mattmehaffey

Sunday Blend :: November 16, 2008

Yesterday at The Pursuit Christian Church, we wrapped our series The World is Flat in which we have been talking about God's call for us to love our global neighbors.  The three weeks were: Lonely World, Impoverished World & Lost World. 

• The Big Idea yesterday was: Responding to God's call to help people find their way back to God. 
• We looked at Luke 15:1-24 and saw that lost people are of immeasurable value to God.
• We showed the video below (from Community Christian Church in Naperville, IL) to help illustrate how uncomfortable Christ-followers can be when talking about spiritual things.

• Great crowd yesterday.  Both the auditorium and the Kids City area were nearing capacity. 
• After the Celebration Service, we invited the church over to our house for Yuleima's baptism.
• A bunch of people accepted our invitation and cheered on Yuleima as she was baptized in our hot tub! 
• It was also really special for me to watch Janie baptize her. Very proud of her.
• Speaking of baptisms, I am going to blog later this week why The Pursuit will never build a baptistery in any of the buildings we ever occupy. 
• After everyone left, the party continued because my niece, Reagan turned 3 years old.  And it must have been good because she said, "This is the best birthday party ever!"  

The World is Flat

“Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation.” - Nelson Mandela

"...and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."  - Jesus from Acts 1:8

There has never been a time with more opportunity and potential for global change than the time in which we live.

Globalization is nothing new for the city of Miami.  The latest study by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that over half of the city's residents were born in another country.  Miami is a gateway to the corners of the earth. 

The Pursuit Christian Church wants to storm that gate!

That's why our next series has been dubbed, The World Is Flat.  In his book, with the same title, Thomas Friedman, foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times, looks at how globalization gives people all over the world greater opportunities economically and socially than ever before. Friedman says that the world has “shrunk and flattened” in a way that empowers individuals like never before. 

In this series, we will be challenged by the life of Jesus to see our opportunities and responsibilities to change the world in three key areas:

• Sunday, November 2 - Lonely World: "Responding to God's call to reduce loneliness in the world."
• Sunday, November 9 - Impoverished World: "Responding to God's call to reduce poverty in the world."
• Sunday, November 16 - Lost World: "Responding to God's call to help people find their way back to Him."