Sermon Video, Calvary Community Church, Williams Bay, WI

Life brings the unexpected to all of us. Our world is a pain-filled place. When the unexpected is disappointing or worse, shocking, where do we turn? What do we expect of God when life gets painful… and what if God doesn’t respond the way we expect?

Midway through summer 2013, what do your footprints tell you about your journey thus far? What do “catalytic footprints” look like? They are evidence of steps that bring hope in despair, light in dark places, rescue, and new beginnings! Look around… where could your next step bring hope?

Have you ever felt strongly led to do something for God only to find yourself confronted by opposition? We should not be surprised when that happens. Opposition is to be expected, but a proper perspective allows us to remove the fear of opposition and move boldly into all that God has called us to do!

As America approaches birthday #237, our world cries out in hope for America to be trustworthy in our strength, generous in our wealth, compassionate in our leadership, Biblical in our wisdom, God-honoring in buildingour legacy in 2013… are we?

What if… ? Desperate places and situations are transformed into Beracah, unleashing amazing possibilities, when God finds someone willing to live life “to the fullest” following Jesus.

We all have them… Expectations! Too often the expectations we have of others go unmet and we’re disappointed. Bitterness finds fertile ground to root in disappointed expectations. What happens when people feel that God failed to meet their expectations? What happens when God feels we’ve failed to meet His expectations of us?

Life is busy, for all of us, all the time. When and where do you find time to reflect? What happens to you then and there? Is God there? Do you feel loved by Him there? How are you different when you leave that place?

Sailors out on open water, builders constructing a building, surgeons performing an operation, teachers guiding the learning of students, business people following their business plan - people living life - we all need a foundation that is unshakable and something that will give us reliable direction in the challenging times of life.

Finally the "100 days of summer 2013" are before us! Each of us will leave "footprints in the sand" which will describe our "journey" of this summer. None of us can predict all this summer will hold... choose now to make it count! Journey carefully, choose to maximize each day, determine to experience all God desires for you this summer, learn to live CELEBRATION!

God’s “New Normal” design for the daily life of anyone living 2 Corinthians 5:17 is RADICAL! Each new day is filled with opportunities and potential. When and where many people live like this… it changes a community! Is this God’s desire for summer 2013 where you live? What if you were “all in?” What if you say “NO?”