Northstar Church Blacksburg

We look at Matthew 1 and examine how precise God's timing is. Jeff reminds us that even though we may not understand or even agree with the timing of events in our lives, God knows what He is doing.

Jeff dives back into our Kings and Chronicles series and we look at chapter 22 of 2 Chronicles. We look at Ahaziah's life, how short his reign was in Judah and what his 'destruction' teaches us thousands of years later.

As we go into the holiday season and approach Thanksgiving, we wanted to focus on giving thanks with a special Sunday morning. Adam Wilson talks about being thankful not just in the midst of good circumstances, but in all things. Also included in this podcast is a share time at the end where our members had an opportunity to share about being thankful.

Every year in November we like take a Sunday to celebrate missions. This year we focused on 'Partnerships in the Gospel,' and we got to look at who we are partnering with in the New River Valley and across the ocean. John Upton, executive director of the Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV) and the Virginia Baptist Mission Board (VBMB), leads us on this special Sunday, and speaks about b...

We look at the life of Jehoram and his destructive kingship in Israel. Jeff reminds us that God is faithful to His word and we see that throughout this passage. We also read and see that when we are healthy and good things are happening doesn't mean it's because we are living right; likewise when bad things happen doesn't mean we are living wrong (Psalm 103:10-14).

Darrell Cook walks us through 2 Kings 8 and a we look at the goodness of God. Through chapter 8 we see that God is a God that Restores, His word is fulfilled, He out faithfuls the faithful & His timing is perfect.

Our Associate pastor, Neal Nelson dives into 2 Kings 7 as we continue in our Kings and Chronicles series. We look at a story about the northern kingdom of Israel is surrounded and in a terrible spot. We may not be surrounded in a physical war, but we may be just struggling spiritually and living a life without any faith. Neal also goes onto say that faith isn't just believing but seeking God, chas...

Jeff dives back into our Kings and Chronicles series. We look at 2 Kings 6 and see how something minor like losing an axe head can be used to see truth in our lives. 'God cares about our seemingly insignificant details of our lives,' and He wants to hear from you! God knows your needs, and wants you to open your eyes.

Every year we 'Kick-out' all of our members and reevaluate what it means to be a member of Northstar Church. We take a look at our membership covenant and walk through the different responsibilities that come with joining Northstar. We also have an r12 series share time, giving our congregation a time to talk about how our previous series impacted them.

We wrap up our r12 series as we talk about our response as Christians to evil. Jeff talks about people who have hurt us and how we as believers are called to a level of forgiveness that may seem radical to some, but it is what we are called to do as Christ followers.

Jeff starts by asking if the Christian life ever gets monotonous, if you feel like you just get up and go on Sunday mornings and just kind of go through the motions. We continue our look into Romans 12 and look at what community with other believers should look like, and how those relationships add life and excitement to our Christian walk.

As we continue our r12 series we look at how our love for ourselves correlates to how God loves us. We also are prompted to look at our strengths and weaknesses. Jeff mentions that they are both (strengths and weaknesses) given to us by God and that we should use both of them to glorify Him.

Our r12 series is halfway done and we continue to study what Paul says about living as a sold out, all-in and surrendered Christian. Jeff talks about the renewing of our mind and the constant battle we are in with the enemy to do be pure and renewed in Christ. This was also the Sunday we recognized Jeff's fifth year with Northstar. See video here: http://youtu.be/dGoBbca-NPo

With our 2nd sermon in our r12 series Jeff addresses living a surrendered life. We look at the parables in Matthew 13 and we see how the two men made a 'wise calculated decision' to do whatever they could to obtain the 'treasure.' Jeff asks if we have made that choice to give everything to Christ, body, mind, money, etc., and if we are all in.

Jeff kicks off our six-week series on Romans 12, 'r12.' Jeff outlines where we are headed in the next couple of weeks and we also hear from Carolyn Noble, Jeff's wife, and how her testimony helps catch a glimpse of what its like being a parent, and how passionate God is about His children (us). We talk about the five different relationships that we will look at throughout the series.

Neal Nelson, Northstar Church's new associate pastor, takes on 1 Kings 5 as we move forward in our Kings and Chronicles series. We look at the story of Namaan being healed and look at the deception of his servant. Neal reminds us to be confident that even in the midst of our struggles and hurt that 'God is for you' and has not given up or left you alone.

In the second and last part of our shot series, Gifted to Serve, we look into 1 Corinthians 12 and look at spiritual gifts for what they are, how they are given, how we should receive them, and how to use them.

We dive into a two-part series looking at our spiritual gifts and how we are 'Gifted to Serve' with those gifts. (This podcast also includes a short testimony from Viktor Orekhov sharing about using his gifts in ministry).

Jeff continues our Kings and Chronicles series and we dive into 2 Kings 4. Throughout the passage we see constant mishaps, shortages and death, but Jeff reminds us that all is well with Christ. 'You can focus on death and debt or God; on mishaps and mistakes, on dangers in life or God; on your lack or on your Lord'

We continue in our Kings and Chronicles series and dive into chapter three of 2 Kings. We see the reign of Jehoram in the northern kingdom and see that he brought reform but still was an evil king. Jeff reminds us that we should never compare our sin to other peoples and think 'it's not as bad as....' we should always measure sin against God's holiness, which we will fall short of without Christ.

We continue in our Kings and Chronicles series and dive into 2 Kings. We look at Ahaziah and see how bad of a king he was, and we see the interaction between he and Elijah and how it ends with the death of Ahaziah. Jeff ends by asking if we are seeking God, do you have hidden closets or cupboards that we keep for ourself and not let God be Lord, and reminds us that we need to stop being casual wit...

Adam begins our sermon talking about trust falls, and he makes four points: Trust falls are about the other person, they build trust, they speak louder than words, and they are on display. Adam uses this illustration to show how Jehoshaphat trust falls into Gods arms in 2 Chronicles 20.

Jeff leads us back into our Kings and Chronicles series by going into 1 Kings 18 and we dive into a lot as we see the ministries of Obadiah and Elijah and how they compare. We also look at the showdown between Elijah and prophets of Baal and how God showed up as fire fell from heaven. Jeff talks about how we as believers sometimes act and live like God doesn't have the power to show up in the thin...

We continue our Kings and Chronicles series and finish up 1 Kings. We see king Ahab given opportunity after opportunity to see Gods grace and repent. Jeff points out that we fall into the trap as Christians by rationalizing sin. We conclude by talking about 'spiritual stupidity,' where we want God's help but not His heart.

We continue in our study of 'Kings and Chronicles' and we follow Elijah after the showdown with the prophets of Baal. We see Elijah traveling and following after God, and seeking after the 'still small voice.'