JR. Forasteros - December 28, 2014
Clean Water, No Fences
Christianity has become known as a religion full of rules – these “dos” and “don’ts” have become fences that keep Christians in line, corralling us like spiritual cattle. But according to Paul, now that Jesus has come, God has torn all the fences down, and every person is free to seek God. The life Jesus offers us is so good, God is convinced we don’t need rules to keep us pinned in – when God is with us, we don’t need fences.
From Series: "Thrill of Hope"
It seems like everyone's in a competition to "Do Christmas Well" these days. From party after party to non-stop shopping for all those perfect gifts to endless feasts, we don't feel like we can stop. But Advent teaches us that to do Christmas well, we have to learn to wait. And waiting is not something we are very good at. Learning to wait well is the key to doing Christmas well. And it's very good news! In this series, we'll learn that waiting brings back the thrill of hope!
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The year was 2005. The biggest movies of the year were Star Wars Episode III, the fourth Harry Potter movie and a superhero reboot called Batman Begins. Gwen Stefani was insisting she ain’t no Holla Back Girl while the Killers were insisting they were Mr. Brightside and Kanye West was warning to keep on the lookout for Gold Diggers. In 2005, Comedy Central launched the Colbert Report, a few people started watching a new little website called YouTube, and Tom Cruise jumped on Oprah’s couch. 2005 was the beginning of George W. Bush’s second term as president and the year Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans.
And it was the year a group of young Christians began meeting in a living room in East Dallas. They wanted to do church differently than they had before, in a way that felt more welcoming, more relevant to their daily lives. They wanted that old time religion, but in a way that made sense in the cutting edge world of 2005. They called themselves Renewed Life Church, but they would soon become known as Catalyst Church. We’re going to talk about Church today – what it is, and what it’s not.
What does it mean to be Catalyst – this particular church, and how do we relate to the larger Church, to Jesus?
