North Main Street Church of God
Two Sticks
1201 North Main Street Ext. Butler, PA 16001 07/30/2023
Locations & Times
North Main Street Church of God
1201 N Main St Ext, Butler, PA 16001, USA
Sunday 10:30 AM
Sunday Morning
Join us on Sunday Mornings online where you can Check-in/Connect, Give, and Watch along with us.
https://northmaincog.org/online/Know Christ intimately,
Grow in Christ continually, and
Go for Christ daily
Check-in Here
Thanks for joining us! If it's your first time here we'd love to connect with you! Fill out the form below. <br> For our regular attenders, please check in with your name and email, if you need to update information
https://northmaincog.org/online-connection-form/Joining us online?
Thank you for joining us today! Please check in here:
https://northmaincog.org/online-connection-form/
Newcomers to North Main
If you are a newcomer, we’re so glad you’ve joined us! If you’re here in person, make sure to stop by the Welcome Center where we have a gift bag for you with some information about us and some delicious homemade chocolate chip COOKIES. <br> For those online please visit the website below and make sure to click the COMMUNICATION CARD button and fill that out so we can send you a free gift!
https://northmaincog.org/onlineChurch Mobile App
Did you know North Main has a church mobile app? Access videos anytime from your device and never miss a sermon. Securely and easily give your tithes, offerings, and donations. Instantly register for upcoming events, and stay in the know of what's happening. Contact Us at any time with a simple message. Find others in the North Main directory. To download go to:
https://northmaincog.org/app/Bible Reading Plan
Join us in 2023 as we read through the Bible in a year and highlight evidence of “KINDNESS” throughout our daily Scripture readings. Reading Guides and GREEN highlighters, the color that represents KINDNESS, are available at the Welcome Center. You can also access the resources digitally on NORTHMAINCOG.ORG/BIBLE
https://northmaincog.org/bible/
Events
For more information about events at North Main such as our upcoming softball games, women’s hikes, classes, and groups, please make sure to stop by the Welcome Center or visit our website at
https://northmaincog.org/eventsIf you consider North Main your home church and have been coming regularly for at least 6 months, we invited you to attend our Annual Congregational Business Meeting that is coming up on Sunday, July 30th directly after our morning service. Please plan on attending, and we’ll see you there!
Give
We thank you for your faithful gifts. You can give online and, of course, on Sundays by using the secure drop boxes located outside the doors of the Sanctuary. THANK YOU FOR YOUR FAITHFULNESS.
https://northmaincog.org/give/
(Ezekiel 37:15-28)
Yearly Theme: “Kindness is… Advancement”
Series Title: “Kindness in Exile”
July 30th, 2023
Why is it so hard to maintain unity (especially within the Church)? I contend the reason is that maintaining unity requires conceding personal wants, wills, and desires and being willing to not always have our own way. Now, this doesn’t mean that the truth, nor the Word of GOD, should ever be compromised. However, what it does mean is that our firm resolve should always be toward reconciliation and restoration.
After the Civil War in America, the war-torn land and the countless lives lost, left deep wounds in a once United Country. Rebuilding would not be easy, and would also come at a price. In the early days just after the end of the war, when President Lincoln was asked how he would treat the rebellious southerners when they were defeated, he said, “I will treat them as if they had never been away.”[1]
Such is the case between GOD and the exiles upon their return back to the land their ancestors once inhabited. The divided nation of Israel that once inhabited the land, would return from exile as a united people once again.
Today, as we close out our series entitled, “Kindness in Exile,” we come to a passage of promised unity and restoration from GOD to His exiled people. Let’s take a look…
[1]From a sermon by David Rumley, “Redefining Lost,” 10/28/2009.
Key Point: “GOD can restore what had once been lost.”
[1] Christopher J. H. Wright, The Message of Ezekiel: A New Heart and a New Spirit, ed. Alec Motyer and Derek Tidball, The Bible Speaks Today (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2001), 311–312.
Ezekiel 37:15-19 (NLT), 15 Again a message came to me from the Lord: 16 “Son of man, take a piece of wood and carve on it these words: ‘This represents Judah and its allied tribes.’ Then take another piece and carve these words on it: ‘This represents Ephraim and the northern tribes of Israel.’ 17 Now hold them together in your hand as if they were one piece of wood. 18 When your people ask you what your actions mean, 19 say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take Ephraim and the northern tribes and join them to Judah. I will make them one piece of wood in my hand.’
Ezekiel 37:20-23 (NLT), 20 “Then hold out the pieces of wood you have inscribed, so the people can see them. 21 And give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: I will gather the people of Israel from among the nations. I will bring them home to their own land from the places where they have been scattered. 22 I will unify them into one nation on the mountains of Israel. One king will rule them all; no longer will they be divided into two nations or into two kingdoms. 23 They will never again pollute themselves with their idols and vile images and rebellion, for I will save them from their sinful apostasy. I will cleanse them. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God.
Ezekiel 37:24-28 (NLT), 24 “My servant David will be their king, and they will have only one shepherd. They will obey my regulations and be careful to keep my decrees. 25 They will live in the land I gave my servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived. They and their children and their grandchildren after them will live there forever, generation after generation. And my servant David will be their prince forever. 26 And I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I will give them their land and increase their numbers, and I will put my Temple among them forever. 27 I will make my home among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 28 And when my Temple is among them forever, the nations will know that I am the Lord, who makes Israel holy.”
True unity can only come when people are completely submitted to GOD and each other. This mutual act of submission is rooted in the Greatest Commandment to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself.” Why has the church become so fractured and prone to false teaching today? It seems the answer to that question could be directly linked to an unwillingness to truly love GOD and each other with the type of love that GOD had for us through Christ. How much division could be resolved by a mutual willingness to surrender everything we have and all that we are to GOD through faith and belief in Christ and the unity of the Holy Spirit?
Consider the words of Paul in his letter to the church at Ephesus:
Ephesians 4:3-6 (NLT), 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all.
Have you ever experienced something which seemed to be contrary to the promises of God? Have you ever wondered what God could possibly be doing during a very difficult time or situation? Even in those times, can you identify the protective hand of God? When those who are against God seem to be prospering, What is God’s promise to those who choose Him? What is it that the flesh can experience that stone cannot? How can you avoid allowing bitterness, anger, or pride to harden you toward those things which are important to The Lord?
How often do you mistake a popular saying to be the truth? Or from the scripture? Popularity does not indicate righteousness, so, can you identify several ways to protect yourself against the rhetoric of current culture? We often take on the shame of the actions of our loved ones. What is this passage telling you about the heart of God toward every individual? Is this passage encouraging or convicting for your personal circumstances?
What is noteworthy about the phrase in vs 8, “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord,” Identify the 3 ways God promises salvation of his flock in vs 10. Who do you identify with in this passage of scripture and why? Does that revelation encourage you? Are you moved to obedience in any direction, identify it. Knowing God is your protector and provider, how can you shift your focus from those who have harmed you?
Have you ever been utterly discouraged? What situation in your life did you once feel sure God was going to bless, that later appeared beyond hope? Can you see the connection between the creation story and this passage? In both situations, once the creation was formed what did God have to do in order for the miracle to be complete? What is currently in your life which seems to be beyond hope? What is the promise of God in this passage?
Have you experienced the grief of a fractured family or other close relationships? How does God speak directly to restoring the lost? What commonality will bring the restored people together? Is this restoration a unity of compromise and lack of standards? How should you respond to the discussion unity for unity’s sake? Is this what this passage is indicating? How should you proceed when you are dealing with grief and loss, according to this passage?
Past Sermons
To view past sermons, please visit our website below.
https://northmaincog.org/media-resources/sermons/Contact Us
If you would like to update your information or have a prayer request, please fill out the link below.
https://northmaincog.org/media-resources/contact-us/North Main Street Church of God
1201 North Main Street Ext.Butler, PA 16001 (724) 285-4214 info@northmaincog.org
http://www.northmaincog.org/Give
We thank you for your faithful gifts. You can give online at NORTHMAINCOG.ORG/GIVE, text "give" to (724) 313-2211, and, of course, on Sundays by using the secure drop boxes located outside the doors of the Sanctuary. THANK YOU FOR YOUR FAITHFULNESS.
https://www.northmaincog.org/giveMonday - Thursday
9:00am - 4:00pm