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Hi Northside family,

It’s a significant Sunday for us as we prepare to say farewell to Michael Thomas our Worship Pastor.

Hoping you can join us for this special celebration service to thank he and Kirsty for 12 years of incredible ministry here at Northside.

Next week we begin a three-part series on social justice called “Putting things right – where you are” which will coincide with the beginning of our fundraising season for Thrive Madagascar, our overseas mission partner.

Hope to see you Sunday…

Sam

Last Sunday was Father’s Day and here at Northside, Steve Hodgson brought us a powerful message on the restoration of the character of a father. Steve mentioned there are five wants/desires we expect to find in a father. We desire a father’s affection, approval, acceptance, care (provision) and attention.

We all have had different experiences when it comes to getting these desires met.

I have been blessed with having a father who certainly met these expectations but not all dads are perfect. Some of us still wear the scars and carry the wounds of dysfunctional relationships with fatherly figures in our lives. Because of this, our perception of a father figure is often marred.

Many people have looked to the institution of the church to find solace in a father figure whether it is a priest or clergy and found some who hold office have taken advantage of their position and abused those who are most needy.

So where can we look for a role model, a perfect example of a father? Jesus Christ said: “If you have seen me you have seen the Father” (John 14:9). Not only was Jesus so intertwined in the Father’s love, Jesus came to restore our own perception of who and what our heavenly Father is really like.

There is so much unrest and instability in our current world however, we who have encountered and been transformed by the Father’s love that Jesus spoke about, can offer hope to many who are otherwise living under a cloud of hurt, confusion and despair.

One big idea we have been talking through at youth is “what you think is insignificant, God makes significant”. Last week we focussed on the story of Moses where God calls out “What is in your hand?”

I love the imagery of this as Moses replies “a staff”. What Moses didn’t realise as he answered that question was what he thought was insignificant, God was about to make very significant. Little did he know that very piece of wood, would part the waters and free the Israelites from slavery. What an incredible chain of events!

The question for you is what is in your hand? What are you overlooking in your life that God wants to use to encourage someone around you? Maybe you think you are insignificant, let me tell you that you are not. God can and will use you too if you are willing.

Hi Northside Family,

Looking forward to spending Father’s Day with you all. We’ll be having a Father’s Day brunch after the morning service, so bring your appetite! Also, we will be offering an opportunity for anyone whose Dad is far away or no longer with us to light a candle in their absence.

If you are out and about this Sunday visiting family and can’t be with us, take care on the roads and we’ll see you soon.

Sam

It’s the time of year when we start to sense the dawning of something new. Something is breaking in; something is on its way.

It’s exciting too as we seek God about what community life looks like at Northside – particularly as organised in our connect groups – that there is a sense of new life reaching in.

This year we have put flesh around the question we asked in 2016: “What if we equipped 400 neighbourhood missionaries?” 400 Northsiders, spread out across the city of Sydney, equipped to point people to Jesus, living as He lived and prepared to share about who He is.

Our groups are in their final six-week block of WikiChurch studies which aim to equip us to shine as bright as possible for our King in our city, pointing people to Him and to what life is like where He is King (full of justice, life-giving relationships, beauty and wholeness).

Part of the WikiChurch adventure this year has been praying for 3 people in your life who don’t know Jesus. It’s been wonderful hearing of people coming to faith, being swept into Christian community, seeing what Jesus is like more clearly, or simply knowing a Christian!

We’re so excited about what God might be shaping us for through WikiChurch. Imagine Northsiders running Alpha courses where those people you’ve been praying for can come and talk about life and find out more about God (if you want to learn to facilitate a group, head to the website to sign up!). Imagine learning practices we can put into place in our lives to serve others – like hospitality, prayer, and discovering the needs in our places of work, rest or play. Imagine our groups starting to come together to serve their regions.

The future is bright, both for us and those in our lives for whom Jesus will be illuminated as we live lives that point to Him.

If you’d like to get more connected at Northside, a WikiChurch group is one of the best ways to do that. Email me at [email protected] and I would absolutely love to loop you in.

Emily’s message last week still continues to resonate with me. For those who have yet to listen to it on Podcast, the sermon was part of a series on “Bless this Mess”. Emily talked about when you’re in a messy situation and you don’t know what to do, there are two things worth doing. First, turn to God instead of trying to fix it alone because God will help give meaning and perspective. Second, God will change you while you’re going through the mess.

This week, continue to consider these two principles at work in your life because as you do, you will slowly encounter the transforming power, beauty and intimacy of God right there with you, right where you are!

Philippians 1: 6 – “Being confident of this, that God who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”.

Hi Northside Family,

As we have been asking God to “Bless the Mess”, I’d been personally challenged to revisited a great framework for ensuring my own life need not be messier than it needs to be!

I was drawn back to a little gem from some past reading:

6 Guidelines for those who lead themselves from the “Inside Out”.

1. Get alone with you and God – Take time for consistent reflection and restoration of body and soul.
2. Character leaks – When faced with an ethical choice, what example are you setting for others?
3. Friends are not easily duped – Are you accountable to a small group of trusted friends?
4. Focus on integrity, not image – Are you the same person in every situation?
5. Grow deep in your faith – Are we trying to change our character by ourselves or by God’s Spirit?
6. Who’s impacted by my mess? – Do you deal uncompromisingly with character flaws?

Thought I’d share with you in case it “Blesses your Messes” too 🙂

Hope to see you Sunday…

Sam

You might not know, but every Sunday morning during church we have a thriving children’s programme. We call it Northside Kids not kids church because we believe that what we do downstairs is not isolated from what happens upstairs; it’s an extension of our broader faith community. The vision of our Northside Kids ministry is to partner with families to fuel faith in the next generation. We believe that two combined influences (home and church) are more powerful than either one are on their own. The heart behind our vision is to have parents play the star role in shaping their children’s faith, while our Northside Kids ministry leaders play a supporting role. Because ultimately kids leaders have about 40 hours per year to influence a child, while parents have about 3,000. This partnership doesn’t happen by accident. As leaders, our heart is to build relationships with the kids through conversation, activities and consistency. Because we believe that once you have the foundation of a relationship, then you have permission to speak into a child’s life. But there aren’t enough of us… If this ministry is to thrive, we need 10 more leaders to be walking with us by the end of this term.  Maybe you’ve served in the kids’ area in your previous church, you might be a grandparent who’s passionate about seeing young kids’ faith flourish, perhaps you’ve never been involved with children’s and families ministries, and may feel a bit nervous about serving in these areas. Please don’t let your hesitations hold you back. There are several ways you can be involved in this vital ministry! If something is stirring inside of you, why not pop downstairs after the morning service and see what Northside Kids is all about, or you can chat to me or one of our faithful kids leaders after the service. Please prayerfully consider if God is calling you to partner with us to invest in the next generation.

So, in listening to our latest series “Bless the Mess”, I am struck by a few things regarding our messes. Firstly, messes are inevitable – no revelation here I’m afraid. Secondly, the only way to navigate a mess is through it. Which leads me to my third conclusion – the purpose of our messes. This seems to be twofold. The first purpose is inward – giving me the ability to exercise good decision-making (because I have directly seen the result of bad decision-making). I can use this experience to learn from, and not repeat the same mistake. The second purpose is outward – I can use this experience to help others in the midst of a similar mess. I am in a unique position to help someone else through their mess.

Looking at the history of the early church, this is exactly what early Christians were doing – helping others through their messes; and then they in turn helped others. It was an explosion of goodwill, charity and hope displayed to a lost world that has seldom been seen.

Let’s bring it back!

Hi Northside Family…

Plenty happening this week, so some quick updates:

• Tuesday night 60+ of our core lay leaders gathered to Worship together and input into our future initiatives;
• Planning is underway to showcase our Overseas Mission Partner “Thrive Madagascar” in September;
• Don’t forget we will be farewelling our Worship Pastor Michael Thomas on September 10 and are taking up a love offering between now and then for those who would to express our gratitude for their Ministry;
• The Memorial Service for Irene Hendricks (our Former Conference Centre Manager) will be Monday 28 August, 2pm here @ Northside;

Can’t wait to share week 2 of “Bless the Mess” this Sunday… have you been practicing your homework this week?

See you then,

Sam