from 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 and Matthew 9:9-13
In our seven week series, “All Things Made New,” we consider the work that Jesus is doing in this world…a work that we don’t have to wait until time has reached its fulfillment to experience, but that we can experience and be a part of now!
Once we have found in Christ, freedom from our own pursuits or the pursuit of trying to earn our salvation or relationship with Christ, what exactly are we freed into? Is into pursuing the life we want knowing that we have a hope and a future, or is it living life in such a way that those around us begin to know and are invited into the source of our hope?
w/ Vern Collins
4th Sunday of Advent
from 1 Peter 2:9-12
Who are you?
We tend to answer a question like this by talking about the things that we do. What if defining who we are was not connected to the things you do, rather the things you do is a direct result of who you are?
The coming of the Light of Christ, and choosing to walk in that Light, to build your hope on Who Jesus begins to mean something for WHO YOU ARE. What if your life began to be defined by what God proclaims over you as His child?
That becomes a life worth living. That becomes a story worth telling. That becomes an invitation worth offering…
w/ Vern Collins and testimony by Darcy Carson
from 2 Corinthians 5:11-21
Whether you are a follower of Jesus or not, your life is telling a story TOWARD SOMETHING. Another way of saying that is that all of us are evangelists for something…
If you consider yourself a follower of Jesus, then whether you realize it or not, you are an evangelist for Christ. The question is, what kind of story are you telling about the Gospel? How are you representing Jesus for the world?
Are you willing actively proclaim the story of Jesus to those who need to hear it, or are you content to live your life and hope that somehow the Gospel will rub off on those around you?
What if you were willing to share the story of Who Jesus is to you? What if someone’s life could be transformed through that?
w/ Vern Collins
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Our Ambitious Prayer for the church (adapted from Jonathan Leeman’s “18 Things to Pray for Your Church”)
Heavenly Father, as we seek to be a church that reflects the hope of Your Son, Jesus in this world, our prayer for this church is…
That it would grow in being distinct from the world in love and holiness, even as it engages outsiders.
That faithful elders would use Scripture to train members to do the work of ministry.
That a hunger for studying the Gospel would form among members so that they can guide and guard one another in it.
That a culture of discipling would form in which making disciples is viewed as an ordinary part of the Christian life.
That adult members work to disciple children and teenagers and not just leave the journey of discipleship to programming.
That the church’s songs would teach members to biblically confess, lament, and praise.
That we would unity amid diversity-loving those with whom we have nothing in common but the Gospel.
That transparent, meaningful relationships would become normal, while remaining anonymous would be out of character for who we are.
That members would share the Gospel this week-and see more conversions!
That more members would use their careers to take the Gospel places it’s never been.
It is with the help of the Holy Spirit and in the Name of Jesus we ask these things, Amen.
from Acts 8:26-39
“Come and see,” seems like a simple enough invitation doesn’t it? Even Philip’s following the call to “go” is a simple enough response…
The thing we must wrestle with, the question we must be willing to hold the mirror up to our lives on is critical. It not only creates the space in which God is able to work, but it serves as the catalyst for being one who tells the story of Who God is, and that is quite simply:
Are you willing?
w/ Vern Collins
Testimony from Piper Collins
from Luke 1:57-80
Have you ever thought of yourself as a tour guide? While you may not make a living directing sightseers, you are living a life that people are watching.
With that said, the question becomes: what is the life your living pointing to? In the way you spend your time, energy, finances…the passions you pursue…what does your life point to as being of utmost importance? Is it truly worth pointing others to?
What if, in this Christmas season, you began living a life pointing to Jesus?
w/ Vern Collins
from Revelation 21:1-6
The dream fulfilled. Everything you hoped for, everything you wanted, right? What if the dream fulfilled wasn’t just about what you hoped to see happen in your own life, but about what God wants to see happen in the lives around you?
In the final week of our “Dreamers” series, we are challenged with the thought that being a part of God’s dream for this world, it not just about how it benefits you, but about you inviting others to in to the dream with you.
w/ Rev. Laura Beach
from John 1:35-51
Have you experienced something so amazing that you wanted to tell everyone you know…yet at the same time, you didn’t really want to tell anyone because you were afraid of what might happen to that experience?
How have we come to the place where we treat the Gospel the same way? How have we come to the place where we treat the Hope found in Jesus like something we want to protect for our own? Jesus is God’s dream for humanity, God’s dream in the flesh…open for all…and yet so many are never invited into the dream.
Perhaps being reminded of your own invitation into the dream…perhaps being reminded that the invitation we offer to others was never meant to be complicated…it was meant to be as simple as, “Come and See.”
w/ Vern Collins
from Acts 10:44-48
In our final week of our “Questions” series, we wrestle with perhaps one of the most piercing questions yet.
Have you experienced the love of God? Do you share it with others, or do you find yourself being choosey with whom you decide to share it? Have you experienced the grace of God? Do you freely offer grace to both your friends and your enemies? Have you experienced new life in Christ? Do you share that new life with the world around you, or is it something you keep to yourself?
In this week’s passage, we find in Peter a willingness to trust the end without seeing it, a willingness to go to the fringes, and a willingness to offer the hope of Christ to the most unlikely people…
Are you willing to do the same?
w/ Vern Collins
