Shift: The Empty Tomb

April 4 – Apirl 10

Bad things happen.  It’s a fact of life.  I told this story at an event at Georgetown High this week, but many of you would have missed it. 

Stefan and Erika Svanstrom (pictured to the left) set out on their four month honeymoon and while they were traveling they experienced a blizzard, a monsoon, wildfires, flooding, a tornado, two earthquakes, and a typhoon!  They spend part of their honeymoon sleeping on a concrete floor in a shopping mall with 2500 other people while they were waiting for the tornado to pass.  You can read their story here (Svanstrom story).  That may be the worst honeymoon in the recorded history of mankind!

You many not have lived through a natural disaster, but you might be living in a disaster zone.  Family problems, friend problems, relationship problems . . . if you are in a dark place remember that Jesus brings hope to desperate situations.  Jesus overcame the grave.  God raised Lazarus from the dead, but he died again.  No one had defeated death except for Jesus.  If he can overcome death, he can overcome your obstacles and trials.  Have faith!

What can I do this week?

1. If your world has been turned upside down, don’t do life alone.  Find an adult you can confide in for prayer and support.  Your Collide Small Group Minister would be a great place to start.  Make a commitment to being in your small group weekly, too!

2. Find someone you can serve this week.  When we serve other people it always helps us put things in perspective and makes us feel better.  If you need ideas of how/who you can serve, drop us an email (blevy@fbcgt.org) and we’ll help you find a place.

Shift: The Lord’s Supper

March 28 – April 3

As I’m typing this, eight of our youth workers and parents are at the home of a Messianic Jewish Rabbi and they are learning about the Jewish Seder.  The Seder was the meal that the Jews ate to celebrate the Passover.  This Sunday morning in our Collide Small Groups, they’ll be recreating that meal for us.  That will be a pretty unique experience, so “be a bringer” and invite a friend to come and be a part.

This week we have been talking about rituals and routines.  In a few days, I’ll be at the grandparent-in-laws (not sure if that is technically a word, but it should suffice).  We’ll be celebrating Easter and I can tell you how it’s going to happen.  We are going to arrive on Saturday morning and the kids will paint and dye Easter eggs.  After that, we’ll eat lunch – big people in the kitchen, little people in the front room.  Then it will be time for the kids to hunt Easter eggs in the front yard.  They’ll line up near the front door for the annual pictures and then the hunt will begin.  After the hunt is over, the women will sit in the kitchen and talk and the men will sit in the living room and talk about tractors, guns, and other things I know nothing about . . . so I’ll read.  Then we’ll pack up and head home.

It’s routine.  We all have routines, but routines put us in danger of missing something important.  Because of Jesus, following God is no longer about ritual, it’s about relationship.  Don’t miss the relationship because of the routine.

What can I do?

1. Sign up for 180 or Elevate (and bring friends) – a retreat is a chance to get away and break the routine of our regular weekly living.

2. Plan something out of the ordinary for your family to celebrate Easter.  It doesn’t have to be extravagent (I was really tempted to go with “eggstravagent” since we were just talking about eggs).  Reflect back on the best thing God has done in your life this year.  Share what God is doing right now.  Serve at the Caring Place.  Volunteer to serve in Extended Session at church.  Do something different and focus on Jesus while you are doing it.

Shift: The Triumphal Entry

March 21 – 27

“Who is Jesus?”  That is the most important question you’ll ever answer.  A friend of mine used to serve on staff at this church and they did a “man on the street” video. 

 

Is Jesus a great teacher?  Is he a “get out of hell” pass?  Is he a cosmic conceirge waiting to serve you?  Or is he the God of all creation? 

Do something:

1. Ask five people this week (one each day of school), “Who is Jesus?”  Starting spiritual conversations will be huge in your spiritual growth.  Be praying for the people you talk to.

2. If you want to go deep, pick up a copy of Mere Christianity, More Than A Carpenter, or The Case For Christ.

“Shift”

Over 2,000 years ago, people were looking for a change. They wanted their lives to look different. They wanted freedom, they wanted a shift. Many thought that would come through a political takeover. Some thought it would come through personal gain. But in the last days leading up to and following Jesus’ death, there was a significant shift that happened. A shift that forever changed the way you and I connect to God. A shift that redefined who we are. A shift that brought freedom and change—even if it looked completely different than what we expected.  

It all starts this Wednesday.

What can I do?

1. Be a bringer – Invite at least one friend to come with you for this entire series and bring them to your small group to discuss the Bible

2. Get signed up for 180 and Elevate (and be a bringer)