National Community Church Audio Podcast

Joy, Part 2: Choose Joy 2.0 - Pastor Robb Schmidgall

Will I ever truly find happiness, contentment, or joy? In Philippians 1, Paul gives the context and purpose that are critical to being able to answer that question for yourself, as well as being able to keep that discovery alive.

Joy, Part 1: Choose Joy - Dr. Mark Batterson

Joy. It's not getting what you want. It's appreciating what you have. Joy isn't always the easiest choice or the obvious choice, but joy is a choice. The Apostle Paul said, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, rejoice!” And his life is louder than his words. Paul writes his letter to the Philippians from a prison cell. You can choose joy anywhere, anytime, anyway!

Stirred, Part 5: Stoke The Fire - Joel Schmidgall

Stirred, Part 4: Discovering Glory - Dr. Dick Foth

Dr. Foth continues our series on the Holy Spirit!

Stirred, Part 3: Evidence of Righteousness - Joshua Symonette

When Paul the Apostle wrote to the Christians in Galatia, he wanted to address a debate about the evidence of righteousness. Circumcision was at the center of the debate and it was both a theological and cultural issue. Paul makes a clear case that our only hope for righteousness is God's spirit. And the fruits of the spirit are the evidence of his spirit at work in us.

Stirred, Part 2: New Life on the Desert Road - Pastor Heather Zempel

Pastor Heather Zempel continues our series on the Holy Spirit. Big moves of God often begin with small steps of obedience. But small doesn't necessarily mean easy. If we tune our ears to the voice of the Holy Spirit and train our wills to move in obedience, our lives will take turns towards adventure. Sometimes, that adventure may take us along a desert road, but if we partner with him, we get to be a part of new life springing forth.

Stirred, Part 1: Stirred, Not Shaken - Dr. Mark Batterson

Dr. Mark Batterson kicks off our new series on the Holy Spirit. We find ourselves in a Hebrews 12:27 moment—everything that can be shaken will be shaken. God is shaking false securities and false identities, false assumptions, and false narratives, false idols, and false ideologies. But we are STIRRED, not shaken. Why? We are grounded in God's word, standing on God's promises, and filled with God's spirit. We don't take our cues from cultural talking points. We don't put our ...

The Doubters Club, Part 4: Make Doubt Work For You - Pastor Robb Schmidgall

Pastor Robb Schmidgall wraps up our series on doubt. Doubt is inherent in all our lives. The question is are we allowing it to work FOR us, or against us.

The Doubters Club, Part 3: Hope for the Crushed - Pastor Joshua Symonette

Doubt is more emotional than it is intellectual. There are many examples of this in our lives. This message shines a light on how emotional trauma, sustained oppression, and the degradation of identity causes people to walk away from Christianity. Fortunately, the scriptures, written by the poor, people of color, and the oppressed show us God's true intentions, despite the misrepresentation of that hope.

The Doubters Club, Part 2: The Uncertainty Principle - Dr. Mark Batterson

Life is infinitely uncertain and God is infinitely complex. The net result? Doubt. We think of doubt in negative terms, but it's a key catalyst when it comes to faith. Doubt breaks down our false narratives, false assumptions, and false beliefs. It forces us to deconstruct and reconstruct our faith by digging a little deeper. How do you deal with doubt? Seek Wise Counsel Keep Asking Questions Create a Deuteronomy 29:29 File Take a Field Trip When all else fails, Eat A Water...

The Doubters Club, Part 1: Run to the Tomb - Dr. Mark Batterson

In the first century, death by crucifixion was not uncommon. Lots of people died on Roman crosses, but only one person predicted their own resurrection and then pulled it off. His name is Jesus! The foundation of our faith is an empty tomb. That is where heaven invades earth, eternity invades time, and life defeats death. Faith is not the absence of doubt any more than courage is the absence of fear. But that is when and where and why we RUN TO THE TOMB. If the tomb is empty, a...

Beloved, Part 6: The Holy Spirit is the Strategy - Pastor Joel Schmidgall and Ernest Clover

Beloved, Part 5: Beloved Community - NCC Multicultural Team

This weekend, our multicultural team (Lora Batterson, Joel Buckner, Pastor Dave Schmidgall, and Pastor Marion Mason), help us explore what it practically looks like to journey towards becoming a Beloved Community.

Beloved, Part 4: The House That Words Built - Dr. Dick Foth

Dr. Dick Foth continues our Beloved series! We are discovering, through the letter from JAMES, the cohesive power of GOD'S Word to shape our words in building a house called The Beloved Community.

Beloved, Part 3: Navigating Life as God’s Beloved - Pastor Marion Mason

“This is the marvel of marvels,” said C.S. Lewis, “that he called me Beloved.” We are beloved by God. His love is where we find our identity, our security, our authority. Then, and only then, can we become what Dr. King called the beloved community. We lead with love - we love because He first loved us.

Beloved, Part 2: Incomprehensible - Pastor Heather Zempel

In order to step into our belovedness, we must first encounter and be transformed by the unimaginable, inconceivable, incomprehensible love of Jesus. In 1 John, the disciple reminds the churches of Asia Minor of the final teachings of Jesus in John 13-17- that God is love, that God demonstrates his love towards us at the cross and the empty tomb, and that we demonstrate God to the world around us when we love one another.

Beloved, Part 1: Characteristics of a Beloved Community - Pastor Joshua Symonette

Pastor Joshua Symonette kicks off our new series! Many years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. described his longing for a beloved community. It was not something he created or came up with on his own. It was what he read throughout the Gospels and reflected in his pursuit to bridge a segregated America. God's beloved is what he calls those who are submitted to him wholeheartedly. The Apostle Paul, repeatedly in his writings to the early Church, both encourages and clarifies for...

State of the Church, Part : State of the Church 2021 - Dr. Mark Batterson

Dr. Mark Batterson gives our annual State of the Church message. Together, we'll look back at all God has done in and through NCC in 2020 and look ahead into 2021 and beyond. The church ought to be the most CREATIVE place on the planet. The church ought to be the most DIVERSE place on the planet. Those two things are not unrelated. In fact, you can't have one without the other. Unity does NOT mean uniformity! Unity is CORPORATE HUMILITY. Maturity does NOT mean conformity. Matu...

Win the Day, Part 8: Yesterday, So What? - Dr. Dick Foth

As we conclude our Win the Day series, Dr. Foth riffs on Pastor Mark Batteron's "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is mystery. Win the day!" Through the lens of Hebrews 13:8—"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever"— Dr. Foth helps us explore what we believe about what really matters.

Win the Day, Part 7: Seed The Cloud - Dr. Mark Batterson

Sow today what you want to see tomorrow. Over time, one of two things happens. Either MEMORY overtakes IMAGINATION or IMAGINATION overtakes MEMORY. The difference? Prophetic imagination. It's seeing the invisible, hearing the inaudible, and believing the impossible. Add to it patient persistence and bold prayer, and it's game on.

Win the Day, Part 6: Wind the Clock - Dr. Mark Batterson

Dr. Mark Batterson continues our Win The Day Series with Habit #6! Time is measured in MINUTES, but life is measured in MOMENTS. You don't FIND TIME, you have to MAKE TIME. How? For starters, curse the barren fig trees. These are the things that waste time, waste energy. How do you curse the barren fig tree? You establish boundaries and establish priorities. If managing minutes is a science, then managing moments is an art form. It's recognizing teachable moments and making t...

Win the Day, Part 4: Fly the Kite - Dr. Mark Batterson

How you do ANYTHING is how you'll do EVERYTHING. The good news? If you do little things like they're big things, God will do big things like they're little things. The key is kaizen—an uncompromising commitment to continual improvement. It starts with a growth mindset, and there is no finish line. You keep setting stretch goals until the day you die!

Win the Day, Part 5: Cut the Rope - Dr. Mark Batterson

When it comes to goal-setting, problem-solving, and habit-breaking—GRAND GESTURES are key. They are defining decisions, calculated risks, and selfless sacrifices that double as defining moments. Grand Gestures are often the tipping point, the turning point. They are the point of no return. The idea is as old as Old Testament altars.

, Part 2: Kiss the Wave - Dr. Mark Batterson

Win the Day, Part 2: Kiss the Wave - Dr. Mark Batterson

, Part 3: Eat the Frog - Dr. Mark Batterson

Win the Day, Part 3: Eat the Frog - Dr. Mark Batterson

Such A Time As This, Part 1: Such A Time As This - Dr. Mark Batterson

There are weeks when nothing happens, and there are weeks when decades happen. This felt like one of those weeks. This weekend we hold space—we catch our breath and collect our thoughts after a difficult week in Washington, DC. We are here for such a time. We are here for such a place as this. We stand in the gap as peace makers, grace givers, and tone setters. We believe God for racial reconciliation and political healing. We remind ourselves of who we are, where we are, and wh...

, Part 1: Flip the Script - Dr. Mark Batterson

If you want to change your life, you have to change your story. You can't just flip the calendar, you have to FLIP THE SCRIPT. It's the first of seven habits in Win The Day, and it's a high leverage habit. In the science of cybernetics, there are two kinds of change. First-order change is behavioral—it's doing something more or less. First-order change can facilitate a quick-fix, but second-order change passes the test of time. Second-order change is conceptual—it's mind over ma...

Win the Day, Part 1: Flip the Script - Dr. Mark Batterson

If you want to change your life, you have to change your story. You can't just flip the calendar, you have to FLIP THE SCRIPT. It's the first of seven habits in Win The Day, and it's a high leverage habit. In the science of cybernetics, there are two kinds of change. First-order change is behavioral—it's doing something more or less. First-order change can facilitate a quick-fix, but second-order change passes the test of time. Second-order change is conceptual—it's mind over ma...

Hope, Part 4: Hope - Christmas Eve - Dr. Mark Batterson

Hope, Part 3: Revelation of Hope - Campus Pastors

When Jesus was born into the world, He didn't just bring hope with Him. He WAS and IS hope and is a revelation to every person that encounters Him. To one, a revelation of hope brought confirmation, to another joy, to another redemption. He was the fulfillment of prophecies of old. He was the embodiment of comfort in the now. But what we found in the incarnation is that He is a God who reveals His presence in any and all circumstances. We believe that He still reveals hope today...

Hope, Part 2: Celebration of Hope - Joshua Symonette

Pastor Joshua Symonette continues our advent series with a celebration of Hope! Hope is a powerful force that can propel us forward like a canon or a rocket. But there are times when our hope fades or takes a hit. It is usually in the "in-between" times or in the middle of our current reality and our anticipated reality. In Matthew 2, the Magi, who are on their way to find baby Jesus, give us an example of the celebration of hope and what it looks like to pursue with only a reve...

Hope, Part 1: Proclamation of Hope - Joel Schmidgall

Pastor Joel Schmidgall kicks off our 2020 advent series with a proclamation of Hope! Hope had and has been at the core of Jewish faith for its entirety of existence: hoping for freedom from slavery, hoping for justice, hoping for peace, hoping for a savior. When Christ came, heaven touched earth in a new and profound way. God's glory was being shown, not by splitting a sea, with a pillar of fire, or by the glowing face of Moses. God's glory was embodied in the small and breakab...

Heaven on Earth, Part 13: First Love - Dr. Mark Batterson

You can get an A for EFFORT. You can get an A for TRUTH. Are you getting an A for LOVE? Many decades after the Ephesians receive a letter from the Apostle Paul, the Apostle John calls them back to their FIRST LOVE. How? One, REMEMBER. Two, REPENT. Three, DO WHAT YOU DID AT FIRST.

, Part 13: First Love - Dr. Mark Batterson

You can get an A for EFFORT. You can get an A for TRUTH. Are you getting an A for LOVE? Many decades after the Ephesians receive a letter from the Apostle Paul, the Apostle John calls them back to their FIRST LOVE. How? One, REMEMBER. Two, REPENT. Three, DO WHAT YOU DID AT FIRST.

Heaven on Earth, Part 12: We Have a Destination - Dr. Dick Foth

Ephesians 6 is a message Paul gives the Ephesians to wear the full armor of God, every piece. From warrior to a wrestler, their context was fighting for life or death. Dr. Foth imparts to us the same hope Paul gave back then reminding us to not duck or run away but to stand firm and fight the good fight. We are not going down no matter the situation because we have a destination.

Heaven on Earth, Part 11: Me To We - Dr. Mark Batterson

There are 59 one another statements in the New Testament. Two of the most significant are found in Ephesians 5—SUBMIT to one another and SING to one another. When practiced in two-part harmony, marriage turns into a melody. Marriage is an ICON—an earthly representation of this eternal reality called the Trinity. You have to make sure the ICON doesn't become an IDOL. That puts an impossible burden to bear on your spouse because you're asking them to do for you what ONLY CHRIST CA...

Heaven on Earth, Part 10: Live Not By Lies - Dr. Mark Batterson

It takes moral courage to STAND AGAINST what is WRONG and STAND FOR what is RIGHT. It takes moral courage to SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER, to SPEAK THE TRUTH IN LOVE. Living not by lies is refusing to bow to cultural idols or ideologies if they don't pass the TRUTH TEST. It's living according to your biblical convictions even if it's COUNTERCULTURE. It's RISKING YOUR REPUTATION for what you know is GOOD and RIGHT and TRUE. It's DISAGREEING FREELY yet LOVING REGARDLESS. It's a cons...

Heaven on Earth, Part 9: Hang a Street Light - Joel Schmidgall

From the very beginning of our lives, we learn and grow from imitating others. The question over time becomes WHAT and WHO should we imitate? When you find faith in Christ, you are given both an identity as a child of God and a calling to imitate God (Ephesians 5:1). Identity and action are interlinked. Things like love and purity and sacrifice are virtues that we should strive to imitate. But that only happens when we know who we are. What you believe about yourself determines ...

Heaven on Earth, Part 8: The Creative Minority - Dr. Mark Batterson

The disintegration of civilization is caused by the deterioration of what British historian Arnold Toynbee called the CREATIVE MINORITY. The church is the creative minority, as well as a moral minority. It must swim upstream and go against the grain. Then—and only then—can it catalyze revivals, reformations, and renaissances. The key to this creative minority? Unity in diversity. That is what results in spiritual maturity. That is what nets this BELOVED COMMUNITY we call the chu...

, Part 7: Walk The Wire - Dr. Mark Batterson

Whether it's racial tension or political polarization, cancel culture or social media shaming, navigating this cultural moment feels like a high wire act. How do we stay balanced? How do we stay positive? How do we shift the atmosphere? The Apostle Paul shares four cardinal virtues that guide our cultural engagement—humility, gentleness, patience, and tolerance. When we practice those principles, heaven invades earth. Instead of politicizing, we theologize the world around us.

Heaven on Earth, Part 7: Walk The Wire - Dr. Mark Batterson

Whether it's racial tension or political polarization, cancel culture or social media shaming, navigating this cultural moment feels like a high wire act. How do we stay balanced? How do we stay positive? How do we shift the atmosphere? The Apostle Paul shares four cardinal virtues that guide our cultural engagement—humility, gentleness, patience, and tolerance. When we practice those principles, heaven invades earth. Instead of politicizing, we theologize the world around us.

Heaven on Earth, Part 6: An Opportunity for Immeasurably More - Joshua Symonette

Power has been a pursuit of humanity since the inception of our existence. And our world is in a constant state of drama as a result of the pursuit to possess power. Paul, the apostle and theologian, writes to a group of Christians in a place called Ephesus. Power is one of themes in this letter, which is an encouragement and a reminder of who has ultimate power and how we can access it. It is only that ultimate power, at work in us, in partnership with Christ, that can do far m...

Heaven on Earth, Part 5: To See Forever - Dr. Dick Foth

“TO SEE FOREVER” is the title of this week's message. We explore the Apostle Paul's thoughts as he hits the PAUSE button in his letter to his friends in Ephesus, now western Turkey. He reflects on his IDENTITY, DESTINY, and AUTHORITY from a vantage that is his alone.

Heaven on Earth, Part 4: The Plot Twist - Heather Zempel

The Bible is full of plot twists and turns- a Hebrew baby raised in the house of Pharaoh delivers the Hebrews from Egypt, the shepherd with the sling defies the Philistine, the baby in the manger is God in human form, the crucified Jesus walks out of a tomb. But Jesus had one more plot twist up his sleeve-- the inclusion of the Gentiles into the promises and the blessing given to Abraham. God is not just at work to merge two worlds-- heaven and earth. He is also at work to merge...

Heaven on Earth, Part 3: Living Fully - Joel Schmidgall

So many of us find ourselves stuck. Stuck in routine. Stuck in frustration. Stuck in systems that hold us down. Stuck in destructive patterns. Stuck in sin that tangles us up. It almost seems impossible to escape. But do you know that God works best in the impossible? Ephesians 2:1-10 speaks to our journey in Christ. It take us on a journey from who we were, to who we are, to who we can become. We go from our destruction, to God's grace, to God's purpose for us. Do you know tha...

Heaven on Earth, Part 2: Stamped - Dr. Mark Batterson

You are not the mistakes you've made. You are not the labels people have put on you. You are who God says you are—nothing less, nothing else. You are BLESSED with every spiritual blessing in Christ. You are CHOSEN before the beginning of time. You are BLAMELESS in the eyes of God. You are ADOPTED by the Heavenly Father. You are REDEEMED by the blood of Christ. You are SEALED by the Holy Spirit, and you are STAMPED with the image of God.

Heaven on Earth, Part 1: An Extra Measure of Grace - Dr. Mark Batterson

As the people of God, we live COUNTERCULTURE. When we love our enemies, heaven invades earth. When we pray for those who persecute us, heaven invades earth. When we bless those who curse us, heaven invades earth. How? GRACE and PEACE. Paul begins each of his thirteen epistles with those two words, and they pack a one-two punch. We have a vaccine against cancel culture—the grace of God. We have a vaccine against political polarization and racial discord—the peace of God. We are g...

Unshaken, Part 12: The Last Dance - Dr. Mark Batterson

Living UNSHAKEN is refusing to compromise your convictions, even if it costs you a fiery furnace or lands you in a lion's den. It's speaking truth to power. It's showing grace in a cancel culture. It's confronting the brutal facts with unwavering faith. Why? God's got this. God's got you. Don't lose faith in the end of the story! Administrations come and go. Nations and rise and fall. The kingdom of God is forever. We find our identity, we pledge our loyalty, to the King and His...