Northgate Christian Community

While on this Easter Sunday, we celebrate the historical event that was Jesus’s resurrection, Pastor Jon reminds us of the continued meaning and power of Jesus’s resurrection today. Pastor Jon reminds us that resurrection was not just an event, but a person, Jesus Christ – alive and working today: “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die’” (John 11:25-26). Jesus’s action on the cross declares that we are forgiven. However, it is his resurrection that declares that sin and death have been defeated. We are reminded that resurrection only comes after death, when things are at their lowest point. God never wastes our hurt. If we choose to turn over our situations, our sin, and our lives to Jesus, we are resurrected with Christ and born as new creations (2 Corinthians 5:16-17). We now have a renewed purpose and destiny (Romans 6:4). As we live out our lives for Christ, we can overcome the

On Palm Sunday, we looked at Jesus’ journey to the cross. We see the final leg of this journey in Mark 15, where Pilate (pressured by the Jews) condemns the innocent (Jesus) and grants freedom to the guilty (Barabbas), a picture-image of the freedom granted to each of us through the judgment Jesus suffered on the cross.  And when we take in a larger frame of the biblical story, we see that Jesus’ journey doesn’t begin when he enters Jerusalem during his final week, but instead reaches back to the Old Testament and begins in places such as Exodus 12 and Psalm 22. In Exodus 12, God is actively at work delivering Israel from Egyptian slavery by sending an angel of death over the land. To escape this judgment, God instructs each family in Israel to slaughter an unblemished, innocent lamb at twilight and put its blood on the doorposts and lintel of their houses. The blood of the lamb would allow Israel to live when the angel of death passed over the land. When Jesus hung on the cross and died at twilight Israel wa

Pastor Jon Hasselbeck

Pastor Jon Hasselbeck with Michael Bonning

While Moses is up the mountain before the Lord, Israel “sinned a great sin” (Ex. 32:31) by molding and worshiping a golden calf. Israel now faces a significant crisis of uncertainty: Will the Lord’s presence remain with them? Initially, the answer is bleak. God says, “I [the Lord] will not go up among you [to the promised land], or I would consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people” (Ex.33:3). In this precarious place in Exodus 33, Moses intercedes for Israel and the Lord changes his mind (vv. 7-17). Based on this text, Pastor Ted taught on the influence of intimacy.                In the first service, Pastor Ted emphasized that intimacy with God is contagious. Everyone likes to stop and watch a fire burn. When people are intimate with God, others will stop and notice. We see this when the Israelites see the pillar of cloud descend at Moses’ tent. They would stop and watch, each person rising and bowing down at the entrance of their own tent, as God “spoke to Moses face to face, as one speaks

While Moses is up the mountain before the Lord, Israel “sinned a great sin” (Ex. 32:31) by molding and worshiping a golden calf. Israel now faces a significant crisis of uncertainty: Will the Lord’s presence remain with them? Initially, the answer is bleak. God says, “I [the Lord] will not go up among you [to the promised land], or I would consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people” (Ex.33:3). In this precarious place in Exodus 33, Moses intercedes for Israel and the Lord changes his mind (vv. 7-17). Based on this text, Pastor Ted taught on the influence of intimacy.                In the first service, Pastor Ted emphasized that intimacy with God is contagious. Everyone likes to stop and watch a fire burn. When people are intimate with God, others will stop and notice. We see this when the Israelites see the pillar of cloud descend at Moses’ tent. They would stop and watch, each person rising and bowing down at the entrance of their own tent, as God “spoke to Moses face to face, as one speaks

Chris Parker based his sermon off of the teachings found in Matthew 5:38-48. He conveyed the idiom that ideas have consequences. He also explained that the values that are passed from one generation to the next are often transferred through stories, or narratives. One narrative that Chris has noticed in his life pertains to the church’s stance on masks, or how people who go to church act while they’re at church. The culmination of this point is that “it’s okay to not be okay”. Matthew 5:38-42 states: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” Chris explained the fact that there were political undertones with each of the requests th

This week Pastor Jon continued the series, “Taking the Land.”  Jon reminded us that one of the biggest catalysts of change that we can participate in is when we move from believing lies to believing truth.  He reminded us of the truth that the same blessing that was promised to Abraham is now on us, Son-ship.  Using this story, Jon revealed his main thesis for the message. Moving from selfishness to Love: becoming givers rather than takers (Genesis 14 & 15).  To further illustrate his point, Jon invited Joel and Emily Ruddy to share their experiences with giving.  From an early age and with guidance from his parents, Joel discovered that giving was rewarding.  One summer he saved up $800 to buy a car and in a worship service he felt the LORD prompt him to give it all in the offering.  After doing so he expected to hear God’s voice audibly - after all he just gave away his life savings.  Alas, he did not, but at the end of the service someone came up to him with an envelope.  In this envelope was a key to

This week Pastor Jon continued his series, “Taking the Land.” He stated that we are no longer forsaken because Christ paid the ultimate price for us on the cross. When we meet Christ and realize what He has done for us, we move from dread to hope and from fear to love. When we understand that we are righteous, we have the ability to bring the glory of Christ with us wherever we go. Joshua 5:15 was shared: “Then the Commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy. And Joshua did so” (NJKV). Pastor Jon explained to us that wherever God has commanded us to be is considered holy ground. Even when we are vulnerable, God will meet us wherever we are. We are able to accomplish God’s plans for us not by the strength of our own flesh, but by God’s grace and plans for His kingdom. He concluded by discussing Galatians 3:1-29. Galatians 3:13 states, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us…” (NJKV). Although the ene

1 Corinthians 13:13 states: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Pastor Jon introduced the second message of the series “Taking the Land” by focusing on the hope component on the belief spectrum that was shared last week. Additionally, Hebrews 6:19 was shared: “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the presence behind the veil.” The author of Hebrews refers to Christ as the anchor of our souls, protecting us from the storm that comes into our lives. Pastor Jon also explained that hope can be defined as a feeling of expectation. As followers of Christ, we should all be expecting Him to work through our lives, we just need to be willing and tuned in to what He is speaking to us. Pastor Jon concluded his message by explaining the story found in Joshua 2:1-9. In this story, Rahab was a prostitute who had an expectation that turned out to change the world. This story serves as a testament to the fact that God desires

Audio from the group of people that went on a missions trip to Nicaragua in January of 2017.    

Jon began his new series called “Taking the Land” - concerning the idea of walking in the flesh vs walking in the spirit. He introduced a diagram in which belief is separated by two halves (walking in the flesh vs. walking in the spirit). At the center of the diagram was Truth and Lies. Truth under the spirit and Lies under the flesh. Likewise faith hope and love and the reciprocal fear, dread, and selfishness. Using the story recorded in the book of Joshua he illustrated how to move from fear to faith (opposite sides of the diagram). He gave us two key points. First, Jon suggested, we become aware of the lies that we have been given by the enemy. Then after we have identified such lies, we should leave those stones of remembrance behind and allow God to replace those with his own thoughts and stones.  

Penn Clark  

Penn Clark  

Penn Clark  

Penn Clark  

Penn Clark  

Chris Parker preached on the importance of what it would look like if the Holy Spirit did not only dwell inside of us, but also wanted to sit upon us, like the dove mentioned in Matthew 3:16: “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.” Chris also mentioned that he has gone through periods where he knew in the moment an event or an experience happened that he would remember it, but admitted that those situations don’t happen very often. Chris concluded his message with an admission that we, as humans, are all separated by an “us vs. them” mentality. This statement is contradicted by the final verse Chris shared, found in Matthew 3:43-46: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, an