Chewing Gum, Pipe Organs, and Coming to Faith
Martin Luther wrote the majestic hymn, “A Mighty Fortress,” based on and Psalm 46. God is our refuge. He is with us. Because he is with us, we need not fear.
Archive for month: June, 2021
College and Singles Weekly Update: June 30-July 7th
Love the Ville is coming up on August 28th!
This is a church-wide event where all NAOBC members get to give back to the community and share the love of Christ through various service projects. We strongly encourage all College and Singles to mark this date off on your calendar and join in our day of “loving the ville!”
SINGLES GROUP
Quick Look at Summer 2021
- NO BFG THIS SUNDAY (July 4th)
- Sunday Worship: 9:00 AM
- Mid-Week Girls and Guys Small Groups: (Girls meeting tonight! / No guys tonight)
Dates: July 7, July 21
Time: Wednesday Nights at 7:00 PM
- Summer Fellowship and Fun:
July 17- Mammoth Cave
Aug 10 – Bats Baseball Game
(more details to come closer to time of the event)
COLLEGE GROUP
Quick Look at Summer 2021
- NO BFG THIS SUNDAY (July 4th)
- Sunday Worship: 10:30 AM
- Mid-Week Girls and Guys Bible Study:
Dates: July 14, Aug 4
Time: Wednesday Nights at 7:00 PM
Location: RM 202
- Summer Fellowship and Fun!
Event at the Holmes house for College Group!
Time: THIS SUNDAY NIGHT, July 4th, 7:30 PM
Activities: Outdoor movie and lawn games
Bring: A lawn chair (if you have one)
Address: 6700 Glastonburg Lane
Treats will be provided!!
July 8 – Activate Games Outing
Aug 10 – Bats Baseball Game
(more details to come closer to time of the event)
Check our website or GroupMe App for up-to-date info regarding events!!
Our Week in the Word segment this week comes from Philip Brown, our College and Singles Pastor.
Called to Share to Barbarians?
We have just finished Romans on Sundays in BFG and I started doing a personal review of it again for myself. I have always been amazed at the things I find that I have missed in Romans.
One of my favorite passages is Romans 1:19-20 where Paul talks about the fact that the world denies what is in plain sight of them. The point is that creation screams that there is a God yet the world stops at the creation instead of worshipping what made it. But I must admit I think I have missed what should be in plain sight for me and you.
The fact is that in vs.14 Paul says he is called to both Greek and barbarian. He is talking about the gentiles or those who are of the World. The rest of the chapter is really describing a lot of what the world looks like that denies that there is a creator. This description from vs. 24-32 really looks a lot like our barbaric world today.
The key though is not to just acknowledge that the list is sinful and “barbaric” but also to remember that this is the people to whom we are called to minister to as well.
God did not call us just to minister to “pretty good” people. Romans later reminds us of how we all are far from God without his Grace and that we are all sinners and enemies of God.
So as we come out of covid and encounter those who deny the creator every day, let’s be reminded that we once were just like them and they need their eyes to be open to the truth. Let us be praying for the lost around us and sharing the good news with them.
Great is Thy Faithfulness
This poem of one man’s grateful heart for God’s provision turned into a hymn celebrating God’s new mercies with each morning. Christians celebrate how God is faithful in our daily lives and faithful to have provided salvation through His Son. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!
Here I Raise My Ebenezer
In this old yet classic hymn, we see the faithfulness of both God and Samuel – God’s prophet – in 1 Samuel 7. What a blessing it is for God to be our “Stone of help.” May we call on him regularly as we seek faithfulness in our lives. I hope ‘Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing’ becomes even richer and deeper in meaning for you as you see the Lord’s goodness to us.
How God Brings His Ransomed Home
This Pascal hymn by Philip Bliss is such a great reminder of the atoning work of Christ. Albeit, Bliss does not stop at the Cross but takes the singer all the way home with these wonderful lyrics, rejoicing in our glorious Lord during the final days. Let this classic hymn remind you how Christ has finished it all and secured for himself those whom he came to save. Alleluia! What a Saviour!
College and Singles Weekly Update: June 23-30th
Summer Events Below
SINGLES GROUP
Quick Look at Summer 2021
- BFG (Bible Fellowship Groups) on Sundays at 10:30 AM in RM 202
- Sunday Worship: 9:00 AM
- Mid-Week Girls and Guys Small Groups:
Dates: July 7, July 21
Time: Wednesday Nights at 7:00 PM
- Summer Fellowship and Fun:
Singles event THIS SATURDAY NIGHT!!
Date/Time: June 26, 6-9 PM
Activity: Cookout and Swim at the Kimsey’s
Address: 10514 Glenmary Farm Dr, Louisville, KY
July 17- Mammoth Cave
Aug 10 – Bats Baseball Game
(more details to come closer to time of the event)
COLLEGE GROUP
Quick Look at Summer 2021
- BFG (Bible Fellowship Groups) on Sundays at 9:00 AM in RM 202
- Sunday Worship: 10:30 AM
- Mid-Week Girls and Guys Bible Study:
Dates: June 23, July 14, Aug 4
Time: Wednesday Nights at 7:00 PM
Location: RM 202
- Summer Fellowship and Fun!
College event THIS SUNDAY NIGHT!!
Date/Time: June 27, 6-9 PM
Activity: Cookout and Bonfire at the Kyle’s
Address: 650 Hidden Creek Trail, Simpsonville, KY
July 8 – Activate Games
Aug 10 – Bats Baseball Game
(more details to come closer to time of the event)
Check our website or GroupMe App for up-to-date info regarding events!!
Our Week in the Word segment this week comes from me, Fiona Tollefson, editor of the College and Singles blog.
For many of us, everything opening back up after COVID has left us amazed at how busy our schedules now are. With all the avenues in our lives that demand our attention, we lose focus of what is important and in turn grow overwhelmed and tired.
I know that during my semesters in college I am tempted to prioritize school above all else and in turn grow tired. During my breaks from school, I prioritize working and in turn grow tired. Some of us are tired right now simply because it is the middle of a long week.
A Bible verse that I have clung to for many years now in the midst of simply feeling overwhelmed, tired, and distant from the Lord due to my askew prioritization is Matthew 11:28. This verse has brought peace and comfort to my soul. Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
How wonderful is it that our Savior not only cares for our weary and burdened state, He calls us to draw near to Him! He not only promises to give us rest-He is our rest! When I get tired and overwhelmed with the demands of my life/schedule, I lull myself into the sinful delusion that I simply need to power through my schedule, and then I will have time to be in the Word. Or, once I get out of this busy season then I can prioritize my quiet time with the Lord.
Friends, the Lord is calling us in our weary and burdened state to draw near to him! Some advice I’ve gotten many times in my life is that if you “Don’t have time for God now, you never will.”
I encourage you to draw near to our Savior who waits with open arms to give rest to our tired state. Prioritize our King. Why keep going in tired circles by yourself when Jesus calls us to come to Him? He is all we need and the only One who can give us rest.
Even if this is simply a busy season or a busy week for you, finish out the rest of this week faithfully by leaning into Jesus and drawing near to Him! I encourage you to pray this verse over yourself and even over your friends or family who feel burnt out and tired.
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty!
Brandon Pisacrita turns our attention to the German hymn written in the 1600s and challenges us to Praise God our Creator. As we praise our Creator, we can find refuge in his presence. Praise the Lord!
It Is Well
The timeless hymn, “It Is Well with My Soul,” speaks to our hearts. In this devotionable, we consider that Jesus is our peace when the world is seemingly out of control. Through our faith in Christ, Christians can proclaim, “It is well with my soul.”
College and Singles Weekly Update: June 16th-23rd
Summer Events below
SINGLES GROUP
Quick Look at Summer 2021
- BFG (Bible Fellowship Groups) on Sundays at 10:30 AM in RM 202
- Sunday Worship: New Service Time at 9:00 AM
- Mid-Week Girls and Guys Small Groups:
-Wednesday Nights at 7:00 PM
-June 2, June 16, July 7, July 21
- Summer Fellowship and Fun:
Singles – June 26- Cookout and Swim at the Kimsey’s (6-9 pm) 10514 Glenmary Farm Dr, Louisville, KY
July 17- Mammoth Cave
Aug 10 – Bats Baseball Game
(more details to come closer to time of the event)
COLLEGE GROUP
- BFG (Bible Fellowship Groups) on Sundays at 9:00 AM in RM 202
- Sunday Worship: New Service Time at 10:30 AM
- Mid-Week Girls and Guys Bible Study:
-Wednesday Nights at 7:00 PM in rm 202
-June 9, June 23, July 14, Aug 4
- Summer Fellowship and Fun!
June 27-College – Cookout and Bonfire at the Kyle’s (6-9 pm) 650 Hidden Creek Trail, Simpsonville, KYCookout at Kyle’s
July 8 – Activate Games
Aug 10 – Bats Baseball Game
(more details to come closer to time of the event)
Check our website or GroupMe App for up-to-date info regarding events!!
Our Week in the Word segment this week comes from Alexa Knight, one of our College Group interns!
Decisions in Transitions…
This past month has been a season of transition in my life. Graduating college, getting a new job, moving to a new home. It’s been a season of questions and uncertainty. A season of either choosing to trust the Lord or trying to trust in myself.
I’ve felt the battle of having to decide and choose what I will allow myself to think on…
Thoughts of fear and wanting to control my future, or trusting that my future is the Lord’s. One of the most convicting and comforting passages of scripture in this season has been Philippians 4:8. I’ve memorized this verse many times and profited from its wisdom and truth in many different contexts throughout my walk, and it always ends up back on my mind in seasons of transition and in battles for my thoughts.
This passage talks about thinking on and pondering honorable, just, holy things. Thinking and dwelling on excellent things. Not anxious things. In this season, this passage has encouraged me to make room and prioritize thoughts that are holy and honorable and good, and that peace flows from this.
It’s been really encouraging to see how the Lord has used this particular scripture to challenge me in so many different seasons to trust Him and lean into Him more, as well as comfort me in uncertainty. The Lord is good always and His goodness and love are never dependent on circumstances or transitions. He is challenging me to think on good things and trust Him!
Philippians 4:8
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
This is All My Hope and Peace
Many today are talking about removing the word blood from songs and sermons. Michael Knight helps us understand why the doctrine of the blood sung about in this hymn is such a staple to our Christian development. Without the blood of Jesus, there is no remission of sin.
