Service Times

Locations

Saturday - 5 p.m.
Sunday - 9, 11 a.m., & 6 p.m.
Monday - 7 p.m.

Longwood
Mount Dora
Oviedo
West Oaks
Online Community/Global

“The Earth Is Yours”
July 25, 2010
Babel - When We Became Them
July 24, 2010
Redefining Secondary Relationships
July 17, 2010

Connection Group, Oviedo (McGrath/Wilde)
Today: 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
When the Game is Over, it All Goes Back in the Box - Women’s study
Today: 9:30 a.m.
Free Concert: Matt Maher
Wed Aug 18, 7 p.m.

Other Belong Studies

Week 1 (click to expand list)
Week 2 (click to expand list)
Week 3

Week 4

Other Resources

+ Learn about membership and how to "belong" at Northland.

+ Complete the Belong & Membership Covenant.

+ Trouble viewing video? Watch it on Vimeo by clicking here .

+ PDF version of Belong Week 1 Personal Study

+ Romans 6:18 - Weekly Scripture Memory Verse

+ asburyreader.com - Daily Bible Reader

+ The Westminster Shorter Catechism
(Read more from one of the doctrinal standards of the church, written in 1647)

+ Connect with a Minister at Northland

Personal Study.

<h2>Belong to Christ - Week 1, Day 1</h2>

“Through redemption, God undertakes to deal with a man’s past, and He does it in two ways: by forgiving him, and by making the past a wonderful culture for the future.” 
Oswald Chambers

Our deepest need to belong will only be filled when we belong to Christ. We were created for relationship with Him, but sin separates us. We can only belong to Him as we accept Him as our Savior. To belong to Christ, to be His child, means being forgiven. 
 
In the Old Testament God’s children were called Hebrews, meaning ‘wanderers.’ What an apt description. As His children we are on a spiritual journey, and we are not at home in this world.  
<hr />
BELIEVE 
Genesis 3:1-8 – (NIV) 
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”  The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ “

“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

Sin entered the human race in the Garden of Eden.  The story of Adam and Eve is one of the best-known stories in all of scripture.  It is referred to as the Fall of Man. As a result of Adam’s sin, we inherited a sin nature, meaning that sin is not just what we do. It is our very nature.

- In your own words, describe Eve’s struggle (Genesis 3:7) and what exactly tripped her up.

- How do you identify with her temptation?

- How do you relate to the feeling described in Genesis 3:8?

Romans 3:10-12 – (NIV) 
As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.  All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

As a result of the sinful nature with which we are born, there is nothing in us that would naturally cause us to seek God unless He draws us to Himself.

- How do you identify with this verse?

People are drawn to the good news of Jesus Christ, especially in the lives of believers who live in the reality of His Lordship, and experience a feeling of belonging even before they make a confession of faith.

- As you look back over your life, what ways do you see that God was bringing you to Himself?

Ephesians 2:4-5 –  (NIV) 
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved.

Our sinful human condition does not just mean we have a slight problem. It does not mean we are a little out of sync with God. The result of sin is that we are spiritually dead when Christ calls us.

- How have you experienced coming to life spiritually?

Romans 5:6-8 – (NIV) 
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 
 
While every believer must come to a moment of decision regarding salvation, your spiritual journey began long before that.

- When did God plan your salvation?

- When did He accomplish it?

- What does this say about your importance to God?

Romans 10:9-10 – (NIV) 
That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

- When and how have you realized your need for a Savior?

- When did you begin believing in your heart?

- When did you first confess, coming to a life-changing decision?

- What is required daily for Jesus to be Lord in your life?

- Is this passage describing a one-time event or an ongoing process? 
<hr />
BECOME 
At the confession of faith, the Spirit of God begins to work in the life of every believer, making each in the image of Christ.  We often think of that process of becoming as a journey, a spiritual journey.

- Where would you say you are in your own spiritual journey? 
(Ex: just beginning, well on your way, not yet begun, etc.)

- How has your life changed since your own moment of decision, or confession of faith?

<hr />
BE SENT 
- Find someone in the course of your day with whom to discuss what it means to belong. 
- Find an opportunity to speak to someone about what Jesus has done for you.

Memory: Begin to commit Romans 6:18 to memory. 
You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

- How have you experienced His freedom, and how do you identify with being a life-long servant?

Prayer: (by St. Augustine, Confessions) 
“The house of my soul is too small for you to come to it. May it be enlarged by you. It is in ruins: restore it. In your eyes it has offensive features. I admit it, I know it; but who will clean it up? Or to whom shall I cry other than you? ‘Cleanse me from my secret faults, Lord, and spare your servant from sins to which I am tempted by others.’”  (Psalm 31:5)

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Northland - A Church Distributed

Other Belong Studies

Other Resources

Personal Study.

General Info

Online Worship

Classes/Groups

Ministries

Youth

Children

Pastoral Care

Media

Get Involved

Giving