Wednesday Recap

It's hard to believe we are already moving into August. Our launch will be here before we know it, but even closer than launch is August 22nd. This will be the first Sunday night when the UT students are back on campus. I'm really pumped about the series we're kicking off that night. I'll have more info on that next week! Please be praying that God will open the right doors for us to make a huge impact on campus this fall. I believe without a doubt that God has several college students designated to have a HUGE role within the launch of The Overflow. It will be exciting to see how things keep coming together over the next few months.

 

Week four of Outflow focused on reaching our community/city. Each week of this study has been great for our group! It's really opened our eyes to see how we can allow God's love to overflow in every area of our lives. Here are the main points I shared during thus week's recap...

 

1. The old perception will never give way to a new perception until we demonstrate love 1 John 3:18-19
The perception most people have of the church is not positive, and unless we actually DO something different, this old perception will remain the norm. Stop and think for a minute about the name of our church: The Overflow. This name doesn't reference a location, street, building or famous landmark. It represents a movement of people committed to allowing God's love to OVERFLOW from their lives. However, we must also think about how embarrassing it will be if we call ourselves "The Overflow" but God's love never actually overflows from our lives. We must embrace who God has called us to be and live in The OVERFLOW with passion and authenticity.

 

2. Go and listen Galatians 6:9-10
This has been one of the recurring principles in this study. We have to listen to people. For whatever reason, Christians often think people should automatically listen to us. However, we have to earn the right to be heard, and this starts by us taking time to listen to the people around us.

 

3. If there's not a path, then there's not a destination John 15:16
Our destination as a church is to see Jesus exalted and lives changed, but unless there's a path leading us to this destination, the destination is pointless. Our path, according to John 15:16, is to do good works and bear the fruit of Christ. Only if we do this, will we receive what we are asking from God. So, this means you must let God's love OVERFLOW along your path, and I'll do the same. Even though our paths will be different, we'll remain united by the fact that our paths can ultimately lead to the same destination!

 

4. How could we not be excited? Luke 14:12-14
I'm thankful for every person that God truly sends to The Overflow, but I'll be most thankful for the lives that are changed by God through this church. That's what I'll get most excited about, but that means we have to reach out to those who are in need. The "healthy" don't need a doctor, but the sick. Honestly, we all are in need of some spiritual healing, so when God intervenes, how could we not want to celebrate what He's doing and tell everyone about it?

 

5. Take a chance on a promise Hebrews 11:1, Matthew 16:18
When we simply take God at His Word, I actually don't even believe we are taking a chance; we're just using some faith. As long as our motives are pure and we keep His vision as our guide, God will build His church, and The Overflow will have the honor of being a part of true Kingdom expansion! I'm praying that God will remove whatever doubt, worry, or fear you may have about whether or not God is going to come through for us and replace those concerns with a great faith in the Creator of the universe!