The Supremacy of Christ

At the same time our nation is at a crossroads, so is American Christianity.  As American Christians, are we simply Christian by tradition and convenience or do we possess a Christianity that is transforming our lives and communities???  I am deeply troubled by religious trends in America today.  Increasingly Americans are avoiding church participation and choosing other philosophies to guide them.  Those who do claim to be Christians often do not read the Bible, and do not know what they believe or how it differs from other religions or world views.  Worse, many Christians claim no on-going, daily life-changing relationship with Christ Jesus.  We need to re-visit what exactly transformed the lives of 1st century Christians.

This week at New Life we kick off a new series entitled, "The Supremacy of Christ" focusing on Paul's letter to the Colossians.  Central to Paul's letter is the sufficiency and supremacy of Christ.  His letter is full of rich vocabulary demonstrating the supremacy of Christ in our lives as Christians.  I hope you will join us @ the ARC on Sundays as we grow in the richness of Christ Jesus.  See you @ the ARC on Sunday at 10:15 AM.

Creating God-First Culture - Stewardship

This Sunday we wrap up our series, "Creating God-First Culture".  I hope you have enjoyed it.  I know it has helped me re-focus my life around Matthew 6:33.  Here's a few thoughts for Sunday on Christian Stewardship.


Time, talent, and treasure are three of our most precious assets.  How we manage them is what we call stewardship.  Stewardship carries with it the idea they we really don’t own anything.  Everything we possess is owned by God; we are simply entrusted to manage what God has given us.  


Creating a God-first culture in your heart and mind requires that you become a spiritually disciplined Christian and that you live a life worthy for others to emulate.  Stewardship and spiritual discipline are connected.  Let me share two scriptures with you connected to this concept.  1 Timothy 4:8 and 1 Corinthians 11:1.  See you Sunday @ the ARC at 10:15 AM.

New Series coming to NLCC

Colossians: The Supremacy of Christ is coming to New Life on Sunday, October 31st.  I hope you will join us as we take a look back into the first century and Paul's letter to the believers in Colosse.

I was planning to title this series "The Greatness of Christ", but supremacy seemed to fit the context of Colossians a lot better.  Jesus isn't just great, he is the supreme ruler of the universe and also your savior. See you @ the ARC at 10:15 AM.

Stepping up

I hope you enjoyed this past weekend at the New Life gathering.  I was really pumped by the message on Psalm 1.  The Bible is always encouraging us to step higher and live a "God-first" kind-of-life as a Christ-follower.  Let me encourage you this week to delight in the Lord by picking a book of the Bible and reading it through in one setting.  You might want to pick one of Paul's letters in the New Testament.  Mark's gospel would also be a good place to start. Take a few notes and see what principles of grace, beauty, or truth can be applied to your life.

Creating a God-first culture is counter culture in many ways.  We can't follow the natural tendencies of our human condition or modern culture and expect to live the blessed life God has provided for us in Christ.  We have to step up into God's grace and step out of those disobedient situations in our life that keep us from God's best.

I'm praying for you as you step up.  See you Sunday! Pastor Tom