There has to be more to life than this. Right?
If you have ever thought that question you are not alone. Countless people have looked at their life and realized something was missing. Even people who would say that Jesus is lord of their life. The reason for this is often simple.
There is a HUGE difference between Jesus being a part of your life and living your whole life for Jesus.
As long as Jesus is only part of your life and not the central driving force in all that you do, feelings of incompleteness are inevitable. So what do you do?
One thing that we are doing at the Avenue is the Multiplicity project. The whole goal of the multiplicity project is to train people in how to live a life that is Christ centered. So whether you are a stay at home mom, a college student, or someone working in your dream job, the Multiplicity Project will help you take your unique life and circumstances and live them with gospel intentionality.
The multiplicity project is an intentional training in how to respond to what God is doing in your life. Starting in January, we are offering two courses that will develop you in one of two areas. Gospel Living or Missional Living. You can take one, both, or take one after the other. These courses are designed to take a passion and turn it into action. Each course lasts about 8 weeks. To find out more or to sign up click here.
Other Things Happening at the Avenue
The 50
What is the 50? Good question. We are looking for 50 people to form the core group of launching a Sunday night service in January. We are looking for 50 people who want to be a part of something from the very beginning. 50 people who want to give voice and direction to a service geared toward changing a campus. If you are the kind of person that gets excited about dreaming and thinking about the future, you need to be part of the 50. To be a part of the 50 or to find out more, email kelsi@avechurch.com or sign up at the weekend service.
December 18 Family Service
Join us this Sunday morning for a family service that really is for the whole family. (There will be no child care on this Sunday)
December 24 Christmas Eve Service
Join us at 5pm for a time of prayer and worship as we remember the birth of Jesus. (child care 3 and under)
December 25 No Services
Spend this Sunday with your friends and family celebrating the birth of the one who changed everything!
Are you In?
Did you ever go to an amusement park as a child and a friend would dare you to ride the newest craziest roller coaster? Remember the anticipation of standing in line for forty minutes waiting and waiting to finally make it up to the platform? Remember watching the group right in front of you load into the roller coaster and then a few seconds later hearing the laughter and screams as they plunged down the first hill?
Now imagine you waited all that time and then when it was your turn to get on board the roller coaster you decided, “Na. I’m good. I think I’ll just keeping watching from here.”
You’d miss out on so much!
Well at the Avenue we don’t want you to miss out. We’d love for you to be in. So if you’ve been coming to the Avenue for awhile and you’ve been thinking about getting more involved or finding out more, then come to NEXT STEPS. It is this Sunday from 1:30 to 3:00 in the Avenue Room. A free lunch is provided, and we’ll answer any questions as well as talk more about how to get involved. If you want to come to Next Steps sign up here so we know how many lunches to get.
Other Things Happening at the Avenue
What is the 50? Good question. We are looking for 50 people to form the core group of launching a Sunday night service in January. We are looking for 50 people who want to be a part of something from the very beginning. 50 people who want to give voice and direction to a service geared toward changing a campus. If you are the kind of person that gets excited about dreaming and thinking about the future, you need to be part of the 50. To be a part of the 50 or to find out more, email kelsi@avechurch.com or sign up at the weekend service.
Do You Remember?
Do you remember the game Oregon Trail? If you’re not that old, do you remember the Lord of the Rings Trilogy? In both the game Oregon Trail and the Lord of the Rings movies there was a sense of adventure built around trying to get somewhere and accomplish something. Sure there were obstacles along the way, but there was also a goal trying to be achieved.
If you are the kind of person who likes to be a part of accomplishing things, then you need to be a part of the 50.
What is the 50? Good question. We are looking for 50 people to form the core group of launching a Sunday night service in January. We are looking for 50 people who want to be a part of something from the very beginning. 50 people who want to give voice and direction to a service geared toward changing a campus.
If you are the kind of person that gets excited about dreaming and thinking about the future, you need to be part of the 50. To be a part of the 50 or to find out more, email kelsi@avechurch.com or sign up at the weekend service.
Do You Like Sleeping In?
Most people enjoy the chance to sleep in. So don’t forget that on Sunday’s we are moving to one service at 11:15. If you show up earlier, that’s OK you’ll just be by yourself. So don’t forget starting this Sunday there is one service at 11:15
Leadership Community
Leadership community is a time for everyone who serves on one of the teams to gather together and share wins and solve problems together. Our next Leadership Community will be at 1:30pm on Sunday November 6 in the Avenue Room. If you have any questions, email jeromie@avechurch.com
How do you change a city?
How do you change a city? How do you change a university? How do you live your life in a way that makes a real difference to those around you?
If these are questions that you’ve been wrestling with in your mind, then you may be interested in grabbing lunch the next few Wednesday’s and heading over to the Avenue Room from noon to 1:30 pm. For the next six weeks we are going to sit down with whoever wants to and walk through what it looks like to live on mission. These are going to be informal lunches where we figure out what this looks like in our own lives and then in the city and university. Just show up or contact karl@avechurch.com for more information.
Sleeping In
Starting October 30, we are dropping the 9:30 service. After hearing from many of you, we realize that the 9:30 service was simply not a good option for college students. So we are ending the 9:30 service. We will continue doing the 11:15 service.
And starting in January we are going to add another service in the evenings that will be more geared for students. More details to come, but for now plan on sleeping in until 11:15.
Online Giving
The Avenue is funded through the generosity of people like you. To give online click here.
See you this Sunday as we continue in our series WE ARE
Concert this Friday & 1 Year Anniversary this Sunday!
Couple of really awesome things coming up the next few days!
Friday – Mike Mains Concert
The next concert in the Avenue Concert Series will be October 7. Mike Mains and the Branches will be in concert. Doors open at 7pm and concert is at 8pm. Grab some food at Cardinal Towne and then come in. This a great opportunity to connect to people or bring a friend. Tickets are $5.00 To purchase tickets click here. Below is a sample of their music.
Sunday – 1 Year Anniversary
On Sunday October 9 we will be celebrating our 1 year anniversary of launching the church! On this Sunday we want to get together in one big celebration service! So that Sunday we are going to combine the 1st & 2nd services. We’ll have one big celebration service at 11:15 am. That means some of you get to sleep in and the rest of you get to be here at your normal time. Mark this Sunday on your calendar though as we celebrate all God has done in the past year.
You Don’t Want to Miss This Next Week
Starting this Sunday and going all week there are several things happening that you won’t want to miss. Great opportunities to get connected and opportunities to celebrate!
Sunday – Leadership Community
Our next leadership community will be October 2nd at 1pm in the Avenue Room. Leadership Community is a gathering of everyone who serves on one of the teams at the Avenue. In leadership community we celebrate what God has done as well as plan for the future. If you aren’t yet serving on one of the teams, sign up here.
Monday & Thursday – MC Connection Nights
If you are looking to connect at the Avenue, one of the best ways is to be in a missional community (MC). Each missional community is made up of people who focus on living like Jesus to a particular place or group of people. On October 3 and again on October 6 from 6:30-8:00 pm in the Avenue room we are going to have all of the MC’s represented. You can come and learn about each MC, meet the people in them, and join the MC that is right for you. No registration required. Simply show up either night anytime between 6:30-8:00, enjoy some snacks and drinks, and find the Missional Community you belong in.
Friday – Mike Mains Concert
The next concert in the Avenue Concert Series will be October 7. Mike Mains and the Branches will be in concert. This a great opportunity to connect to people or bring a friend. To purchase tickets click here. Below is a sample of their music.
Sunday – 1 Year Anniversary
On Sunday October 9 we will be celebrating our 1 year anniversary of launching the church! On this Sunday we want to get together in one big celebration service! So that Sunday we are going to combine the 1st & 2nd services. We’ll have one big celebration service at 11:15 am. That means some of you get to sleep in and the rest of you get to be here at your normal time. Mark this Sunday on your calendar though as we celebrate all God has done in the past year.
Galatians 3:15-18 A Legal Case
15 Brothers and sisters, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ. 17 What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18 For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise. Galatians 3:15-18
What Paul is saying in this passage is pretty straightforward because the example still works and makes sense in today’s world. He is saying that in human contracts and covenants the terms can’t be changed after the deal has been made. One person can’t simply decide to add or subtract something later on. When they do they get sued like crazy. In the same way, the promises given to Abraham concerning justification by faith were what established the original covenant between God and man. It wasn’t until over 400 years later that the law was introduced to Moses and the nation of Israel. So the law cannot replace faith because it comes after the original covenant had been established.
Basically the Galatians are trying to change the terms of the contract. The original covenant stated that faith (trusting that God is who he says he is and will do what he says he will do) is the pathway to God. You have faith – you become right with God. (Genesis 15:6) This is a pretty sweet covenant because all of the work is on God’s part. The Galatians are trying to replace a contract where God does all the work with a contract where the burden of responsibility is now on them. They must do all the work and keep all the laws. Which when one thinks about it is incredibly naive, stupid, and impossible. The Galatians are trying to put themselves in the role of God. They are trying to switch the terms of the covenant, the only problem is that they have no way of fulfilling their end of the bargain. This would be like winning the lottery and then turning it down and saying I’d rather work for it while getting paid minimum wage. There is no possible way you’ll ever earn enough to equal what you just turned down. Furthermore, why would you even want to? No wonder Paul uses such strong language and tone.
Secondarily, If you take the position that the Galatians were taking, which is that one must live by the law, then it undermines the promise made to Abraham that all people would be blessed through his offspring. Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise. If the law were enough then God lied to Abraham. If the law were enough then God made an empty promise to Abraham.
But since the law isn’t enough, and since we believe God to not be a liar, and to keep his promises, then logical deduction rules out the use of the law as a means to salvation. It cannot do what the Galatians believe it to do. Laws by themselves cannot change the inner condition. They are expecting the law to do things that God never intended it to do. The law points out sin but does not save us from that sin. Faith in Jesus is the only thing that does.
So there was a little fire
As many of you have heard or seen on the news the building that caught on fire last night was our office building. Here are the facts.
- The building was a three story building.
- The first floor were leasing offices for the Cardinal Towne apartments. The second floor were our offices and some offices belonging to the developer. The third floor was a model unit of the apartments being leased.
- The third floor and the back half of the second floor are a total loss. The front half of the second floor sustained minor damage (this is where our offices were). The first floor sustained a lot of water damage from putting the fire out.
- The firefighters were amazing; they moved a lot of equipment out of harm’s way. The damage could have been much more extensive, but they saved a lot. We owe them a big thanks.
- Our friends at Cardinal Towne sustained much heavier damages. We need to keep them in our prayers. This is a much greater set back for them than for us.
- We don’t have a time line yet for how long it will take to rebuild and move back into the offices.
Now for the plan moving forward. Sometimes we try to spiritualize situations in a way that isn’t actually true. But here are some things that we can say for certain. The fire could have been much worse and destroyed a lot more. For this we need to be thankful to God. We are without offices, but God is not surprised or caught off guard. He will provide. I don’t know whether this was a spiritual attack or not. What I do see in scripture, especially the book of Acts, is that when the church is on the move, there is opposition. But there is never an opposition so strong that it stops God.
So the plan going forward is to continue to radically trust in God and his provision. We will continue to believe that God has called us to the university and Old Louisville. We will continue to pour our hearts into reaching the 30,000 people that don’t know Jesus. We will continue to train, equip, and send out disciples committed to pursuing God and his plan for their life. We will not pull back, slow down, or cower in fear. We will not let opposition of physical, spiritual, or any other type distract us or turn us away.
The God we serve and the hope found through Jesus is too important to allow anything to ever cause us to waver. So I’m asking everyone reading this to continue to pray bold prayers. Keep praying that God would do more than we can imagine. Keep praying that lives would be transformed and communities changed. Let God work in us in such a way that this springs us forward and not holds us back.
Take heart from this verse. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.- 1 Corinthians 15:58