Expand Your Family

You may be here alone, with your spouse, your kids, neighbors or some friends. It doesn’t really matter because you are here, right now! If you are a believer or you are a person ‘checking’ this ‘church’ thing out, again it doesn’t matter, because you are here, right now! So the question is what are you going to do with that reality, that somehow you ended up right here, right now, today!?

We talk about the importance of community here a lot. We try to create as many possible entry points for people to enter into relationship with one another and with Christ in some new and deeper way. From the space and environment of the Sunday worship experience to the many smaller connections that occur each week around town (i.e. classes, small groups, neighborhood gatherings, prayer groups, outreach) there is always intentionality and purpose and that is Christ and you and others getting to know each other better. Why?

We know from the study of the early church and some of the most vibrant church movements around the world right now that relationships (us to Christ and to each other) + service + time = transformed lives. Transformed lives make transformed communities. We want to create as many opportunities for that to happen as possible, each and every week. In here on Sunday and out there throughout the week. Which brings us to today. Since the dawn of the church, sharing a meal has held a very special place in the formation of those relationships to each other and to Him. That’s what we are going to do today, eat together right here, right now!

But lets take another look at the why behind the why. Paul says it two different ways, first in Romans 12:2 he says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Then in 1 Cor 3:18 he says it this way, “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” We are transformed by the renewing of our minds, which comes from the Lord and being together, in relationship and community as that happens, is almost as essential and primary as the eating of the meal is to our faith. There were people at the Last Supper eating with Christ. The togetherness and the meal were a vital part of the transforming that would take place that only comes from the Lord!

So, EAT AND BE TRANSFORMED!

Parenting in the family of God

We are called the body of Christ, the family of God, sons and daughters of the King, and each others brothers and sisters. There is so much family language in Scripture from beginning to end that you could says it is one of the major themes of our faith. We are told that because of Christ’s completed work we have been adopted and made heirs according to the promise, sharing in His suffering and His glory, having the hope of eternal life (Romans 8:17, Galatians 3:29, Titus 3:17). Family is key!

I come from an Italian family and dominant part of the country, in upstate New York. One of the things I grew up appreciating was the incredible emphasis placed on family in the Italian sub-culture. “La familia” is the statement I would hear spoken from parent to child in my friends homes, reminding them that it was their family that would always be there for them, and that they would always need to be there for. Not all of us have great family memories and that can make this concept very challenging to accept. Remember that things are not always as they ought to be here, everything is affected by sin and the fall. But there is a place and a family that is perfect and Christ has invited you and me into it, forever!

One of the toughest roles one can ever have in a family is as parent. I always thought it was tough being a kid but ‘Wow’ being a parent is so much harder. Now I am not only trying to live this life and glorify God as I do it, but I am also trying to lead, inspire and develop others to do the same. I already felt inadequate, unprepared and incapable of completing the task set before me and guess what: I am. But, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Paul explains to us in Romans 5 that it is Christ who has done all the work necessary, we are simply to respond out of that reality, letting the Holy Spirit work through us in all things, remember that we will never do it perfectly this side of heaven.

As a parent now of three kids under the age of 5 I realize that teaching them is so much more about the lessons being caught then taught. My words are not nearly as effective as my behaviors. That being so, I am better off, as Paul says to the Ephesians and Thessalonians both, to be an “imitator of Christ” living a life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. That display will be a much better teacher than any words I might speak. I must live with the fruits of the Spirit evident in my own life, displaying to my children the rewards of the promise that God gave, “obey…that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” He gave this instruction and corresponding promise time and time again to the Israelites, and we are reminded of it in this weeks focus verse on parenting, Ephes 6:1-4. Obey that you may enjoy; and remember it is He who is in us that will give us what we need when we need it to be obedient and thus enjoy.

Simple, not easy…

We should get to know our neighbors? That was one of the resounding comments after the neighborhood connection two weeks ago. We have had such an incredible response to that simple, but not easy notion. We live near each other, we walk past one another on Sunday, we sit at traffic lights together but…it just isn’t that easy to go and meet the people in your neighborhood. There are lots of reasons, many of them are legitimate but none of them are good enough to do nothing about it. Why? Because in the verse we are looking at this week in Pastor Joel’s sermon in Matthew 28 we learn that this is exactly what Christ told us to go and do. Both in Matthew and again in Acts Jesus tells the disciples their mission, which is still our mission today!

Lets listen to his words more carefully: You will be my witnesses (Acts) by going into all the world (Matthew), but starting right here at home (Jerusalem), into all of Orlando (Judea) and even the parts you may not want to go to around here (Samaria – remember the Jews did not like the Samaritans), and event o the ends of the earth. By the way, all authority on heaven and earth has been given to me and I will be with you always so don’t worry too much! See being great neighbors is the first place he lists. Why? Well it is kind of like being a good husband/father or wife/mother in the home not just out around town. If it is not happening there, the potential power for impact everywhere else is weakened. If I talk the talk at the different men’s meetings I am in but then at home am not walking the walking, the talk becomes feeble. Same sort of thing here, if we go to Africa and work all around the world for Christ but then our own neighbors don’t know who we are or what we believe then we have truly missed the greatest impact we could be having.

Here it is in a nutshell. He told us to do it. We want to do it. It is very simple, it is just not easy. So we are stepping in to make it even easier. Sign up now in one of the 12 neighborhood connection groups so you too can get to know those you live around. Eat together at some point next weekend from Fri thru Sun we want everyone to have broken bread with their neighbors. Then we want to share stories about the new friendships formed. Maybe we can serve together? Maybe we can grow together in Christ by studying His Word, sending each other favorite devotional thoughts or Scriptures? Maybe we can pray for each other and others? I bet we all start noticing each other more being encouraged, edified and built up in the faith and as a result we start living Christ like lives more everywhere, every day!

Lets try it and see together!

ITS A GIRL!!!

NEXT ONE???? Yes, Matt is definitely in DENIAL!!!!

Maggie Jobson
933 Pecan Street
Oviedo, FL 32765
407-232-0213
mjobson

ITS A GIRL!!!

You go MattJ

Praise God for your “super healthy active little GIRL”. Active, what else could a Jobson be??? J

Susie

ITS A GIRL!!!

We found out today, a super healthy active little GIRL is on her way to join us, Feb 16 due date! PRAISE GOD all is well, Matt is in denail and keeps saying the next one will be a boy.

Thanks for the prayers, love and support!

Jeremy M. Jobson
Site Minister, Oviedo
Northland, a Church Distributed
407-929-3053 c
407-937-1826 o
www.northlandchurch.net

Almost there?!

This has been a crazy week and its only Tuesday.  My wife and I are leaving for Swaziland, South Africa   in 48 hrs on our first international mission trip which is awesome!!!  We are so excited and grateful for this opportunity and are confident of God’s provision and involvement in this from the begining BUT as always (at least for us) the more we think we have it somewhat figured out, HE creates challenges that require our further dependance upon HIM!!!

I know that this is a blessing in the end, but WOW it is crazy in the midst of it!

 As we get closer and feel almost there I realize we are not even close and have no idea where He is taking us at all!  Better to be on that journey with Him, than not on one at all! 

Thanks for reading, check back soon for more pics n vids, books, scripture, quotes and more on this BLOG (which is not updating Twitter, then Facebook, and back again…technology is great!)

Revelation…

I have been in a lecture class all week, Mon-Fri, from 8am to 5pm on the books from Hebrews through Revelation…Yes that is a lot of sitting and listening, and God Bless Dr. Kistemaker the professor, talking!!!

I have used the time to be productive, I think, and get this, my personal blog, off the ground, finally.  Then sitting here chatting with the guy next to me, Zak, about the ability to super-multi task in an environment like this, I began to wonder if I am actually doing any of the many things I am doing well at all…

“Felling good about all the things I am not doing well at all!”  

That was the line that came out of my mouth, to which Zak replied, “that is a pretty good statement”.  Then I had a revelation of my own: is feeling good about what I am doing more important than actually doing it well?  Am I doing things, merely marking them off my list of things to do with little regard for their effectiveness, impact or value? 

Bummer, hate trains of thought like that, convicting, reflective and incessantly clanging for change…

Procrastination…

The first blog entry I made was this:

“Well I have been writing articles for the paper and blog of the church I work for for quite a while, as well as papers for grad school, book outlines and ideas, occasional thoughts and diatribes of discussion with friends, congregants and my wife so I thought I might try to start a personal blog too and put them all in one place…lets see how it goes!?!?!?!”

Let me say that thanks to a long day sitting in a class that affords the capacity for multi-multi-multi tasking I have been adding all the articles that are worth a read from the Northland Newspaper and Northland Oviedo Blog.  I will soon start posting some other things Ihave written in the past from other areas, but I think mostly now I will mainly be doing a more traditional BLOG entry.  I have also added my Twitter and Facebook accounts to the sidebar.  You may want to read my article “Perceived Connection, Actual Isolation” to see how I feel about this in more detail…

I know I have a writers heart, started writing my first book in about eighth grade (gotta be a ‘very’ close friend to know the name of that one, but lets just say it was a bit of an ambitious task for such a young guy), but have for whatever reason…oh yeah the TITLE of this BLOG…never made the jump to begin any of the many book titles I have in my tasks list beyond basic outline.  Maybe, and I mean maybe this is the beginning of all that…but maybe not!

Sermons I have preached…

Living A Missional Life – May 2009

Beloved, Behold – February 2009

Signs of the Kingdom: The Kingdom Within You! – November 2008 (coming soon)