Top Ten - February 29
Reminders
We’ll be observing communion this weekend in all of our services.
Next Wednesday, March 6, is our “Centered” night of prayer and worship
at 6pm
1. New Caregivers Group – Warren and Nancy Savage will be leading a new session of the Caregivers group beginning on Tuesday, March 5 at North. The group will meet at 6:30pm. If you would like more information about it, please contact Angelique at angelique@northgatefmc.com.
2. A Conversation About Faith and Sexuality – Grace/Truth is a ten-week group learning experience that introduces Christians to LGBT+ people, the language to use and avoid, a theologically faithful view of marriage and sexuality, and practical guidance on how to embody the love of Christ toward sexual and gender minorities. Grace/Truth meets in Room #1 at 6:30 PM on Monday nights and is led by Ralph and Debbie Vick. If you have any questions, please contact angellique@northgatefmc.com.
3. Bottle Collection for Costa Rica Mission Team – This summer, Northgate's youth ministry is embarking on a short-term mission trip to Costa Rica from July 20-28th. As a fundraiser for this exciting venture, the group has organized a bottle and can drive. It's an easy and practical way to support the team. Simply bring your empty bottles and cans to North anytime the church is open, Monday-Thursday, 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM, or during any of our weekend services. You can conveniently place them in the dropbox located in the airlock.
Some individuals have inquired with Pastor DL about additional ways to financially support the team. This can be accomplished by either writing a check to Northgate with "Costa Rica" written in the memo line and placing it in the offering, or you can give online using the keyword "Costa Rica." The Costa Rica team sincerely thanks you in advance for your support and requests your prayers as they continue to prepare for their trip. If you would like more information on how you can pray or details about the trip in general, please reach out to Pastor DL via email at dl@northgatefmc.com.
4. Northgate Intergenerational Single Women’s Gathering – On March 3, single women ages 20+, are invited to attend a meeting to plan for this fun new adventure. During the meeting, we will discuss activities we can do together to share our faith, to fellowship and to have fun! We will meet at 12:15 in Room #2/3. There will be a light lunch provided! Come and join in! If you have any questions, please contact Angelique at angelique@northgatefmc.com.
5. Collection for the YWCA Domestic Violence Shelter – During the season of Lent we are collecting items for the Domestic Violence Shelter at the YWCA. Each week of Lent we are collecting a different item, and the list can be found below. Items can be dropped off at the table in the lobby at either North or Arbor House. If you have any questions, contact Pastor Chris at chris@northgatefmc.com.
6. Childcare Coordinator For MomCo. (Formerly MOPS) – Northgate’s MOMCo. Group (formerly MOPS) is looking for a key volunteer to help with their kids programming! This position would coordinate with the Leadership Team to provide childcare and assemble a team of volunteers during their meetings which run September - May. This volunteer would utilize the MomCo. Curriculum to provide biblical lessons and activities for the kids. They will also coordinate to make sure all volunteers are We Care trained. If you feel called to help in such a way, please contact angelique@northgatefmc.com
7. Northgate 101 Class Coming Up – Are you interested in learning more about Northgate? Who are we? What we believe? How to get more involved? Sign up for our Northgate 101 class and get answers to these questions and many more! This free class is required for anyone who wants to become a member, but taking the class does not obligate you to join as a member. Our next session of Northgate 101 will be on Sunday, March 17 from 9:30-12:00 in Meeting Room 6. Please contact the office if you have questions, or to let us know that you plan to attend at (office@northgatefmc.com or 343-4011).
8. Monday Night Bible Study – Pastor Vern’s Bible study meets on Monday nights at North. We begin at 6:30 with a time of prayer and then we work through a book of the Bible chapter by chapter. We’ll be going through the gospel of Mark this spring. All are welcome, and if you can’t make it to the church, we do stream the study via Zoom. Just let Pastor Vern know if you need the link… vern@northgatefmc.com.
9. Gather to Pray – Here are some opportunities to pray together at Northgate…
10. “A Good Enough Lent” – Lent is the period of time in the church calendar that we use to prepare to recognize the death of Jesus on the cross on Good Friday and celebrate His resurrection on Easter. We’d like to invite our church to participate in a Lenten devotional by Kate Bowler called “A Good Enough Lent.” It’s a free resource that you can download at https://katebowler.com/lent/. This devotional is based on Kate’s book, Good Enough: 40 Devotionals For a Life of Imperfection. You can use the free resource with/without the book. If you’d like a copy of the book but resources might be an issue, we’ll have copies of it available here at the church.
***********************************************************************************************
You Can Count on This – Hebrews 7:27 – Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. (Read Hebrews 7:1-28)
Chapter seven of Hebrews speaks about the fact that Jesus is our High Priest. According to the law, the priests who offered sacrifices to God on behalf of the people and themselves for their sins, were to come from the line of Levi. Jesus didn’t come
from the line of Levi; He came from the line of Judah. But Hebrews 7:16 says He is not a priest on the basis of genealogy, but on the basis of His “indestructible life” and Hebrews 7:21 says Jesus became a priest by the word of God.
So Jesus came to His priesthood in a way that was different from that of human priests. His priesthood was also different because human priests would die (and therefore cease being priests) but Jesus, because He lives forever, has a permanent priesthood (Hebrews 7:24). He will never cease being our Priest.
His priesthood differs from that of human priests also in that He alone is “holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners and exalted above the heavens.” He did not need to offer sacrifices for His own sin because He had none. (Hebrews 7:26-27).
The sacrifice He did offer, the sacrifice of His life on the cross, was to pay for our sins. Which He has done, “once for all.” Meaning, all of our sins, past, present and future, have been paid for through the sacrifice Jesus made for us. He served as the priest; He Himself served as the sacrifice; and those who accept for themselves what He has done for them can know that God forgives them of all their sins.
We do not need to offer sacrifices, therefore, for the forgiveness of our sins. But God does ask us to offer our lives to Him, as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1) as an act of worship. An expression of our love for God and our gratitude for what our High Priest has done for us.
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.
We’ll be observing communion this weekend in all of our services.
Next Wednesday, March 6, is our “Centered” night of prayer and worship
at 6pm
1. New Caregivers Group – Warren and Nancy Savage will be leading a new session of the Caregivers group beginning on Tuesday, March 5 at North. The group will meet at 6:30pm. If you would like more information about it, please contact Angelique at angelique@northgatefmc.com.
2. A Conversation About Faith and Sexuality – Grace/Truth is a ten-week group learning experience that introduces Christians to LGBT+ people, the language to use and avoid, a theologically faithful view of marriage and sexuality, and practical guidance on how to embody the love of Christ toward sexual and gender minorities. Grace/Truth meets in Room #1 at 6:30 PM on Monday nights and is led by Ralph and Debbie Vick. If you have any questions, please contact angellique@northgatefmc.com.
3. Bottle Collection for Costa Rica Mission Team – This summer, Northgate's youth ministry is embarking on a short-term mission trip to Costa Rica from July 20-28th. As a fundraiser for this exciting venture, the group has organized a bottle and can drive. It's an easy and practical way to support the team. Simply bring your empty bottles and cans to North anytime the church is open, Monday-Thursday, 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM, or during any of our weekend services. You can conveniently place them in the dropbox located in the airlock.
Some individuals have inquired with Pastor DL about additional ways to financially support the team. This can be accomplished by either writing a check to Northgate with "Costa Rica" written in the memo line and placing it in the offering, or you can give online using the keyword "Costa Rica." The Costa Rica team sincerely thanks you in advance for your support and requests your prayers as they continue to prepare for their trip. If you would like more information on how you can pray or details about the trip in general, please reach out to Pastor DL via email at dl@northgatefmc.com.
4. Northgate Intergenerational Single Women’s Gathering – On March 3, single women ages 20+, are invited to attend a meeting to plan for this fun new adventure. During the meeting, we will discuss activities we can do together to share our faith, to fellowship and to have fun! We will meet at 12:15 in Room #2/3. There will be a light lunch provided! Come and join in! If you have any questions, please contact Angelique at angelique@northgatefmc.com.
5. Collection for the YWCA Domestic Violence Shelter – During the season of Lent we are collecting items for the Domestic Violence Shelter at the YWCA. Each week of Lent we are collecting a different item, and the list can be found below. Items can be dropped off at the table in the lobby at either North or Arbor House. If you have any questions, contact Pastor Chris at chris@northgatefmc.com.
- 3/2&3: Pillow cases
- 3/9&10: Bath towels
- 3/16&17: Deodorant (women or gender neutral scents)
- 3/23&24: Toothbrushes (Kids size only)
6. Childcare Coordinator For MomCo. (Formerly MOPS) – Northgate’s MOMCo. Group (formerly MOPS) is looking for a key volunteer to help with their kids programming! This position would coordinate with the Leadership Team to provide childcare and assemble a team of volunteers during their meetings which run September - May. This volunteer would utilize the MomCo. Curriculum to provide biblical lessons and activities for the kids. They will also coordinate to make sure all volunteers are We Care trained. If you feel called to help in such a way, please contact angelique@northgatefmc.com
7. Northgate 101 Class Coming Up – Are you interested in learning more about Northgate? Who are we? What we believe? How to get more involved? Sign up for our Northgate 101 class and get answers to these questions and many more! This free class is required for anyone who wants to become a member, but taking the class does not obligate you to join as a member. Our next session of Northgate 101 will be on Sunday, March 17 from 9:30-12:00 in Meeting Room 6. Please contact the office if you have questions, or to let us know that you plan to attend at (office@northgatefmc.com or 343-4011).
8. Monday Night Bible Study – Pastor Vern’s Bible study meets on Monday nights at North. We begin at 6:30 with a time of prayer and then we work through a book of the Bible chapter by chapter. We’ll be going through the gospel of Mark this spring. All are welcome, and if you can’t make it to the church, we do stream the study via Zoom. Just let Pastor Vern know if you need the link… vern@northgatefmc.com.
9. Gather to Pray – Here are some opportunities to pray together at Northgate…
- Prayer meeting Wednesday at 1pm at North in Room #1
- Centered: the first Wednesday of the month at North at 6pm (Sanctuary)
- Sunday mornings at 9:30 at North in Room #4
- Prayer rail: Before and after services on Saturday/Sunday and also while we are singing/praying during services
- Anytime the church is open people are welcome to come and pray in any available room or in the sanctuary. The church is generally open Monday through Thursday from 9:30 to 4pm, Saturday from 4 to 7:30pm and Sunday from 8am to 1pm. Arrangements can be made to be open at other times too, if needed.
10. “A Good Enough Lent” – Lent is the period of time in the church calendar that we use to prepare to recognize the death of Jesus on the cross on Good Friday and celebrate His resurrection on Easter. We’d like to invite our church to participate in a Lenten devotional by Kate Bowler called “A Good Enough Lent.” It’s a free resource that you can download at https://katebowler.com/lent/. This devotional is based on Kate’s book, Good Enough: 40 Devotionals For a Life of Imperfection. You can use the free resource with/without the book. If you’d like a copy of the book but resources might be an issue, we’ll have copies of it available here at the church.
***********************************************************************************************
You Can Count on This – Hebrews 7:27 – Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. (Read Hebrews 7:1-28)
Chapter seven of Hebrews speaks about the fact that Jesus is our High Priest. According to the law, the priests who offered sacrifices to God on behalf of the people and themselves for their sins, were to come from the line of Levi. Jesus didn’t come
from the line of Levi; He came from the line of Judah. But Hebrews 7:16 says He is not a priest on the basis of genealogy, but on the basis of His “indestructible life” and Hebrews 7:21 says Jesus became a priest by the word of God.
So Jesus came to His priesthood in a way that was different from that of human priests. His priesthood was also different because human priests would die (and therefore cease being priests) but Jesus, because He lives forever, has a permanent priesthood (Hebrews 7:24). He will never cease being our Priest.
His priesthood differs from that of human priests also in that He alone is “holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners and exalted above the heavens.” He did not need to offer sacrifices for His own sin because He had none. (Hebrews 7:26-27).
The sacrifice He did offer, the sacrifice of His life on the cross, was to pay for our sins. Which He has done, “once for all.” Meaning, all of our sins, past, present and future, have been paid for through the sacrifice Jesus made for us. He served as the priest; He Himself served as the sacrifice; and those who accept for themselves what He has done for them can know that God forgives them of all their sins.
We do not need to offer sacrifices, therefore, for the forgiveness of our sins. But God does ask us to offer our lives to Him, as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1) as an act of worship. An expression of our love for God and our gratitude for what our High Priest has done for us.
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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Praise God and Amen that he keeps His promises! Over and over he proves himself faithful. I’m grateful beyond words.