NCBC Church Family,

As we begin a new year, the elder team is reminded of how faithful so many of you have been to the church, not only this past year, but for many, many past years. You have seen and understand the many benefits God has designed into the meetings, gatherings, services and serving and living together in the body of Christ. You love the church more because you are faithful to the kingdom work done through the church. In the article below, Jonathan Romig reminds those who have been faithful, why they should continue to be so, and those who are “spotty or non-attenders” of the importance of vital involvement in a church family.

As you read, be encouraged and challenged in the fact that “Faithful Church Attendance Matters.”

http://gcdiscipleship.com/2016/09/18/7-reasons-why-faithful-church-attendance-matters/

7 Reasons Why Faithful Church Attendance Matters by Jonathan Romig

Going to church every week, week after week matters. If we know Jesus, we should desire to be with his bride. For all those who believe, have a church home, but don’t attend consistently, I’m writing for you. If you’re one of those spotty non-attenders, I’m writing to you in love but also in truth. Come home! Regular church attendance is not just good for the ministry; it’s good for your soul, and for mine.1
So why is regular church attendance so important? Here are seven reasons:

1. Faithful attenders prioritize God and his Word first in their lives.
A call for regular church attendance begins in what are likely the first written words of the Bible, the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20:3 says, “You shall have no other gods before me.” How we spend our time is the truest measure of God’s place in our lives. If we are quick to fill the time set aside for worshipping God with visiting family, going to the beach, attending concerts, or just relaxing, we are unintentionally saying those things matter more than God (Matt. 12:48-50, Lk. 14:26).
Just like we set aside time to listen to our loved ones, we need to set aside time to listen to God. Throughout church history God has used one constant to communicate to his people, the public reading and preaching of the Bible. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Paul tells us, All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
If we want to prioritize God and what he wants to say to us, we need to prioritize church in addition to our own quiet times with him.

2. Faithful attenders demonstrate their love for Jesus and His bride.
“I love Jesus but not the church” is like saying to a new groom, “I love you but not your bride.” The Bible describes the local church as the bride of Christ (2 Cor. 11:2 Eph. 5:24-27, Rev. 19:7-9, 21:1-2). It is impossible to maintain a thriving relationship with Christ while at the same time avoiding fellowship with a gospel-believing local church. When we commit to loving the church, we commit to loving Christ.
Parents should be especially driven to attend church regularly. The children of parents who do not attend church consistently are more likely to walk away from Christianity when they are old enough to decide for themselves. Why? Their parents demonstrated week after week that Christ is an add-on, an addition, and if life is too busy, it is okay to ignore him. Parents, please model for your children that Jesus is not only the Savior of your soul but the King of your life.

3. Faithful attenders receive the gospel anew every single week.
There is nothing more important than the gospel, than hearing anew that Jesus is a righteous substitute for sinful, broken, people—for you and me (Rom. 3:21-26, 2 Cor. 5:21). In Romans 10:17, Paul says, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” Even though we need to hear and believe the gospel every day, it is easy to go a whole week without giving this life-changing message a passing thought. One of the church’s roles is to boldly and lovingly tell us how bad we are and how great Jesus loves us week after week. When we love the church, we love the gospel.
One of the temptations in encouraging each other to go to church weekly is to do so from guilt, to say God won’t be pleased with you unless you go to church every week. That’s legalism, and it is death. So what does the gospel say? It says that in Jesus we already have a perfect record, and now we’re called to live it out week by week. God created us for good works (Eph. 2:10), one of which is worshipping with his body. Apart from Christ, I am nothing. In him, I am everything.

4. Faithful attenders help evangelize the lost and build-up new believers.
In the early church, the Holy Spirit used regular and passionate participation in the church in Jerusalem, a local church, to bring new people to faith in Jesus.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. – Acts 2:42-47 (emphasis added)
It is a miracle when the unchurched and non-Christians begin attending church. There are already a lot of new words, lingo, and patterns to learn. By not attending faithfully, we confuse the newly churched about what it means to follow Jesus. Not only is this a challenging time for a non-Christian attender, but there is also a spiritual battle taking place (Eph. 6:12). When we attend together, we fight the battle together.

5. Faithful attenders cultivate a heart-attitude of gratefulness.
Church attendance is good for the soul. If you’re someone who struggles with sadness or depression, find a church that has God-given joy and commit. It is easier to catch the joy when you are around others who truly have it.
Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. – Ephesians 5:19-20
One of the benefits of coming to church regularly is the opportunity to give (1 Cor. 16:2). Giving to God has the side-effect of producing a heart-attitude of gratefulness.
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. – 2 Corinthians 9:7
Worshipping regularly with fellow believers and giving to the local church can up-lift the soul and refresh us for our everyday life.

6. Faithful attenders encourage fellow disciples in their long walk.
The benefits of attending faithfully are enormous. In 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Paul says, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” Regular church participation gives us the opportunity to use our spiritual gifts to build up the local church and bring God fame (Rom. 12:6-8, 1 Cor. 12:4-11, 12:28). The book of Hebrews says over and over how important it is for Christians to encourage each other and not fall away.

See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. – Hebrews 3:12-14
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. – Hebrews 10:24-25
The potential consequences of neglecting church are serious—cultivating a hard heart, not sharing in Christ, turning away, and subjecting Christ to public disgrace (Heb 6:4-6).
Christ warned the Church in Laodicea they were lukewarm. In Revelation 3:16, the Apostle John says, “So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” If you are a lukewarm attender, chances are you are a lukewarm believer. God desires that His followers repent from a lukewarm relationship with him and truly seek him. The Holy Spirit wants to set us on fire for God and His glory. Strong attendance helps us heat up our ministry temperature.

7. Faithful attenders bring joy to their leader’s hearts.
Elders, pastors, deacons, and other church leaders face many unsung battles. One of them is shepherding the flock; guiding people spiritually. One way the sheep can make it just a little easier on their shepherds is to come into the sheep pen regularly. Hebrews 13:17 says,
Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.
You give your leaders great joy when you tell them church matters, and you are willing to submit to their authority (1 Pt. 5:1-11). Scripture tells us that Christ is the “Chief Shepherd” (1 Pet. 5:4). When we submit to the under-shepherds God has put in place, we submit to the Chief Shepherd, Jesus. When the sheep show up, the shepherds rejoice, and I believe the Chief Shepherd does too.

Faithful church attendance matters!
If you’re someone who doesn’t attend regularly, I hope you’ll be challenged to commit truly. It’s time to step up! If you go faithfully but have a family member or church friend who comes and goes with the wind, feel free to share, but do so with love and kindness.
If you’re a church leader, consider writing regular church attendance into your covenant or requirements for membership, then encourage your members to keep covenant.
Ultimately, this is not done for the sake of an institution or organization, but for the sake of our souls. We want to know and love Jesus, and he gave us his bride, the church, out of his deep love for us. Let’s go to church!

1. Check out Matt Schmucker ’s “Those Toxic Non-Attenders” and Garrett Kell’s “7 Reasons Why Faithfully Showing Up Matters”—these two articles inspired this article which was originally written for my church.
2. All Scripture references are from the NIV
—
Jonathan Romig (M.Div., Gordon-Conwell, 2013) is the Pastor of Cornerstone Congregational Church, a new church plant in Westford MA. He is also the author of the e-book, How To Give A Christian Wedding Toast

Scripture Passage - Proverbs 3:5-6

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Scripture Passage - Luke 5:1-11 

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Songs for this Sunday

A Christmas tradition my wife and I have enjoyed for many years is reading a Christmas story from a collection of short stories we have accumulated over the years. Here’s one of our favorites. It reminds us of the childlike heart and faith we need to have for the lost and lonely at this time of year. ENJOY!

An Old Man And A Baby
(A Christmas Story)

We were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Erik in a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly eating and talking. Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, “Hi dere”. He pounded his fat baby hands on the high chair tray. His eyes were wide with excitement and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin. He wriggled and giggled with merriment. I looked around and saw the source of his merriment. It was a man with a tattered rag of a coat; dirty, greasy and worn. His pants were baggy with a zipper at half-mast and his toes poked out of would-be shoes. His shirt was dirty and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His whiskers were too short to be called a beard and his nose was so varicose it looked like a road map. We were too far from him to smell, but I was sure he smelled. His hands waved and flapped on loose wrists. “Hi there, baby; hi there, big boy. I see ya, buster,” the man said to Erik. My husband and I exchanged looks, “What do we do?” Erik continued to laugh and answer, “Hi, hi dere.” Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the man. The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby.

Our meal came and the man began shouting from across the room, “Do you know patty cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows peek-a-boo”. Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk. My husband and I were embarrassed. We ate in silence; all except for Erik, who was running through his repertoire for the admiring skid-row bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments.

We finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My husband went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The old man sat poised between me and the door. “Lord, just let me out of here, before he speaks to me or Erik,” I prayed. As I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to sidestep him and avoid any air he might be breathing. As I did, Erik leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in a baby’s “pick-me-up” position. Before I could stop him, Erik propelled himself from my arms to the man’s. Suddenly a very old smelly man and a very young baby consummated their love relationship. Erik in an act of total trust, love, and submission laid his tiny head upon the man’s ragged shoulder. The man’s eyes were closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of grime, pain, and hard labor gently, so gently, cradled my baby’s bottom and stroked his back.

I stood awestruck. The old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms for a moment, and then his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a firm commanding voice, “You take care of this baby.” Somehow I managed, “I will,” from a throat that contained a stone. He pried Erik from his chest-unwillingly, longingly, as though he were in pain. I received my baby, and the man said, “God bless you, ma’am. You’ve given me my Christmas gift.” I said nothing more than a muttered “thanks”.

With Erik in my arms, I ran for the car. My husband was wondering why I was crying and holding Erik so tightly, and why I was saying, “My God, my God, forgive me”.

I had just witnessed Christ’s love shown through the innocence of a tiny child who saw no sin, made no judgment; a child who saw a soul, and a mother who only saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who was blind, holding a child who was not. I felt as if it was God asking me-“Are you willing to share your son for a moment?”-–when He shared His Son for all eternity. The ragged old man, unwittingly, had reminded me, “To enter the Kingdom of God, you must become as a little child.”

New Covenant Favorites

Songs for Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve Message -"The Soul Felt Its Worth" (various scripture)

Christmas Day Message - "Be Not Afraid of the Loss of Reputation" (Matthew 1:18-25)

This month, the New Covenant Center for Gospel Care wishes to introduce a difficult, complex topic which we hope will help our church congregation to increase their understanding and awareness of. The issue of Domestic Abuse in the Local Church is one we certainly wish we would not have to truthfully confront and lovingly expose. However, both our New Covenant leadership team and Gospel Care counseling staff are committed to growing and partnering together in our understanding of this complex spiritual counseling issue. Truly, our gospel inspired hope is we will actively seek to wisely counsel and biblically address those situations that may arise within our New Covenant church community.

As part of these Domestic Abuse awareness efforts, we would like to recommend a helpful article by Gary Thomas that David Sommer, one of our staff counselors, recently provided our elder team. Before you link to this article at http://www.garythomas.com/enough-enough/ we would like to share some additional information that we have researched:

• Christian Counseling Education Foundation (CCEF) counseling methodology helpfully describes abusive relationships as “oppressive” in nature. There is both an oppressor and one who is oppressed by that oppressor.
• This designation helps us label abuse as a biblical category that we are aware of and informed about in scripture. This biblical category is also helpful as it identifies how God feels about abuse (oppression) and how he is the protector of those abused (oppressed). It also gives greater force to church leaders to align themselves on the side of/become instruments of a God who comes to the aid of those who are oppressed.
• Most current abuse research, both secular and biblical, no longer define domestic abuse in the narrow terms of physical abuse but have broadened the abusive definition to include mental, emotional, sexual, spiritual, social, and financial abuse.
• One of the reasons for this broadening shift is research of abuse victims has demonstrated that a mixture of these forms of abusive behavior can be just as devastating in terms of long term consequence as physical. This effect can be even more magnified if children are involved in an abusive household.

1. The Abuser

• Latest research regarding domestic abusers is important to understand. Although women can be abusers in a domestic relationship, the vast majority are men.
• It is important to understand that abusers are controlled by a personal value mindset that seeks to control others to do their selfish bidding.
• This personal value mindset is usually reinforced by an individual with a weak conscience, or in some instances, no conscience. They feel entitled to be served and take personal pleasure in their power over others this affords them. They have low levels of personal empathy to those they abuse. As a result, they rarely understand how this mindset negatively affects others in their family.
• They typically feel justified in doing whatever it takes to remain in control of their partner. This is accomplished by objectifying their spouse so as to strengthen their position while weakening their spouse into submission.
• An abuser is difficult to detect because they appear to be a model community and church citizen. They are manipulatively charming to others. They are quite clever in the area of control. They attempt to turn the tables so the victim appears to be the one who has the problem not them. They hope for pity and practice self pity.
• An abuser is also skillful in deceiving church leadership. They can feign repentance when many times they are not really a believer but merely a professor of salvation. They strive to maintain a good image in a church community. One of their worst fears is to have their double life exposed.

2. The Abused

• Effects of abuse, especially long-term abuse is devastating. Some effects on this victim and children include anxiety and fear, disorientation and confusion, false guilt and toxic shame, loss of a sense of identity, alienation from others, physical injury, and a disoriented, distorted view of God.
• A great amount of wise understanding, patience, and care is required at a number of levels within the local church body towards a victim of abuse and family members depending on the nature and duration of abuse.

Thank you for investing time to become better acquainted with this topic. We hope you have found these points enlightening and helpful as you minister to others in the name of Christ. Please contact our Center for Gospel Care if you have any additional questions, concerns, or if we can be of assistance in any area of biblical counseling concern.

Scripture Passage - Revelation 12, Genesis 3:14-15, 1 John 3:8

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Scripture Passage - Hebrews 2:5-18, Psalm 8

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Songs for this Sunday

Christmas Worship Playlist (This Spotify playlist is filled with songs from our Advent services and Christmas Carol Sing.) 

As mentioned in our previous blog post, New Covenant is making a transition at the end of November to our new 100% web-based application from ACS Technologies called Realm. You will find a step-by-step tutorial below that will help you get set up on Realm. In addition, we have provided information on the Online and Smartphone text giving capability at the end of this blog.

Please keep in mind that our church website (newcbc.org) is not Realm. To get to Realm from our church website you must click on the Resources tab at the top of the home page, then click on “Realm Online Community”. This will open a page that contains the link to our Realm church database. In addition you will see “User Information and Navigation Help Links”. This section will be updated so it contains the latest Realm help information including our Realm blogs.

Before we proceed to the “Getting Started with Realm Registration” instruction, I have bulleted out a couple of pertinent pieces of information that I hope will be helpful.

• New Covenant church leadership encourages wise, prudent household credit management. We have provided this online giving option as a convenience recognizing the reality of cultural technology change in the area of personal finance management and electronic banking. Please be a responsible and careful steward.
• If you decide to utilize the online giving option, please note that the church pays a credit card transaction fee of approximately 2.5% so you may want to adjust your giving amounts to help us absorb this expense.
• Please note that we do not accept American Express credit transactions.

Getting Started with Realm Registration

If you have an email address on file with the church, you will receive an invitation email.

1) Open the email, select your password.
2) You will then get a verification email in which you will need to click a link to verify your account.

From here, you can log into Realm as a church member.
3) To login to Realm, use the link on our website (see above) or go to https://onrealm.org/NewCBC and click on “Log In”
3) Put in your email address, the one at which you received the invitation, and input the password you chose.

From here, you are logged in.

How to do Text and Online Giving:

1. In order to text give, you will need the following number and keyword. Number: 73256 Keyword: NewCBC. Text the keyword (NewCBC) to the number(73256) and follow the text instructions popup. Please remember that standard text message rates apply.

2. For online giving, go to your profile. On the left hand side of the screen, access the Giving button. You will see your contribution giving screen. Access the "+ Give" button at the top and follow the screen instructions.

Scripture Passage - 2 Samuel 24, Micah 5:2-4, Matthew 2:6, John 10:11

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