Weekly Newsletter 06-17-2026
Good Morning Church Family!
Hey Northwood Berkeley Saints,
Northwood Baptist Berkeley exists to help you Encounter God, Experience Community, Equip Disciples, and Engage the World.
Encounter God:
This Sunday morning, Pastor Alex will be preaching from Ezra 8 as we continue our series from Ezra-Nehemiah. Join us at 11:00 a.m. as we worship our great God.
Experience Community:
Each Sunday morning, we have Life Connection Groups at 9:30 a.m. Life Connection Groups are a great way to experience community with one another as we share prayer requests and discuss the Bible together. We have classes for students and as well four adult classes.
Equip Disciples:
Click on the QR Code in our bulletin or sign-up on the church website. Discipleship groups consist of about 3-5 people of the same gender that connect faith to life together.
Engage the World:
A team of 11 from Northwood Berkeley joins a larger team of 50 from the Northwood Family of Churches for a mission trip in Huntington, West Virginia. June 20-27. Please be in prayer for our team. Some people go. Some people pray. Some people give to missions. All people can be involved. I will send updates to Marie and Lillian as the week progresses.
America celebrates its 250th Birthday on July 4th. Northwood Berkeley is having a 4th of July Party from 6:00 p.m. until. The church will provide hot dogs and buns. Please bring the sides. We will have a cornhole tournament, volleyball, music, a jumpy castle, and fireworks/sparklers of some sort, assuming we are not in a burn ban. Anyway, we have a great country! Invite your friends and neighbors.
Our Vacation Bible School takes place July 19-22. Please be in prayer for Ed and the team as they share the Gospel with children and provide an amazing week of fun!! Sign-ups are live. Reach out to Ed if you would like to
Speaking of the United States, I shared the following reflection with the healthcare team at St. Francis this week.
With the United States being one of the host nations for the World Cup it’s been fun to see the reactions of soccer fans from around the world when they experience the America. The United States is a hit! International soccer fans have commented on the friendliness of Americans, the natural beauty of our landscapes, and what to them are mind-blowing conveniences. International soccer fans have been impressed with…
- Air conditioning
- Ice for drinks in restaurants
- Refillable drinks
- You can get breakfast at 1:00 a.m. at Waffle House
- Wide grocery aisles
- The variety of grocery selections
- Buc-ees
- Walmart (one fan said Walmart is like a museum)
- Times Square
- The quality of our stadiums
- The freedoms we enjoy in our Nation
Of course there are many wonderful, amazing places and people around the world.
As the United States approaches our 250th Anniversary, I hope we will always be thankful for the many blessings God has provided us with. Perspective is an amazing thing.
Twenty-six years ago, I led a team of sixty from Houston to Juarez, Mexico to build homes through Amor Ministries. As we left Houston, a couple of the Kingwood High kids smarted off at the Humble High kids about how much more affluent Kingwood was than Atascocita, where the Humble High kids lived. As the conversation ensued, one of the adults, Mr. Randy, wisely told the students that when the week was over, they would realize how blessed everybody was, no matter where they lived. (Kingwood $500,000- $1,500,000 brick homes vs. Atascocita $400,000-$850,000 brick homes.) Sure enough, we got to Juarez, and we saw an entire community of dust. People had several people sleeping on the dust in one-room structures with boards for walls, curtains for doors, and, if they were blessed, some sort of metal roof. That week, we constructed three 2-room homes. Not two bedrooms but two rooms. The people were so thankful to have a foundation, flooring, two rooms, walls, windows, a door, and a roof. They were ecstatic! Coming back to Houston, all the students realized the wisdom of what Mr. Randy told them earlier in the week.
Lest I judge those students from Houston years ago, I am no different. During my hospice days, I can remember going into some homes in the Lowcountry and thinking wow, it would be amazing to live here! A couple of weeks ago, my wife Linda and I went on vacation. It was great getting away. We stayed in the same inn in the same room that we have stayed in for the last nine years. It’s a small room. When we got back to our home, and I walked inside, I thought to myself, ” This is an amazing house God has provided us. This home is huge.” Perspective is everything.
I always love the story about the fish and the loaves. The story is found in Matthew 14:13-21.
13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
There were 5,000 units of need and only 7 units of resources. Jesus didn’t’ whine about what He didn’t have. He gave thanks for what He did have. May we be thankful for all that God has provided for us in this great nation we call home.
Well, it looks like we have several opportunities to Engage our World in the coming weeks. Let’s share the love of Christ!
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