Have you ever read the book of Acts and wondered why the church in Acts looks so different than the church today?  Or why the first church looks different than Living Hope?  Sure, times have changed and we live in a different culture, but we worship the same Jesus and are filled with the same Spirit. Shouldn’t what we see in the life of the first church be evident in the life of the church today?  I’ve often wondered about this. 

Add to this what Jesus says in John 14:12, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these…” and I end up wondering even more.  It’s not that the same things in the book of Acts must happen today, as if Acts is a prescription for what has to happen today.  Shouldn’t there be signs, though, of the same Spirit empowered life in our church and in you and in me today? 

If our God is the same, if the Spirit in us is the same as in Peter, as in Paul, as in the first church, if the life that Jesus envisioned for them is the same one he envisions for us, then I have to think the missing piece is me, that there is something greater waiting for you and me if we will pursue it.  What do you think?  Do you feel the same angst for something greater than we have experienced so far?  For a Spirit empowered life that is greater than your current experience? 

This weekend we are starting a new teaching series that will take us to Easter. It’s called GREATER THAN.  In this series we’ll be exploring the miracles and wonders of Jesus, the very things he said we’d do “greater things than these” if we believe in him (John 14:12).  Together we are going to explore the “greater than” life that Jesus is inviting us to experience.  I hope you will join me this week and in the weeks to come, as we wonder together how we can become what Jesus envisions today.

See you Sunday,

Pastor Kirk