First Assembly NLR Video Podcast

You've Got a Friend in Me, pt. 4: PCD

We need friends who are passionate, creative, and determined about getting us closer to Jesus!

You've Got a Friend in Me, pt. 3: Silas

We all need a friend like Silas, someone who will stick with us in the tough times, when we are under pressure.

You've Got a Friend in Me, pt. 2: Barnabas

Barnabas was a disciple in the Book of Acts who was a great encourager to other believers.  We all need encouragers in our lives.  And, we all should be encouragers for other people.

You've Got a Friend in Me, pt. 1: Nathan

We are not supposed to be alone.  We were designed and created for connection.  We not only need other people in our lives, we need the right people in our lives.  Who are those right people, and what type of friends are important in your journey to be a lifelong follower of Christ?

Healthy Church 2012

What makes a healthy church?  What are some things that can keep a church from becoming inward focused and dysfunctional.  Using the early church in the Book of Acts as a guide, Rod Loy examines the healthy church.

How to Make This the Best Year of Your Life

Don't make any New Year's resolutions until after you've heard this message - Pastor Rod will challenge you to look at resolutions in a whole new way!

What If?

How many people celebrate Christmas, but miss the point? 

What If?

How many people celebrate Christmas, but miss the point? 

The Reason

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

Don't Look Back, pt. 5

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.

Don't Look Back pt. 4

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!

Don't Look Back, pt. 3

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.

Don't Look Back, pt. 2

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?

Don't Look Back, pt. 1

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!

More than a Fan

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!

Fashion Statement, pt 7: Fashion Police

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?

Fashion Statement, pt. 6: The Red Carpet

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

Fashion Statement, pt. 5: Project Runway

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?

Fashion Statement, pt. 4: What Not to Wear

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.

Fashion Statement, pt. 3: Get Rid of the Labels

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?

Fashion Statement, pt. 2: Extreme Makeover

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!

Fashion Statement, pt. 1: You Are What You Wear

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?

Teach Us to Pray, pt. 6: For Thine is the Kingdom

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

Teach Us to Pray, pt. 5: Temptation and Evil

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..."?

Teach Us to Pray, pt. 4: Forgive Us Our Debts

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?

Teach Us to Pray, pt. 3: Our Daily Bread

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.

Teach Us to Pray, pt. 2: Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done

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?

Teach Us to Pray, pt. 1: Our Father, Which Art in Heaven

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.

Post it Notes, pt. 9: Be Back Soon!

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?

Post it Notes from God, pt. 8: Don't Quit!

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?

No Condemnation (Live)

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!

Post it Notes, pt. 7: I Forgive You

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?

Post it Notes from God, pt. 6: You Are Not Forgotten

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!

Post it Notes, pt. 5: Smile, I Love You!

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

Post it Notes from God, pt. 4: Slow Down

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?

Post it Notes, pt. 3: Take Out the Trash

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!

Post it Notes from God, pt. 2: I Have a Plan 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?

Post it Notes from God, pt. 1: You Matter!

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?

Why Me?

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? 

Average Pete, pt. 9: Restored!

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!

Average Pete, pt. 8: Three Simple Steps to Failure

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.

Average Pete, pt. 7: Spiritual Hygiene

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

Average Pete, pt. 6: The Price

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 ...

Average Pte, pt. 5

Average Pete, pt. 4: What Does it Mean to Forgive?

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.

Average Pete, pt. 3: Surviving the Storm

It's a famous story - Jesus walks 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?  

Average Pete, pt. 2: Holy Mackerel!

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. 

Average Pete, pt. 1

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.

The State of the Church

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

Five for the Fight, Round 6

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?