January 8, 2023
Vision Sunday 2023
- Matt Nickoson
Sermon Notes
Exodus 33:17-18 NIV
"And the Lord said to Moses; I will do the very thing you have asked because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.' Then Moses said, 'Now show me your glory.'"
Exodus 33:19-20 NIV
"And the Lord said, 'I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,' he said, 'you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.'"
Exodus 33:21-23 NIV
"Then the Lord said, 'There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.'"
Glory - kabōwd in Hebrew
Glory in the Bible literally means "great, heavy, weighty." It is often used figuratively to mean significant, important, noteworthy, or impressive.
"The glory of God thus is his infinite significance, the totality of his perfections, the fullness of his deity compressed into a single concept." - Jack Cottrell, The Faith Once For All: Bible Doctrine For Today
Psalms 24:7-10 NLT
"Open up, ancient gates! Open up, ancient doors, and let the King of glory enter. Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty; the Lord, invincible in battle. Open up, ancient gates! Open up, ancient doors, and let the King of glory enter. Who is the King of glory? The Lord of Heaven's Armies— he is the King of glory."
Psalms 148:13-14 NLT
"Let them all praise the name of the Lord. For his name is very great; his glory towers over the earth and heaven! He has made his people strong, honoring his faithful ones— the people of Israel who are close to him. Praise the Lord!"
"But there is another connotation that makes the glory of God something special. God is infinitely great and perfect; this remains true whether or not his greatness is ever displayed or manifested in any way. However, he does choose to manifest his greatness, displaying the majesty of his perfections in visible ways. Thus most specifically, the glory of God is his greatness as it is manifested and as it shines forth for all to see." - Jack Cottrell, The Faith Once For All: Bible Doctrine For Today
Every time God's character is put on display, we call that glory.
Psalms 19:1a NLT
"The heavens proclaim the glory of God."
1 Kings 8:10-11 NLT
"When the priests came out of the Holy Place, a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of the Lord."
Isaiah 6:1-5 NLT
"It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple.
Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings, they covered their faces; with two, they covered their feet; and with two, they flew. They were calling out to each other, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven's Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!' Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.
Then I said, 'It's all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven's Armies.'"
We all have a glory problem, and when we see God's glory on display face-to-face, we will all be terrified at just how big the problem is.
Romans 3:23-24 NLT
"For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard. The great news is that Jesus came to fix the problem! Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins."
The church exists to put God's glory on display!
God is most glorified in us when we display His glory to this world! Therefore, in 2023, we will take our Next Step in RELENTLESS PURSUIT of Jesus.
Thrive Spiritually: Growing spiritually will be in our DNA
Multiply Impact: we will intentionally multiply to have greater global and local impact.
Grow Leaders: We will be known as a place where leaders are developed.
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GLS - August 3-4, 2023
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Men's Retreat - February 24-25, 2023
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IF Gathering - April 23rd, 2023
Love Your Neighbors: We will extend the hope and love of Jesus to our community through maximizing our God-given resources.
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 NIV
"With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ."