ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

ARE WE DRAGGING “STUFF” AROUND?  Yes, I am seriously and honestly asking that of myself – and of you.  I look inside and am keenly aware of how I feel sometimes.  I turn and cannot help but see others and the bulging backpacks they are carrying around while attempting to stand up beneath the weight.  Our backs sag and our steps get slower; the ascent of life strains at every last bit of energy that we have left.  Is this really how it was meant to be?  In the grand scheme of God’s plan for our everyday living, the answer is a loving, but reverberating “NO!”  From before the beginning of time, He saw us how we CAN be!  Running up steep mountain trails, across what seems like never-ending valleys, over slippery rocks in rushing streams – free of baggage and burdens.  We move with agility, in freedom, adeptly, with confident strides.  We move with vigor and speed when our hope is in the Lord, like the eagle that Isaiah likened us to.  He wrote in chapter 40, verse 31, that our strength would be renewed – much like an exchange of our weakness for God’s strength.  Much like a change of clothes; the taking off of our human strength and putting on Christ and His strength – wearing it even as clothing is worn.  Isaiah says that we will soar on wings like eagles!  That’s a far cry from struggling with the weight of each step, barely staying on our feet.  Again, we find ourselves invigorated and living full speed ahead, soaring over the humps and bumps of life – rather than being taken down by them!  So, do you ever ask yourself what is in your backpack?  What is weighing you down?  I receive occasional e-mails from someone I’ve never met in person, but who impacts me with the real-life application of her stories based on scripture.  She spoke of a friend of hers who runs the “deaf ministry” in the church she attends.  This particular Sunday she decided to sit in the section where he stands in front and signs everything that’s going on for the hearing impaired.  She termed it “fascinating”, as she had never really seen a person sign for more than just a few seconds.  But, she said, “watching someone sign for over an hour – and being able to actually SEE the words that you’re HEARING signed, is a totally different experience.”  What really struck Lisa during the service were some repeated phrases like … “putting the past behind me” … “in the past” … “forgetting about the past.”  She explained that every time one of these phrases came up in the message, Nathan would make this gesture that looked like he was throwing something BEHIND him and then flipping his hand up … so it was totally GONE.  Over.  Done with.  Finished.  She watched him make that little gesture over and over again.  And she felt the Spirit of God nudging her that this was like a lesson in what it actually means to put the PAST behind us.  Because on the other hand, if we were to create a physical gesture for what most of us do with “the past” it would look more like this … We’d throw the past behind us, then turn around and look at it … run toward it … pick it right back up … review it thoroughly and then repeat the process … OVER AND OVER AGAIN.  Can you relate?  Unzip your backpack and see what’s in there:  it’s all the things we hold on to that weigh us down – failures, letdowns, experiences that hurt us, disappoint us, frustrate us or make us angry or fearful.  No wonder our baggage is SO heavy!  Then, we can hardly carry it because we replay and relive and rehash all that stuff over and over and over again – sometimes MANY TIMES A DAY.  We never let it go.  And we definitely don’t put it behind us!  But, like Lisa asks, “WHAT IF we could actually do that little gesture Nathan did when he was “signing” in our REAL LIFE?  What if we could take that moment or experience from the past, throw it BEHIND US and actually LEAVE IT THERE?  How would our lives be different?”  Let’s think about this … how would our lives be different if we were no longer held prisoner by our past?  God has given us a VISUAL of what that looks like:  “To FORGET the past, LOOK FORWARD and PRESS ON.”  In Philippians chapter 3, Paul admits that he hasn’t “gotten” it all and is not perfect … but this one thing he does:  “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  (verses 12-14)  You see, Paul’s goal is Christ’s goal for him – and Christ supplies the resources that make it possible for Paul – and us – to press on toward the goal!  We are able to leave the past behind us – as done with and settled!  Or we can spend our moments remembering and fixating on our past mistakes and disappointments and in turn, keep shoving more and more of that STUFF into our backpacks so we can drag them around some more.  But I want to challenge you … the next time you see yourself caught up in your past … pay attention to it.  Picture yourself holding that thought in your hand.  Wrap your fist around it.  And THROW it over your shoulder.  Now it’s GONE!  Behind you.  Never to return again … IF YOU WILL LEAVE IT THERE!  Because … let’s be honest, dear ones, like Lisa says, hasn’t your past already stolen enough of your life already?  It’s time to PRESS ON TOWARD THE GOAL that God has called us to!  No more looking back . . .

REMEMBER . . . “There are better things ahead ~ than any we leave behind.”  ~  C.S. Lewis

Serving Christ Joyfully  . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie

(Note:  see sidebar for information on weekly ministries, or call us for a copy of the monthly calendar and weekly announcements.  Better yet, we invite you to come and join us in worship on Sunday morning at Elevation North!)

ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

DANGEROUS … AND ALIVE!  Have you ever thought of yourself as dangerous?  Well, hopefully not in the normal context of the word, since the meaning usually is pointed towards a victim.  And that kind of behavior is not Christ-like in any way, shape, or form.  Perhaps we’ve never thought about a spiritual scenario, though, where it is totally permissible to be dangerous – and there is one victim that should be our target.  We DO have an enemy, you know.  Any military person will tell you that both skill and strategy must be present and activated when encountering the enemy in the quest to overcome, capture, and ultimately destroy them.  If this sounds a bit over-the-top, remember the enemy I am referring to needs no easing up on when it comes to battlefield tactics.  We must be aware, armed, alive … and yes, dangerous!  I am referring to the enemy of our souls, and like I’ve said before, he doesn’t go easy on us.  He plans and deceives, and prowls around watching for our moment of greatest weakness – and then he attacks and goes in for the kill.  While all of this is going on, what are WE doing, may I ask?  Are we running scared?  Are we in hiding?  Are we cowering and shivering and shaking, waiting for our end?  I hope not!  I pray that we are poised and ready for the good fight of faith.  I pray that we are prepared and positioned with shield and sword, actively pursuing our ultimate win against Satan.  If we are NOT ready for such battles that we find ourselves in … just how do we get prepared?  Who trains us?  And who teaches us the battle cry?  A few weeks ago, I sat glued to every word of the message that Lisa Bevere gave at Women of Faith.  She offered some answers from God’s Word … and some powerful challenges to each of us women who were present in that arena.  Wanna listen in to what she had to say?  Let me try to summarize.  I remind you of my opening statement (Lisa’s phrase!) in last week’s message:  “God’s dream for you is the enemy’s nightmare!”  And just what is God’s dream for us when it comes to fighting Kingdom battles for Him?  I invite you to read the scripture verse that God showed to Lisa – one that became a burning message within her as God opened her eyes to His dream for her.  “The people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion that does not rest till he devours his prey and drinks the blood of his victims.”  (Numbers 23:24)  Your first response might be, “that sounds awful, how graphic!”  Yet that is exactly how God described the people of Israel to Balak through the pagan prophet, Balaam, and their ensuing victories as they would arise and devour their foes.  For too long, as women – and men, we have cowered in the background.  As children of the living God, we have forgotten WHO we are.  We have lost our identity in Christ.  We perhaps we have not ever heard the call for us to “rise like a lioness, to rouse like a lion – not resting until we devour our prey.”  We have far too long been passive and non-committal.  The enemy has walked all over us, tried ripping us apart, throwing us asunder, leaving us for dead.  He really thinks he has won!  Where’s our fight, dear brothers and sisters in Christ?  If we are soldiers in the army of the Lord God of Israel, how come we are so wimpy?  Lisa said after God came to her in a night vision with this powerful image of a lioness arising from a stretched out, resting position, she plunged herself into a study of lionesses and lions.  What she gleaned from that was nothing short of amazing!  In the natural, in the animal kingdom, the lionesses are frequently the ones who do the hunting, pursuing the prey.  They are female, but fierce.  With their prowess they honor their mate on many occasions by bringing the kill to him, the male lion.  Together they are formidable.  Each one complements the other.  Later Balaam, in chapter 24 and verse 9a , utters these words about the tribes of Israel as the Spirit of God came upon him:  “Like a lion they crouch and lie down, like a lioness – who dares to rouse them?”  Balaam adds these powerful words, “May those who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed!”  When we finally “see” who we are and live out the empowered identity that God has placed in our DNA, women and men all over this world will begin to ARISE from their slumbering stupor on stony slabs and begin turning the tables on our enemy, the devil, whose trick is to “prowl around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”  (I Peter 5:8)  That same verse tells us to “be self-controlled and alert.”  The next verse tells us to “resist him, standing firm in the faith …”.  Men and women, let’s join forces as allies honoring each other’s strengths as we combat the enemy in the Name of Jesus, arising as a mighty force of destruction against evil.  Silent and weak – no more!  Dangerous and fully alive – forevermore!  May THAT be US!

WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS WEEK . . .

SUN, NOV 3:

10:00 A.M. - PRAISE & WORSHIP

10:30 A.M. - KIDZONE

WED/THU "BIBLE DOING" / NOV 6 & 7 / 7:00 P.M.

WED - Hebrews at the church

THU - I Peter at 905 El Dorado St SE

SAT, NOV 9:

9:00 A.M. - LADIES PRAISE & PRAYER at the church

9:00 A.M. - BARNABAS TEAM MEETING at the church

ELEVATION NORTH SPOTLIGHT!

Fellowship is encouraged in our church family!  So we want to invite ALL of you to our upcoming Thanksgiving Luncheon here at church following the morning worship on Sunday, November 24^th.  We want you to come with your favorite autumn foods as we celebrate with gratitude the gift of God’s faithfulness, abundance, and provision to us as a church – and as individual families!  Take a moment to sign-up at the Welcome Center and let us know how many are attending – and what you will bring to share!  

REMEMBER . . . “If I could give you one thing in life, I would give you the ability to see yourself through God’s eyes.  Only then would you realize how special and valuable you are to Him!” ~ unknown

Serving Christ Joyfully . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie 

ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

GOD’S DREAM FOR YOU IS THE ENEMY’S NIGHTMARE!  Someone said that at the Women of Faith Conference this past weekend.  That statement was just one of many shared throughout the course of the sessions, and God’s Word burned powerfully within us as our group of ladies was challenged and prodded, nudged and encouraged by the Holy Spirit!  We all witnessed and experienced the same worship music and heard and soaked in the same God-anointed messages from various appointed speakers.  Yet we were each ministered to in very specific, personal ways and came away changed individually by the Spirit of God!  Hooray for His tender love … and for His cutting and carving ways that bring out the best in us!  And one more thing:  none of us will ever be the same again!  God brought us back from a power-packed weekend in the midst of over 10,000 women – and placed us smack-dab in the middle of the real world where our changes would be tested at the on-set of our arrival back home – or the next day – or the day after that.  I think God likes to do a few practice runs with what we’ve learned ~ just so we can see that His changes are for real and He means for them to be lasting.  Richard Stearns with World Vision reminded us that God intends to use the ordinary to change the world – and that it is never too late to be what God wants us to be!  He likened our God-given roles in life to dominoes and their chain reactions.  So, too, we are placed like a domino in a specific place at a specific time by God for a spiritual chain reaction.  We each have a place in the chain for the reaction to work!  Asking us to guess who the greatest evangelist is who ever lived, he offered the name of Ed Kimball, who most likely none of us had heard of.  Then he went on to relate the story of Mr. Kimball, an ordinary Sunday School teacher who felt led to share Jesus with a teen-age boy who worked in a shoe store.  Not sure what he should even say, but very sure that he should share something about Jesus, Ed said just a few words.  And … that young boy accepted Christ as his personal Savior that day.  Who was that boy?  None other than Dwight L. Moody, who became a renowned evangelist in the latter decades of the 1800’s.  The domino reaction tipped in towards another young man who heard Moody preach the gospel, and soon that young man known as Billy Sunday was preaching revivals wherever God opened doors.  Some years later at one of Sunday’s large crusades in England, a young teenage boy with blonde, tousled hair was drawn to the site of the crowd and stood there listening to the salvation message preached simply – and yet it gripped him to the point of walking forward and giving his life to Christ.  And so the call of Billy Graham began that day … and through the years his faithfulness to preach God’s Word in a clear, riveting manner has drawn people all over the world to make their own decision.  Billy Graham has led the most people of anyone, anywhere to the Lord.  But look who it started with … an ordinary, unassuming Sunday School teacher who just obeyed the Lord that day!  Look what happens when we “lean in and fall forward”!  How will you take your place in the chain reaction of life?  Another speaker, Patsy Clairmont, spoke to us in her humorous style about change, and how that many times the change we need is out of our own issues and messes and cracked pots!  Have you noticed that when God works in us, it is usually not convenient or easy!  We must act first in obedience – and the love will come later.  Change is NOT easy!  But be obedient and you’ll find courage.  You see, change comes in increments, and we must remind ourselves that emotions do not have brains.  We are more than we know, but we have to take risks sometimes, speaking things into place out of our present vulnerability.  We have to love ourselves better – in order to love others better.  And we can do that because Jesus first loved us perfectly better!  Can we get past ourselves?  It takes bravery, but it’s so worth it!  Let’s grow up in all aspects in the Lord Jesus Christ, dear people.  Becoming more mature in Christ will cause our God-given dreams to give Satan his worst nightmares ever!!  And I think … that sounds like a plan!  Part of God’s plan to make His Kingdom more effective!  (This blog-report has just scratched the surface of all that God has burned into our hearts ~ stay tuned for more!)

WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS WEEK . . .


THIS SUNDAY, OCT 27:
10:00 A.M. - PRAISE & WORSHIP
10:30 A.M. - KIDZONE CHURCH

WED, OCT 30:  BIBLE "DOING" / 7:00 P.M.
WED - In the book of Hebrews at the church
THU - No Bible "Doing" this Thursday at 905 El Dorado Street SE

SAT, NOV 2:  
Be sure to turn your clocks BACK one hour when you go to bed for the
Daylight Savings Time change so you can arrive at church at the right
time!

ELEVATION NORTH SPOTLIGHT!

God is bringing changes to Elevation North as He grows us!  We are experiencing exciting days in the life of our church!  Our growth has brought about the need for more chairs … and they have arrived and are here – ready for more people to come and experience God’s love and salvation!  Our growth has led us to expand our rented space for more classrooms for our nursery, children, and youth!  Please pray how you can be a part of helping fund this Kingdom growth!

REMEMBER . . . “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are – no more, no less.  That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.” ~ Matthew 5:5

Serving Christ Joyfully . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie

ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

FUEL YOUR ADVENTURE!  Without enlisting the services of a travel agent, we are all on a “last-days” adventure … and believe me, it is going to be an itinerary that will outshine all others we’ve ever been on!  Road-trips, cruises, mountain-climbing, flights high in the atmosphere, wilderness hiking, hot-air balloon rides, river-boat excursions – none will begin to compare with what we are embarking on in these days!  The adventure is all around us!  Don’t you just love being in the middle of it all?  God has been giving us a sneak preview now and then – but every day we are seeing more and more of His side-trips taking place!  We would have to be blind not to see and recognize that God is up to something!  We not only get to witness what He is putting into place – but we get to sign on for active duty for what lies ahead with the dawning of each new day’s agenda!  The big event is not here yet … but God has it all planned out – down to the most intricate, yet powerful detail!  The date, the time, the crescendo of the trumpet sound announcing His arrival, the armies of heaven standing at attention in rapt wonder as they will suddenly see the Son of God descend in the twinkling of an eye to rapture His church and bring us Home!  Oh, how exciting that will be!  That is, for those who will be ready for the trip through space ~ from earth to heaven.  Talk about time-travel like it has never been experienced before.  Talk about breaking the sound barrier.  Traveling that incredible distance in the mere twinkling of an eye is not even fathomable by human minds or scientific design.  And I am not alluding to a science fiction movie about some time way out in the future – some millions of years yet to come.  There are signs all around us that are pointing to a soon-to-be, never-before-experienced event of such huge proportions that the world will not know what to do with the chaos in the aftermath of the Rapture.  But in those moments there will not be a doubt that Jesus Christ is who He said He was – and that He did what He said He was going to do:  RETURN for His bride – the bride who is beautifully pure without spot or blemish.  That’s US, His Church … at least that who we are supposed to be!  It’s time to take an honest look in the mirror and see if we truly reflect our Lord.  It’s time to evaluate and review how we spend our time – and how much of it is spent with Him, our coming Bridegroom.  It’s time to recognize that the things of eternal value are probably not the things we are striving for here on earth.  It’s time to wake up to the fact that what we can hold in our hands will most likely sift right through them like sand; but the things that we allow God to do with our hands to help others will become gifts to lay at the feet of Jesus when we finally see Him face to face.  Gifts for our Bridegroom – if you will.  I suggest that we get busy.  The right kind of busy.  Too many kinds of busy are but a tool of the enemy to just keep us away from God.  Busy can look and feel Godly and good – but if all those wonderful “busies” are not what God has called us individually to be busy with – then we had better re-think our involvement.  I say this with acknowledgment that I still have not achieved the measure of Godly success that I long for, when I state:  “The true success of what I am doing is shown by how much time it affords me for God and my family!”  Believe me, how well I know the struggle for balancing life in a fallen world with all of its demands and responsibilities – and living above all of that in the reality of “the Kingdom of God” that we are a part of.  Needed reminder:  we are NOT of this world, we are just traveling through (another of God’s choice adventures for us!).  But while we are here, may we live like He planned for us to live, not missing one deep valley, one treacherous mountain, or any of the rocky, twisting trails in between.  For it is in those places that His work is done, where lives are changed, and victories are won.  Sometimes it’s working until we’re fatigued.  Or giving until we have nothing left to give.  Sometimes it’s just putting our arms around someone and caring in hands-on ways that allows them to see a ray of hope and a shred of belief – even just a tiny bit, that Jesus must be real.  He sent YOU to them, after all!  See how you get to be a direct part of what God is doing?  While it’s exciting to think about heading Home to Heaven, there is still lots that needs to be done, with the ultimate task being that we take as many people with us as we can!!!  And what’s the best way for that to happen?  Is it knowing and being able to recite every scripture in the Bible?  Most people could care less about that, sad to say.  But living a life that allows them to see Jesus in us, is the key to introducing them to a new life in Christ and the promise of an eternity with Him!  Max Lucado has penned an incredible quote about a man and a woman that goes like this:  “A woman’s heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her.”  I think it is timely to paraphrase it to say this:  “The mission and heart of the Church (that’s us!) should be so hidden in God that the world has to seek Him just to find us!”  When that’s who we are … we will see people coming to Christ en masse because what they see will be genuine.  In the Bridegroom’s eyes ~ a bride worth coming for to take to Himself!  Let’s fuel our adventure before He returns for us so that we will be ready and pleasing to Him!

WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS WEEK . . .

A SPECIAL WELCOME to Nicole, Peyton, and Noah who worshipped with us for the first time this past Sunday!  God’s best to all of you!

TODAY, SUN, OCT 20:

10:00 A.M. - PRAISE & WORSHIP

10:30 A.M. - KIDZONE CHURCH

WED/THU,"BIBLE DOING", OCT 23-24 / 7:00 P.M.:

WED - Join us in the book of Hebrews at the church

THU - Join the group at 905 El Dorado Street SE 

FRI, OCT 25:

7:00 P.M. - LADIES NITE OUT ~ see "Spotlight" below 

SAT, OCT 26:

9:00 A.M. - LADIES PRAISE & PRAYER at the church

9:00 A.M. - Barnabas Team Meeting at the church

   ELEVATION NORTH SPOTLIGHT!

An extra event for our women will be held at the home of Shelly – one of our friends from another church who loves to host our women at her place!  This Ladies Nite Out will offer one last outdoor bon-fire of the season - with games and refreshments inside her nice, warm home!  This evening will be an opportunity for those who attended the Women of Faith Conference to chat about that and to enjoy fellowship with other gals that perhaps were not able to be there.  Plan to bring a snack to share with the ladies … and plan on a great time together encouraging each other in a fun setting!  YOU are invited:  DATE – Friday, October 25^th / TIME - 7:00 p.m. / WHERE:  Call for the locations! See you there!

REMEMBER . . . Scripture tells us this about Christ coming back for us: “Then the rest of us who are still alive at the time will be caught up with them into the clouds to meet the Master.  Oh, we’ll be walking on air!  And then there will be one huge family reunion with the Master.  So reassure one another with these words.”  I Thessalonians 4:17-18

Serving Christ Joyfully . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie

                                                 

ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

READY. SET.  GO.   Remember shouting those words when you were a child playing games?  It was your cue to do something.  Or maybe it was ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, GO!  Then there was this announcement . . . READY OR NOT – HERE I COME!  Sometimes it was just game time – and yet we wanted to win.  Who wants to lose?  Other times we knew we were in a competition and we sensed the weight of the outcome … was at least partially on our young shoulders.  Yes, times were simpler then; at least for us as children.  Yet the concept of “ready, set, go” was influencing our mindset for far greater things to come.  As grounded on the Rock as I’d like to think I am, there are days when the swirling waves of tasks just about suck me under.  Just above the noise of the constant swishing, I hear tomorrow’s deadlines taunting me:  “Ready or not – here I come!”  Sure, I love challenges.  And yes, I can work well under pressure.  But there are times that little ‘ole me just doesn’t want to hear the “ready or not” part one more time!  Like Peter walking on the water, I cry out, “Help me, Lord!  I’m sinking!  Save me!”  I love this account in the last part of Matthew chapter 14.  But it actually starts hours before Peter’s cry for help.  The disciples had been busily serving along with Jesus ministering to the crowd with compassion and healing them.  They had been witnesses and participants of the “catering miracle” of fish and loaves as Jesus instructed them to feed the five thousand men, plus the women and children who had sat separately as dictated by Jewish religious rules.  Now Jesus makes the disciples get into the boat and head out across the lake before Him while He bids farewell to the large crowd.  Once the people have all left, He is there by Himself by choice.  He has just poured Himself out in visible ways, caring and healing and feeding - that this multitude might experience His love. And now He does what is necessary:  He makes His way up a mountainside to pray.  He understands the necessity and value of pulling away from the noise of the crowd to the rendezvous with His Father in the solitude of the night.  The hours pass by with the deepening darkness covering the lake.  By this time the disciples’ boat has drifted quite a distance from the shallow shore.  It was beginning to be bounced around on the waves that the wind was whipping up.  Things were getting a bit rough out there.  Have you ever wondered why Jesus “made them” get into the boat and head out alone?  I think He wanted them to escape the noise of the outdoor sub shoppe on the hillside that had its grand opening and closing all in the same day.  I think He wanted them to sort through the ministry, the miracle, and the message.  Would they “get it?”  Would their faith that had just witnessed this amazing miracle now be as real to them in the throes of a topsy-turvy boat on the dark waves of danger?  Jesus, having been with the Father for hours – now into this fourth and last watch of the night which was between 3:00 and 6:00 a.m. – heads out across the water to his disciples being tossed about.  Walking on the water.  Yes.  At this unexpected sight, the memory of the miracle takes flight and they think they are seeing a ghost.  It is not until they hear Jesus’ voice saying, “Ready or not – here I come!” – that they calmed down.  No, He didn’t say that – but He could have.  Instead He spoke instantly to their fear:  “Take courage!  It is I.  Don’t be afraid.”  Then Peter, like us, has to question a bit more.  He’s not sure if this is Jesus, so he is going to find out.  Jesus lets Peter question, but demands some action from him.  He wants Peter to put his faith into action, so He says, “Come!”  And Peter did:  he got out of the boat and stepped down on the water … and began to walk.  Yes. Walk on water.  Toward Jesus.  Just like Jesus.  Well, that is until Peter looked at his surroundings, like me with my endless lists.  Waves for Peter, lists for me.  We both begin to sink.  I love how God’s Word records that in the moments of greatest fear and despair, twice Jesus “immediately” does something:  He speaks peace – and He reaches out His hand and catches Peter.  Immediately.  And in that rescue operation, Jesus chides Peter (and me):  “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”  I’m not sure what Peter’s answer was, but all I can say is, “I’m so sorry, Jesus!  I was ‘ready’ (I’ve got YOU!) … but I wavered on the ‘get set’ part (keeping my eyes on YOU instead of my never-ending deadlines!) before I started ‘going’ by faith (facing them one wave at a time with my hand in Yours!).  At the end of the account when the wind and the waves have dissipated, together Peter and I shout in unison, “Truly You are the Son of God!”  Sometimes we feel like we’re in the fourth hour and Jesus has not shown up yet … but then He comes – and what an entrance He makes, just for us!  O how He loves seeing us ready … and set … and going out in full-fledged faith to do whatever it is He has called us to do!  His promise?  To be with us:  “immediately!”  And always!

WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS WEEK . . .

TODAY, SUNDAY, OCT 13:

10:00 A.M. - PRAISE & WORSHIP

10:30 A.M. - KIDZONE CHURCH

1:30   P.M. - PUMPKIN PATCH OUTING at Oakview Nursery 

All Church Event / Grandparent's Day at the Patch!

WED/THU, BIBLE "DOING" / OCT 16-17, 7:00 P.M.:

WED - Hebrews / at the church

THU - I Peter / at 905 El Dorado Street SE

FRI, OCT 18:

6;00 P.M. - MEN'S STEAK FRY at Pastor D's (875 Brook Lane NE)

FRI/SAT, OCT 18-19:  WOMEN OF FAITH CONFERENCE!

1:30 P.M. - Ladies, meet at the church to carpool to this exciting event!

All monies for tickets/hotels/meals are due on Sunday, October 13th - see Debbie!

                                      ELEVATION NORTH SPOTLIGHT!

MEN’S STEAK NITE is set for Friday night, October 18^th, at 6:00 P.M. at Pastor D’s house at 875 Brook Lane NE – the same weekend the women will be attending the Women of Faith Conference!  Plan on coming out for an evening of great food and awesome fellowship all in a relaxed setting!  Check out the sign-up sheet to see what you can bring to help round out the menu for the night.  The steaks and fresh home-baked bread will be furnished.  If there is someone you feel led to bring, be sure to invite them!  This fun night can also be an opportunity to live out our faith and come along side each other in support and encouragement!  Don’t miss this awesome men’s event ~ we’ll see you there!

REMEMBER . . . “We never have to feel lost in our struggles but always can trust that God walks with us.” ~ Henri J.M. Nouwen

Serving Christ Joyfully . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie

ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

MOST PEOPLE DON’T LIKE OTHERS TALKING ABOUT THEM.  Period.  Because in today’s world, if they are being talked about, it’s not usually good things that are being said.  And … people are not always present to defend themselves.  But most often, if they are being talked about, it means they are alive.  Once gone from this earth, not too many people will jump on the bandwagon to say much about the deceased.  I can just about hear you saying, “Alright … so the point is?”  The point is:  these days I am hearing lots and lots of talk about Jesus.  By:  lots and lots of people.  That would follow suit that He, of course, is alive.  No one keeps conversations about someone else going on for decades or centuries if they know they are dead.  The timeless fact is that people for centuries have talked about Jesus.  They may have talked about whether He is dead or alive.  The might have even said that He is dead – or that they just don’t believe in Him – or that He was just a man and a great teacher.  Others have talked about Jesus and stood behind their words of affirmation with their very lives.  They believed.  They were martyred for their faith … some, centuries ago – and others, just hours ago.  But the talk goes on.  The life of Jesus and His story cannot be put on a bookshelf with other history books to just collect dust.  His story is not only the most read ever – but it is told more than the story of any other person on earth – ever.  Living or dead.  And because He is WHO He is … that was all part of His plan.  He wanted to be talked about.  He still wants to be talked about.  But His plan takes the talking to a different – much higher level.  Just talking about Him with others who know Him, while that can be wonderful and inspiring, is not enough.  Part of God’s Kingdom plan is that we who are His children, will take our talking about Jesus into the marketplace and beyond.  Out of our homes and yes, out of our churches.  And into the schools and universities.  Into the stores and offices.  Into the streets and every place we go.  Preaching while on the clock?  No!  I did not say that!  Talking through how we live speaks volumes to others.  It gets their attention – and many times, they will come seeking YOU out! THEY will be the ones making statements and asking questions that lead right into the perfect opportunity to tell them more about Jesus!  I love how our young missionary family in Australia has become involved in street witnessing late at night in the big city.  They take their love for Jesus to the busy streets filled with noisy night-life.  When they first appear on the scene, they don’t “talk” about Jesus – they LIVE Him!  They hand out bottled water and strike up a casual conversation.  You can picture the typical scenario.  Boozed up and drugged up, many are astounded that a great-looking young couple who seem to have it all together – would take time to even look their way or stop to talk.  Some are bent over, heaving out their insides because they’ve had way too much of what they should not have had – and here are our missionary friends coming alongside them to make sure they are alright.  They are Jesus’ hands and feet and heart when they hand that bottle of water to them and strike up a conversation.  I believe that’s what God was talking about when He gave the Great Commission to His disciples … I believed He envisioned every possible scenario and place for us to “talk about Him” to others.  And I don’t believe there was any situation so repulsive or any person so lost, that He would not have wanted us to go there to them and share His love.  Will we r-e-a-l-l-y need His protection sometimes?  Um-m-m, don’t we always?  Look at God’s people down through the ages:  talking about Jesus and living for Him is not always easy – once upon a time in the coliseums, Christian’s names were up in lights at sporting events – it was them against the lions.  And you know who the event promoters said were the winners.  But they didn’t realize that it was really the Christians who won.  They won for Eternity ... and the sacrifice of their lives created an unstoppable story as their bravery and refusal to renounce Christ went viral in those ancient circles.  Even in dying, they talked.  Someone named Tom Stoppard has said, “A healthy attitude is contagious, but don’t wait to catch it from others.  Be a carrier.”  I have revised it to say, “A sharing Jesus lifestyle is contagious, but don’t wait to catch it from others.  Be a carrier!”  Remember, Jesus talked and walked His message everywhere He went during His three years on earth.  When Jesus’ disciples urged Him to eat something, He told them, “My food … is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.”  (John 4:34)  He is our example to keep talking … and taking … the Gospel to everyone we can!  The time is short, and there is still unfinished work to be done.  Precious children of God … let’s talk about Jesus … and be carriers of His message!


WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS WEEK . . .


THIS SUNDAY, OCT 06:
10:00 A.M. - PRAISE & WORSHIP / WORLD DAY OF COMMUNION
10:30 A.M. - KIDZONE CHURCH

WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY BIBLE "DOING" / OCT 9-10 / 7:00 P.M. -
WED - In the book of Hebrews at the church
THU - In the book of I Peter at 905 El Dorado Street SE

SATURDAY, OCT 12:
9:00 A.M. -LADIES PRAISE & PRAYER
10:30 A.M. - BARNABAS MEETING

ELEVATION NORTH SPOTLIGHT!

So what does a Pumpkin Patch church family outing have to do with living out our faith?  Well, this fun fellowship time out in the country on an autumn Sunday could be just the perfect place!  While we are talking with each other, someone might just overhear our excitement at being a part of God’s family.  God just might bring someone to cross our paths in the cornstalks or on the hayride or sitting around the fire-pit!  At any rate, be sure to sign your name to the list if you are meeting us next Sunday, October 13^th, at 1:30 p.m. out at Oakview Nursery. Call for more details! And … it’s Grandparents Day at the Pumpkin Patch – so don’t think for a minute that this event is just for kids!!!  There’s LOTS to see and do!  See you there!

REMEMBER . . . “And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard?  And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”  (Romans 10:14b, 15b)


Serving Christ Joyfully . . .


Pastor Doug and Debbie

ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

“I CAN’T BRAG about my love for God because I fail Him daily, but I CAN BRAG about His love for me because it never fails!” ~ (unknown) There’s an old song that says in its last stanza:  “Could we with ink the ocean fill, And were the skies of parchment made, Were every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe by trade, To write the love of God above, Would drain the ocean dry, Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Tho’ stretched from sky to sky.  O love of God, how rich and pure!  How measureless and strong!  It shall forevermore endure – The saints’ and angels’ song!”  (lyrics written by Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai)  What a beautiful picture of how we should feel about God’s love!  That song is a picture, indeed, of us writing with more ink than we can fathom on more parchment than we can visualize, with more pens than we can hold in our hands to write with – our whole life long!  While perhaps we cannot dip our pen into an ocean of ink, yet our love for our God should be so deep that His love should be our song every day!  All day long … unendingly … into eternity where we will sing praises to Him forever and ever and ever!  It’s so true that God’s love never fails.  Just about when we think we are at the end of our rope in a situation or relationship, God’s love comes walking in and takes our slipping hand and pulls us up to safety.  His love rescues us and restores what’s gone bad.  His love redeems us from what we so deserve and it covers a multitude of our failures and our sins.  Just when we think we’ve been at something for such a long time and we feel as if nothing is ever going to change … God’s love comes walking in and things start happening!  New things come into place, foundations are built upon, seed that’s been planted begins to sprout and suddenly grows like crazy!  God’s love brings people right to us and it becomes second-nature to just share His love with them.  A love like His is not hard to share, after all!  It should be the easiest thing in the world, because after all … we know what it did and does for us, even though we cannot fully fathom it!  What others do with that love then, is ultimately up to them.  But they’ve been gifted with the opportunity to make the most important decision they will ever make – accepting, or rejecting the love of God.  A love like God’s makes us feel valued in a world that holds little value for life or anything sacred.  While the world tells us we are nothing … God’s love says that we are everything to Him.  Sending His only Son for us is proof of just how valuable He thinks we are!  God’s love reveals to us one more piece of His heart the closer we get to Him.  Our response to that amazing love brings His invitation to draw ever closer.  So close that we begin to see and understand things about God that we never actually grasped before.  We not only experience that unfailing love, we begin to sense His very heartbeat for humanity.  A love that would go to the ends of the earth and back, namely, Calvary, to save mankind from themselves and ending up in the pit of hell for all of eternity.  A love that has never diminished down through the ages.  Kingdoms have risen and fallen, but His still moves forward.  The very essence of His love cannot quit on us, give up on us, or push us away.  His love compels Him to pursue us, captivate us, and hold us in His embrace.  In that closeness, His love engages us in joining Him on His quest to finish what He started so long ago.  His Kingdom come, His will be done, on earth as in heaven – that’s what He wants.  And He wants us to want it to!  Things are changing, people are searching.  They are hungry and thirsty for more than the world can offer.  That’s where we come in: to make ourselves available and active in helping God with the unfinished business of His Kingdom work that still remains to be done.  It’s time, dear people!  It’s time to start bragging about the love of God!  (In the good sense of the word, you know!)  It never fails!


WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS WEEK . . .

TODAY, SUNDAY, SEP 29:
10:00 A.M. - PRAISE & WORSHIP
10:30 A.M, - KIDZONE CHURCH

WED/THU BIBLE "DOING", OCT 2 & 3 at 7:00 P.M.:
WED - Delving deeper into the book of Hebrews at the church
THU - Continuing in the book of I Peter at 905 El Dorado Street SE

NEXT SUNDAY, OCT 06:
10:00 A.M. - PRAISE & WORSHIP / WORLD DAY OF COMMUNION
10:30 A.M. - KIDZONE CHURCH

COMING UP:
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13th at 1:30 p.m. - Our ANNUAL PUMPKIN PATCH CHURCH FAMILY OUTING
at Oakview Nursery - call us at (507) 363-3099 for more details!

 ELEVATION NORTH SPOTLIGHT!

In our current emphasis on the Unfinished Kingdom work that God has called us to help Him with, we are encouraging EACH ONE to REACH ONE!  For the past few weeks, many of you are catching that vision and inviting others to church with you!  A few weeks ago, a lady invited her cousin.  Now that person has invited her daughter to church and to the upcoming Women of Faith Conference!  And, she is going to invite her sister to the conference, as well!  See what happens when EACH ONE – REACH ONE takes place?  God’s unfinished business on earth starts to get accomplished!  It’s an exciting thing to be at work where God is at work, isn’t it?  Again, we challenge all of you in the body of Christ here at Elevation North … EACH ONE – REACH ONE!  Remember the Great Commission?  Let’s do our part – and see what God will do! 

REMEMBER . . . “God loves us, not because we are lovable but because He is love; not because He needs to receive but because He delights to give." ~ C.S. Lewis

Serving Christ Joyfully . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie

ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!

SO GLAD THAT OUR GOD IS A HANDS-ON GOD!  He’s always been that way, you know.  “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light,”  “God saw that the light was good …”.  God said … God said … God said … and each day for six days what He spoke into being came to be, including the man He created in His own image … “male and female He created them.”   God blessed Adam and Eve and instructed them to increase and rule over the creatures of the earth.  Hundreds of years later, the Lord’s call came to Abram and He told him, “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you.”  Much later Joseph in Egypt revealing to his brothers who he was, urged them not to be distressed or angry with themselves that years ago they had sold him into slavery.  “ … because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.”  Fast forward and there stands Moses glued to the sight of a burning bush.  Out of that bush, Moses personally receives his call to rescue the nation of Israel from their suffering.  “Moses! Moses! … So now go.  I am sending you to Pharoah to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”  I love how God gave Moses step-by-step instructions during the season of the ten plagues that He sent upon the Egyptians; things like:  “Go to Pharoah and say … Stretch out your staff … Get up early in the morning … Take … and toss … Confront Pharoah … Tell the people … put the blood on the doorframes of the houses … and when I see the blood, I will pass over you“.  When we think we cannot do something God is calling us to, He always gives us exactly what we need to accomplish His purpose – even if it takes detailed instructions!  Even back then, our God was a hands-on God and He led His people through the thick and thin of life – to victory!  There was just one catch, though.  Yup, they had to follow those instructions and actually do them!  Do you think there is some correlation here between the example of what God did – and what He expects us to do?  He is our God – and we are His people.  He is the Teacher – and we are His students.  He is our Father – and we are His children.  Do you see the relationship emerging?  I have a sense that if God is hands-on in how He deals with people and with circumstances; He also wants us to be that way with the people we encounter in our journey on this earth so that His kingdom purposes might be accomplished.  When struggles were thrust upon the children of Israel, God took action.  When life’s struggles come against us, God is prodding us to take action.  We are NOT to just sit back and take what comes our way!  We have a much greater calling than that, you see.  What does He have for us to do?  His final words before ascending into Heaven were that we should “go and make disciples of all nations … teaching them to obey all of His commands.”  The writer of Hebrews reminds us that “we must pay careful attention … to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”  We are to fix our thoughts and our eyes on Jesus and not harden our hearts.  Scripture tells us to encourage each other every day and to hold firmly to the faith we profess to have.  What are we professing?  It should be the true gospel message that Jesus suffered and sacrificed for our sins once and for all when He offered Himself on the cross.  (Hebrews 7:27b)  We need to draw near to God and hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.  We are to “be sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” – for that is what faith really is.  We are to throw off everything that hinders us, as well as the sins that so easily entrap and entangle us.  We are to run with perseverance the race marked out for us, and fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.  Consider what Jesus did so you will not grow weary and lose heart!  Further, we are to make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy.  “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”  (Hebrews 12:28-29)  These instructions from scripture barely scratch the surface when it comes to focusing on what God did down through the ages – and what He is still doing as He seeks to engage us in hands-on service for His kingdom on earth!  Are you ready and willing to put on your gloves and go to work for God?!  We’ve got some unfinished business that God has called us to take care of!  



WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS WEEK . . .

A SPECIAL WELCOME to Virginia and to Jenna who worshipped with us for the first time this past Sunday!  God bless you!

THIS SUNDAY, SEP 22:
10:00 A.M. - PRAISE & WORSHIP
10:30 A.M. - KIDZONE CHURCH
(See Debbie for available Women of Faith tickets today!)

WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY BIBLE "DOING" / SEP 25-26 / 7:00 P.M.
WED - Digging into Hebrews chapter 1 at the church
THU - Continuing in I Peter chapter 3 at 905 El Dorado Street SE

ELEVATION NORTH SPOTLIGHT!

Calling all ladies to consider attending this year’s Women of Faith Conference in St. Paul just four weeks from now!  Set aside a Friday afternoon/Saturday to “Believe God Can Do Anything!”  You will experience music that moves, stories that strengthen, and teaching that transforms!  It’s almost time to head to the Xcel Energy Center and bond with your sisters in Christ!  This is also a perfect opportunity to invite someone who does not know Christ personally – they will definitely meet Him there!  See Debbie for a short meeting following worship today to go over final details and to have your questions answered!

REMEMBER . . . “If you experience God’s love at your lowest, you’ll know it has nothing to do with your condition – and everything to do with God’s amazing grace!” ~ Unknown  


Serving Christ Joyfully . . .


Pastor Doug and Debbie