Sermons Online
Get notes and listen to audio from past sermons at NorthStar on our Sermon Updates page. Membership
If you are interested in becoming a member of NorthStar or learning more about our church sign up for a Discovering NorthStar class by sending an email to email@northstarchurch.us
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Church UpdatesJuly 2010Monday, July 12, 2010 Baptism and Burgers
This Sunday after the service we met down at NIC beach to baptize Sarah and welcome her and Josh into our church family (as members). Afterward we shared some burgers and other summer food. A great time was had by all.
Pastor Search
This Sunday we will be voted for our pastor search team. Four of the candidates nominated will be serving. The names of the team members will be announced once all of them have been notified. Start praying now for the work they are going to do!
Destination 4: Give it Away
You can read this week's challenge at www.northstarchurch.us/destination4. But its really so simple that you don't need directions. The challenge is to give away a Bible. We have a bunch of New Testaments at the church that you can use, or maybe you can clean off your book shelf and give away one of the Bibles you haven't looked at in years. *UPDATE* Greg informed me that he and Talia gave away three Bibles at the beach after baptism. Way to go guys!
For more info about this summer's challenges go to Journey 2010
Youth Group
The students of NorthStar have decided to get outside the four walls of the church--literally. The students will be meeting at the park in "The Landings". That's the neighborhood southwest of the Ramsey and Atlas intersection. There they hope to be available to reach out to new students and their families. If you are looking for any old place to hand out Bibles, why not head over to the Landings?
April 20, 2010Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Hope you're having a great week. Here's what's going on at NorthStar:
Wednesday, April 21
6 pm Dinner (bring-a-dish)
6:30 Prayer (Any volunteers to do childcare?)
Thursday, Aprill 22
6:30 Youth Worship Time
Friday, April 23
6 pm--Midnight, Ladies Craft Night, Bring a friend and a snack!
Sunday, April 25
Sunday Morning worship service, of course!
5 pm, The Heart of NorthStar (*see description)
Coming Soon
- May 7-8, Women's Retreat
- May 9, Mother's Day/ Baby Dedication
- June 18-20, Men's Camp
- June 26, Ironman Outreach
For information about NorthStar including upcoming events, past sermons, and pictures, go to: www.northstarchurch.us
The Heart of NorthStar*
I wanted to take a minute to explain more about what I hope to see at our share time next Sunday night. Firstly, its a potluck, so I hope to see lots of yummy dishes. We will provide the lemonade, water, or tea(?). Secondly, I hope this is a time where we can share any lingering doubts, chips on shoulders, on-going frustrations, hopes and dreams, etc. I am not interested in being in a church that requires a referee or a judge, so I really want our church to learn to deal with issues, conflict and communication in a healthy, Christ-honoring way. I'm not just talking about correction, I'm talking about prevention. What can we do before conflict comes to make sure that we will get through it in a way that draws us closer to God and to each other?
In most organizations, leadership is about power. Jesus taught us the opposite. If you want to be great you must be a servant (Matt 20:26). Servants don't seek to have power, they don't fight for their position, they seek the good of others. We have built into us a strong desire to serve ourselves. We must fight that desire! I think the reason scripture tells us to "submit to one another out of reverence for Christ" (Eph 5:21), is that it is a tangible way for us to show our submission before God. So one thing that we're concerned with in leading NorthStar forward, is building Christ-like concern for each other into the system. In other words, one of the first things I'd like the disciples at NorthStar to learn is how we should be treating each other. I don't think this is a stretch for our church. It is a close and loving, family-like body, but not all families are healthy. We want ours to be--now and in the future!
So please come with open, humble, loving hearts, next Sunday. I can't wait to see how God is going to work among us.
Have a great week!
Bennett
For further reading check out my most recent blog post.
NorthStar EmailThursday, April 15, 2010  NorthStar Email
From: Bennett
Hi folks. I'm working on putting together an email list for our NorthStar family. I think I have email addresses for about 90% of those currently attending. We'd like to start sending out a short email every week or two just to keep you informed of what's happening with the church. If you prefer to use a different email address to receive these messages, if you are receiving two or more messages, or if you would prefer not to receive a weekly email please reply and let us know.
This week at NorthStar we will be discussing membership, covenant, and how that relates to who we are. You will have a chance in the next few weeks to publicly reaffirm your covenant membership at NorthStar. If you are not a member this will be a great time to consider joining the church. Also this Sunday after the church service we will have a Family Forum. That's our fancy name for the quarterly church conference. The Elders have appointed Tom to moderate. At this meeting we will: discuss the 1st quarter of finances, vote to consent to an intentional 4-month interim period, and hear a staff report about some short-term and long-term vision for the church.
The Sunday after that, April 25th, we will have an evening fellowship meal at 5 p.m. followed by a sharing time we are calling "The Heart of NorthStar." In a continuing effort to discover who we are and who God is calling us to be, we want to give our body a chance to listen to each other with open hearts about what God has been doing and what He may be urging us to do.
From the NorthStar Constitution:
Mission Statement
The purpose of NorthStar Baptist Church is to provide an environment where people can discover (evangelism) and develop (discipleship) their passion for God (worship) in a way that is real, relevant (ministry), and relational (fellowship).
Statement of Faith
NorthStar Baptist Church subscribes to the doctrinal statement of the "Baptist Faith and Message" as adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in 2000 as a reliable expression of the Bible’s teaching on core Christian beliefs..
Affiliation
NorthStar Baptist Church is autonomous and maintains the privilege to govern its own affairs, independent of any denominational control. Recognizing, however, the benefits of cooperation with other churches in world missions, this Church voluntarily and enthusiastically affiliates with the Southern Baptist Convention in its national, state and local expressions.
Qualifications for Membership
1. A personal commitment of faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.
2. Scriptural baptism by immersion as a testimony of salvation.
3. Completion of the Church's membership class.
4. A public commitment to abide by the membership covenant.
Here's an excerpt from our constitution about NorthStar and membership.
For information about NorthStar including upcoming events, past sermons, and pictures, go to: www.northstarchurch.us Another Great Weekend, May 3Monday, May 04, 2009
Super Sunday Seminar
Sunday, May 3rd, Pastor Gary shared about the spiritual anatomy of a Christian in two sessions, one before worship service and one after. It was an exciting and informative time as the NorthStar family began to get acquainted with Pastor Gary and the unique way God has gifted him to share the message of salvation through Christ. A special thanks to Mountain Lakes Bible Church for letting us borrow some of your childcare workers for this event!
2nd Annual NorthStar Variety Show
It was an evening of excellence, excitement, entertainment, enlightenment, exceptionality, and so many more e-things. For the second year in a row the people of NorthStar gathered together to impress and inspire one another with their feats of talent. Acts were performed by young and old: singing, piano, guitar, trumpet--we had it all. There was even a special tribute to our new pastor. You can ask him if he appreciated it. Thank you to everyone who participated and attended this event. Its one of the things that makes NorthStar a great place to be!
A Great Weekend: Easter and Ministering to the HomelessMonday, April 13, 2009
Easter Sunday
We had a wonderful celebration of Resurrection Sunday! By the best count we could come up with there were 111 people in attendance. Our nursery, preschool and children's classes were running at full steam. Even more important than the crowd or the numbers, we had a great time of worship. There is nothing better than God's people (sinners saved by grace) joining together in praising Jesus and proclaiming his goodness and strength. If you were one of our guests on Sunday, thank you for being with us. It was very encouraging to see each of you there. We hope you feel welcome to come back and be a part of what God is doing in our church and in this area.
Women's Ministry Ministers...to Women!
Some of the leaders of the women's ministry at NorthStar Church felt God calling them to serve some women in need. They decided to do something totally unexpected--a spa party for homeless women. This past weekend this unconventional ministry idea led to several women in our church going to Anna Ogden Hall to put on a complete spa party complete with footspas, gift bags and a chocolate fountain. We hope to have a complete, detailed description of this event soon along with some pictures. The Snow is MeltingMonday, March 02, 2009 Snow Melt
We've had a week of rains and slightly warmer temperatures. Our mountain of snow at the end of our parking lot is slowly turning into a mountain of plowed up gravel. Our temporary mailbox (put in place because our regular mailbox has been unaccessable since December) now appears to be in the middle of our driveway. Before, it appeared to be at the very edge because of snow and ice. Unfortunately, the slight upturn in the weather seems to have caused a massive outbreak of colds and flu throughout our area. Sunday we were missing 15% or more of our regular attenders due to sickness.
Ordination
Those of us who remain healthy were there to witness the ordination of two new elder/overseers at NorthStar. Rich and Ron were nominated by the congregation, approved by the Pastoral Support Team and affirmed by the vote of consent of the congregation. Hey, we're just following the by-laws! In any case we strongly believe that God was in control of this selection process. And so yesterday we recognized God's calling in the lives of these two men and their families.
Ping Pong Tourney
Saturday night NorthStar had its first ever ping pong tournament. It was a well-played tournament with eight athletes participating. The winner was Rich, who came back after suffering a loss in the first round. In second was Sean who played valiantly but just couldn't bring himself to embarrass his father. In third place was Larent (forgive my spelling!), our new friend, who found out about the tournament by doing and internet search for "ping pong in Coeur d'Alene." Those who were out of the tournament early weren't phased by the defeat. They simply joined some spectators in a rousing game of Scrabble that tested the boundaries of the English language.
Thank you, to everyone who participated in this event. Start practicing now for the next tournament! Who knows when that will be. Christmas Update 2008Wednesday, December 17, 2008 December is halfway over and the people of NorhStar have been as busy as elves. The Men's Ministry kicked off a monthly men's breakfast in November and already that has led to a lot of serving in the name of Christ. We were able to organize Thanksgiving meals for five different families. We also got together to provide firewood for a family who could really use it. This month we planned the Polar Plunge Warm-Up and put a plan in place to start visiting people in our church and our community. So far we've had about 12 men involved. Pray that God will use the Men of NorthStar to be leaders and examples to our families and our neighbors.
The Ladies gathered for a Christmas party where they made wreaths and had a sock exchange. A great time was had by all. Dec. 21 we will have our annual Carols, Candles, and Communion service on Sunday morning. Thanks for all of your prayers as we go into a new year. We are very excited about all that God is going to do through NorthStar in 2009! More picturesMonday, September 15, 2008  Enclosure Make sure to check out the new pictures we've posted of the baptism and picnic. Here's one to get you started.  Baptism at the LakeTuesday, September 09, 2008  This past Sunday NorthStar did not meet in the building that we rent. Instead we met at the edge of Lake Coeur d'Alene. It was a beautiful day, sunny with a high of 75 or so with a slight warm breeze. We met on a lawn maintained by North Idaho College that overlooks the lake right on the beach. Everyone brought food, and we grilled burgers. There were about 40 people there I guess, with their lawn chairs and picnic blankets. Rich and Tom led us in worship, and we sang to the God who created the beauty around us. I preached a short message from Luke 9 about the cost of discipleship and what it means to publicly proclaim Christ. Together we prayed that our church would be commited to publicly sharing the Gospel. Then we shared a meal.
After we ate together we gathered on the shore. We baptized three people in the chilly water; all three of them adult believers fulfilling obedience to Christ. They were publicly (very publicly!) proclaiming their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Our church was joining them in that proclaimation and commiting to hold them to their covenant with the Lord.
It was a wonderful day for our church. Please pray for more of the same. Campout, Faithwalk, Missionary ConnectionTuesday, August 19, 2008 Last Saturday we had the second annual BBQ and cookout at Brad and Josie's. What can we say about that except that the weather was great, the food was outstanding, and everyone had a great time. We potato sack races and a water balloon toss. We even got a visit from Molly the deer.
We have also been blessed to meet Carol Cruise and Wendy Miller. Carol is walking around the perimeter of the country praying over every mile of our borders. She and Wendy, her assistant, need a place to stay during their travel through our part of the country, so we've helped them out. You can find more about Carol's mission at Faithwalk.net.
This weekend the Sandersons and the Magees are going to the NorthWest Missionary Connection hosted by the North American Mission Board (NAMB). They will be traveling to Seattle Thursday through Saturday to learn about NAMB's newest strategies and connect with other ministers throughout the Northwest.
Thanks for all your prayers!
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Enclosure