Our January worship series at Northside United Methodist Church is entitled All In! We are exploring what it means to love God with ALL of our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:28-31).

I invite you to consider these questions: What would our lives, families, church, and community look like if we went All In for God? What changes would we have to make in our lives? What would we need to start doing? What would we need to stop doing?

One of the books I read in preparation for the series is entitled All In by Mark Batterson. Mark is the founding pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D. C. The multi-campus congregation reaches tens of thousands weekly at our nation’s capital.

Here are some quotes from All In that have continued to challenge me as a Christian and pastor:

• When did we start believing that God wants to send us to safe places to do easy things?

• Jesus didn’t die to keep us safe. He died to make us dangerous.

• Faithfulness is not holding the fort. It’s storming the gates of hell.

• The complete surrender of your life to the cause of Christ isn’t radical. It’s normal.

• It’s time to quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death.

• It’s time to go all in and all out for the All in All!

In the coming weeks, we will explore what it means to go All In as we Know, Grow, and Go as God’s people. Join us at Northside each Sunday for Traditional Worship at 8:30 and 11:00 in the Sanctuary along with Contemporary Worship at 9:45 in the Faith and Arts Center.

Let’s go All In for Jesus Christ!