Posts with the category “lead-pastor”

Friday email - December 16, 2022 The birth of Christ will be our focus for worship this Sunday. Our goal will be to consider the beauty of this simple narrative without much embellishment. We’ll sing traditional and contemporary Christmas songs and light the advent candle for LOVE. Much meaning and tradition surrounds this season. The global Church has helped focus on the birth and advent of the C...  Read More

Friday Email - October 7, 2022 Our WAIT & Renew series has taken us from the messianic prophecies about the coming of Jesus, through the birth and death of the Christ, and now to Jesus’ instructions for his followers to — you guessed it — wait. The books of Luke and Acts are sequels (Part 1 and Part 2, if you will). As Luke closes with the death of Christ, Acts opens with important information not...  Read More

Friday Email - September 16, 2022 September 24 - Congregational MeetingLast year – on the first week of November – we were invited to a congregational meeting to give input about growing younger, stronger, and more diverse as we seek to increase our transformational impact through God’s love. That led to a congregational Strategic Team who came back to the elders with the eight recommendations sha...  Read More

Friday email - September 9, 2022 Jerry Seinfeld’s stand-up featured our American complaints about the “waiting room.” Why? Because it’s very name indicates we will have to wait. And I believe this is a true statement: We’re not good at waiting! Our world is designed for speed and hurry. We typically view waiting as a waste of time. When our son traveled to Uganda an invitation was extended to “sit...  Read More

Friday email - August 12, 2022 Complexity or simplicity? In general, which way do you lean?When it comes to writing and communication, simplicity is very complex. Cutting words, creating clarity, and making it simple takes work and intentionality. Complexity can happen by accident. Simplicity demands focus. This is true in life as well.During the past two years, simplicity was forced on many of us...  Read More

Friday Email - July 29, 2022 Text: Ecclesiastes 2:2-3, 9:13-10:1; 11:7-10 “Do you know why old men need young men,” the elder (not from NWC) asked me.“Truthfully, I’m not sure,” I replied.“Old men need young men to fight their battles. Young men believe they are invincible. Old men know they are mortal.”That conversation took place when I was about 35 years old, and led my thoughts in an unexpecte...  Read More

Friday, July 22, 2022 Despair is the opposite of hope. God’s people are spiritually designed to be bearers of hope. Not a cheap hope based on happy circumstances, but a deep hope based on conviction in Christ. However, we can find ourselves equating a hopeful disposition with a happy disposition.One misunderstanding people have is that people of faith shouldn’t talk about or process deep despair (...  Read More

Summer Series, Lesson3Friday, July 15, 2022 The Bible is credited for this famous quote, but whoever popularized the statement took significant liberties in the translation. A better translation is this, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” This specific proverb is attributed to Solomon — not just the “sayings of the wise.” But we need to remember, it’s a s...  Read More

Summer Series, Lesson 2Friday, July 10, 2022 Have you ever built a menu around dessert? It’s a great idea because, after all, every great meal culminates with a great dessert. Planning this way can complicate things. Usually, dessert is an afterthought. And, if you’re like me, you want choices for dessert. Other times, if the meal is really fulfilling, it can feel good to skip dessert altogether. ...  Read More

Starting July 3, our summer sermon series asks this question: If you had walked in the Garden of Eden and had the choice of the Tree of Life or the Tree of Knowledge, which would you choose? Humanity too often chooses knowledge over life. Preaching: Chris Goldman, Lead Pastor...  Read More

Friday, July 1, 2022 Choices…we have a love-hate relationship with them. Some days, I’m simply too tired to make even one more choice. But not making a choice is — by default — making a choice. So no matter what I choose, it can feel meaningless…a chasing after the wind. Everything in life is, after all, a choice: We choose to stay or move.  We choose to speak or listen.  We choose to work or rest...  Read More

Friday, June 24, 2022 We all want to live meaningful lives and make a difference in our world. No person in history had more of a positive impact than Jesus did. After all, 2,000 years later, millions of people base their lives and faith on Jesus Christ, the Son of God.The Senior Director Of Operations at World Concern is our own Peter Macharia. On their website, we read, “World Concern is a Chris...  Read More

Friday, June 17, 2022 Father’s Day at Northwest is also our Graduation Celebration. This year we will be treated to a service led by our students and youth pastors.The big question is an age-old question humanity will always deal with: How can the young secure their hearts? How can parents help? How can the church become a place for them throughout the entire journey?Jessie will lead us to explore...  Read More

Friday, June 10, 2022 Last Sunday, we challenged the congregation to help raise $20,022.22 towards special mission projects worldwide.  You responded and gave $22,555.49 — exceeding our need and allowing us to support these projects as well as others.  Thank you so much.Shortly after the great Pentecost event recorded in Acts 2, we read these words, “They [those who believed and were baptized] dev...  Read More

Email message to Lead Pastor, Chris Goldman, on June 4, 2022. Michael granted permission to share this as a brief personal update with the Missions Team and NWChurch in general. Hi Chris,How are you doing, brother? Hopefully this has been a fruitful season at Northwest and in your family. It was so good to hear about the event that NW church hosted recently for the newly arrived Afghans in the are...  Read More

June 3, 2022 Going Global, Serving LocalPentecost means “fiftieth day.” It is the 50th day of Passover. And in the year Jesus Christ was crucified, a remarkable chain of events began that impacts each of us today.That year — probably 29 AD — thousands of Jews had come to the Holy City of Jerusalem for Passover and the celebration of Pentecost. They witnessed the crucifixion of a rabbi from the sma...  Read More

May  27, 2022 For everyone who can attend our ONE-SERVICE SUNDAY (10:30 Combined service), you are in for a treat.  Dr. Dan Rice — who is most known for his paintings — will be preaching on the topic of “The Christian Mind and the Importance of Our Imagination.”God’s people, created in God’s image, should be some of the most imaginative people in the world.  How are you doing as an imaginative fol...  Read More

Type your new text here. Sunday Lesson: Little One’s and Livestock, Acknowledging the Pace of ChangeSpeaker: Ann McMurrayIn leadership circles, there’s a saying, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” The expression didn’t come from the business world…it’s an ancient African proverb.So much of the Bible’s teachings focus on “others.” It may be the biggest challenge...  Read More

Being Human 5/13/2022When Life Throws You Curveballsby Chris Goldman, Pastor "A fortune awaits those who seek peace." Psalm 37:37The last two weeks have presented personal challenges as COVID-19 forced cancellation of my trip to Pepperdine University and triggered a severe case of Bell's Palsy.  It's been an unsettling couple of weeks...an un-peaceful time. My primary form of work is speaking and ...  Read More