If you were asked if at some point in the past week you felt tired because of work, most likely you'd agree. Especially since the pandemic, it feels like we are working more, our capacity is less, and we are more and more tired. This week, Pastor Dan explored the idea of endurance and how our hope is found in the promises of God and the One with unlimited power promises that He will give that to you so that you can run and NEVER grow weary.

As we continue our series Strong in Spirit, Pastor Dan shared from Isaiah 40 where God promises to give us all new strength. Isaiah provides three circumstances where that strength comes into play in our lives: Soaring, Running, and Walking. In this week's message, we focused on Soaring referring to those times we find ourselves in life-defining moments, those times when what we do will alter our future from that point on.

Have you ever gone through a time where you thought you had strength only to realize you totally ran out?

This week at Lifetree, Pastor Otto Wegner shared about the importance of prayer. He encouraged us to always be quick to listen and slow to speak and reminded us of Psalm 46:10 which says “Be still, and know that I am God."

During this series, we've been renewing our vision for our church and examining why we are doing what we are doing. There’s one more thought regarding The Forest that you may not be expected; however, the problem is that it's literally all over the Bible. God has said this again and again. It's something that has too often been abused, misrepresented, and downright twisted to mean something God never intended.

We've been spending the past few weeks renewing our vision and reminding ourselves why we are doing this, why we’re a church - the difference it makes to us, to those in need around us, and to the next generation. There’s one last group of people we exist to bless. And it’s big. Like really big.

Where would you be without knowing about God?  How different would your life be if you had to do this life on your own? The reason that each one of us has hope in God is entirely due to a long list of people who passed down truth and stories of faith. How could we fail to pass that hope to the next generation?   "Let each generation tell its children of Your mighty acts; let them proclaim Your power." - Psalm 145:4

Giving is not just about money. It's about participating in God’s work of bringing life to all those here through the tithe, and to all those around us who have needs through The Forest. It’s For The Rest. Trees don’t exist for their own benefit. Generosity forms us into the kind of people who have a heart like God that desire to see true restoration take place among those in need. That’s why we do this.

What would happen if there was no church? What’s at stake if there was no Lifetree? Would it matter? During this week's message, Pastor Dan talked about the four actions a church takes to make a difference in our community and how when we see the difference this church continues to make, we’ll have deep joy in knowing we have been part of it.

God has not called us to have a nice little community church where we gather and read the Bible and talk about how to live good lives. God has called us to gather in worship so that living water can flow out of us and produce life for everyone anywhere near us. Our vision is not a single Lifetree, but a forest of Lifetrees on every side of the river! Join us in this new series as we talk more about what The Forest means for us!