Top Ten - May 21
*Update Re: This Weekend’s Outdoor Worship. Our plans have been to have our worship services this weekend (May 21-22) outside under a tent. The weather forecasts are making those plans a little unclear at the moment! So we’re going to need to “drink our flexi-juice” as they say when we go on mission trips where things can change regularly. I hope this information helps:
•Saturday night’s 6pm service may be inside or outside depending on the weather. Everyone is encouraged to stay after the service for some food and fellowship.
•Sunday there will be only one service, regardless of whether we hold it inside or outside. That service will be at 10am and following worship, we’ll be serving picnic food and enjoying a time of games (if outdoors) and fellowship (either way!). Having a lawn chair available might be helpful but if we are outside, we do have over 300 chairs set up at this point.
•Whether we meet inside or outside on Sunday childcare will be available in the Children’s wing.
•Whatever the weather requires us to do, we are going to have a wonderful time of worship and fellowship. Invite a friend and join us for this special weekend of worship!
1. Summit Meeting – This weekend (May 21/22) we will be voting for our Administrative Team. In order to vote you must be a member of Northgate. The Administrative Team is the leadership team of our church that handles personnel matters, oversees policy and helps our staff stay on track with the mission of our church. If you’d like to know who has been nominated to join this team you can find that information on our website, northgatefmc.com, or at the Information desk.
2. New 12:30pm Study – “The Case for Miracles” – Pastor Vern is starting a new “The Case for…” book study on Sunday May 15 at 12:15pm. We studied The Case for Heaven last Fall, and this Spring we’re going to study The Case for Miracles. Everyone is welcome to attend and feel free to bring a lunch if you like.
3. A New Family Event: Aquaball – We have a new family event coming up on Saturday June 25 called “Aquaball.” Aquaball is like kickball with kiddie pools and is for the whole family. Our Children’s Ministry Team is organizing an aquaball tournament for the 25th starting at 11am. Registration will be available soon on the website, and you can get more information from Leah at leah@northgatefmc.com.
4. Exodus Study – We’ve just started a new Bible study on Monday nights at 6:30. Pastor Vern is teaching through the book of Exodus. If you’d like to join us, we meet both in person (North Campus) and by Zoom. To get on the email list to get the notes before the study, and the Zoom link if you need it, let Pastor Vern know at vern@northgatefmc.com.
5. ABC Run For Barb - June 4 – The All Babies Cherished “Run Baby Run” event which launches from our South Campus is coming up on June 4. In addition to helping support this local ministry which aids women who are pregnant and moms, we would like to use this time to honor Barb Ettinger through participating in the 5K run/walk. Barb recently passed away and had served wonderfully for decades as our Nursery Coordinator. The plan is for everyone who wants to honor Barb to wear something red that morning. Barb loved birds and especially cardinals, so the red color will be to represent cardinals. We’ll call ourselves “Grandma Barb’s Red Birds.” To support All Babies Cherished (Barb’s favorite charity) and to participate in the day you can sign up at https://runsignup.com/Race/NY/Batavia/ABCrunbabyrun.
6. Centered Night in June – Our next night of Prayer and Worship is on Wednesday June 1 at 6pm. We invite everyone to join us for an hour set aside midweek to rest in the presence of the Lord through music and prayer.
7. Meeting for All Interested in Being Part of the “Set Free” Movement – Inspired by recent presentations at our church by Free Methodist missionaries Gerry McNamara and Kevin Austin, Northgate is launching a Set Free Team! We are in the early stages of praying and considering how we can "Live in the direction of freedom" together. If you want to help end human trafficking in our time and in our region, please join us for an organizational meeting on Sunday, May 29th, at 12:30p.m. in Meeting Room 2/3, North Campus. For more information, visit setfreemovement.com and/or email Pastor Marsha marsha@northgatefmc.com.
8. “This Changes Everything” Baptism Weekend – If you are interested in baptism, please let one of the pastors know or go to the Information Desk and let them know there. We are planning to have baptisms on the weekend of June 11 and 12. We’d also be glad to discuss baby dedications and membership with anyone interested in those!
9. Prayer Groups – You are invited to join with others to pray for our church and community on Wednesdays at 1 and Sundays at 9:30. The Wednesday Prayer Group prays for one hour in Meeting Room 1 at North Campus and on Sunday people gather in Room 4 for an hour and pray for our services and congregational needs. Everyone is welcome to either or both of these prayer meetings.
10. Men’s Bible Study – On Wednesday nights at 7pm a group of guys from Northgate get together in Room #1 at North for a Bible study. Everyone is welcome. The group is currently in a study of the book of Haggai. For questions contact Pastor Vern at vern@northgatefmc.com.
To learn more about these opportunities, or to suggest an idea for a group or a gathering, or to inquire about reserving space at the church or the pavilion you can always email the office (office@northgatefmc.com) or call 343-4011. You can check out our website too (northgatefmc.com).
*******************************************************************************************************
You Can Count on This – 1 Corinthians 1:8 – He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Read 1 Corinthians 1:1-31)
Sometimes Christians who are seeking to faithfully follow Jesus become discouraged about their growth, or about a lapse into sin, and begin to be frightened that they will fall away from Christ and be condemned after death. In response to this my first thought is that if a person is concerned about this, it’s a good sign that they have not fallen away, just as being concerned about having committed the “unpardonable sin” is a good sign that one hasn’t. The concern we may feel could well be the work of the Holy Spirit speaking to us to stay alert and, if need be, repent and refocus on our relationship with Jesus.
But maybe more importantly we need to hear what Paul is saying in the verse quoted above. Remember that he is speaking to a church, a group of people who have placed their trust in Jesus. And when we read further into the letter, we’ll discover that he has to call attention to some issues this church needs to address. But here at the start he wants to do this: he wants to encourage them to know that they are going to be “okay” – that on the day Jesus returns in judgment these Christians will be held “blameless” because of their faith in Christ. Not because they are such perfect people, but because God is faithful! God’s commitment to us is what gives us security and peace (see Philippians 1:4-6).
I think of this illustration: when I hold my granddaughter, she puts her arms around my neck. I’m sure that makes her feel secure. But her security is really in the fact that my arms are around and underneath her! She may be contributing by holding on, but her security is in me. We are to do our part to build our relationship with Jesus (prayer, Bible study, worship, weeding out sin, fellowship with believers, loving God and others, etc.), all with the help of the Holy Spirit, but our security is in knowing that it is God who holds us firm and will keep us blameless in Christ, all the way to the end.
When you’re not sure what you can count on in the world around you, know this: You can count on God keeping his word. So read what God has to say in scripture! And count on it.
•Saturday night’s 6pm service may be inside or outside depending on the weather. Everyone is encouraged to stay after the service for some food and fellowship.
•Sunday there will be only one service, regardless of whether we hold it inside or outside. That service will be at 10am and following worship, we’ll be serving picnic food and enjoying a time of games (if outdoors) and fellowship (either way!). Having a lawn chair available might be helpful but if we are outside, we do have over 300 chairs set up at this point.
•Whether we meet inside or outside on Sunday childcare will be available in the Children’s wing.
•Whatever the weather requires us to do, we are going to have a wonderful time of worship and fellowship. Invite a friend and join us for this special weekend of worship!
1. Summit Meeting – This weekend (May 21/22) we will be voting for our Administrative Team. In order to vote you must be a member of Northgate. The Administrative Team is the leadership team of our church that handles personnel matters, oversees policy and helps our staff stay on track with the mission of our church. If you’d like to know who has been nominated to join this team you can find that information on our website, northgatefmc.com, or at the Information desk.
2. New 12:30pm Study – “The Case for Miracles” – Pastor Vern is starting a new “The Case for…” book study on Sunday May 15 at 12:15pm. We studied The Case for Heaven last Fall, and this Spring we’re going to study The Case for Miracles. Everyone is welcome to attend and feel free to bring a lunch if you like.
3. A New Family Event: Aquaball – We have a new family event coming up on Saturday June 25 called “Aquaball.” Aquaball is like kickball with kiddie pools and is for the whole family. Our Children’s Ministry Team is organizing an aquaball tournament for the 25th starting at 11am. Registration will be available soon on the website, and you can get more information from Leah at leah@northgatefmc.com.
4. Exodus Study – We’ve just started a new Bible study on Monday nights at 6:30. Pastor Vern is teaching through the book of Exodus. If you’d like to join us, we meet both in person (North Campus) and by Zoom. To get on the email list to get the notes before the study, and the Zoom link if you need it, let Pastor Vern know at vern@northgatefmc.com.
5. ABC Run For Barb - June 4 – The All Babies Cherished “Run Baby Run” event which launches from our South Campus is coming up on June 4. In addition to helping support this local ministry which aids women who are pregnant and moms, we would like to use this time to honor Barb Ettinger through participating in the 5K run/walk. Barb recently passed away and had served wonderfully for decades as our Nursery Coordinator. The plan is for everyone who wants to honor Barb to wear something red that morning. Barb loved birds and especially cardinals, so the red color will be to represent cardinals. We’ll call ourselves “Grandma Barb’s Red Birds.” To support All Babies Cherished (Barb’s favorite charity) and to participate in the day you can sign up at https://runsignup.com/Race/NY/Batavia/ABCrunbabyrun.
6. Centered Night in June – Our next night of Prayer and Worship is on Wednesday June 1 at 6pm. We invite everyone to join us for an hour set aside midweek to rest in the presence of the Lord through music and prayer.
7. Meeting for All Interested in Being Part of the “Set Free” Movement – Inspired by recent presentations at our church by Free Methodist missionaries Gerry McNamara and Kevin Austin, Northgate is launching a Set Free Team! We are in the early stages of praying and considering how we can "Live in the direction of freedom" together. If you want to help end human trafficking in our time and in our region, please join us for an organizational meeting on Sunday, May 29th, at 12:30p.m. in Meeting Room 2/3, North Campus. For more information, visit setfreemovement.com and/or email Pastor Marsha marsha@northgatefmc.com.
8. “This Changes Everything” Baptism Weekend – If you are interested in baptism, please let one of the pastors know or go to the Information Desk and let them know there. We are planning to have baptisms on the weekend of June 11 and 12. We’d also be glad to discuss baby dedications and membership with anyone interested in those!
9. Prayer Groups – You are invited to join with others to pray for our church and community on Wednesdays at 1 and Sundays at 9:30. The Wednesday Prayer Group prays for one hour in Meeting Room 1 at North Campus and on Sunday people gather in Room 4 for an hour and pray for our services and congregational needs. Everyone is welcome to either or both of these prayer meetings.
10. Men’s Bible Study – On Wednesday nights at 7pm a group of guys from Northgate get together in Room #1 at North for a Bible study. Everyone is welcome. The group is currently in a study of the book of Haggai. For questions contact Pastor Vern at vern@northgatefmc.com.
To learn more about these opportunities, or to suggest an idea for a group or a gathering, or to inquire about reserving space at the church or the pavilion you can always email the office (office@northgatefmc.com) or call 343-4011. You can check out our website too (northgatefmc.com).
*******************************************************************************************************
You Can Count on This – 1 Corinthians 1:8 – He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Read 1 Corinthians 1:1-31)
Sometimes Christians who are seeking to faithfully follow Jesus become discouraged about their growth, or about a lapse into sin, and begin to be frightened that they will fall away from Christ and be condemned after death. In response to this my first thought is that if a person is concerned about this, it’s a good sign that they have not fallen away, just as being concerned about having committed the “unpardonable sin” is a good sign that one hasn’t. The concern we may feel could well be the work of the Holy Spirit speaking to us to stay alert and, if need be, repent and refocus on our relationship with Jesus.
But maybe more importantly we need to hear what Paul is saying in the verse quoted above. Remember that he is speaking to a church, a group of people who have placed their trust in Jesus. And when we read further into the letter, we’ll discover that he has to call attention to some issues this church needs to address. But here at the start he wants to do this: he wants to encourage them to know that they are going to be “okay” – that on the day Jesus returns in judgment these Christians will be held “blameless” because of their faith in Christ. Not because they are such perfect people, but because God is faithful! God’s commitment to us is what gives us security and peace (see Philippians 1:4-6).
I think of this illustration: when I hold my granddaughter, she puts her arms around my neck. I’m sure that makes her feel secure. But her security is really in the fact that my arms are around and underneath her! She may be contributing by holding on, but her security is in me. We are to do our part to build our relationship with Jesus (prayer, Bible study, worship, weeding out sin, fellowship with believers, loving God and others, etc.), all with the help of the Holy Spirit, but our security is in knowing that it is God who holds us firm and will keep us blameless in Christ, all the way to the end.
When you’re not sure what you can count on in the world around you, know this: You can count on God keeping his word. So read what God has to say in scripture! And count on it.
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