David Whiting Live

New Courtyard Finished This Week

There is a small courtyard between the old building the new building.  Pavers, plants, and a bench were installed this week.  It looks great!  Here are some pictures:

 

This is looking out of the window of the new lobby.

This is looking toward the new lobby (old worship center).

 

Same view...

This is the view looking into the Toddler Nursery.

Mt. Hope Cemetary Video - Video from Sunday

Last Sunday I used a video that we filmed at Mt. Hope Cemetery.  I wanted to put it online for those who listen to my sermons on our our website or on the podcast but don't get to "see" them. This will give you a better feel of the video.

Joel Witwer did a great job filming and editing! Thanks, Joel! If you receive this by email - you will need to click on the title above to see the video.

Prepping for Sunday - Hezekiah

I think that reading ahead for a Sunday morning can benefit the listener. So if you have some time over the Thanksgiving weekend - you might take ten minutes to read 2 Chronicles 29-31.  The sermon is about Hezekiah - the best southern king of them all.

Fire By the Church

On Monday there was a huge fire near the church. The fire chief said he had never seen a more difficult fire in his career.  Although it was 200 or 300 yards from our back driveway - because of the wind, we were smelling smoke all day long. But several of you called or emailed to ask how we were doing... we were fine. Thanks!

Here are some pictures.

It seems like it is right behind our building, but it might be 200 to 400 yards away.

 

This is a picture from the back of our church office.

Another picture from the back of the church office.

What I love about this picture is that it was a perfectly clear day, but the sun just couldn't break through the smoke, but it sure it trying.

The Land of the Living... Prepping for Tomorrow

If you want to get a head-start on tomorrow - read 2 Chronicles 21-28.  In eight chapters, God tells the story of eight rulers of the North.  As you read, look for God's summary of their lives.  More than just "good" or "evil" - but he uses phrases to summarize their reigns.  Look for those... It will help prepare you for tomorrow as we do a survey of eight southern rules of Judah (7 kings and 1 queen).

For example... Jehoram's summary - 2 Chronicles 21:4 - He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done.  (not a good summary)

There are some amazing statements about those rulers.  We will study them together tomorrow.

Moes or Chipotle???

Moes or Chipotle?  Which is your preference?  Sue and I are huge fans of Chipotle!  We became fans of Moes years ago, but recently experienced Chipotle again for the first time in years.

There are two advantages of Moes: free chips and kids meals.  But those two advantages can't make up for the taste of the Chipotle burrito.  So, with kids, it would be Moes.  But when it is just us... it has to be Chipotle!

What about you?

Thank You for Your Help on Sunday!

I want to thank you for helping keep the second service more open!!  For the first time that I'm aware of - since we've had three services - the second service wasn't the most highly attended.  The first service attendance was higher!  Thank you!  Keep it up for just a few more weeks!

The last two Sundays have been our "all-time high" attendance Sundays (except for holidays).  We never anticipated growing while meeting in the gym. 

Thanks for helping us create empty seats at optimal times (a continual challenge for growing churches).

Follow Up from Sunday - Idol Worship...

Here is a quote from "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan.  If you've been thinking about idol worship and how to "deal with it" in your life, I thought this may be helpful (with a few changes of wording to fit the sermon).

"If you merely pretend that you enjoy God or love Him, He knows. You can't fool Him; don't even try. Instead, tell Him how you feel. Tell Him that He isn't the most important thing in this life to you, and that you're sorry fro that. Tell Him that you've [been worshiping idols.  Tell Him what idol(s) you've been worshiping] over Him time and again. Tell Him that you want Him to change you, that you long to genuinely enjoy Him. Tell him how you want to experience true satisfaction and pleasure and joy in your relationship with Him. Tell Him you want to love Him more than anything on this earth. Tell Him you want to treasure the kingdom of heaven so much that you'd willingly sell everything in order to get it (Matthew 13:44). Tell Him what you like about Him, what you appreciate, and what brings you joy." 

Idols of the Heart

Some follow up from this Sunday's sermon:

An idol is when someone or something that occupies the place of God in your life. An idol is when anyone or anything is more important to you than God. An idol is a functional Savior that saves you from temporary, felt needs, not real, eternal needs.

Here are some self-examining questions to help you discover the idols of your heart (Ezekiel 14):

• What makes you say that a day is a "good day?"
• What makes you say that a day is a "bad day?"
• What keeps you going?
• What makes your life worthwhile?
• What dreams tend to capture your heart?
• What do you have a hard time believing that you can't live without?
• Where do you seek to find your identity?
• What, in life, do you crave most?
• What makes you really happy?
• Where do you turn for comfort?
• Where do you turn for peace?
• If you have some real "free" time - how do you tend to spend it?
• When you don't have to think about something - where does your mind love to rest?
• Where do you spend your money most effortlessly?
• When are your emotions most out of control? 

Answering these questions honestly may help you best discover your functional savior.

Remember - a good thing that becomes a god thing is a bad thing.

Nursery Painting

Four volunteers (led by Erin Borja) painted this tree on the nursery wall on Saturday.  I am amazed at how many talented artists we have at North. They plan to continue the tree onto the ceiling on Sunday afternoon.