You can now find all the sermons (beginning in January 2009), all music (beginning October 2009), and many more videos and audio clips from around New Life and more!

Take a moment and check it out!

It’s been a while since I last posted here and I apologize for that.  The funny part of the whole situation is that it seems like I have been sending out emails to the staff on a tri-weekly basis begging them to do a blog post…

Lately I have been noticing a lot happening at New Life for the positive.  But I think that Satan is mad and upset because things just aren’t going his way.  I believe that is pleasing… not only to myself, but to the staff and persons of New Life; most importantly:  GOD.

For example, it seems as though the media department has been hitting one bump after another.  What, with the slow computers, the inaudible microphones, the bad cords, the poorly wired sound pots, and who can forget last Saturday evening’s fun adventure.  Let’s recall:

On Saturday, October 3, Bill B. and I were at New Life setting up the sweet new microphones for the drums.  However, we noticed that the port for number 15 and 17 (in the “pot”) weren’t working.  William J. arrived and helped us to fix this issue, however, when we tried to turn the sound system back on………
….there was silence.  I am talking… silence.  Like clear blue lake in the middle of no-where with nothing around it……. silence.

The amplifier, the main guy that amplifies all of the sound for the entire sanctuary…. had failed and no longer had power.  Here it is at 10:30 pm and there are three of us trying to get this thing to work.  I didn’t want to take it out of our middle rack, but it seemed like that was necessary.  So here we go… take it out and open it up and we believed it was the small breaker on it, however, it was not, so William discovered

After much debate, we made a few phone calls and had some amplifiers lined up to use for Sunday morning.  However, after calling one of the intelligent musicians God has blessed New Life with, we discovered there were two small fuses.  The great news is that William’s father had just two of these very fuses!

After a trip to his father’s house (and missing out on Starbucks…), we got it back together and working… and WOW was that a relief!

Satan has been working to destroy the services at New Life and to destroy the people of New Life, however, I know and trust that God will protect us because He knows we must be doing something right!

…If we weren’t be doing something… would Satan be working so hard to destroy the goodness that is happening at New Life?  …..hmm.

Well, that’s all I have for this one!

God Bless!

John Newton was the son of a commander of a merchant ship which sailed the Mediterranean. When John was eleven, he went to sea with his father and made six voyages with him before the elder Newton retired. In 1744 John was impressed into service on a man-of-war, the H. M. S. Harwich. Finding conditions on board intolerable, he deserted but was soon recaptured and publicly flogged and demoted from midshipman to common seaman.

Finally at his own request he was exchanged into service on a slave ship, which took him to the coast of Sierra Leone. He then became the servant of a slave trader and was brutally abused. Early in 1748 he was rescued by a sea captain who had known John’s father. John Newton ultimately became captain of his own ship, one which plied the slave trade.

Although he had had some early religious instruction from his mother, who had died when he was a child, he had long since given up any religious convictions. However, on a homeward voyage, while he was attempting to steer the ship through a violent storm, he experienced what he was to refer to later as his “great deliverance.” He recorded in his journal that when all seemed lost and the ship would surely sink, he exclaimed, “Lord, have mercy upon us.” Later in his cabin he reflected on what he had said and began to believe that God had addressed him through the storm and that grace had begun to work for him.

For the rest of his life he observed the anniversary of May 10, 1748 as the day of his conversion, a day of humiliation in which he subjected his will to a higher power. “Thro’ many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; ’tis grace has bro’t me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.” He continued in the slave trade for a time after his conversion; however, he saw to it that the slaves under his care were treated humanely.

In 1750 he married Mary Catlett, with whom he had been in love for many years. By 1755, after a serious illness, he had given up seafaring forever. During his days as a sailor he had begun to educate himself, teaching himself Latin, among other subjects. From 1755 to 1760 Newton was surveyor of tides at Liverpool, where he came to know George Whitefield, deacon in the Church of England, evangelistic preacher, and leader of the Calvinistic Methodist Church. Newton became Whitefield’s enthusiastic disciple. During this period Newton also met and came to admire John Wesley, founder of Methodism. Newton’s self-education continued, and he learned Greek and Hebrew.

He decided to become a minister and applied to the Archbishop of York for ordination. The Archbishop refused his request, but Newton persisted in his goal, and he was subsequently ordained by the Bishop of Lincoln and accepted the curacy of Olney, Buckinghamshire. Newton’s church became so crowded during services that it had to be enlarged. He preached not only in Olney but in other parts of the country. In 1767 the poet William Cowper settled at Olney, and he and Newton became friends.

Cowper helped Newton with his religious services and on his tours to other places. They held not only a regular weekly church service but also began a series of weekly prayer meetings, for which their goal was to write a new hymn for each one. They collaborated on several editions of Olney Hymns, which achieved lasting popularity. The first edition, published in 1779, contained 68 pieces by Cowper and 280 by Newton.

Chris Tomlin decided to add this new chorus that says, “My chains are gone, I’ve been set free… my God my Saviour, has ransomed me…” We’re all made slaves to sin in our life, but God has set us free. He has ransomed us from our slavery.

This post is one that may pull you back a bit.  This post is very in depth and.. a little lengthy.  However, there are a lot of points I want to discuss regarding what I see and how I live on a daily basis.  Enjoy

Go ahead and play the song below as you read through this post.  “The Motions” by Matthew West has become a very popular song in the contemporary world as we know it.

Matthew West states:

I think one of the greatest challenges in actively living out a relationship with Christ on earth is to avoid the trap of simply going through the motions.

I know personally I live my life in a cycle, especially during the school year.  Before school ended, my everyday life was:  wake up, go to school, go to work at the day school, go somewhere each night, go home, go to bed… then it started all over again.  Now that it’s summer I am a bit more free to do whatever I would like to do.  For example, now I have free time Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings.  And on Tuesdays and Thursdays I have a break for whatever I want to do.

I think that summer is the perfect time for us (especially students and teachers) to take a really good look into our lives.

Looking into my own personal life, I can tell you that I need to focus more on true worship.  I have found myself lately realizing that I struggle a little to really worship God.  It’s easier for me to worship Him when I am in a setting of church… but that’s different.  Where I think I am failing ( and maybe you are too ) is outside of Sundays.  On Wednesday I know that I will be struggling a little to really find a time to just worship and relax and pray.

I have a feeling I’m not alone though.  We all get caught up in this busy world we live in.  But don’t ever forget that at times we just need to stop and get our “knee mail” going.  I encourage you to find a place this week… and EVERY week to just stop and pray.  I have realized lately that it is not easy to do, but it can be done.  And even if you only do this once this week, go for two next week and keep increasing your numbers.  Slowly, but surely, these little exercises (that can take however long you want)  will grow you closer and closer to God our Saviour.

There is a person in our own congregation that is tired and fed up with the motions of their everyday life.  This person is going to dedicate their summer to really living out their lives for Jesus Christ and really taking up that cross.  They will be spending most of their summer in a tent doing fasts and prayers and having true moments of worship. Now, this might not be the thing for you, but it is always an option. Even if you do not go so far as to dedicating every moment of your life to physically living out your life for Christ, such as this person is doing; you should take up your cross and stop living by what this world says is acceptable and by what God says is acceptable.

This summer the church will go on a camping trip, in which the youth group will be joining this year.  Maybe your soul is longing to fill a void or hole that’s been just simply tearing you apart.  Maybe you have never forgiven a person who heart you back in middle school… it’s time to let go and find your resolution.  There will be more information coming about the trip, make sure to watch for it!

Maybe you’ve been going through the motions in a certain area of your life. I encourage you to make this the year to break away. Make your “Motions Resolution,” right here, on Matthew West’s site. You can do it anonymously. Just write down an area of your life that you plan to work on this year. Maybe you’ve been going through the motions in your marriage, your job, your quiet times. Maybe there’s someone you need to forgive, or need to ask forgiveness from. Don’t go through the motions one more day. Write it down, and then live it out. Every few months you will receive your “Motions Resolution” to remind you the commitment you made to make a change.

Maybe you would like to share something with someone.  Always remember that New Life has a group of persons that are here to listen to you.  There are NANC certified counselors that would love to just listen to you.  If there is ever a time you need to talk to someone immediately, don’t ever be afraid to call the church office at 317.485.7472 and ask to talk to someone.  The staff at New Life is here to listen and to talk… to show you Christ and help you live more fully for Him.. to have and share a deeper understand of Christ’s love.

If you would like to post your motions resolutions here, you can post it in the comments box below.  Also, sign up for Matthew West’s “Motions Resolution” and receive it via email every once in a while to make sure you’re keeping on track.  But don’t worry if you slip… everyone slips here and there.  But the great news is that God gave us arms to lift us back up again.

God Bless,

Geoffrey H.

Let me answer that question in a couple of ways…

Psalm 25:5 says, “guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long.”

I want to point out some things in the word Saviour.
Saviour
Saviour
Saviour
Saviour

Our God saves.  He is “i“’s, He is yours, and He is ours.
I believe that by including the “u”, it clearly represents who God is.  It is different and has a hidden message.

If you write down Savior… I ask that from now on you consider that “u”.. it makes a world of a difference.  Then, when someone asks, you can tell them why.. and point out the bold points.  It’s a neat story… and now when you see “SAVIOUR” on the website, the screen, in print, etc. you will understand my purpose behind that.

Please add comments below and let us know how we can improve and how we can make your walk with God stronger. Would you like to see more videos? Or maybe you would like lighting differently. What about the website? Is there a place where you get lost here on our site? Let us know so that we can improve for you.

Thank You.

We are so excited that we now have a place to share our thoughts, ideas, etc.
The media team is created with many goals in mind.  Our main goal is to spread the Word of God in the most creative and experiential way possible.

We are here to serve Christ in the best way we can, and we’re glad you’re here to help us do so!

This blog helps us communicate with all our friends and family in Christ.  We’re glad you’re here to learn more about us!  Enjoy!