The first 506 (Men’s Ministry) gathering will be this Saturday, Sept 4th from 7 to 9p at 130 Jackson.  Come out and join us for food, hanging out, games, and an overview of our plans for this semester.  If you’re interested in coming, e-mail Brandon.

Tailgate this Monday night at 130 Jackson for the VT vs. Boise State game! Come at 6:00p for food, games, and to watch Hokie DOMINATION on the big screen!

Cupcake Cornucopia for all the ladies this Friday night @ 7.30 in 130 Jackson! Invite your friends and come meet other ladies, eat delicious cupcakes, and hear what God has in store for REACH this year.

Campus home groups are officially starting this WEDNESDAY and THURSDAY. Home groups are a great way to get involved, meet people, and grow in your relationship with God. Want to know more? Contact one of our home group leaders.

Did you miss [nlcf]‘s first ever Wii Bowling Tournament? Here’s a recap!

Prizes went to the following:

We also raised $94 with our snack bar. All the money is going to our sister church in Danli, Honduras, to help those who have been affected by the severe rain and flooding. Thank you to Cassy, Kati, Jenna, Amy, and Kristen for baking goodies for the fundraiser.

If you have been keeping up with the series, Identity Theft, that we have been going through the past two weeks you will know what this post is all about.  For those of you that are keeping up online or have been a bit out of the loop, this might help…

Our series is focusing on our identities of being in covenant with God and being sons or daughters of the King.  I won’t go into how amazing those two identites are, but please check out our talks section to get up to speed. (Please note, as we are shifting our website to a new server, there are some glitches here and there.  Unfortunately our talks section has some, please keep checking back!)  A key point of the series is that many of us have allowed those true identities to be stolen, so now we need to get them back.

This past week we talked about the first step in reclaiming our true identity.  And it is pretty straightforward.

The first step in reclaiming our true identity as someone who is in covenant with God is to realize that we need to and  can.  We start with a simple realization.  A change of our minds if you will.  We lock into the thought that we are capable of reclaiming an identity that some of us had stolen years ago, and that once we do, we will see God move in some amazing ways in us and around us.

To help in that process, we are having a couple of postings to keep this thought process in mind as we prepare for next week’s focus on specific steps we can take based on where we are in the overall process.  You won’t want to miss it!  But instead of jumping too far too quickly, let’s take some smaller steps that will help us to make both processes more meaningful to our souls.

Between today and tomorrow, read Acts Chapter Seven.  This is the synopsis of how God had interacted with the Isrealites from Abram (before he was Abraham) all the way through the day Stephen was killed.   As you are reading it, reflect on the question, How was God’s interaction with the Isrealites impacted by his covenant with them? Spoiler alert…  God proved that he would keep his end of the bargain even when the Isrealites didn’t.

He is still like that today.  You can absolutely count on him for two things.  Okay, you can count on him for quite a bit more than two, but let’s look at those two!  You can count on the fact that if you are not covenentally connected to God, he very much wants you to be.  And also, if you are, you can be certain that he will honor his end of the covenant.  In fact, in Romans Paul was refering to the Jews when he said this under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  True, some of them were unfaithful; but just because they were unfaithful, does that mean God will be unfaithful?  Of course not!  Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true.” Romans 3.3,4 NLT

God is promising us that he will stick with us and that as we turn our lives over to him, we will discover our amazing calling of being those who have experienced true connection with God and are called to share that opportunity with others.

Try and take some time to reflect on Chapter Seven and those thoughts.  Then let’s connect again in a couple of days and keep the conversation going.

Please know, I love hearing thoughts that you have.  Please comment back so we can have some web-interaction going!

Peace Jim

by Jim Pace

Hurricane Katrina was forming in the Gulf Coast about this same time 5 years ago.  Since the devastation caused by this hurricane in New Orleans and Mississippi coast areas, [nlcf] has organized both Winter and Spring break trips to lend a helping hand to our neighbors in need.

This past Spring Break, a group of students had the opportunity to work with SouthCoast Design Build on Paul’s house.  Paul is featured in the following news story as he has just been able to move home (5 years later) after being displaced by the storm.

Paul’s Home

SouthCoast Design Build is in the running for a grant from Pepsi that would help to continue rebuilding the Mississippi Coast.  Vote for SouthCoast Design Build here and spread the word!

Would you like to learn how to get more involved in the downtown congregation? Interested in hearing more about the vision, focus, and future plans? Join me for an informal time right after the Sunday Worship on August 29th around 11am at 130 Jackson. You can grab a lunch at one of the local shops and bring it if you would like. I’ll share briefly on our vision and focus as well as different ways to be involved.

1. HomeGroup 101:  Wednesday (25th) & Thursday (26th) @ 7.00 @ 130 Jackson.

Looking for a small group of people to connect with?  Join us for HomeGroup 101 – a time to learn about what HomeGroups are, meet leaders and members in the different groups and hangout at the Breakzone (Squires) for some games of pool and bowling.   HomeGroup 101 will meet on the steps in front of Squires at 6:45 Wed. or Thur. this week.  note: HG 101 is for NEW students as well as former HG members!

2. Gobblerfest: Friday (27th) from 3pm to 1.30a (Squires/College Avenue/Downtown Blacksburg area)

Gobblerfest is an event hosted by Virginia Tech.  For more information on the schedule of events click here.   Stop by [nlcf]‘s table and say HI!

3. Wii Bowling Competition: Saturday (29th) @ 8pm in 130 Jackson.

You can either come in teams of 2 or 4, but there will also be a solo competition.  Prizes will be awarded.  Sign up during HG 101 or email info@nlcf.net

Mark your calendars:

Kickoff Hokie Football with a Hokies vs. Boise State Tailgate: Monday – September 6th @ 6pm @ 130 Jackson.

[nlcf]‘s Annual Fall Retreat will be Friday/Saturday – October 29th/30th.  More details to come.

by Jim Pace

Identity theft is really a pretty straightforward thing. If you are the thief, you want to try to gain access to your victim’s world so that you can use it for whatever purposes you have. If you are the owner of that identity, you try to keep that from happening.

In some cases we know to be very careful. We don’t give out our Social Security Number, our PINs, we don’t let people get our licenses or credit cards. But we aren’t always so vigilant. Sometimes those of us who would never leave our doors unlocked or our wallets in plain sight can leave other areas of our lives and hearts wide open to being taken. And the bible would say that those parts are infinitely more precious than a television in our living room or a credit card number.

Let me ask you a question, what if you have been living without something that is rightfully yours? What if you have grown so accustomed to living without it you don’t even realize it is gone anymore?

Over the next six weeks, we invite you to dare to look at who you really are and who you really could be. What you have been created to do. To look at how you are connected to God and the power that comes from that connection. We will look for the places where our identity has been stolen, and to the places where we have just given it away. You will be encouraged and challenged. You will laugh and think.

Aug 22, 2010 –  Where the Whole Idea Got Started

Aug 29, 2010 –  Reclaiming our Stolen Property

Sept 5, 2010 –  Experiencing What Is Truly Ours

Sept 12, 2010 –  The King of Kings

Sept 19, 2010 - The Kingdom Come

Sept 26, 2010 –  The Kingdom and the Power