NLC Connect - Jan. 14, 2026
connect with God's Word
So thankful for those who gather at NLC on Wednesdays to lift up our church community in prayer. Interested? There’s always room for you!
On Sunday mornings, NLC is the place to be — we’re so grateful for everyone who helps make our Sunday services possible.
Our Sunday night youth are learning to live out their faith by praying over homes in the neighborhood. We’re thankful for Mike and Nori and for the Pray and Go ministry here at NLC.
Women’s LIFT started back up on Tuesday — what a beautiful space to fellowship, connect, and grow closer to Jesus.
On Sunday mornings, NLC is the place to be — we’re so grateful for everyone who helps make our Sunday services possible.
Our Sunday night youth are learning to live out their faith by praying over homes in the neighborhood. We’re thankful for Mike and Nori and for the Pray and Go ministry here at NLC.
Women’s LIFT started back up on Tuesday — what a beautiful space to fellowship, connect, and grow closer to Jesus.
connect your calendar
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 14:
6:30 p.m. - Prayer Group - Room 113
THURSDAY, JAN. 15
6:00 p.m. - CELEBRATE RECOVERY small groups - Education Center
SUNDAY, JANUARY 18:
9:30 a.m. - CONNECTING POINT - Dining Room
10:00 a.m. - WORSHIP/NLC KIDS/NURSERY
5:00 p.m. - Youth Group - Room 207
MONDAY, JAN. 19: Office closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
TUESDAY, JAN. 20:
6:00 a.m. - Men's Bible Study - Dining Room
6:30 p.m. - Healing Room Prayer Ministry - Library
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 21:
6:30 p.m. - Prayer Group - Room 113
THURSDAY, JAN. 22:
6:00 p.m. - CELEBRATE RECOVERY small groups - Education Center
SUNDAY, JANUARY 25:
8:30 a.m. - Salt & Light Class - Room 114/115
9:30 a.m. - CONNECTING POINT
10:00 a.m. - "Mission Possible" for kids & youth - Family Center Gym
11:15 a.m. - Family Meal - Dining Room (tortilla soup and a dessert will be provided by the Kitchen Team--please bring a salad for 10 people to share)
5:00 p.m. - Youth Group - Room 207
TUESDAY, JAN. 27:
6:00 a.m. - Men's Bible Study - Dining Room
9:00 a.m. - LIFT Women's Bible Study - Room 114/115
6:30 p.m. - Prayer Group - Room 113
THURSDAY, JAN. 15
6:00 p.m. - CELEBRATE RECOVERY small groups - Education Center
SUNDAY, JANUARY 18:
9:30 a.m. - CONNECTING POINT - Dining Room
10:00 a.m. - WORSHIP/NLC KIDS/NURSERY
5:00 p.m. - Youth Group - Room 207
MONDAY, JAN. 19: Office closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
TUESDAY, JAN. 20:
6:00 a.m. - Men's Bible Study - Dining Room
6:30 p.m. - Healing Room Prayer Ministry - Library
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 21:
6:30 p.m. - Prayer Group - Room 113
THURSDAY, JAN. 22:
6:00 p.m. - CELEBRATE RECOVERY small groups - Education Center
SUNDAY, JANUARY 25:
8:30 a.m. - Salt & Light Class - Room 114/115
9:30 a.m. - CONNECTING POINT
- Come meet and encourage others over coffee and snacks - Dining Room
10:00 a.m. - "Mission Possible" for kids & youth - Family Center Gym
11:15 a.m. - Family Meal - Dining Room (tortilla soup and a dessert will be provided by the Kitchen Team--please bring a salad for 10 people to share)
5:00 p.m. - Youth Group - Room 207
TUESDAY, JAN. 27:
6:00 a.m. - Men's Bible Study - Dining Room
9:00 a.m. - LIFT Women's Bible Study - Room 114/115
Sermon series for January! If you missed a message, click on the link on the home page to watch it (or watch again!).
Are you interested in leading a GriefShare support group? Please contact Martha Sawatzky (559-859-1235) for more information.
connect through giving
Offerings Received last week (1/11/26): ...... $4,200
Offerings Received this year to date: .…. $156,602
Budget to date: ……………...........……..…...….. $153,316
Needed weekly to meet budget: ……..…….. $7,970
Offerings Received this year to date: .…. $156,602
Budget to date: ……………...........……..…...….. $153,316
Needed weekly to meet budget: ……..…….. $7,970
connect to God through prayer
- Pray for Mae Ewert, who is at Palm Village (skilled nursing room #401--visitors welcome) for rehab. Pray for Terry Chappell, who is hospitalized for health issues. Pray for Eugene Enns and Manuel Madrid as they anticipate surgery, and for Eilene Moreno and Karen Madrid as they recover. Kristel Salazar requests prayer for her friend Shelby, who has a high-risk pregnancy.
- Pray for those dealing with long-term health issues and cancer treatments.
- Also remember: Marilyn Chappell and other residents in Palm Village Healthcare, Harold Kruger and others in Sierra View, and Mary Salazar.
- Pray for those who have lost loved ones. Pray for Martha Sawatzky as she seeks leaders for the next GriefShare support group.
- Pray for those who are seeking employment.
- Pray for the undocumented in our community and those facing food insecurity and financial challenges.
- Pray for our missionaries: Pablo & Maricela Chavez (back in Peru living in a half-finished house with no windows or floors and lots of mosquitos and scorpions--goal is to finish it in 2 months before new school year begins; oldest son Isaac is living with an uncle in Dinuba as he finishes high school), Cecil & Tracy Ramos (Thailand), Jonathan & Joanna Gutierrez (Portugal), and Johnny & Denise Esposito (Cambodia).
- Pray for peace as violence and war affect so many families and children around the world.
Connect to a Holy Purpose
This weekend, one of my favorite people in our kids' ministry community was hospitalized. Terry is a volunteer who faithfully serves our children with such quiet joy and steadiness. On Sunday, the class he usually serves in made cards for him, and all of our kids’ classrooms paused to pray for him. It was a simple moment — markers, prayers, and whispered hopes for healing — but it was also deeply holy.
Yesterday, I called Terry to check in on him. I expected to hear annoyance, frustration, or discouragement. Instead, I heard peace.
He told me that he believes everything happens for a reason — that nothing is by chance. He shared that he is trying to understand what God might be doing through this season, and how God might be using even this hospital stay for something meaningful. He spoke about the opportunities he’s had to share his faith with others, even now, even here.
We talked about how sometimes we don’t get the “reason” right away. Sometimes it’s revealed later. Sometimes it’s revealed quietly. Sometimes it’s revealed not in answers, but in how God uses us in the middle of uncertainty.
What struck me wasn’t just Terry’s optimism — it was his posture.
Instead of asking, “Why is this happening to me?” he seemed to be asking,
“God, what are You doing through this?”
That is a posture of trust.
That is a posture of surrender.
That is a posture of purpose.
Romans 8:28 reminds us, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Not that all things are good — but that God is present and purposeful in all things.
Terry’s response is a quiet sermon to the rest of us. It’s a reminder that faith is not just something we profess when life is easy — it’s something we live when life is uncertain. It’s choosing to believe that God is still writing the story, even when the chapter is uncomfortable.
It’s living with a sense of higher purpose and higher calling.
This is how God invites us to live — not in fear of the unknown, but in trust of the One who knows.
Terry, if you’re reading this: we love you. We’re praying for you. And kids' ministry cannot wait to have you back soon.
May we all learn to live with the same quiet confidence — that God is at work, even here.
Yesterday, I called Terry to check in on him. I expected to hear annoyance, frustration, or discouragement. Instead, I heard peace.
He told me that he believes everything happens for a reason — that nothing is by chance. He shared that he is trying to understand what God might be doing through this season, and how God might be using even this hospital stay for something meaningful. He spoke about the opportunities he’s had to share his faith with others, even now, even here.
We talked about how sometimes we don’t get the “reason” right away. Sometimes it’s revealed later. Sometimes it’s revealed quietly. Sometimes it’s revealed not in answers, but in how God uses us in the middle of uncertainty.
What struck me wasn’t just Terry’s optimism — it was his posture.
Instead of asking, “Why is this happening to me?” he seemed to be asking,
“God, what are You doing through this?”
That is a posture of trust.
That is a posture of surrender.
That is a posture of purpose.
Romans 8:28 reminds us, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Not that all things are good — but that God is present and purposeful in all things.
Terry’s response is a quiet sermon to the rest of us. It’s a reminder that faith is not just something we profess when life is easy — it’s something we live when life is uncertain. It’s choosing to believe that God is still writing the story, even when the chapter is uncomfortable.
It’s living with a sense of higher purpose and higher calling.
This is how God invites us to live — not in fear of the unknown, but in trust of the One who knows.
Terry, if you’re reading this: we love you. We’re praying for you. And kids' ministry cannot wait to have you back soon.
May we all learn to live with the same quiet confidence — that God is at work, even here.
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