Every moment we are awake, we are making decisions and exercising our free will to choose. Our choices are influenced by many factors, and as a result of these factors we develop a perspective. What is influencing your perspective? Join us this Sunday as Pastor Gus leads us in learning about "How do you look at things, and why?" I look forward to seeing you at 10 a.m. --Edwin
Hey Family, We live in a culture and a society that is divided and suspicious of one another. This does not have to be the case in God's family. Join us this week as we look at the Scriptures to understand how we can become a church community that loves one another in the midst of our differences. I look forward to seeing you Sunday at 10 a.m.--and bring a friend. This is a message that is very much needed in the world today. --Edwin
Hey Family, Our series "This Is Us" concludes on Sunday when pastor Zac Martin will talk about the power of prayer. Praying for each other is one of the most powerful things we can do as members of a church body. When another person is in pain, or suffering a loss, or in need of encouragement and restoration, any of us can pray for them. And when *we* need prayer, we are urged to reach out and ask others to pray for us. We look forward to seeing you on Sunday at 10 a.m. --Edwin
This Sunday Pastor Gus Rodriguez will continue in our series, "This Is Us," by looking at the wisdom contained in the Book of James. Though it was written almost 2,000 years ago, James is just as powerful today. This Sunday we will see how James reveals how we should respond to the pains, loss, and suffering of our lives. Don't miss it as we are instructed and comforted through his words. It's a great way to start out the new ye
Hey Family, Merry Christmas! It's interesting how at this time of the year, when so many things are going on, many people feel a sense of elation and joy and laughter--and others feel a deep sense of loss, an deepening of the heartache and pain that they may have felt all year. I want to invite you to come this Sunday, when we find out that Christmas is the solution for every single stage of life. Christmas is the solution for when we find ourselves in great joy, and Christmas is the solution wh...
Hey Family, As Christmas approaches, what do you look forward to? Celebrating with family? A special gift from a certain someone? Fun and food with friends? This Sunday we'll focus on what Christmas is really all about. More than 2,000 years ago, angels spoke to a group of lonely men and told them what they could look forward to. God chose the lowest of the low to be the first to hear the amazing good news about the birth of Christ. I look forward to sharing more with you this Sunday at 10 a.m. ...
Ho-ho-ho Family! In this Christmas season of Advent, we get to reflect on the amazing miracle of God coming down to Earth. A God who would not be satisfied just giving us rules and instruction, but would join us in our struggle in order to draw us to himself. The real gift of Christmas is Christ, who we get to see in His most vulnerable state... and recognize that he will stop at nothing to regain relationship with those he loves. Join us this Sunday as we take a break from our series on James a...
Hey Family, We have a lot to be thankful for; gratitude should be the motivating factor for everything we say, do, think, and respond to. It's how we should run our families, interact with people at work, and connect with people on a daily basis. As we continue our series in the book of James, we're going to focus on being grateful, grateful to God for all that he's done and grateful for all that he's going to accomplish in our lives. This is so important because many of us can run into a funk, ...
Hey Family, Ever had somebody judge you for something that you didn’t do? Or judge you for something that you DID do? How did it make you feel? In our series This Is Us, we’ve been learning how to live together as a healthy church community so that we can reach out to others and show them God’s love. That’s not going to happen if we’re judging each other. Come this Sunday as we continue in the Book of James and see what the scripture has to say on this subject. I look forward to seeing you at 10...
Next Step Community Church
Hey Family, In our series This Is Us, we've been talking about how we as a church must get along with each other if we are to make an impact on the world around us. Last week we talked about how quarreling and fighting get us nowhere. This Sunday, we'll talk about how we either commit to God or we don't--and how that commitment affects how we deal with our family, our friends, our dating and marriages, and every other relationship we have. I hope to see you Sunday at 10 a.m. to learn more. --Edw...
Hey Family, We've all gotten into situations where we needed wisdom to figure out what to do. And depending on who you ask, you can get fifteen different pieces of advice for how to move forward... which leaves us no better off than we were before. This week we'll talk about where to get the only real wisdom that can help us, and how our lives will change if we do. I hope you're being blessed by the series "This Is Us," based on the Book of James. Are you still keeping up with the Word Challenge...
Hey Family, Why did I say that? It just slipped out! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it. They’re all phrases that we use after having said something that we wish we could take back. All of us have had moments where we cut someone down, hurt someone deeply, or say an inappropriate remark. This week going to learn about where these outbursts come from and how to deal with the words that are in our hearts before we deal with the words that come out of our mouths. Come as we continue our series in the Book...
Hey Family, We've been in a series called "This Is Us," which talks about what it's like to be a Christian in today's tough world. This Sunday we're going to learn how each of us can show God's love to others in everyday ways, in our daily lives. God has given each of us some special abilities to carry out his work. Do you use those abilities just for yourself, or do you reach out to others as well? The scripture tells us that faith without works is pretty much meaningless. Come this week and he...
Hey Family, We are all affected by the injustices that we see on the news, whether it be poor communities being forced out of a neighborhood that they've lived in for many years, insufficient health care for those who do not have the resources, immigrants being taken advantage of in their very difficult situation, and on and on it goes. The church can be the hope for the world and for those who have been oppressed and unjustly treated. Please come and hear what scripture has to say on this matte...
Hey Family, We've been in a series called "This Is Us," and last week we talked about how we can't be of service to others unless we take out the trash in our own lives. In the picture above I have an old banana peel on my head and a half-eaten sandwich in my pocket. I felt pretty embarrassed--but that's the way we should feel, when we humble ourselves before God. When we confess our sins to him, he grants us forgiveness--and then we need to start making some changes in our lives so that we can ...
Hey Family, We've been in a series called "This Is Us," and last week we talked about how we can't be of service to others unless we take out the trash in our own lives. In the picture above I have an old banana peel on my head and a half-eaten sandwich in my pocket. I felt pretty embarrassed--but that's the way we should feel, when we humble ourselves before God. When we confess our sins to him, he grants us forgiveness--and then we need to start making some changes in our lives so that we can ...
Hey Family, Every one of us has experience with people who talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. It’s always frustrating to deal with that kind of person because we find them hypocritical, difficult to deal with, and just not people we want to be around. But the Bible says we are to be people who don’t just hear the word, but do the word. What does that look like in the 21st century, to do what the Bible says? Come this Sunday as we continue our new series, This Is Us, by talking about how the ...
Hey Family, Every one of us has experience with people who talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. It’s always frustrating to deal with that kind of person because we find them hypocritical, difficult to deal with, and just not people we want to be around. But the Bible says we are to be people who don’t just hear the word, but do the word. What does that look like in the 21st century, to do what the Bible says? Come this Sunday as we continue our new series, This Is Us, by talking about how the ...
Everywhere we go, we look for people, for communities, that can help us through difficult times. The church is that community, where we can unite with others and recognize that we are not made to be solo in our lives, not meant to make big decisions or live life in an isolated way, but rather together. So we going to spend the next few weeks in a brand-new series called This is Us. We’re going to talk about the stuff of life, and how the church is uniquely qualified to help us get through it. An...
Everywhere we go, we look for people, for communities, that can help us through difficult times. The church is that community, where we can unite with others and recognize that we are not made to be solo in our lives, not meant to make big decisions or live life in an isolated way, but rather together. So we going to spend the next few weeks in a brand-new series called This is Us. We’re going to talk about the stuff of life, and how the church is uniquely qualified to help us get through it. An...
ey Family, In the book of Genesis, Jacob wrestles with an angel until the angel agrees to bless him. But the experience did not leave Jacob untouched. This Sunday we welcome Pastor Will McGee of Cornerstone Baptist Church, who is going to open up this scripture for us. I hope to see you all at 10 a.m., and bring a friend! --Edwin
Have you ever had the experience where you finally got hold of something you'd really been hoping for? Maybe it was something you waited for, something you really expected would be great . . . and then it turns out not to be so great after all? How did that make you feel? Is there anything in this world that will make us truly happy? Come this Sunday as we start a brand-new series called "Searching." I look forward to seeing you at 10 A.M.
Hey Family, We all know that Jesus died on the cross for us. But what exactly does that mean to our daily lives? This Sunday we’ll hear about the Peace, Purpose, and Power that we gain from believing in Christ. With these three gifts, we can face any challenge. Come Sunday at 10 a.m. to learn just how much we have to be grateful for. --Edwin
Hey Family, Throughout the Bible, God speaks frequently about the poor. He does not want those suffering from poverty to be ignored, despised, or forgotten. In this week's message, Begging for Change, Pastor Pedro Rodriguez will look at the ways God directs us to deal with this vulnerable population. There are things that all of us can do. I look forward to seeing you on Sunday at 10 a.m
Hey Family, Anxiety is something that can grab hold of every one of us. Whether we’re concerned about what school we’re going to get into, the state of our marriage, our bodies and what the doctors tell us, anxiety is something that becomes not only part of our lives as human beings, but can be magnified because we live in New York. This week we’re going to pause and look at anxiety from the perspective of the gospel. We will ask God how he would lead us even through difficult, scary moments, ou...
Hey Family, Many of us have known what it is to take a bad idea too far. For some of us it’s an alcohol addiction, for others it’s going after sex . . . something that we knew wasn’t right, but we did it anyway and then it had its way with our lives, hurting the people around us, leaving us in a place where we were broken and troubled. How does Jesus deal with people who have turned their back on his teaching to such a degree that they are consumed by the very thing they thought would liberate t...
Hey Family, There are moments in life when the reality of our guilt is so oppressive that all we feel is shame. We feel so deeply guilty about what we’ve done that when we see people looking at us, all we can think of is that they know how broken and sinful we are. As a result, we might take on an hard-hearted attitude—that we don’t care what people think, or we don’t even care what God thinks. Or . . . we can run to Christ, and find out that guilt doesn’t create our identity. We can be forgiven...
We finished our series called When God Shows Up, which I hope illustrated how God makes himself known in the midst of all our circumstances. This Sunday we begin a followup series called JESUS WITH..., in which we'll investigate how Jesus confronts people from different backgrounds in different ways. And that's good news for us, because it gives us the assurance that no matter where we've come from or what position we are in today, Jesus meets us where we are and works on us in the way that will...
Hey Family, Did you know that 1 in 5 New Yorkers struggles with mental illness each year? Not only that, many don't have hope or help in those struggles. Mental illness--including depression and other conditions--isn't just a modern problem. This Sunday we'll learn about a particular person in the Bible who suffered from mental illness, and whose life was completely changed by meeting Jesus. Our good friend Pastor Zac Martin will be our guest speaker. Come hear about how we as a church can provi...
