True North Church

True North Church

by True North Church

Season 1

"The Picture on the Box"

Every piece of furniture, lego set, puzzle, seed packet comes unassembled, but the goal or example of completion is printed on the box. Jesus is the picture on the box for every Christ follower. 2 Cor3:18 “We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and we are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.” Imagine that you are a packet of seeds, Jesus is the picture on the packet. If you were a puzzle, Jesus is the picture on the box! As new born-again human believers in Jesus there is no veil that covers our face to hinder us from seeing God rightly. (right believing hinges on seeing Jesus rightly) And Now with unveiled faces we gaze at the glory of The Lord as in a mirror and “metaporhe”(transformation) happens - image & likeness of Jesus awakens WITHIN us! When we look at “the mirror” the mirror is the word of God. - As we go to the Bible, we see the Lord Jesus revealed in all His splendor. In other words you become what you behold! See the Holy Spirit is the one who engineers this radical transformation in your life! What transformation? THE HOLY SPIRIT LEADS US AWAY FROM AN INFERIOR MINDSET AND REVEALS TO US OUR AUTHENTIC IDENTITY. What “authentic identity”?Ephesians 1:44.”And in love he chose us before he laid the foundation of the universe! Because of his great love, he ordained us, so that we would be seen as holy in his eyes with an unstained innocence.”Our true self, most authentic self is the self that God chose before he laid the foundations of the universe AND MOST IMPORTANTLY BEFORE THE FALL of mankind that we read about in Genesis. Our most authentic self is unstained, w/o fault and innocent of sin! And that “self” is who the Holy Spirit reveals to you and me. And it’s transformative! WE START TO LOOK MORE AND MORE LIKE THE PICTURE ON THE BOX AS THE HOLY SPIRIT WORKS IN US. DO YOU SEE IT? ONE WAY WE ARE TRANSFORMED: He leads us away from what previously defined us: our own achievements and disappointments! WHY DO WE NEED TO REFLECT THE IMAGE OF CHRIST? In the beginning we bore the image of God,Son & Spirit and when Adam and Eve fell by believing a lie about themselves and God, the entire human race fell & that “fall” was a falling away in our minds from our true identity as image and likeness bearers of Elohim.So why we need to reflect is bc in the beginning that’s how we were created to be ALSO BECAUSE OUR FLESH HAS CRAVINGS BC IT REFLECTS A FALLEN IMAGE We read last week that those cravings, deeds, OR FRUIT of our flesh are WILD?! ( Gal 5:21-25) Every piece of furniture, lego set, puzzle, seed packet comes unassembled, but the goal or example of completion is printed on the box. Jesus is the picture on the box for every Christ follower.Imagine that you are a packet of seeds, Jesus is the picture on the packet. If you were a puzzle, Jesus is the picture on the box! The process of you becoming like the picture on the box is not overnight but like the scripture says we are changed into Christ’s glorious image from glory to glory to glory to glory.

"Mid-Week Gathering" -November 8th, 2023

This is a recording from our "Mid-Week Gathering" on November 8th,2023

Homeward Bound

WHAT IF JESUS TOOK THE PLACE OF OUR HOME?!What if Jesus became our source for:Comfort,play time, hunger & thirst, joy, entertainment, relief, release, etc. IF GOD IS THE FARMER, AND JESUS IS THE VINE AND WE ARE THE BRANCHES THEN MAYBE ALL OF YOUR LIFE SHOULD BE LIVED THROUGH CHRIST!Luke 9:23-2523Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. 24If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 25And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed? Jesus said “If you try to hang on to your life you will lose it.” Here’s how we try to save our lives:We indulge our pleasures and appetites by basking in comfort, luxury, and ease, by living for the present, by trading our finest talents to the world in exchange for a few years of mock security. When we do those things we miss the true purpose of life and the profound spiritual pleasure that should go with it! (RUN THAT BACK)In the same verse Jesus also said if you give up your life FOR CHRIST then you will save it!Giving up your life for Jesus looks like; Denying our own selfish ambitionsTHIS IS WHEN YOU LOSE YOUR SELFISH PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE! Seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness“YOUR KINGDOM COME ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN BECOMES THE DRUM BEAT YOU MARCH TO! Yielding ourselves unreservedly(WITHHOLDING NOTHING) to Him. (SHOUT!) Matthew Henry said “The life of abandonment is genuine living. It has a joy, a holy carefreeness, and a deep inward satisfaction that defies description.”SEE JESUS WILL NEVER ASK OF YOU SOMETHING THAT HE’S NEVER EXPERIENCED!SEE Jesus knows all about losing His life only to gain it again.Paul said it best in Philippians 2)(PREACH)6 Jesus who existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. 7Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, 8he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even to death on a cross. 9For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name,10so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth 11and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.JESUS KNOWS ALL ABOUT LOSING HIS LIFE ONLY TO GAIN HIS LIFE

Fellowship-Sunday 10/29/2023

“ In the story of God, eating is not just some daily routine of craving food that allows us to survive, it is a ritual of communication with others that allows us to thrive.” - Justin Whitney Early We did a series on liturgies. We’re literally we take the everyday ordinary things and put liturgical lenses on to see how these ordinary things point us back to Christ.The Bible talks about food as a spiritual matter. Sometimes food in the Bible shows us:That God is a faithful provider (Genesis 1:29-31 & 9:1-5) That God is a generous toast, (Psalms 23:5) It teaches us about our hunger for something more. (Matthew chapter 4:4) It teaches us what communing with God will be like. (John 6:35) But rarely is food ”only about physical nourishment, however it is always about driving us toward relationship with God and others.🔥 Food is not just about nourishing our physical bodies. It’s also about driving us toward relationship with God and others! At the core, that is who God is. He is relational, He is pro-fellowship. -Henceforth The Trinity! 🔥One of the benefits of gathering at the table over meal is it pulls people in and turn strangers into friends‼️Hebrews 10:21-25Since we now have a magnificent High Priest to welcome us into God’s house, 22we come closer to God and approach him with an open heart, fully convinced that nothing will keep us at a distance from him. For our hearts have been sprinkled with blood to remove impurity, and we have been freed from an accusing conscience. Now we are clean, unstained, and presentable to God inside and out! 23So now wrap your heart tightly around the hope that lives within us, knowing that God always keeps his promises! 24Discover creative ways to encourage others and to motivate them toward acts of compassion, doing beautiful works as expressions of love. 25This is not the time to pull away and neglect meeting together, as some have formed the habit of doing. In fact, we should come together even more frequently, eager to encourage and urge each other onward as we anticipate that day dawning.

It's planting season!

John 15:1-5 1“I am a true sprouting vine, and the farmer who tends the vine is my Father. 2He cares for the branches connected to me by lifting and propping up the fruitless branches and pruning every fruitful branch to yield a greater harvest. 3The words I have spoken over you have already cleansed you. 4So you must remain in life-union with me, for I remain in life-union with you. For as a branch severed from the vine will not bear fruit, so your life will be fruitless unless you live your life intimately joined to mine. 5“I am the sprouting vine and you’re my branches. As you live in union with me as your source, fruitfulness will stream from within you—but when you live separated from me you are powerless.Gal 5:22-2622-23But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions: joy that overflows, peace that subdues,patience that endures,kindness in action,a life full of virtue, faith that prevails,gentleness of heart, andstrength of spirit. Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless. 24Keep in mind that we who belong to Jesus Christ have already experienced crucifixion. For everything connected with our self-life was put to death on the cross and crucified with Messiah. 25If the Spirit is the source of our life, we must also allow the Spirit to direct every aspect of our lives.

The Gospel response to the Israel–Hamas war.

In this exegesis we draw from the text how we should respond to all that we see going on in Israel and around the world and even in our very backyard.🔥 When war occurs, people panic!That has always been true, and it was certainly true in Jesus' day. Jesus said that These things will happen in our world throughout our fallen history.Unfortunately war is a very prevalent problem with the human condition. As sad and horrific as war is, we must know that it is not the cause or determinant of the end of the world. Naturally, its hard to understand how God could allow such atrocities as slavery, WW1&2 the Holocaust, & every war that has happened before and after into His plan. What we do know is -that through World War II resulted in the re-formation of the nation of Israel, and The existence of Israel is crucial to prophecy; the Antichrist will be definitively identified when he brokers peace between Israel and their enemies (Daniel 9:24–27).💡From our human nature we are violent and cruel to each other.therefore wars are on us! James 4:1-4 James informs us that the heart of all wars the selfish and greedy desires and agendas that both sides host within themselves!! Ooofff!!! James even goes to say in the mirror translation that “ we allow our heart to become so consumed with longing for something until we are ready to kill for it. And even then we are still not satisfied.” 🔥From our human nature we are violent and cruel to each other but it is God's nature to provide opportunity for our redemption. And He does this despite our sinfulness and even through our own sinfulness. Just as it was our cruelty that crucified Jesus, it will be human cruelty that will prepare the world for Jesus' return.

Praying with a foundation

Listen to what Jesus says in ““Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the river crashed against that house and couldn’t shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The river crashed against it, and immediately it collapsed. And the destruction of that house was great.””‭‭Luke‬ ‭6‬:‭46‬-‭49‬ ‭CSB‬‬Everything built requires a foundation!For the believer our foundation is Christ! He is our solid rock! When the winds and waves of life come crashing in when the kingdom of darkness appears as a rip-tide in our life BC OF JESUS WE CAN AND WILL REMAIN UPRIGHT! *Your prayers should be built on the Foundation of God’s word! Repeat after me: I am to mirror God’s word in my life. *Before you pray scripture, read the verses before and after the verse you’re praying inorder to have context.Why should you pray scripture? - Because if you’re not standing on Christ then it’s possible you might be trying to stand upon your wishes!*PRAYER IS NOT MEANT TO BRING YOUR WISHLIST INTO REALITY. IT’S MEANT TO ALIGN YOUR REALITY WITH THE REALITY OF HEAVEN! - AKA “ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN!” When you pray scripture You are no longer trying to convince God of your viewpoint, you are now coming into agreement with His viewpoint/ His reality! - REALIGNMENT HAPPENS*EVERY PROBLEMATIC AREA IN YOUR LIFE SHOULD BE A PRAYER POINT!Example: Problematic area: Needing provision/Finances/Lack/check to checkScriptures:2Cor 3:8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. Matthew 7:11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. Psalm 34:10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. Matthew 6:31&31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. Health scripture (mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually) John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. Psalm 30:2 O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. Psalm 143:7 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Isaiah 41:10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 55:2 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 1 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬ “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. 3 John 2 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.

"He called me by name!"

Listen in as George & Alethea Melton(Mom and Pop) teach us about The Lord calling His children!

Maturing in Jesus!

Paul said to the church back then and to us today; "We pray that you would walk in the ways of true righteousness, pleasing God in every good thing you do. Then you’ll become fruit-bearing branches, yielding to his life, and maturing in the rich experience of knowing God in his fullness! - Colossians 1:6-10Maturing as a verb means to become fully developed or ripe. A fruit or vegetable becomes ripe through what it receives from the vine! Jesus said that He is the vine and we are the branches. You will not walk in the rich experience of knowing God in His fullness UNLESS YOU ARE CONNECTED TO THE VINE AND ALLOWING HIM TO GROW YOU AND NOT YOU TRY AND GROW YOURSELF! The type of transformative work that God wants to do is a work that only happens when He becomes the filter that your life pours through! "If the Spirit is the source of our life, we must also allow the Spirit to direct every aspect of our lives". - Gal 5:25

Vision Sunday October 2,2023

At True North Church, we don't place our anchor in religion nor traditions. We are a multi-ethnic collective focused on Jesus, making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, preaching the gospel and mirroring His love with our neighbors.

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