We are approximately halfway through our 40 Days of Purpose.  The key thing for us to remember is that this isn't just about 40 Days of Purpose, but a life of purpose.  This is 40 days that will change our lives forever.  My prayer has been that you will begin to see that while your purpose in life can be lived out where you work, that your purpose for existing is not directly tied to your title or position.  So many people across the country are losing their jobs and in doing so they feel that they are losing their identity...their reason for living!  Through doing this study we are all reminded that God created us for so much more than what we do for a living.  He created us to fully live!  As we all begin to focus on fulfilling the 5 purposes we were created for...we will truly begin to understand what Jesus meant when He said that He came so that we may have an abundant life.  I hope that you will join us this weekend as we move toward our third purpose and in turn learn where God is and what He wants us to do when we experience the three terrible Ts (troubles, temptations, & trespasses)!  What was that...did you ask what I mean by trespasses?  It is when people come into your life uninvited and cause you to experience pain and suffering.  It is the three terrible Ts that can cause us to doubt whether God is truly in control.  You will be glad to know that He is fully in control and it is in this third purpose that we can begin to embrace that truth.  I love you and look forward to continuing the journey with you at FOTP this Saturday night at 4:45 or at one of our 4 services on Sunday. 

First of all let me say thank you to all of you who made our first Saturday night service a huge success!  I am very encouraged at the number of visitors that we had and very thankful for the many that were willing to volunteer their time to make it go smoothly.  We kicked off the 40 Days of Purpose by discussing life's three biggest questions.

The first question we all have is a question of existence.  It is why am alive?  Secondly we all want to know, does my life matter?  That is a question of significance.  Lastly, we have a question about the intentions behind our existence or creation.  In other words we simply want to know, what is my purpose?  I want to encourage you to download the sermon by going to iTunes so that you can get the answers to those questions in depth. 

Briefly let me give you the answer to the above questions.  You were created to be loved by God, to last forever; you will find purpose in life through getting to know God.  The memory verse for the week is Ephesians 2:10.  It says, For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  Read that verse daily and do you best to get it into your long-term memory.  This verse will begin to have even more meaning to you as we continue to go through the 40 Days of Purpose.  You will begin to realize that even though your parents may have called you an accident, God put you right here for a purpose.  He hand designed you with all of your gifts, abilities, and personality.  I hope to see you again this weekend as we continue to unveil the love that God has for you and the plan that He has for your life!

A good friend of mine recently ran a marathon.  He said that at around mile 21 he reached a group of young guys handing out drinks to the runners.  Well as you can imagine, he was more than happy to see them after running for over 3 hours!  He said that he was craving something to drink and reached out and grabbed the cup.  As he was lifting it toward his face he caught a whiff of what was in the cup.  It wasn't water or Gatorade.  It was a big cup of beer.  My friend said that while he thought about it for a moment, he decided that it was not the right time or place...he wasn't quite ready to live the high life!  However, the guys running behind him reached for a cup or two and began chugging the beer.  Shortly thereafter they were speeding by my friend like he was sitting still.  It was as if the barley and hops had put a little hop in their step.  It wasn't long however until my friend caught back up to them, and they were sick on the side of the road.  Like my friend they were craving something to drink, but they had reached for the wrong thing.  I often see this happen in the race of life as well.

I meet a lot of people who desperately want their life to have meaning, significance, and purpose.  They have a thirst for knowing why they were even born.  The problem for many is that they continually reach out and grab a hold of the wrong thing to quench that thirst.  Maybe you connect with what I'm saying?  You have jumped from job to job, hobby to hobby, or even from relationship to relationship hoping to find happiness and meaning in life.  We often think the next promotion or job will bring us that feeling of purpose and meaning.  Then one day we reach out far enough and we get the big job or promotion,  At first we are off and running, but it isn't long until we feel like we are over on the side of the road broke down and beat down.  Then we are really confused!  Where does meaning come from in this race we call life? 

Over the next few weeks we will begin to unfold God's amazing purpose for your life.  Yes, you were created for a purpose!  This week we will begin by answer the question, "What on earth am I here for?"  And don't forget that our Saturday night service launches at 4:45 this weekend!