Pastor Matt loves teenagers! He loves the local church. The local church has an opportunity to provide hope, bring the good news of who Jesus is, and help people discover who and why God created them (that they have been created for a purpose), all in the context of community.

“On purpose for a purpose” is for every season in life.

The process to prepare - God what are you saying to us right now? The Spirit of God and the written Word together transforms us. Purpose is to give people a way to view culture through the lens of Scripture. Help people to take scripture how can I use this to shape my attitude, shape my decisions, to impact people around me, and love people as Christ loves us. Imagine if the church would love one another as Christ loved us. Core need in every person – they want to make a difference, they want their life to mean something, they want it to matter. Discovering and following Jesus, having a relationship with God through what Christ has done, leads us to making a difference and having knowing that our lives, we’re here, to make a difference.

God has a plan for us, but what is it? Make decision to allow God to work in your life and that happens through reading His Word and thinking about how does this apply to my life.  When God does a work in us to become more like Him, that’s when he starts to work through us to make a difference. (Philippians 2)

My personality is not to get rattled too easily, but I do have strong convictions inside. I look at when is a time to share personally/personal convictions because it can be a help to someone else who is maybe struggling with how do you develop convictions and how do you know when to stand up for something. But at the same time not making someone feel like an outsider or not isolating someone. There’s this invitation from Paul, and Jesus, to speak truth with grace.

Last weekend’s message was about the fruit of the Spirit of Patience (Galations 5:22-23) – How can you prepare to respond w/ patience when provoked? Ephesians 4:1-3 - always be gentle, always be humble, be patient. Being patient is making allowance for one another’s fault. Pastor Matt had shared about his conviction about protecting the unborn to be transparent and vulnerable, and that it helps guide his decisions around election time. It was not endorsing any party. But realized it can isolate people, but it wasn’t his intention. The church can have differences of opinion. Engage in Scripture. Unity not uniformity. It created a barrier for some/felt isolated. Had conversations with those that had concerns. And even in those conversations, thankful that we can even talk about it and we don’t have to be divisive about it. Use communication as a tool to point people to Jesus. 

How can church be a safe place for racial recognition and at the same time support our police? How can the church be a place where hurting people can come together, can listen to one another, and work towards solutions. Talk to people, listen, and understand. Encourage people to have those personal conversations. What are ways to bring police and people who have experienced racial injustice, bring them to the table, and is there something for us to do/work together. Look at what’s impacting the local community here. 

“In short, whenever we opt for and not against one another, we make God’s unconditional love visible” –Henry Nouwen

Imagine the church this way/this generation at Converge if people chose each other and God over sides.

We can have differences of opinion in the church but not let them divide us.

Pastor Matt shared a quote he thinks about a lot, especially when preparing messages – “Scripture has the ability to provoke the comfortable and comfort the provoked.” 

God’s given me a burden for teaching scripture. That’s a passion that I have, that I want to keep growing in. Engage with God’s Word.