Be honest. When you think of characteristics that
describe God what is the first thing that comes to mind? We know God loves us but do we think of
God as a good God? I would argue
many Christians walk around with a distorted image of God. Although he loves us, we get a picture
of God who is continually tipping the scales and we usually come up short.
We picture God through a cloudy
reflection of our own personal experiences and relationships.
Maybe you had a father who was more of a
disciplinarian and all of a sudden our picture of God becomes more of a taskmaster
than a loving Daddy (Abba). I would argue this: The farther we get from God the more our view of God becomes distorted. KEY: Keep it close.
I truly believe
this. Your distorted view of God
will directly affect your relationship with God. Yesterday at CityChurch
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CityChurch
celebrated its 1-month anniversary this past Sunday. There is one phrase that comes to mind after reviewing the
last month, “God is faithful.”
During our DIRT sermon series that explained our 4 core values as a
church we have seen numerous people take the next step in their walk with
Christ.
Things to Celebrate:
·
12
people have committed their life to Christ over the past month & numerous
people have shared their story of turning back to God
·
We
have expanded our mentoring partnership with Wright Elementary and the Tulsa
Boys Home
·
We
had 145 people worshipping with us last Sunday morning (2.21.10)
·
CityChurch
stepped up and raised money and remodel materials for the Jordan family who
lost their home in a fire and have several children with special needs
·
This
past Sunday night we had our Community Group kickoff night where we launched 4
new community groups
·
We
have expanded our worship team, cityKIDS team, connect team, and
set-up/tear-down teams
Things to Come:
·
This
Sunday we start our new series, Redemptive Love, where we will talk about
understanding our place in God’s story of Redemption
·
We
have a HUGE vision for Love Tulsa and we will have several people sharing their
stories on Sunday morning over the next several weeks
·
We
will be launching more Community Groups in the very near future!!!
·
We
are excited about going on the journey with an amazing group of people.
Despite about 8 inches of snow/ice the City Church Launch was a huge success. We had about 170 people from around the community join us with several individuals making a first time commitment to follow Christ. We are so excited to begin this incredible journey.
During the service we also announced that City Church will begin a renovation project for the Jordan family, a family who lost their home to a fire over Christmas.
January is finally here and it's a huge month for City Church. Here is a schedule of our upcoming month. Even if you're not a part of City Church but want to help us during our "Invite Saturdays" we would love to have you.
January
Jan 3 - Launch Team Training 6PM at Tulsa Ballet
Jan 9 - Invite Saturday (doorhangers) 10am - noon
Jan 10 - Preview Service #1 Tulsa Ballet @ 10:30AM
Jan 16 - Invite Saturday (doorhangers) 10am - noon
Jan 17 - Preview Service #2 Tulsa Ballet @ 10:30AM
Jan 23 - Invite Saturday (doorhangers, etc.) 10am - 2PM
Jan 30 - Invite Saturday 10am - 2PM
Jan 30 - Grand Opening Launch!!! Tulsa Ballet @ 10:30AM
Email: matt@citychurchtulsa.com
When we began to dream about a church in Midtown Tulsa we knew we wanted to be a community focused on transforming our city through serving others. This January as we launch City Church we will also be launching Love Tulsa: a movement of Christ-followers who are passionate about taking their walk with Christ outside the walls of the church. Love Tulsa is about taking the love of Christ to the schools, businesses, neighborhoods, and cultural centers of our city. By loving others we reflect Christ and open the door for real spiritual transformation to occur.
We are less than 60 days away from our City Church launch! Wow! God has been so incredibly faithful to us through this process. Our next Gathering (& Christmas Party) is this Sunday night, December 13th @ 6PM at the Tulsa Ballet. We will eat together, meet in the worship area for a short time, and then walk through the facility as a launch team. We will also be working toward our Christmas blessing to Wright Elementary. Come be a part of something bigger than yourself.
It's not too late to join our launch team. Along with what we are doing by serving our city we are asking each launch team member to commit to serving in at least 1 of the following areas:
- Lock N' Load (set up/tear down)
- Connect Team (lobby, greeters, coffee bar, etc.)
- Worship/Tech
- City Kids
So this is pretty much
thinking out loud. These thoughts
aren’t fully developed but I think they could lead to something useful. I’ve been studying Jesus’ philosophy of
discipleship throughout the gospels and I have detected certain levels. In each of the gospels there seems to
be an initial period where Jesus begins by showing who he is. He does this
through miracles, teachings, parables, etc. In essence, he wants people to understand that he is the
Christ. Ultimately, this period that we will call
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We are excited to announce that City Church will begin meeting at the Tulsa Ballet Center starting JANUARY 31st. The Tulsa Ballet Center just went through a $17 million renovation in 2008. We will be giving more details about the Tulsa Ballet Center at our upcoming November 22nd Gathering at Agora Coffee House. Come check us out.
Check out more pics at www.facebook.com/citychurchtulsa
Thanks to all the City Church peeps who served at the Brookside BooHaHa activities and parade this year. It was amazing opportunity to serve our city. Recap of the day:
- We were able to give away over 1,000 trick or treat bags with City Church info cards
- We helped run the pet and kids costume contest at the Food Pyramid on 41st and Peoria
- We helped run the kids festivities at Brookside Baptist Church
- We handed out 1,000 balloons on our City Church float (thanks to our friends from Wright Elementary for joining us)
- We were able to meet and have conversations with numerous people throughout the community
Check out our pics on facebook
This past Sunday we had our monthly gathering @AgoraCoffee. Check out pics from the gathering on our facebook page. (City Church Facebook) Here's a recap of our gathering:
- LAUNCH DAY - Sunday, January 31st
- Community Groups have launched and are meeting this Sunday
- BOO HA HA worknight this Thursday & outreach Saturday from 11am-4pm
- Begin to invite for our next gathering Sunday, November 22nd
