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News & Announcements for Sunday, March 2, 2025
JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL
If you’re looking for an opportunity to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ, we encourage you to join us Sunday mornings for a intergenerational Sunday school class, from 9:30-10:30. We look forward to seeing you!
MIDWEEK PRAYER – WEDNESDAYS @ Noon
Please join us on Wednesdays at noon for a time of prayer in the sanctuary as we bring our needs before our loving God.
WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY – MONDAY, MARCH 3, 7PM
The Women’s Bible Study will meet on Monday, March 3 at the church at 7:00 p.m. We will be picking up where we left off at our last meeting: pg 206, “The Friendships of Paul” in The Love Stories of the Bible Speak by Shannon Bream. Come prepared to share what you got out of the reading and any questions you might have. Please bring a friend, and enter through the library doors so that the Young Life Group can have our front parking lot.
COMMUNITY LENTEN SERVICES BEGIN NEXT WED., MARCH 5
The Community Lenten Services begin next week, on Ash Wednesday, March 5. Each ~30 minute service is at noon at a different church in Madison Heights, with a different pastor preaching each week. This week’s service will be at Amelon UMC, with Rev. George Harris (from Madison Heights Christian Church) preaching. We look forward to celebrating Lent with you and our fellow brothers and sisters in the area.
Coming Soon…
INQUIRERS CLASS
Would you like to know more about our church? Are you interested in the possibility of becoming a member? This class will give you the opportunity to hear about our church, the denomination we belong to, and where we see God leading us. If interested, tell Pastor David or sign up in the Church Center app (see below).
GET IN SHAPE CLASS
No, not physical shape – spiritual S.H.A.P.E.! God has given every believer gifts and shaped us for ministry and service. If you’re asking questions like, What are my spiritual gifts? How has God shaped me for service and ministry? Where do I “plug in?” What is God calling me to do in this phase of my life? Then this class is for you! We encourage every member of Northminster to join us for this, coming this spring.
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News & Announcements for Sunday, February 23, 2025
JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL
If you’re looking for an opportunity to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ, we encourage you to join us Sunday mornings for a intergenerational Sunday school class, from 9:30-10:30. We look forward to seeing you!
MIDWEEK PRAYER – WEDNESDAYS @ Noon
Please join us on Wednesdays at noon for a time of prayer in the sanctuary as we bring our needs before our loving God.
WOMEN’S BOOK CLUB – THURSDAY, FEB. 27, 10AM
The Women’s Book Club will meet on Thursday, February 27 at 10:00 a.m. at the church. The book that we are reading this month is America’s First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie. Regarding refreshments, we are asking everyone to bring a little something to share. We look forward to seeing you next Thursday, whether you’ve read the book or not!
COMMUNITY LENTEN SERVICES BEGIN NEXT WED., MARCH 5
The Community Lenten Services begin next week, on Ash Wednesday, March 5. Each ~30 minute service is at noon at a different church in Madison Heights, with a different pastor preaching each week. This week’s service will be at Amelon UMC, with Rev. George Harris (from Madison Heights Christian Church) preaching. We look forward to celebrating Lent with you and our fellow brothers and sisters in the area.
Coming Soon…
INQUIRERS CLASS
Would you like to know more about our church? Are you interested in the possibility of becoming a member? This class will give you the opportunity to hear about our church, the denomination we belong to, and where we see God leading us. If interested, tell Pastor David or sign up in the Church Center app (see below).
GET IN SHAPE CLASS
No, not physical shape – spiritual S.H.A.P.E.! God has given every believer gifts and shaped us for ministry and service. If you’re asking questions like, What are my spiritual gifts? How has God shaped me for service and ministry? Where do I “plug in?” What is God calling me to do in this phase of my life? Then this class is for you! We encourage every member of Northminster to join us for this, coming this spring.
Read more...
News & Announcements for Sunday, February 16, 2025
MIDWEEK PRAYER – WEDNESDAYS @ Noon
Please join us on Wednesdays at noon for a time of prayer in the sanctuary as we bring our needs before our loving God.
CONGREGATIONAL MEETING – THIS MORNING, 11AM
We will have a brief congregational meeting prior to the worship service for the sole purpose of electing Sharon Bryant as Ruling Elder for the Class of 2027.
ANNUAL MEETING & POTLUCK – SUNDAY, FEB. 16, NOON
Come on Sunday, February 16 for the tastiest Annual Meeting you’ve ever attended! Following the worship service, we’ll enjoy a potluck lunch together and hear updates from the Session. We’ll learn what God has done over the past year and what we’re anticipating joining Him in doing in the year to come. We will also vote to approve the Pastor’s Terms of Call for 2025. Please bring a main dish and a side or dessert to share!
WOMEN’S BOOK CLUB – NEXT THURSDAY, FEB. 27, 10AM
The Women’s Book Club will meet on Thursday, February 27 at 10:00 a.m. at the church. The book that we are reading this month is America’s First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie. Regarding refreshments, we are asking everyone to bring a little something to share. We look forward to seeing you next Thursday, whether you’ve read the book or not!
Coming Soon…
INQUIRERS CLASS
Would you like to know more about our church? Are you interested in the possibility of becoming a member? This class will give you the opportunity to hear about our church, the denomination we belong to, and where we see God leading us. If interested, tell Pastor David or sign up in the Church Center app.
GET IN SHAPE CLASS
No, not physical shape – spiritual S.H.A.P.E.! God has given every believer gifts and shaped us for ministry and service. If you’re asking questions like, What are my spiritual gifts? How has God shaped me for service and ministry? Where do I “plug in?” What is God calling me to do in this phase of my life? Then this class is for you! We encourage every member of Northminster to join us for this, coming this spring.
Read more...
News & Announcements for Sunday, February 9, 2025
MIDWEEK PRAYER – WEDNESDAYS @ Noon
Please join us on Wednesdays at noon for a time of prayer in the sanctuary as we bring our needs before our loving God.
ANNUAL MEETING & POTLUCK – SUNDAY, FEB. 16, NOON
Come on Sunday, February 16 for the tastiest Annual Meeting you’ve ever attended! Following the worship service, we’ll enjoy a potluck lunch together and hear updates from the Session. We’ll learn what God has done over the past year and what we’re anticipating joining Him in doing in the year to come. We will also vote to approve Sharon Bryant as elder and the Pastor’s Terms of Call for 2025. Please bring a main dish and a side or dessert to share!
Coming Soon…
INQUIRERS CLASS
Would you like to know more about our church? Are you interested in the possibility of becoming a member? This class will give you the opportunity to hear about our church, the denomination we belong to, and where we see God leading us. If interested, tell Pastor David or sign up in the Church Center app (see below).
GET IN SHAPE CLASS
No, not physical shape – spiritual S.H.A.P.E.! God has given every believer gifts and shaped us for ministry and service. If you’re asking questions like, What are my spiritual gifts? How has God shaped me for service and ministry? Where do I “plug in?” What is God calling me to do in this phase of my life? Then this class is for you! We encourage every member of Northminster to join us for this, coming this spring.
Read more...
February 2025 Mills’ Musings — Happy Birthday, Nicene Creed!
If someone does make a cake for the occasion, I’d like to be there when the candles are lit. The occasion is the 1700th birthday of the Nicene Creed. While I doubt anyone will make a cake, at least not one with 1,700 candles, I believe the event is certainly worth celebrating. Here is a short look at why.
Early Creeds
Our English word “creed” comes from the Latin credo, which means, “I believe.” A creed, broadly defined, is a statement of what it is that I believe. More technically, in the Christian tradition a creed is a concise, formal, and authorized statement of essential Christian doctrine.
The earliest Christian creed was spoken by Peter and recorded in Mark 8:29. At Caesarea Philippi, in response to Jesus’ question, “But who do you say that I am,” Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, replied, “You are the Christ.” Writing to the Philippians some three decades later, Paul concluded his marvelous Hymn to Christ with what remains the foundational creed of Christianity, “Jesus Christ is Lord” (Phil. 2:11).
But after the last apostle had died, after the canon of Scripture had been closed, Christians began to sense a need for clear and succinct summaries of the basic doctrines of their faith. So they drew on the language of Scripture to formulate brief statements of their core beliefs. The most prominent of these – the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds, are still accepted (with some variations) by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and most Protestant denominations.
Creeds Today
Today, many congregations still make use of these creeds along with their longer, younger cousins, confessions. For example, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, to which Northminster belongs, uses the Westminster Confession of Faith and its catechisms as our doctrinal standards. In Sunday morning worship, we often recite in unison sections of this Confession. Other Sundays we say the Nicene or Apostles’ Creed. These public affirmations of our faith remind us of what we believe about the nature and work of God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and the Church.
Creeds also have uses outside Christian worship. In his book This You Can Believe, John Brokhoff describes three purposes these historic creeds and confessions continue to serve in the Church today. The three purposes are: definition, defense and declaration.
Definition, The first purpose of creeds, Brokhoff writes, “is to define the Christian faith. What does a Christian believe? Are your beliefs in harmony with the Scriptures and the Church’s teachings?” Once we have learned Nicene Creed, we will always have an answer to fundamental questions about our faith.
Defense is the second purpose of creeds. Even before the last apostle had died, some in the Church were attempting to redefine the Christian faith. By 325, a young pastor named Arius was causing divisions in the Church by denying the Church’s historic teaching that Jesus was both fully God and fully human. Crafting language we still use today, the authors of the Nicene Creed decisively refuted that false teaching.
The third purpose of creeds is Declaration. Knowing the Nicene Creed helps us fulfill Jesus’ command to be his witnesses. The Creed is a positive, fearless declaration of the essentials of our faith. It is not just for church on Sunday mornings. We can use it to declare our faith in our everyday lives.
Happy Birthday, Nicene Creed. And someone please let me know about the cake. It would give a lot of light.
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