I have also experienced the negative side of church life when I saw “worship wars” erupt between those who loved hymns and those who were drawn to modern choruses. I have seen friendships lost, church splits happen, and sadly, people who walked away from God. All of that because they thought that worship was only about a song, a musical style, or a particular genre. As I have grown up in church and have heard so many amazing messages on what worship is, I have come to the overwhelming conclusion: worship is more than a song! Worship is a lifestyle of praise and thanksgiving to a God. Worship is a heart pursuit and longing for God. Worship is an encounter with God’s presence.  

One statement that we often make at our church is this: one moment in God’s presence can transform a life. We believe that with our whole heart. We believe that where God’s presence is, His power is present to transform, to heal, to save, to deliver, and set people free. We don’t have to worship. We get to worship! We get to discover the richness of who God is as we honour Him. We get to lay down the stresses of our week to lift up the only One who can help us with that stress. It is with that heart attitude that we can boldly declare: 

Psalm 34:1 [ESV] – “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” 

Worship is a choice! I choose to worship God. I choose to worship God whether I feel like it or not. I choose to worship Him in Spirit and in truth. I choose to worship the One who gave His life for me and who redeemed me from a life of struggle, sin, and depression. Worship is so much more than a song. Worship is our “all in” declaration to God. We were created to worship God. I pray that you would encounter the presence of God in a powerful way as you move into the deep waters of worship in this season. There is no better place to be than in God’s presence. Never forget, worship is your weapon!

YOURS TO DISCOVER

The phrase “Yours To Discover” wasn’t just a marketing firm’s best attempt to rescue the tourism industry or a phrase placed upon the bottom of each license plate. No, it was so much more than that. It became our identity as a province. It became a moment that inspired a generation to love and appreciate what was all around them each and every day. It was a call that beckoned us to come, to move beyond our pretexts, and discover all that this beautiful province had to offer. 

GOD IS BECKONING US TO DISCOVER HIM

I don’t think that God would ever want to limit Himself to a marketing strategy or a public relations plan. However, if He could plant a thought in each of our hearts today, it would be to inspire us to discover all that He is and all that He wants to be in our lives. He would want us to courageously journey beyond what someone else knows about Him and have the intentionality to discover Him and His heart for you. God is calling us to discover His nature, His attributes, and His character. When we find our Creator and discover Him, we will find our true identity and the reason we were created. God has the blueprint for your life and wants to reveal that to you but He is simply asking us today, “Will you, with child-like faith, journey towards a deeper discovery of who He is?” It is a journey that is well worth the investment because the return has eternal consequences. 

Jeremiah 29:13 [NCB] – “When you search for Me, you will find Me. When you seek Me with all your heart.” 

Seeking God is a journey of discovery that will be so fulfilling and so rewarding. There is nothing like intimately knowing the One who created you and placed His image and identity in you. There is nothing like the peace you have when you are aligned with His heart and His thoughts. There is no greater joy than living in the center of His will and His purpose. Discover God today! You will never be disappointed!

UNDERSTANDING COMMUNITY THROUGH LEGO

For those that might not know, my oldest son Josiah loves LEGO! As he has grown up from a toddler to a teenager, he has learned something very profound: LEGO is way better than blocks! Why is that? It is simple. LEGO’s connect, while blocks only stack. Regardless of a LEGO’s shape, size or colour, every piece is designed to connect. What a powerful vision of a multi-cultural church! Furthermore, regardless of what year a LEGO brick is made, every piece can connect to any other piece from any other year. What a powerful vision of a multi-generational church!

You were created for connection! Connection is in the very fabric of our God-created being. As a matter of fact, I believe with all my heart that COVID has actually proven this beyond any shadow of doubt. Approximately five years ago, a poll came out declaring that North Americans are some of the loneliest people in the world. Some people reading this blog today may argue, “That’s not me! I am constantly around people!” My response to those people is simple. I think you are building with blocks, not bricks. Remember blocks only stack, they don’t connect [think Jenga]. Blocks don’t add strength or stability to what you are building. They are just blocks that are near other blocks. This is so important to understand because:

PROXIMITY DOESN’T BRING LIFE; ONLY CONNECTION DOES THAT!

Think about this idea in relation to church today. You can come to church and be near people and not connect. The reason we do that is because it takes way more effort to connect than it does to stack. But God designed you to connect with others. You were designed for community! LEGO interlocks, bonds, builds and connects! This is what God designed church to be. A place of deep connection and life-giving relationships.

Remember the creation story in the book of Genesis? After each of the first six days of creation, God responded by saying “it was good”. Then the unexpected happened. For the first time in history God declared something to be not good:

Genesis 2:18a [NLV] – “Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good for man to be alone.”

It is not good that you should be alone. God designed a natural family for you, but He has also designed a spiritual family for you where you can connect, serve, give, care, and pray for one another in a powerful display of God’s heart on the earth. This is the heart behind the New Testament Church. The New Testament Church did not stack people, they connected people! The New Testament Church understood that one LEGO brick can never make a set. In other words, we need each other and we need to be connected to each other in order to help others fulfill God’s purpose for their life. You matter to God and you matter to us!

Today you may feel like a broken LEGO piece but that is okay. God sees you as a masterpiece, not a mess. As a matter of fact, God is in the business of turning messes into masterpieces. I am living proof. When most kids play with LEGO they don’t like broken pieces. To them, they don’t look right and they don’t connect right. So their only response is to discard that piece because they feel like the piece has lost value. We often do the same thing with people. But God values people differently! God values broken pieces. It is often said that the value of something is determined by what someone is willing to pay for it. Jesus thought so highly of you that He paid for you with His life!

Only God can take broken pieces that the world rejects and build them into something better than the world could ever produce. Think about this for a second. Jesus built His earthly ministry around fisherman, tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, the blind, the deaf and the lame. Not exactly the elite of society! Not exactly an all-star cast! Maybe you feel broken and unworthy of God’s love. Maybe you feel broken by other LEGO pieces and don’t want to connect. As a broken piece it is much easier to blend into the crowd. Why? Because when we connect, our brokenness becomes apparent. But it’s when we admit that we are broken that God can begin to heal us. The reality is we are all broken. We are all in need of forgiveness and healing. One of the most powerful ways that God heals you is in the context of community in a church family.

Make a decision today to connect! You were designed for it by God Himself! You were created for connection! Always remember that you have a God-shaped void in your heart that only God can fill, however, you also have a human-shaped void in your heart that God chooses not to fill. Look for other godly LEGO bricks and build together! Be utterly amazed at what God can build together in the context of Christian community!  

I believe that when we pursue God with our whole heart a number of things will happen in us, for us, and through us. Four of these things are captured powerfully in the book of Joshua as the nation of Israel was about to cross over into their promised land.  

SANCTIFY YOURSELVES

As Joshua was looking at the promised land from the east of the Jordan River, God spoke a powerful word to Joshua and gave clear instructions as to how to prepare the people to enter God’s promises.

Joshua 3:5b [NKJV] – “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”

The first step in anyone’s pursuit of God is to sanctify yourself. God is a holy God and cannot dwell where there is consistent, habitual sin in our lives. As we pursue God, He will often lead us first through a period of deep reflection and repentance in order to align our heart with His and prepare us for what is to come. It leads us to consider some questions: What do you need to repent of today? What attitude needs to change? What do you need to sanctify or purify yourself from?  

HEART OF THANKFULNESS

After the nation crossed over the Jordan River and began taking their first steps into the promised land, God led them to set up a memorial with 12 stones [Joshua 4] in order to remind themselves of God’s goodness and give thanks.

One of the greatest hindrances to going deeper in God is a pattern of ungratefulness. At the same time, one of the keys to going deeper in your walk with God is having an attitude of gratitude and living in a realm of thankfulness toward God and all that He has done. Some thoughts to ponder today are: What am I thankful for today? What am I frustrated about that God wants to help me see with a new perspective? What promises do I need to start thanking God for before they happen?

MAKING A RENEWED COMMITMENT

After the nation set up these memorial stones in thankfulness for all that God had done, the nation renewed their covenant with God [Joshua 5]. Often times, when God leads us through a period of repentance and a time of thankfulness, one of the common responses for any believer is to renew their commitment and relationship with God. Some things God would want us to reflect on: What areas of my walk with God are stagnant and need renewing? What types of people do I need in my inner circle to help me grow spiritually? How have I let the circumstances of that last year affect my commitment to Christian community?

HAVING A GOD ENCOUNTER

What was so amazing about this process for Joshua and the nation of Israel was that these first three steps led Joshua to have a powerful encounter with God. Joshua had an encounter with the Commander of the Lord’s Army [Joshua 5:13-15] that was similar to what Moses had at the burning bush but yet unique and deeply personal for Joshua.

As you prepare your heart to have an encounter with God, here are some questions to consider: What unique encounter does God want to have with you in this season? What is the new thing that God wants to do in you? Why is it important to encounter God on your way to living out God’s promises for your life?

I want to encourage you to press in to God. Pursue Him like never before! May the words of the prophet Jeremiah inspire you today as you seek God:

Jeremiah 29:13 [NIV] – “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.”

GOD WANTS TO DO A NEW THING

Yet despite all of those things God is stirring up our hearts to get excited once again for the new thing that He wants to do in and through us. The prophet Isaiah foretold of our day: 

Isaiah 43:19 (NLT) – “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”

The Hebrew word used here means “something fresh, something new”. God desires to do something fresh and new in your life. God wants to reveal Himself to you in a new and fresh way. God wants to give you a new perspective in the midst of your difficulty. But there is a key you must understand. You can’t experience God’s new with an old mindset. You will find the new and walk in the new when you see it through a new lens, perspective and understanding.

HOW THE CHOSEN HAS IMPACTED ME

Many believers have been impacted by the series called “The Chosen”. This series has shed new light on the characters we all know as the original followers of Christ. If you talk to people who have watched The Chosen, many would share how a particular character has impacted them and why. For me, the one that has touched my heart has been Nicodemus.

Nicodemus was a brilliant man and highly regarded by the religious leaders and general Jewish population of his day. In a private conversation that John records in his gospel, we see Nicodemus drawn to the new thing that Jesus was doing because he recognized that what Jesus was doing was unexplainable [John 3:2].

Then immediately after this Jesus introduced a new way to be saved. Jesus introduced the concept of being born again in the Kingdom of God. We know today that what Jesus was beginning to introduce was the new covenant that would be ratified in and through Christ Himself. In light of that, look at Nicodemus’ response to Jesus:

John 3:4-7 [NIV] – “⁴ How can someone be born when they are old?’ Nicodemus asked. ‘Surely, they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!’ ⁵ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’”

Nicodemus desperately tried to understand Jesus’ new thought but could not because he was looking at it through an old lens. He had an understanding of God but lived in an old season with an old mindset. One thing that I have personally understood through my own journey from the old to the new is this: when you walk in the old you are always looking for proof, but when you walk in the new God uses you as the proof. In other words, God desires to show you off as proof of His new to the world around you.

In The Chosen, Jesus invited Nicodemus to follow Him on this journey towards this new truth. However, in this gut-wrenching scene, we see Nicodemus hiding behind a wall, looking at Jesus from a distance, caught between the wonder of the new and his firm grasp on the old. At that particular moment, we see him choose to stay in the old, rather then embrace the new.

My prayer is that each and everyone of you would have the courage to let go of the old and embrace the new that God is doing.  God’s desire is to make you a new person so that you can embrace His new and live out the new season He has for your life.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE FOR GOD’S NEW SEASON?

God has a purpose for every season in your life. God also has a divine purpose for anything new that He wants to do in and through your life. The purpose of God’s new season is threefold:

1. To bring about change.
2. To bring about growth.
3. To bring about revelation.

God wants to change you from who you used to be into the person He has created you to be. Out of that change will come a new sense of identity in Christ and clarity regarding your purpose and mission. He also wants to bring about spiritual growth in your life. He wants you to understand His Word and obey it so that you can live out the fruit and blessing of a godly life. Lastly, He wants you walk in greater revelation of who He is. One dictionary meaning of revelation is “information that is newly disclosed”. God wants to reveal to you His new, so that you can live it out and impact those around you.

As we enter 2022, let’s embrace the new that God wants to do!

For me personally, the type of video that I am constantly drawn to on YouTube is a “word on the street” video. I love to see every day people being asked questions and see how they respond in the moment. It made me think what would I get if I did a “word on the street” video about what a church is. As I was thinking about that, I realized that most people would tell me what a church does, where a church is, or when the church services are. The problem with that is that the Church God thought of was never meant to be a what, where or when. The Church was always meant to be a who: Jesus!

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US TODAY?

If we are truly acting like Christ’s Church, then we must do what He is calling us to do and be the Church that He is calling us to be. Jesus’ design for the Church from its inception was to be missionaries on God’s mission. In other words, we are called to LIVE SENT!

John 20:21-22 [NIV] – “²¹ Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you.’ ²² And with that He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”

I love this passage in John! Jesus shares with His followers three keys that He never wanted them to forget: 

• God’s peace flows from a relationship with Jesus
• God’s mission inspires us to live sent
• God results only come through the work of the Holy Spirit

If we are to live sent in our culture today, we must never forget that our identity in Christ must be the foundation for anything that we do for Christ. We must always remember that God is calling us to the same mission that Christ lived out on the earth. Lastly, we cannot do what God is calling us to do without the supernatural empowerment of His Spirit. When we understand those three things, living sent will not be a burden, but a blessing. It will be a life filled with adventure and highlighted by powerful stories of God’s faithfulness.  

HOW CAN WE PARTNER WITH GOD ON HIS MISSION?

Maybe some of you are like me. I always lean toward thinking practically and wonder how we can do that. What God has led our church to is a simple three-pronged approach to living sent: 

• PRAYER – believe that God can speak through you by praying for those around you
• CARE – practically care for those around you and show them the love of God in a tangible way
• SHARE – have courage to share the Gospel and your own God story with others

Remember that you can’t score a basket if you never take a shot and you cannot score a touchdown if you never cross the goal line with the football. In order to see people come to Christ, we have to have the courage to step outside of our “holy huddle” and connect with those who do not know Jesus. Why? Because we are called to live sent and be light in darkness. My heart is to follow the prophet Isaiah’s leading in his response to God’s call.

Isaiah 6:8 [NLT] – “Then I heard the Lord asking, ‘Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?’ I said, ‘Here I am. Send me.’”

WHAT DO WE NEED TO OVERCOME TO LIVE SENT?

Author Jason Dukes in his book “Live Sent” spoke powerfully about the concept that we are all a letter and that our life is more than just a story being written. We were created to receive and send a message intentionally to people around us from God. But for us to be successful on this mission of living sent, we must remember some things that we must overcome. First, you are not junk mail! God loves you, period! God wants to use your story as a powerful testimony of the goodness and grace of God. Live like you are not junk!

Second, trust your God-given value! If you do not see yourself the way Jesus sees you, you will constantly live a crippled life struggling for value and affirmation in all the wrong places. What Jesus did for your is enough! Let the image of Jesus on the cross remind you of how much you are loved and valued in the Kingdom of God.

Lastly, living sent means living beyond ourselves! God has never asked us to simply do church. God is calling us to be the Church. God is calling us to pick up the baton passed to us by Jesus Himself and live on mission as missionaries to our neighbourhoods. You are called for such a time as this!  

Ed Stetzer – “The moment we are in does not pause the mission we are on!”

The word “steadfast” means to be resolute in determination, unwavering, immovable and not subject to change. We can trust that God is the same yesterday, today and forever and His promises are sure. God’s desire for us is to remain steadfast and anchored to Him and His Word. Culture may change but God and His Word stand forever! 

As we process through the changing tides of culture, I want to share with you my pastoral reflections about the world in which we live and how we can respond as believers in Christ. 

Thought #1 = Swimmers swim and sinners’ sin! 

In other words, we cannot expect non-Christians to think and act like Christians. People who are not followers of Christ will not hold Christian values or fight for God’s viewpoint on social issues. We cannot get frustrated by non-Christians acting like non-Christians. What we must do is remain steadfast in His Word, allow the Word to frame our worldview and then be light in darkness. Let’s believe together that God’s “truth in love” will set people free. 

Thought #2 = Our cultural opponents are not our enemies; they are our mission field! 

We will not win any body to Christ by compromising Biblical truth, but neither will we win them by despising them. The Church has always been involved in a mission that is beyond our ability which is why we need God. We must remember that apart from Christ we can do nothing. Let’s stay connected to the vine called Jesus so that we will know what to say and how to say it. 

Thought #3 = The Church is and has always been counter-cultural! 

Whether it was Joseph in Potiphar’s house, Israel under Pharaoh’s rule, Daniel in Babylon, the early Christians in Rome, or the underground church in China, the church has always gone against the current of culture. If you are truly a Bible believing Christian, your views will always be counter-cultural. We must remember that the Church is at its best when we offer an alternative to the darkness of the world and not a watered-down version of pseudo-Christianity. 

Thought #4 = Bitterness, frustration and hopelessness are not the fruit of the Spirit! 

I want to announce to you today that the sky is not falling! Remember that the Church is at its best when it lives in stark contrast to the culture around it. Be filled with hope because the best days of the Church are right in front of us! Remember that the early Church lived in a day when immorality was rampant, yet they turned the known world upside down for God. How should we respond then? Respond in ways that are consistent with Biblical beliefs and Christ-centered identity. Do not panic, fear or over-react. As you are processing through the cultural issues of our day, balance humility and holiness, truth and love, and conviction and compassion. Embrace our identity as “foreigners and strangers” in this world (1 Peter 2:11-12). 

Thought #5 = Believers believe! 

We are called believers for a reason! How do we remain steadfast in this season of cultural darkness? Solidify your thinking in a Biblical worldview. Pick up one of our Bible Reading Plans and jump in. Pray for a spiritual awakening in our nation and for a Holy Spirit outpouring. Courageously defend your faith with wisdom and sensitivity under the leading of the Holy Spirit. Most importantly, make your life a living testimony of God in your life. Always remember the words of the Apostle Paul to the church in Corinth: 

1 Corinthians 15:58 (CSB) – “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

Fast forward to 2017, and another war movie came to the big screen. “Dunkirk” was a beautiful, yet haunting re-telling of the one of the most thrilling deliverance moments in war history. Almost 500,000 Allied soldiers were backed up on the beaches at Dunkirk, surrounded by the German army, praying for a miracle. As the Allied commanders tried in vain to find a way off the beaches, they realized that hope was quickly fading, until one amazing moment that is captured in the movie. As hopelessness was setting in, an Allied commander saw black dots off in the horizon on the water. He anxiously took out his binoculars to see what it was. As he did this, another commander asked him a very simple question: “what do you see?” His response was “home”! Hundreds of British civilian ships had left Dover to come to their rescue. In the midst of a hopeless situation, the soldiers saw home! 

At the beginning of the prophet Jeremiah’s ministry, God came to Jeremiah with the same question:

Jeremiah 1:11-12 (NIV) - ¹¹ The word of the Lord came to me: ‘What do you see, Jeremiah?’ ‘I see the branch of an almond tree,’ I replied. ¹² The Lord said to me, ‘You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.’”

What Do You See?

What we see and what we choose to see, has the ability to play a defining role in the vision we have for our lives and for those around us. If God asked you the same question today, what would be your answer? For Jeremiah, he saw the branch of an almond tree. At first reading, you may skip right by this moment and not think twice about it. However, Jeremiah’s answer to this simple question proposed by God has significant Biblical and personal meaning for us today.

God Is Watching You

The Hebrew word for almond is translated “to watch”. Many of us stayed up late on December 31 to “watch” the new year come. Ironically, this is exactly what God is doing with His promises over you. He is watching to see every promise of His Word fulfilled in your life. No matter how much time has passed or how far we have strayed, He never stops watching over His Word to perform it!

Wake To New Vision

The same Hebrew word for almond can also be translated “wakeful”. The almond tree itself is one of the most common trees in the Middle East. You can see them everywhere. What makes an almond tree so unique is that it is the first to “wake” in winter. The almond tree is the first tree to blossom which is why it is often referred to as the symbol of resurrection, because it is the first tree to fully blossom in winter. What dreams or visions is God “waking” up in you right now? What dreams that have died in your heart, does God want to resurrect this year? What do you see?

The Best Fruit

Another interesting fact about the almond tree is that, even though it is the first tree to blossom, it is the last tree to bear fruit. Yet, in Genesis 43:11, the almond tree is described as being the “best of fruits”. As is often the case, God saves the best for last! The first Adam fell into sin, the last Adam (Jesus) redeemed all of mankind from sin and its consequences. At Jesus’ first miracle, he saved the best wine for last. Allow God to wake your vision and believe God for His best fruits this year! No matter what last year looked like, let’s have God’s vision for our lives. Let’s believe that He is watching over you and over His Word in your life. Let’s wake up to what God is saying to us today and believe together for a year of God’s best fruit!

Generosity is the remedy for a culture steeped in selfishness. In a day where we fight to protect our rights, our dreams and our future, God is calling the church to lead with a generous spirit. God is calling His church to live out the very spiritual DNA that He has placed within every believer. Our goal as a Christian is to be Christ-like. Christ was exceedingly generous. Christ gave up perfection in Heaven to come to earth. Christ gave up every last drop of His own blood to pay for our sins. We are children of a generous God! We are created in His image. We are created with His blueprint. Therefore, if we are like Christ, we will be generous! In my own experience, the closer I have got to God, the more generous I become!

Proverb 11:24-25 (NIV) – “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”

For Christians, generosity is not optional.

2 Corinthians 8:7 (NIV) – “But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”

When God sees someone overtaken with a spirit of generosity, He knows that He can trust them to be a conduit of His blessing. When you are a conduit of His blessing, true joy is a constant! Do you know what? You can never out-give God! Every time you give something it creates a vacuum into which God flows! God will always fill the empty spaces! When you give, your gift leaves your hand but not your life!

Luke 6:38 (NIV) – “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Selfishness is contrary to the nature of God! Selfishness is always wrong! Generosity is always right! Generosity is a perfect manifestation of God’s heart to those around you! Make a decision today to be generous; not just with what you can do but way beyond what you can do!

Isaiah 32:8 (NLT) – “But generous people plan to do what is generous, and they stand firm in their generosity.”

Momentum is encouraging and is something that we thank God for, however, how do we sustain it? We believe that we need momentum traction. “Traction” is defined as the adhesive grip which empowers the act of pulling. A great example of this would be the grip of your tires on the road. Traction, therefore, enables a force or power to move something forward.

In order to understand this concept more completely, let’s contrast the concept of traction with inertia. Inertia is the tendency to do nothing or remain unchanged. In other words, inertia resists movement. It’s “spinning your wheels”! When you “spin your wheels” you expound energy but go nowhere. Traction is the key component in generating and sustaining momentum. God wants us as a church to find traction so that we maintain our momentum. To get supernatural momentum for our future, we must build supernatural traction in our now!

At times it is easy to get your eyes on something that you believe will give you traction rather than the true source of traction. For me personally, I feel like the vision and hope for a building has caused me to lose traction for the future. At times I feel like I landed in this place that says, “once we have a building then everything will work out!” A building will not give us traction! Only Jesus can give us traction! Look at Paul’s response to the Galatians:

Galatians 5:7-8 (NLT) – “You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom.”

Jesus is our example. Jesus is the one who overcame every obstacle. Now He is calling us to do the same. He is calling us to keep our focus on Him. The writer of Hebrews describes it perfectly:

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT) – “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honour beside God’s throne.”

Jesus understood that without friction, there is no traction! Traction makes use of friction to gain an advantage for momentum. Resistance actually gives us something to push against. It is vital to our success. To be an overcomer, you need something to overcome. God wants us to see our friction as a place of opportunity to get traction! For too many of us friction actually leads us to inertia but God is calling us as a church to allow the friction of the moment to gain traction and propel us into a new season of momentum and growth. Traction and momentum bears good, healthy and sustainable fruit.

As Frank Damazio said at a recent leadership conference, “we are preparing the church not for what it is today, but for what it is tomorrow!” As a result, the Pastoral Team is excited to let everyone know that we are going to 2 Sunday morning services starting January 8th, 2017. It is a “new service for a new year!” We believe that this will create the traction necessary to sustain what God is doing! We are still trusting God for a permanent building, however, we are not waiting in a place of inertia! We are moving forward and believing for “momentum traction” in our NOW!