National Community Church Audio Podcast

With every new season comes a new anointing. Today we will step into the season we’re walking in as a church and talk through some of the prayer convictions that will lead us into this next step of our church’s vision. It’s both about where we’re going as well as who we are becoming. Becoming a naming community, a house of healing, a sent people. Who we become is determined by the commitment of every person that’s a part of this church family. We hope you’ll consider joining us this journey as we don’t just seek to build a church, but to bless a community.

In a world where there are many things that divide us, it is much easier to seclude ourselves among people who are like us. But the message of Jesus and how he lived compels all those who follow him embrace all, including those who are different than us. Within the Gospel message is both the picture and the blue print for how we can be better together despite our differences.

Grace means I’ll love you no matter what. Truth means I’ll be honest with you no matter what. Tough love happens where grace and truth meet, and it’s embodied by the person of Jesus. Discover the habits of highly effective grace givers and truth-tellers: 1) know your tendency 2) don’t use your personality as a crutch 3) consider the source 4) know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em 5) pray it before you say it 6) level the playing field 7) catch people doing things right.

Your quality of life isn’t just dependent upon WHAT you do, but WHO you do it WITH. The author of Ecclesiastes said, "Two are better than one.” The fact is this: We're not made to do life alone - we are better together! This month, we’ll talk about all kinds of relationships, but today we focus in on being better together within marriage. Joel and Nina Schmidgall will share some founding principles as well as a few thoughts out of their book Praying Circles Around Your Marriage. We pray you would be encouraged and challenged in your marriage or in support of other marriages around you.

Jesus didn't come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people live!

In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul outlines three daily practices that help re-set, re-orient, and re-calibrate. Rejoice, Pray, and Focus. We can experience joy in the midst of pain through gratitude, we can move from anxiety to anticipation through prayer, and we can change our reality by focusing on the promises of God.

Many of us have found out the horrible effect that toxins can have on our body. But today we want to talk about the effect that toxins can have on our soul. Many of us are ingesting things, knowingly or unknowingly, that are breaking down our spirit. Whether it's consumption of media, negative words, wrong relationships, DC mindset of position and status - we find ourselves taking in the very things that will tear us down in the long run. We want to learn from a scriptural example and walk through Psalm 51, a prayer of detox. What toxins have you allowed in your life that are breaking you down? How are you going to release it and come to a place of soul health? Join us on this journey.

Destiny is not a mystery. Destiny is a decision. You are one decision away from a totally different life.

During Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, he takes time to clarify commandments and laws, giving the disciples the do's and dont's. But before he addresses what they should do, he uses two metaphors to address who they should be. Jesus is first concerned about our identity before our activity.

Don’t seek opportunity. Seek God. If you seek God, opportunity will seek you.

In the beginning, God said "Let there be light," and the light he created was so expansive and complex that we have barely scratched the surface of experiencing it and understanding it. Yet, it was the light yet to come, in the person of Jesus Christ, that would pierce the darkness once and for all. Christmas is a time when the gift of Jesus meets the grit of life and light can illuminate our way.

Today we continue in our series on light, focusing on light that eliminates fear. There are two kinds of fears: legitimate & illegitimate. Light exposes both. It teaches us that certain fears have no merit. But it also teaches us that some fears do have merit. Only legitimate fears have an element of truth, but the fact is that both kinds can have control over our minds. Faith does not get rid of fear as much as it teaches us to focus on our Father. Our fears still exist. But our God is greater than those fears. We want to invite you to consider putting faith in Christ and seeking the light of life to shine over you and see what God might want to do within you.

If you find yourself in a dark place, Pastor Mark shares four helpful hacks: 1) It’s always darkest before dawn 2) Widen your aperture 3) Live in day-tight compartments 4) Let your light shine

We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to produce life change, to produce hearts for God, to produce salvation. But is that our job as believers? We know we have a unique purpose, but understanding our place within the mission of the kingdom of God is of vital importance. We’ll try to step in to some critical questions: What is the Gospel? What is our responsibility as believers? What does co-mission mean? We hope you’re provoked to action, word, and deed as we unpack the beginning of 1 Corinthians 3 to finish out our series on mission.

The heart of God is always oriented toward things that are broken. That’s how the grace of God seeps into the crevices of our heart. That’s also where mission begins. You need to inventory the broken places in your life, because those are the very places where God wants you to help others heal.

6 Ted talks about how people are on mission every day in their workplaces.

What does missions look like in the 21st century? The methods and strategies have to change, but the mission doesn’t. Listen to part 1 of our missions series.

God loves you just the way you are, but he loves you too much to leave you that way! He is the God of comfort, but our comfort isn’t His ultimate goal. His ultimate goal is that we would be conformed to the image of Christ. What makes us think we can be conformed to His image without going through some of the same things Jesus went through? The good news is God is working all things together for good. Our job? One, learn the lessons God is trying to teach us. Two, cultivate the character God is trying to grow in us.

We think "little" is insignificant. Whereas God calls out “little” as substantial. The woman with two mites. The boy with the small lunch. And the church at Philadelphia. All little offerings…that God used in large ways. We will hone in on the Church at Philadelphia to talk about how endurance of a small group of people is of great value in the kingdom of God. Join us for the sixth of seven letters written to the church in Revelation.

Jesus didn't come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people live.