from Luke 21:25-36
If you knew how something would end, would it change the way you give yourself to being a part of it?
While, we might tend to think of such a question as it relates to a business opportunity, saying yes to a relationship, or a financial decision and the potential risks or rewards associated with any of the above…what if instead of decisions that are made based on how we think life should go, we make those decisions based on how the story of God at work in this world ends?
One of the ways we see sin create brokenness in our lives is in the way we view and use time. We worry that there isn’t enough. We waste the time we have. We don’t honor the time of others.
What if we stopped being so short-sighted and started taking a long view of the way we see God’s time and timing? What if that could change the way we live right now with the time we have?
w/ Luke Edwards
from Acts 2:42-47
Somehow we have allowed ourselves to become convinced that busyness equals fruitfulness. The reality, however, is not that we are left admiring all that we’ve accomplished…rather, we are often left just trying to hang on. Though the invitation to a healthy rhythm and the command to rest, the truth is, many of us are simply committed to things we can’t readily drop or opt out of.
So rather than put off taking our next step in belonging…rather than waiting until we get through “this busy season” (which never seems to come)…what if we reimagined what it could look like to be connected….to BELONG to the Body of Christ? What if we allowed God to redefine how our time is spent?
w/ Vern Collins
from 2 Timothy 4:1-8
If someone were to observe the way you use your time, what would that tell them about your priorities in life? Too often, the way we use time is not an accurate reflection of what is important to us because much of our time is often dictated by others…employers, educators, children, parents, even friends.
Rather than allow ourselves to become frustrated when time doesn’t play out the way we hope, what if we began to see our time less about what we can acquire, accumulate, and accomplish and more about how we can leverage it for the sake of the Gospel?
w/ Vern Collins
from Genesis 2:1-4
Many of us operate at a pace the leaves us feeling like we are barely keeping our head above water. There are demands on our time, demands for our attention, demands for our affection, worries about today and plenty for tomorrow.
Our culture promises products that simplify and make life easier, and yet even those tend to become our focus and end up feeling like they are stealing life from us.
As we begin our new “Rhythms” series, we start with what is most important…STOPPING. RESTING. SABBATH.
w/ Vern Collins
from 1 Timothy 6:11-19
Time, Relationships, Headlines, Money…these are just SOME of the things in life that overwhelm us. For the past four weeks, we’ve considered what it looks like to navigate those times when you feel overwhelmed by one or any number of these things.
What if the key was not just to navigate the overwhelming things, what if the goal was not just to get through them…what if the goal was to live an overwhelmed life?
A life overwhelmed by the reality of the goodness, and faithfulness, and love of God…present right in the midst of the rest that you are carrying.
Perhaps then you would find as Paul says, “the life that is truly life.”
w/ Vern Collins
from Deuteronomy 5:12-15
n an average lifespan (minus the time spent sleeping), you have 394,200 hours to get everything done you need to get done…
A LIFETIME to get things completed…and yet many of us live our lives as if time is slipping through our fingers. “To-Do” lists grow longer or keep getting pushed to tomorrow, calls are left unreturned, emails are left unanswered, the amount of demand continue to grow and time seems to continue to shrink…so how are we meant to keep our heads above the water? How are we meant to do it all?
You’re not. You’re not meant to do it all…you’re meant to abide in the One Who can.
And you begin by stopping and resting.
w/ Vern Collins
