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SUNDAY RECAP FOR MAY 20

BURNED BY THE CHURCH
week 3

 

 

SONGS
Fire & Rain - Mat Kearney (morning only)
Burning Love - Elvis (5:00 pm only)
Let Me Feel You Shine - David Crowder*Band
Alive Again - Matt Maher
The Greatest - the assemblies
I Will Worship You - Aaron Gillespie
Life Light Up - Christy Nockels

RECAP
Have you been burned because someone turned out to be different that what they appeared? Maybe you've been burned because someone's actions didn't line up with what they talked about in religious circles. Today we looked at Matthew 12 and some conversations between Jesus and the religious teachers. Again we see an empty side of religion that can leave us burned. It's isn't about just having an understanding of religious ideas, it's about a relationship that changes the way we live. Our actions need to line up with our words because our conduct will reveal our character. It's all a journey and we will mess up along the way because no one is perfect, but are we taking steps to live out the life with Jesus as the center?

VIDEO

THOUGHTS
- I think everyone thought it was a holiday weekend this weekend. Beautiful weather...light attendance.
- I'm fine with Paul wearing a hat, but he could have showered...haha. 
- Had fun playing with the band again this week.
- Big props to the our Journey kids workers. You guys are awesome! 

SUNDAY RECAP FOR MAY 13

BURNED BY THE CHURCH
week two

SONGS
We Didn't Start the Fire - Billy Joel
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - U2
    with Open the Eyes of my Heart - Paul Baloche
The Greatest - The Assemblies
Saviour King - Hillsong
From the Inside Out - Hillsong United

RECAP
Today we looked at another way some people have been burned by the church. Have you ever experienced someone who was quick to point out their good acts & appearance while judging others? Religion tends to be about behavior modification, but Jesus wants us to be connected with Him in a real relationship. Paul shared from Matthew 23 when Jesus pointed out how some of the religious rulers in His day were missing the point. They did many religious acts only to get noticed. Jesus was way more concerned with what was on the inside. If you have a dirty cup, you don't just clean the outside. Someone people think you need to clean up your act before you come to church. That isn't the case with Jesus. It's not about the act; it's about the relationship. He invites us to follow Him with our "dirty cup selves". As we experience His grace and the life He offers, we will change from the inside out. 

 

THOUGHTS
- Here's the Spring Letter with the Next Site Update we talked about at church on Sunday.
- The video with the Dirty Cup we made...I can't believe so many people thought Aaron drank the muddy water. We changed the camera angle before he drank & replaced it with coke.
- People really like the Mother's Day texting video. It was funny.
- I got to lead music at 5:00 pm. Fun times. 
- This series seems to be striking a chord with people. I hope people don't let the past or other people destory their opportunity to connect with God. 

SUNDAY RECAP FOR MAY 6

BURNED BY THE CHURCH
week 1 

SONGS
Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash
Strong Tower - Kutless
Our God - Chris Tomlin
The Greatest - The Assemblies
Who You Are - Desperate Band
You -Hillsong 

VIDEO
Maybe you've felt like these guys: 

RECAP
Have you been burned by the church? Maybe you've had a bad experience at a place or with someone who has been connected to church. Maybe you've felt cheated, judged, belittled or burned by religion. Well Jesus felt the same way. We looked at John 9.  Jesus made some mud and healed a man's blindness. The religious leaders totally missed the point. They felt like Jesus broke their man-made religious rules of working on the Sabbath. While God calls us to take a day of rest to refocus on Him, these guys took it to a different levels by making all these rules that went along with that guideline from God. The blind man ended up being thrown out of the community...burned by the church. Jesus ended up seeking him out because He is all about the relationship. The blind man saw the worst of religion but then experience the best of relationships with Jesus. You might have been burned by religion and you might not know everything about Jesus, but can you follow what you know about the person of Jesus. Jesus didn't call His disciples to follow a new religious system or set of rules, He called them & us to a live a new life in a relationship. He said, "Follow me". 

SUNDAY RECAP FOR APRIL 29

MY STORY - WEEK 3
letting God rewrite our story

SONGS
The Story - Brandi Carlile
Let Me Feel You Shine - David Crowder Band
Movement - Rend Collective Experiment
I Just Need You - Telecast
Beautiful Lord - Leeland
Beginning and The End - Leeland

RECAP
We wrapped up the My Story Series and heard from Ben & Brenda. The shared about a time in their life when they faced a unexpected challenge. Their story was about giving up control and trusting God. Paul shared from Mark 4. The disciples were experienced boatmen. They were in a calm sea and then a big storm arose. They thought they were in trouble and Jesus was sleep through the storm. When they final woke him, he calmed the sea and asked them about their faith. Paul talked about how the calm seas and good times in life are an illusion of security; however, the storms and hard times in life are an illusion of insecurity. Through the good and the bad, Jesus is with us. He needs to be our security, strength, focus and hope. We saw with Ben and Brenda's story how God worked in and through them and helped them through this situation. If we are willing to be in a relationship with Him, God will always there for us through the good or bad. 

STORY
Here's the extended, full story from Ben and Brenda: 

SUNDAY RECAP FOR APRIL 22

MY STORY - WEEK 2
letting God rewrite our story

SONGS
Let Me Feel You Shine - David Crowder Band
Meet With Me - Ten Shekel Shirt
I Just Need You - Telecast
You Never Let Go - Matt Redman
Forgiven - Skillet

RECAP 
Today we talked about how we can experience freedom in our story through forgiveness. If we harbor regrets and bitterness, it only holds us back. If we forgive, our story blooms. Paul talked about how we can't really offer forgiveness if we haven't experienced forgiveness. That person who broke your trust, hurt you, mistreated your relationship, we aren't any different when it comes to God. We've hurt the relationship, haven't trusted Him, we've loved another or said and done the wrong thing. Through all we've done to Him, God offers us love, forgiveness and freedom. If we've truly excepted & live in God's mercy & grace, we should be a forgiven person who forgives others (Romans 12:14-21). We saw that freedom and forgiveness in Lori's story. Even through all the junk life gave her and the mess she made in her life, she experienced God's forgiveness and was able to forgive herself. She found freedom by forgiving someone who was hard to forgive. It lifted the weight off Lori's life and lead to changed lives. So the question is...who do you need to forgive?

STORY
Here is Lori's full-length uneditted  story:

SUNDAY RECAP FOR APRIL 15

MY STORY - WEEK 1
letting God rewrite our story

SONG LIST
Story of My Life - Social Distortion
Let Me Feel You Shine - David Crowder Band
Eternal One - Robbie Seay Band
My Savior My God - Aaron Shust
How He Loves - David Crowder Band Version
Love Invades - Robbie Seay Band

STORY
I usually give a recap but I was gone on vacation. So you can watch the whole message here and here is Darla's story:

EASTER SUNDAY RECAP

APRIL 8 - MULLIGAN

SONGS
Somebody That I Use to Know - Goyte (Walk off the Earth version)
Alive Again - Matt Maher
Everything Falls - Fee
What Love is This - Kari Jobe
Mighty to Save - Hillsong 

RECAP
A mulligan is a second shot in golf. If you have a bad shot, you can have a mulligan and do it over. In golf and in life, we all need a second shot. Everyone has messed up. When it comes to a relationship with God, everyone has sinned (Romans 3:23). So how do we get a second shot with God. In the Old Testament of the Bible, they had a sacrifice system to cover sins. There was a scapegoat to take on the sins of the people. During Passover, the nation of Israel would offer a perfect lamb at the ninth hour. So what do we do today and what does Easter have to do with it? Well, it says in the book of Luke that on Lamb Selection Day, when the look for the perfect lamb, Jesus came to town. Then on Good Friday at the ninth hour, Jesus gave up His life as they sacrificed the lamb. Then on Easter, Jesus died stay died, but He rose again. If we want a second chance with God, Jesus sacrifice offers us forgiveness. His resurrection from the dead, offers us hope at new life starting now. Will you accept this forgiveness, enter a relationship with Jesus and follow Him to experience a second shot in life?

THANKS
We had our biggest day ever at The Journey. Thanks to everyone who invited people, who served and went the extra mile to make Easter a great day for people to encounter & explore a relationship with Jesus. 

SUNDAY RECAP FROM APRIL 1

THE MISSION - WEEK 2

SONGS
Secret Agent Man - Johnny Rivers
Let Me Feel You Shine - David Crowder Band
Solid Rock - Delirious
From the Inside Out - Hillsong United
Found - Hillsong
Almighty God - Tim Hughes

RECAP
If we want to live on mission, we need to know the game plan. For The Journey, we took another look at our mission today. Last week, we looked at the Great Commission. This week, we looked at The Great Commandment in Mark 12 to love God will all that we are and to love others. For the Journey, we talk about relationships, not religion. We don't want to just be involved in routine religious rituals. We want to be in a real relationship with Jesus. Jesus came that we could find life at it's full. If we want to experience that life it's about making Jesus the center of our life (Col. 2:6-8). We laid out our directions for The Journey for 2012. We want these core essentials to define us as a church:
Make Jesus the Center
Invest & Invite
Look Beyond Ourselves
Do Life Together
Live Generously
Own & Live out the Mission

We are all at different points in our journey, we want to respect the process & we want to keep moving forward. If we live out these essentials as a church, as a group of people, we will see God's power at work in us to do big things through us.

For more details, check out the annual review.

 

SUNDAY RECAP FROM MARCH 25

THE MISSION WEEK 1

SONGS
Let Me Feel You Shine - David Crowder Band
Count Me In - Leeland
Love is Here - Tenth Ave. North
Coming Back - Desperation Band
I Will Worship You - Aaron Gilespie
Life Light Up - Christy Nockels

RECAP
Today we looked at The Mission. Jesus calls us to live on mission - not a dull life but a life with purpose and meaning. He layed out the mission for us in Acts 1:8. We are witnesses. It's doesn't say we are the picketer or his judges here on earth. We are witnesses. A witness shares what we've seen, heard, experienced and come to believe. You don't have to be wierd. Don't be pushy. Be yourself and share what you've seen, heard & experienced as you go through life. We talked about Invest & Invite...investing in relationships with people who are far from God, inviting them to the Journey, and continually investments to invite into a relationship with Jesus.  We gave some key resources, thoughts, & ideas (most can be found here). We talked about inviting someone to Easter since most people are open to coming on this holiday so we passed out invite card & talked about the e-invite. It's not about making "convert" or being fake, it's about sharing what we've seen, heard & experienced. This is at the core of who we are as a church. We wanted to create a place where people could come not matter where they are spiritually - a place to take first & next steps with Jesus. So we are called to be a witness...will you choose to accept this mission?

SUNDAY RECAP FROM MARCH 18

BE RICH - WEEK 3

SONGS
Paradise - Coldplay
Freedom is Here - Hillsong United
You Hold it All - Desperation Band
Enough - Chris Tomlin (with All I Want/Staind or Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus)
Solid Rock - Delirious

RECAP
Today we talked about another difference between getting rich and being rich. One of the things that we struggle with from birth till death is the concept of "mine". We don't need teach our kids to say "mine", but if we want to live a rich life we need to be rich in sharing (2 Timothy 6:18). It seems like everyone, every commericial, all society longs for more, but bigger, faster, and more stuff isn't better. Better is one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind (Ecc. 4:6 ). Living with two handful leaves us busy, stressed, unfulfilled, stretched, unsatified, over-extended and even when we have more, it's never enough. Having more, bigger, faster, and better stuff does not give us a better, richer life. We need to create financial and scheduling margins in our life. That might mean that we need to say "no" to something good so we can say "yes" to something better. With your time, money, stuff, what would it look like for you to live with one handful? What margins do you need to make in your life?