Everybody loves a good hero. All of us want that person who we can look up to, respect, and who care specifically about us. Normally we associate heros as those individuals who can do the impossible with super human powers. Or heros are those who have achieved a level of excellence that no one else has. But is this what really makes a hero? A hero is someone who makes someone else’s life better. A hero is someone who make a difference in the most ordinary of circumstances. A hero is someone who refuses to believe that things as they are can ever have the final say. And a hero is someone who meets us where we are and helps us become something we could not have achieved on our own. In this sermon series join us as we explore what a true hero is all about and how each of us, in the model of Jesus Christ is called to be a hero.

Everybody loves a good hero. All of us want that person who we can look up to, respect, and who care specifically about us. Normally we associate heros as those individuals who can do the impossible with super human powers. Or heros are those who have achieved a level of excellence that no one else has. But is this what really makes a hero? A hero is someone who makes someone else’s life better. A hero is someone who make a difference in the most ordinary of circumstances. A hero is someone who refuses to believe that things as they are can ever have the final say. And a hero is someone who meets us where we are and helps us become something we could not have achieved on our own. In this sermon series join us as we explore what a true hero is all about and how each of us, in the model of Jesus Christ is called to be a hero.

How would our giving look different if we viewed it from an eternal perspective? How would our day to day living be different if we lived with the idea of bringing heaven to earth? How would a life committed to discipline allow us to experience what we thought was impossible? How could God use us to change the world now, and for eternity if we lived disciplined, goal-oriented lives? This sermon series will allow us to find out.

In this series, we are encouraging everyone to set some serious, long-range goals and live into them as a life-style. We will be combining an emphasis on stewardship (giving with eternal, long-term investments in mind… beyond our own wants and desires), along with working towards a physical goal we have never done before. For some of us, we have never walked a 5K… we are encouraging you to set that long-range goal and do it. For some of us, we have never run a 5k, or a 10 k, or a half marathon, or a full marathon. We are encouraging you to do it! And as we work towards those physical long-range goals, we are encouraging people simultaneously to give of their resources with long-range planning in mind (the fruition of our vision, allowing for more staff at the church, supporting hurting people in our community and the world.

We live in a world that demands instant gratification. We grumble when our hamburger at the fast food join takes more than a minute or our computers take more than 30 seconds to start. And we are led to believe that we can have whatever we want as quickly as we want it. We live in a culture that tries to give us numerous short-cuts (lose 10 pounds in 10 minutes) and encourages us to invest in momentary indulgences rather than long-term benefits (you need that new Hummer…and you deserve it!).

Discipline and working towards long range goals do not come easily to us. Otherwise we would still easily be living out those new years’ resolutions. But God frequently calls us to live disciplined, vision-oriented lives with the goal at the end determining what we do now.

But what would it look like to set some serious, worthwhile goals and work towards them? With all of who we are… heart, mind, soul, and body? What would it look like to move beyond our own wants and desires and invest in something beyond ourselves? Not just for today, but for tomorrow and for the days to come? What if we were to commit ourselves for the long haul?

This will be a sermon series unlike any other! In this series we will be trying to take the “long” view of life when it comes to how we give of ourselves (including our bodies, our minds, our spirits, our resources). In this series we are encouraging everybody not simply to listen to words that are shared, not simply to give generously before God, but also to put into physical practice what we are practicing in a spiritual manner.

In this series, we are encouraging everyone to set some serious, long-range goals and live into them as a life-style. We will be combining an emphasis on stewardship (giving with eternal, long-term investments in mind… beyond our own wants and desires), along with working towards a physical goal we have never done before. For some of us, we have never walked a 5K… we are encouraging you to set that long-range goal and do it. For some of us, we have never run a 5k, or a 10 k, or a half marathon, or a full marathon. We are encouraging you to do it! And as we work towards those physical long-range goals, we are encouraging people simultaneously to give of their resources with long-range planning in mind (the fruition of our vision, allowing for more staff at the church, supporting hurting people in our community and the world, debt reduction).

How would our giving look different if we viewed it from an eternal perspective? How would our day to day living be different if we lived with the idea of bringing heaven to earth? How would a life committed to discipline allow us to experience what we thought was impossible? How could God use us to change the world now, and for eternity if we lived disciplined, goal-oriented lives? This sermon series will allow us to find out.

We live in a world that demands instant gratification. We grumble when our hamburger at the fast food join takes more than a minute or our computers take more than 30 seconds to start. And we are led to believe that we can have whatever we want as quickly as we want it. We live in a culture that tries to give us numerous short-cuts (lose 10 pounds in 10 minutes) and encourages us to invest in momentary indulgences rather than long-term benefits (you need that new Hummer…and you deserve it!).

Discipline and working towards long range goals do not come easily to us. Otherwise we would still easily be living out those new years’ resolutions. But God frequently calls us to live disciplined, vision-oriented lives with the goal at the end determining what we do now.

But what would it look like to set some serious, worthwhile goals and work towards them? With all of who we are… heart, mind, soul, and body? What would it look like to move beyond our own wants and desires and invest in something beyond ourselves? Not just for today, but for tomorrow and for the days to come? What if we were to commit ourselves for the long haul?

This will be a sermon series unlike any other! In this series we will be trying to take the “long” view of life when it comes to how we give of ourselves (including our bodies, our minds, our spirits, our resources). In this series we are encouraging everybody not simply to listen to words that are shared, not simply to give generously before God, but also to put into physical practice what we are practicing in a spiritual manner.

In this series, we are encouraging everyone to set some serious, long-range goals and live into them as a life-style. We will be combining an emphasis on stewardship (giving with eternal, long-term investments in mind… beyond our own wants and desires), along with working towards a physical goal we have never done before. For some of us, we have never walked a 5K… we are encouraging you to set that long-range goal and do it. For some of us, we have never run a 5k, or a 10 k, or a half marathon, or a full marathon. We are encouraging you to do it! And as we work towards those physical long-range goals, we are encouraging people simultaneously to give of their resources with long-range planning in mind (the fruition of our vision, allowing for more staff at the church, supporting hurting people in our community and the world, debt reduction).

How would our giving look different if we viewed it from an eternal perspective? How would our day to day living be different if we lived with the idea of bringing heaven to earth? How would a life committed to discipline allow us to experience what we thought was impossible? How could God use us to change the world now, and for eternity if we lived disciplined, goal-oriented lives? This sermon series will allow us to find out.

Join us in this sermon series as we dive deeply into God’s perfect vision and attempt to see life at First Church as God may see it. With clarity of vision—that is, to see with the eyes of God---we discover tremendous excitement, awe, and appreciation of what is going on around us. Perfect vision also allows us to look with more clarity to the future and where God is leading us. If you want to get a sense of what God has been up to, and where God is going at First Church, then join us in this series as we attempt to view our lives and our world with the eyes of Christ. We may just discover what we have been missing out on as we learn to correct our vision and see with perfect, 20/20 vision.

SERMON SERIES: Seeing with 20/20 Vision

Ever notice how much better things seem to look when you can see them with clarity rather than through smudges or fog or cloudy edges? There is something about being able to see something for exactly what it was intended that brings a sense of joy and appreciation. It is hard to appreciate the beauty and majesty of mountain ranges when we are driving through fog. But once the fog lifts and we can see clearly… perfectly… we find ourselves in awe of what is before us.

God is doing something wonderful at First Church. But how often do we see it? Or see it clearly? We catch glimpses here and there, but what if we were to see what God sees? As God sees it? How different would our lives look if we saw with God’s vision rather than our own?

Join us in this sermon series as we dive deeply into God’s perfect vision and attempt to see life at First Church as God may see it. With clarity of vision—that is, to see with the eyes of God---we discover tremendous excitement, awe, and appreciation of what is going on around us. Perfect vision also allows us to look with more clarity to the future and where God is leading us. If you want to get a sense of what God has been up to, and where God is going at First Church, then join us in this series as we attempt to view our lives and our world with the eyes of Christ. We may just discover what we have been missing out on as we learn to correct our vision and see with perfect, 20/20 vision.

God is doing something wonderful at First Church. But how often do we see it? Or see it clearly? We catch glimpses here and there, but what if we were to see what God sees? As God sees it? How different would our lives look if we saw with God’s vision rather than our own?

Ever notice how much better things seem to look when you can see them with clarity rather than through smudges or fog or cloudy edges? There is something about being able to see something for exactly what it was intended that brings a sense of joy and appreciation. It is hard to appreciate the beauty and majesty of mountain ranges when we are driving through fog. But once the fog lifts and we can see clearly… perfectly… we find ourselves in awe of what is before us.