow Trend

If you've been alive this week, you've surely heard the name Tim Tebow. He's the Denver Broncos quarterback who not only has had some incredible overtime wins this year- but with some very unique statistics, beat my Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday.

Frankly- the Steelers played badly for most of the game- but in overtime, Tim threw an 80 yard pass that allowed the Broncos to win the game and continue their playoff run. Tim is a committed Christian. He has openly spoken about and sported the verse John 3:16 for years. Interestingly enough, he threw for 316 yards in Saturday's game. He set an NFL playoff record with 31.6 yards per completion and the Television ratings on CBS peaked between 8:00 and 8:15 with a rating of- you guessed it...31.6.

So what's this all about? Is it pure coincidence? Fate? Luck? Or God? Many of us have been talking about those options throughout the week and we'll talk about them Sunday morning- no matter what happens between the Broncos and the Patriots this Saturday night! There are some fascinating biblical lessons in every circumstance.

Speaking of Saturday night- remember that the new 50+ Primetime group meets here in the Great Room at 6:00. I hope you signed up for it, and will be with us as we find out how we can use the time and resources God has given us to make the most of this time of our lives.

I'll see you this weekend!

Brent

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