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. Mark 10:42-45 “42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Philippians 2:5-11 “5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 ...that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” What happens if we don’t live this way? 1 -- Unholy Ambition 2 -- Pride 3 -- Injustice “Power + Vulnerability” MANIFESTO “I believe God modeled power, authority, vulnerability and weakness in Jesus, therefore I will use my God given power and authority for His glory, and I’ll let His power, be made perfect in my acknowledged weaknesses..” How do we walk in Obedience when it comes to Power and Vulnerability? 01 | Identify and Steward your Power + Authority for Good. 02 | Embrace your God-given Limitations. 03 | Join a People of Vulnerability + Weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” How do we walk in Abundance when it comes to Power and Vulnerability? 1 -- Practice the Principle of Gleaning.

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. Matthew 19:16-22 “16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” 17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’and ‘love your neighbor as yourself’.” “20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. “GENEROSITY” MANIFESTO “I believe God is a generous provider, therefore I will give back to Him faithfully and share generously so His heart can shine through my giving.” 2 Corinthians 8:11 “Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.” 2 Corinthians 8:7 “7 But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.” Malachi 3:7-12 “7 Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ 8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.' “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you? “In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. “11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.”

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]