Apostles Church

We just finished our series A Compelling People, and I believe God did some great things among us. As I spoke with many of you, you voiced a desire to become a compelling people that shape the ethos of our city and help forge its culture. You shared with me your sincere aspirations to live under the empowering influence of God's Spirit and see him do amazing things among us and through us as a people. I look forward to what God is going to do to make us a community of compelling generosity who embraces simplicity, eliminating the unnecessary excess from our lives so we can leverage our resource to help create a better future for others. I anticipate God's Spirit banishing from our hearts all pride and self-promoting patterns so we can love others with a love that mirrors that of Christ - securing the good of others at cost to ourselves without requiring merit or demanding payment. And I look forward to becoming a community of compelling joy that celebrates the work of God among us as He brings the Kingdom, His Ultimate Future, more and more into our urgent present.

I want to encourage you to help cultivate a spirit of celebration among us by sharing your story. When you see God working in and through your life and the lives of those around you, share it. Let your community group gatherings be filled up with stories of God's redemptive acts. Let dinner conversations intentionally move toward moments of celebration, reflecting together on God's gracious intervention in our lives and city. And remember, don't overlook the significant in your desire for the sensational. If we will be faithful to celebrate those small moves of God, he will entrust us with greater expressions of his grace among us.

Glad to be your Pastor - JR