This is the first sermon in the series titled “Acts in 3 Acts: Act 2”.

Theme – One of the most amazing stories in Scripture is the conversion of Saul, the enemy of Christianity.  But even more amazing is the fact that God chose this persecutor of Christians to be his instrument to take Christ’s name to the Gentile world!  The good news for us in all this?  If God can use someone like Saul, he can certainly use someone like me.

The text for the sermon was taken from Acts 9:1-2 and Acts 9:3-9.

This was a continuation of our missional dialog dealing with non-incremental, sudden change  that threatens existing or traditional authority  or power  structures, because it drastically alters the way things are currently done or have been done for years.

Theme – We live in an age of incredible change.  And it’s getting more and more difficult to know how to be the church in a world that seems so unstable and unpredictable.  So what’s the solution?  That’s a good question.  The best place to start is to simply ask the question, “What’s God up to?”

The text for the sermon was taken from Acts 7:59-8:3 and Acts 8:26-40.

Many of you have no doubt heard me mention the Missional Transition Team by now.  And many of you may be wondering, “What exactly is the Missional Transition Team?”

First, a little background, and then I’ll tell you what they do.  The Missional Transition Team (MTT) originally started out as the Pastoral Transition Team (PTT), made up mostly of people who had been on the Pastor Nominating Committee that hired me.  The PTT and I started meeting over the phone before I moved to San Diego to spend time in scripture and in reading and discussing The Missional Leader by Alan Roxburgh.

The PTT met from July-December, 2007.  It was a great team!  They were incredibly helpful to me in my transition and in helping me begin to understand Northminster’s history and culture.  By the end of 2007, I said to the PTT, “Y’know, I feel like I’ve pretty much transitioned into the church, but this team is doing such great work!  Why don’t we keep meeting, but change our name to ‘Missional Transition Team’?”  The team loved the idea, so we presented the idea to Session and were officially dubbed the Missional Transtion Team.

Over the years, the membership of the MTT has changed.  Some are still on the team from the early days; other members are newer.  This gradual turnover of members has been great because it means that we’ve always got new ideas coming!  One of the best things about the MTT’s membership is that six out of our nine elders on Session are currently active on the MTT!

So, what exactly does the MTT do?  You can think of it in a few different ways.  In one way, the MTT is simply a brainstorming team.  A lot of times we come together without an agenda.  After spending about 20-30 minutes in Scripture and prayer, we say to each other, “So… What’s coming up at church that we should talk about?”  Other times we have a clear agenda.  For instance, “Vacation Bible School is coming up.  Let’s brainstorm some ways we can connect with those kids’ families.”

You can also think of the MTT as a think-tank.  Since most of the elders are on MTT, we’re able to think through the implications of certain ideas before a motion is brought to Session.  Then, we can answer any questions for the rest of Session with good, well thought out information.

But most of all, this is what the Missional Transition Team does:  It is constantly asking, “What is God up to in our church?  What is God up to in our community?  What is God up to in the world?  And how can we join God in what God is doing?”

If you’re interested in being part of the MTT, let me know!  Call the church office at 858-490-3995, or e-mail me at mwatson@northminstersandiego.com.

This is the second sermon in the series titled “Naming”.

Markus is on study leave and the sermon on January 24th was delivered by Josh Kerkhoff.  Josh is the Next Generations Pastor at Solana Beach Presbyterian Church.

Theme – In this great story of Exodus, we encounter Moses, an ordinary man in the midst of an ordinary workday, who encounters an extraordinary God. God’s revelation alone is not enough for Moses to trust and dare to follow after God. Through their encounter, we are challenged to let God be God and not limit God by our expectations or assumptions about who God is or is not.

The text for the sermon was taken from Exodus 3:1-15.

This is the first sermon in the series titled “Naming”.

Markus is on study leave and the sermon on January 17th was delivered by Josh Kerkhoff.  Josh is the Next Generations Pastor at Solana Beach Presbyterian Church.

Theme – Many commonly call him John the Baptist but he started out John, the Son of Zechariah. What sort of difference did his name make to his life and mission? What was significant about the naming process and how he was identified by God? The question for us to consider: what does his naming process show us about our identity and mission in this New Year.

The text for the sermon was taken from Luke 1:57-66.

Wyldlife is STARTING!!!

Wyldlife is our ministry to the middle school youth in our community.  You can learn a little more about it by clicking HERE.

The first meeting will be Wednesday February 3rd from 5:30-7:00 p.m in the Northminster Youth Room. We will be having Wyldlife Club every other Wednesday night from 5:30-7:00.

Please contact our Wyldlife Director Stephen Wescott at 619-402-4819 with any questions.

Important dates to remember:

• Feb 26th-28th: Wyldlife Camp @ Oakbridge
• July 12th-17th: Wyldlife Camp @ Oakbridge

Luke

Thank you to everyone who made our Winter Camp trip to Utah such a huge success!!! It was a great week for our leaders to pour into our high school friends lives. Whether chatting on a chair lift or during one of our four small group times, leaders had the great opportunity to share Jesus’s love with kids from around our community. Thank You!!!

Important dates to remember:

• Jan 29th-31st: Campaigner Camp @ Oakbridge
• Feb 1st: Our winter/spring club schedule begins with a All-City Club at The Rock Church. Stay tuned for more details….
• April 9th-11th: Student Staff Conference
• July 31st- Aug 6th: High School Camp @ Lost Canyon

Luke

This is the second sermon in the series titled “Twenty-Ten: Priorities for a New Year”.

Theme – There is a problem in western Christianity.  We have a tendency to become complacent.  We think that spiritual growth will just happen.  In Philippians 3:12-14, Paul demonstrates that spiritual growth requires intentionality.  Just as Paul “strained” toward that goal, so we must “press on” to know Christ more deeply.

The text for the sermon was taken from Philippians 3:12-14.

This is the first sermon in the series titled “Twenty-Ten: Priorities for a New Year”.

Theme – If we think of our life as having a balance sheet with a “profit” column and a “loss” column, there are a lot of things we could put in the profit column.  The apostle Paul also had a lot of things he could have put in the profit column.  But all of these he considered loss because he had discovered that there was only one thing that could truly consider a profit.  And it is this one thing that we would do well to focus on in the new year.

The text for the sermon was taken from Philippians 3:4-11.

This is the meditation from this years Christmas Eve service.

Theme – When we think about the characters of the Christmas story, we find that all of the characters were weary in some way.  The shepherds were weary from working.  The Magi were weary from traveling.  The people of Israel were weary from centuries of oppression.  Just as the invitation of Christmas was to those who are weary, Jesus says to us today, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

The text for the sermon was taken from Matthew 11:28-30.