Jesus Famous With Nate Holdridge

As we wrap up this season, we’ll take a moment to jump back in time to listen to a previously recorded episode called “The Mission Statement of a Christ Follower". We hope this is helpful for you as you consider the new year! If you’d like to read the entire article, then you can do so here.   Link to full article:https://www.nateholdridge.com/blog/8002nateholdridge.cominstagram.com/nateholdridgetwitter.com/nholdridgecalvary.com

But Elisha said, “Hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord, Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.” Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” But he said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” (2 Kings 7:1–2 ESV). Northern Israel, during a time of egregious apostasy against God, blamed the drought and despair and death on God. He was, in their minds, to blame. Elisha wanted them to see how quickly their fortunes could turn. Repent, and God would open the windows of heaven. Prove it, they would say. So Elisha prophesied to Samaria, “Tomorrow about this time food will be sold for next to nothing. For once, supply will outpace demand. Food will be easy to come by.” One of the king’s officials replied, “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” He dou

  “Wake up, lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song.” (Psalm 108:2). Mornings, it seems, are for singing. The birds know this. There is a freshness of a new day which elicits a song. But what song will I sing? The song of the gospel, of course. The song which sings of the unfathomable riches of God's love and grace. The song which celebrates him, his sovereignty, his power. Control — God has it, and I will glorify him for it. “I will wake the dawn with my song.” Our psalmist races the sun to rise in praise before it can. He wants to beat the day to the punch. Lyrics of joy and celebration for God will spill out of his mouth. He has made his determination. Tomorrow morning? A song of praise over God will resound. When a day begins like that, you’ve already won. The tone for the day is set. If a day were a building, the morning would be its foundation. For our psalmist, the foundation is strong. He is grounded in God. He has connected to His Lord. A song does not take too long. It gets one into passio

In this episode of the Jesus Famous Podcast, we will have a conversation about Pastor Nate’s article entitled “Benefits Of A Sermon Based Small Group". You can catch more episodes like this by subscribing to the Jesus Famous Podcast. If you’d like to read the entire article, then you can do so here.Link to full article:https://www.nateholdridge.com/blog/benefits-of-a-sermon-based-small-group

  “When you discipline a man with rebukes for sin, you consume like a moth what is dear to him; surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah” (Psalm 39:11 ESV). Inhale, then exhale. The lungs expand and retract, the good stuff in, the bad stuff out. All day long, during sleep, while awake, your body breathes. You do it without thinking. A breath occurs, and you do not remember it; its brevity is astounding. Psalm 39 is full of statements affirming the brevity of life. "Each of us is but a breath," says the psalmist. Exhaled, gone, and momentary. He wrote of his end, the measure of his days, the fleeting nature of his life. He felt his days were a few handbreadths in length, nothing before God. He was a guest and a sojourner in God's great world. Life, the psalmist sang, is short. “Mankind is a mere breath!” But how ought we respond to the brief nature of our earthly sojourn? If life is short, if God lives in every generation but we only live in ours, if we are but a microscopic dot on the timeline of human his

  “So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.” (2 Samuel 15:6) It didn’t take much. A chariot, some fanboys, and a daily ploy to convince the people of Israel he was more available than David, and Absalom stole the hearts of the people. Some cunning, some persistence, and they were in his pocket. Were they fans of Yahweh? It didn’t matter. They were fans of his. Too much work in the name of Christ is conducted in this manner. The hearts of the people fall prey to the manipulative machinations of leaders who crave the praise. Rather than celebrate Christ, these leaders receive celebration. Rather than point others to Jesus, they point people to themselves. In the service of Christ, we must be careful. Pastors, small group leaders, young adult ministry leaders — you name it — all are tempted to take the glory. All are tempted to steal hearts for themselves. Jesus said, “Follow me.” Only he could say it. Paul said it, but added, “As I follow Christ.” We aim to point people to him. However, with a little

In this episode of the Jesus Famous Podcast, Pastor Nate will be narrating his article entitled “How The Holy Spirit Can Help You With Life". You can catch more episodes like this by subscribing to the Jesus Famous Podcast. If you’d like to read the entire article, then you can do so here.Link to full article:https://www.nateholdridge.com/blog/how-the-holy-spirit-can-help-you-with-life-john-14-16-17nateholdridge.cominstagram.com/nateholdridgetwitter.com/nholdridgecalvary.com

  “They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights.” (Psalm 36:8 ESV). The dawn’s mist settled in my beard. The trees looked different than in my memories. Something about the early morning hours made them more alive. To my left, movement startled me. I turned my head and watched two coyotes trudging through the adjacent field, one with a fresh kill in its mouth. As they glided away, I noticed a cluster of deer chewing on the wet grass. Birds sang. The sky awakened. As I walked, the day’s crispness whispered that a fresh opportunity was mine. The moment, beautiful, wonderful, one of trillions, was a gift from God. The psalmist sang of God’s river of delights, for he has joys he wishes to gift to his children. Each one flows from him— he is the source of all the little gladnesses of life. Each joy is best experienced in the light of him. But, I wonder, how often do I fail to recognize the delights he sends? How many joys do I regularly fail to praise him for?

  “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV). Christ’s resurrection secured the future resurrection of his people. Believers have hope and confidence and surety and resolve that their bodies will experience redemption. We will put off the man of dust and put on the man of heaven. We will be remade, renewed, reformed in the image of our resurrected Savior. Paul wrote of the future resurrection of all the saints in 1 Corinthians 15. He concluded his teaching by saying, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV). Our future resurrection should change our mood today. Because he is risen, we will rise, so we can partake of a specific spirit and attitude today. Let us consider Paul's list of resurrection attitudes. 1 Be steadfast Our first reaction

In this episode of the Jesus Famous Podcast, we will have a conversation about Pastor Nate’s article entitled “Marriage Principles From Non-Marriage Verses (Pt. 2)". You can catch more episodes like this by subscribing to the Jesus Famous Podcast. If you’d like to read the entire article, then you can do so here. Link to full article:https://www.nateholdridge.com/blog/marriage-verses-the-spirit-transforms-us-2-corinthians-3-18nateholdridge.cominstagram.com/nateholdridgetwitter.com/nholdridgecalvary.com

“An inheritance obtained too early in life is not a blessing in the end.” (Proverbs 20:21 NLT). The wings strain. Push. Press. Push. The caterpillar has become a butterfly, but the struggle to extricate itself from the cocoon is violent. Force exerted. Energy expended. Pain, real and true. With all strength spent, the wings function. No more crawling along. A flier is born. The proverb above communicates the idea well. Too much success, influence, or wealth without any struggle often leads to pain in the end. It is better, in the end, to fight, battle, and struggle your way to success. I only want to work in my area of passion, says one. I want to find deep fulfillment in my work, says another. I want…I need…I wish…I hope. But I must die. You won't discover your passion if your life is not tested with hard work, devotion, and submission. We find fulfillment through sweat, struggle, and pain. We must not forget that we are not our work, our influence, or our life’s successes. We are children of God, wal

  Each week, the Calvary Monterey church staff meets for Bible study, worship, and prayer. Right now, we are making our way through the books of Acts. Recently we inspected Paul’s conversion (Acts 9). We gleaned a handful of principles from his story which would help us in modern-day ministry work. What follows are those points: 1 People go through a process to come to Christ. Jesus said Paul (Saul) had kicked against the goads (Acts 26:14). This meant he resisted the Lord for a while. His conversion on the road to Damascus was preceded by pangs of conscience, a stirring of his soul. But what did Paul kick against? First, Stephen’s bold witness for Christ, followed by his murder, haunted Paul. He’d been holding the coats of all who stoned Stephen to death, consenting to it all, when Stephen forgave and prayed for his killers. Additionally, Stephen’s murder was brought on by a sermon. Stephen had demonstrated the historic propensity of Israel to reject God’s messengers and plan. His point: they'd reject

In this episode of the Jesus Famous Podcast, we will have a conversation about Pastor Nate’s article entitled “The Point Of Life". You can catch more episodes like this by subscribing to the Jesus Famous Podcast. If you’d like to read the entire article, then you can do so here. Link to full article:https://www.nateholdridge.com/blog/the-point-of-life-romans-8-28-30nateholdridge.cominstagram.com/nateholdridgetwitter.com/nholdridgecalvary.com

  “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27). Buck the dog, in Jack London’s classic The Call Of The Wild, had grown up in lazy and sunny Northern California. He had lived what many would call the good life, roaming Judge Miller's spacious property in the Santa Clara Valley. But since Buck was a beast of an animal, a strong and fine specimen, one day he was stolen, sold, and shipped to Alaska. There, he worked as a sled dog delivering mail and, eventually, searching for gold. The tale is one of discovery, for Buck thought he was happy on those sun-kissed days in the valley, but it turned out life in the Yukon was a fuller and more vibrant life. Sometimes he thought of Judge Miller’s big house in the sun-kissed Santa Clara Valley, and of the cement swimming-tank…but oftener he remembered the man in the red sweater, the death of Curly, the great fight with Spitz, and the good things he had eaten or would like to eat. He was not ho

In this episode of the Jesus Famous Podcast, we will have a conversation about Pastor Nate’s article entitled “Appreciating Christ’s Generosity". You can catch more episodes like this by subscribing to the Jesus Famous Podcast. If you’d like to read the entire article, then you can do so here. Link to full article:https://www.nateholdridge.com/blog/appreciate-christs-generosity-ephesians-4-7-10?rq=appreciatenateholdridge.cominstagram.com/nateholdridgetwitter.com/nholdridgecalvary.com

  "And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, 'Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.' And she said to her, 'Go, my daughter.'" (Ruth 2:2) As the sun rose, she hoped. Despair was not hers, not today. Here confidence melted the morning dew. Ruth turned to her mentor, her mother-in-law, her companion in life. Let me go to the field to glean, she said. I want to find someone who will let me gather the leftovers of the harvest. Why make such a request? Why head to the fields with an expectation any right-minded farmer would ever allow anyone, whosoever, wherever, to gather food, for themselves and no other, for free? Ruth was new to Israel. She lived during the time of the judges, a time when everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25). God’s people lived as though they were not at all governed by God’s law. Self-will ruled the day. People did not search the Scriptures. The norm was to follow the dictates of the heart, not the word of God. Bu

  Calvary Monterey, the church I pastor, embraces a simple ministry model. We aren’t a collection of Sunday plus a billion ministries to subspecific groups. The left-handed-golfers-with-a-plus-13-handicap will have to look elsewhere for a ministry explicitly catered to their needs. Instead, we mostly gather together on Sundays and disperse into homes and coffee shops and office spaces during the week. And when our groups gather, part of their time together is spent in discussion about the previous Sunday’s text and teaching. I, for one, have never expected the discussion to be the highlight of our groups, but a way for the Spirit to gain entry into our time together, almost an excuse for us to gather. The weightiest stuff happens when we pray together, share our burdens, and befriend others who are in Christ. These relationships, for many, have exploded out into an incalculable network of interconnections, discipleship lessons, and support systems. The meeting is, in other words, a start, a launching pad for

In this episode of the Jesus Famous Podcast, we will have a conversation about Pastor Nate’s article entitled “Marriage Principles From Non-Marriage Verses (Pt. 1)". You can catch more episodes like this by subscribing to the Jesus Famous Podcast. If you’d like to read the entire article, then you can do so here. Link to full article:https://www.nateholdridge.com/blog/marriage-1-our-identity-is-in-christ-colossians-3-3-4 nateholdridge.cominstagram.com/nateholdridgetwitter.com/nholdridgecalvary.com

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16–17 ESV). Under cover of darkness, they walked. Jesus would bring his disciples, on that final night together, to the garden. There, in Gethsemane, he would pray and await Judas’ betrayal. On their way, teaching spilled out of his heart and mouth. He would go to prepare a place for them. He would come back for them. He taught them to abide in him and to love each other. He readied them for the hatred and rejection of the world. He also promised them the Holy Spirit. He knew he'd ascend back to the Father. Once reunited in glory, he would appeal to the Father to send the Spirit. Jesus called him the Helper, and the Spirit would come to live in them. The Spirit of God, Jesus said, would begin to reside with his people. The temple had the holy of holie

  Christina and I have tried to build our marriage upon God and his word. We have appreciated all the passages in the Bible which speak directly to the married life. But we have also loved many other Scriptures which have helped our marriage. In this short four-part series, I will write about four of those Scriptures. In each, I will elaborate on the principle found there, along with how it has applied to our marriage. Our prayer is that every believing marriage would find grace and strength in the word of Christ. Read the entire series here. “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:3–4). Christina has not completed Nate, and Nate has not completed Christina. Yes, when we married, the two become one flesh (Genesis 2:24, Mark 10:8). But it is Christ who completes us. Our lives, as the passage reads, are “hidden with Christ in God.” Consider the phrase: “Christ who is your li