Fully Alive: The Official Podcast of Northland Church

Pastor Gus teaches from Genesis 11.

Pastor Josh teaches about the story of Noah, and about Noah as a person. From Genesis 6

Pastor Josh preaches from Genesis 6 on Mother's Day 2025

Pastor Josh preaches on walking with God with examples from Genesis 5.

Pastor Josh preaches through the story and lessons from Cain and Abel from Genesis 4.

Genesis 3 Pastor Josh's Easter 2025 sermon dealing with our shame and nakedness before God. Week 9 of the Genesis series. 

Sermon synopsis: True love for God is a choice and the foundation of our relationship with God. From the Garden of Eden, we see that love for God was meant to be freely chosen, not coerced, and this love was tested by temptation. The fall of mankind began when the love for God was overshadowed by self-interest and deception, leading to sin and separation from paradise. Through Jesus Christ, believers are restored to the love of God, and God's kingdom is being established on the earth.

Work is more than just a job. it is a calling from God and an opportunity to reflect on His purpose. When done with the right heart, it becomes an act of worship, bringing glory to God and serving others. Rather than chasing success by worldly standards, believers are encouraged to work with integrity and purpose, knowing that every task has eternal significance.

Genesis 2 Sermon Synopsis for March 29-30, 2025   The Sabbath is God's special day, given to humanity for rest, renewal, and to find satisfaction in Him. It is a divine invitation to cease striving, trust in His provision, and dwell in His presence, reflecting His rule and reign over creation. True Sabbath rest is ultimately found in King Jesus, who calls us to abide in Him for fulfillment, peace, and eternal rest.

Sermon Synopsis for March 22-23 Genesis 1 Creation reveals life lessons from God, emphasizing that life is a process to be pursued and enjoyed. Just as God chose to create the world in stages, our growth happens through gradual learning and change, requiring patience and resilience. Healthy systems and structures, like those seen in creation, provide a foundation for fruitful living. 

Exodus 33:12-23 True meaning and purpose in life come from God's glory, which provides the strength, direction, and the fuel we need. When we seek His presence, we are transformed, reflecting His nature and character in everything we do. Instead of relying on fleeting worldly success or false idols, we are called to find our true significance in God's eternal glory.

Genesis 1:26-28 Sermon Synopsis March 8-9: Humanity was created as the crescendo of creation, tasked with establishing and extending God's kingdom on Earth. Humans are uniquely made in God's image to reflect, mirror, and represent His rule, glory, and nature through relationships, culture, and stewardship. Though the fall disrupted this purpose, God's redemption plan, centered around Jesus as King, Priest, and Prophet, restores humanity's calling to reflect God's image. As the church follows Jesus, they fulfill the original intention of glorifying God and advancing His kingdom to the ends of the Earth, becoming fully alive in Jesus.

The Bible presents creation as God's building not just a house but a home where He dwells with humanity. From Genesis to Revelation, the earth is depicted as a temple—God's sacred space—where He desires to live among His people, yet sin led to exile and separation. Through Jesus, the true temple, God restores His home, granting humanity renewed access to His presence and inviting all to dwell with Him. Ultimately, the new creation will be God's final, eternal home with His people, fulfilling humanity's deepest longing for belonging and connection.

Sermon Synopsis for February 22-23, 2025 The first chapter of Genesis reveals truths about Elohim, showing His eternal nature, power, wisdom, and sovereignty over all things. Through creation, we see His intentionality, order, creativity, and goodness, demonstrating that He is a God of purpose and design. Our response to Him should be one of W.O.R.S.H.I.P., where we work with Him, obey Him, rely on Him, serve Him, honor Him, image Him, and proclaim His name. Ultimately, understanding who Elohim is shapes how we live, calling us to reflect His character and give Him glory.

Israel needed a Big Story to make sense of their history, identity, and purpose. Israel isn't the only people that has needed a metanarrative. Every single human being who has ever lived needs to know what BIG STORY they are “IN” because they have BIG QUESTIONS about life they need answered, which are answered by the Bible's overarching, grand/meta-narrative.

Sermon Synopsis for February 8-9   BELIEVE is not the end but the beginning of a greater journey with God. BELIEVE initiates a relationship with God, leads to pursuing the prize of His promises, aligns with God's global purpose, calls for distinct, obedient living as God's people, and requires feeding on God's Word. Northland is called to an exciting 25-year vision, as we step into the greater things and the greater days God has prepared for us. 

Sermon Synopsis - February 1-2, 2025 In two years, a generation of Israelites went from believing to disbelieving. During these two years, the Israelites tested God and treated Him with contempt, as they rejected God, reviled and despised Him, and treated Him disrespectfully. As the Israelites treated the Lord with contempt, saboteurs of BELIEVE were exposed in their lives. In our lives, for BELIEVE to succeed, we must endure the sabotages and saboteurs that occur as we cling to Jesus, and belief takes root in our hearts and lives.

Sermon Synopsis for January 25-26, 2025 To believe in the Lord for peace, redemption, and purpose requires us to heed His call, and to believe will require us to heed. If we don't heed, we don't believe. Forces that work against our belief are objections, obstructions, and obstacles. God, however, works for us to believe as He seeks us out, gives us signs, and provides support. Exodus 3-12

Over the last three years, the foundation has been laid, which has worked to create clarity, alignment, and processes around Northland's Mission, Vision, Core Values, and Structure.  Northland is in a good place to be challenged and dared to BELIEVE God for greater days and greater things! This week, we will see how need is the prerequisite of believe and how need precedes belief.

Your inner life determines how well you deal with the outer life. Soul Care, which attends to your inner life, will prepare you for the Scenario Q's of life. A Scenario Q is something we could never have imagined or envisioned where God can provide a scenario that would come into being, something entirely off the radar and utterly outside of what was hoped for.   Mindy Caliguire, who participates in this discussion with Pastor Josh Laxton, is the co-founder and president of Soul Care (soulcare.com). As an organization, Soul Care cultivates soul health among leaders by providing pathways, practices, and guides to help them personally flourish and achieve missional impact.

Sermon Synopsis - January 4-5, 2025 Turning the page on a new year is inevitable, but what we turn away from and turn towards in the new year will shape who we become. This new year, God calls us to be dedicated people who turn to King Jesus. We are to turn away from sin and turn to God with a posture of praise, in a position of repentance, and a purpose of blessing. Our goal is to be dedicated and connected to God's mission, which is that we are sent to be salt and light to all nations and peoples in the world, sharing the wonderful news about Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

Pastor Josh talkes about losses and gains moving from one year to another in this special NYE Night of Worship 2024-2025

Sermon Synopsis for December 28-29, 2024 Jesus taught about Sabbath rest and the heartbeat behind Sabbath rest which is that it is for our blessing. It is not a burden or extra rules and regulations that we do to appease God.  The Sabbath was created for our benefit, blessing, and enjoyment and therefore our heart's desire needs to be to experience the blessing of Sabbath rest.

Pastor Josh's Christmas Eve sermon, 2024.

Sermon Synopsis, December 23-24, 2024.  When God spoke, breaking the silence at the first Christmas, He gave humanity the greatest gift in history: His Son. The Bible explains what happened in the past, how it affects the future, and how, at the first Christmas, after 400 years of silence, God breaks the silence and sends His Son to save a people from all peoples and give them purpose and peace. Three reasons why Jesus is the greatest gift ever given to humanity are that Jesus redeems and saves sinners from enslavement to sin and to the sinful world, Jesus reinstitutes humanity's primary purpose, and Jesus restores Shalom inwardly and promises to bring it eternally.  

Exodus 2:23-3:10 Sermon Synopsis When God speaks, breaking the silence, He speaks redemption and sends a Savior, Jesus Christ. While historically and physically, the children of Israel suffered from slavery in Egypt. They illustrate what it means to live in a broken, fallen, fractured, and sinful world.  While there may be times the world can seem like a friend, it ultimately turns out to be a foe. Ultimately, God saves His people through faith in Jesus Christ with an outward goal of making Himself known to the world so that the world can be invited into His redemptive project. 

Sermon Synopsis - December 7-8, 2024 Genesis 12 When God speaks, breaking the silence, He gives us purpose and sends us on mission. God breaks the silence and reminds us of our purpose as we go where He has told us to go, leave what God has told us to leave and cleave to God as the sole purpose of our life. As we glorify God, we are called to bless the world, being the conduit by which God pours out His presence, power, provision, and protection for others. 

Genesis 1 Sermon Synopsis for November 30-December 1, 2024 When God speaks, He creates a sphere of shalom. Shalom is wholeness, completeness, peace, wellness, intended functionality, and flourishing. The Christmas Season, when Jesus was born,  marks the time when God spoke into the chaos and darkness of sin and began the ultimate restoration project of Shalom.

Sermon Synopsis for November 23-24, 2024 The book of Proverbs provides wisdom about making wise decisions. Our priorities in decision-making will reveal who we are and our priorities in life. As believers, we prioritize glorifying God in all our decision-making and trusting in God's Word and His ways in all areas of our lives. We are to surrender to God's guidance as we make decisions, listen to wise counsel, and abide in the Christian community as we love and serve others.

Proverbs While a friend is a neighborly disposition towards all people we encounter that adds functionality and flourishing to their life, Proverbs teaches a deeper understanding of being a friend, called friendship. Biblical Friendship is the vehicle God uses to help us function and flourish in our humanity (how we relate, create, and operate) as we traverse through the sea of life on our way to eternal life. This kind of friendship is hard to find, but we know we can find it in Jesus Christ, our friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Sermon Synopsis: The book of Proverbs teaches how a wealth of wisdom makes us wise toward wealth and how money is viewed, generated, and stewarded. We are told to work with diligence, energy, perspective, character, excellence, dignity, humility, boundaries, gratitude, and purpose. As we steward our money through giving to the Lord and others, saving measurably, investing intentionally, and living frugally, we live out what Proverbs teaches about money, and we will have a wealth of wisdom that will help us become wise toward wealth.  

Proverbs 1:1-7 Sermon Synopsis Wisdom comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth! Solomon, as a young king, asked God to give him a discerning heart to govern God's people and to distinguish between right and wrong. Through God's grace, God made Solomon wise, and Solomon wrote several books of the Bible, one of which is Proverbs for those who wanna be wise. Proverbs challenge us to gain the wisdom that brings all of life under the rule and reign of God as we are mesmerized by the Lord, who is the object of our wonder and who motivates us, inspires us, and takes our breath away.

Sermon from 11 am. 9 am is also posted. Churches are created, called, and commissioned by Jesus to be His revolutionary witnesses. Jesus is not tolerant of His church's sins and failures but is patient in their sanctification process. We must live in a state and posture of repentance as the Spirit of God searches and communicates with us so that we will be fruitful and useful as we are victorious and effective in the world.   

Sermon from 9 am. 11 am will also be posted. Churches are created, called, and commissioned by Jesus to be His revolutionary witnesses. Jesus is not tolerant of His church's sins and failures but is patient in their sanctification process. We must live in a state and posture of repentance as the Spirit of God searches and communicates with us so that we will be fruitful and useful as we are victorious and effective in the world.   

Sermon Synopsis: Revelation 3:14-22 The Church at Laodicea was in a place of spiritual lukewarmness that made Jesus sick because He knew their deeds and that the fruit of their lives did not match their faith. They were good for nothing. Jesus calls us to live useful lives and live in the light of the King, giving Him credit for every good thing. When there's unity between our deeds/fruit and our declaration/faith, we become useful to the King in advancing His Kingdom!

For the Church in Philadelphia, Jesus had only good things to say about them, and He said He knew their deeds. As revolutionaries, we live to please Christ, and we see Jesus work at making us pillars that weather every storm. Lives that are pleasing to Christ transform us into pillars made by Christ.

For the Church in Philadelphia, Jesus had only good things to say about them, and He said He knew their deeds. As revolutionaries, we live to please Christ, and we see Jesus work at making us pillars that weather every storm. Lives that are pleasing to Christ transform us into pillars made by Christ.

Jesus challenges the Church at Sardis to wake up and come alive again. He urges them to strengthen what remains so that everything does not die off. He reminds this church of their faith and commands them to repent and regain their lost faith. Unlike the Church at Sardis, revolutionary living comes by way of a church that is filled and empowered with the Holy Spirit rather than by being a church that has the appearance and reputation of “Christian” religion. Our call is to be revolutionaries who care more about what Jesus thinks rather than what the world thinks.

From John 15:5 Sermon Synopsis Jesus is the true Vine, and as His disciples, we are to stay connected to Him. We will produce fruit as we are attached to and abide in Jesus. As we remain connected, God will take care of the rest, and everything depends on Him. When we are connected to the Vine with Jesus in our lives, we are able to love others as Jesus loves being a positive influence on the world, reaching out to our neighbors and nations with the Good News.

Jesus calls believers to recklessly scatter the seed as we invite others to encounter God's love, grace, and the message of Jesus as we share our faith everywhere and all the time. We scatter the seed as we love others as Jesus does, pray for people when God opens the door, engage freely and openly in spiritual conversations, and tell our story and His Story of faith and transformation.  

Revelation 2:18-28 •Revolutionary living rejects friendship with the world to remain faithful to the King. •Revolutionary living renounces that which Jesus rejects. •Revolutionary living requires faithfulness to the word of God rather than friendliness to the ways of the world.

Revolutionary living requires actions aligned with our authority, Jesus. While the Church at Pergamum was true and faithful during severe persecution, it had allowed false teaching to compromise and undermine its faith. Jesus told them to repent. If they did not repent, He would wage war against them. Jesus told them He would reward them if they would repent, renew, and recommit and make their actions align with Jesus, their authority.

The Church in Smyrna shows how revolutionary living means you'll die for Jesus even though you'll face difficulties because of Jesus. This church was suffering and in poverty, and they were fearful of what they were facing. Jesus encouraged them in their time of suffering by stating that they were rich and that if they faithfully faced death for their faith's sake, He would give them the crown of life.

Revelation Chapter 2 Sermon Synopsis for August 24-25, 2024 Revolutionary living requires love for Jesus rather than a religious lifestyle that might look like Jesus. Jesus revealed to the Church in Ephesus that He rules and reigns over the whole world, recognizes what they do well, and rebukes and requires them to deal with sin. Further, He revealed that He would remove their Church if they didn't deal with sin, and He would reward them if they overcame it. Jesus tells them to return to their first love for Him so they can live a revolutionary life and experience victory in and through a loving relationship with Him.

Sermon Synopsis This series delves into Revelation Chapters 1–3, focusing on the profound teachings about the seven churches in Revelation. As we embrace the revelatory Lord and His revolutionary life, revelatory leaders who exalt our revolutionary Lord, and the revelatory letter, we will be exhorted and challenged to revolutionary living.

Sermon Synopsis: Jesus called believers to build a healthy church. A healthy church begins with people loving Jesus with all their hearts, minds, souls, and every ounce of strength. Additionally, a healthy church grows by loving each other. Finally, a healthy church thrives by loving the lost. As we build a healthy church, we will showcase God and His glory for all the world to see. 

Sermon Synopsis As believers in God, we are called to live our lives God's way, being willing to align with God's word. As we live God's way, we demonstrate the attributes of the fruit of the Spirit, which are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Also, as we live our lives God's way and follow Jesus, we share our faith with neighbors and nations and reflect Jesus Christ, our Savior, to the world. 

Sermon Synopsis:  By embracing and following Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life rather than following our own desires, we gain life lessons that provide a framework for love relationships, decision-making, and forgiveness. This leads to a life that is less tortured and more nurtured. 

There is a contrast between how Job, in the Book of Job, and Benson Boone, in the song "Beautiful Things," approach loss and suffering in their lives. Boone expresses his worry about losing the beautiful things in his life, and he fails to realize and embrace God, who is the most beautiful thing in the world. Job, however, after losing beautiful things and questioning God, praises, worships, extols, and remains faithful to God. Job realized that God was better than life itself and that God was always more than enough.

Sermon Synopsis: This sermon series, New Songs, Same Humanity, equips us to missionally engage family, friends, and co-workers as we spiritually and biblically listen to music. This week's song is "Saturn" by SZA, which records SZA's searching for where she is, why she is where she is, how she copes with where she is, and who or what will save her. As believers, we know that Jesus is the saving bridge that fully saves, satisfies, and transfers us from the kingdom of this world to the Kingdom of God. 

Sermon Synopsis for July 7-8, 2024 Psalm 30 calls on us to have prayerful dependence on God, which reflects our perspective, prayerful deliverance by God, which reflects our position, and praiseworthy declaration of God, which demonstrates our persistence. As we praise and give thanksgiving to God, in good circumstances and difficult times, we realize His love for us and His ability to "turn my wailing into dancing" and His ability to remove my "sackcloth and clothed me with joy." (Psalm 30:11)