come and join us...

We are kicking off the new fall season this Saturday.

reminder...

We will not be meeting formally as The Village this Saturday night for a gathering although many of us our spread out doing various things this weekend. May we spread the love, mercy, compassion and grace of Jesus Christ through our words, thoughts and actions this weekend. Looking forward to a new teaching series for the fall season and gathering as a group again starting on Saturday, September 8th...

hineni...

After much inspiration from Ed Dobson's teaching at Mars Hill last weekend, Mike taught this week from the story of the Akedah, or the binding of Isaac. Abraham's last and final test comes when God asks him to sacrifice "your son, your favored one, the one whom you love, Isaac." You can sense the tension building. Abraham's response three times in this story (to God, Isaac, and the angel of the Lord) is "hineni" or "Here I am (indicates readiness, attentiveness, receptivity and responsiveness to instructions)". This is such an amazing story and it shows us the depth of Abraham's faith (which was credited to him as righteousness) and the love of God in providing a substitute on Isaac's behalf. We are grateful for the ultimate substitute of Jesus on our behalf. Spend some time this week thinking about how God is calling you in your life and try to respond in your heart by saying "hineni".

If you want to dig deeper, check out Genesis 22, Romans 4 and Hebrews 11.

gathering this week...

Unfortunately we will not be meeting on Saturday this week, August 4th. We will resume our regular gatherings the following week, August 11th. As another reminder, we will not be meeting on Labor Day weekend, but will resume our regular gatherings on September 8th as we begin a new fall teaching series. Come and join us...

Please contact Mike with any questions by sending an email to
mrlehr@gmail.com

practicing the presence of the kingdom...

This past Saturday, we finished up our series on the kingdom. We discussed how Jesus radically ushered in a new kind of kingdom, one that most if not all were not expecting. We spoke about the gift of the Spirit and how Jesus reigns inside each of his followers through his Spirit. We talked about how we catch glimpses of the kingdom, yet are still moving toward the full revelation of the kingdom when Jesus returns. And with that in mind, we talked about how we live this out now instead of simply using our salvation as "fire insurance." We also spoke about the transition that happens in the book of Acts after Jesus' resurrection and return to the Father. All through Jesus' ministry, he and his disciples were preaching that the kingdom of heaven is near. Following Jesus ascension, his disciples preached the good news of Jesus. Something changed dramatically. Jesus showed us the beginning of the kingdom in our midst and he has chosen us to carry it out until his return. May we spread the kingdom boldly by our actions, words and lives.

revisioning life in the kingdom...

Last night, we discussed why we can be blinded to the kingdom and God's work in our and other's lives. We discussed how repenting means stopping what you are doing and turning and doing the complete opposite. We talked about how we are called to humble ourselves and repent before God so He can grant us His heart and His vision. As we talked about the parable of the sower last night, think this week about where you seem to fit in that parable. Allow the Holy Spirit to convict you and inventory your life, so that God can continue His transforming work in each of you through Jesus. Use this blog to share your questions, thoughts and reflections throughout the week...

discovering the kingdom...

We began the first of a three-week teaching series on the kingdom tonight. We discussed what the kingdom is and the history of it in scripture. We discussed the start of Jesus' ministry and what it meant when he preached, "repent, the kingdom of heaven is near."

As we go through our daily routines this week, let's be aware of the people we speak to and the things we see and do that give us the sense that the kingdom of heaven is near. Let's also be aware of those things that make us feel that it is distant.

Think about this verse this week, "the kingdom is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field."