New Testament Christian Church

If we at NTCC are about anything, we are about Jesus Christ. If there is any personal goal we have it is to see people receive Him as Lord of their lives. This Sunday, I will be dealing with experiencing Jesus (not just knowing about Him). I will include the beginning steps of actually becoming a Christian. Do you know someone who needs to hear this? Bring them! Do YOU need to hear this? Join us!

For those of you reading this who believe that sin or evil exists, the question often arises, "Who or what created sin?" God, of course, gets blamed by many. Others say that sin is Satan's invention. One person said "...sin is something the church created to get people to behave the way they want..." Actually I don't buy into any of those. I believe the Bible teaches that sin is created whenever mankind chooses to disobey God's laws. Just like turning out the light creates darkness, so turning away from God's mandates creates sin. That means sin actually comes down to choices we make. Let's look at this a little more closely this Sunday at NTCC where we will examine the first sin of all time, recorded in Genesis 3.

Do you like to make others laugh? Most of us do, especially those we love the most. The closer the relationship, the more there is mutual laughter. But how about God, does He ever purposely try to get us to laugh? I think the answer is yes. Have you and the Lord ever had a good laugh together? If not, could it be that you just aren't getting His jokes! This coming Sunday we will look at the story of Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac, in a message titled "When God Makes You Laugh." Come with a smile!

When people look at you, what do they see? "That sounds like a loaded question," you say. In a way, it is. People who claim to be Christians should know that God's plan, after entering into their lives, is to "get back out." In other words, others should see more in Christians than just reflections of their original selves, they should also begin to see occasional glimpses of the person of God. We are going to see how that works itself out this Sunday morning at NTCC as we consider "Reflecting God's Glory."

If we at NTCC are about anything, we are about Jesus Christ. If there is any personal goal we have it is to see people receive Him as Lord of their lives. This Sunday, I will be dealing with experiencing Jesus (not just knowing about Him). I will include the beginning steps of actually becoming a Christian. Do you know someone who needs to hear this? Bring them! Do YOU need to hear this? Join us!

Our very own John Bedore!

Glory is pretty much a Bible word used only sparingly in secular talk. And even Bible readers see the word as somewhat mysterious, especially when it comes to "the glory of God," which is the most common usage in scripture. For the next three Sundays, we are going to delve into this multiple-layered truth. It will be much like viewing a many-sided diamond in the bright sunlight. Get ready to be dazzled!!

I miss being a kid. I was one of those fortunate enough to have strong Christian parents and solid Christian grandparents who only lived blocks away, so my childhood memories are the kind that make me wish I could time-travel my way back and re-experience some of those golden days. Jesus definitely had a heart for children. This Sunday we are going to look at Christ's words in the first few verses of Matthew 18 and see if we can answer this question: What is it about being a Christ-follower that is like being a kid again? Join us!

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13

A great number of our questions about personal suffering center around "Why?" Why did this happen to me? Why did God not step in and prevent it? Why do good people have such bad things happen to them? Frankly, I have few if any answers to those questions and those I do find in scripture are not what most of us want to hear. What I do think is more prevalent in the Bible is HOW to respond when we suffer because we ALL ARE going to suffer at times. This Sunday morning at NTCC we are going to discover what I Peter 4:12-16 tells us about how to suffer. I am titling it "The Don'ts of Suffering." You're welcome to join us!

Christians struggle with doubt, just like everybody else. That may well be the biggest reason the Apostle John wrote his first epistle--to assure us of truths we can KNOW. John uses the word "know," or a version of it, at least 13 times in that small 5-chapter book. In the last few verses, where we will be this coming Sunday, he uses it three times. As an awkward fill-phrase, we often overuse "you know" to the point that it is just meaningless verbage in our everyday conversations. John doesn't do that. Sunday we will look at some powerful truths he says we can know...for sure!

Prayer is a mysterious phenomenon. In our discussions, writings, lessons & sermons, we often try to take the mystery out of it, to reduce prayer to an equation that always works when followed accurately. The older I get, the less comfortable I am with that approach. I don’t think God has given us all the answers to our questions about prayer. He has left some of the mystery in it. I believe He wants us to quit concentrating on getting something from Him and instead, enjoy just being with Him. We will look more at this wonderful privilege of prayer this coming Sunday as we consider I John 5:14-17.

To the unchurched individual, Christianity has some seemingly "strange" buzzwords like blood, spirit, & baptism. These can even come off "creepy" to someone who is completely foreign to the church. This Sunday we are actually going to look at a passage in the Bible book of First John that happens to contain all three of those words! In reality, they have some wonderful meanings and application that I will do my best to present at NTCC's 10:00 a.m. worship service. Hope to see you there!