DNA

DNA

FirePower

The Holy Spirit is the most misunderstood member of the Trinity – which explains the “power outage” in the Church today and in the lives of so many Christians! If you are tired of living a powerless life. If you are hungry for a fresh touch of God’s Spirit, then tap into FirePower this Spring. For the 50 days leading up to Easter we will be seeking a deeper encounter and relationship with the Holy Spirit through anointed preaching and…

We Are The Church

Justin Beiber was asked some questions about his faith and being a part of a church. “A lot of people who are religious, I think they get lost. They go to church just to go to church. I’m not trying to disrespect them…but for me, I focus more on praying and talking to Him. I don’t have to go to church.” Many people think and believe just like Justin Beiber (whether they admit it or not) when it comes to their view…

The Art of Neighboring

What if Jesus meant that we should love our actual neighbors? When Jesus was asked to sum up everything into one command, he said to love God with everything we have and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Most of us have turned this simple idea of loving our neighbors into a nice saying, putting it on bumper stickers and refrigerator magnets and then going on with our lives without actually putting it into practice. Jesus also said that to…

Be Rich In Good Deeds

The 1st Century Church not known for their temples, their theology or even the miracles. The thing that caused their world to sit up and take notice was the crazy generosity and compassion that the followers of Jesus displayed toward one another and those around them. That counter-cultural characteristic of the early Christian Church propelled them to the forefront of the Greco-Roman world. They had no political, economic or religious clout yet they change their world and all of history since…

Where the Church is the People

This month we publically launch NineSevenZero Church. We come out of the closet and announce to our community that we exist. But make no mistake this isn’t the “start” of our church, just our formal introduction. NineSevenZero Church is a new church emerging in the Grand Valley. And while this launch has us consumed for the moment, we’re not working to create an organizational entity. We believe that the church is not a building or a denomination. We believe that the…

There’s Something Irresistible About Live Bait

There are many fabulous artificial lures on the market but they all seek to imitate real life. Relational Evangelism is like using live bait when fishing. Amazing events and fabulous services can be effective and productive in communicating the Good News to our world but we must never forget that there is something irresistible about live bait. There is no substitute for real life. Many times in our culture we (not the corporate church) are the most effective and productive connection…

There’s No Place Like Home

Don’t you love it when you get a chance to sit down with a old friend you haven’t seen in forever and you are easily able to pick up your relationship right from where you left off? Getting caught up on the happenings of life is fun but what’s really fulfilling is the connection — knowing someone and them knowing you. It’s then you realize that time and distance doesn’t change that. Recently I was writing an email and asked the…

The Heart of the Shepherd

I love Luke chapter 15 where Jesus tells three parables that are incredible windows into the heart of God and His mission to the world. Three stories about something valuable that was lost and the depth of the effort that went into its recovery. There was a woman who lost a coin, a father who lost a son, and a shepherd who lost a sheep. But while reading this passage recently my attention was drawn to the fact that the shepherd…

That the World May Know (part 2)

I love how Jesus cuts through all the pretense and “wisdom” of men and exposes the heart of the matter with powerful simplicity. When confronted by the Pharisees and the scribes, He reduced all the law and the prophets to two incredibly clear and succinct statements (Matthew 22:37–39); You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You…

That the World May Know (part 1)

Jesus made two shocking statements to His disciples on the night of His betrayal. Judas had left the group and the mechanisms that would lead to Jesus’ arrest, trial and crucifixion had been set into motion. Knowing what was about to unfold and just hours before His death on a cross Jesus turned His attention to His disciples and made two startling forward looking statements. Jesus spoke to those around Him but His audience would be all who would call Him Lord…

It’s Ok, We’re All Messed Up

So what does NineSevenZero Church look like? Who is it for? These are extremely important questions for a church plant to be able to answer, but they are surprisingly difficult to succinctly express. Looking at a spectrum of church types it’s easier to say what we don’t want to be rather than what we desire to be. On one end of the spectrum is the hyper liberal church that has abandoned the truth of the Bible and embraced cultural mores. They emphasize the love…

A Church Rising Up Out of the Culture

One of the books that we have referenced in the formation process of NineSevenZero Church is John Burke’s, No Perfect People Allowed. There he described a type of missional church that resonated with our hearts and our intentions – A Church Rising Up Out of the Culture. “This is…not a church for a post-Christian culture, where Christians huddle up behind the fortress walls and make forays outside into the messy culture, but a church molded out of a post-Christian people ~…
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