You will be met with welcoming faces, folks from our church family that are there to greet you and hand you some information about the day’s service. We want you to know that we value you and that God does too. Don’t worry about your clothing choice here. If you feel you want to dress up, that’s perfectly fine. If you’d rather come in jeans and a T-shirt, trust me, that’s totally fine too.

You’ll have the option to grab a coffee and some fruit before you sit. The service will begin at 10:00, so come early enough to engage and meet new people. If you have kids, someone will show you how to securely check them in so that they are ready to go to their class when the time comes later in the service. All our kids’s ministry workers are background checked because we care about the safety and well-being of our children, and yours.

It’s time to once again share some good articles and resources that the New City Church leaders have been reading lately!

1.As we grow as a body and needs arise, and more and more people desire to serve, let’s be sure we do so with the right goals in mind. Check this out by John Piper – Do Your Gifts Glorify You or God?

2. Here’s a piece by Jen Wilkin called, “Beware The Instagram Bible”. It’s easy to get caught up in all those beautifully adorned passages and forget our need for the whole of Scripture.

“Threads” features the recommended readings shared by the New City’s elders. This aims to bring together blogs, articles, videos, books, and more that we hope will help you in your walk with Christ.

With all that is happening in the world and in our nation, here are some great resources to help you think Biblically about some tough issues.

Check out this article by Russell Moore from the ERLC on the recent events in NY state.

We are happy to introduce our new periodic blog series “Threads” that features the recommended readings shared by New City’s elders. This resource will aim to bring together blogs, articles, videos, books, and more that we hope will help all of us on our walk with Christ.

What made our first list:

I am learning not to assume where people are on their spiritual journey. One just cannot tell whether someone is growing in Scripture, regularly praying or sharing their faith by only seeing them once a week on Sundays. This is why it’s important for pastors of local churches, and all mature disciples for that matter, to ask their friends in Christ plainly where they are at in their growth and what do they need assistance with. One area of great need is with the basic Christian discipline of reading the Bible.

Here are a couple of road blocks and tips for getting into the Bible and getting something from it.

There’s a real struggle around us. Stories emerge daily about friends and family who are in the middle of a battle with depression. So intense are these battles that, to those in the midst of the struggle, all that can be seen is darkness. It’s important to me that you hear an active voice speaking into these very real situations, not just from the public and the professional community, but also from the local church.

We acknowledge the gifts that some counselors and doctors can bring to this table, and we’re grateful for many of these, but it needs to be known that one very real aspect of depression that is often sidelined is the spiritual side of things. I want to urge you to not shut this out.

It has been proven time and time again, with case after case, that the Bible is a sufficient source of help and counsel for the broken and hurting.

Matthew 7:9 “Which one of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give good things to those who ask Him?”

God is that supreme Giver. Jesus is making a comparison between earthly fathers who are sinful, and a perfect heavenly Father. If you being evil can give good gifts, how much more…

This is not a blank check for whatever we want. It’s a pre-written check that says, “I will do all my will, all that is my good for you, and accomplish what I desire for you.”

First, I want to clarify the definitions of the two key components in this text, then we’ll address what Jesus is saying to us about it, and how this affects each of us today.

First, what is forgiveness? We can look at it two ways. To experience forgiveness is to be released from bondage or imprisonment. Second, to be the one to forgive is to pardon the offended, or to let go as if the offense had never been committed, and no longer hold anything against them. And let’s just say right off the bat that just because Jesus teaches it, doesn’t mean that doing it is easy.

New City Church has a vision to launch City Groups throughout our region, to help us live out our God-given identity as a family of servant missionaries.

Family

It is vital that a City Group functions as a family. And just as every family on earth is unique, each City Group will take on the uniqueness of its members while carrying the common and uniting vision of New City Church. Whether the group meets once a week or once a month it is essential that meals, fun outings, cookouts, or some form of informal gathering be a regular part of our journey together.