Preparing for Sunday at NRN

Over the last two weeks I have been away to enjoy vacation.  My goal was to be Pastor Beach Bum for five days.  Goal was accomplished and Sharron asked "When are you going to shave again?" 
I enjoyed visits to two churches while away and posted about this earlier this week. 

Tomorrow I plan to launch a new teaching series.  Over the past two weeks God has been speaking to my heart about this series.  I have made a major change on the emphasis of this series.  Instead of a teaching series which is an in depth Bible study, I have decided to go deeper and apply the timeless truths to our church today.  Here is the newly designed logo for the series:

 

I am looking forward to a great time of worship tomorrow. 

I encourage everyone attending NRN tomorrow to come early and enjoy the healthy alternatives at the Connection Café this week provided by the Young Professional Group. 

 

We begin with a welcome and enter into the Lord's Presence in prayer and loud praise:

 



We continue in an attitude of thanksgiving as we bring our prayers to the Lord.  God is so good. He is mighty and deserves our worship and adoration.



We pause for a few announcements about the ministry of our church and opportunities to serve the Lord.

I appreciate Pastor Jordan and the worship team working on this song for the time of offering our financial gifts to the Lord.  It is a song that I believe is so powerful to remind us of the Love of God for each of us.




We draw our attention to the preaching of the Word of God. 

 “On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: ‘Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches:          to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. ”                                                                                                                      Revelation 1:10

 

Over the next several weeks we will attempt to unpack Revelation Chapters 2-3 and the messages of Jesus to the seven churches.  These messages to the churches should be a wakeup call to our church today. Jesus commends the Ephesians for how they serve faithfully, endure hardship, have sound doctrine, and hate heretics, but his big criticism is that they are not very loving. Instead of merely criticizing the Ephesians, we must read Jesus’ words humbly and realize how we could become like them.