Revelation Song

Revelation Song sung during our worship services on May 2nd, 2010. Verses are in Romanian, Vietnamese, Malayalam, and Hmong.

Revelation Song from Northwood Church on Vimeo.

THE [JAMES] EXPERIMENT

Sunday April 4, 2010 Welcome Welcome to The James Experiment. Over the next 40 days, we will seek to find the answer to the question, "Does faith work?" As we work through the Experiment, our prayer is that you discover the answer and grow in your faith. This email is a bit longer to get you started on the right foot. The journey starts today. Back to top Start Today with James 1 Each day, stop by the daily reading section of The James Experiment website. Here you will find the days reading, a brief comment, and an individual and family-reflection question to assist you. Start today by reading James 1. Talk to God before you begin reading and ask Him to teach you something today. Monday: James 1 Tuesday: James 2 Wednesday: James 3 Thursday: James 4 Friday: James 5 Family Tip: If you are doing the Experiment as a family, consider asking the family discussion question around the dinner table each night. Back to top Start a James Experiment Journal Try journaling throughout the Experiment. Grab a spiral, your laptop or some other way of capturing what God will teach you over the next 40 days. Doing this will allow you to see what you have learned and will help you share that experience with others. This week as you read each chapter, ask the following questions and write down your insights: What does this teach me about God? What does this teach me about myself? Is there a sin to avoid? Is there a command to obey? Is there a promise to trust? Evaluate your life in light of what you have written in your journal. Back to top Share Your Week One Experience We are confident God is going to do incredible things in your life. We want to hear about it. Tell us what you are learning in your daily reading, share a story regarding the weekly experiment, or express a frustration you having in your faith journey. Stop by the share your experience page and leave a comment, or read what others are sharing. Another great way to share your experience is in your Adult Team. If you are not currently in a NorthWood Team and would like to join an Experiment small group, email us at experiment@northwoodchurch.org. Back to top The [JAMES] Experiment is a part of NorthWood Church. At the corner of Rufe Snow and N. Tarrant • 817.431.2088 • info@northwoodchurch.org

Multi-Faith Q & A

What happens when you put a Muslim Imam, a Jewish Rabbi, and an Evangelical Pastor on a stage? There is no punchline as this event really happened. Live questions were taken from the audience which was composed of followers of all three faiths. Rabbi Jeremy Schneider, Imam Sheik, and Pastor Bob Roberts answered these questions revealing distinctions in core beliefs about God but a common respect for one another despite those differences.

Click the link above to watch the video.

(The actual sermon that came prior to the Q&A can be seen by clicking this link.)

My Pastor's Blog Entry About The Service At Temple Shalom

I thought I would share this for anyone that is interested. Click on the image above to read our Pastor's perspective of the service at Temple Shalom on Friday.

How We Spent Our Weekend: 3 Faiths join For Weekend Of Understanding

It's an unprecedented event in local religious circles. Muslim, Jewish, and Christian congregations going to each others houses of worship on consecutive days to share both the similarities and differences of their faith.

Click the image above to watch CBS Channel 11's video report.

Keller pastor's multifaith initiative includes 'trialogue' with Muslims, Jews

This is going to be an interesting time.

But the Rev. Bob Roberts Jr., pastor of 3,000-member NorthWood Church in Keller, has befriended Vietnamese communists, Afghan Muslims and even liberal Christians in a fast-paced, far-flung ministry that emphasizes peace-making and service as well as evangelism.

One of his sayings: "We serve not to convert but because we are converted. We serve because Christ has changed us and made us servants to people who are lost and hurting."

This weekend, Roberts is stepping out a bit more, but close to home. He has enlisted Rabbi Jeremy Schneider of Dallas' Temple Shalom and Imam Zia Sheikh of the Islamic Center of Irving for a "trialogue" with his congregation and theirs.

Members of NorthWood and the mosque will attend the regular worship service tonight at Temple Shalom. On Saturday afternoon, the Christians and Jews will visit the mosque. Finally, on Sunday morning, the Jews and Muslims will attend NorthWood for worship.

After each gathering, the three clergymen will answer questions about the differences and similarities of their faiths.

Click the image above to read the Dallas Morning News article.

If you are interested in participating you can get more information here: Multi-Faith Weekend

Multi-Faith Weekend from Northwood Church on Vimeo.

How can I Tell a Cult?

Our church is in the middle of the sermon series called 'Your Questions'. People have submitted questions and each week the congregation gets 4 to choose from. You text in your vote and the 'winning' question is the sermon for the next week. The staff will then answer some of the 'losing' questions on the church blog.

One of the losing questions this week was 'How can I Tell a Cult?'.

A non-Christian religion is an organized group that teaches something clearly different than Christianity does about God or the spiritual/supernatural realm.

A cult is a group that can, at first, appear to be aligned with the orthodox teaching of Christianity but upon further examination actually does not hold to the same beliefs as Christians on core doctrinal issues. Often these groups will deem themselves to be “Christian.” Trying to discern? Start with these questions:

Click on the image above to read the blog post.

Update: The Manhattan Declaration

On November 25th I created a blog post regarding the Manhattan Declaration. Earlier today I received a note indicating that there are now over 385,000 people that have signed this document.

If you have not already done so, please click on the image above to learn more about the Manhattan Declaration and then add your signature.

Thanks.

Journey to the Manger–FREE Family Entertainment

Fri, Dec. 4 | 6-9 pm
Join Northwood Church for some free family Christmas entertainment. Journey to the Manger features a live petting zoo for kids, nativity characters from the Bible and a chance to sip some hot chocolate and hang out with friends and family. Stop by and stay as long as you want.

The Manhattan Declaration

Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family.

We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are:

1. the sanctity of human life
2. the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife
3. the rights of conscience and religious liberty.

Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Click on the image above to read and then add your signature to the Manhattan Declaration.

2009 Home Makeover Highlight Video

The Highlight Video from the 2009 Home Makeover has been posted. Watch it below.

Home Makeover 09 Highlights from Northwood Church on Vimeo.

Home Makeover 2009

For the third year in a row Mary and I participated in our church's Home Makeover project. Working with a town nearby we identify 4 homes that need significant work but where the families are unable to do for one reason or another. Historically this has included painting, replacing flooring, landscaping, appliance replacement or repair and other things you would expect. But, it has occasionally included major reconstruction of parts of the house that were starting to decay.

This year we changed things up a little bit. Once we had the 4 primary homes identified we selected two nearby houses for mini-makeovers. A mini-makeover could involve exterior painting, minor repairs and other helpful projects that the homeowner has been unable to keep up with.

Once those projects were handled we went up and down the street mowing lawns, trimming trees and, in the case of our street, unloading a moving truck for a family that happened to be moving in on that day (I can only imaging how refreshing it when the three people in that truck were swarmed by a group of strangers that wanted to help unload). It is amazing how much you can get done when about 1600 people spread out over the four neighborhoods.

This year a local TV station was at our house to do a story on the project and the family. Click on the image above to see that story (after a short commercial).

Needy Haltom City Families Get Home Makeovers

This is a story about the house our team is working on.

A group of volunteers are busy working to give four Haltom City homes a makeover. In just 24 hours, some 1,600 volunteers will complete home renovations for the much-deserving families.

Click the picture to read the article.

Can You Spot The Irony?

We live near Keller, TX. Each year the local chamber of commerce hosts a celebration they call KellerFest. Since our church is located in Keller our worship team decided to play on the festival's mainstage. Although we are not your typical Baptist Church, I still think there is some irony to be found in the brief video below.

Thanks to the Minter Family for posting the link

An "ahhh" moment

The link below will take you to the blog of Kari Minter. Kari is the wife of our Worship Pastor, Brent Minter. This post is guaranteed to make you feel good.
Link To "Precious Moments"

Cardboard Testimonies

During a recent worship service we incorporated our Celebrate Recovery group to really bring reality into worship. This video really doesn't do the whole experience justice, people LOVED seeing and encouraging the people on stage.

Cardboard Testimonies from Chris Johns on Vimeo.

More Information On Celebrate Recovery

Our church featured in the Washington Post

Below is a link to an inspiring article on how NorthWood’s missions/kingdom philosophy is being received by Patel and others in Evangelical Open Hand to the Muslim World by Ebo Patel as he interviewed Bob Roberts.

An Evangelical Open Hand to the Muslim World

More on Art In The Square

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has an article about Nguyen Minh Son and Lam Duc Manh showing at Southlake's Art In The Square. You can read it by following the link below.

Vietnamese artists show paintings at Southlake's Art in the Square

Art In The Square - Southlake, TX

This weekend is Southlake's Art In The Square. This will be the second time that our church has sponsored exhibits by Vietnamese Artists as part of the Arts Engagement Program of Glocal Ventures (GVI). This year Nguyen Minh Son is being joined by Lam Duc Manh for the three day exhibit.

If you are in the area you should drop by and visit these (and the other) artists. The GVI booth will be in front of Starbucks at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Main Street. Mary and I will be working the booth Sunday from 2-6.

Stand By Me

Mary's Dad sent this video to us and I thought I would share it. There are two aspects that stand out to me.

First, as our Worship Pastor stated on his blog, "Look how we are linked globally; think of the power that has for the Gospel and transformation."

Second, as my father-in-law stated, the sound engineering is incredible. It is a composite audio/video of song whereby additional tracks were laid in by different singers and musicians from different places around the world. The result is incredible.


Playing For Change | Song Around The World "Stand By Me" from Concord Music Group on Vimeo.