Pastor Brad's original song for Christmas, recorded live at First Assembly on Christmas Day, 2011.

How many people celebrate Christmas, but miss the point? 

Rod Loy shares some practical ways that you can keep going in the right direction toward what God wants for us, and away from our past.

So many people who look back at their old lives do it based on a revised history, filled with faulty memories.  They remember the good times, and not the bad things that caused them to turn to God in the first place.  Satan likes to remind us of the good times while blinding us to the consequences.  We need to make sure to remember God's grace and how far He has brought us!

Even good people with good intentions can get totally distracted from what's right and do things that make absolutely no sense. But in spite of all that, we need to continue to move forward.  We should continually grow in our faith and relationship with Christ.

At one point in our lives, we were all slaves to sin.  When we found relationship with God through His Son, Jesus and decided to follow Him, we left all that behind.  But, we've all seen it happen:  for some reason, some people turn back to the life they left behind.  Why?

God saves us from our old life.  We find joy and peace in Him.  Why is it so tempting then, to return to our old ways?  If you feel that pull, or your life seems to be an endless series of ups and downs, back and forth, check out this series - we want to see you move forward!

Worship is an attitude, a mindset, and a way of life.  People worship a lot of things:  money, fun, power and position.  If you truly worship God, He is first in your life.  It's not about styles of music, or how we worship, it's THAT we worship!

Anyone can love those who love them.  Jesus presents a higher standard.  Love your enemies.  Treat them as forgiven friends.  Pray for them and love them.   Our love for each other is the evidence that we are followers of Jesus Christ.  If we do not love others, what does that say about us?

In fashion, you want to fit in.  In life fashion, you definitely do NOT want to fit in.

You should be able to spot a life-long follower of Jesus.  Someone who "dresses" with Jesus is different.  They stand out  - not by how they dress, but how they act and react.  You can tell the difference by what they do and don't do, what they say, and don't say, and by how they treat others.  If you are a Christian, can anyone tell?

What does is a Christian supposed to look like?  When you are clothed with Christ, it affects how you treat others.  What we "wear" can attract people to, or repel people from God.

Pastor Brian Dollar talks about labels.  We have a lot of labels for people, don't we?  We have a tendency to label others based not on who they are, but what we think they are.  How should we think about others?

Why do people like watching reality shows like "The Biggest Loser?"  Maybe because it's awesome to look back and see what someone was and now see what someone is - made over, changed, transformed.  Too many people want to put on Jesus, but they want to keep their old habits and attitudes.  It's time to be made over, changed, and transformed!

What does it mean to dress like Jesus?  No, it doesn't involve a robe and sandals!  The apostle Paul, writing to believers in Rome, said that Christians should "clothe themselves with the Lord Jesus Christ."  How can we do that?

This part of the Lord's Prayer helps us keep our focus:  our goal should be to build His kingdom, not ours. 

With his simple prayer, Jesus reminds us what we all know too well.  Temptation is everywhere and we are all vulnerable.  What did He mean when He prayed "...lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil..."?

We hear a lot today about debt. In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus wasn't talking about deficits, or credit cards. What does "forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" mean?

How radically would it change your life if you recognized everything you have, and everything you receive as God's gift?  How much easier would it be to respond to His call to give to others if you recognized everything you had came from Him?  When we make requests of God in prayer, it's not just supposed to be about us.  We are asking Him to give to others, too.

We pray that we want God's will to be done in our lives, but what do we have to do to ensure that happens?  How can we get out of the way to allow God's perfect will to work in our lives?

How do we pray?   It's a wonderful question, one asked by the disciples of Jesus, and one many Christians ask today.  Jesus taught the disciples a pattern for prayer, and in this series, Rod Loy will walk us through the pattern and its importance in our prayer lives.

Our final post it note is also one of the final messages of the Bible.  Jesus is coming back soon.  Although people have tried for centuries to predict when that will be, the Bible says nobody knows.  What do we need to know about Christ's return?

Pastor Rod talks about the warning signs of an unhealthy relationship, and also at what makes relationships healthy.

Are there days you feel like quitting?  Everyone has those moments.  In fact, people quit all kinds of things, all the time.  Most of us understand, that bad days happen.  That's part of life.  Tomorrow is a new day.  Some things seem more serious, though.  What would God say to us about quitting?

The Bible says there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  God wants to forgive!

This song finished the message - it's a live recording featuring Pastor Brad Russell and the First NLR worship team.  Use it as a reminder that we are forgiven!

We recently spent time talking about forgiveness, and we heard that many people struggle not with forgiving others, but forgiving themselves.  They feel bad for something in their past and don't know how to move on.  How do you forgive yourself and move beyond your past?  What does God have to say to us about it?

In this message, Pastor Rod interviews Michael and Tiffany Richardson, missionaries from our church who are working with the DeToog people, a tribe in a remote region of Tanzania.  Even the most forgotten people in the most remote land are not forgotten by God!

Pastor Brad Russell continues the Post it Notes from God series with this message about God's crazy love for us.

We live in a busy, fast-tracked world.  Society considers multi-tasking a virtue.  But what would God say to us about our busy schedules?

When company is coming, you clean your house.  Before a date, you clean out your car.  When something is important to you, you keep it clean.

But there is too much trash in our words, in our attitudes, and in our actions.  There's way too much trash in our lives.  It's time to take out the trash!

We have had a lot of requests for the song Pastor Brad wrote for the Arkansas District Council Ordination Service, so we are making it available for download here.  It's a great song about living the dream God wants for you!

It's not easy when plans for life don't work out - when everything you thought you could be, should be, and would be isn't, won't be, and doesn't look like it ever will be.  What message does God have for us in these times?

After hearing the stories of the ladies involved in human trafficking, Pastor Brad wrote this song.  We wanted to share it with you.  We took an offering, but please keep them in your prayers!

For years, people have used those little yellow notes to remind themselves or others of all kinds of things.

If God left a post it note for you, what would He say?  What would He want you to remember?

Is life not going as you expected? It's not fair.  It hurts. You ask, why me? What did I do to deserve this? Has God forgotten me? If God is supposed to be a loving God, how could this happen? 

Pastor Rod finishes "Average Pete" with one of the most encouraging passages in the entire Bible. If you've messed up or failed, there's still hope for you!

The story of Peter is one of high highs and low lows.  On one hand, he walked on water with Jesus, and on the other, he denied he even knew him when it mattered most.  Why are the low points included in the Bible?  It may be so we can see the danger signs that lead to ultimate failure.  By taking a closer look at the story, we can identify and avoid those same mistakes in our lives.

Why did Jesus, the Son of God, wash the feet of His disciples? What was He trying to teach them, and us?

The apostle Peter is known to history as a great leader of the early church.  But early on, he was basically a loudmouth fisherman.  At one point, Peter chastized Jesus for predicting strife ahead for his followers.  Jesus gave him a harsh public rebuke, calling him Satan.  Ouch! Why did Jesus do that?  He wanted his followers at the time, and today, too, to understand that following Him carries a price.  Rod Loy looks at this story in this very important message for all followers of Christ.  Are we willing to pay the price?

Why should we forgive?  How do we forgive?  What does it mean to forgive?  This is a subject we need to talk about often because this one issue often keeps people locked in the past - in a cycle of bitterness, anger, hurt, and regret.  Unforgiveness paralyzes families, destroys marriages, and ends long-term friendships.  Excuses don't change the fact that not forgiving hurts you, not the person you refuse to forgive.

It's a famous story - when Jesus walked on the water during a storm, and it's Pete, average, normal, regular Pete, who briefly walks on the water with Jesus.  What can we learn from this encounter during our storms of life?

There is a cost to following Jesus.  So many people miss out on the adventure, because they aren't willing to obey and sacrifice.  They opt out and never really make a difference. 

Bible characters sometimes seem like superheroes - bigger than life people in extraordinary circumstances, like Moses, Noah, David, or Daniel in the lion's den.  The truth is, though, people in the Bible made mistakes, said stupid things, and often acted foolish.  Through this, God shows  us He can use anyone, even an average joe like Peter,  a rough fisherman from a tiny town.

In this message, Pastor Rod talks about the signs of a healthy church.

Pastor Brian Dollar finishes up the Five for the Fight series with this message on Ephesians 6:10-17 - what is the full armor of God?

The apostle Peter warns us that Satan is constantly looking for ways to attack Christians.  He says we should expect it and be alert.  But he also gives us a promise we can find in God!

Sometimes in life you may feel overwhelmed with loneliness, like nobody understands you, or that nobody else is with you. It's almost like it's you against an entire army. Today we take a look at a passage of scripture that can help!

Today's verse is 2 Timothy 4:18

Sometimes in life, it seems like the odds are stacked against us.  Sometimes we try to come up with our own plans that can get us in more trouble.  In this message, Rod Loy looks at three principles for fighting when the odds are against you.

You lose your job, you have an unexpected medical expense, sales go down, scholarships fall through, you get a tough report from the doctor, you are called in for a meeting...what's your normal first reaction?  Fear.  You don't know what's next.  You don't know the answers.  In this message, Rod Loy looks at what to do when you realize you are in the middle of a fight, and you're not sure what to do.

We are in a fight.  We are in a war.  But we are not fighting against each other, progress, other churches or followers of Jesus, culture, politicians, or even against sinners.  The Bible says our struggle is against the Devil and his forces of evil.

The church in America has often been distracted from the right fight.  In this series, Pastor Rod is going to share insight into five different scripture verses - powerful weapons against our true enemy.