FOCUSED on Jesus

Happy "almost" Fourth of July.

It's hard to believe that this Sunday is July 4th.  I can't think of a better way to celebrate the freedom we have in this country to worship God than by gathering together to do just that.  The writer of Hebrews tells us not to neglect meeting together, especially as we look forward, with anticipation, to the return of Jesus.   

This Sunday, Larry Annes will kick-off our summer series called, FOCUSED.  Our vision behind this series is to enter into a season where we intentionally regain our focus on who Jesus is and who He has called us to be as a church.  When we focus on Jesus, transformation in our lives and the lives of those around us is inevitable.  Focusing our attention on Jesus will ultimately lead to an intimacy with Him which in turn allows us to experience abundant life.

Focusing on Jesus also brings freedom in our lives and allows us to see His purposes for us. In any area that we are struggling, as we set our eyes on Jesus, we will receive power to overcome those areas of weakness. Now more than ever, we need to keep our focus on Jesus, so that He can bring clarity to what may seem chaotic and unclear.

Last week, I tried to illustrate this with an object lesson.  I started with an empty jar and filled it up with little rocks, then I tried to squeeze in a big rock at the top.  When I did this the big rock wasn't able to fit in the jar and was sticking out the top. But when I placed the big rock in the empty jar first and then poured in all the little rocks, everything fit. In this illustration, the little rocks represent all of the things that can easily fill our time and energy: work responsibilities, family, to-do lists, entertainment, school, etc... If we put these things first, we won't be able to fit the big rock: Jesus and the things Jesus is calling us to do in our lives. But if the big rock comes first, all of the little ones will find their place. That is what it looks like to live a focused life. Jesus Himself lived a focused life. He was concerned with completing the task that God had given Him (John 17:4) and He was able to do that by keeping the right focus. In our lives, if we don't start first with Jesus, everything else will get out of line.

Note:  Our Sunday service continues to meet at 9:30am, with two options for participating.

1.  Attend our live "in-person" gathering.  No capacity restrictions, no mask requirements, no COVID protocols to follow!

2.  We value our online church community and will continue to livestream our church service at 9:30am for those who wish to participate. 

Please Note:  Due to the July 4th holiday, our discipleship class on Revelation will NOT be meeting.

Finally, continue to pray for those in our church family. 

See you Sunday.

Pastor Doug