Last Sunday we joined the Main Service to celebrate Willow's 39th anniversary! It was simply breath-taking to reflect on all that God has done, from before we were born to today!
Bill unpacked the definition of God's faithfulness. He described it as...
Someone keeping a promise
for a long period of time.
Deuteronomy 7:9 is a perfect example:
"Know therefore that the Lord your God is God,
the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love
with those who love him and keep his commandments,
to a thousand generations."
I also love how 2 Timothy 2:13 shows that God cannot be anything but faithful, because it is part of of His unchanging character.
"If we are faithless, he remains faithful—
for he cannot deny himself."
At House Groups...
We revved up for FALL BALL!
Don't forget to DECK OUT in TAN this Sunday!
Then we heard Kris, Tiffany and Taisha cast vision about Every Child. God's Word.
Can you imagine your life without a Bible!?
I truly think I would go nuts without God's Word.
I am so pumped that we get to be a part of God's provision by sending Bibles to Zambia. I can't think of a better way to spend $5.00 than purchasing a Bible for children that otherwise might never touch one. A BIG thank you to Kris for listening to the whisper of Holy Spirit.
This week, I heard this jam you might be familiar with on the radio:
How perfect do these lyrics tie together the Sticks & Stones series and our new song!?
You can be amazing
You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug You can be the outcast Or be the backlash of somebody's lack of love
Or you can start speaking up
Nothing's gonna hurt you the way that words do When they settle 'neath your skin Kept on the inside and no sunlight
Sometimes the shadow wins
But I wonder what would happen if you
Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
Everybody's been there, everybody's been stared down
By the enemy
Fallen for the fear and done some disappearing
Bow down to the mighty Don't run, stop holding your tongue Maybe there's a way out of the cage where you live Maybe one of these days you can let the light in Show me how big your brave is
Just a thought-
What if we were brave with our words?
What if we didn't hold back when we thought of telling someone words of encouragement?
I was reminded of listening to this song on a plane ride to Italy for a mission trip. Someday I'll tell y'all more about that- it was incredible. :) I wrote some of the lyrics to Arms Open Wide in the journal I reserved for the trip:
Jason Petty closed our series of
with a fun & challenging talk on gossip!
He asked us a couple questions...
Why do we gossip?
He gave us two reasons:
Revenge & Insecurity
Of course gossip harms another, but what we don't realize is that behind both seeking revenge and wallowing in our insecurities, we are harming ourselves.
"The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;
they go down to the inmost parts." Proverbs 18:8
Why is it a big deal?
"Gossip separates close friends."
Proverbs 16:28
"And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.
The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body,
setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.
With it we bless our Lord and Father,
and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God."
James 3:6,9
How do I stop?
One of my favorite moments from Jason's message was this simple statement:
"It's impossible to gossip when you see people the way God does."
It made me think about the song, Give Me Your Eyes by Brandon Heath.
“I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
that all of them may be one,
Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.
May they also be in us
so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
I have given them the glory that you gave me,
that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—
so that they may be brought to complete unity.
Then the world will know that you sent me
and have loved them even as you have loved me."
John 17:20-23
In other words, Jason explained that:
"Our unity is tied in to God's Name being spread in our community."
At House Groups...
We played a get-to-know-you game! I really enjoyed learning funny facts about y'all!
Last Sunday at Impact Service was Talk/Take Two of
with the lovely Ashlee Eiland! But before that! Mia & Tony taught us a new song! Which pretty much made my day because I've been playing this song on repeat for just about all summer. :)
As Your love
In wave after wave
Crashes over me
Crashes over me
For You are for us
You are not against us
Champion of Heaven
You made a way
for all to enter in
Okay, now back to our time with Ashlee!
Was anyone else tearing up during her wedding video? I definitely was. How absolutely beautiful. I love the words from the book of Philippians that were read over Ashlee, Delwin and everyone present: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Philippians 4:8 I was also super excited when she opened her message with Ephesians 4:31. One of my close friends from TX asked me to write this specific verse out for her at the beginning of the summer!
Ashlee used an analogy of crummy cafeteria food to the free, lavish banquet to illustrate the idea of "grieving the Holy Spirit." It simply saddens God when we don't receive all of the goodness He offers us by His amazing grace. Let's go to the banquet y'all! :) To illustrate this even further, Ashlee's analogy reminded me of one of my favorite lines by C.S.Lewis in his book The Weight of Glory.
"It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.
We are offered infinite joy, but it is as if we are an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea."
Ashlee also explained that it is when we rest in who we are in Christ, we are less prone to fall into these sinful patterns.
So- how do we fortify our identity in Christ!?
One woman who discipled me in college taught me to have these truths running on replay in my mind, every day.
I am deeply loved
I am completely forgiven
I am totally accepted
I am fully pleasing
I am a new creation, complete in Christ
The more we remind ourselves who we truly are in Christ, the closer we are to believing it wholeheartedly.
At House Groups...
I was on the edge of my seat excited for House Groups during Impact Service this Sunday. I couldn't get over the awesome connection between what we learned in service and what we planned for our House Group time.
I got to share with y'all something that has strengthened my relationship with God in the past year. A couple weeks ago, Bryan shared with us that when we struggle with sin, the heart of the issue is a lack of trust in God. This week at House Groups, we got to get a little more specific about this lack of trust. We looked at 4 qualities of God that when we don't believe wholeheartedly, can throw us off track.
Then we broke off into groups based on which truth you felt you could grow in trusting. Here's the scripture we read in our groups! :)
God tells us about the armor He
provides for us in Ephesians chapter 6. The only piece of armor described as offensive
is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Therefore, let’s look at
how we can use this sword of the Spirit to protect our hearts against lies that
lead us into sin patterns.
God is
great, so I don’t need to be in control
“There is no one like You, O Lord; You are
great, and great is Your name in might.” Jeremiah 10:6
"Yours, O LORD,
is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty,
indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth;
Yours is the dominion, O LORD,
and You exalt Yourself as head over all."
1 Chronicles 29:11
"Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised,
and His greatness is unsearchable."
Psalm 145:3
"Now to Him who is able
to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think,
according to the power that works within us,
to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
throughout all generations,
forever and ever. Amen."
Ephesians 3:20-21
God is
glorious, so I don’t need to fear others
"Who is the King of glory? The LORD strong and might,
The LORD mighty in battle."
Psalm 24:8
“The LORD is my light and my
salvation-- whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life--
of whom shall I be afraid?”
Psalm 27:1
“If God is for us, who can be against
us?”
Romans 8:31
God is good,
so I don’t need to be satisfied elsewhere
“I say to
the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.” Psalm 16:2
“Taste and
see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! ” Psalm
34:8
“You are
blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God.
He’s food
and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.” Matthew 5:6
God is
gracious, so I don’t need to prove myself
“The Lord
waits to be gracious to you,
he rises to
show you compassion,” Isaiah 30:18
“For it is
by grace that you have been saved, through faith-
and this is
not your own doing; it is the gift of God—
not by
works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
I loved that we got to look at scripture from all over the Bible to prove that God's words towards us have power to change our lives.
Bryan referenced some of my favorite words that Jesus speaks to us in Matthew 11:28-30.
I love the Message version:
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion?
Come to me.
Get away with me and you’ll recover your life.
I’ll show you how to take a real rest.
Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it.
Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.
I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.
Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
These words give rest to our overwhelmed hearts.
"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers,
nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39
These words give us security in the power of His love.
"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10
These words give us hope.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal." Matthew 6:19-20
These words give us perspective to live with a God's Kingdom-first mindset.
Then we jumped into James 3!
"But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God." James 3:8-9
My favorite quote from Bryan this weekend was:
"There is no such thing as neutral words."
It reminded me of a quote I read right before this service!
The words we speak to each other should leave stretch marks, not bruises. Love is always picky about what it says. -Bob Goff
Lastly- anyone else thinkin of this jam by TobyMac?
My adorable spin (cycling) instructor at TCU was a believer
& she would always play this during our classes!
Speak Life y'all ;)
Now let's get to HOUSE GROUPS!
That trivia game was such a blast!
Then Maria I got to hang with your parents for a bit! Here's a sneak peek...
It was so important to me to meet the people that have raised some of the most inspiring high schoolers I know. :) We shared a couple laughs & some real talk.
At Impact Service we worshiped with John Mark McMillan! How spoiled are we!? :)
How beautiful was it when the band went quiet and we sang these lines together!?
Sooooo my heart runs
Sooooo my heart runs
Sooooo my heart runs
My heart runs after You
I loved what he said after that.
"I know singing is a little scary. But it's okay, it's what we were born to do. We were born to respond to what is worthy of praise, whether it be singing or however you worship."
How true is that!? It reminded me of the Message version of Hebrews 13:15 & 16:
|| Through him let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God,
that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name...
Make sure you don’t take things for granted
and go slack in working for the common good;
share what you have with others.
God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship—a different kind of “sacrifice”—
that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets. || Hebrews 13:15-16
"What is in your life right now that is disconnected from the root?"
"I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people,
to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ."
Ephesians 3:17-18
At House Group...
we got revved up for a little thing we like to call...
We spent some time writing down some names that the Holy Spirit put on our minds.
Then we prayed over those invites as a group!
Imagine seeing someone you invited to Fall Ball with us every weekend, or at Blast or Sandblast! Of course this is fun & games, but God is asking us to take part in a MUCH greater mission than winning prizes. He is inviting us to join His mission of showing our friends the victory available to them in Christ and His resurrection.
If you're stumped on who to invite, here's an idea...
Think about all your extra curricular activities, who is someone you would like to see as part of the Impact Community in the future?
Run through your class schedule in your mind, who sits next to you in each class? Let them know that this is an event they can't miss! :)
This summer I went through Alpha for the first time and you guys- it was incredible. No matter where you are in your walk with Jesus, this is such wise way to spend your time. You will be challenged, encouraged and refreshed as you walk through what it really means to say you are a Christian.I'm super passionate about how God moves in this ministry; so please shoot me a text if you're deciding to start this journey of strengthening your faith!
Cassie, can I bring a friend from school who is just curious about Christianity?
Bryan opened up chapters 6 & 7 of Judges to teach us what it means to truly trust God.
Let's look at those verses again...
"Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.
When the Israelites cried out to the Lord because of Midian, he sent them a prophet, who said,
“This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says:
I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians.
And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors;
I drove them out before you and gave you their land.
When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said,
“The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied,
“but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?
Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said,
‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’
But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
The Lord turned to him and said,
“Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand.
Am I not sending you?”
“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel?
My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
The Lord answered, “I will be with you,
and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”
Judges 6:6-9, 12-16
One of my favorite truths that Bryan spoke was this simple sentence.
I think it really ties the whole message together.
"We only see who we are, God sees who we can become."
Bryan used the image of an iceberg to illustrate our struggle with sin. Sometimes it's tough to realize that what we see, our sinful pattern (anxiety, fear, etc), is really only the tip of the iceberg. The root of these issues lies beneath the water, beneath the surface: in our hearts.
We must ask ourselves the question: Do we really trust God?
At House Groups...
We all participated in a fun web activity that illustrated our vision:
to be Fully Known & Fully Loved.
We also learned from Brene Brown, the author of Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead
Here's a refresher on what we learned during our activity! :)
Brene Brown defines connection as
“the
energy that is created between people when they feel seen, heard and valued."
We experienced this energy when we locked eyes with someone across the circle, said their name, and threw the ball of yarn to them! Boom- connected. :) This is the kind of connection we hope to see in our conversations over lunch and during house group & small group time!
Brene Brown also points out that we must recognize that
“Connection happens when we can give and receive without judgment.”
This is true connection, and being fully known and fully loved.
If someone opens up during house group or small group so that they may be fully known, and they sense that they are being judged, they are not being fully loved. Then, we don't experience true connection.
What happens when we accomplish this true connection?
True connection also fosters belonging...
Brene Brown defines
belonging as…
“the innate human
desire to be a part of something larger than ourselves.
True belonging only
happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves.”
This is the essence of our vision! When you show up to Impact and house group just as you are, you are engaging in something bigger than yourself- a family of believers.
Last but certainly not least, Brene Brown defines spirituality as…
“recognizing and celebrating that we are all inextricably connected to
each other by a power greater than all of us (God, His Holy Spirit) and our
connection to that power and one another is grounded in love and compassion.”
Let’s look at what the
Bible has to say about this….
In Hebrews 10, God encourages us. It says,
“let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith… And let
us consider how we stir up one another towards love and good works, not
neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one
another.”
I love you guys!
Fully Known & Fully Loved,
Cass
PS! Check out Brene Brown's powerful Ted Talk on vulnerability!
with the lovely Ashlee Eiland! 
