New City Church Macon

Each of our Missional Communities (New City’s small groups) partners with a local ministry, or a neighborhood, to share the love of Jesus. Campus Clubs, Inc. is one of these missional partners. Campus Clubs serves as a bridge to connect children in need to mentors, tutoring, enrichment, new experiences, and most importantly, the Gospel! Their mission statement is simply "Loving Kids Into the Kingdom." They have been working in Pleasant Hill for 25 years, building trust among families in the community. We are thankful for the work of Campus Clubs in our community. May God continue to bless our partnership, that it would bear much fruit, lives transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

In The New City Church Plant/Replant residency you'll have coaching in sermon prep and delivery, read and discuss shepherding, sit in on New City Elders meetings to learn what team leadership looks like, and have sessions on topics like Changing Church Culture, Leading Difficult People, Creating Clear Strategies, The Priority of Prayer, Developing and Deploying Leaders (and many more)! The next Residency starts in September. Learn more at https://www.newcitychurches.org/residency !

Connect with New City: newcitychurches.org/start-here Sermon: Let Which Justice Roll? Passage: Amos 5:21-24

"Only God is truly worthy of our worship, and that He invites us to worship Him with all of our lives. We do this as the church scattered, believers trusting in Jesus and proclaiming His goodness in all that we do. And we do this as the church gathered, believers singing, praying and studying together, encouraging one another, and worshipping God in view of the watching world. This is what we were designed for!" Read more on this week's blog: www.newcitychurches.org/blog/hearts-designed-for-worship.

We are pleased to announce that Nick Cooper will be taking on the Interim Student Director role (part-time)! Nick is a long-standing New City partner and has served in almost every volunteer role possible. We are very thankful that Nick is willing to step up and lead our student ministry. And we are thankful that God has provided another leader from among our family!

Sign up to join us tomorrow! www.newcitychurches.org/sign-up

We closed out our Amos series yesterday. Head on over to the website to listen in case you missed it. If you'd like to listen to previous sermons you can find them there as well!

"Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison... Col. 4:2-3 We ought to be devoting ourselves to prayer. In prayer we need to be alert and intent and we need to remember to do it with thanksgiving. We ought to be devoting ourselves to prayer. In prayer, we need to be alert and intent and we... need to remember to do it with thanksgiving. As we are praying we should remember to pray for one another, specifically that God will open a door for us and give us opportunities to proclaim the mystery concerning Christ. What is this mystery concerning CHRIST that we need to be proclaiming as children and ambassadors of God? The cross-reference in my study Bible led me to Eph. 3:3-4, but the mystery is described in detail in Eph. 3:6 - This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Christ was promised way back in Gen. 3:15, in Gen. 12:3. All the families of the earth will be blessed through Jesus. All that we need is fulfilled in Christ. We must place our faith in Jesus Christ. We have so many blessings as we partake in the promise of Christ Jesus. Gal. 3:26 lets us know that in Christ Jesus we are all sons (and daughters) of God through faith. We are children of God in the Messiah. Gal. 3:28-29 lets us know that we are all one in Christ Jesus. It goes to unity. Being Christ’s, we are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. We are unified in the Messiah. Romans 8:1-2 lets us know that in Christ Jesus, there is now no condemnation. We have been set free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. So now, there is freedom from the power of sin/death in the Messiah. Let’s be faithful to pray for each other that we will have opportunities to be ambassadors for Christ in order to point others towards being reconciled to God. (2 Cor. 5:20 & Eph. 6:18-20) See more

"Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'" 2 Cor. 12:8-9 Sometimes I struggle with unanswered prayers. I start to wonder why. I start to doubt whether God is really interested in me, whether He cares. In 2 Corinthians 12 Paul is sharing about a "thorn in the flesh" that he had been given. Whatever this ailment was, it was causing enough pain for Pau...l to approach God in prayer three times, pleading for it to be removed. Paul prayed; God didn't answer Paul's prayer. Paul pleaded again, and still no answer. I wonder how long Paul had carried this thorn. Was he angry that God had not answered him or delivered him from the pain? Was he tempted to grumble about it to others? Or even just to complain in his mind, allowing bitterness to grow in his heart? The third time Paul prayed about it, God answered, but it wasn't the answer Paul was looking for. God basically said "no". God’s grace was enough. And His power is made perfect in weakness. Paul’s response to God’s no is one we should model: Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. God was telling Paul (and us!) that we do not have to be perfect in order for Him to use us. God uses our brokenness, our imperfections, to accomplish His work through us. We only need to trust Him. Paul responds by boasting of the weakness that he was just pleading with God to remove! Paul is demonstrating his deep trust that God’s ways are better. That He is enough. God’s response to Paul is a life-giving reminder for all of us who follow Jesus. His grace is enough. This was clearly demonstrated when Jesus walked among us, lived a perfect life, suffered the punishment for our sin, died and rose from the dead. The next time I am tempted to doubt God’s goodness when my prayers are not answered, I only need to remember His grace. It is enough! See more

Connect with New City: newcitychurches.org/start-here Sermon: Restoration is Coming Passage: Amos 9:11-15

H-U-G-E shout out to this crew! Great work cleaning things up around the church this morning.

Last call! Applications for our Leadership Cohorts close TOMORROW - all New City Macon Partners are eligible! Read more + apply at the links below! Contact Dan Martin and Amanda Christopher with any questions. Men: newcitychurches.org/mlca Women: newcitychurches.org/wlca

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord... Col. 3:22 Most people who work outside the home spend over 36% of their waking hours at work. That is a lot of time, and it is important for us to remember that our time at work is a precious gift from God and every second of our time at work matters to God. However, many do not see their time at work as a purposeful gift from God. Rather, we see work as a dreadful means to putting food on the table or to retirement. Wh...en I find myself with this attitude, it is usually because I have forgotten God’s good purpose behind work. In the beginning, God commanded Adam and Eve to multiply and to work (subdue the earth). As they multiplied, humanity would fill the Garden and eventually expand outside the Garden to fill the entire earth. The area outside the Garden was chaotic and the people would need to work to make the entire world livable. In other words, God provided humanity with the intelligence and physical abilities to harvest all the raw materials he provided. I think Psalm 147:1214 describe this well: Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your children within you. He makes peace in your borders; he fills you with the finest of the wheat. How does God strengthen our gates? He provides city planners, architects, and construction workers. How does God bless our children? He provides teachers, social workers, and pediatricians. How does God make peace at our borders? He provides lawyers and good police officers. How does God fill you with wheat? He made the grain, he gives us farmers, factory workers and restaurant workers. In a divine way, when we work heartily, as for the Lord God is creating through us, and we are obediently fulfilling the Creation Mandate. Yes, the Fall makes work painful, but through faith in Jesus, we can see God’s good purposes in our work and work in a way that brings him honor. See more

Applications for our Leadership Cohorts are open for New City Macon Partners until this Sunday, June 13th! This cohort strives to develop leaders through introspective and interactive theological training and intentional discipleship. Read more + apply at the links below! Contact Dan Martin and Amanda Christopher with any questions. Men: newcitychurches.org/mlca Women: newcitychurches.org/wlca

New City Family, we need your help this Saturday at 8:30am! Help us make our "yard" (parking lot) look great...grab tools to cut back weeds and branches, to haul away what we cut + to repair our fence!

We will hold a memorial service for James M Donley on Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 6:30pm at New City Church. We will livestream the event on our Facebook page. 1015 Riverside Dr Macon, GA 31201 Masks and social distancing will be required. We ask anyone planning to attend to sign up at the link below so that we can plan for appropriately spaced seating. https://forms.gle/zjHCuZoR4aBHek1S9

REMINDER! This Sunday, our second service will move back to its normal time of 11am! Check our website or Facebook page for a sign up to attend Sunday worship.

On the night of his arrest, Jesus has a deeply significant final meal with his closest followers. During the meal, he speaks to one of his most impulsive and ardent followers and says this: ‘Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.’ Peter said to him, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.’ Jesu...s said, ‘I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.’ Luke 22:31-34 Naturally, Peter (Simon Peter) is shocked and reaffirms his commitment to Jesus, but we see just a few verses later that Jesus’ words would prove true. Jesus states plainly (and accurately) that Peter will turn his back and deny Him, even knowing the number of times and when, but it is the rest of his words that are remarkable to me: 1. Jesus is fully aware that Peter will fail, and he prays for him. His first words to Peter about his betrayal are I have prayed for you. Jesus loves Peter and asks the Father to sustain him, even as he knows Peter will betray him. 2. Jesus knows Peter will turn again. His failure will not be final. He does not say if but when Peter turns back. And he welcomes it. 3. Jesus gives Peter a job to do. The betrayal causes Peter to weep bitterly, but Jesus tells him the experience won’t be wasted. When Peter turns again, Jesus tells him to strengthen his brothers. Jesus is amazing. He knows us perfectly, both when we will succeed and when we will fail. He intercedes for us (Heb 7:25). He welcomes us back when we betray him. And he gives us work to do - use even the hardest experiences for the good of your neighbor. Not to earn anything from Him (Peter’s instructions come after the promise of reconciliation!) but because we are so deeply loved and cared for by Jesus.

Connect with New City: newcitychurches.org/start-here Sermon: The Proof of Love Passage: 2 Corinthians 8

Have you heard this song yet? It is so good and we are singing it this morning. Who else could rescue me from my failing? Who else would offer His only Son? Who else invites me to call Him Father? Only a holy God... Didn’t sign up to attend? That’s ok- you can watch the livestream at 10:45am on our Facebook page! See more

Missional Communities (MC's) are small gatherings of New City Church that meet regularly to share both the mission of Christ and the daily realities of gospel-centered living. We would love to help you connect to a MC and experience family in Christ! Our MCs are following the guidelines of our government leaders, slowly transitioning from online-only gatherings to various forms of social distancing gatherings. Click the link for more info on how to connect to a MC!

** NEW SONG ALERT!!! ** **************************** Take a listen and be reminded that Jesus is our great Redeemer! He's the Way, the Truth, the Life! Learn this song with us and be ready to sing on Sunday!!!

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit. Jer. 17:7-8 My heart has been heavy this week for the hurting around me. I have friends who have lost a child; others are watching a parent deteriorate with a devastating illness, or have... lost a parent unexpectedly. Marriages are struggling. Miscarriages. Life-altering diagnoses. Battles with depression. And all of this is on top of a pandemic and the loss and devastation it has brought. At times it has felt like too much. Yet I look at my friends who are going through these things that could crush a person, and they have not been crushed. They are devastated and grieving of course, but they are not without hope. They cling to the things they know to be true- that God is sovereign and loving in his purposes, that we have hope beyond this life because of Jesus, that these pains are momentary compared to eternity in glory with Him, and that no pain is wasted for those who are in Christ. That is only possible because they are like those trees in Jeremiah. Their trust is in the Lord. They are deeply rooted in the the grace and knowledge of Jesus. They know that Christ suffered too, so he understands their pain. And they know that their suffering is making them more like Christ. So when the fires of life come, and the years of drought, they do not lose faith. When Christians suffer in this way, our lives display the gospel to the world. It allows others to see a small glimpse of the goodness of God when we trust and cling to Him even in hardships. So, believer, when you go through trials, and you will, I pray you will be like a tree planted by streams of water. See more

We hope you will join us for worship this Sunday at 9am or 1045am! Sign up here to reserve seats: https://forms.gle/Qj3e8Rf54Vk94C4F9

"New City, I could go on and on about the things that I know of and there are probably that many more things that I do not know of. When I assess how we are doing by what we are doing rather than our candidate of choice, I am unbelievably encouraged, and I want you to be encouraged, too."

Although we gather for worship downtown, it has been the prayer of New City Macon for years that God would use His church to reach all of Macon, middle Georgia and beyond. God has been faithful to grow Missional Communities (MCs), disciples of Jesus making disciples of Jesus, who then multiply and continue making disciples. New City Macon now has 14 MCs gathering in locations from Sub South to downtown to North Macon, and many locations in between. Each Missional Community has at least one missional focus, from partnering with DFACS or Campus Clubs, to supporting an elementary school or a college sports team, to reaching specific neighborhoods like Wesleyan Estates or Beall’s Hill. May God continue to use New City Macon to plant MCs in new areas, to reach more people with the gospel of Jesus!

Have you visited with us on Sunday or online? We'd love to help you connect with New City and become a part of our Family of Missionary Servants! Click the link to fill out a Connect Card!

With the election drawing near the rhetoric from politicians, the news and social media has become a loud cacophony.The talking points of political parties is repeated in ads played again and again on radio and tv.They become the talking points of the news media and often whether they are true, false or a mix of the two, they become the talking points of friends in my social media news feed. It is often really easy to identify a person’s party or candidate affiliation by ...the articles, posts and memes they share.Think about that we are easily identified with a candidate or party.We look like them in the things that we share.We sound like them in the words that we speak and post.The Apostle Paul might say, we even smell like them. Paul wrote: But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ. 2 Cor. 2:14-17 Paul never really talked politics, parties or reshaping political systems. His mission and message was the gospel.Because of that Paul could say of himself and those who joined him, we are the aroma of Christ, the fragrance of Jesus. I fear that we have come to smell more like republicans and democrats than like Jesus, that our mission has become more politically centered than gospel centered and our message has become a thinly veiled attempt to persuade others to vote with us rather than believe with us.Father forgive us. Friends, if we smell more like politicians than Jesus, it is time to repent. See more

Did you know we have a team a liturgists that plans and writes liturgy every Sunday? These leaders lead and love the church so well. I'm grateful and honored to serve along side them. Learn about how they serve over on our blog!... - Lindsey Hoyt, Heather Perrin, Alex Alvarez Minter, Mariah Georgetown Gandy, Amanda Christopher, Adam Crosby

Introducing Book of the Month! Each month we will feature a book for $10 at the bar. If you buy the BOTM, you can pick a $5 book from the Resource Shelves for free! This month’s book is a great one! Swipe to see the back. You can find it at the bar Sunday!

Gather for worship with us this Sunday! Service times are 9:00am and 10:45am. Please use the link below to sign up:... https://forms.gle/Qj3e8Rf54Vk94C4F9 See more

Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’ James 4:13-15 Just before my father in law passed away, I promised that I would see him again. I said, Mr. Delgado, ...we’ll be back in two weeks. Don’t worry. At the time, my father in law was in the midst of painful fight with cancer, so I was doing all I could to provide comfort, fix the uncertainty that I was feeling, and gain control. We’ll be back, I said. A week after making this promise, my father in law passed away. He died peacefully in his home before I could ever live up to my intentions. Our passage this morning reminds us that though we make plans, God is control. This is something that I think we tend to forget almost on a daily basis. Instead of looking to God for daily protection, guidance, and support, we look to ourselves. We affirm that tomorrow isn’t promised, and recognize that life is short and is a gift given by a good Creator. Nevertheless, our calendar books are filled with presumptive plans that are made independently from prayer and trust in God because we think that we’re in control. The truth is, we aren’t. Our plans are easily frustrated, and our promises are all too often broken. The good news, however, is that this isn’t the case with God. His plans are not our plans. His thoughts are not our thoughts. His promises are not yes and then no. He is faithful, gracious, and in control to work all things out from our good. No more clearly is this seen than at the cross. Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection we are forgiven of our sinful presumptions, freed from dependence on ourselves, and welcomed in a family where we loved, secured, and cared for by a God who keeps His promises and never loses control. Believer, rest in that today. Remember your dependence on Him and be free from the prideful pursuit of control. See more

Connect with New City: newcitychurches.org/start-here Sermon: Who Do You Smell Like? Passage: 2 Corinthians 2:12-17