We love to remember God’s faithfulness and mark milestones in the life of our church family. As we celebrate five years of being the Church, truly these years have been marked and sustained by God’s grace, goodness and undeserved favor toward us as individuals and as a church community. Happy five years, Centerway! So ready for what’s next!
09.17 || Five Year Celebration || Fresh Wind
Resources & Devotionals
Click below …to make this week’s application question the background on your desktop or phone …and to listen to songs from this week’s set and the rest of the series on Spotify
Monday Devotional
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” – John 3:8 ESV
CONSIDER
Happy Five Years, Centerway Church! As we reflect on the faithfulness of God, we celebrate the work of the Spirit, who has been active in our lives personally and corporately. This video highlights some of what God is building at Centerway – click to check it out! And pause today to ask the Holy Spirit how you can participate in what he is building, both as a church and within your spheres of influence.
APPLY
How will I participate in what God is building?
Wednesday Devotional
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” – John 3:8 ESV
GREEK
γεγεννημένος/gegennēmenos: having been regenerated
CONSIDER
There’s a chance that when you look back on your life, you feel like a different person today than you were five years ago. Psychologists agree that our sense of self is impacted by our experiences, values, tastes, customs, and more. Even how we process the changes to the world around us can impact our identity. And because we live in a highly individualistic society that elevates one’s experiences above all else, we are taught to avoid anything negative and reject everything that blocks us from personal fulfillment. But what if this isn’t the way life is intended to work? What if we are designed to experience a range of circumstances so that we can recognize both the importance of community and our need for a Savior? If this is true, then it would take a move of God to take our eyes off ourselves and shift our perspective to the realities of the spiritual world. Reflecting on the highs and lows of your past can be a great way to acknowledge the Lord’s guidance through it all. Jesus said that just like we can sense the wind as it mysteriously travels to its intended destination, so it is with everyone gegennēmenos (having been regenerated) of the Spirit. Properly used, this verb denotes reproduction, as in giving birth to one’s offspring. So anyone gegennēmenos of the Spirit has been reborn into a new way of seeing the world. For the people of Centerway, the past five years have brought seasons of joy, sorrow, tranquility, frustration and everything in between. And yet, we can clearly sense that the Spirit of God has regenerated us in ways that only he could accomplish. Everyone gegennēmenos of the Spirit has the capacity to reflect on the change that has been produced in us and give glory to God for the gift of Heavenly perspective. A celebration like this is the perfect occasion to reflect and declare the goodness of God in every season!
APPLY
How will I participate in what God is building?
To listen to songs from this week’s worship set and the series on Spotify click here!
Friday Devotional
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” – John 3:8 ESV
GREEK
Ποῦ ὑπάγει/pou hypagei: where it is led away to [under authority]
LOOKING AHEAD
In John chapter 3, Jesus is conveying a clear reality: there is a natural realm and a spiritual realm that coexist simultaneously. For the natural realm, the concept of being reborn of the Spirit is impossible to understand. Jesus himself tells us that it’s akin to comprehending where the wind comes from or pou hypagei (where it is led away to [under authority]). For the spiritual realm, there is an unmistakable leading by the hand of God and experience of his presence that isn’t naturally sensed otherwise. At Centerway, we have a Because and Therefore statement that says, Because God sees what we can’t we value GOD-RISKS therefore we respond when God speaks, pursue efforts that require supernatural intervention to succeed, and – while we aren’t irresponsible – we resist the comfort zone and don’t maintain or play it safe out of fear. The leading that we sense from God isn’t a forceful push from behind, but more like an invitation from his voice that we respond to. We may not know specifically what the future holds, but thankfully we can trust that wherever he leads will be met with his presence.
APPLY
How will I participate in what God is building?
To listen to songs from this week’s worship set and the series on Spotify click here!