Dave Bowman

Next Step? Baptism!

Next weekend is baptism weekend at NHC. If you've never been baptized since making a commitment to follow Christ, it's your Next Step. So in the spirit of full disclosure, this will be the first in a series of 3 blogs about the subject of baptism. If you'd like more info, or just want to talk to someone about taking this vital Next Step, stop by Next Steps this weekend. Until then, here goes...

Baptism Pt. 1

Baptism is one of the most controversial issues the church has faced. It has caused churches to split, people to leave denominations and even some people to just give up totally and leave the church all together. Usually the fights revolve around 3 simple things that I think are very clear in the Bible: 1) who should be baptized 2) when should they be baptized 3) how should they be baptized?

So today let's tackle the who part of the equation. This is where the debate usually begins but the fact is it's very simple in the Bible. Who should be baptized? Those who have committed their lives to being followers of Jesus Christ. It's the Bible way for letting a watching world know that we are putting our trust in Christ. It literally says, "I am identifying with Jesus' death, burial and resurrection. I am a Christian and I want the world to know about it."

Just in the book of Acts alone there are 27 instances of baptism. Every one was a person or persons who had committed themselves to being Christ followers. Here's a few examples:

• Acts 2:41
• Acts 8:36
• Acts 16:31-33

So what does this mean practically to you? It means if you've made a decision to follow Jesus Christ you should be baptized! Jesus said to do it. It is a command for Christ followers. This is not something you need to think about...pray about...completely understand before you do it. It's very simple - if you have put your trust in Jesus Christ for salvation and the forgiveness of your sins, BE BAPTIZED!

Some of you who read my blog have just recently put your trust in Jesus. I want to personally challenge you and encourage you to go public next weekend. You don't have to wait! (More on that tomorrow.)

Pick up a baptism info pack this weekend at Next Steps, or call Rob at 471-6443, or email him at: rob@newhorizonchurch.tv and take that critical Next Step in your journey with Jesus.

300!

That's how  many are currently signed up for the Vow Renewal Service in all three of our weekend services at NHC!!! WOW!!! I said it before, I'll say it again: this is going to be ONE OF THE COOLEST THINGS WE'VE EVER DONE AT NHC!!! (I know, I'm getting carried away with the exclamation points, but I'm excited!!!)

So, if you haven't signed up yet, do it now and do it here. Or call the office at 471-6443. Then join us for all the fun at one of our THREE weekend services. And don't forget - fill the front and bring all your friends!

Hot Vows

This weekend Hot concludes with our first-ever Vow Renewal Service. Lots of you have already signed up to renew your marriage vows, and many more will decide to participate this weekend. Let me encourage you not to miss one of the coolest things we've ever done at NHC!

If you still haven't decided  whether to participate in the Renewal Service, I want to encourage you to jump in! What's holding you back? You don't have to dress up (usual NHC attire is fine), you won't have to stand up in front of the church alone (there will be lots of other couples standing with you), and you won't have to say anything to anybody other than your spouse. Make the commitment to each other and to God!

For those who won't be participating for one reason or another, just join us for the celebration. We'll have some great music and, as usual, it will ultimately be about Jesus and what he has done for us. After all, marriage is a picture of our relationship with Christ. So invite lots of friends and family members and join the fun!

P. S. If you still want to register you can call the church office at 471-6443 or click here for e-registration!

Authority Issues

One of the toughest lessons we as Americans have to learn is how to handle authority issues in our lives. Let’s face it – we’re a nation of rebels! It’s in our cultural DNA. Add to that our sinful nature (We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way…Isaiah 53:6) and you’ve got a toxic mix that often leads us to NOT respond to authorities in our lives in a God-honoring fashion. We question it…buck it…second guess it…accuse it…dismiss it…everything but submit to it.

In God’s economy, however, honoring those authorities God has placed over us is a form of honoring God himself. Check this out...

• Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 1 Peter 2:13,14 (NIV)

• You who are servants, be good servants to your masters—not just to good masters, but also to bad ones. What counts is that you put up with it for God's sake when you're treated badly for no good reason. There's no particular virtue in accepting punishment that you well deserve. But if you're treated badly for good behavior and continue in spite of it to be a good servant, that is what counts with God. 1 Peter 2:18-20 (The Message)

• In the same way, you younger men must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, serve each other in humility, for “God opposes the proud but favors the humble.” 1 Peter 5:5 (NLT)

• Be responsive to your pastoral leaders. Listen to their counsel. They are alert to the condition of your lives and work under the strict supervision of God. Contribute to the joy of their leadership, not its drudgery. Why would you want to make things harder for them? Hebrews 13:17 (The Message)

Government leaders...the people you work for...elders...church leaders...hmm...

So who has God placed in leadership over you?

Are you honoring them with your attitude, words and actions?

If you're a leader, are you living a life worth following?

New Music

OK, so I’m not a big Christian music fan (whatever “Christian music” is. I still can’t figure out what makes a song “Christian.”) I don’t listen to K-Love, and I don’t buy much Christian music, basically because it’s usually sappy prom songs for Jesus.

But I do like worship music and I’m a fan of Chris Tomlin. I know some think his music is a little on the simple side, but that’s one thing I like about it. One of the trends I’m seeing in worship music right now is to write songs that have a post-modern feel. That’s all well and good, but the problem is they’re hard to sing along with. That’s one of the ideas of worship music, right? To get others to sing along?

That’s what I like about Tomlin’s music. It’s simple and sing-able. And as simple as it is, it just leads you to a place where your heart is stirred and lifted to God. So, my recommendation goes to Chris’ new album, Hello Love.

Personal faves...

    • Sing, Sing, Sing
    • Jesus Messiah (Absolutely awesome worship song.)
    • You Lifted Me Out
    • Exalted
    • My Beloved

Monday Rewind

• Great weekend! Jamie announced that during this series we have seen over 60 adults commit their lives to Jesus Christ! That doesn’t count what’s happening in our Uhambo Kid’s ministry, Club 56 and Spiked Student ministry! God’s doing some great things, NHC!!

• Speaking of Spiked, they are just off the charts! Every week more and more new teenagers are showing up – many of them on their own, without their parents – because our Spiked students are inviting their friends. Adult NHC’ers, are you keeping pace? Our teenagers are putting some of you to shame!

• This weekend I said some really tough things about boundaries and consequences. If you need some help with this area let me recommend two books: Boundaries In Marriage, by Dr. Henry Cloud and Love Must Be Tough, by Dr. James Dobson.

• Next week – VOW RENEWAL SERVICE!! If you missed this weekend, you can still register via our e-registration form here. And we got several questions about what to wear. Clothes would be good! Seriously, though, you can feel free to wear whatever you want to. Some of you may want to dress up a little bit, but don’t feel obligated to. I’ll be wearing what I normally wear for weekend services, so feel free to do the same.

• Speaking of wardrobe, I’ve gotten several questions about a couple of shirts I’ve worn recently. They’re from my new favorite store – The Buckle.

• Hard to believe, but we’ll be doing some major planning this week for Christmas services. Yes, it’s just around the corner! And here’s some Christmas news in advance – Christmas Eve services return this year!

• Duke won again! Yes, there are still miracles today!

• That’s it. Got to hit the gym for a recovery workout!

Hot Homework

This weekend the Hot homework had to do with reciting your wedding vows to one another (if you're married, that is!). I promised a list of vows for those who couldn't remember your wedding vows, so here it is...

• I, __________, take thee, ___________, to be my wedded wife/husband; to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part according to God's holy ordinance.

• I, _________, take thee, ___________, to be my wedded wife/husband. To have and to hold from this day. To care for and to encourage in both good times and bad. I promise to live for Christ and with you in the full awareness of trust and love, and with this commitment, I pledge to you my love.

• I, ___________, offer myself completely to you, ____________, to be your husband/wife in marriage. I promise to love you with all of my heart, and to be true and faithful, patient, kind, and unselfish in this love. I promise to stand beside you always, in times of joy, in times of trial, and in times of sorrow. I dedicate our marriage and our home to the lordship of Jesus Christ. I pledge myself and all that I am in love.

Hot @ NHC!

The heat continues to build at NHC this weekend. God is changing lives every week and it's going to be that way again this weekend. We'll be talking about What To Do When You Don't Know What To Do.

And don't forget, we're gearing up for our first-ever Vow Renewal Service November 1st and 2nd! It doesn't matter if you've been married for a month or a decade, this will be a great opportunity to step up and heat up your marriage once again by renewing your vows. You can sign up this Sunday at Next Steps, or just click here for an e-registration. You don't want to miss being a part of this! It's going to be HOT!!

So get here early...fill the front...let's sing our lungs out and expect God to do some great things!

What About The Kids?

 I don’t make a habit of responding to comments on my blog with a post, but I just felt the necessity to do it last week and I’m feeling the same way again today. For those who don’t read the comments section, here’s the comment:

I have a question...from last week's service my daughter and I had a interesting conversation over lunch. I believe in God first, your spouse second, and the kids third. My question is, how does that apply to single again folks who are dating and there are children at home? In most cases you have a spouse then you add the children. If you go from dating to engaged to married, where do the children that are already in the picture fit in? And where do the children that are over 18 fit in? Thanks

Great question!! I didn’t cover this last weekend, but I think it needs response, so here goes.

First, if you are single again the primary relationship remains the same. God should still be your first relationship priority, probably now more than ever! In fact, before you would ever think of entering into another dating or courtship relationship you need to make sure your relationship with God is active and growing. Remember, it’s the only place you’ll find the fulfillment that you really need.

So, where do the kids fit in? They move up to second place. As a single parent your second priority must be the kids, not some dating relationship. Too many single parents are so desperate for a new relationship that they almost sacrifice the kids in order to hook up with some new hottie.

In the context of a broken family the kids are going to need more of a sense of security than they ever needed before. The thing that they depended upon most – their family – has just been ripped apart. That means parents are going to have to work harder to provide that sense of security than if the divorce had never happened.

And one more thing – don’t bring a parade of guys or gals through your kid’s lives. It’s OK for you to date, but until you are getting very serious, and I mean talking about marriage, leave the kids out of it! Every time you bring someone into their lives they form attachments, and if that person doesn’t work out it means someone else has just walked out of their life. They don’t need that.

As for children over 18, they’re pretty much on their own by that point. (Or at least they should be.)

Is It Adultery?

One of the most common questions pastors get is, “If I am divorced and get married again, am I committing adultery?” The question is usually based on one of Jesus’ simplest, yet complicated teachings about marriage:

"Moses provided for divorce as a concession to your hard heartedness, but it is not part of God's original plan. I'm holding you to the original plan, and holding you liable for adultery if you divorce your faithful wife and then marry someone else.” Matthew 19:9 (The Message)

So is it adultery? Well, yes and no. First, contrary to what some believe, the Bible ALLOWS for divorce in certain circumstances. The Bible teaches that divorce is allowed when a spouse has been unfaithful or when one spouse abandons the other. I think you can also make a Biblical case for things like abuse and out of control addictions. And of course, sometimes one spouse doesn’t want a divorce but the other spouse pursues it against their wishes. These are all cases where the answer to the original question would be “no.”

So when is it adultery? When you do what Jesus described – divorce your spouse so you can marry someone else. That is outside of God’s plan and it would be adultery.

So what if you did that? What do you do next? Divorce the new person you married because it’s adultery? The answer is really simple. You ask for forgiveness for the sin of divorce. Ask God to forgive you for your past and to bless your future.

The good news is that divorce is not the unforgivable sin and God wants to forgive you so you can move on. He hasn’t tattooed a scarlet “D” on your forehead. God wants you to honor your current marriage, submit it to him and move forward in hope and grace. God wants to give you a Hot marriage!

This weekend we’ll be talking about how to avoid the big “D” with some simple, no-nonsense advice from the Bible. So, invite  a friend or 12, get here early and fill the front. We’re going to learn What To Do When You Don’t Know What To Do!

P.S. If you've been through a divorce...if you're currently going through a separation or divorce...if you know someone who is - check out Divorce Care at NHC!