NLC Connect - Feb. 18, 2026

NLC Kids had an unforgettable ice skating adventure—complete with falling snow and an epic snowball fight!
On Sunday night, NLC Youth traded in their usual routine for chef hats and pizza-making fun, while taking time to reflect on how the choices they make shape their lives.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 18:
6:30 p.m. - Prayer Group - Room 113

THURSDAY, FEB. 19:  
6:00 p.m. - CELEBRATE RECOVERY small groups - Education Center

FRIDAY, FEB. 20:
6:00 p.m. - Youth For Christ Annual Report Banquet - Family Center Gym - Come enjoy a great meal and hear how God is working in local schools!

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22:
8:30 a.m. - Salt & Light Class - Room 114/115 (new series begins on book of 2 Peter)
9:30 a.m. - CONNECTING POINT

• Come meet and encourage others over coffee and snacks - Dining Room

10:00 a.m. - WORSHIP/NLC KIDS/NURSERY
11:15 a.m. - Family Meal - Dining Room (pasta, salad & garlic bread will be provided; please bring a dessert to share)
5:00 p.m. - Youth Group - Room 207

TUESDAY, FEB. 24:  
6:00 a.m. - Men's Bible Study - Dining Room
9:00 a.m. - LIFT Women's Bible Study - Room 114/115
4:30-6:30 p.m. - Annual Soup Supper fundraiser at Palm Village in Reedley - Enjoy great food with the people who live and work at Palm Village!

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 25:
6:30 p.m. - Prayer Group - Room 113

THURSDAY, FEB. 26:  
6:00 p.m. - CELEBRATE RECOVERY small groups - Education Center

SUNDAY, MARCH 1:
8:30 a.m. - Salt & Light Class - Room 114/115 (last session in current series)
9:30 a.m. - CONNECTING POINT - Dining Room
10:00 a.m. - WORSHIP/NLC KIDS/NURSERY

• Communion Sunday
• Offering for the Deacon Care Fund, and donations of nonperishable food and cleaning products welcome for the Sharing Hands Pantry

5:00 p.m. - Youth Group - Room 207
6:30 p.m. - GriefShare Support Group - Room 114/115

TUESDAY, MAR. 3:  
6:00 a.m. - Men's Bible Study - Dining Room
6:30 p.m. - Healing Room Prayer Ministry - Library

NLC Kids Winter Jam

Offerings Received last week (2/15): …...... $5,353
Offerings Received this year to date: .…. $178,601
Budget to date: …………..........………..…...….. $193,662
Needed weekly to meet budget: …….…….. $8,607

NLC Youth been reading a devotional called The Comeback Kid that highlights people in Scripture who experienced deep adversity — some because of what was done to them, and some because of what they did themselves.
Two stories stood out to me: Joseph and Saul.
Joseph’s story in Genesis reads like a long unraveling. Betrayed by his brothers. Sold into slavery. Falsely accused. Forgotten in prison. There were countless moments where he could have believed his life had been permanently derailed — that what others did to him had marked him beyond repair.
Saul’s story, found in Acts of the Apostles, is different. Saul actively persecuted Christians. He approved of violence. If anyone had reason to believe they were unredeemable, it would have been him. And yet on the road to Damascus, Jesus met him — not to erase him, but to transform him. Saul became Paul. The persecutor became a church planter. The one who caused harm became someone who carried hope.
Two very different starting points.
One common thread: redemption.
Joseph’s adversity was done to him.
Saul’s brokenness was acted out by him.
And yet neither man was beyond the reach of God.
There is a part of my own story that I never asked for. An experience at the hands of someone else that carried shame with it — a chapter I would never choose to write for myself, and certainly not for anyone else.
For a long time, that shame tried to attach itself to my identity. It whispered that I was marked. Damaged. Altered in a way that disqualified me.
Somewhere along the way, when shame tried to define me, the love of God interrupted that narrative. When the voice in my head whispered “unredeemable,” Scripture said something entirely different.
As we move toward the season where Jesus’ death and resurrection are at the forefront of our minds, we are reminded that redemption is not abstract. It is the very heart of the gospel.
The cross declares that nothing is too broken.
The empty tomb declares that nothing is too far gone.
Romans 8:38–39 says:

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Nothing.
Not what we’ve done.
Not what was done to us.
Not shame.
Not regret.
Not our worst chapters.
The thoughts that tell us we are unredeemable — those do not come from God. When we study Scripture, we find quite the opposite. We find a God who pursues runaway sons, restores betrayers, elevates prisoners, and transforms persecutors.
We are not unredeemable.
We are deeply loved.
We are not forsaken — quite the opposite — we are never alone.
Joseph’s story didn’t end in a pit.
Saul’s story didn’t end in persecution.
And your story does not end in shame.
Your story is still being written.