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National Community Church
The NCC Daily is a 5-minute devotional podcast that serves as a prompt for us to read, study, pray, and live out God's Word, actively seeking to bring heaven to earth together. This podcast is hosted by National Community Church in Washington, D.C.
This is the FINAL episode of our Jesus Series - A journey through the gospel of Mark on NCC Daily. This has been one of our longest-running Dailies that we have done to date, with this being Episode 75! We have heard from our teaching team, our NCC staff, NCC group leaders, and even some of our NCC missionaries. We are SO BLESSED to have such a breadth and depth of resources to continue to challenge us and inspire us to deeper understanding and more authentic living.
Today I’m going to be talking to you guys about Mark 15:42-47, which is the burial of Jesus.
In our reading for today, Mark 15:16-26, we find ourselves in the midst of a chilling, yet stirring scene set between the nail of justice and the nails of the cross.
We’re coming to the end of our journey through Mark’s Gospel and we find ourselves in the middle of the Passion narrative. The unholy trinity of the high priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders have arrested Jesus and drummed up charges against him but they don’t have the authority to execute him. For that, they turn to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.
I’m here today to speak your today and say there is hope for you Peter. Jesus is coming to redeem you and restore you. The same way he gave hope to the shameful woman he met at a well in Samaria. The same way he dismissed accusers and dusted off a woman caught in the very act of her greatest sin, in deep disgrace and declared “I do not condemn you. Go! And sin no more.” Whoever you are listening today, Go. There is still more for you to do in God’s Kingdom.
As important and crucial as that Passover meal was, I want to focus today on Jesus’ prediction that Peter would deny Him.
I think perceptions impact spiritual activation. In this passage, we see three types of spiritual activation: Religiosity, Devotion, or Indifference.
We must be proactive doorkeepers of our spiritual lives. Instead of succumbing to comfort-induced complacency, we should actively engage in our relationships with Him, by recognizing the doorkeeper's role, we can safeguard against the things of the world that are designed to tear that very relationship.
In a world where information is at our fingertips and we operate in the illusion of control, we can be tempted to believe that we know what our future outcomes will be. While we can plan with wisdom and discernment, we cannot control the future.
If we are finding our contentment in anything else besides Jesus Himself, then we might need to find our way back to worrying only about today, and opening our hands to receive our daily bread from Him alone, and being content in the mystery of not knowing.
What would it mean for us to give everything for the sake of the kingdom, not for show but because life with Jesus is better than all the rest? In a culture that’s all about what we earn and we deserve, could we live counter-culturally and have faith to believe like the widow did that Jesus is worth all we have? I think we’d come to realize that when we lay it all down, we get Jesus, and He suffices wonderfully.
Let us embrace this love parable—seeking God’s presence in all things and become vessels of his love to those that we encounter. By doing so, we become conduits of God’s love bringing life and transformation to the world around us and as we live out this commandment we draw closer to the kingdom of God where love reigns supreme and unity becomes the cornerstone.
Today we have Jesus continuing his conversation with the chief priests and scribes after they challenged Jesus and his authority.
Have we ever found ourselves standing as a victor over a situation and we knew it was solely by the power and authority of Jesus in our life? Healed by His grace, opportunities because of His favor, peace that transcends understanding, provision because of His goodness and mercy that surely follows us all the days of our lives!
Today’s reading is from Mark 11:12-26. This text follows Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, also known as Palm Sunday.
Jesus allowed himself to need his Heavenly Father in his everyday living. Today, as we say “Hosanna!” to our Lord and Savior, let’s again remind ourselves that we call out, “Lord, Save Us!” because we, in our own depravity, so desperately need him.
Bartimaeus’ faith is an example to all of us, as is his clearsightedness regarding what he wanted. He recognized what was hindering him from being the person God wanted him to be and created him to be. And he sought God’s power to set him free.
The Kingdom of God is about serving one another in love. Jesus gave up His sinless life to die so that we could live. Not only that but that same life Jesus died saving, He wants us to give that up in His name so we can save it. And, what does that even mean? Take up your cross daily and follow Him to wherever that may lead.
Jesus came to us as a little child—one clothed in humility. He could have shown up as a king, a military leader, or at least skipped the whole childhood thing, but he chose to come to us in the most vulnerable, most human way - an infant dependent on his parents for safety and provision. Maybe there’s something to His coming as a child to make a way for us, and our becoming like little children in order to take His hand and follow him to His Father’s house.
Just when I think I’ve got myself figured out, one of my two son’s requires of me a new level of patience or wisdom, and the challenge presents a fresh opportunity for growth and awareness. One of those lessons, something I'm still working on actually, is to embrace God’s kingdom with childlike simplicity. For those of us who were forced to grow up too fast, having a childlike faith might feel risky, too vulnerable, and unsafe. But Jesus says, “The kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”
The Pharisees came looking to trap Jesus. Have you ever come at Jesus with a "prove it" posture? I know if you’ve ever gone through anything hard you might have. Often we get caught up in justifying our approach, our posture, our attitude toward others, and in doing so, justify our posture toward God. This is what the Pharisees were doing, but we can learn from them and from Jesus.
When we invite God in, we invite a firm foundation in our hearts and in the lives we live. This helps us WHEN we stumble to know that we will recover. That WHEN we stumble we know that God still loves us. WHEN we stumble we should still love ourselves.
I wonder what it would look like if we approached Jesus with a sense of humility, child-like faith, and a sense of awe. What if instead of burying questions or pretending we have it all figured out, we brought them to our Maker who wants to mold us, walk with us, and who wants us to know Him more?
We pray because we believe. We fast because we believe. The more we pray and fast, we tend to believe even more! It’s so important to have a lifestyle where we are consecrated to God in various ways. Committed to God in consistent prayer.
As we continue to learn from the book of Mark, today we will focus on the passage found in chapter 9, verses 14-23.
We can read the Bible to learn who Jesus is, but we have been blessed with opportunities in our daily life to see Him so that we can know who Jesus is. I believe Jesus is always showing us who He is, but we have to be sure to see it.
If you are going to follow Jesus wholeheartedly, then you no longer own yourself. He has ultimate rights; he has lordship of your life. So, you no longer belong to yourself. Trust in Jesus that he will take care of you. This is the way of the cross.
I encourage you to spend some time this week to ask your Heavenly Father to reveal who He truly is to you, just as His spirit revealed the identity of Jesus to Peter.
My prayer is that the Lord would continue to renew our sight to see him more fully, face to face and that he would give us the eyes, patience, and questions to fall in love with him in a new way today. Jesus is inviting us into a relationship of perfect sight and perfect restoration.
So long as we are flesh, our perspective is temporal, and we see, literally, through our earthly eyes. Even the disciples of Christ who followed him and witnessed all of his miracles firsthand still heard and saw Jesus’ words through their earthly perspective; a HERE and NOW perspective.
This morning I am going to continue our series diving into the Gospel of Mark and share a couple of thoughts I found really impactful to me while specifically going through Mark 8 that tells the story of Jesus feeding the 4000.
May we remember the Lord’s example and look to Him in all that we do, following His leading by faith in oneness with Him.
As I studied the scripture we are focusing on today, Mark 7:24-30, I realized I could relate to its message completely for one simple reason: it is about a mother doing whatever it takes to find a cure for her child.
God has given us the Spirit to reside in our hearts, to transform us, and to empower us to honor and glorify the Father.
Let’s pray today, first for ourselves, then for our neighbors; that God would help us be genuine followers of Him, not just followers of routine.
When we don’t understand how God intervenes and shows up in our lives, we are slow to recognize who he is and how he chooses to show up when we are desperate for deliverance. Sometimes, when he does show up, we don’t even recognize him.
When you read this passage do you read it like I have before—that they were traveling and the rest was coming when they get to the shore? Instead, I think Jesus flips it and the boat ride is the rest, the rest that will get them ready for the miracle!
Just like this is a hard story, I want to speak some hard truth to you today. But it comes from a place of love. Just like I believe God loves you exactly where you are and for who you are, I also believe He loves you too much to leave you there.
It's important to note that there is a unique dynamic that takes place between God's power and our belief. That's where the miracle is!
After a little searching the disciples found five loaves and two fish. Jesus took what they brought, held it to heaven blessed it, and created a meal for everyone present and literally had leftovers. Jesus put his foot in that meal. For he is the one that provides, he is the one calls us to a place of reconnecting, rest, and to enjoy what he provides.
Having faith may often seem like we have to blindly follow. However, it’s not that we just have to mindlessly trust, but instead we need to ensure that we are shifting our focus in the right direction. Rather than looking at the hopeless situation, listening to the lies, or believing what the world says, we must fix our eyes on Jesus - the One who is trustworthy and faithful.
The Lord, your healer, wants to bring you sozo. He is praying it over you, calling you to it, and preparing the way for you to receive it. He wants to bless you with a supernatural peace through the dunamis of the Holy Spirit.
Let’s take some time today and think about the spaces in our hearts that we’ve put the do not disturb sign on. Give that space to Jesus. Allow him to do His loving work in you.
Hope is here! If you know someone that needs hope, send them this podcast, or better yet, step out of your boat, with confidence, take the word of hope with you, and offer it! Perhaps you’re seeing it on your prayer walk. That person that seems like they have lost all hope needs a word of hope from you!
As we continue to prayer walk our neighborhoods, and we surrender ourselves to God, He opens up our eyes to where he is at work and where he desires for us to work. And then something happens. We begin to realize he gives us authority of healing and restoration in our neighborhoods.
How do we activate peace within when a storm of life arises? By faith in the Living Word, the Prince of Peace, rather than the storm and the devastation it brings. And faith without obedience is dead. We believe and do what He speaks by His Word and the voice of His Spirit.
The parable of the mustard seed anchors me back to the way of the Kingdom. The way in which God works is upside down and unexpected. Often, it’s through small acts of obedience and faithfulness that gives way to significance and impact around me. The way of the seed reminds us that it’s not through striving but through intentionally of practicing long obedience in the same direction and listening to the words, practicing the way, and living on mission of Jesus daily.
The light should be the joy, the peace, the trust, the love, and the authenticity of who you are as a follower of Jesus. Let your light shine today as you go, and as you sow.
As we go about our day this week, what if we asked Jesus continually, what are you doing in the world? What are you doing in this situation, in this conversation? How is your kingdom breaking forth here and now? And how do you want me to participate?
As we continue in this series of Mark and even as you just read through the book of Mark, and during this prayer walk challenge, as we pray over our neighbors, colleagues, family, and those around us, how many of us have given up on those around us? How many of us have been overwhelmed to the point that our soil doesn’t yield the results we intend? I wonder how many of us have given up on ourselves. How many prayers we’ve stopped praying? How many spiritual seeds we’ve stopped sowing because we don’t see that immediate return?
I want to encourage us as a community to live a life that includes. Together, let’s ask God to help us see each other… see ourselves… the way He sees us. And may we respond the way God does.
Let’s trust or choose to trust again, even in the areas that seem to be marked with waiting or difficulty.
Jesus heals the things we want him to heal, the things others are looking at, and wondering if Jesus will heal. He also heals the things that no one can see. Jesus heals withered hands and hard hearts!
Jesus gives a clear calling for his disciples: Get in my presence – be sent out to preach – walk in my power. Presence – Preach – Power. I think the order is significant.
I’d like to challenge you today to ask the Lord what spiritual practices you may have been weaponizing against yourself. Take that thing and ask the Lord to give you a renewed perspective of how to utilize that practice for growth in your walk with God.
Fasting should be done out of devotion not just out of discipline. You can apply this principle to any religious act. It should be done out of love and not out of fear. It should be an “I get to” not and not just an “I have to”.
Welcome back to NCC Daily. I’m Ashlei Brathwaite, and I serve over Family Ministries at our NoVA location. I’m excited to be with you again, as we begin to enjoy a summer of exploring Jesus using the Book of Mark. Today we’re going to kick off week 2 focusing on Mark 2:1-13.
Welcome to Week 2 of the Prayer Walk Challenge. I trust you are experiencing a new awareness as you are walking and praying and interacting in your context. What and who are you seeing? What are you noticing about yourself? How are you carrying yourself? Can I just remind you: You are a hope dealer, a blessing hurler, a kingdom bringer!
Jesus is powerful and in control of everything in our lives, including our spiritual battles, and the demons that try to mess with us know Jesus and listen to his commands. If we are being completely honest the demons might listen to Jesus better than we do because they always recognize and always submit to His authority.
How much more can we imitate Jesus by waiting on the Spirit’s infilling and empowerment? Jesus’ life invites us to hope in and depend on the Holy Spirit for God’s purposes even in what seems like the most mundane of moments.
Often times in church circles, you’ll hear that the most powerful words are the words in red. If you have that philosophy, then the way this book starts seems insignificant. But what the writer, John Mark, is telling his audience, is there is some significance to who else in history has foretold about the main character of his narrative. His audience is interested in Jesus, but John Mark understands that Jesus requires validation.
We are diving into the book of Mark as we prayer walk our neighborhoods. While we believe God is omnipresent and everywhere all around us, we also believe that we have been equipped with and given a great Light to live out all around us.
This is Robb Schmidgall, NCC Online Pastor here at National Community Church and we are thrilled to be launching this new NCC Daily series.
Our transcendent God, to remind His people of the covenant He made, connects Himself in His very name to three flawed individuals.
This morning I am going to talk briefly about Jesus being the ultimate sacrifice and what that means for God's people navigating this world today.
It has been so amazing learning from everyone as they dig into the names and attributes of God. Today I will focus on the fact that Jesus was called a “friend of sinners”.
Today we focus on Immanuel, the name for Jesus that means, “God is with us.” I’m going to share an original song on this theme.
Today I just want to spend a few minutes talking to you about Jehovah Raab—the Lord is my Shepherd.
Today we focus on a deeply revealing name of God, Jehovah M’kaddesh, the Lord Who Sanctifies.
I want to highlight three ways Jesus is the Lion of Judah in our lives today—in his Holiness, In Majesty, and as Conqueror.
Today, as we continue our journey toward knowing God better, we’re going briefly dive into the use of El Roi – the God who sees.
I hope you’ve been enjoying this great NCC Daily series on the names of God. Today, I want to talk about a name of God in the person of Jesus.
Christ is our advocate for our ongoing sanctification. When we first trust Jesus, His righteousness gives us a righteous status that cannot be lost. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ, yet we continue to sin until we are glorified.
Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord our Righteousness, is generous to give himself to us so that we may become like him. We are freed from earning our righteousness or being defeated by our endless attempts to become righteous through our own efforts.
God operates in ways we cannot begin to comprehend. If we never ponder this, we risk reducing God to an idol informed only by our own experiences. We need a transcendent God to lift us up out of ourselves.
I have the honor of sharing with you my personal experience with Jehovah-Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts.
Many of us are ready to acknowledge God as Elohim – a powerful God. Jehovah – eternal and everlasting God. But have a hard time truly giving ourselves to Him as Adonai. Serving him as Adonai requires we give up self-sufficiency and give him total reign over our lives.
The beauty of calling the name of Jehovah Nissi is that we are asking the Lord to come and be our banner, while we go to battle. We are asking him to let us come alongside him to partner with him.
Our God has a proper name and not one that we gave Him, but one that He revealed to us… out of a desire to be distinct from other gods and in covenantal relationship with His people; therefore, we get to call our God Yahweh.
I challenge you to allow God to renew your mind in how you see Him. We will no longer see him as a God too busy for us or waiting for us to fail. We will see God in the fullness of His love and grace that he freely gives to each of us.
When we believe that God is all-sufficient vs insufficient, that we see Him as El Shaddai, our daily bread, we can walk with our hands open towards generosity in our thoughts towards others and God and rest, knowing that He is enough and He is good.
Today, I want to encourage you to think about all the times God has provided for you. Hold on to our Jehovah Jireh and because he’s done it before, I know he’ll do it again.
When we have a relationship with God through Jesus, Jesus becomes our source of peace. Peace is not the pursuit of no conflict rather it is the posture of the heart that allows us to experience wholeness.
The more I am willing to die to myself, the more alive I am in Christ. He not only takes the old but uses it to produce fruit that edifies those around me and leads me to life that feels fully satisfying and abundant. Praise be to God.
Can I invite you into into being Fathered today? He loves you so much. He is safe. He will cover you. He will Father you, if you let Him. He is, Abba Father.
How you answer the question, “Who is my God?” says a lot about you and your relationship with God.
What would it look like today to walk more in the name of God—Elohim Shomri, God your Protector?
I am excited to get to share with you all this morning as we continue through our NCC Daily series Knowing God. I’ll be focusing on the topic of God as the Alpha and Omega.
As we all intentionally carve out some extra space to experience and encounter God, the goal isn’t to just keep that space as sacred. But the goal is that as God fills that space, we allow it to infiltrate all of our thinking, all of our doing, and all of our being.
So the goal for this NCC Daily series of talks is specifically geared around a greater understanding of who God is.
This Welcome Home series was all about who we are as a church and how you and I can make ourselves part of the work of God in the Earth. This series was both an invitation and a challenge. It was both aspirational and our daily reality. We believe and we are witnessing this church as a place of prayer, a place of belonging, miracles, and worship.
Where is a place you dream to visit? This is a question I often love answering. It puts me in a moment of time where our beautiful world is available to visiting. I think of incredible cities full of culture and art, beautiful mountains of serene stillness, and places where the northern lights shine.
What if we, as believers, led the charge on celebration in our homes, our neighborhoods, and our culture? What if we showed the world how to party and how to give a better picture about who God is and what he’s like through our celebrations? This type of celebration requires strategy and intention. But the creative possibilities are endless.
I am so excited to get to share with you all this morning on how we as Christ followers can become a place of celebration.
With a job like mine, you could say I know a little something about CELEBRATING! I have the daily pleasure of celebrating so many organizations, events, birthdays, weddings-you name it! As a people, we love to come together to celebrate.
What is your primal urge? To answer that question, I think we have to go a step higher and dig a little deeper and ask: What is God’s primal urge? Because it doesn’t begin with us, it begins with God. And we find our purpose and we find our mission when we find ourselves in him.
This week, as we contemplate finding our purpose, I would encourage you to tap into the missional purpose to which God has called his people. Our God is a missional God, his very nature is one in which out of love, he sends himself to those in need.
We are part of a much bigger purpose, the missional church. Which at the end of the day is to see the Kingdom of God come to earth.
When it comes to miracles, especially ones that I’d like to experience, like my personal prayer to be totally healed from cancer, I’ve stopped asking why and why not, and I’ve started asking what can I learn, how can I grow, where is my opportunity to walk in obedience to the Spirit’s leading, and what can I do while I’m here.
Belief in Jesus also changes our worldview. It shifts the way we see God, the way we ourselves, the way we see others, and the way we even see creation. It draws us to become students of his words, imitators of his ways, and partners in his mission. Belief in Jesus compels us to walk as true disciples of Jesus.
My prayer for you today is that you will have a prayer every day. You need a miracle. We need to have the miracle of God in our lives to magnify God because we are in a constant battle, and our God is our defender, and he has conquered it all.
I'd love to share what I've experienced that has given me an understanding of what a house of healing can be.
I’ve come to a realization in my everyday life that I believe a part of my role is to add value to everyone around me. So I often ask God to help me see this person who is sitting right in front of me the way you see them. Help me to call out the gold you’ve deposited in them and it’s a small way of saying, you belong and I want you to feel deeply cared for. I want you to know you have immense value in the family of God.
Today as we reflect on a place of belonging, consider the opportunities you have to embrace your place of belonging and also help to create a place for others.
I am honored to pastor our Lincoln Theatre Campus. Lean in as I read A Kids Book About Belonging by Kevin Carroll.
Part of belonging in the Father’s house is belonging in community. We need each other. As the children of God we need each other on this journey. I need you and you need me. I need someone to tell me about what they experienced when they made that wrong turn. I need someone who will testify when they trusted God. I need someone to warn me about the hard times, be with me in the painful moments, and celebrate with me in the moments of triumph. I need someone who is seeking God with me.
Belonging is our primary human need. Beyond food and shelter, nothing promotes human flourishing like having a people and place of belonging. Research confirms that income level, marriage and children, and perceived security all pale in comparison to belonging in promoting sustained happiness. We long to belong.
Some of the most beautiful moments of worship come in the ordinary, mundane moments of life. And yet, there is something powerful, spiritual, and undeniably right when we worship together. Simply put, worship is better together!
Throughout my life, I have tried my best to lean into God specifically when things don't go my way. Whenever I'm upset, anxious, afraid, or nervous, I find that praising and worshipping God really drowns out all my other emotions and fills me with joy. The joy of the Lord is more powerful than any emotion you can conceive with your own body.
As a worship leader, I’ve spent years participating in and helping to create powerful Sunday-morning worship experiences. However, embracing the mundane has not come naturally to me. It’s taken time and practice to realize the necessity of both environments and to understand that the mundane is not at odds with the powerful experiences of God’s presence we can have at church.
I want to encourage you to have a special place, a private place, where you meet with God. It’s not just for the miracles, although, I am a witness that it can happen but make this place your “tent of meeting” just as Moses did.
When I think about prayer, my prayer life, and what it looks like for me, I’ve learned more and more it is an indication of where my relationship is with Him. My Abba. It’s a barometer on how I am loving Him well as well as how I am allowing Him to love me.
In prayer, the Holy Spirit anoints our imagination and opens us up to the Father through very personal images and pictures in our minds.
If you’re nervous about prayer, let’s try to take as much pressure off as possible. No need to sound deep and spiritual. No need to go on and on, blah, blah, blah. Just spend some time with Jesus. Talk to him. Listen to him. That is prayer.
As we’ve studied scripture, we have learned about the deep abiding love God has for His son, Jesus. Then in turn Jesus’ deep abiding love for his disciples. His love for us. He calls us friends. He chose us. Even after seeing all of who we are - the mistakes, the rebellion, the beauty. He sees the Imago Dei in His sons and daughters! In His friends!
Today, I wanted to share some of the things Spirit shared with me in my journal during my time in the Lectio Divina practice.
Today, we are going to soak into scripture through the practice of Lectio Divina—one of my favorites! Lectio Divina, which is latin for Divine Reading, is a contemplative practice that guides us in reading over a passage of four times, each with a different intent: Lectio (which is a plain Reading), Meditatio (a meditative Reading), Oratio (a prayerful Reading), and Comtemplatio (a restful Reading).
Can we just be honest and say that none of us really know what we are doing and that we kind of figure out life as we go? Even those of us that plan in our Type A and strategize we’re making decisions based on our current understanding. All of us are doing the best we can each day. And that right there is good, my friend. Have some grace for yourself and release the shame that you might carry.
It's such an honor to be able to provide a space for other people to learn how to do that as well. And so I wanted to talk a little bit about mental health stigma because when you get a diagnosis, it's so easy to have that label feel like such a weight.
Throughout the Gospels, the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we read time and again of the compassion of Jesus. It is a persistent theme throughout His earthly ministry. While the word compassion is only used eight times in direct reference to Jesus, His compassion is observed and felt in many of his interactions with His disciples, the crowds, and people from all walks of life.
The discipline of Scripture reading is challenging, and it’s not something that comes naturally. Yet, we’re told that we need to read this book daily so we know how to live life well, and as accurate as we know that to be, sometimes, reading the Bible can be overwhelming and confusing.
When you learn about your own genealogy for some people, these two things might feel in tension. There might be some things in your family’s past that feel painful and certainly did not contribute to justice or caring for the inherent dignity of the Imago Dei.
As disciples of Jesus, we are called to practice the one-anothers: to love one another, accept one another, honor one another above ourselves, serve one another with our gifts, instruct one another, encourage one another, pray for each other, and be devoted to one another just to name a few.
As we all continue in the flow of our lives may we focus on Jesus and not get distracted.
Today I want to share a quick talk titled A FAITHFUL FOUNDATION that breaks down how we as followers of Christ can learn and do, just as Jesus did. Every time I think about what it means to do what Jesus did or how we can live our lives in a way that reflects the character of Jesus, I always am left with the word faithful just burning in my Spirit.
Today, I would like to share about an important discipline – the discipline of reading the Scripture! Whether you are new to faith or a seasoned believer, I pray that you will be blessed.
If you've been at NCC any length of time, you know we talk about dreaming a lot. It has become part of our naming and branding and something we value and seek to grow in. However, there's a difference between your average dream and a God-sized. I want to talk about how a missional community should be casting prophetic vision. Let's take some time and dig into that and share some stories.
As a believer in Christ, the Holy Spirit is the X-Factor and I take for granted how revolutionary and incredible it is that the Spirit of God lives inside each one of us.
I pray that what I say will draw you closer to the one that so desires to draw closer to you. In addition, I pray it will be a seed planted that will beautifully germinate and be eternally planted deeply in your Spirit.
3 John 1:2, this is a beautiful expression of our posture as a community – three things: To prosper To be in good health To have souls that prosper
Memorizing scripture is a powerful tool to help us internalize the words of Jesus and the words of the Spirit-inspired Biblical writers. They can become personal reminders and convictions that guide how we exist in this world. And they can also become gifts of encouragement, light, and hope to others we encounter in need of it.
As we discover our own pain and brokenness along the way. God has invited us to be this way and to think this way to think prophetically, and to be able to call us back to God's original intent at the crossroads.
Having become a hospitality leader has created in me a posture of serving others. So it's not just about the weekend. It's about your everyday. At least for me, I like to serve others, treat others with kindness. You know, people that I encounter.
I believe that’s who God asks us to be: fully ourselves doing what we were created to be loving people well as we move from one place to another with the intention of the good for the person we encounter along the way.
Today, we’re going to talk about what it means to do what Jesus did. Of course, Jesus really was all things to all people, but let’s focus on one aspect today: patience.
Today I want to talk to you about a specific discipline I’ve applied to my personal Scripture reading. While reading the Bible is important for all Christians, there are so many different disciplines, practices, and plans that can help us engage with the text. We are all different…one size will not fit all.
In the midst of brokenness and chaos, goodness can still be found within us, and it is stronger and more present than what we can perceive. The work of God is not absent nor hidden, it comes in supernatural ways and in the most ordinary and human ways possible. God brings His kingdom through His people.
Imagination is important because the skill of engendering ideas is a practice and is integral to the mission of the church. Because a church with a limited imagination will struggle to impact the next generation.
I am going to do something a little different for our prayer practice today. I’ll be reading the poem “A Morning Offering” by John O’Donohue.
Jesus wears many titles: Son of Man, Lamb of God, Savior of the world. But one title and role that we don’t always think of Him as is a prophet. Jesus was, in fact, the prophet that all other prophets pointed to. Jesus was called a prophet by the Samaritan woman at the well and he referred to himself as a prophet, “A prophet is not honored in his own home”. But what is a prophet and how can we learn from Jesus’s life and ministry to apply to our everyday lives?
You are a living paraphrase. No pressure right? The question becomes, what are you going to do about it? God is writing a unique version of the Scriptures through your life. But how can you give an accurate portrayal if you don’t know the original script? Many Marvel comics fans have issues with some of the recent Marvel movies because they know the original comics! So for you and I to be this living paraphrase, we must know the original text.
I want us to be truly rooted in our ambassadorship. I want you to truly know that you are not a Jew, you are not a Gentile. You are not a Democrat, you are not a Republican. You are an ambassador of Christ, therefore you must act accordingly, helping people understand that your allegiance is not that of earthly trappings and of earthly things, but your allegiance is to our King and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Engaging with others in your faith, together, takes energy, effort, intentionality, and work, but it’s worth it.
Prayer disciplines us to create a space where the distractions of the world are pushed aside and focus is given to God with intentionality. This is how and when the eyes of our hearts are enlightened so that we may see, discern, higher, deeper, and wider in Christ.
When I read James’ exhortation at the end I read this as– him saying– be concerned with the salvation of others around you. Be in prayer and be watchful when your brothers and sisters turn away from the faith. My part is to communicate the faith in such a way that I continuously live out the hope, the freedom, and the restoration that Jesus offers with my words and actions.
James isn’t condemning us for not remembering– instead, he’s doing the opposite- he’s empowering us to remember and believe that our prayers matter. Our prayers make a difference. Our prayers have impact– so much so that they can cause rain to stop or rain to come. When was the last time you believed in the power and efficacy of your prayers THAT much?
Today we are going to dive into verses 12-15. There’s something so beautiful and powerful about a simple faith.
Just when you think James is done with making his point about patience, he highlights it again, ultimately saying, “No, really, I don’t think you understood it in the last verse so let me say it again.” ”Blessed are those who persevere.”
Today’s verses, 7-9, are rooted in patience. Some coin it as “the patience in suffering” passage. Two words I don’t like very much- patience and suffering. Mostly because I’m not a big fan of processes in life. Maybe you can relate. I like structure and things that have a process from point A to point Z. I just do not like going through the process that isn’t systematic–meaning, I actually do not like going through things where there’s uncertainty of what to expect on the other side. Shocker– I know. It’s a regular wrestling I have.
James warns us about being too narrow-minded, too short-focused, that we lose sight of the coming return of Christ, and instead value our own self-confidence and self-reliance over God’s sovereignty. He warns us against arrogance in our relationships, our planning, and our finances.
James is reminding us that at the end of the day, or at the end of times on judgment day, the wealth and material possessions that we have gathered will amount to nothing. But what will remain are the treasures that have been stored in heaven, as Matthew 6:19-21 describes.
The good we ought to do is about helping those within enough proximity of us to assist, in a timely manner. If we see a neighbor in need and have the power to act, that is our faith being put into action. Caring for the vulnerable in society, such as a child without guardians, is a sign of true religion. Faith is forged through action.
As people that are just a mist, are we placing faith in our own self-confidence and personal willpower, or are we placing our faith in God’s plan and sovereignty? It requires humility to recognize that ultimately it is God’s plans that will come to fruition, and not our own.
As we read and study this portion of James, it may feel most natural to start with an outward perspective. You may hear a verse that reminds you of someone else or seems to tell you something about society at large. It’s easy to view these scriptures through the lens of how it relates to others. Let’s challenge ourselves to instead start with an inward perspective.
James is encouraging his reader or hearer to humble themselves in repentance. To turn back and find their way back to God – a God who forgives. In humility, wisdom from above finds a true resting place in the lives of those willing to choose the kingdom of God over their own empire.
Today’s deep dive can help us process through the things we do that we place at a higher importance than God and the Imago Dei. What overwhelms our minds during the day? Where do we spend our money? What algorithms show up in our social media feeds? So let’s think through that today, and reset to what God is asking of us. And we can do that because every day is a new day!
Today, let’s ask God how we can resolve the disputes and conflicts in our lives and begin to ask for the things that come from His true wisdom.
What counts is the godly life reflected in action resulting from genuine faith and wisdom. This kind of wisdom is not proud, self-serving, and contentious, but instead, pure, generous, peaceable, humble, and sincere. So today, let’s tap into the true wisdom that God has given us access to. Let’s be the people of peace.
James’ “wisdom from above” is not about how to “get ahead” in life or how to achieve worldly success. It’s about how we reflect the life of Christ, the one who identified himself as meek and lowly. Anything that generates jealousy or selfish ambition is a denial of the teaching of Jesus. James is saying that every ostensibly “good” thing that earthly wisdom produces is at best morally worthless.
It’s Brian and Kim Hill here to wrap up this week’s deep dive into James with a little practical application. A disclaimer before we begin, though: we do not have all this figured out, nor do we perfectly do what we know we should. We mess up—a lot. But, we continue to try and through that, we grow.
The tongue reveals its evil nature by manifesting a hypocritical double nature. The tongue can both praise God and curse people, who are made in God’s image. As James says: “this should not be.”
Words are powerful. In fact they may be the single most powerful medium in the world. They can be instruments of destruction or peace, chaos or calm. We all know this. The original audience of James’ letter knew it, too. And yet they needed to be reminded, just as we do today, of the power and responsibility that comes with speaking.
Faith in Christ will lead to love for, and service of, others, or it simply isn’t faith at all. James 2:14-26 is emphasizing the need for actions to prove a vital, viable, visible faith in God who didn’t just say He loves us, but entered into time and space and gave His Son so that we could know Him and be made righteous.
Today we’ll be focusing on James 2:14-17. I’ll be reading from The Passion Translation, which attempts to translate the essence of the Scripture into modern language.
We have already talked about how you can know your community, how you can understand the theology of your community, how to remember who you are, your proximity to orphans and widows, and avoiding partiality. Today we want to continue with that same topic and we want to talk about how you protect your community.
This week we have talked about knowing your community, understanding the theology of your community, and remembering who you are. Today we are going to look at avoiding partiality and having proximity.
This week we’ve been talking about the book of James. So far we have talked about knowing your community and understanding the theology of your community. For today let’s talk about our value and remembering who we are.
Today we will be diving deeper into the book of James. Yesterday we talked about knowing your community and today we want to talk about understanding the theology of your community.
Today, let’s talk about how do you know your community? James’ letter speaks to various people in different situations and he offers solutions. When we read this letter, do we take for granted that James had an understanding of this community and he had to be listening to what they were going through? This must have taken some time and required him to listen intently and to find out from this community what was going on.
You are his prized possession, my friend. You are here by the power of his true word! Your identity is in him. Don’t allow your pain to define you. Pain has never told you the truth about who you are, it just informed you about what life looks like when we don’t put our complete trust in him.
With the age of social media, the individual has never been more central to their own story. I grow more surprised that people make themselves the main focus of life and invite others to do the same. So when negative things happen, they begin to look outwardly to find the culprit of their misfortune. James gives a word of caution to those who might want to make God the culprit of their issues.
Welcome back to NCC Daily. We are walking through the book of James as part of a next-level look alongside our sermon series Rule of Life. Today, let’s look at James 1:5-8.
Those of us who have had our hearts captured and arrested by Jesus, we desire to grow closer to him so that we think, speak, and behave as he did. At NCC, we call that discipleship. Studiers of the words of Jesus, imitators of the ways of Jesus, and partners in the mission of Jesus. As we embark on this journey, we ought to look more and more like Jesus. The pure reflection of Jesus should be seen in our lives.
Many if not most of us place joy and happiness in the same place. Happy things produce joy and vice versa, but this is not what James is saying. The first thing James wants to do with any of his readers is reframe what our greatest desire in life is supposed to be.
As I sing this song, “You Were On The Cross” my prayer is that we will once again come face to face with the suffering that Christ endured on behalf of us. What greater love has been poured out than by Jesus on the cross.
To fast is powerful in part because we are choosing to step into suffering. It’s counterintuitive and requires a death of ego, a death of self. To fast is to choose to suffer physical pain—however small. Fasting is an opportunity to enter into solidarity with Christ’s suffering, who was in solidarity with ours.
The Stations of the Cross is a traditional Lenten devotion where believers read Scripture and ponder scenes from the day of Jesus’s death. These stations, or scenes, help guide our prayers as we meditate on Christ’s sacrifice for us.
I invite you to lean back into the arms of The Father. Abba. Love of all. Yet lean in. Posture your heart. Your ear…
Join me in worship today with a song, “Son of David” by Hillsong Worship. A song about repentance and restoration that feels especially appropriate for this Lenten season.
In this season of fasting, what is the Holy Spirit deactivating, reactivating, and activating within your own heart?
I want to talk about the idea that being a follower of Jesus means that we are a student of His words, an imitator of His ways, and a partner in His mission. Becoming a student of the words of Jesus means we are intentional about the spiritual discipline of engaging the text of Scripture in a variety of ways so that we can understand it, internalize it, articulate it, and activate it in our lives.
Today, I’m going to help guide us through The Prayer of Confession from the "Book of Common Prayer”.
Fasting as a means of worship is another way that we cultivate a spiritual habit of bringing a sacrifice of praise. Fasting is following in the way of Jesus by denying ourselves. It is a way to put some skin in the game for our worship life.
Today as we continue in our series of Lent, I’d like to share a little about the discipline of service.
Watch and pray. As we progress through lent we will come to encounter Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane the place where he prays so hard he sweats blood. I’ve never prayed that hard. As I think about this part of the passion, I am reflecting on the fact that Jesus brings three of His friends with Him in His hour of need — hoping they too will pray.
We are standing in the gap today and allowing our prayers to build bridges between the present moment and future destiny.
True confession recognizes that God’s mercy and love are always extended toward us. Our beloved-ness is a foregone conclusion. When we confess, we earn nothing…we simply recognize and receive the gift already offered to us.
Prayers of lament are full of dissonance. When we confront the Creator of the Universe with our questions, our whys, and our hows, it can feel so uncomfortable—as though we are too close, too raw, too emotional, and too naked before The Almighty God. But as I read through the Psalms, I am reminded that God actually welcomes this posture—The King of Kings can handle our nakedness.
I’m about to sing a song called “Waiting” and I just want to invite you to sit in this space as we are in this season of Lent — walking the ways of Jesus through the wilderness. I pray that God would speak to you as you hear this song today.
Nothing has grown my faith in the middle of trial by fire more than fasting. It’s this kind of fast that will break the stronghold of the enemy. If you’re going into a spiritual battle, consecrate a fast.
I encourage you especially in the season of Lent to practice even a few minutes of silence or perhaps 20 minutes of silence in your regular prayer time but also to accept God's invitation to follow Jesus's example and slip away, carve out some time for solitude with God.
Lent is a season that offers us an invitation to consider how the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus sheds light on how we ought to move through the seasons of life marked by living, dying, and rising.
Fasting is a regular reminder that we depend on God and best come to God when we are empty.
A contending season is waiting on God so much so that we wait on Him for the sake of others. It’s saying, “I know who God is, and I will keep meeting Him again and pour out my requests before Him.” Contending is a wrestle in the prayer closet. It’s saying, “I won’t stop praying on behalf of my sister or my brother until they know the depth of the love you have for them, God.”
The focus of Lent is journeying with Christ toward the cross. Part of that journey was Jesus being tempted, specifically tempted in His areas of weakness, according to Hebrews 4:15.
Lent simply means “springtime.” It is the season in the Christian year when followers of Jesus walk with him to his death and burial so that we can participate fully with him in his resurrection. Lent is the forty days (not including Sundays) leading up to Easter.
As a community, will you commit to helping our NCC families lead their children to recognize the Imago Dei in every individual? Would you pray for families as they disciple the children in their homes?
I just really believe that this world would be mundane and actually kind of boring if we didn’t have creatives. I think creatives in so many capacities are messengers from God in the way that God gives them the vision to create, and in particular, the poetic arts.
We need to make room for others in our lives, just like we have made room in our lives for God. Every person in the world has something that they can share with others, to form connections that can lead to a community.
What do we all have in common? We all bear His image. Let’s see the image of God in each other and reflect that in our actions, in our thoughts, in our words. Let us treat each other equitably, regardless of class, race and ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic status.
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels but do not have love, I am only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal If I give all my possessions to the poor and give my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
How do we create a space where a person feels safe? Willing to be vulnerable? To take that risk in sharing of themselves with you in such a way that invites a reconciling to God, then to others?
True solidarity goes both ways. We see you but you also see us. It’s standing side by side, not one in front of the other.
These two very significant moments occupy a great deal of our attention as Christians and I’ve found they occupy a significant portion of our theological reflection as well.
I want to challenge us to expand our thinking beyond just the things we do outwardly and commit to the transformative work of our soul because the world is waiting to be served with mature love.
It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that we can become more like Jesus who calls us to serve others.
What comes to mind when you think of justice? My personal idea of justice has shifted over the years, some seasons for the better and some seasons less so. But over these years I have seen that the best model of justice is Jesus.
As disciples of Jesus, we step into restorative justice by offering ourselves as living instruments of peace into the world.
If you want a lavish life, find a person who looks nothing like you, grew up nothing like you, lived a life nothing like yours, and love them so well that they call you their favorite person. That’s a lavish life.
You can have all things in common when you truly understand that nothing is yours. If we truly know that everything is given to us by God, we stop hoarding, we stop having a scarcity mindset. We know he will provide, and we know that what he provides is given to be shared.
I'm proud to be different. The things that make me different make me who I am. Also, it's important to note that “we are all made in God's image” and that in heaven our differences are celebrated and so we should be able to do that on earth as well.
When we all come together as the Body of Christ it is something beautiful to witness. Realizing that we are all different in many ways, but that is exactly how God intended it to be, and because of that we should celebrate our differences!
We see the formation of the beloved community in the pouring out of the Spirit in Acts 2. As the Spirit pours out as promised by Jesus, the ekklesia — that is the church, the group of called out people, are transformed through belovedness, spilling out into the world to be love.
One of the disciplines that we need to have is this idea of choosing joy, particularly when things are hard. Joy is something that we need to choose more than we feel.
I want you to know today that once you have trusted your life to Christ, the Bible says that God’s rightness and goodness and holiness are destined to win in your life.
Here's the truth, as we go after the dream that God has put on our hearts, things won't work out perfectly. In fact, we will likely have all kinds of opposition and issues as the enemy works to discourage and distract us from what God has placed on our hearts! But if this is a dream that God has given us, it's worth fighting for.
The implications for you and I that have had dreams from God only to see them crushed by the weight of our failure is tremendous. When we come to those moments, like Habakkuk who was witnessing the destruction of Judah, we ought to run to God – changing our position and posture and listen for His voice. Then we record, remember, and relay His Word of hope to others, and then worship.
Here’s what I know, when you’re constantly being filled, you’ll never run out of something to pour out. One thing I know is that in worship, is the place where the people of God encounter the presence of God, and that’s what I try to make the focus of my life.
I’m going to read a few Scriptures to help us set the tone and intentions of what we need and desire. After I read the Scripture, take a beat and listen to what God is saying.
I’ll be reading from Isaiah 43:16-21 in The Passion Translation and pausing on occasion to allow you time to pray and listen.
As I lead us today in this guided prayer, let’s take a moment to quiet our souls as we prepare to commune with God.
As we continue in our series entitled Dream, I want to just take a moment and intimately guide us in prayer—a prayer that allows us to consecrate and sanctify ourselves from the inside out. A prayer that will allow us to be the revival, reformation, and renaissance first within us individually so that we can believe and posture ourselves for revival in the church, a reformation in the kingdom, and a renaissance in culture.
Today we’re going to pray through a Scripture that should always give us the confidence to want to come HOME.
As image-bearers of God, we are called to reflect his likeness in every way, and while God's essence embodied in the Trinity is love, the action that flows out of that love is creation.
Once we remember that God freely has given us the Holy Spirit which holds that same capacity for the same radical love, we have that capacity to create, and to make beyond some industrial, production-centric purpose culture imposes on us or that we impose on ourselves. It allows us to create through a Spirit-filled, loving state.
When I think of the Renaissance I think of that rebirth in culture and the huge bursts of creativity in art and architecture and grand marble statues, but I also think of great writers and artists who have stood the test of time.
God has made everything beautiful for its time. He has placed eternity within the human heart. Beauty is all around us—God’s goodness made manifest to the senses.
I think the Apostle Paul, walking into the Areopagus in Athens and competing for the truth is a picture of what it means to be both a moral minority and a creative minority. We don’t curse the darkness. We light a candle. We criticize by creating. We write better books, make better music, produce better films, draft better legislation, start better businesses. How? With the help of the Holy Spirit.
At its root, to reform is to make better. It’s a look back, a return to the ancient truths and practices that have bulwarked our faith, and it’s a look forward to what could be built.
To experience a Spirit-led reformation of the heart and the church is to be drawn back to the original place of God’s love and His blessing.
Live today like it could be the day that you are the expression of reformation that is needed in our world, and it will be so. Be the reformation the world needs.
There is something about God’s people responding to a move of His Spirit that resonates with the Spirit in us. Our spirit resonates with the Lord and it resonates with one another.
There was a rallying cry during the protestant reformation. Semper Reformandum—reformed, and always reforming. Every generation needs its own reformation.
Revival is beautifully demonstrated when God’s love is displayed through His supernatural power.
A move of God’s Spirit always comes with a fresh anointing. Scripture is full of signs that speak to the newness of what God is doing.
There is a table of goodness that God has prepared for us as we empty ourselves to receive it. How are we preparing ourselves?
We often think of anticipation and expectation as outcomes of practicing spiritual disciplines. Bible reading, prayer, meditation and celebration, silence and worship, solitude and community. Those practices serve to heighten our awareness of the presence of God in our midst, they cause us to take notice of His fingerprints in our world, and they prime a sense of anticipation and expectation within us.
We’re believing God for REVIVAL in the church, REFORMATION in the kingdom, and RENAISSANCE in culture. Our focus in week one is REVIVAL.
There is joy found in the waiting. His timing is good and perfect and we can trust the story He’s writing through us.
Our joy does not hinge on the ups and downs of day-to-day life. Some days are wonderful and some are unimaginably terrible. Rather, our joy is rooted in an expansive vision of reality, one in which God is not distant from us.
Jesus and His proclamation of the kingdom told us what we could prefer to life itself and it would work. The Scriptures end by telling us we are called to be people who would say, “Come, Lord Jesus”—who would welcome something more than business as usual and live in God’s big picture.
Imagine what the church could do if we were not deterred by fear and anxiety and we truly understood what steadfast love meant.
Today we’re going to step into the practice of Lectio Divina, which simply means divine reading. So, we’ll read the passage, 1 John 3:16-18, four times, and each time I will invite you into a space of silence and reflection through a simple question or directive.
How does this kid in the Old Testament, under the inferior covenant, show his love to a king without condition and without an agenda? I honestly do not know, but I am challenged by this kind of unique and unconditional love.
You can bring that weariness this Advent season because the King creator is into trading beauty for ashes, shame for significance, and pain for peace.
My prayer for us in this season is that we would learn to partner with Hope Himself. May the word hope have a whole new meaning to us. A new expression. A new experience. Hope has a name. Hope is with us.
My prayer for us all as we observe Advent together and as we prepare to gather with friends and family this holiday season is that we experience and recognize the hope that is Jesus. Christ, who came to the earth in the most humble of forms, to live a life full of hope for His people. For me. For you. May our weary souls rejoice. For we have a thrill of hope; a hope that is just what we need when we need it. A hope that anchors the soul and brings a new and glorious morn.
Hope is expectant, forward-looking faith, and in such trying times, it can be hard to hold onto hope. That's why we need to surround ourselves with supportive community—other Christians who can point us to our hope in Christ when our hope dims, and for whom we can do the same.
God’s love is generous. My Grammy and Papa taught me so much about what it means to be a generous person. Their generosity throughout my childhood taught me what it meant to become a generous adult. They never ran out of love for us kids, and apparently, that meant the Candy Drawer never ran out of candy, even after Christmas, and even into adulthood.
There are three functions that I want to encourage us in from our Scripture as we prepare ourselves for the message of hope throughout this week. Being a hope bringer, being a hope carrier, and a hope establisher.
Biblical peace is more than just the absence of conflict. As a follower of Jesus, peace is an intentional action toward restoration in humanity’s brokenness. It’s not something we can just conjure up or manipulate, but in reality, it’s something that can only be achieved by practicing peacemaking (not to be confused with peacekeeping) in community.
The word for peace in Hebrew that is used throughout Scripture is shalom. The “peace” that shalom is speaking of actually has less to do with happiness or calmness and more to do with wholeness and completeness.
Peace is not found in the experiences of your life or the lot that you have been given. Peace can only truly be felt deep in your soul. So, what does it mean to me to have soul-level peace?
The Advent season is a season of waiting. Waiting for the coming of the revelation of God Himself in human form. The revelation of salvation. The revelation of the fullness of God’s love, joy, hope, and peace. Peace. The anticipation of the coming of peace.
We begin a season called Advent and a series called God With Us. Over the next four weeks, we’re talking about peace, hope, love, and joy. I think we need more of all four.
The Spirit of God is looking to rest upon you and our calling is to yield to this, give up and allow full control so the Spirit may lead us and when we do we can find rest.
There are so many disconnections when we don’t seek to understand the true character of the Trinity, but the disconnect I want to highlight most today is this: we are created in the image of a Triune God that is in community with each other.
I had asked the Lord to give me a life, not a job, not a career, but a life. I wanted what I did every day to mean something. My life Scripture became, "Here I am Lord, send me." from Isaiah 6:8. Well, the Lord took my prayer request seriously and I learned that God provides.
The best part about my life is not knowing where I’m going but being constantly surprised of what God is doing. I encourage you to raise your sail and catch the wind of the Holy Spirit. You’ll never regret it or whatever you leave behind because He always has better.
For this devotional, I’d like to talk about the idea that God uses the fruit of the Spirit in us to draw people closer to Him.
Today, I just want to bless you. I want to send you off with a blessing into the weekend. I don’t know what your weekend will look like, but I certainly want to do that.
God has married my heart with His in His mission for His creation with prayer, intercession and the prophetic to edify, encourage, and comfort as Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 14:3.
I like to use the sentence, I’m happy you’re here because saying that phrase is the action step I choose to take. It is so simple, a quick little “I am happy you are here”, and it reassures the overthinking mind and clarifies the tone of any situation. We are looking for genuine and honest interactions here, but how incredible would it be if we just said what we felt, and made sure people knew that we are so grateful for their presence.
As I have encountered people in all walks of life during my assignments in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Argentina, Washington, DC, Chad, and now Switzerland, I have tried, imperfectly, to be the visible expression of God's love to those I meet. In many cases, it is simply by not ignoring them; but truly seeing them and engaging with them as one child of God to another.
Today I want to talk about how we, as Christians and the church, can impact the world by laying down the best foundations for people to encounter and interact with God. For that to happen, it is vitally important that we, the church, create places that have what I want to call, delicate eco-systems—where soil is rich and full of nutrients and the Spirit is present, but where if the wrong things are injected into it at the wrong times, it can be easily spoiled.
While we are believing for at NCC, and doing big things in our communities—addressing ongoing violence, caring for survivors of sexual exploitation, providing compassion and care for the most vulnerable; Jesus says "whatever you do for the least of these, you do unto me." So, we believe it begins, empowered by the Spirit, with small acts of love.
About ten years ago I emerged from a particularly rough period in my life and ministry with several valuable lessons that God taught me. One lesson was about the gospel and the kingdom of God. In the Old Testament, the Israelites built monuments to remember lessons learned. The tattoo on my forearm is a “personal monument” for me to remember the lessons. The design is a Trinity or Celtic knot.
Jesus’ invitation is for us to sit with His love—to allow His love to rub on us. Jesus wants us to feel so connected and safe with him that we can offer safety and connection to others. Thus, I believe Jesus has called all of us to the ministry of sitting with people.
Living life on mission isn’t about being a savior to someone in need. It is about pointing them to the Savior and we do that through acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly. My hope is that you will answer the call. The mission will be hard, you must serve humbly, and seek God continuously, but when you do you will experience the miracles of heaven.
Creation of man begins with God’s breath indwelling the earth. It’s a moment of ignition as spirit comes into contact with soil, combined in the person of Adam. In fact, Adam or Adamah means land or soil. God’s spirit inhabiting a physical place and with that spark, we are created, created with a charge of presence within space. Adam is created and charged to work and care for the earth.
As we end this week of NCC daily’s and as we wind down on this series, I get the chance to leave you with one last thought. What better passage to guide us here, than the very last words of the Bible itself? The end of the book of Revelation.
Imagine that you run into a friend of yours, not an especially close friend, at Ebenezers when you go to get your Saturday morning cup of joe. You’re in line together and you’re just sort of chatting and you ask him, “Hey - so what have you got on your plate today?” And your friend goes, “You know, I feel like I have something but I don’t remember… otherwise, I think it's just a slow Saturday.”
Today we are continuing our conversation on eschatology - the study of the end. For the last two days, I’ve referenced verses in 1st Corinthians 15. That was not necessarily by design, but it’s sure not by mistake.
Today, we’re going to keep talking about “eschatology,” about the doctrine of final things (as it is sometime grandiosely called). Today, I want to share with you a verse that surprised me the first time I read it. It surprised me because it sort of turned my idea of eschatology on its head.
But the English word “eschatology” comes from the Greek word “eschaton” which means “the end of something or the goal of something.” In Christian theology, eschatology has come to mean “the study of God’s intended end for the world.” That’s what we’ll be talking about.
No matter what the situation looks like. No matter the season you find yourself in you can have confidence in the fact that Jesus is with you. With Jesus in your boat, the best is yet to come.
In the waiting is where you are tested. In the waiting is where you build endurance and where you really have to lean into your FAITH.
From the person who is in the middle of a rough season right now to the person who is in the middle of birthing a God-sized dream...Be encouraged! Be not dismayed! And know that God is for you. Take refuge in the fact that the best is yet to come!
I'm wondering how many of us have a God-given dream. A dream that is so big and so crazy we know that only God can bring it to pass. And maybe for some of us, the road to seeing that Dream realized has been a rocky one, one that has been met with some “No’s” One that has led to some closed doors.
What if Abraham, in Genesis 15:5, stays in the tent satisfied with the 8-foot ceiling? Does he ever become the father of many nations if he doesn’t take what Pastor Mark often calls “a two-foot field trip?”
Praying hard is going twelve rounds with God. A heavyweight prayer bout with God Almighty can be excruciating and exhausting, but that is how the greatest prayer victories are won. Praying hard is more than words. It’s blood, sweat, and tears.
Often Pastor Mark will say we tend to overestimate what we can accomplish in a year. Of course, we also tend to underestimate what we can accomplish in a decade.
If you are engaged with our sermon series, you know that we are right in the thick of our current series titled The Best is Yet to Come. NCC Daily is here to help us continue to walk through this season of dreaming big, praying hard, and thinking long.
We’ve talked about six habits—Flip the Script, Kiss the Wave, Eat the Frog, Fly the Kite, Cut the Rope, and Wind the Clock. It’s time to unpack habit #7, Seed The Clouds.
It’s time for us to wind the clock, habit #6. Time is measured in minutes, but life is measured in moments. We’ve got to steward the minutes and the moments. If we don’t, the days are long and the years are short. The question, of course, is how? It starts with living in day-tight compartments. It’s living each day like it’s the first day and last day of your life. It’s making every day count by counting the days.
We’ve talked about burying dead yesterdays. You have to flip the script and kiss the wave. We’ve talked about winning the day. You have to eat the frog and fly the kite. It’s time to imagine unborn tomorrows.
We switch gears and shift our focus to habit #4, fly the kite. We are so easily overwhelmed by the size and scope of our goals. Go ahead and dream big, but you have to start small.
We have been kissing the wave, habit #3. It’s time to eat the frog, habit #4. If you want God to do the super, you have to do the natural. This is where we roll up our sleeves and go to work. You’ve got to pray like it depends on God, but you also have to work like it depends on you.
“I have learned to kiss the wave,” said Charles Spurgeon, “that throws me against the Rock of Ages.” Let that sink in for a second. It’s a powerful statement all by itself, but let’s be honest, it’s a lot easier said than done. Lots of waves crashing into our lives — waves of grief, waves of injustice, waves of anger, waves of pain and suffering.
We left off last week talking about method acting. Let me push that envelope with a simple thought that can flip the script. Here it is: Scripture is our script.
Pick a habit, any habit. Do it for a day. Then add resistance. One more mile, one more minute, one more rep. The way you push your limits is by setting stretch goals. Increase the incline on the treadmill or the resistance on your Peloton. Graduate from one gratitude to two gratitudes a day. Do your deep breathing exercises morning, noon, and night. Double down on your giving with a double tithe. Over time, your ceiling will become the floor!
The challenge on day one was pick a habit, any habit. The challenge on day two is pretty simple: do it for a day!
I have no idea what goal you’re going after, what problem you’re trying to solve, what habit you’re trying to break or build, but I know the secret to your success. It’s gonna happen one day at a time! You have to win the day. Then you have to get up and do it all over again the next day. Do that two days in a row, and I think it’s called a winning streak.
Today I want to share some instances where others discipled me using the unique gifts God gave them and encourage all of us to pass the baton.
I want to challenge you to pull someone close and invite them into your world. Be transparent and be vulnerable. Share with them your prayers and what you are believing for and struggling with. Show them that discipleship is a lifelong endeavor. Demystify God! When people see us for who we really are, shame has no place, and where there is no shame, God can transform you.
If I wanted to be rooted—in Christ, in community—then I had to show up, and relationships are a two-way street, and being rooted is not passive. When I wake up, I have a choice to make. I can choose the words that were spoken over me as a child, or I can choose the words of who God says I am. I choose God. Every day. Sometimes multiple times a day. I choose God.
Two of my most formative discipleship experiences since I became part of the NCC family have been in prayer and in peacemaking. I joined the prayer team at NCC Georgetown several years ago at the prompting of one of the leaders, and from there was discipled by multiple prayer warriors who truly interceded for the family of God and all those who are seeking Him.
NCC has undoubtedly shaped me, and I think it’ll continue to affect me forever. So much of that is because of the people who have poured into my life and who have been there for me physically and spiritually. Grown-ups like my pastors, kids’ church teachers, and fellow choir members have been discipling me, even before I understood what the word really meant.
When did we start believing that God wants to send us to SAFE PLACES to do EASY THINGS at CONVENIENT TIMES with NICE PEOPLE? Newsflash. Jesus didn’t die to KEEP US SAFE. Jesus died to MAKE US DANGEROUS. The will of God isn’t an INSURANCE PLAN. It’s a DARING PLAN. And the complete surrender of our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ is not radical. It’s normal. The problem? Our normal is so subnormal that normal seems abnormal.
Jesus made no bones about it: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
There's a lot of people who've never really learned about Christianity as they may not have grown up with it. Faith is often a private affair, but it is good to share what it means to you and to teach others about Christianity when the right moment arises.
Keep pursuing your friends who don’t know Jesus. It’s easier said than done, I know, and different people are definitely receptive to different approaches. With Baran, it was friendship and community that really helped him. I think going into our conversations without an agenda was a plus. However you approach those in your life who don’t know Christ, I pray the Holy Spirit will guide you
Discipleship was at the root of all of these missions, both me being discipled by my small group leaders to step out in faith, and also opportunities for me to disciple others. To be honest, though, the idea of discipling people in the context of my passions and interests was very intimidating. I felt as if I only could bring some life experience to the table and wasn’t even sure if that was enough. But someone recently described me as “constant, consistent.”
My prayer for all of you today is that you will connect with those who can serve as examples of discipleship, show you that it is not out of your reach, and encourage you to be a better follower of Jesus and partner with Him in His missions of love and empathy.
The Living Room ministry is a mission of Jesus because He has called us to feed the poor. Every Wednesday evening from 6pm to 7pm, volunteers meet at Ebenezer’s coffee house. I am honored to share with you today my experiences of engaging in discipleship with and to those who call the streets “home” specifically in the Union Station area of Washington, DC.
Discipleship is a significant part of our growth and development in relationship with Christ. Discipleship is measured by multiplication.
When I think of integration, of course I think of full integration into all of my life. But it also helps for me to think in categories, so I like to use these five areas of human flourishing: Relational, Vocational, Financial, Spiritual, and Health, which covers mental and physical.
Discipleship is a process that requires intentionality, commitment, and perseverance. It’s a life-on-life journey that leads to transformation. Discipleship brings us fully into the presence of God and His Kingdom work.
Proverbs 27:17 states, “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.” And I found myself in a season where I needed a friend. Nathan suggested that we spend a few weeks studying Lamentations and listen to Rob Bell’s sermon series on it—going chapter by chapter. I don’t think Nathan fully knew everything that I was going through in that season. I was experiencing so much loss around me—loss of relationships, dreams, identity, and the overall sense of control around me. It was like my whole world was falling apart.
Now, I want you to pause for a moment and think about the best birthday or Christmas you’ve ever had as a child. Let’s be honest, it was probably so great because of a gift or toy you received, just waiting for you by the cake and ice cream or maybe it was under the Christmas tree. What was the best gift you’ve ever received? I hope this is bringing joy to your face and you’re going down memory lane for a moment.
Jesus said "Go make disciples." Too often, we allow Jesus' last command to become our least concern. We have replaced being a follower of Jesus for simply being a fan of Jesus. We think we are following Jesus but in reality, we have asked Jesus to follow us. Disciples are students of the words of Je
Discipleship is one of the many ways to demonstrate the word of God. It’s the loss of words when you can’t explain your gratitude, it’s the loss of words when you can’t explain your love for God.
I’m really happy to be able to share a quick story about my journey as a disciple of Jesus and the way that I found myself helping others along their journey as a disciple.
We continue our series on discipleship—the process of learning to live our lives as followers of Christ and inviting others to do the same. Before I share a discipleship experience, let me start with a bit of background. My view of God was shaped during my formative years. I was part of a legalistic church environment, and most of the elders I looked up to were bound by chains of religiosity. In addition to that, I experienced childhood trauma and family dysfunction.
Discipleship is relational. Building and cultivating relationships is at the heart of discipleship. The ultimate relationship starts and ends with Jesus and the love He has poured into us is also poured into our relationships. Jesus’ love is the glue when it comes to building relationships with others. The Church is stronger when relationships are cultivated in love.
Go make disciples. In the last command recorded in the book of Matthew, Jesus looks at his followers and invites them on a journey. A lifelong pursuit of learning to live their lives from him and inviting others to do the same. Becoming people who are students of the words of Jesus, imitators of the ways of Jesus and partners in the mission of Jesus. In the original language, the word “follow” means “to share the same road.”
Jesus told his followers, "Go make disciples of all nations." Against all odds, this small sect of Judaism attracted Gentile followers and began to spread throughout the entire Roman Empire. As those early followers studied the words of Jesus, imitated the ways of Jesus, and partnered in the mission of Jesus, the early church offered a way of life that stood in stark contrast to the power of the empire.
Two thousand years later, Jesus still invites us on a journey, empowered by the Holy Spirit within the context of community, to learn to live our lives from Jesus and invite others to do the same.
Today wraps up the last day deep-diving as a community in the book of Philippians, in our series called Joy. Where have you experienced joy in this season? What have you learned or been challenged by in the sermons or in NCC Daily? I want to challenge and encourage you to create space at some point in your day to go back and reflect on this season and how God has moved in your life through this series.
Paul doesn’t extend any greetings by name. In other letters, we see Paul extend personal greetings, 2 Timothy for instance, “Eubulus greets you.” But in this letter in particular, it is just a greeting from “God’s people.” There is an awareness to the importance of anonymity in this present moment for Paul. He has counted the cost of following Christ as he sits in jail writing this letter, and he takes care to not mention other believers by name.
To be honest, I often read over these greetings in Paul’s letters without giving it much of a thought. Okay Paul, thanks for saying hello! But I am glad I was asked to share on this particular verse because it led me to ask God what I should be focusing on, and He brought a couple of experiences in my life to mind. These two experiences relate mostly to the second half of the verse where Paul or possibly the people with him specifically wanted the Philippians to know that they had family that they might not even know in that other part of the world.
This verse is Paul concluding the body of his letter to the church of Philippi with a doxology. This word comes from the Greek term “doxa,” meaning “opinion” or “glory,” and the suffix “-logia,” which refers to oral or written expressions. The online dictionary defines doxology as, “a liturgical formula of praise to God.”
The phrase “Upstream reciprocity” has to do with the effect that happens on those in your path, as a result of your actions. Do you know there is a physical effect—a release of endorphins and serotonin—in an act of kindness? The person receiving, experiences gratitude, and the person giving, experiences “helper’s high.”
This passage feels like one of those standards that can't be met, but Paul is responding to the fact that it had been a minute since they had last supported him, and he's saying, "Don't worry about it. It’s not the money. I've been riding this roller coaster for a long time—up and down, plenty and in want—I'm good." He's more concerned about the relationship and the connection.
After removing my own filters and gathering more context, I think what we are actually seeing in Paul’s letter is an example of putting into practice his teaching from verses prior. He just told them to rejoice always and think about things that are worthy of praise. Throughout this series, I’ve been reminded in prayer that I actually need to intentionally practice rejoicing and mindfulness in the Lord.
If you’ve been following along with the series this summer, then you know that the “me” here is Paul. And he’s speaking to the church in Philippi. In this particular verse, Paul urges his listeners to put into practice, or live out the things they’ve learned. So if you’ve ever heard the phrase “Do as I say, not as I do,” that’s not what Paul is saying here. Rather, he’s saying, “Do as I say, and as I do.”
In Paul’s writings he talks about God’s involvement in every aspect of the life of the believer, but also that believers are commanded to do the work too. We have a saying at NCC: pray like it depends on God and work like it depends on you. In Philippians 4:8 Paul is telling the believer these are the things that should be filling our minds and this is the work we should be doing.
This letter we call Philippians is a master class in theology, but it’s also a master class in psychology. The positivity with which the Apostle Paul writes is unparalleled in any of this other letters, which is pretty amazing considering the fact that Paul is writing from prison. I would suggest that the key is prayer.
These verses are Paul's appeal to the Philippian Christians to have an attitude of joy. Our English word for "attitude" comes to us from the Greek word that meant "to fasten." Our attitude is a reflection of what has fastened itself to our minds. Rejoicing in the Lord always is our way to fasten our minds to the blessings we have in Him.
A theme that runs through the entire book of Philippians is the idea of the church being of “one mind.” He wants the church to live in harmony with one another, and these two ladies are allowing some sort of disagreement to distract them from the mission of the church they worked at with Paul.
As a child does not question the beauty of their artwork, I will not question the beautiful signs of God that are clearly all around me. Let us choose to come to our God with a childlike faith.
Instead of reinforcing the stereotypes out there about Christians, we can do the real work of citizens of heaven: by breaking barriers, crossing cultures, and strengthening a beloved community.
In the full context here of these verses that we just read, the Apostle Paul, who is the writer here, is talking about mindset and focus. In the verse before, or the verses before, he is using a racing metaphor, or a runners metaphor, when he’s talking about being focused on the finish line and winning a prize. The best way, he says, to do that is to look ahead. And he says the prize of the believer is God's calling.
In this Scripture, Paul is not saying “follow the things I say” but follow my example. Paul was very sure of his identity in Christ and of the ways he was living his life. He was so sure of this that he had told others to follow what he was doing and how he was living. He wasn't just teaching, his actions matched his words, he was living a life modeling Jesus and honoring the call and gift of salvation.
Friends, we’re all going to find ourselves in disagreement—both internally and externally. Paul is calling us to not lose the forest for the trees. Instead, remember the spiritual ground you stand on. Christ loves you and died for your sins. From this known point, plot your course balancing your consultation between Scripture and prayer to hold fast to the progress you have already made.
The passage of Scripture we just read today should challenge us to think, “What aspects of yesterday must I forget if I want to fulfill my kingdom purpose?' Are there things in your past that you are allowing to be a controlling factor in your life today? May we have the courage to choose to have a forward focus, to press on and to look at the future and not on our past.
In these Scriptures the apostle Paul is sharing his experience in a way that helps to calibrate the people in Philippi and even us today as it relates to our approach to life, particularly during challenging seasons. These verses can serve as a solid foundation for us. Paul shares that he gained a lot in life but it is all worthless compared to knowing and walking in relationship with Christ.
Paul doesn’t pull any punches here. Philippians is the epistle of joy, but Paul takes a very different tone, a very different tactic right here. When you love someone, there is a protective instinct that you feel towards them. If you mess with my wife or with my kids, I will take you down! Why? I care more about them than I do myself. Paul’s protective instincts take over right here. He loves the Philippians too much to sit idly by and watch false prophets with false motives teach false doctrine.
As Paul pens these words, he’s already acknowledged that he doesn’t know if his current prison sentence will end in death. He’s not sure when or if he’ll be able to send Timothy to visit them. His helper from Philippi got sick and needs to go home early. Paul is dealing with a huge amount of uncertainty and still tells the Philippian church, “Whatever happens, rejoice.”
Let's answer the question we’ve all been wondering. Epaphroditus? Who? It’s hard enough just pronouncing his name right, much less knowing who is this guy? This is the first of two encounters we have with him in this book. Needless to say, he is not one that you would refer to as a main character by any means. But that is what makes him so special to be mentioned at all.
This passage might feel a bit of a left turn, but it gives us a rare glimpse into the interpersonal relationships of the early church. When we read Scripture through our modern context it can feel distant, describing a moment in time that is tough to have a reference for. But passages like these resonate in their humanness. You get a sense of the raw emotion of almost losing a friend, the fear and anxiety, but also the joy of healing and restoration.
Sending or being sent is often a true act of humility. It takes a mass amount of trust on Paul’s part to send Timothy on his behalf. Not only in trusting that Timothy will represent him well, but also because Paul could easily hold on to him. He could keep Timothy right by his side to continue to serve with him, but instead, he sends him forth.
At the time of this writing, Timothy had become the pastor of the church in Ephesus, one of the largest and most influential cities of the Greco-Roman world. He was obviously a strong and respected leader, and Paul claims there is no one else like Timothy. Why? What is the reason for that highest commendation?
A surefast way to keep catchphrases from becoming white noise is to continue to look at the truth revealed in Scripture. Paul has been encouraging the Philippians to persevere in faith, no matter what the circumstances look like around them. He is giving practical steps on how to live as a beloved community that lives out the kingdom of God in the here and now. To Paul, choosing joy is not always rainbows and butterflies, but can look like turning the other cheek, working hard, and standing firm.
Our reading continues from yesterday in Philippians in the section called "lights in the world." About us—how we go about being in our world that reflects the light of Christ.
Now we find the spotlight on us, on the church, on the children of God in the world. In response to Jesus’ life, sacrifice, humility, obedience, and death, Paul exhorts the Philippians, and Paul exhorts us, how we are to live, and why.
Working out our own salvation has little to do with working for salvation, but everything to do with our work that pours out from Christ’s salvation. Paul is not charging us to understand the theological complexities of Christ’s salvific work, but he is charging us to embody the life of the gospel.
We know from the context of the New Testament that both Jesus and Paul would describe every “tongue” as not only individuals but nations as well. Remember on the day of Pentecost thousands of people all heard the glory of God being declared in their own nation’s or native tongue. When we zoom out and look at the big picture of this verse, here’s what we see and hear: God wants everyone to belong to Jesus. Every nation has reserved seating in the house of God. Every. Single. One.
The cross was a cruel form of punishment reserved for slaves, and thieves, and others with little to no earthly status. In His obedience to the Father, Jesus willingly gave His life upon that cross. In this letter to the Philippians, Paul illuminates Jesus's character: that He’s self-emptying instead of self-magnifying. Don’t be mistaken—this isn’t just some coincidence happening to Jesus. He is actually entering into His mission fully and willingly, and not as a passive victim.
Jesus did not consider His equality with God to be like that—to be the kind of thing He needed to keep a grip on, to take for Himself. Instead, He knew that even His divinity was something He could hold with an open hand. His divine status was not the kind of thing He needed to keep on lockdown. That’s the way He thought about Himself and it decided the form of His incarnation. That, you might say, was Jesus’ humble mind.
Reading this passage is a reminder of one of Jesus’ more peculiar ways. Found in the thirteenth chapter of John’s gospel is a story that begins with Jesus eating dinner with his disciples (pretty normal). After Jesus gets up, He ties a towel around His waist, pours water into a basin, kneels before His disciples, and begins to wash their feet. Now, why would a teacher bow before His students to wash their dirty feet? If anything, it should be the other way around as a way to honor their leader.
Being of one mind doesn’t mean we’ll see eye-to-eye on every issue. God-fearing, Bible-believing, Christ-following Christians have disagreed on certain points of doctrine for thousands of years. But please hear this: what unites us is much stronger than the things that divide us. Our common ground is common grace.
Joy is having the awareness of God’s grace and favor. As we meditate on the suffering of Paul and perhaps our own or that of others, let us make that profound decision of faith and hope in the power of Jesus and His love. May we acknowledge God’s favor and grace in our lives for that is where true joy comes from.
Our call is to continue to stand unified because of the power of the gospel that transforms both hearts and minds for the restoration of the world. When we grasp the beauty of what God has done, is doing, and will continue to do, even when He paints in shades of gray, then friends, we can even find opportunities for joy, even on the grayscale.
Paul is confident in the giftings that God has given him to further the Gospel but he is also confident that he will live through this really difficult season in his life and keep using those giftings to encourage and inspire joy in his friends. This should be an inspiration to us all to help someone grow and experience the joy of their faith.
We’ve been reading through chapter one together and the most common thread in this letter is that Paul is always thinking about Christ or he is always thinking about the other person to whom he is writing. Then we get to this passage and he says, yet again, it’s about Christ, and it’s about the body of Christ, but it’s also about the work that Paul is called to and the joy and fruitfulness that comes from it.
The most courageous thing you can do is show up as yourself. Who you are is a child of God. You are most like yourself when you are most like Christ.
We all have circumstances beyond our control, and while we may not be in literal physical chains, there are other types of chains. While it is hard when we are in these circumstances, let’s try to stay accountable to one another in prayer, in friendships, and individually, by reading the Word and staying centered and rejoicing in His promises for our lives, even in the suffering. Let’s rejoice, even when we don’t feel it.
How do your experiences of pain, loss, or trauma inform the advancement of the gospel in your life? Our pain, loss, and trauma can become a form of imprisonment. We have all heard how these experiences inform how we see ourselves, how we see the world around us, and its humanity. Our experiences inform what we do or say, how we react, how we withhold—for good or for wrong.
Love is the greatest winnowing fork there is. The love of Christ separates so that it may unite us. It separates us from those things that would keep us from God and His good and perfect will and unites us to God.
There is a binding agent, a blood transfusion that we all have the opportunity to receive if we haven’t done so already. You may call it Blood Type J. The special favor of God we rejoice in over each one of you is that this blood type, Blood Type J, Blood Type Jesus, supersedes any blood on this earth that could potentially bring us together in a way that distance can’t separate, that proximity cannot make closer, and personal knowledge cannot make any more intimate. It’s the special favor that you and I are blood-bought relatives in this family called the Church of Jesus Christ.
Welcome to the NCC Daily. We are beginning a new series called Joy. Over the next nine weeks, we’ll walk through the book of Philippians verse-by-verse, day-by-day. Two reminders: one, joy is a person, and His name is Jesus. Two, joy is a choice. It’s not always the easiest choice or the obvious choice, but you can choose joy. We’ll discover how over the next nine weeks!