I have to begin by saying "Happy Anniversary" to Jennifer, who is my best friend, ministry partner, the love of my life, and a wonderful mommy to my little boy. Today is our 5 year anniversary, and I definitely married much better than I deserve. Anyway... Here's a recap of Sunday night.
We began the night by taking a tour of KARM's facilities downtown. It was such an eye-opening experience and a great reminder of the needs that are here in our back door. Jesus placed a big emphasis on caring for those in need, so we are making the needs in our city a top priority. I'm so pumped about the partnership with KARM we are forming. We'll be supporting them financially, with volunteers, and in any other way God may lead!
The band worked the acoustic set in a great way Sunday night. The worship environment was great, and we all could sense God moving within us. We are so blessed to already have all the musical talent that we do at this point in our development, and I can't wait to see who else He adds to this group! Daniel, Justin, Nick, Tim, and Zach "Thank You" for all the time and prep you are already investing into The Overflow!
By the way, the other guy we are considering for our Worship Pastor will be leading this Sunday night. His name is Kyle. I've had some great conversations with him this week, and I'm excited to have him lead us in worship this Sunday night. Don't forget we are starting at 6:15 this Sunday night.
I also announced to the group that God has opened the door for us to stay at the BCM on Sunday nights throughout the fall semester until we are ready to transition to South-Doyle Middle. What an opportunity for us to be right on campus every Sunday night! I know God has great things in store. I'll be sharing more about this opportunity on Sunday night.
While the first week of Outflow focused on what it means to have a life overflowing with God's love, the second week helped us understand the key ingredient to living an overflowing life. That key ingredient is having a relationship with God that allows His love to fill us up and then to overflow to the people around us. Here are the main points I provided in the recap...
1) Are we "In-tune" or "Out-of-tune?" Mark 8:18, Matthew 7:8
If we aren't actively listening to God and allow Him to guide our lives, we won't overflow with His love. This means we have to tune in to God throughout our day and be sensitive to the opportunities He brings across our path.
2) Don't miss the moment by focusing on what's next Matthew 13:22
It's so easy for us to always be thinking about the next thing we have to do. As a result, we hurry towards and worry about the future way too much. This causes us to take for granted the blessings and opportunities we have right now.
3) God is our example of overflowing love Ephesians 2:4-5, Romans 12:1-2
The more we continue to realize how much He loves us and how much was sacrificed for us, the more we will be willing to allow His love to overflow from our lives! We must overflow because He has first overflowed to us!
4) Genuine generosity only occurs when God's love is overflowing 2 Corinthians 9:8
Is it possible for generosity to become all about us? Yes, it is! When we are being generous for the wrong reasons, such as guilt or obligation, we are not truly giving out of the overflow. Everything we have comes from God and as we better understand this reality, our lives will overflow with generosity because we WANT to give back, not because we feel like it's a requirement.
5) The pursuit of greatness can produce greatness Matthew 13:44
Don't settle for pursuing the average life of a Christian. Honestly, Jesus would probably say that isn't even possible. You can't be a true follower of Jesus and simply live an average life. As Christians, we are pursuing something far greater than we could ever imagine. If you don't like what your life is producing, the first thing you should change is the focal point of your pursuit!
Our discussion groups were focused upon...
-Loving God and then understanding that we must love those around us. Essentially, this sums everything up that we are to do as Christians. Let's not over-complicate what God has called us to do.
-Worship is not necessarily something that only takes place when music is playing in a building between the hours of 10am-12pm on a Sunday morning. We should seek to worship and interact with God all day everyday! As we love our spouse, we are loving God. As we spend time with our kids, we are loving God! Do you ever think about making God laugh, smile, cry, or angry? We'll we should. He truly wants a personal relationship with us! Let's not treat God as some mystical figure hovering over the universe.
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