February 12, 2012
Pastor Tyler Thompson

30 Days of Fasting and Prayer: Part 4 / 1 Kings 18:20-39

February 5, 2012
Pastor Tyler Thompson

We talked about two extremes within the evangelical world when it comes to church. The first is the stereotypical church, filled with programs, glitz, and glamour. Many blame the lack of depth for a pervasive lukewarm Christianity, and see the startling number of teens that walk away from the church as the worst statistic. The second extreme is the pendulum-swing reaction; Nursery, Sunday School, and youth group are considered as both causes and symptoms of a spiritual ill, so they are done away with and the parents instruct the children at home.

As is usually the case with polar ends of any spectrum, both extremes are problematic. Churches need to equip believers for service and faith (Eph. 4:11-13), and families need to submit to the institution of the church (Heb. 13:17). If the church fails here, it ceases to be Christ’s church – and if individuals and families neglect this command, they are in sin.

There is so very much to be said about this dichotomous situation. What is clear is that fathers, mothers, and children need to fulfill their roles (Eph. 5:22-6:1), and the church must provide sound teaching, community, and authority for everyone (Col. 1:18, Phil. 2:1-3, Luke 18:16).

My prayer is that NEBC, and the Student Ministry here, is seeking first God’s best for teens, parents, and the whole body of Christ.

January 29, 2012
Pastor Tyler Thompson

30 Days of Fasting and Prayer: Part 2 / Psalm 20

January 22, 2012
Pastor Tyler Thompson

30 Days of Fasting and Prayer: Part 1

January 15, 2012
Pastor Tyler Thompson

Get into God’s Word in 2012 / How Not to Read Your Bible

January 8, 2012
Pastor Matt Lourdeau

Get into God’s Word in 2012 / Psalm 19:1-11

January 1, 2012
Pastor Tyler Thompson

December 25, 2011
Pastor Tyler Thompson

Christmas 2011: Luke Chapter 1, Part 2

December 18, 2011
Pastor Tyler Thompson

Christmas 2011: Luke Chapter 1

December 11, 2011
Pastor Tyler Thompson

Heaven: Part 9 / Questions and Answers

December 4, 2011
Pastor Tyler Thompson

November 27, 2011
Pastor Tyler Thompson

Four Principles to Live By

November 20, 2011
Guest Speaker: Rev. Dwight Knight

Heaven: Part 8 / Three Questions about Hell

November 13, 2011
Pastor Tyler Thompson

Heaven: Part 7 / True Worship

November 6, 2011
Pastor Tyler Thompson

What we write or type has a weight that can not be quantified. In a day where cached websites store data indefinitely and nothing is off the record, our words can hurt, come back to haunt us, and continue to hurt afterwards. Whenever we write something inflammatory we usually a) aren’t thinking about what we are actually doing, and b) aren’t thinking about how it represents our witness for Christ.

I’ve been reading selections from prominent atheist authors as of late, and one of the things that they display as some sort of badge of honor is the hate mail they receive from Christians. Richard Dawkins follows a list of vile quotations from some of his detractors with the statement, “nor does (my hate mail) display to advantage the charity for which the founder of Christianity was notable.” Surely, this pattern is replicated in the inboxes of public school educators, left-leaning politicians, and other historical “enemies” of faith.

What are we trying to do here? Light the fires of hell or share the love of Christ?

We often quote Proverbs (“we” includes the apostle Paul in Romans 12) when we have the urge to snarl out at something we disagree with:

If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; 
And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; 

For you will heap burning coals on his head, 
And the LORD will reward you.

Proverbs 25:21-22

This doesn’t mean that we can be sweet and smug, waiting for the coals to fall. We legitimately show the grace and mercy to those who are undeserving, because we ourselves are undue recipients of grace and mercy.

Now, I am not discouraging making your voice heard or trying to right wrongs. There is a time and a place for such things, and we are blessed to live in a country that allows such discourse.

What I am getting at is discernment. Ignore the urge for a temporal catharsis, the self-satisfaction that accompanies telling someone off from the relative safety of our desk, and react with Godly discipline.

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

1^st Corinthians 13:1

And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.

James 3:6

October 23, 2011
Pastor Tyler Thompson

Heaven: Part 5 / What Will We Do in Heaven?

October 16, 2011
Pastor Tyler Thompson

Heaven: Part 4 / A Foretaste of Glory, The New Jerusalem

October 9, 2011
Pastor Tyler Thompson

Heaven: Part 3 / “Extreme Makeover,” Heaven Edition

October 2, 2011
Pastor Tyler Thompson

 “Are you willing to renounce your faith in Christ?”

 “Are you willing to renounce your faith in Christ?”

Three times this week, Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani was asked if he was willing to recant his Christian faith and turn back to Islam.  Each time, in an Iranian court with a death sentence hanging in the balance, Pastor Yousef responded “no”.

Arrested two years ago after trying to legally register the Christian church which he pastors, Pastor Yousef was sentenced to death.  The final hearing was yesterday and the world waits to see if Iran will execute this humble pastor, husband, and father.

I cannot help myself from personalizing this.  Would I have the guts to stand up for Christ if that meant I would be executed?  Could I choose Christ and execution or would I fail, deny Him, choose the safe and familiar, and hope everyone would understand?

Stephen, the first martyr, said these words before his execution:  “Look!  I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”  Those are beautiful words, but I wonder if I could say them myself.  

I fear that my little compromises today, even though well-intentioned and rational, are prophets predicting what I might do if all were on the line.  Too often I choose my wife, children, and ministry over Christ under the banner of “being responsible” or wanting to be “better than an infidel”.  Why would that change in death?

Lord, may I be as willing to live for you as you were to die for me.

More info on Pastor Yousef may be found at www.aclj.org.

Fall is usually when we start to do that in our lives. School starts back up, weekends away aren’t in the plans, and things just get back to normal. For many, once we get back in to the swing of things church/youth group becomes part of the schedule.

Sound like a good plan? It shouldn’t.

Why isn’t church a) part of “the swing of things,” and b) why did it go away?

Today, I really just want to focus on the former. In all honesty, when we say we will get back into church when “things calm down” or “get settled” we are discounting the place of God’s will in our lives. It would be like a car accident victim saying they will go to the hospital once they start feeling better.

The apostle Paul uses “body of Christ” imagery to communicate how vital community is to the life of the believer (Romans 7, 12, 1^st Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4). It is the vehicle for bearing one another’s burdens, edifying through teaching and rebuking, and fellowship.

Hopefully there is much excitement for the fall; leaves, pumpkin pie, football, and church. May the fellowship of the spirit (Phil. 2:1) be something we yearn for as our lives begin to settle in for the crisp evenings of autumn.

September 25, 2011
Pastor Tyler Thompson

Heaven: Part 1 / Introduction, Myths and Misconceptions

September 18, 2011
Pastor Tyler Thompson

Remebering 9/11, Responding to Trials and Trauma

September 11, 2011
Pastor Tyler Thompson

The Parables of Jesus: Part 8 / The Lord’s Prayer, A Friend Comes at Midnight, Asking-Seeking-Knocking

September 4, 2011
Pastor Tyler Thompson