Fully Alive: The Official Podcast of Northland Church

Ponder the Wonder

During this season, we see wonder as our infinite God exceeds what our finite mind conceives. But at times, when someone or something falls short of what our finite mind conceives, we blunder and don't ponder the wonder. God gives us the ability to evaluate what is going on in our lives and see how God can help us grow through our circumstances.

Home for Christmas

Christmas is one of the greatest wonders in the history of the world. It is the time when God became man. But in our culture and in many of our lives, we have lost this wonder. The wonder of Christmas needs to be recaptured, remembered or received. Just like Mary, Christmas needs to be pondered in our hearts. God is calling us to rejoice, celebrating the wonder of the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Mary’s Song

Mary’s song in Luke 1:46-55 teaches us many life lessons about having a sweeter and deeper worship with God. Just like Mary, we are deeply impacted emotionally and spiritually by the depth of our worship and the posture of our hearts. As we worship and sing to our wonderful God, we experience God's joy, God's faithfulness and the comfort of God's promises during this Advent season.

Support Community for Surprise Calls

Mary received a surprise calling from the angel that she was going to have a baby who would be the Son of God.  After getting this surprise calling, Mary needed a support community.  Mary went to find this support community with her relative Elizabeth with whom she shared mutual beliefs, experiences and hope for the future. In our time, the church should model and provide biblical community that is authentic, true and life-giving so that as believers we are strengthened, formed, shaped and provided with great joy in our lives. 

God’s Surprises, Our Surrender

Surprises that occur in our lives are about the Lord, who He is, and what He is doing in the world. These God-given surprises allow us to play a role in what God is doing all around us. As we experience these God-given surprises, we will find they will be costly and will require us to surrender just as Mary did. Because we know that God loves us, is with us, has the details covered and can do the impossible, we can faithfully and expectantly surrender to receive His surprises.

A BIG No for a GREAT Yes

Jesus embodies the biggest no that resulted in the greatest yes. Jesus said yes to God's plan, which was for Jesus to die on the cross to save the world from sin and Jesus would rise again and be resurrected on the third day. Jesus is our ultimate example of saying yes to God in obedience and love.

The Depths of No

God is the God of both yeses and nos. Because time is limited, we must steward our yeses and discern our nos. God as our authority sets our priorities. Saying no to bad things is not the only time to say no. It is also necessary to prioritize to say no to that which is good in order to say yes to that which is great. As we set godly priorities, we then become able to experience and enjoy the greater things that God has for us.

No is a Beautiful Word

As believers, it is important to know when and how to say "no" and when to say "yes."  By saying "no" at appropriate times, we are able to say "yes" to other options that are beneficial and meaningful, as we strive to live lives that are pleasing to God. Kevin Harney shared, "I hope you will learn that no is a beautiful word. Say it often. Speak it well. And mean it when you say it. But never forget that as beautiful as it is to say no, there is an even greater beauty in the freedom to say yes." 

God, My Redeemer = More than Enough

The book of Ruth isn't just about how God redeemed Naomi and Ruth, but ultimately it is a book that points to Jesus—the Cosmic Redeemer. God's powerful redemption is only found in Jesus and He leads His people to be a redemptive community empowered by the Holy Spirit. As we realize God's powerful redemption, we understand that God is more than enough!

Trading Bitterness for Boldness

Whether disciplining by the Lord or experiencing the effects of living in a fallen world, there will be seasons where we've been dealt a bitter and bad hand. By realizing that God is enough, we are able to trade bitterness for boldness and experience God's betterness, where betterness is defined as the quality of being superior. This confidence that God is enough enables us to risk it all because God is all that is needed!