Does Anything Happen?

Yesterday, we finished our series "Starting Point: Going Deeper" with special guest speaker Pastor Cornell Jordan. He spoke on the topic of prayer....not how to pray but why we pray!

He asked tough questions like...

*When you pray does something miraculous, powerful or positive happen?

*If not then why?

James 5:16 says the earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results (NLT)

The level of our prayer life will reveal the level of depth in our relationship with God. Why not begin to plan for prayer just like you plan to eat, take a shower and brush your teeth. The Creator of the Universe wants to have such a close relationship with you and be involved in your daily life. Will you let Him?

Fun

This past Sunday was part 3 in our series "Starting Point: Going Deeper." We talked about the third part of our vision; FUN!

The way we have been trained to do fun is often temporary and never enough. Many who live their lives for fun are just waiting for the next best thing. It reminds me of kids at Christmas time who get bored with their toys after 3 weeks.

We define fun as living your purpose to worship God by serving others. We believe that when you truly put others first and use your talents to serve others you will experience overwhelming joy and a fun filled life. (Read Acts 5 & 16 for people who were truly having fun)

The way to develop that kind of life is to train our minds with this reality, "Fun is not an activity but an attitude--Jeanne Mayo."

With this new definition of fun...

#1--How can you have "fun" at work this week?

#2--How can you have "fun" with your family?

#3--How can you have "fun" with your neighbors?

#4--How can you have "fun" with total strangers?

Let's life our lives to worship God by serving others and truly experience "FUN"

We Are Family (can you hear the song?)

This past Sunday we talked about what it truly means to be a family. When we cross the line into a relationship with Jesus, we become a part of something bigger than ourselves. We get to be a part of the family of God and to do life together. Yet, if we are honoest, most of us jus settle for showing up once a week for an hour to church so we can go our own way the rest of the week.

How do we do life together in this day and age? How do we get connected with others to the point where we can be authentic? How do we stop the crazy schedule of life that seems to control us and dictate how we spend our time?

Here are a few practical suggestions to help build family...

*Call another person or family this week and invite them to join you at your house for a meal

*The next time you go shopping, call someone and invite them to go with you.

*The next time you go out to a movie, McDonald's or somewhere else, invite others to join you

*When you hear someone else have a need, ask if you could come and help

As followers of Christ become a true family; giving, loving, praying and doing life together, we will see God's presence and love draw others to Him in an exponential way.

Gotta have faith

In the famous words of George Michael from the late 80's, "Gotta have faith, faith, faith..."

This Sunday we kicked of our NEW series, "Starting Point: Going Deeper." We focused on clarify what it means to have faith.

When you hear the word faith, what's the first thing that comes to your mind? On a scale of 1-10 how much faith in God would you say you have?

We defined faith as believing God is who he says he is and that he will always do what he says he will do. No matter what circumstances may be like, God's word is truth and we can take it to the bank.

According to that definition of faith, is there an area of your life that you have a hard time trusting God? If so, why do you think you struggle in that area but not in others? What does God say about that area? If you don't know, this would be a great time to check out what the Bible says.

God, I pray that in 2011, you teach me to trust you more than ever before. May I truly have faith and give you control. May I live my life believing you are who you say you are and that you will always do what you say you will do. In Jesus Name! Amen.

Beauty

This past Sunday gathering we discussed the word "beauty."

We defined beauty has coming together and creating something that resonates with the heart of God. Creating a different reality than others are used to seeing which results in giving others a glimpse of God's glory. It's awakening other's imagination to realize there is more than this life.

We talked about walking in beauty when we walk in excellence & creativity.

1 Corinthians 10:31— So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God

What are you doing right now? What are going to do today? What are you doing this week and Thanksgiving? Remember, that we are called to do it with excellence as unto the Lord! When we do beauty is released and others see a glimpse of God's glory!

Take Home: What is one thing that I can do with excellence this week?

Story

This past Sunday we talked about the word "Story."

Why are stories so powerful? Why do stories have the ability to touch our hearts like nothing else? Stories make us laugh, they make us cry, and they draw us in so we feel connected. Why is that?

I know this has been told many times but the word History is really His-story. The Bible is not a bunch of fragmented books that are disconnected. The Bible is 1 story starting in Genesis and signing off temporarily in Revelation. It's a story of Redemption and forgiveness. It's not a book full of rules and regulations and law. It's a story of how we turned away from God and severed our relationship with Him. It's a story of God's amazing plan to restore that relationship so we could know Him again. It's a story of how we can live our lives to the fullest and we can truly know God personally.

Have you read the story lately? Go ahead...start in Genesis 1:1 and read the beginning of it all. The more you know and become a part of God's story, the more you will desire to share it with others.

And Conference part 3

As we continue this conversation on being attractional and missional I wanted to share a few barriers that we come up against. There are usually 3 barriers that challenge us and try to keep us from being missional in our every day lives.

BARRIER #1—Individualism
*This is how we process our social interaction…control who we are with. More and more in America we have become individuals often isolated from others. This is true for the church at large. We have created our own "bubble" that keeps us from being around the very people that need the love & power of Jesus. We are not truly a disciple (which means follower of Christ), until we are intentionally around those who need Him the most.

BARRIER #2—Materialism--which we define..."the reason I live and work is to get stuff" It's hard to be missional when we are focused on all of the things in life we want for ourselves. It makes it hard to be generous and giving. A disciple who is missional is characterized by generosity.

BARRIER #3—Consumerism--defined as...God is here for me first…I do everything for me. I seek God because God blesses my business. I attend this church because it meets the needs of my family. How do we know this is true? Statistics reveal that a majority of churches spend 80% of their money on themselves and keeping themselves alive. A missional disciple is one who understand that they are here for God and His purposes. They live with His mission and purpose for their lives at the center of every thing they do.

Which barrier do you struggle with the most? Write down and make it a strategic matter of prayer and focus this week as you strive to live missional and with meaning!