Preparing for Worship on October 26 2014 - Rated PG-13

As we prepare our hearts for worship this coming Sunday at North Raleigh Church of the Nazarene,  I am continuing in the teaching series which I have stated is one of the most important series I have ever preaching in my 40 years of pastoral ministry! I continue to hear feedback each week following a sermon in this series.  Last Sunday I returned home following church with a sense of exhaustion.

 I kept my iPhone in my pocket last Sunday on "airplane mode" not to disrupt the worship and discovered through my fit-bit app that I walked over a mile during my presentation time!

I received an encouraging text on Sunday afternoon that read: "Hey Pastor Rick. I wanted to tell you that was a great sermon today and I'm looking forward to the remaining 3 in the series. Keep on preaching with that passion and fire you showed today! Hope you have a great week."

Get ready for a great time of worship and preaching from the Word of God tomorrow at NRN!

We begin with a countdown to draw our attention to the Lord - then the music starts and we sing together:



Following a welcome and invocation we continuing in our worship through song to the Lord:




And now we sing loud - a great hymn of our faith:




Now, we pause to encounter God in prayer...

It is now time to hear about the opportunities to serve the Lord in ministry and to meet together for fellowship and growing in the our relationship with the Lord.  As we present our tithes and offerings unto God - let us join with the worship team to sing a declaration of faith to the Lord!




Prepare you hearts for the preaching of God's Word: 

We ask that all children 12 years and younger enjoy the excellent Children's ministries at our church today. Pastor Rick's message is rated PG-13.
Rated PG-13 - Not for the content of his words but for the passages of Scripture he will be reading.
Some people have the idea that God and Christians today are against sex.  This is a lie of our culture. Sex is good and is God's idea.  On Sunday Pastor Rick will share God's perspective of sex in contrast to the worlds perspective of sex. 


The ancient god of pleasure, Asherah, has invaded our ranks! The spirit behind the historic god has persuaded us that sexual purity is an outdated and foolish idea that should be replaced with the mentality of “If it feels good, do it!” 

 Embracing God’s truth about sexuality and its beautiful place in the lives of his people, within the context of His parameters, will break the lying spirit of Asherah.

“Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”                                                                                                                                      2 Corinthians 7:1