No group tonight…but don’t forget about vision!

There is no group tonight, friends.  The roads are just too crazy right now and there is no need risking an accident to be here tonight.  Sorry we can’t get together tonight, but I can still introduce you to some of the stuff we were going to talk about and will talk about next week.

We have been talking about vision and we have seen that everyone in life is going somewhere, whether they realize that or not.  The direction we are going in based largely on our vision for life and we have seen that the world, with all the stuff we can buy and people we can try to please, tries to force one certain type of vision on us that differs from what God holds in store for us.  We saw that in the life of David, God gave him a vision for life that made God’s name great and David experienced victory in life because he lived his life for God and God alone.  Sure, he made mistakes and his vision was skewed sometimes, just like ours can be, but in general, David had a vision for life that was inspired by God and his strength.

Just as God gave David vision for his life, we know that he wants to give us vision for our lives.  Beyond that, God has vision in mind for the church.  The church is more than a building; it is made up of more than walls and paint.  The church is the collection of those that believe in Jesus and his power and have formed a relationship with him.  When we come together, the church can have a powerful vision for life…or they can totally miss it.  

Jesus, the leader of the church, said this about himself in Luke 19:10: For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.  Jesus came to capture the attention and the hearts of those that were distant from God.  The church today exists for the same purpose.  Please hear me carefully on this: the church exists for people that do not have a relationship with Jesus.  I repeat: the church exists for people that do not have a relationship with Jesus.  Once we have connection with Jesus and we realize the vision and purpose he has for our lives, that should naturally lead us to share that with others.  It should come out of the overflow of the change in our lives that takes place.  The church exists to share the love of God with other people.  That’s why the vision in our group is to create an atmosphere where your friends that do not have a relationship with Jesus can come and learn about him.  That’s why we do activities and events; we are setup to share with people the love of God.

In our church, we want people to grab a hold of Jesus, grow in their relationship with him, and go out into the world to serve God to their fullest potential in the area of service and gifting that God has granted them.  That is the same for our group.  We do not exist to simply feed you all the latest, greatest teaching we can find or come up with the coolest games and most awesome worship music we can find.  We want you to grab a hold of Jesus, grow in your knowledge of him and relationship with him, and serve others.  What I have found in my life is that you can only grow so much if you aren’t serving.  Service is crucial, that’s why Jesus had his disciples follow him around.  They could actually learn to DO the stuff he did, not just wait for him to do it.  He trained them in how they should live and in how they should SERVE others.  This may sound harsh, but I feel pumped about this: many of you are stuck in a rut in your relationship with God because you do not want to serve.  The church doesn’t exist so that we can be this holy huddle of people that only hang out with ourselves.  We have to include those that are disconnected from the heart of God.  All of you are very gifted.  God has touched you in your lives.  We are being selfish with our lives when we don’t welcome new people into our group.  We are being selfish with our faith when we don’t share with others what Jesus has done in our lives.  It shows that we are being greedy and prideful.

Romans 12:1 says: Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship.  Part of offering our bodies is offering our lives to serve–to tell others about Jesus, to serve them, to do what no one else will do to share with someone the love of God.  When God’s love has fully penetrated our lives, we will serve and love others as a natural response.  It is part of our act of worship, a lifestyle of worship.  That is the vision that is cast for this church and this youth group, that we would live lives of worship.

I am stoked to see what this group can become and to see how God has captured your attention.  My encouragement to you is this: don’t let the world steal the vision that God has granted you.  Don’t let the cares of this world take way the vision that God so desperately desires you to live for.  Don’t let it happen.  God can help you with this and I am praying that each and everyone of you stays as pumped up about Jesus as you are right now.  You all rock!

Stay warm and let me know your thoughts on this stuff.

Adam

Retreat info. and the next series

Hi everyone!  If you are going on the retreat tomorrow, be here between 10 and 11 am.  We will leave at 11 with or without you.  If you are considering becoming a partner at the Vineyard for this year, you will have a chance to sign the declaration before we leave.

Our next series for discussion on Wednesday nights will be called the Love Doctor.  For this, I would like for you to think about 3 questions you have about relationships and love.  I will take the top 3 questions and talk about them on 3 separate weeks.  I know you have questions about relationships, so let me hear them!

See you tomorrow if you are going on the retreat.

Adam

New room

Hey everyone!  Some of you were here last night and saw the updated rec. room/new youth room.  We painted and updated it on Thursday and Friday this week, so we will meet in it this Wednesday at 7 pm for group.  

Start getting ready for the retreat and let me know if you have any questions!

See you later.

 

Adam