Vision
September 12, 2021 - May 15, 2022
Life without vision – without a picture of a future hope given by God – leaves us rudderless. Without vision, we live our lives like pinballs, bouncing from one crisis to the next, always reacting and never acting. Vision gives us direction, and courage to trust God’s good plan even when it seems delayed or impossible. In this season of our church, perhaps nothing is more critical than discerning the vision of Christ, and then following that vision courageously into the world.
vision of the end church
Our year-long theme of vision will conclude with the most famous vision of the Bible - The Book of Revelation - and specifically, the portrait of the church we find in John's famous letter. Although we are easily captivated by the dramatic images of the end times, the purpose of Revelation is to give the church hope and to strengthen her faith in the midst of trials. To this end, we find in Revelation a beautiful depiction of the church at her best.
vision of God
So many ancient cultures imagined their gods as simply bigger versions of humans. Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, etc., are often written with the same desires, behaviors, emotions, and failings as humans but with greater power. Though we mock those ancient myths, we still fall into a similar mistake; we envision God like us, but bigger.
vision of our selves
We will explore a vision of our selves, as we strive to distinguish what is me, and what is the me that Christ is forming. How much of my self is shaped by community and relationships, and how much is distinct from others? How do the components of our identities relate, and what are the many "me's" that together shape the big "Me"?
vision for THE WORLD
We begin the season of Advent, where we remember the first coming of Christ and anticipate Jesus' return. It is a marvelous time for us to reflect on the prophet's Vision for the World. When the prophets look at the world, they are neither ignorant of suffering, nor overwhelmed with despair. They proclaim a grounded hope in the coming of God's reign on earth.
vision for spiritual growth
For over a year, we have been working behind the scenes on a vision for the spiritual discipleship of our children and youth into women and men of God. This Sunday, we will unveil this vision; we call it our Spiritual Roadmap. Over the next five weeks, we will explore this document and how it connects to the teaching style of Jesus, and his goals for his disciples.
Jesus’ vision
Every day you are bombarded with vision casting; the world is constantly telling you who you can (and can't) become. Unfortunately, what the world offers is often flawed. Enter Jesus, the ultimate visionary leader, with his Vision for something he calls "the kingdom of heaven."
