Northridge Free Will Baptist

Would you rather have Jesus right next to you, or have the Holy Spirit within you? We often wish Jesus was still here today. We envy the disciples who lived in the presence of Jesus. They could be with Him, see Him, and talk with Him physically. But what if the Holy Spirit within us was better than Jesus beside us? Let’s see what Scripture says.

How do you respond to the resurrection?

The events of the day of Pentecost were the fulfillment of Jesus' promises to the disciples. In obedience to Jesus, the disciples had gathered, prayed, and waited until the promise of the Father came (Acts 1:5). As the disciples waited, and prayed, Jesus kept His word and poured out the Holy Spirit on those who were gathered (v33). The pouring out of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 is merely the first d...

What if Scripture was supposed to be a blessing instead of a burden? What if Scripture was supposed to bring us joy and not discourage us? What if Scripture wasn't supposed to be the "pie in the sky" ideal, but the reality of the way we were supposed to live? What if instead of saying "I can't" we started believing "I can"? If you have learned to live with a defeatist mindset, I have good news. Th...

Once we stop taking Scripture at face value, we begin to trust more in what people can do in the natural world, than in what God can do through prayer. If prayer has become routine for you. If you've lost confidence in the power of prayer to make a difference, I have good news for you. There is more!

Poor pitiful Christians barely scrape by. Poor pitiful Christians survive but rarely thrive in their spiritual lives. Poor pitiful Christians live defeated, discouraged lives. If you believe a poor pitiful Jesus Gospel, and live a poor pitiful Christian life, then I have good news for you. There is more!

I have good news if your life is an ordeal instead of an adventure. There is more! I have good news if you've resigned to hopelessness. There is more. Today we are going to see that we can have hope.

If you understand Jesus to be information to be learned instead of a person to have a relationship with, then this morning I have good news for you. There is more. Jesus is a real person that you can really know and have a real relationship with. And when you have a relationship with Jesus, that changes everything.

My friends, if you view Christianity as a self-help philosophy, or a harsh religious system, then I have good news for you today. There is more! Christianity is about a life changing relationship with Jesus Christ who came to give us life, and life more abundantly (John 10:10).

The mindset of the older brother prevents him from being able to enjoy being his father's son. He never seemed to have enjoyed serving his father, or working with his father. In the older brother's mind, his life was one of bondage and not freedom, duty and not joy. The reaction of the other brother is pretty terrible but I wonder if his reaction/mindset is really all that unique. I'm fairly convi...

As followers of Jesus, you and I play an essential role in God’s plan for the lost to be found. We must be active and faithful in trying to bring the lost to Christ. Before we will be active in seeking to bring the lost to Christ, we must be convinced of the power of the Gospel to lead people to Jesus. We must be convinced of Jesus' desire and power to save the lost and restore the backslider. Tod...

Everything about Jesus is good news. Everything Jesus teaches is good news. Everything Jesus does is good news. Everything Jesus calls on us to do is good news. Today we are going to look at a passage that lays out for us what this good news means for those who don't know Jesus.

I believe it is possible for Christians to have such a godly influence on the people around them that it literally changes their community. In fact, I believe we are supposed to be this kind of influence. However, I don’t believe it can be done through protests, politics or boycotts. It can only be done through the Gospel. and the power of the Holy Spirit. Today we are going to look at a parable w...

Anytime Jesus starts a sentence with "Beware…" we ought to pay attention. We ought to pay careful attention.

If David’s past was any indication of what his future would be like, then David is certain that the blessings he's experienced in his past will continue with him forever. The overall picture is that David never expected the blessings from his Shepherd to end. When I follow Jesus the blessings never end.

Fear is one of the most common issues people deal with. It has been said that there are 365 commands in Scripture telling us not to be afraid. I haven't counted to confirm this, but if it's true that means there is a Biblical exhortation not to let fear control us for every day of the year. Scripture teaches that God has NOT given us a spirit of fear (2 Tim 1:7) so I can confidently say that livin...

John 10 reveals Jesus as the Good Shepherd who leads His sheep. Jesus knows what's best. He knows the best way to do what needs to be done. He pretty much knows everything there is to know about what needs to be done. Our job isn't to question His leadership. Our job isn't to assist His leadership. Our job is very simple, we are to follow His leadership. This passage gives us three characteristics...

It is hard to stay satisfied with anything for very long. There seems to be something in all of us that says there is more to life than what I’m currently experiencing. So what we do is we set out find what will satisfy this longing within us. Sadly, what we seek doesn't provide the lasting satisfaction that we desire. Where we can find lasting satisfaction for longing in our soul?

God has always intended that His people would be different than the world around them. Typically, we think of this difference as it relates to morality. To be sure, morality is included in what it means to be different because we are God's people. However, this difference isn't limited to morality. This difference is meant to be seen in every area of our lives. It's meant to be seen in our moralit...

A gut check is a test of our character, courage, or determination. We face gut checks in every area of our lives, even in our devotion to Jesus. Our first gut check question is: Am I giving God my best or what's left?

Jesus said the church is to be a house of prayer (Mark 11:17). One of the main things you have to do to be a house of prayer is to pray. When you read the book of Acts, you find that the church gathered together and prayed together often. If our church is to be a house of prayer as Jesus said, and as the early church modeled, then we must have times where we gather together and pray.

For Christians this time of year should be the most hopeful time of all. For it is at this time of year that we remember the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. What would it look like for us to live in the hope Jesus gives? That's what we're going to talk about today.

Can you imagine Joseph's dilemma when he found out Mary was pregnant? Presumably Mary told Joseph the entire story. The angel visit, the Holy Spirit coming upon her, the power of the Most High was going to overshadow her, everything. What was Joseph to do with such a fantastic story? The dilemma Joseph faces is regarding what to do with this story. What should he do? That's what we'll see today.

Many people struggle with feelings of inadequacy. While they would love to serve Jesus, they just don’t feel as though they can. Despite our feelings of inadequacy, we know that the Bible clearly teaches that we are to live for Jesus and serve Jesus that keeps them from serving Jesus. What do we do when these feelings attack us? Do we simply suck it up and move on? Do we accept these feelings as t...

Chances are we all have long standing prayer requests that God has yet to answer. For years you’ve prayed but nothing seems to be happening on the spiritual front. How do we keep from giving up during these times? How do we keep from allowing the wait to erode our hope and our faith? This morning we are going to look at a passage that will encourage and help us with this.