40 Days of Purpose – Sunday Mornings

Sunday, February 15 – 40 Days Kickoff (Charlie); Communion
Title: Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing
Book: (Not yet started reading.)
Scripture: Ephesians 4:17-24; 5:1-7; Luke 10:38-42
Theme Statement:  What does God want from my life?  That’s a question we wrestle with from time-to-time throughout our lives.  Simple put: God wants to be in relationship with us! God wants to wrap us in the embrace of love so that we can love others for God.  As Jesus reminded us, we are to seek first the kingdom, to keep God first, last and only.  It is the way of the cross, the way of discipleship.

Sunday, February 22 (Confirmation Youth); 8:30, 9:45 - No Communion; 11:00 - Affirmation of Baptism and Communion 
Title: What On Earth Am I Here For?
Book: What On Earth Am I Here For? (Days 1-7)
Scripture: Jeremiah 1:4-10, Ephesians 1:3-14, Mark 8:31-37
Theme Statement: Why Am I Alive? Why Was I Born? As Christians, we believe wholeheartedly that we are here for a reason, and that our existence is not a random act of biology or circumstance. But where do we turn to really and truly discover the answer to such questions? The only satisfying answers are found in God. We were created: To be loved by God; To live forever; and To find my purpose by getting to know God, who created me. "It's not about me... it's all about God."

Sunday, February 29 (Jay); No Communion
Title: Making God Smile: Falling In Love With God
Book: Purpose #1 - You Were Planned for God's Pleasure (Days 8-14)
Scripture: Psalm 105, Romans 12:1-2, Mark 12:28-34
Theme Statement: Worship is to be our absolute, number one priority in life. It is the reason we exist. But worship is so much more than an hour on Sunday (or whenever we gather for community singing, praying, preaching and sacraments.) Worship is living life with God at the center, living my whole life for God. Worship is: being in an intimate relationship with God; expressing my love for God; and, using my life and abilities to serve God. When worship is my singular and central priority, the rest of my life makes sense.

Sunday, March 7 (Charlie); Communion
Title: Created for Community
Book: Purpose #2 - You Were Formed for God’s Family (Days 15-21)
Scripture: Acts 2:43-47; John 13:31-35
Theme Statement: We are created for community.  The opening chapters of Genesis remind us that we are created for relationship.  God calls out a “people,” a community to be his people. In the New Testament, Paul talks about the Body of Christ, the community of God’s people. There are no Lone Ranger Christians. In Baptism, God chooses us and we belong to a community of his people. Here we experience God’s love as we share our heartaches and joys, our successes and failures. Here we learn to forgive and be reconciled.

Sunday, March 14 (Jay); No Communion
Title: Created to Become Like Christ
Book: Purpose #3 - You were created to become like Christ (Days 22-28)
Scripture: Acts 17: 22-28, Ephesians 4:7,11-16, John 15:1-11
Theme Statement: We may think of this as a preposterous statement. But it's true. Jesus is not just our Savior, but he is also our Lord... our Teacher, Mentor, Captain, Coach and Leader. Our life's journey is to surrender self-determination and our desire to be in control of our lives, and allow God to mold us and shape us into the likeness of Christ. Even Jesus told his disciples that he would send the Holy Spirit to them when he physically left them, so that they could do EVEN GREATER WORKS THAN HE. Wow! We find real purpose and joy in life by yielding to God the Potter, who is shaping us to be Christ-shaped vessels of his love, forgiveness and justice.

Sunday, March 21 (Charlie); Communion
Title: Shaped for Serving God
Book: Purpose #4 - You Were Shaped for Serving God (Days 29-35)
Scripture: 1 Peter 4:7-11; Matthew 25:31-40
Theme Statement: Each of us is put here on earth to make a contribution.  God has a special ministry or service for us to do as we build up the Body of Christ and share his compassion with those in the world. Regardless of our job or career, we are called to full-time Christian service. As we grow in our spiritual maturity, we stop asking, “Who’s going to meet my needs?” and start asking, “Whose needs can I meet?”  Service is the pathway to real significance. It is through ministry that we discover the meaning of our lives.

Sunday, March 28 (Jay); No Communion
Title: Made for a Mission
Book: Purpose # 5 - You were made for a mission (Days 36-40)
Scripture: Psalm 67, Acts 1:3-11, Matthew 28:16-20
Theme Statment: The Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea - both in the Holy Land - are both fed by the same source, the Jordan River. The Sea of Galilee is teaming with life, a vibrant and fertile aquatic community of plant and fish life. However, the Dead Sea is just that - dead - an acrid, odorous depository or mineral laden murk with no life at all. And why? It's simple, really. The Sea of Galilee has both a source and an outlet, the Jordan River flowing
both in and out at opposite ends. The Dead Sea, on the other hand, only receives, with no outlet at all. We are like that, too. We are carefully designed by our Creator to both receive God's abundant love in Christ, and to pass it along to others. Our lives only thrive when we are not just recipients of God's grace, but evangelists and missionaries who find ways to generously give it away to the world.

Sunday, April 4 (Jay); No Communion
Title: Celebrating The Purpose Driven Life – Shaped by the Cross of Christ
Book: (already completed)
Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11, John 13:12-17
Theme Statement: What Have We Learned? What is our Purpose in Life? It's all about God, not us. We are created for five purposes: Worship - relationship with God; Community - relationship with others; Discipleship - becoming like Christ; Ministry - serving God with our gifts and abilities; Mission - sharing God's Good News with others. Perhaps most importantly, that life just makes sense - brings us more joy, pleasure, meaning and fulfillment - when we walk a path with purpose, when we actually do that for which God created us. It all comes together in the Cross-Shaped Life. Jesus shows us the way, and invites us to follow.