March 2024 - NCCRevised

The Lord is Risen Indeed!

March 30, 2024 by NCC-Admin-1 in Pastor's Corner

“And they rose up the same hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, saying, ‘The Lord is risen indeed…”
Luke 24: 33-34 KJV

What a day it had been! There was the shock and horror of the brutal crucifixion and death of Jesus just three days before. Then the burial and the sealing of the tomb. And now, on this day, just three days after all of these events there were reports that Jesus was alive! That He had risen from the dead!

Most who heard these reports were skeptical. Why wouldn’t they be? No one who had ever been crucified and buried had ever risen from the dead! Everyone knew that when a man was dead that was the end! There was no coming back from that! After all, the only man who had ever, in their lifetime, raised anyone from the dead was now dead himself!

But as these two men journeyed home from Jerusalem to Emmaus (a small village 7 1/2 miles from Jerusalem) they were joined by a stranger. They had been discussing the confusing events of the past few days and were amazed to hear this stranger’s thoughts about those events (Luke 24: 25-27). They were so intrigued by his insight they insisted he stay overnight in their home.

As they began to share the evening meal together, this stranger took the bread, gave thanks to God, broke it, and passed it unto them. Suddenly, at that moment, their eyes were opened and they recognized Him! It was Jesus! Jesus was seated with them at their table! And as soon as they recognized Him, He vanished from their sight!
They were startled! They were amazed! They were filled with awe and wonder! Their heart overflowed with excitement and joy! Jesus was alive! They immediately forgot their meal and rushed back to Jerusalem, at 2-hour journey on foot. They burst into the room where the disciples and others were still gathered and joyfully declared: The Lord is risen indeed!

The realization that Jesus is alive, that He is risen from the dead, changes everything! It changed everything for them. And it changes everything for us. The truth that Jesus is alive comes by revelation. That revelation may come to us in different ways, but the outcome is the same. The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! That changes everything! And we are never be the same again!

Rev. James W. Black

The Glory of Man

March 22, 2024 by NCC-Admin-1 in Pastor's Corner

“What is man that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou has made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor.”
Psalm 8: 4-5 KJV

Have you ever thought about the glory that God gave to man? It is first mentioned in Gen. 1:26. The glory of man is that he is made in the image of God! Think of that! Man was created to be the highest expression of God in the earth! It was God’s intention, from the very beginning, that the character and nature of God would be expressed in the earth through the life of man! Therefore, man’s glory would be a reflection of God’s glory being manifested in and through him!

When man sinned against God through willful disobedience, the Light of God’s glory which flowed from within the spirit of man was extinguished. Instead of being guided by the Light of God, man would now be living and walking in the darkness of sin. Instead of man being a reflection of God’s glory, man would now reflect the nature of the evil one! (John 8:44).

But through the power of the cross and the mighty resurrection of Jesus, that glory has been restored! (Col. 1:27). Through the New Birth (John 3:16), the Light of God’s glory now illuminates our once darkened spirit and we are able to see and walk in His Light! We can once again express the image of God in the earth!

While we may not always express it perfectly (because we have not yet been perfected), we have been re-commissioned to be the expression of God in the earth once again. Just as Jesus came to make the Father visible (Col.1:15), we are now called to make Jesus visible! What a calling! What a mystery! What a glorious thing this is! May we continually yield to Him and seek to be the fullest expression of Him we can be!

Rev. James W. Black

What Is Sin?

March 17, 2024 by James Black in Pastor's Corner

“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
James 4:17 KJV

We live in a culture that has all but lost any consciousness of sin. Because the culture has abandoned Biblical Truth, we have no standard by which sin can be recognized or identified. We have become much like it was during the days of The Judges (10th Century BC) when “every man did that was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6 KJV). But the Word of God declares that we “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”(Rom. 3:23 KJV).

But what is sin? How do we define it? We normally think of sin as doing certain things that are bad. And while such things are certainly sinful, that still does not describe what it is. In reality sin is more than our outward actions. (Matthew 5: 27-28).

Major Ian Thomas in his classic book, The Indwelling Life of Christ, defines sin very clearly. He says, “Sin is anything that falls short of God’s glory, so that God will evaluate sin as any behavior that falls short of what He does, what He says, and what He is. Sin therefore, is exposed simply by relating our behavior to God’s behavior. God is perfect and by that perfection you and I recognize sin, because sin is anything that falls short of His perfection. God Himself is therefore the only standard by which sin is recognizable.” (Page 49).

Sin, therefore, can only be recognized in the light of God Himself! In the light of God’s perfect holiness, we become keenly aware of our imperfection. (Isaiah 6: 1-5). And we see that anything that is not perfect is sin! Such a realization means that all of us are in trouble! We all fall short of God’s Holy perfection! Such a revelation of His holiness and perfection, causes us to want to try to hide from His Presence (Gen. 3:8).

But the Good News of the Gospel is that Jesus has paid for all our sin in full! (Col. 2: 12-15). And He has give, to all who will receive it, His very own righteousness and perfection! (2 Cor.5:21). Therefore because of His finished work on the cross , He now welcomes all who have received His very own righteousness into His Presence! And we are completely accepted by Him! Oh, what a Savior we have in Jesus!

Being Conscious of God’s Goodness

March 9, 2024 by NCC-Admin-1 in Pastor's Corner

“Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men. For he satisfieth the longing soul and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.”
Psalm 107:8-9 KJV

The goodness of God is poured out upon all of humanity. The scripture reminds us that the Lord provides sunshine and rain for everyone; both the redeemed and the unredeemed. (Matthew 5:45). In a farming economy, the proper amounts of sun and rain are essential to having a good harvest. In other words, both the redeemed and the unredeemed experience the goodness of God. But only the redeemed have the ability to recognize it.

To the unredeemed, good things are considered as luck, chance, or happenstance. But to the redeemed, good things are recognized as the favor and blessing of God! The redeemed recognize that the source of all blessings comes from God! The unredeemed, because of the darkness of their mind, are blinded to the source of all blessings. The scripture reminds us that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights…” (James 1:17).

Because of our relationship with God the Father, through the finished work of Christ, and the revelation of the Holy Spirit within us, our eyes have been opened to the reality of God’s continuous blessing in our lives. We are able to recognize the goodness of God! As a result, we are (or should be) moved with a desire to give honor, glory, and praise to the One who has blessed us so abundantly!

However, even the redeemed can get so busy with the daily demands of life that we can take the blessings of God for granted. It is important, therefore, for us to take some time each day to reflect on the faithfulness of God and the goodness of God in our lives. When we do, our hearts will be filled with a greater consciousness of God and His goodness! Which will cause our hearts to overflow with gratitude and praise toward Him!

Rev. James Black

The Bread of Life

March 2, 2024 by NCC-Admin-1 in Pastor's Corner

“And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”
John 6:35 NKJV

To me, there is nothing better than freshly baked bread! In the abundance of our culture, we often take bread for granted. But to those in the 1st Century, especially to the common everyday people, bread was essential for life. For many, it was a struggle each day just to provide enough bread for their family. When Jesus declared that He was the Bread of Life it was a term that got everyone’s attention. There was a reason that Jesus compared Himself to bread!

Bread is good! Bread feeds us. Bread sustains us. Bread nourishes us. Bread strengthens us. And bread satisfies us! Jesus is the revelation and the embodiment of all these things.

The character and nature of Jesus is good. The Psalmist declared: “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Psalm 34:8). Jesus is the revelation of all of the goodness of God! In order to discover this reality, we must receive Him and take Him into our lives. It is Jesus who feeds the longing of our soul to find value, meaning, and purpose in life. It is Jesus who sustains us daily, moment by moment. Our very next heartbeat is dependent upon Him! It is Jesus who strengthens us in our weakness and enables us to do what we could never do on our own. (John 15:5). It is Jesus who satisfies us and brings contentment in life. It is Jesus who reveals to us just how valuable we are to Him by sacrificing His very own life for us! And It is Jesus who sent the Holy Spirit to indwell us, teach us, guide us, and enable us to hear and understand the Word of God.

Unlike the natural bread which must be received again and again, Jesus continually, constantly, and forever satisfies us once and for all! We never have to be spiritually empty or hungry again!