2. Christmas 2014 PJ Sunday The Best is Yet to Come!

3. It has always been God's plan Those who have been Shown grace Would give Grace To those in Disgrace

4. The blessing was Meant to be shared

5. What God has brought - People in need of grace

6. To a church centered on God's great grace

7. To create a healing place

8. Yet… Hurt people hurt people Broken people Create more brokenness

9. And we're all at different Stages in our walk with Jesus And our understanding of What Jesus designed Community to look like

10. You can still be hurt here

11. You can still be hurt here Hopefully not systemically And no one gets to Play the victim Without being called on it

12. The goal: Healing and wholeness As we carry a cross and Encourage one another To follow Jesus

13. Model and speak The truth in love Transparency, authenticity Real community Genuine life together

14. I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love

15. live a life worthy of the calling you have received The value of the gift Determines the effort that will Declares its worth

16. Be completely humble and gentle;

17. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love Humility, patience, labor

18. If I never walk in the "bearing with" part of the relationship I miss the best of what God Wants to do in me and Through me in Community

19. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace - Eph. 4:1-3

20. Love God, Love People Each is dependent upon The other And who is my neighbor…?

21. "Love people" isn't also People who are hard to love If you have time It's ESPECIALLY people who are Hard to love, else it's not love

22. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

23. And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

24. You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect - Matt. 5

25. In God's economy Love isn't real love If it's only for those who are Easy to love

26. It’s not love if we never made it past the ugly, the fallenness, the evil and weak and selfish and unattractive. The different and wrong-headed and repellent

27. We are called to walk Long enough Dwell deep enough To see that in each other

28. And cover it with love, grace and prayer And the person is affirmed, loved, valued This is Gospel Community

29. If you can't be you It's not God's church If you aren't confronted with The truth of what God wants For you, it's not real Community

30. Some will run OK…

31. Some will go from person-to- person within the church Pray for them…they don’t yet understand that they’re running from The Gospel:

32. Jesus doesn’t meet us in our beauty and righteousness, but in our sin-soaked rebellion and naked humiliation

33. And his word is… “I love you. Here’s the truth- you need help. I’m here to walk with you…” That's The Gospel That’s what we model and live

34. God has brought people In need of grace To a church centered on grace To create a healing place

35. It's work: bearing with one another Not in addition to the gospel But it IS the gospel Reconciliation, Peace, Grace

36. It has always been God's plan Those who have been Shown grace Would give Grace To those in Disgrace

37. The blessing was meant To be shared

38. God has gifted us to impact: - Hurt by church - De-churched - Unchurched (Or looking for a ministry)

39. Not called to: "Just looking to feel good and get fed" "Be like my last church…"

40. Not called to: "Need the best for my kids (Bigger, better, more)" Because that’s a lie. And we’re not in competition

41. Where we need to go: "We make disciples who change their world for Christ…preaching, community, worship, prayer…God is glorified and people become whole"

42. - Community Groups

43. - Leadership development

44. - Connecting gifts with ministry

45. - 3 Services (Because we're called and It's needed)

46. Believing in a God who can do more than we ask or think And putting him on the line

47. The best is yet to come For you For us For the Kingdom

48. Reach, invite, bring Don’t get discouraged The best is yet to come

49. What could God do with 120 people absolutely sold out to Jesus and ready to Pray hard, Labor well and Serve Jesus first?

50. We don’t yet know Let’s find out The best is yet to come

51. Q and A

52. Special Christmas Offering