Concert and Barbeque!

Okay…no excuses.

It’s been awhile since we’ve got the whole family together.   Too long.   And you can’t miss!

This Sunday night at 5:30,  come and join the North Point family for burgers and hot dogs and more fun than you can handle!

We’ll eat for an hour or so and then enjoy the music of Eily Sky…a crazy good band that plays music to connect with everyone!  Eily Sky is a group of friends and family who make up the worship band of Hope Community Church in Wichita, Kansas.   And they’ll become your friends, too.

It’s gonna be a great night.

Swim Night this Sunday!

This is a great night!

This is for everybody in the North Point Family…not just families with kids!

This is for your friends and neighbors!

This is our opportunity to share life as a church family…and invite others to join us!

Don’t hide behind Father’s Day!  Bring Dad along…and hop on his back…splash water in his face…let him go back to his recliner after we’re done.

…and by the way,  only NP families pay…it’s free to all of our guests!

Bon Voyage…super important.

Here are two important things to remember:

First, you have a little over a week to get out there and extend some invitations to your friends and neighbors to get their kids to join us for Bon Voyage. Get busy!   Remember it’s free.

Second, the Sunday night of Bon Voyage weekend is a Family Swim Night at the Sun Valley Pool,  just south of Lewisville High School.   The pool will be open from 6:30 – 8:30.

• This night is for everybody…families,  couples,  young adults,  the youth group,  kids…anybody!
• This night is especially for our guests who have joined us for Bon Voyage…an awesome opportunity to meet and give them a genuine North Point welcome  (if you put two and two together,  that means you need to be there…)
• We want this event to be free for all guests of North Point,  so it’s important that you help by making a donation for the evening.   If all of our regulars gives $5 for individuals or $20 per family,  we’ll have our costs covered.

Help make this the greatest North Point kid’s program ever!

It’s time to focus on kids!

Summer’s here!   And summer means some awesome experiences for kids in the North Point family.

There is really nothing more important than helping to give a kid a strong,  loving,  Godly foundation to live out life.   The investment you can make in a kid’s life is priceless.   Do you have anything to give?   There are some kids who want to receive it!

Don’t skip this post!

Yeah,  Bon Voyage is a children’s program.

So what can you do?   Get busy inviting some children!

Here’s the challenge:    Do you know some kids?   Do you have some young families on your block that don’t have a church home?   How about on your kid’s teams or in their classrooms?   Your invitation to Bon Voyage may be just what those kids and their families need right now!

We’ll have printed invitations for you to pick up on Sunday with all the information…but here’s all you need to know:

• Friday night,  June 18…6:30-9:00…meet at North Point
• Saturday night,  June 19…6:30-9:00…meet at North Point
• Sunday morning,  June 20…regular programs for kids and families  at 10 and 11:15
• Sunday evening,  June 20…Family swim night at Sun Valley Pool, by Lewisville High School  6:30-8:30

Check out the North Point web site for more information…and download a registration form while you’re at it!

Sunday Reflection

What a great passage we looked at yesterday!   Full of instruction…packed with wisdom for life.

Be very careful, then, how you live–not as unwise but as wise,  making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.  Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.  Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,  always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.   Ephesians 5:15-20

There is no question that God sees people as sinful.   That is abundantly clear in the writings of Paul.   But what we see in this part of his letter is something very personal.

He has this moment of simple clarity…and nobody was around to mess it up.  No “fools” to twist it around.

Paul is reminded that we are not just sinful…we’re absolutely ridiculous.

• Everyday we waste time…squander opportunities…procrastinate instead of living with purpose and determination…with our lives…with our spiritual journey…with our relationships.
• In our search for what to do…to act…to believe…we trust people and not God for our advice.
• We live recklessly…irresponsibly…whether it’s with alcohol or sex or with our money or our integrity or with the law.
• We are thoughtless.   We are not wise…we live foolishly.  We live with little or no self-control or personal discipline.
• We don’t turn to God’s word.   It seems like we only pray when we’re in trouble.

In a word.   Ridiculous!

It’s time to start over.   It’s time to make our decisions count.   It’s time to begin making the most of every opportunity.

What are you going to do this week?

Sunday Night Unplugged begins this week!

The Sunday night version of Unplugged begins this Sunday, May 23.

We will be meeting in the NP auditorium from 5:00 – 6:30.

It’s no secret. We want you to grow deeper in the North Point family.  No matter how long you have been a part of us, there are even better ways for you to get connected.

You need to know more of our history and where we stand in relationship to other churches and denominations.  You need to know more about our leadership, our priorities and our vision for the future.  You need to know more details of our financial plan, as well as ways you can serve, grow and develop better friendships in the family.

We all need this!  That’s why North Point “Unplugged” was created.

Unplugged is for everybody! Whether you are brand new to North Point or you’ve been around here for years,  you need…no,  you have to be part of this.   Nobody’s exempt.   Nobody skates.   Nobody gets a free pass.

Sunday Night Unplugged will be on two Sunday nights,  May 23 and June 6.

The next Sunday morning sessions of Unplugged will be June 13, 20 & 27…at both 10:00 and 11:15.   So if you can’t make it on Sunday nights,  then sign up for one of the next Sunday morning sessions…in the NP lobby  or online at office@npcc.cc

Sunday Reflection

I gotta admit that I am relieved to be finished with this section of Paul’s letter.   These have been some tough words coming from the heart of the great apostle.  It’s been a long three weeks!

Here are three things to remember from this section (4:25 – 5:10):

First,  remember there is a clear dividing line between light and darkness…saved and lost…redeemed and separated.   Don’t be deceived.   It can be a harsh reality and you can cry foul or argue or justify your behavior…but when the day’s over,  there are those who belong to God and those who don’t.

Second,  remember that all your rule-keeping and good behavior and obedience to God’s laws will never be enough to secure your right standing with Him.   You can say “no” to every vice you know of,  but still be just as lost and just disconnected from the God of creation as one who has never responded to Him in the first place.

Third,  instead of simply saying “no” to things,  why not start saying “yes”?   Say “yes” to the call to being like the One who’s words are true and character is flawless.   Recognize that you belong to Him and his identity is pressed into you because He lives inside of you.   His influence is not from the outside-in…but from the inside-out.

Sunday Reflection

What a great section of Scripture!   As we plow our way through Paul’s letter,  more and more of his heart and his passion for Kingdom living are becoming evident.

Here is the connection I made this week in my sermon:  a comparison of  Robert Fulghum’s  simple wisdom in his book, All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten and the Apostle Paul’s simple wisdom in Ephesians 4:25 – 5:2

Here is Fulghum’s wisdom:

All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten.   All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten.  Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain,  but there in the sand pile at Sunday School.   These are the things I learned:

Share everything.
Play fair.
Don’t hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

Live a balanced life – learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup – they all die.   So do we.

Here is Paul’s wisdom  (my paraphrase):

Don’t tell lies.  Ever.
Don’t let your anger get out of control.
Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
Earn your own money.
Do something that makes a difference in the world.
Use your money to help people.
Watch your words.  Carefully.
Don’t do things that break God’s heart.
Oh, yeah.  There are layers of anger and fighting.  Don’t even let it start.
Speak kind words and care deeply.
Forgive graciously and completely.
What would Jesus do?  Figure it out and do it!

North Point Unplugged…The time has come.

It’s almost here!   North Point Unplugged begins this Sunday.

It’s no secret.  We want you to grow deeper in the North Point family.  No matter how long you have been a part of us, there are even better ways for you to get connected.

That’s why North Point “Unplugged” was created.

In case you’ve been living in a cave,  here’s the plan.  We will be offering a three hour long classes at six different times  (along with two additional classes for those that serve on Sunday mornings)…three hours of unpackaging life at North Point…at different times over the next three months.

And everybody needs to sign up for one of those cycles.  We mean it.  Everybody!

Here’s the Cycle schedule:

May 9, 16, and 23 @ 10:00am

May 9, 16, and 23 @ 11:15am

June 13, 20, 27 @ 10:00am

June 13, 20, 27 @ 11:15am

July 11, 18, 25 @ 10:00am

July 11, 18, 25 @ 11:15am

May 23 and June 6 @ 5:00pm

(10:00 meets in the front classroom in the Lighthouse.  11:15 meets in the youth room in the back of the Lighthouse.  5:00 will meet in the Auditorium.)

You can sign up on the clipboard in the NP Lobby or you can send an email to office@npcc.cc

We begin Sunday.   Come and join in at 10:00 or 11:15.   Be some of the first ones to get “Unplugged”!