We have looked at the importance of burdens, worship, maturity, love and being an effective witness. In this message, we look at how our mind is to be and how we are to be with one another knowing that Jesus is going to return. It is a great text, written to a church that was losing its cultural voice, yet, still wanting to flourish in a changing culture. This message speaks to us in our culture today and will challenge us to keep flourishing as we move into what God has for us.

This week we look at another value of a flourishing church: Influence. Jesus assumed that His disciples would be influencers- that through our good works we would be preservatives that add tang and flavor to a tasteless world. There are very few things I see which are more needed today. In what ways can you be salt and light to a dark world? Is there anything holding you back from doing that?

This week, we will be looked at 1 John 4:7-12. John writes to a church about the one thing that Christians are to be known for: Love. As Christians, we are called by Christ to love one another. John’s original audience had just gone through a possible church split causing some to leave the church. When we see people fall away from Christ or leave the church in an unchristian way, it not only hurts, but it can cause us to wonder: should we leave too? Am I in the wrong place? Thankfully, John’s words in 1 John 4:7-12 remind us that our love for one another is not dependent upon our personal like or affinity but on the cross of Christ—the greatest display of love the world has ever seen.

This week, we will be looking at the importance of maturing in the Christian Life. A living thing is a growing thing and things that grow deepest often have the strongest roots. In other words, depth helps us grow tall and wide! In Colossians, the Holy Spirit gives us instructions as to how to grow and the intended result that He envisions for us when we are flourishing in Christ. Looking forward to Sunday. See you soon.

Last week we looked at importance of burden as important for a flourishing church. Nehemiah showed us how God puts a burden in our hearts and turns that into a vision that we minister out of. This week, we go back to first things. Above all, every flourishing church or flourishing Christian will see the importance of Worship. The Christian Life, at its core, is a relationship by which we know God and worship Him through being with Christ and being Christ to others. In our text in Jeremiah this coming Sunday, Jeremiah reminds us of the centrality of this! See you soon.

How does something strong continue to grow? How does something that is stable enjoy its stability but not devolve into decline?  This is the question we will prayerfully look at in our new series entitled Flourish. For the next 7 weeks, we will look in Scripture at values that, when taken together, ensure the continued flourishing of Laurelwood Church. These values are not exhaustive, yet, they are all crucial for ensuring the spiritual health and vitality of our church.