Dave Bowman

Sunday Recap

• Great day as we wound up Amplify. Tons of guests around today – on a holiday weekend! And I don’t know the numbers yet, but it sure seemed like there were a lot of folks indicating they were committing their lives to Jesus today.

• Kristi nailed the Pat Benatar song. That little gal can belt it out! The music and environment for this series has been a lot of fun. When’s the last time you heard Hit Me With Your Best Shot in church?

• OK, I messed up in the first service today – big time! It has been a long time since I had a slip of the tongue that was embarrassing, but today was one of those. I’m not going to tell you what it was, because some of you missed it. (One of those times when I’m thankful for selective listening!) But for those of you who heard me say something that sounded a little off, IT WAS A MISTAKE. It was one of those times when I was thinking of two things at the same time and it didn’t exactly come out right. Sorry!

• Alistair did an awesome job leading worship today while Gary is away on some R&R. Love that Irish accent!

• Props to all those who got into their seats before the service started again today! The front row of the second service was actually doing the wave before the band kicked off! Remember, 5 minutes early and fill the front!

• Next week we kick off what is probably one of the most important series we will do this year – 5ive. It’s going to take us right up to the kick-off of our new service schedule (Saturday, 6:30 and Sunday, 9:30 & 11:30), and our fall outreach. I’ve been praying over this series since June and I can’t wait to kick it off next weekend!

• Last night I watched Greg Laurie do the Harvest Crusade in Anaheim. He preached one of the most powerful evangelistic sermons I’ve ever heard and he did it after just burying his 31-year old son. God’s grace is sufficient.

• As of this weekend we finally have proof-positive that miracles still happen. DUKE WON A FOOTBALL GAME!! Seriously, even though I’m not a big college football fan, I like what David Cutcliff seems to be doing at Duke. He’s building a whole new culture for Duke Football. Kind of reminds me of another Duke coach.

• Pray for the folks in Gustav’s path this week. Going to play Wii with Arianna. I’m out!

A Reminder

Today I got a reminder of why we do what we do. I met someone today who has been coming to NHC for a few months because someone invited him. He’s a wall person. He told me how much he enjoys the church and that for the first time he can understand what’s being said.

But my new friend has one little problem – he doesn’t believe in God. I think he wants to believe, but he just can’t seem to connect the dots yet. We talked about things like heaven and hell, money, how we grew up in church and various other things. But I told him it really comes down to one simple thing – Jesus. What are you going to do with Jesus?

I tried my best to explain to him that none of us are good enough to reach God’s standard of holiness and the only way to bridge the gap is Jesus. He said that made sense, but he’s still not ready to make the leap yet.

So I asked him to do something – just keep coming back and listening. He said he would. And he promised that we could talk again. I’m praying that he will eventually go beyond the talk and accept Jesus.

After our conversation ended I was thinking about how grateful I am that we have a church where my new friend feels comfortable…where he can hear the gospel in a way that he understands…a church that I feel good about inviting him back to. Thank you, God!

So, who do you know that doesn’t know Jesus? Who do you know that may not even believe yet? Here’s something you might want to consider – Invest & Invite. Invest in the relationship and invite them to NHC, and then watch God go to work in their life. I believe God is already at work in my friend’s life and I believe he’s at work in our church. And I believe he will work in your friend or family member’s life too. So, INVITE THEM!!

Cranking Up The Volume Again

This weekend we're cranking up the volume one more time with Amplify! In this series, we're talking about how to plug into God's plan and purpose for our lives and this week we're going to really focus in on how that works. You don't want to miss it!

Last week I posted here about getting to NHC 5 MINUTES EARLY and being ready when the service starts. As we roll into the fall and our big outreach season, it's really going to help us with parking, children's check-in and all the other stuff involved with getting everyone into the various environments at NHC.

The good news is tons of you tried it last weekend! Props to those who got here early! For those of you who haven't tried it yet - try it, you'll like it! We've got a fun service kick-off this Sunday you don't want to miss.

5 MINUTES EARLY AND FILL THE FRONT!!

Impossibility Thinking

It’s early this morning and I’m in my home office doing my quiet time. I’ve just spent the last hour or so reading my Bible and praying. My reading today took me to Matthew 19, which includes the story of the rich, young ruler.

Jesus’ disciples observe the whole thing going down and then they said, “Jesus, this kingdom thing you’re talking about is impossible.” Jesus responds, “Yes it is. Humanly speaking it is impossible to be saved, but with God all things are possible.”

Those three words are the key – “but with God…”

What are you facing today that is a “but with God” situation? The reality for all of us is that we can’t become who God wants us to be…we can’t do what God wants us to do…we can’t live how God wants us to live – not humanly speaking, anyway. BUT WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.

God’s power residing within  me makes it possible for me to…

• Love the way he wants me to
• Forgive the way Jesus forgive me
• Have faith that moves mountains
• Live out my marriage with commitment
• Be the kind of parent my kids need
• And the list goes on!

Bottom line – God has never asked us to do anything that he doesn’t give us the ability to do. So, do you feel like your situation today is impossible? It is. That’s why we all need Jesus.

Messy, Messy

The Spiked room, that is. We're 6 weeks out from the launch of our new service structure and that means a big change for NHC's student ministry too. Spiked is moving to Sunday morning during the 11:30 service on the first weekend of October so that we can reach the teenagers who attend Sunday mornings, but can't make it back on Sunday evening.

That means Spiked needs more room! (Great problem to have!) So Adam and his crew have completely torn up the Spiked room. They're rearranging band staging, video game consoles and just about everything so we can get more students into Spiked. It's another way Adam and the whole NHC crew is working to make our Student Ministry the best Student Ministry in town.

And just in case you think they forgot about Club 56, don't worry. All of the changes will be great for Club 56'ers too. If you get a chance this Sunday, slip upstairs and check out the changes that are underway.

P.S. Check out this blog post on Adam's blog for a story about what's happening in Spiked!

What An Experience!

Today I got to experience something I've always wanted to do - shoot a live automatic weapon...an assault rifle! I grew up on a farm, so I grew up around hunting guns like long-range rifles and shotguns, as well as pistols. I've spent many hours plinking targets, tin cans and the like, but I've never had the chance to shoot a real, fully-automatic weapon. Until today!

Nick Schneider (who's a member of Durham's SWAT team) and his wife Erin took Gary and I to the Durham Police Department's shooting range. We let loose with an M-4, which is the police version of an M-16, and various pistols including a 9mm and a .45. Talk about fun! And you'll note from the targets, these are two pastors you don't want to mess with!

Thanks Nick and Erin!

Weekend Rewind

• Weekend Rewind instead of Sunday Rewind!

• FUN WEEKEND...POWERFUL SUNDAY!

• The last Block Party of the '08 season was off the chain! BBQ and all the fixin's...lots of NHC'ers and TONS of unchurched friends...water slides, bounce houses and face painting for the kids...live music by Coolius Caeasar (Hugh's band)...and a drive-in movie. Don't let it ever be said that NHC doesn't know how to throw a party!!

• Fun kick-off for Pt. 2 of Amplify. Yvette rocked our face off with Been A Long Time Since I Rock & Rolled. And if you weren't there, yes, we did a Led Zeppelin tune in church! With Yvette singing it, it was like Tina Turner meets Led Zeppelin! And props to our student ministry gang for running around the room throwing out the little guitars!

• If you weren't in your seat 5 minutes early, you probably missed that song! GET HERE EARLY NEXT SUNDAY!!

• Today was one of the hardest messages I've preached for a while. I don't know why, but I just had a hard time with it this week. I guess there are just days like that. I finally just kind of gave up this morning and prayed, "Lord, you've got to show up here because I'm just not getting it." I think he did.

• 6 weeks from today is our first weekend of revamped service times - Saturday at 6:30, Sunday at 9:30 & 11:30. Get ready to invite your 5 friends the first weekend of October!

• Speaking of that, we're working hard behind the scenes to gear up our volunteer teams for kids, students and hosts. Are you INVOLVED? If not, pick up a Strengths Survey at Guest Central, fill it out and return it ASAP. We need everyone to get in the game this fall!

• Jayden's 5th birthday was this weekend. (These kids are growing up way too fast!) Went to Chuck E. Cheese after church and the girls ate pizza and played video games. Susan and I ate from the salad bar. Imagine that - a salad bar at Chuck E. Cheese.

• Next week we wrap up Amplify with Hit Me With Your Best Shot. We're going to zero in next week on how to know God's plan and purpose for your life. Don't miss it!

• School starts tomorrow. Yeah! I'm driving Arianna to school in the mornings this school year and I'm actually looking forward to it. Quality time in the car together.

• Hope you have a great week. I'm out!

Pray!

OK, I know...three posts in one day. Too much information, right? Actually it's two posts last night and one this morning, but this one is different. I'm sitting in my home office this morning praying for our church and for this weekend and I just felt an urgency to ask you to pray with me for Sunday.

• Pray for people to meet Christ
• Pray for God to reveal himself to someone this weekend
• Pray that the gospel would penetrate hearts
• Pray for kids and teenagers to accept Christ
• Pray that we would never get discouraged and never stop proclaiming the Good News

Pray!

BBQ Review

Here's the BBQ Review video from last Sunday...See you at Block Party! Saturday at 4:00...

Get Here Early!

OK, NHC'ers, we're only 6 weeks out from our fall outreach season and the kick-off of our third service (Saturday, October 4, 6:30 and Sunday October 5, 9:30 & 11:30). We've got a lot to do! Over the next few weeks I'm going to be asking you to go all out as we get ready to invite 500 of our friends to NHC. With that in mind, here's the first thing I'm going to ask you to do - GET HERE 5 MINUTES EARLY!

This fall as we invite more and more of our friends to NHC, the processes of getting everyone parked, kids checked in, and getting everyone seated will take a little longer. So, for the next few weeks I'm asking us to make a practice run at getting here early enough to make things go more smoothly. 5 MINUTES EARLY (goes well with our other "fives" doesn't it?). And if you're the type of person that always runs 10 minutes late, that means you need to plan for 15 minutes early!

We're going to make sure that the first few minutes of the services are "must see newhorizonchurch.tv!" Last week we kicked off with a great song from the band that many of you missed because you came in late. Well, this week we're kicking off with something fun that you don't want to miss, so GET HERE 5 MINUTES EARLY!

God is doing some awesome things in our church right now, and I believe we're going to see even greater things in the next few months. There's an expectancy and a level of excitement in the air that you can cut with a knife! I can't wait to see what God is going to do!

Looking forward to an absolutely rockin' weekend at NHC! Block Party starts at 4:00 on Saturday and that means BBQ, water slides and bounce houses for the kids, a LIVE BAND, and lots of fun with other NHC'ers. If you didn't get BBQ tickets, you can still purchase them when you get here.

Then, Sunday we're going to rock the house with Pt. 2 of Amplify. Did I mention GET HERE 5 MINUTES EARLY? And when you get here, FILL THE FRONT! See you this weekend!