Bright City

WHAT IS THE WAY OF THE BRIGHT? A sacred commitment we make together, to order our lives in a way that allows us to encounter God and shine in our culture. “REST” MANIFESTO “I BELIEVE IN THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD, THEREFORE I WILL PRACTICE BEING RECREATED IN MY BODY, MIND, + SOUL.” ENEMIES OF REST - STRIVING “I CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN, NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES.” 1 CHRONICLES 29:12 [NIV] “Wealth and honor come from You; You are the ruler of all things. In YOUR hands are strength and power to exact and give strength to all.” ENEMIES OF REST - ANXIETY HOW I FEEL WHEN IT DOESN’T HAPPEN. EXODUS 14:14 [NIV] “The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” PHILIPPIANS 4:6 [NIV] “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” ENEMIES OF REST - PRIDE “LOOK AT WHAT I MADE HAPPEN!” JAMES 4:6 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” REVIEW - THE 3 ENEMIES OF REST STRIVING: I can make it happen no matter what it takes. ANXIETY: What I feel when it doesn’t happen. PRIDE: Look at what I made happen. STEP OF OBEDIENCE 1 - Take 24 hours off and rest in His power 2 - Determine how you’ll enjoy God and feast - feast on the Creator and created things. 3 - Capture thoughts of striving and worry - to speak truth to them. IDEAS FOR ABUNDANCE 1 - Consider ways you can take your sabbath rest to a new level. 2 - Sleep like a child of God at rest. 3 - Consider the pendulum of work and rest. “REST” MANIFESTO “I BELIEVE IN THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD, THEREFORE I WILL PRACTICE BEING RECREATED IN MY BODY, MIND, + SOUL.”

WHAT IS THE WAY OF THE BRIGHT? A sacred commitment we make together, to order our lives in a way that allows us to encounter God and shine in our culture. “TIME” MANIFESTO “I BELIEVE GOD HAS PLACED ME HERE ON PURPOSE, THEREFORE I WILL BE PURPOSEFULLY URGENT ABOUT HOW I USE MY TIME.” PSALM 144:3-4 Lord, what are human beings that you care for them, mere mortals that you think of them? They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow. EPHESIANS 5:15-17 “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” PSALM 90:12 “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” PSALM 5:3 “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” MARK 1:35 “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” PSALM 1:1 + 2-3 “Blessed is the one...whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.” NEHEMIAH 1:6 “Let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night...”

WHAT IS THE WAY OF THE BRIGHT? A sacred commitment we make together, to order our lives in a way that allows us to encounter God and shine in our culture. PROVERBS 18:21 “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” “WORDS” MANIFESTO “I BELIEVE THE POWER OF LIFE AND DEATH ARE IN THE TONGUE, THEREFORE I WILL USE MY WORDS FOR THE GOOD OF OTHERS AND THE GLORY OF GOD.” GENESIS 1:3-5 “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” JOHN 1:1-5 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” JOHN 1:14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.  JAMES 3:1-12 [msg] Don’t be in any rush to become a teacher, my friends. Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards. And none of us is perfectly qualified. We get it wrong nearly every time we open our mouths. If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you’d have a perfect person, in perfect control of life. A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it! It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can’t tame a tongue—it’s never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth! My friends, this can’t go on. A spring doesn’t gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it? Apple trees don’t bear strawberries, do they? Raspberry bushes don’t bear apples, do they? You’re not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you?” 2 CORINTHIANS 10:5 “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” DEUTERONOMY 30:11-14 “Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it? Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.”

WHAT IS THE WAY OF THE BRIGHT? A sacred commitment we make together, to order our lives in a way that allows us to encounter God and shine in our culture. Q1 -- CAN GOD USE ME? EXODUS 3:11 “But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” EXODUS 4:10 “Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” Q2 -- WILL GOD USE ME? 1 Corinthians 6:20 “...You were bought at a price...” Q3 -- DO I WANT TO BE USED BY GOD?  ROMANS 12:1-2 1 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” [Margaret Mead]