North Avenue Church Podcast

Ordinary Faithfulness for a New Year | Selected Scripture

Four ways to pursue ordinary faithfulness in a new year:

1. By treasuring the Word of God (Psalm 1)
2. By preaching the Gospel to ourselves consistently (1 Corinthians 15:1-11)
3. By cultivating a firm belief in the sovereignty and goodness of God (Romans 8:28-32)
4. By folding our lives into the local church where we are members (Hebrews 10:23-25)

You can watch this message here.

Unto Us a Child is Born | Isaiah 7:1-9:7

In difficult times...

1. We are tempted to trust in other powers [7:1-8:15]
2. We are tempted to trust in other authorities [8:16-21]
3. We must trust in the God who Saves [9:1-7]

You can watch this message here.

A Cross-Shaped Christmas | Philippians 2:1-11

Here are the two main points of Greg's meditation on the purpose of the incarnation from Philippians 2:

1. The intentional unity of the church (v 1-4)

2. The intentional incarnation of the Messiah (v 5-11)

You can watch this message here.

Perseverance in the Face of Discouragement | Nehemiah 4:10-14

Nehemiah shows us how to handle discouragement in the Christian life.

I. Why We Are Tempted to Give Up (v 10-12)

• A. Our strength is low
• B. The burden seems too great
• C. Opposition grows from without and within

II. Ways We Fight to Endure (v 13-14)

• A. Set a defense where you're most vulnerable
• B. Expose yourself to truth!
• C. Remember and fear the Lord
• D. Remember what is at stake

You can watch this message here.

Perseverance in the Face of Opposition | Nehemiah 4:1-9

Why is the Christian life so hard?

Here is the outline of the message:

1. The Enemies Mock (v 1-3)
2. Nehemiah Prays and the People Work (v 4-6)
3. The Enemies Threaten (v 7-8)
4. Nehemiah Prays and sets a Guard (v 9)

You can watch this message here.

All Hands on Deck! The People Get to Work | Nehemiah 3

The people beautifully model unified work for the kingdom!

A. Nehemiah Leads the People by...

1. Showing the way forward
2. Delegating the work into manageable portions
3. Giving credit to the workers

B. The People Avoid...

1. Procrastination
2. A preoccupation with (1) rank, (2) gifting, or (3) recognition

C. The People Work...

1. In Unity
2. Diligently and Sacrificially

You can watch this message here.

What is Biblical Leadership? | Nehemiah 2:17-20

Nehemiah provides a wonderful example of bibical leadership in this passage.

1. Nehemiah clearly communicates the problem (v 17a)
2. Nehemiah clearly communicates the solution (v 17b-18a)
3. The people and their enemies respond (v 18b-19)
4. Nehemiah's uncompromising conviction in the face of opposition (v 20)

You can watch this message here.

Nehemiah's Godly Leadership Begins in Jerusalem | Nehemiah 2:9-16

In this week's passage we learn about godly leadership from Nehemiah.

Godly leaders...

1. Use wisdom (v 9)
2. Expect opposition (v 10)
3. Know when to rest (v 11)
4. Have a God-glorifying plan, yet don’t reveal it prematurely (v 12)
5. Clearly understand the problems they face (vv 13-16)

You can watch this message here.

Nehemiah's Prayerful Planning, Courageous Action, & God's Good Providence | Nehemiah 2:1-8

Main idea: Nehemiah shows us how to pray, plan, and act all while relying on God's good providence.

1. Prayerful planning
2. Courageous actions
3. God's providence

You can watch this message here.

Nehemiah's Passionate Prayer of Repentance | Nehemiah 1:4-11

Here is the outline for Nehemiah's prayer of repentance:

1. Nehemiah turns to God first (vv. 4–6a)
2. Nehemiah confesses sin (vv. 6b–7)
3. Nehemiah prays God’s promises in Scripture (vv. 8–9)
4. Nehemiah points to God’s past faithfulness (v. 10)
5. Nehemiah makes his request (v. 11)

[Audio is corrected at 1:38]

You can watch this message here.

Nehemiah's Holy Ambition | Nehemiah 1:1-4

Nehemiah had a great job working as the cupbearer of Artaxerxes, king of Persia. Why did he give it all up to embrace the difficult task of rebuilding Jerusalem's walls? The answer is the Lord developed in him a holy ambition for God's people, place, and glory. Do you have a holy ambition for your life?

You can watch this message here.

Q&A: Jesus vs. Other Religions [WCA Chapel]

Mark participated in a Q&A chapel at Westminster Christian Academy for middle and high school students on October 17th. It was led by the head of school, Jared Clark, and was about Jesus and the Bible among other world religions, including Islam and Mormonism.

Ezra Leads the People in Repentance | Ezra 9-10

Here is the outline of the sermon:

1. Ezra mourns and prays over the sin amongst the people (9:1-15)
2. The people respond with a plan for repentance (10:1-8)
3. The people carry out their repentance (10:9-44)

You can watch this message here.

This is the Victory that has Overcome the World — Our Faith | 1 John 5:1-5

This message focuses on the power of the new birth to bring about faith that overcomes the world.

We Love Because He First Loved Us | 1 John 4:13-21

In this message we hear about the power of God's love to transform our lives.