Restored By God

On Easter Sunday and EVERY Sunday Northwest Community Church celebrated the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Why? Because we believe it is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that restores our relationship with God. We celebrated the fact that God does not want nor expect us to clean up our own mess.  God allows us to exchange our mess for the forgiveness, hope, and bright future found in Jesus Christ when we profess Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior.  We discovered in Romans that once this exchange occurs, God begins to restore our lives from the inside out. And then as if you are watching a Ginsu Knife commercial the story gets even better... As God restores our lives he invites us to share the story of life-change with others. It's truly an amazing journey!

At Northwest, we believe it is our responsibility and privilege to reflect God's character and share the message of restoration with everyone we meet. In the weeks leading up to Easter Sunday, I could not have been more proud at the way Northwest lived out this incredible responsibility and privilege.  I continue to hear stories from Northwesters who have recently stepped out of their comfort zone to serve a neighbor, reach out to a coworker, invite a family member, and open up their home to develop new friendships in order to earn the right to share the message of Christ with people who may be far from God.  As a young church we are learning that discipleship (showing people how to follow Jesus Christ) requires conversation, modeling, encouragement, debriefing, and practice, all of which happen in the context of relationship.

As we continue to build relationships and invest in other people, we are reminded that there are 3 moving parts in the discipleship process:

1. God’s Part (John 6:44)
• Draws people to Himself
• Justification and sanctification
2. Our Part (Colossians 4:2-6)
• Pray for others
• Live wisely
• Make the most of every relationship God gives us
3. Their Part (Matthew 19:16-22)
• Each person is responsible for either accepting or rejecting Jesus Christ
• Individuals must make a personal commitment to Jesus Christ; You can't do it for them

It is my prayer Northwest will remained focused on trusting God to do his part while at the same time doing our part in a way that points people to the only God who is capable of restoring lives.