North Way Christian Community

What table do you love being around? Where do you look to be filled? Jesus offers us a seat at His table. It’s not a seat that we must earn, but one that is waiting for us. When we come to the table with Jesus, we are always fed and filled. When we allow Jesus to feed us specifically, we experience His provision in a whole new way. Jesus feeds with authority and invites us to exchange our performance for His provision. He fills us completely and abundantly. We are called to invite people in and give them a taste of the abundant life of Jesus.  

Do you feel like you're stuck in a cycle of busyness? This week on Behind & Beyond we discuss the importance of making time for the things that matter most, how to pray with boldness, and what steps we can take to deepen our conversations with our loved ones. Pastor John Reilly dives deeper into his sermon on how we lay down our expectations and choose the eternal things of life.   To watch this past week's sermon: Trading Expectations for Eternity   For more info: northway.org  

Behind & Beyond is back for season 2 to unpack our new series, "Around the Table: Jesus, Meals, & Ministry." Do you want to know how to have spiritually healthy confrontation with others? This week, Rebekah and Pastor Dave talk through the keys to God-honoring confrontation and how to shift our focus from being right to seeing God more rightly. When we're lead by the spirit, we're more open to what God wants to say to us and through us, especially around our tables.   To watch this past week's sermon: Is It Worth the Risk?   For more info: northway.org

Have you ever had an unmet expectation? This is usually caused by unrealistic or uncommunicated expectations. When we invite people over to our houses for a meal, we hope things will go a certain way. But an invitation to the table is not an invitation for others to be more like us. It’s an invitation to encounter Jesus. We can set the environment, but only prayer can set the atmosphere. Are we willing to be vulnerable and to shed our expectations so others can taste eternity by Jesus speaking through us?  

Throughout the series Around the Table: Jesus, Meals, and Ministry, we will be asking Jesus to challenge us to move more toward risk just as He did. Jesus describes His method of ministry as eating and drinking with people who needed to be reached. He ignored the risk and gathered with all sorts of people around the table to reach them. His church is called to do the same. Tables are places where healing happens and where anyone can belong. If we are going to allow God to cultivate a reaching heart, then we will be challenged to reset our tables and reset our hearts.  

Throughout the parable of the prodigal son, Jesus reveals the various ways that our hearts and minds can be swayed in the wrong direction while also demonstrating His response to those areas of brokenness. In the family of God, we are not orphans or older brothers. We are first borns who can find freedom, abundance, and identity in the Father. To grow into a first born we must cultivate abidance actively, be transparent, and intentional with our actions.  

As ambassadors for Christ, we are called to row back to those who are dying spiritually and offer rescue. We must offer the gift of forgiveness, status, and a reframing of identity to those who are drowning. People who are drowning need a place to belong. Status, or proximity to us, is not meant to be protected, it’s meant to be shared. When we help those reframe their identity and how they see themselves, we share that in Christ we are no longer sinners, guilty, ashamed, and broken. Instead we are free, forgiven, significant, and beautiful.

All around us people are drowning and desperate for rescue. Even with our best efforts to save ourselves, it never works. Rescue comes from outside of ourselves, through Jesus. Jesus was willing to risk it all because people were drowning, and He empowers the church to do the same. The moment the church stops going is the moment the church starts dying. Jesus’ presence is found in the rowing back. We can achieve this by feasting on a gospel scripture, inviting and investing in others, praying consistently in a different direction, and letting our own story be the menu.

If you or someone you know is affected by abuse, here is a list of resources available to you.    Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233  Crisis Center North Hotline: 412-364-5556 or 412-444-7660 (TEXT)  North Way Counseling Center: 724-935-0680    After the message, Scott is joined by Lauire Johnson, MA, to extend the conversation around this difficult topic and discuss what to do in an abusive situation. 

Join us as we gather online together as one church, exploring how we can relinquish our rights in whatever season we may be in. Whether you are single, married, experiencing divorce, or in a legacy stage, we have a specific sermon to meet you where you are.    This message is catered specifically to those who are in a legacy stage of life. The tighter we hold onto the past the more we miss out on what God wants to do right now. There is joy and purpose found in following God wherever He leads. We relinquish our rights to determine how God will use us when we stop telling God how and start asking God “how?” It’s not about us being remembered, but about Jesus being remembered.    After the message, Amanda is joined by Mark C. Hutchison, MSW, to have a discussion on what it looks like practically to relinquish our rights to how God will use us in our daily lives.    If you or someone in your life has been affected by abuse, we have a specific message from Pastor Scott Stevens available here: How Do

Join us as we gather online together as one church, exploring how we can relinquish our rights in whatever season we may be in. Whether you are single, married, experiencing divorce, or in a legacy stage, we have a specific sermon to meet you where you are.    This message is catered specifically to those who are single. Our culture screams that singleness is the ultimate freedom, and church culture often teaches singleness is all about focusing on yourself. When we hold too tightly to either of these ideas, we feel entitled to use our time to best serve us. What if our time is not our right to hold but a resource to relinquish? God is calling every one of us to think differently about our time. As believers, we don’t spend our time like everyone else. We redeem our time from sin nature and invest in things that really matter.    After the message, Brad sits down with Katie M. Iwanyshyn, M.S.ED, ABA, to extend the conversation around singleness and discuss what it looks like from a mental health per

Join us as we gather online together as one church, exploring how we relinquish our rights in whatever season we may be in. Whether you are single, married, experiencing divorce, or in a legacy stage, we have a specific sermon to meet you where you are.    This message is catered specifically to those who are married and explores the foundation of a healthy, Biblical marriage. The world teaches marriage is about self-fulfillment, but marriage in the Bible depicts two people relinquishing their rights to self, and instead, finding their significance, acceptance, and security in the never-changing love of Christ. When we are filled with God’s spirit, we can serve our spouse with a strength and grace that comes from God Himself.    After the message, Dave is joined by Kaitlin Simonette, L.P.C., to discuss how to have helpful, productive conversations within our marriages.    If you or someone in your life has been affected by abuse, we have a specific message from Pastor Scott Stevens available her

Join us as we gather online together as one church, exploring how we can relinquish our rights in whatever season we may be in. Whether you are single, married, experiencing divorce, or in a legacy stage, we have a specific sermon to meet you where you are.    This message is catered specifically to those who have been affected by divorce. God deeply cares for us, and He hates how divorce hurts us when two lives are torn apart. What do we do with all the heartache and loss that remains? Through Jesus’ teaching, we see His heart is for forgiveness, even when it seems impossible. When we relinquish the right to hold onto our pain and withhold forgiveness, we allow healing to take place. Forgiveness is not meant to focus on the other person, but instead, we’re meant to focus on Jesus and the impossible forgiveness He offers us.    After the message, John is joined by Jennifer Simon, MA, to extend the conversation around this difficult topic and speak directly to the mental health side of divorce.   

What are you searching for this Christmas? Our searches reveal our needs and what we think will fix our problems. But are you truly satisfied by what this world offers? Are you exhausted by trying to fill the need? This Christmas, what if we asked what should we want for Christmas? Who should we search for? Jesus’ birth, celebrated at Christmas, is the beginning to the end to our search, once and for all! Jesus is the greatest gift we could ever receive. Jesus offers significance, acceptance, and security. This means our search ends here. There is great joy, everlasting peace, and eternal security found in the gift of Jesus.

The very things God’s people were waiting for back then are the things we need to remember now. We must remember and be thankful that God redeemed His people. He redeems what sin destroys. Jesus is our Sacrifice and Deliverer, who leads us to freedom and gives victory over sin. As people who are redeemed, there is a great exchange. There is a transfer from us to Jesus where our sins are put on Him and we are forgiven, our debt is cancelled, and we are free. There is also a transfer from Jesus to us. Jesus gives us His rights and privileges as a Son. Let’s remember and be thankful that because of Jesus, we have life.

Christmas is the gift we want but Jesus is the gift we need. Zachariah prophesied the coming of our Savior. We must remember and be thankful for “he has visited” (Luke 1:67-68).  We must embrace the gift of wisdom from the Wonderful Counselor, gift of strength from the Mighty God, the gift of identity from the Everlasting Father, and the gift of peace from the Prince of Peace. Let’s be thankful for the divine difference that Christmas signals in all our lives.  

As we close out this season of Behind & Beyond, Pastor Dave recaps the highlights from this series on the 10 Commandments and the abundant life found in being “kept” by them. He and Amanda Beggs discuss the tenth commandment on coveting and cover topics like parenting, reconciling expectations, and the dangers of social media.  To watch this past week's sermon: Comparison to Celebration For more info: northway.org

We often think things will fill our lives, but covetousness only leads to emptiness. Coveting is the “gap of desire” between our reality and our expectation of reality. The longer we live in this gap, comparison and discontentment settle into our hearts. We start to distrust God and our hearts become disordered, which can lead to a toxic life. But what if we started to rejoice with those who rejoice? What if we celebrated others and practiced gratitude, regularly giving thanks to God? When it comes to celebration and rejoicing with others, our feelings first follow our obedience. God’s word leads to true abundance.

Pastor John Reilly breaks down this past week’s message on the ninth commandment. Topics include the importance of addressing our spiritual condition, the benefits of confession, and the weight our words hold, both in our minds and out loud. John also discusses the peace found in the never-changing love of God and the power of deliberate community to hold us accountable. To watch this past week's sermon: Power of Words For more info: northway.org

This week, Paul Hunter extends his sermon on “do not steal” with Amanda Beggs. The two discuss the ideas of gratitude, time and giftedness, and how to live out obedience while we walk in step with the Spirit. We learn the importance of taking intentional time to stop and thank God verbally for all He has done to combat entitlement. To watch this past week’s sermon: Buried Blessings For more info: northway.org