I have a good friend named Matt Cimone. Matt was one of the teenagers in my youth group years ago. Matt is an adventurer. When I first met him, he was returning from a year student exchange in Spain during high school. Later, while studying at the University of Toronto, Matt spent a year in Sierra Leone where he started a development ministry called Esther’s Echo which continues to educate young women in that country to this day. Matt longed to bring them out of horrific situations and to explore the possibilities of what they could become. Matt’s great passion however is space travel. As a child, Matt always wanted to be an astronaut. One of the great disappointments of Matt’s life was that because of eyesight problems Matt never qualified for that dream. So, Matt sought to do something else. Matt produced a documentary called Chasing Atlantis. He tracked the story of the space shuttle and included people like Bill Nye the science guy and all the Star Trek guys like Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner, and folks at NASA. Matt also has a passion for astrophotography. The beauty of outer space is that it is an almost limitless opportunity for exploration. We haven’t even begun to explore it. That provides a picture for me of discipleship. Discipleship in the life of a Christian is a holy hunger to explore the infinite riches of the glory of God. The finite longs to know the infinite. This Sunday, I have called our study of Acts 7:44-60, Chasing Glory. What Stephen reveals is that true discipleship isn’t settling down into religion but setting out in the life transforming adventure of knowing the God who created us, redeemed us, and indwelled us. Discipleship is a passion to explore the glory of God in the power of the Holy Spirit. Would you describe your Christian experience as an adventure? Do you have a passion to know God in all of His splendor? Come as we see the difference between settling into religion or setting out on the adventure of discipleship!

Scripture References: Acts 7:44-60

From Series: No Other Name | More Messages from Kevin Dibbley

From Series: "No Other Name"

The book of Acts is a careful recording of the advancement of the kingdom of God into the Gentile world despite hostility and hardship. We constantly need to be encouraged and reminded that the mission of God happens through the unlikeliest of people (ie., Saul of Tarsus) in some of the most hostile environments. This happens precisely because our God reigns. Where are some of the hardest places that we least expect the gospel to advance? Who are you least hopeful would respond to the message of Christ? Waterbrooke Church’s mission statement is this: Waterbrooke seeks to be a gospel-centered multi-ethnic family that is captivated by Jesus, compelled to love others, and called to make disciples to the glory of God. What brings more glory to God than the salvation of the least likely people and peoples?

"Chasing Glory" | Acts 7:44-60

Paul, writing to the church in Colossae, reminds them of the sufficiency and worthiness of Christ over and above all of their worldly pressures and temptations to buckle down in their own power and “do righteousness.” We, likewise, whether we’re comparing ourselves to Christ or comparing ourselves to other people, find, unsurprisingly, that we fall short. This is often a blow to our pride and knocks us off of our pedestal. But instead of relinquishing the pedestal to Christ, we try to scramble back onto it and stand “even firmer” in our righteousness...this time for sure! We hope that you’ll join us this Sunday as we walk back through Colossians 2:6-15 and study how the Gospel grants full and final freedom from this self-inflicted performance-based prison.

Scripture References: Colossians 3:6-15

From Series: Looking To Glory | More Messages from Andy Keppel

From Series: "Looking To Glory"

A Study in Colossians