On your own. Three small words that contain a range of emotions. Fear. Excitement. Dread. Anticipation. Loneliness. Freedom. On your own. Three small words that cover a range of transitions. From dependence to independence, from needing your parents to drive you everywhere to driving on your own, from living at home to living on your own, from being in a relationship/marriage to being on your own. From having someone do things for you to making it on your own. From a house full of kids to being just on your own. From being connected and having a purpose to feeling like you are on your own. From sharing a lifetime together to being on your own again. From having a faith passed on from your parents to believing the claims of Jesus on your own. Life is full of 'on your own' moments that can either halt you in your tracks or launch you into new adventures. So how do you thrive when you’re on your own. We'll explore and discover that today.

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THEME VERSE:

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name; you are mine. Isaiah 43:1

REMEMBER THIS WEEK:

You are never alone, when you on your own.

For in God's presence, you have an abiding home.

FAITH TALK

1 When do you feel most “on your own/alone?"

2. When has God been especially present to you in a recent “alone” time?”

It has been said: ‘As the family goes, so does the nation…’ As the family is able to navigate changing times, as the family is able to thrive in the midst of crisis, so is the nation able to navigate uncertain times and thrive in changing circumstances. What could we conclude about the health and resilience of our nation as we look at families at this time? Some families are thriving as they find a new found purpose in rearing children into competent and confident adults who can overcome life's difficulties. Some are embracing the togetherness that this crisis has brought. Many are struggling as they fight to stay upright themselves on foundations that are shifting. Some families are living out the law of exposure which says that our minds absorb and our lives reflect that to which we are most frequently exposed, with frightening and destructive consequences. So how do we navigate the new terrain we find ourselves in and thrive as families change? How do we thrive through the changing stages of family life as we move from dependency to growing independency and everything in-between? Joshua gives us some insight today. He not only led a nation, but his own family though times of crisis, discovering the one that enables families to thrive in any crisis and change.

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THEME VERSE

But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15b

REMEMBER THIS WEEK

In a world filled with options and choice, choose C every time. For the Creator, the Chief Cornerstone and Counsellor is the foundation that supports, empowers and enables thriving families through all the changes and crises of life.

FAITH TALK:

What is your family motto, or if you could choose a motto for your family, what would it be?

UP WORDS FROM THE SERMON:

But listen up. Let me give you a heads-up, because it won’t be easy to fire up. When God said that he’ll join us up, it won’t always add up, and you’ll need to buckle up. We all have hang ups, we all stuff up. When things begin to pile up, and you mess up, or foul up or muck it up, or there’s a blow up or a dust up, or a break up or crack up and you feel like giving up or going belly-up, or selling up, and you want to pack up and you’re fed up, and your life seems screwed up, and you feel cut up, or maybe a relationship has broken up, and your heart ices-up, and things foul up, and love dries up, you can’t speak up, and you want to throw up and sell up and pack up, and you think there’s no back up, and you want to even up, or cover up, don’t give up. Buck up. Cheer up. There is a back-up, or a pick-me-up, and a leg up, and a hand up. We will need a check-up, and be reassured that God shows up! He rolls up. And He will follow up! He wants your heart to soften up, for you to ‘fess up, and open up, so don't pass this up and be stuck up. God wants you to wake up, move up, and make up, and man up, and perk up, and grow up, and loosen up. God wants you to join up, and wise up, and pump up, and belt up, and cheer up, so you people, in your lives, lap-it-up, and fire up, and light up, and step up, and talk-it-up, so you can be filled up, to live-it-up,‘ cause God never lets up.

So here’s the lowdown. We have a God who comes down. He’s a God who comes to us. A God who comes down when we’re run-down, or there’s been a put-down, and helps us calm down, and makes sure we won’t be let down. If you’re down cast, he doesn’t look at the down side. The times we break down, or fall down, and our world turns up-side-down, and there’s a meltdown, and we need to shut-down, and go into lock-down, Jesus comes down. He’s the down load.

The only real constant in the world is change. To cope with that we develop a reflex response. You don’t think about it, you don’t plan for it, you can’t seem to stop it. It just happens. When life’s challenges hit, when we are confronted with a shifting and changing landscape and life-scape, most of us revert to our reflexive response. Some respond by giving up, taking flight or curling up in a ball saying, “I can’t take it.” Others fight the change angrily or aggressively. Still others respond with a cool indifference, having developed a protective shell around their hearts that nothing can penetrate. Then there are those who thrive on the challenge saying “Bring it on!” In this season when we have lost so much and stand to lose perhaps a whole lot more, when we grieve all that is no longer available to us and the future uncertainties loom large and are overpowering, what is your reflexive response? Navigating change is tough. Finding a ‘new’ normal is tedious. Living through grief and loss is painful. Wherever you are in that today, God promises his steadfast love, his faithful presence and his unfailing strength. It’s a gift to help you stay true as you navigate new terrain and thrive in life’s changes, especially grief and loss.

#1 in series: New Terrain

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THEME VERSE

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.

Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.

I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him! Lamentations 3:22-24

REMEMBER THIS WEEK

God’s grace is sufficient for you today and it will be sufficient for you tomorrow

FAITH TALK:

When life gets hard, what’s your reflexive response? Why do you think that is?