What Sunday is All About

4 Experiences We Want you to Have Every Sunday Service

The Christian faith has brilliant and bold ideas that are life changing. The Christian faith has a moral-ethical way of life that makes the world a better place. The Christian faith has a wide range of spiritual practices that change you from the inside out. The Christian faith has wise practical guidance for how a good life can be lived.

But above all--and without this next statement it cannot be sustained--Christianity is first and foremost, from beginning to end, about a relationship with JESUS CHRIST, who is our God.

That is what you need most of all. You need to be in a saving, healing, loving, challenging, encouraging, life-giving relationship with Jesus. Because Jesus is the source of salvation, healing, love, challenge, encouragement, and LIFE.

I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. (John 14:6)
I came that you might have LIFE. (John 10:10)

Many years ago, we identified a core word we wanted everyone to associate with Jesus. That word? BEAUTY. The beauty of Jesus. There is something beautiful about Jesus. The wonderful name of Jesus. The powerful name of Jesus. The BEAUTIFUL name of Jesus.

Every Sunday morning is a time where we want you to encounter the beauty of Jesus.

You can ignore reality, but you cannot ignore the results of ignoring reality!

Great quote!

You can ignore that ugly blotch on your skin, but you can't ignore the results of ignoring that blotch if it is skin cancer.

You can ignore being out of breath from doing simple things, but you can't ignore the results of a heart attack due to clogged arteries.

At Living Word, we DO NOT ignore the reality of the messy and broken world in which we live. We DO NOT ignore the tension and angst of our times. We DO NOT ignore the reality that life is just not working very well for a lot of people.

But what we DO is offer a message of hope in the context of that real reality.

The pessimist sees only the bad. The optimist sees only the good. The realist sees the mix of both. The way of Christianity is to to be critically realistic about what is and vitally optimistic (hopeful) about what God can do and is doing about reality.

You have most likely heard the phrase "Vision Casting." Leaders cast vision of a better future.

I like to talk about "Hope Casting." God is at work. God promises he will bring his work to completion. God is with us. He promises never to leave you. And Romans 8:28-39 are among the MOST HOPEFUL words in all the Bible. Take a few minutes and read them after you are done with this post.

Community: A group of people in the same place.
Community: A feeling of connection with other people.
Authentic: Real, genuine, and truthful.

That is what we want to be at Living Word. Authentic Community.

Real people coming together from all our different contexts and situations. Not pretending to be something we aren't. Not putting forth a preferred image of how we want others to see us.

Real people with real needs, real problems, real weaknesses ... and real strengths, wonderful gifts, hard-won wisdom, and a persistent willingness to be together with others in life-giving ways.

One author said church is the place where only real people are allowed.

Well, I am sure we all fake our way into and through church, but the sooner we can learn not to fake our way, then we discover through Jesus we can make our way into the future.

As important as Sunday is for worship, connecting, loving, growing, learning, serving, and more, Sunday comes to an end. Sunday morning is over.

The rest of the week begins.

We call it "Beyond Sunday."

Beyond Sunday is where you live most of your life: home, family, friendship, work, neighborhoods, and everything else!

When Jesus says, "Come and follow me," he means 24/7/365. We follow Jesus out into the world he loves and the world he is renewing. We discover that WE are the very means and ways Jesus wants to redeem the world. We discover that WE are ambassadors, agents, and servants being used by Jesus to make countless little changes in our neck of the woods.

Imagine the several thousand people who consider Living Word their home church.

Imagine several thousand people, every day, following Jesus into the world and ready and willing to serve his purposes in the world.

I hope you not only imagine it, but join in with it.

We now call this REACH.

Reach out and touch someone's life with love, joy, hope, material help, emotional support, resources... 

Whether you are part of Living Word Onsite or Living Word Online, this is why we are here, this is who we are, and this is what we do.

Thanks for being a part of Living Word.

Pastor Brian Rice