NoelHeikkinen.com

Wanna Work at Riv?

Noel — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:26:38 +0000

We are looking for a few good interns to work at Riv this fall. You will be paid up to 20 hours to work on various projects around the church depending on your wiring and our needs.

Oh, and did I mention free coffee?

If you are interested, email Chri...@RivChurch.com ASAP.

Here are a few more details:

(YouTube Link)

Friday Random Linkness

NoelH — Fri, 11 May 2012 10:30:46 +0000

John Lennon vs. Van Halen = Brilliance

4 reasons to not post your bikini pictures on Facebook

Being forced to Text and Drive

Sick cover of “Rolling in the Deep”

Crazy transparent factory

Friday Random Linkness

NoelH — Fri, 04 May 2012 10:19:14 +0000

Not a huge Adele fan, but this mashup rocks

The Temptation of Tim Tebow

Blow Out Sale

Have you hugged a zombie today?

It ain’t over

4 Minutes on Seasons and Cycles

Noel — Wed, 02 May 2012 20:12:08 +0000

I have been feeling like a flake because I have been neglecting my blog, Facebook, and Twitter. I realized it’s not (necessarily) that I am a flake but that I am in a crazy season and cycle of life.

Friday Random Linkness

NoelH — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:59:39 +0000

The Gospel explains and undermines racism

Crazy Tron inspired dance routine

Whopper with 1050 pieces of bacon

This guy spreads love using coffee

Food thief

Friday Random Linkness

NoelH — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 10:05:10 +0000

What is evil?

Michigan Accent Guide (to help with those of you listening to my sermons from outside The Mitten)

Tiny sad owl

This is a good dad

People are amazing!

Friday Random Linkness

NoelH — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 10:41:39 +0000

Become an email ninja

What does the Bible say about abortion?

Art by Airplane

The hardest question in theology

Are you brave?

An Open Letter to a lot of People on the Day after Easter

Noel — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 13:17:35 +0000

Last week, a friend of mine asked me if Easter was like the Superbowl for pastors. That’s not a bad analogy, really, because it is the biggest day of the year for the church. It’s not that one day is any more holy than any other (Romans 14:5), but because on this one day we make a concerted effort to declare the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and at least for a little bit the world seems to listen. More people attend church on Easter than any other day and many of our family and friends are more open to conversations about the meaning of the holiday. Because of this, churches try to bring their best so they can represent Jesus well.

This year was no exception.

Riv, just like many other churches, had a record weekend service attendance and a ton of people worked their tails off to make sure Jesus’ name was proclaimed clearly. I keep thinking of different people I want to email and thank but I know I will forget someone, so instead I write this open letter.

To Our Staff - Thanks for putting in the long hours. It was Spring Break week and yet you toiled away (or you toiled away a week early so you could enjoy Spring Break with your fam). We noticed.

To Our Volunteers - I’m stunned at the number of people who were at Riv this week as if it was their paid job. People came straight to our building from their day jobs, took time off, and gave up family and recreation time to pull off a fantastic weekend.

To Our Welcome, Security, and Coffee Teams - I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people on your teams this weekend and by the joy you displayed in making every person (new and old) feel welcome.

To Our RivKids Team - Not once, but twice, I had conversations with RivKids teachers who explained to me how they tweaked the curriculum they were using to make sure the Gospel was abundantly clear and it was all about Jesus this weekend. You guys also gave up some precious space to make sure there was enough room for visitors to the service. Your graciousness and positive attitude (even excitement) to serve in this way was amazing.

To Our Band - You guys took it over the top this weekend. I am continually amazed at the talent around this place. Kristen – you get a personal shout out because your vocals were stunning; you gave me chills more than once. And Solo…the poem you wrote based on 1 Corinthians 15 was one of the highlights of the weekend for me. Thanks for giving such great emotion to great theological truth.

To Our Techies - When you do your job well, you go unnoticed. A lot of you like that part. Well, I need to bring you to the front for a second. All of the extra work you put in this week to pull off not just a great production in the auditorium, but another down the hall in the VIP room was amazing. I don’t even know how you did it. Wow.

To the VIP Lounge Attendees - I have been in many “overflow rooms” and no one seems to want to be there. You guys made a conscious choice to give your space up for new people and it was obvious you were overjoyed to do so. You sang as loud (if not louder) than the main auditorium, you had as many hands up in worship, and I think you may have had more fun. Thanks for your cheerful sacrifice.

To Our Regulars - So many of you brought new people with you this weekend to introduce them to Jesus. I met parents and neighbors and teammates and international students to name a few. Some people even came to multiple services with multiple sets of friends. Thanks for your love for all of these people – introducing them to Jesus is the greatest gift you can give.

To Our Visitors - We were so glad to have you this weekend and we would love to see you again. That guy Jesus we talked about this weekend (you know, the one who was raised from the dead) – we talk about him every weekend. He’s kindof a big deal and we’d like to tell you more about him.

Finally, to everyone - It’s easy to see Easter as the end of a big, long push (or as a once a year thing). You worked hard to make things happen, you took the daring step to invite a friend, and now you can take a big breath. In one sense, this is true, you can enjoy knowing you made a difference. But this is just the beginning.

Your friend,

Noel

Friday Random Linkness

NoelH — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 10:24:28 +0000

Jesus gave it all (a kids’ video we should all watch)

The other invisible children

9 ways to fight the temptation of pornography

How have I never seen this before?

Increase your odds to survive a zombie apocalypse with this one simple step

Giving to God First

Noel — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:51:16 +0000

When my wife and I were in our first home with a mortgage, car payment, student loan payments, credit card debt, and two kids we thought there was no way we could give financially to the church. We thought somehow that our financial situation exempted us from giving sacrificially and generously.

One week, we heard a message on giving by our pastor (Steve Sommerlot) and it rocked our world. We looked to Scripture and were convicted that as followers of Jesus we had a responsibility to give, but it was much more than that. It was a privilege! We had a chance to show that God was first in our lives and we we had a chance to make a difference in the world with our finances. That day we made a commitment to give a certain percentage of our income to the church and by God’s grace, we have done so ever since.

Now, we are making a lot more money than we were back then so the dollar amount has also gone up. Whenever there is a special project at Riv, we jump on that if we can (and we usually can with a few tweaks to our budget). There are times that we look at our giving and think about all of the things “we could have if we didn’t give.” Then we look at the people at Riverview who are learning about Jesus and we realize our giving has been part of changing their eternal destinies.

Giving isn’t a chore for us. In fact, this has become a bit of a theme verse for our giving:

“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” - 2 Corinthians 9:6-7

The way we choose to give is through a regular, monthly, auto-withdrawal from our bank account. This helps us to make sure we give to God first. If you would like to give in this manner or even give a one time gift to Riv, you can do so by clicking here.