SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30:

What Am I Looking For? - Matthew 13:44-46

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7:

The Gift of HOPE - Luke 1:5-25

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14:

The Gift of PEACE - Luke 1:26-38

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21:

The Gift of JOY - Luke 1:39-56

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24:

The Gift of CHRIST - Luke 2:1-21

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28:

The Gift of LOVE - John 14:1-21; 1 Corinthians 13

NEW MESSAGE SERIES BEGINS JANUARY 4

You cannot say yes to following Jesus and remain motionless. Discipleship is all about the movement of walking with Jesus. It means that each of us has a calling. That all important part of being a disciple is not reserved for professional clergy. EVERY Christian has a calling. If you are in relationship with Jesus, you are called to serve Him in worship and by making disciples that will also worship and follow Him. You workplace, neighborhood, school, and community are all platforms and venues to live out this call. God has given you everything that you need to lead others to a life changing encounter with Jesus, and it is all about being willing and ready to BLESS others with words and actions. Together we will explore how to bring others to Jesus with these 5 simple, but profound, commitments. These 5 commitments, described in the book, “B.L.E.S.S.,’ by Dave and Jon Ferguson, give us a way to intentionally and powerfully live out the call to follow Jesus and lead others to follow Him as well.  

Begin With Prayer 

Listen 

Eat 

Serve 

Story 

January 4—BEGIN WITH PRAYER 

Luke 6:12-16; Luke 22:39-46 

We must begin any mission with prayer. All of our efforts to serve God and others will fall short without God’s power. We start with prayer to make sure that we are prepared spiritually and moving in the right direction. We pray for God to move us toward the people that He wants us to encounter. We pray for certain places to be set free from spiritual strongholds that God may bring a harvest. Finally, we pray for perseverance to remain faithful to the people God sends us and in the places in which God plants us.  

January 11—LISTEN WELL 

Acts 17:16-23 

We are effective in sharing the good news of Jesus when we lead with love, and love always begins with good listening. We must know the difference between hearing someone and listening to someone. Listening requires intentional presence and engagement. Listening becomes a posture and attitude—we become listeners who are open to understanding the experiences, hurts, and views of those in the community so that we can better share the truth of God with love and grace.  

January 18—EAT TOGETHER 

Matthew 9:9-13; Luke 19:1-10 

For Jesus and his community, sharing a meal was an offer of lifetime friendship. While the experience around a table may not have the same implications for us today, it still has great power and impact. Making time and space in a busy, hectic, and disjointed world invites others into something that is increasingly scarce—true connection and the bestowing of worth to another. Jesus intentionally and even scandalously used meals as a critical part of his ministry and, when we do the same, we are likely to see people blessed, lives change, and perhaps people even come to know and love Jesus.  

January 25—SERVE OTHERS  

John 13:12-17 

The only way to follow Jesus and point others to Him is to become a servant. There is no way around this. Jesus came to serve rather than be served, and we are to do the same. As we seek to bless others, we look for ways to serve others. Mission projects and mission trips are important, but we are talking about a lifestyle and habit of serving that begins in your own community and ripples out. Serving neighbors, co-workers, classmates, and those that we meet in the community is a guaranteed way to bless others and point them to Jesus.  

February 1—SHARE YOUR STORY  

John 9:1-38 

In the third year of His ministry, Jesus came across a man that had been blind from birth. Jesus is moved with compassion for the man and He is stirred to display the glory of His Father in Heaven. So, he rubs mud on the man’s eyes and sends him to the pool of Siloam. The man returned seeing and praising God. When the religious leaders asked the man what happened, all he could say is ”I was blind and now I see. And the difference was Jesus.” While this frustrated the religious leaders, it no doubt moved others to believe. No one had ever healed a person born blind. In fact, this was more of a creation story than a healing story. Because he was born without sight, Jesus had to create parts of this man’s brain that had never developed. No one else could do it, and that is the point. Jesus can create and do things in us that no one else can do. When we let Him bring that new life in us, we get to tell others about it. And our stories have the power to point people to Jesus so that they, too, can experience that new life. We only need the courage to share.