North Main Street Church of God
The Statue
1201 North Main Street Ext. Butler, PA 16001 08/13/2023
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/eventsDiscovery Series
We have a series of 4 membership classes we’d love anyone who considers North Main their church home to attend. All 4 classes are kicking off at 9am on Sunday, September 10th. If you haven’t begun taking the classes yet, start at the first one “Discover North Main”. You can sign up for all 4 of the classes at the welcome center after service today.
https://northmaincog.org/discoverReality Tour
We are beyond gentler times when we 'trusted' our kids and bad choices weren't deadly - just lessons learned. Today's drugs are so available, yet so disguised, in fake pills with deadly fentanyl and vapes loaded with drug poisons. It is up to parents to help teens navigate the environment we gave them. Our kids TRUST their parents to do that for them. <br> It was the voice of parents at town meetings and forums that helped design Reality Tour. Parents wanted a prevention program they could attend with their child to learn about the risks together. The Reality Tour® program brings parents, students, schools, local law enforcement, and community volunteers to the table. Together, they create one powerful experience that can influence conversations and choices for years to come.
https://northmaincog.org/reality-tourJoin us each Wednesday STARTING ON SEPTEMBER 13TH as we join together in community and talk about what the Bible says about life through the lens of several different topics.
Acts 2:42 (NLT), 42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.
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/
(Daniel 3:1-18)
Yearly Theme: “Kindness is… Amazing”
Series Title: “KING of kings”
August 6th, 2023
No matter where we go in the world, we cannot escape the reality that the world in which we live is broken and fallen as a result of sin. The kingdoms of this world, the nations that rise and fall, are only temporary compared to the eternal Kingdom of GOD.
As we continue our series today, we continue with a passage that we began last week in Daniel 2. If you remember, we explored the narrative of Daniel approaching King Nebuchadnezzar with an appeal not to execute all the wise men of Babylon for not being able to know and understand the king’s dream, which had disturbed him greatly. Being given more time to seek the answers from Yahweh, Daniel once again came to the king to tell him his dream and what it meant. We pick up from there today:
Key Point: “Kingdom’s rise and fall, but Yahweh’s kingdom lasts forever.”
There has been much debate by Biblical scholars over the different kingdoms being represented in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Of course, we know that Babylon is represented by the head of gold, but the other succeeding kingdoms represented by various other metals are up for speculation. However, there seems to be good evidence to suggest that the following kingdoms represented by Silver, Bronze, Iron, and Clay, are: Medo-Persia, Greek, and Roman. Let’s take a few moments this morning and look at the different kingdoms that Daniel references in his interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and what they represent as contrasted with GOD’s kingdom as represented by the rock cut from a mountain, but not by human hands:
Daniel 2:36-38 (NLT), 36 “That was the dream. Now we will tell the king what it means. 37 Your Majesty, you are the greatest of kings. The God of heaven has given you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor. 38 He has made you the ruler over all the inhabited world and has put even the wild animals and birds under your control. You are the head of gold.
Daniel 2:32b, 39a (NLT), 32b …Its chest and arms were silver,… 39 “But after your kingdom comes to an end, another kingdom, inferior to yours, will rise to take your place.
Daniel 2:32c, 39b (NLT), 32c …its belly and thighs were bronze,… 39b After that kingdom has fallen, yet a third kingdom, represented by bronze, will rise to rule the world.
Daniel 2:33, 40-43 (NLT), 33 its legs were iron, and its feet were a combination of iron and baked clay. … 40 Following that kingdom, there will be a fourth one, as strong as iron. That kingdom will smash and crush all previous empires, just as iron smashes and crushes everything it strikes. 41 The feet and toes you saw were a combination of iron and baked clay, showing that this kingdom will be divided. Like iron mixed with clay, it will have some of the strength of iron. 42 But while some parts of it will be as strong as iron, other parts will be as weak as clay. 43 This mixture of iron and clay also shows that these kingdoms will try to strengthen themselves by forming alliances with each other through intermarriage. But they will not hold together, just as iron and clay do not mix.
Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45 (NLT), 34 As you watched, a rock was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands. It struck the feet of iron and clay, smashing them to bits. 35 The whole statue was crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. Then the wind blew them away without a trace, like chaff on a threshing floor. But the rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth. … 44 “During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever. 45 That is the meaning of the rock cut from the mountain, though not by human hands, that crushed to pieces the statue of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God was showing the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its meaning is certain.”
Though not completely confirmed by historians, there seems to be some evidence that during Napoleon Bonaparte’s exile he utter these words:
“Alexander, Caesar, and Hannibal conquered the world but they had no
friends... Jesus founded his empire upon love and at this hour
millions would die for him... He has won the hearts of men, a task a
conqueror cannot do.”
GOD’s kingdom, established by Jesus Christ, is a Kingdom of love and mercy and justice; but not the love and mercy and justice the world has, rather, the love and mercy and justice known in Christ. In GOD’s kingdom, love is unconditional, sacrificial, and selfless. There is no hint of selfishness that would drive one to love another in order to be loved in return. In GOD’s kingdom, love is freely given without strings attached. Also, in GOD’s kingdom, mercy is extended not to those who deserve it alone, but especially to those who do not; that’s why it is called mercy. The mercy the world gives is directly correlated with politics and “who you know.” However, in GOD’s kingdom, mercy comes from a compassionate GOD who desires to bridge the gap between sinful humanity and the Kingdom of Heaven. Finally, GOD’s kingdom is defined by divine justice, not the justice the world gives. Justice that the world gives way too often neglects the orphan, the widow, the downtrodden, and the broken. Justice in the Kingdom of GOD is illustrated through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. GOD’s justice is directly correlated with a person’s faith in, and following of, His one and only Son, Jesus. In Christ, a person’s sins are covered by the blood of Jesus poured out on Calvary. Even the most sinful, most corrupt, and most evil person, when surrendered completely to Christ, is forgiven of sin through the cross of Christ and is given eternal life.
Are there times when you feel pressured to condone or accept things you disagree with?
How did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego respond to the demands of national idolatry?
Does their response give you any clues as to how you can be "in the world, not of the world"?
How difficult is it to be fully confident in God when you are faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles?
What provided Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego with ultimate courage?
What would it take for you to allow confidence to
to override fear in your life, in your heart, and in your mind?
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