The First Step. God shows up in big and small miraculous ways.

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1 The First Step The first step of anything seems to be the most difficult. The first step to the gym, a baby s first step, the first step to others after loss. Yet, those first steps are celebrated as they open the door to new life and possibilities. The Season of Lent from, Ash Wednesday to Easter, reminds us of Christ s life. Christians around the world give special attention this time of year to prepare for Easter. We believe that seasons in the natural and in the church provide us with an opportunity to experience God in fresh ways. As we engage in practices designed to renew and form us in our faith journey; we prepare for the glorious celebration of Christ s resurrection! For the last eight years, we ve taken this journey together in a way we call The Leap of Faith. Individually and corporately in unity we pray, read the Bible, serve, and grow deeper in a sustained way in six weeks that we couldn t do over the long haul. We ask God for things for ourselves, others, and our church. We serve, give, and sacrifice. God shows up in big and small miraculous ways. Here are just a few examples that people have shared with us: I found employment after months of being out of a job. I see people in my life as a blessing. I feel loved by God more. My constant anxiety has lessened and I m able to sleep through the night. I asked God to help me pray out loud, I m praying out loud now! I faced my fears and joined a small group and God met me there. I was praying for a child and we were able to adopt the child we were fostering. Even though my big ask wasn t answered, my faith grew in sharing and praying for others and seeing God answer their asks

2 LOOK AND SEE: Faithful God for All Times and All People Leap of Faith gives us an opportunity to gather around scripture, this year it is the book of Ruth. Our Sunday messages, our small group studies, and personal soul trainings will take us deeper into the promise and power of this story. You may often feel in life like you are an outsider, been overlooked, or feel lost under life s burdens. The book of Ruth is filled with promise and purpose for each of our lives. We find we are not alone we are chosen and cherished. This verse from the book gives a snapshot of his faithfulness: Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! Ruth 4:14 So what do we hope for as we begin Lenten season together? OUR HOPE IS FOR YOU TO... > experience in meaningful and practical ways God s faithful love for you. > grow spiritually more than you have in any other 40 day period of your life. > receive at least one concrete gift from God. >grow in generosity and giving. Most of what we hope for in our life will not happen unless God gives it to us. Together, we learn how to look to God and ask Him for big and small things. When they actually happen, we know they come from him and we don t look to other sources to give us those things. The gifts of God bring joy and abundant life, not fleeting pleasure. WHAT ARE YOU DREAMING ABOUT? Let s get started. What do you want God to do for you? The gifts of God bring joy and abundant life, not fleeting pleasure. We tend to think this is a selfish thing to do. Being created in God s image, desire shows us who God is as He creates in our hearts His desires for us. There are lots of people in the world with problems worse than yours or mine. But the Bible again and again emphasizes how the first step in faith is for us, personally, to come to God with all the things we need and want. The only other option the Bible allows is that we ll look for help from some other source, and the Bible is certainly not excited about that. You do not have, because you do not ask. James 4:2 (ESV)

3 I love the Lord because he hears and answers my prayers. Because he bends down and listens, I will pray as long as I have breath! Psalm 116:1-2 (NLT) This year, I am asking you to ask for big AND small things. In other years we have always emphasized asking BIG, this year I m struck by how even asking for small things can be a big deal to us, others, and Christ. So, why don t you take the time right now to sit down with Jesus, and ask him to let rise in your heart the big and small things you most hope for and write them down. Now, of course, the risk of praying every day for something you actually want is that you won t get it and you ll be disappointed. Why did you expend all that faith only to be so disappointed? And you re very right. The reality is that some of our prayers seem to go unanswered. So why pray? We pray because as we draw close to God, He draws close to us. Because sometimes a grain of wheat falls to the ground to die to be a harvest. We pray because as we draw close to God, He draws close to us. Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it produces a lot of grain. John 12:24 Even unanswered prayers aren t wasted: they bring forth fruit. WHAT DO YOU WANT JESUS TO DO FOR OUR CHURCH? One of our dreams for Leap of Faith is a bit unique this year. We are asking God to make our church a home and to be known. We want our church to become a home for others to grow with all ages, ethnicities, single, married, young and old. A vibrant body that deeply loves one another. A home where we all give and care for the needs of our house and family members. We also want to be known in the city and with others, so folks can come and experience the transforming presence and healing power of the Holy Spirit. God, make our church a home and to be known. By all means pray whatever is on your heart. If you re out of ideas, you could certainly pray something like: God, would you make our church a home for others? Would you help us love and care for our physical space and each other? Would you help us find favor and prosper in our city for your Kingdom s purposes. Would you revive us spiritually in every way? That prayer would change our lives and our city.

4 WHAT DO YOU WANT JESUS TO DO FOR YOUR FRIENDS AND YOUR FAMILY? During Leap of Faith, we also pray for our friends, co-workers or acquaintances whom, best as we can tell, don t seem to be experiencing much of the love of God. Praying particularly for local friends has proven helpful because it helps us see the people God has actually put in front of us. By all means, still pray for your grandmother in Kansas. Many of us have seen long distance family and friends be touched by these prayers. But consider also praying for four of your six people who are local and seem distant from all the benefits God might offer them. Put their names on your bedroom dresser, your bathroom mirror, and pray daily for them. Ask Jesus for ways to show his extravagant love and grace to them. Why don t you write their names down now? Would you consider praying these three prayers each day for yourself, our church, and your friends and family? LEAP OF FAITH GROUPS Next, make a pre-determined decision to join a Leap of Faith Small Group Let s be honest, it s never convenient to add another thing to our already busy lives; but together we can do what we could never sustain on our own for these few weeks. Mike and I Together we can do what we could never sustain on our own. have found God meets us powerfully in our groups. We have some wonderful folks leading a variety of small groups. Take the leap and tell others in your group what you are asking Jesus for. You can find the list of groups at yourvineyardchurch.org or on any of the Welcome tables. SOUL TRAININGS Let your roots grow deep in God s love through Leap of Faith Weekly Soul Trainings. Every Sunday there will be a small sheet of two-three different soul trainings you can do during the week to grow in God s love for you and for others.

5 GENEROUS GIVING Let s celebrate Lent and Easter together by generous giving. This year we will be giving near and far. NEAR: We are asking for an increase in our monthly offerings of $1000 a month in consistent giving. We hope folks who haven t taken the opportunity to give to our church home, will begin at some level 1,2,3,4% and for folks who are giving to consider an increase. We ll have ways for you to make your commitment known, so we can celebrate together. We are also believing to raise $2000 for our signage out front to make our church home known. Did you know that we have at least a dozen stories from people who drove around searching and searching for us and couldn t find the building? This is a very practical way we can make our church known and help people find their way to an experience with Jesus. FAR: This year we will be partnering with other churches in our community with an opportunity to give. We will be working with The Outreach Program to package 10,000 meals that will go to Haiti, feeding those who are hungry. In 2019, Dave and Brenda Applegate will be leading a group on a trip to love and serve there. This is a way we will plant some seeds before we go. We will come together with our partners, our church, AND neighbors and friends on April 21. It s a big goal, and we will need to raise $3000. You can give throughout the Lenten Season. We will take a special offering on Easter Sunday, April 1st. VINEYARD KIDS: This year we are expanding our Three s Class Chick Project and including all the Kids Classes during Leap of Faith. Our great big ask is to be able to send five flocks of chicks to a family in need through Heifer International. Chicks are a great sustainable resource that not only helps the family receiving them but the entire community. In order to send five fluffy flocks we need to give $100. Consider where you are in giving and ask God to help you take the next step.

6 ONE FINAL CHALLENGE Consider fasting. Fasting in some fashion is a very common way that faith communities throughout the centuries have experienced God during Lent. Fasting is the practice of suspending food or an activity for the sake of opening up ourselves to God. It provides freedom from things that could normally distract us from growing closer to Jesus. It seems to communicate to God and our own spirits that we re...well...hungry for more of God. Somehow the voluntary deprivation seems to focus us away from ourselves and towards God and others. While food fasts of some sort are common, they re by no means exhaustive. People fast from TV or criticism or shopping, whatever is meaningful to them (and, in fact, if you ve ever suffered from an eating disorder, we strongly discourage food fasts). Many people do find that fasting adds to what the ancients called unction the oomph that can empower answered prayers. But it s meant to be a powerful experience unto itself as well. Somehow fasting of some sort seems to focus us away from ourselves and towards God and others. BETTER TOGETHER We re not leaping alone. This may seem like a lot, but just remember we are better together. Just as the church in Acts together reflected the signs and wonders of the risen Christ, we together as one can reflect his glory. Alone we couldn t sustain this kind of consistent focus, but together we can actually thrive and flourish as we keep our eyes on Jesus and thank him for extravagant love that transforms us to live extraordinary lives. For Jesus and his Kingdom, Mike and Sherri They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers Everyone around was in awe all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! Acts 2:42-43 The Message