Lance introduces the church to our new core values, and what they’ll mean to our church as we try to put our mission statement into action.

Luke 11:33-42; 12:1-3

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Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent, and as we ask "what should we give up for Lent this year," Lance asks a bigger question: "what do we need to bury for our lives to produce fruit?"

Ash Wednesday is a time of penitence and repentance - from dust we came, and to dust we will return. But we need to also remember that God brings beautiful things out of the dust.

John 12:23-26

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Lance comes to the end of his series on our new mission statement: “transforming lives and communities by putting God’s love into action.”

He notes that this church has always been dedicated to making disciples. And how do we do this? By putting God’s love into action.

1 John 3:11, 16-24

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As we continue to break down our new mission statement, Lance turns to 1 John to look at God’s love, and the way God calls us to give our lives to one another.

The fruit reveals the plant. When we remain in the vine, the fruit of the spirit grows out of u

1 John 4:7-21

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In high school, Amanda went on her first Emmaus experience, and something stuck with her. “Do not anticipate, just participate,” they told her. The phrase has stuck with her.

We have a mission statement. It’s time to take action. The biggest threat to our city not changing is us believing our city can’t change.

Matthew 25:31-40

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What do we need to do to follow God?

There are tough questions, and we discover the answers through community.

We need community to grow, in order to leave worldly things behind.

Colossians 1:3-14

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Lance introduces the new mission statement for the church, and tells the story of how it was we got here.

Transformation in Christ is a lifelong process. We are more like a butterfly than we realize - the change happens to us. It is not something we create ourselves.

Romans 12:1-2

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Lance brought his family out to Brazos Bend State Park to look at the stars. But when he tried again at home, he discovered how difficult it can be to see the light.

Maybe, just maybe, it’s our job to shine light into the darkness. So God can be made known to those who are seeking after him.

Matthew 2:1-12

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“There is no better news than a birth announcement.” Lance remembers the joy that surrounded the announcement of his own child, and points out what was so different about the one on this first Christmas: this news wasn’t proclaimed to those in power, it was given to those with the least power.

God chose this family to bless the entire world.

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Lance traveled to serve in Louisiana after Katrina with a group of youth. He’ll never forget the devastation, and how wherever they looked, there was no rebuilding taking place, just more tearing down.

But God was there, even in the midst of destruction.

The only way to rebuild is to rebuild the spirit, first and foremost.

This is the mission of the church - rebuilding the spirit, bringing good news to the oppressed, binding up the brokenhearted.

Isaiah 6:1-4, 8-11

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