NMC Audio Podcast

While all of our attention is focused on Jesus’ birth (His first coming that is often referred to as the Advent season), Jesus pressed His disciples to focus on His second coming. Throughout the Gospels, we continually hear the words of Jesus – “BE READY!” Jesus uses a variety of stories and illustrations to motivate His disciples to be prepared for His second advent – His second coming. The words...

In times of turbulence, it’s easy to ask, “Is anyone in charge?” In this time of global disruption, people are wondering if this is the end of the world. Is it all coming to an end? What’s going on? When everything seems to be coming apart at the seams, it’s important to know the one that holds all things together. The entrance of Jesus fulfilled prophecies from yesterday. It also provides us ever...

Augustine once said, “The new is in the old concealed; the old is in the new revealed.” The Scriptures are not isolated, disconnected thoughts or stories. Everything in human history has been pointing to the person and work of Jesus Christ. Everything has been fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Do you have eyes to see?

Everybody wants to know the secret. What’s the secret to wealth, fitness, financial success, or a happy family? So what’s the secret to contentment, a joy-filled life, and soul satisfaction? The apostle Paul declares that he has found the secret (Phil. 4:12). So, just what is that secret? Will it really work?

Paul again begins the third chapter of Philippians by calling the churches to rejoice, to express the deep, soul-satisfied joy that they possess. Again, we ask the question, “What might hinder the experience and the expression of joy in my life?” Paul clearly lays out two different ways of living—one that leads to the fullest experience and expression of joy and the other that leads to destruction...

It’s a dead end street! The paths that we think lead us to joy often leave us disappointed and unfulfilled. While those paths can provide moments of pleasure, they only give us temporary happiness. They can take our mind off of our troubles, yet fail to deliver true, deep joy. Amidst brutal circumstances, the apostle Paul outlines a clear path towards deep, abiding joy. Walking that path is counte...

Philippians is a power-packed letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the churches in Philippi. It offers us the opportunity to see that there is joy in the journey. Paul’s life and letter preach this message loudly, "Rejoice! Life is full of mountain highs and valley lows," and we can often ask the question: "What just happened?" We may be unsure of how to respond to our circumstances. We may be un...

October 31,2021 / Heb 10:23-25, Rev 19:6-9, 1 Pet 2:1-11, Mat 5:14-16 Weddings are beautiful moments of celebration. The union of a man and woman becoming one is an incredible symbol of hope for the Church. We eagerly await the wedding of the Lamb that is depicted in the second coming of Christ, the union of Christ and His bride. Christ loves His bride. Do we? What if we loved Christ's bride in th...

Conflict is something we all face. Many times we experience conflict in our families, our friendships, our places of work, and even places of worship. We want to help. We want to give you the inspiration and information you need to reconcile and resolve your conflicts.

In a time of strong opinions, harsh rhetoric, and polarizing ideas, the gospel cries out for us to do “one another” with intentionality and excellence. It’s not an option. Consistently and clearly we are called to do “one another” as Jesus did. Walking "with" Jesus means that as brothers and sisters, we learn to walk "with" one another. Isolation and self-protection aren’t an option. Walking "with...

It is one thing to know something, but it is a whole different thing to put that knowledge into practice. We now know that doing life WITH God is the better way to relate to God, but how do we practically live out that knowledge? The Word of God lays out a very simple path to the posture of WITHNESS, but one that takes a high level of intentionality.

Life for God sounds like a great posture to take in our relationship with God, but is it the best? Could it be that in such a posture our motivations may be distorted, as well-intentioned as they may be? A life for God posture can quickly place the mission over the Master, significance over salvation and performance over presence. May we reorient our hearts to choose what is better, like Mary did...

Could it be that sometimes we have the tendency to view our relationship with God similarly to the way we view our relationship with a vending machine? God becomes someone that we get things FROM. Consumerism is a ME-focused universe where everything’s value is determined by its usefulness to me, even when it comes to God. What if we traded building the “Kingdom of My” with the “Kingdom of Thy”?

So just who is in charge? Our natural tendency is to want to be in control. We tend to minimize God and maximize ourselves. We want a relationship with God, but we want one where we are in control. We find ourselves trusting more in the natural than the supernatural. Life WITH God is the only way to complete joy and fulfillment.

Living life under God seems like a proper way to relate with God, right? We ought to live under God’s authority, but what happens when this posture gets distorted and the motivations muddled? Living under God can quickly become a means to manipulate God through obedience to secure blessings and avoid calamities. What if we traded the posture of life under God for a posture of life with God?

One of the mega-themes of the Bible is the very idea of God with us. God never abandoned His creation. He does not dwell in the heavens apathetic and uninvolved in the affairs of humanity. He is God with us, manifested most powerfully through the incarnation of Jesus Christ—Emmanuel. Here’s the catch though: God, in his infinite goodness and greatness, has chosen to do life with us, but have we re...

Surrounding us daily is an ever increasing accumulation of information. We see it, absorb, and often pursue more of it. As people, we want to know more. As Christians, we want to know more so we can connect more with God and others. You may be startled to find out there is one piece of information about Jesus no one can know. And amazingly, it is the not knowing which informs how we choose to live...

The statistics are staggering and dismal. Stress, anxiety, depression, fear, and other related mental and emotional health symptoms are showing up in our everyday lives from small to debilitating ways. We are doing our best to find new and better ways to cope, but often without success. While followers of Jesus are never exempt from these challenges, we have an advantage over those who don’t know...

When we look at the Ten Commandments given to Moses by God, it is interesting that many of us would agree that we must continue to not worship other gods, have idols, misuse the name of the Lord, dishonor our parents, murder, commit adultery, steal, lie, and covet. But what about the fourth commandment… should we continue to observe the Sabbath? Should we work six days and on the seventh completel...

One of the distinguishing factors of Christianity in comparison with other world religions is the access that we have to God through the blood of the Lamb. Jesus has made a way for all of us, once and for all. Why then do we not embrace this gift with consistency and with confidence? What would happen if we devoted ourselves to fully receive God’s gift of presence?

Maybe the term "woke" as it is being used today has you concerned or confused as to its meaning and context. Don't let that stop you from embracing the call in Scripture to "wake up" spiritually. The Lord has a purpose and a plan for every believer to fulfill. We are called to follow Him. We are in the process of being changed by Him. And we have been challenged by Him to impact our world. We can...

We believe that God is omnibenevolent (all-good), omnipotent (all-powerful), and omniscient (all-knowing). So how are we to understand suffering, pain ,and evil in this life? If God is all-good, then He would desire for there to only be good, right? If God is all-powerful, wouldn’t He have the power to end all suffering, pain, and evil? And if God is all-knowing, wouldn’t He have the knowledge on...

It’s so very easy for us to say that we believe that God can do anything, but we often live as if we don’t really believe that. A father who encounters Jesus in the Gospel of Mark helpfully illustrates that strange tension. Jesus’ response helps us see a deeper truth about who He is and the nature of a deeper faith that can change how we live!

Our culture today is constantly bombarding our children, trying to get them to conform to their way of living. As an adult, many times we don’t know what to do. What does it take to be inspired and equipped to raise Godly children who are able to stand strong in a world that falls short?