1 00:00:00,760 --> 00:00:02,920 Thanks for doing our original moment with us. 2 00:00:05,680 --> 00:00:07,720 Now we really, I think we could keep doing this. 3 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:12,280 We are so glad that you're here at Origin today. 4 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:16,680 My name is Joshua. I'm a campus minister here with 5 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:20,160 Origin Church and I'm excited to have this kind of special Sunday 6 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:22,000 with you. As Susan said, you may have 7 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:24,840 noticed the balloons, you may have noticed some me wearing 8 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:26,720 red, some other people who happen to wear red. 9 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:28,360 Thank you for joining out on accident. 10 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:32,200 We are glad that you're here with it's going to be a fun and 11 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:36,160 unique Sunday because today is Alpha Sunday. 12 00:00:36,160 --> 00:00:38,760 So welcome to Alpha Sunday. We're excited that you're here. 13 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:42,040 It's going to be fun. All right, so I want to start 14 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:45,600 with a question for you today. I want you to start with a 15 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:48,840 question. What are the biggest invites 16 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:50,960 that you have ever given to other people? 17 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:54,760 What is the biggest invitation or or special invitation that 18 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:57,800 you have given to other people? I remember when I was in 19 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:00,520 elementary school, I don't know if any of you guys did this, I 20 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:04,160 would I would bring little invite cards and a little little 21 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:07,480 like sucker to my class and say, hey, come to my birthday. 22 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:09,560 Did any of you guys do that? Any of you guys do that? 23 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:10,680 Yours. No, maybe that. 24 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:12,120 Oh, yeah, you did that. I see your hand. 25 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:13,840 Thank you. That was one thing I did is I 26 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:15,800 get thank you for admitting it and joining me on that. 27 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:18,400 That was a special invite. I was so excited to invite my 28 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:23,040 friends to my birthday. Another invite that I gave was 29 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:27,080 when I got married, I had to invite people to my wedding and 30 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:28,440 that was like, wow, that made it. 31 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:31,920 Thank you. That was a special occasion. 32 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:34,560 Yeah. You guys who came and accepted 33 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:37,640 the invites, Thank you. I'm grateful. 34 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:40,400 It was actually, I remember inviting and being so excited 35 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:42,360 about that because I was like, wow, it's happening. 36 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:44,960 That made it feel real. That made it really feel real. 37 00:01:45,320 --> 00:01:47,280 Other times you invite is when you want to hang out with 38 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:48,600 friends. Like last night I was hanging 39 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:49,880 out with some friends at my place. 40 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:52,280 We had pizza, watch movie. And that was a great time. 41 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:54,200 Like, it was a great time. Yeah. 42 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:56,560 And so invites are really important. 43 00:01:56,560 --> 00:02:00,080 They're part of every single week and aspect of her life. 44 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:01,600 Invitations are really important. 45 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:05,000 And so we're excited to think about the importance and 46 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:08,520 invitations and Alpha today. And the next question I want to 47 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:11,360 ask you is this. Do you know how every single 48 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:14,480 person has come to start a relationship with Jesus, a 49 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:17,720 relationship with God? Well, I've had to think about 50 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:19,120 this. Do you know what what what 51 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:20,880 usually is one of the first things that happens. 52 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:25,960 Every person who has followed Jesus received an invitation. 53 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:30,680 Every person who has followed Jesus received an invitation. 54 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:32,560 Think about it with me for a moment. 55 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:34,440 Have you? Did you receive an invitation? 56 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:37,640 Maybe it wasn't like, here's a letter from God to follow to 57 00:02:37,640 --> 00:02:40,560 follow, follow me, but maybe somebody invited you to a 58 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:43,840 church. Maybe somebody said, hey, come 59 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:45,320 hang out with me. You got to know them as your 60 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:47,360 friend. Or maybe your parents were the 61 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:49,840 ones that said, Hey, we're going to go do this together. 62 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:52,760 And and then they were the ones that helped to follow Jesus for 63 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:55,120 the first time, whatever that looks like. 64 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:59,880 Every person has received who followed Jesus received some 65 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:02,760 invitation. You'll notice this in the Bible 66 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:04,720 too. Actually, I think about think 67 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:07,480 about Bible examples where people received an invitation. 68 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:12,080 Peter he was fishing in a boat and Jesus was like, come follow 69 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:14,520 me and I will make you fishers. Amen. 70 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:19,360 Paul he was blinded on the road and then he and he encountered 71 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:21,720 Jesus and Jesus saying why, why, why are you? 72 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:23,800 Why are you persecuting me? Why are you doing these things? 73 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:28,280 But then he invited Paul to follow him and very unlikely 74 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:31,400 people to follow Jesus to am I had then there was there are 75 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:33,560 other people in the Bible like Zacchaeus. 76 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:35,440 Where was he when Jesus invited him? 77 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:37,960 In a tree? Some of you guys might know that 78 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:39,480 story. He, he says, I'm going to your 79 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:42,560 house today. And so there's awesome stories 80 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:46,080 in the Bible too of people being invited to follow Jesus. 81 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:49,880 So not only in our lives, but in the story of the Bible. 82 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:53,800 And so it goes on and on. Every single person has an 83 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:57,560 invitation story. And last week we actually read 84 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:00,120 from Galatians. I don't know if you remember 85 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,120 some of the points we talked about, but I wanted to remind us 86 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:05,880 of them because I think they're really, really good. 87 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:09,720 The first one was this three important reminders for our 88 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:14,640 lives, that we are part of a bigger story in our lives, that 89 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:17,880 we are part of a bigger story. We're part of God's story. 90 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:21,760 You as an individual are part of God's story and the story of the 91 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:23,600 world and the story of what God's up to. 92 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:27,280 We are part of a personal story. The story is real for each one 93 00:04:27,280 --> 00:04:29,480 of us and our relationship with God. 94 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:32,160 It's not an impersonal thing. It's something that's deep and 95 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:34,320 means a lot to us and it's significant. 96 00:04:35,280 --> 00:04:38,800 And then we are also part of an ongoing story. 97 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:43,240 And so I remind us of these things to say, 1 You are invited 98 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:45,680 to a relationship with Jesus. You have been. 99 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:50,560 You're invited here today and I also want want to ask you a 100 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:53,720 question with that. So not only are you invited, but 101 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:56,640 will you be part of this bigger story? 102 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:00,520 Will you be part of this personal story, an ongoing story 103 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:03,560 that we are going to share with you about today? 104 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:06,680 I really want you to consider this for yourself. 105 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:09,120 So the first invitation I'm offering is for you. 106 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:12,240 And then I want to share about a church's vision with this 107 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:14,720 because I think you need to know that you're invited, but I think 108 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:17,600 you need to know that your church is partnering with you 109 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:20,840 together and this, that this, this on the screen what you see. 110 00:05:20,840 --> 00:05:24,640 It's our church's vision and we share it often. 111 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:28,320 We are really hoping that when you're invited, three things 112 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:30,160 will happen when you're part of our community. 113 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:37,200 The 1st is that you will get to know Jesus, that you will get to 114 00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:41,360 know Jesus. That's a really significant one. 115 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:45,400 And then become like Jesus and then join Jesus and his mission. 116 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:51,280 See, we start with getting to know Jesus and then you get to 117 00:05:51,280 --> 00:05:52,880 do that for the rest of your life. 118 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:56,400 When Jesus would invite people to dinner with him, he would 119 00:05:56,400 --> 00:06:00,240 start getting to know him and then they'd be changed like 120 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:03,680 Zacchaeus who got to know Jesus. And then he was like, I'm going 121 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:06,840 to give all my money away and pay back the things that I, I 122 00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:09,040 didn't do right or the things I took from people. 123 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:12,840 They, people are changed when they get to know Jesus. 124 00:06:12,840 --> 00:06:16,640 And that what happens is they're becoming like Jesus. 125 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:19,920 They become like him. And then the last one, which is 126 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:25,440 our focus today, we're joining Jesus in his mission. 127 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:28,080 And this is a choice that we make. 128 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:35,600 And if you choose to, you will join Jesus and his mission. 129 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:40,240 So I want to start here. How did you first start getting 130 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:43,040 to know Jesus? Like what did that look like in 131 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:45,880 your own life? I'm asking reflection questions 132 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:47,960 today, so I really want you to be reflecting yourself. 133 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:50,560 How did you first start getting to know Jesus? 134 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:55,080 What is your earliest memory of getting to known Jesus? 135 00:06:55,280 --> 00:07:00,080 Getting to know Jesus? Mine was watching a movie of 136 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:01,480 Jesus. I don't know if you've ever seen 137 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:04,480 the nativity stories of the stories of the movies where they 138 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:08,560 showed Jesus and his life and what he did. 139 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:12,440 But there was one story I remember watching where Jesus 140 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:15,480 was sitting with his disciples, and this was when I was like 7 141 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:17,040 years old, so this was a while ago. 142 00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:21,200 He was sitting with his disciples and his disciples, I 143 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:23,040 don't know, only a few things I remember, but they were getting 144 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:24,760 annoyed with some kids that were in the room. 145 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:28,080 And then they were like, we got to get the kids out of the room 146 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:31,160 because we love, we love kids. We love kids, obviously, but but 147 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:34,440 kids, they can sometimes be loud or running around. 148 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:36,920 And but Jesus in this story wasn't like I, he didn't want 149 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:39,760 them to send them away. He actually told the disciples, 150 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:44,760 no, let the children come to me. Like I, like most people don't 151 00:07:44,760 --> 00:07:47,120 remember all these things at 7:00, but I remember the 152 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:50,160 invitation that said of Jesus saying, no, let the kids come to 153 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:51,360 me. And he actually looked at the 154 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:53,800 kids and he said, come, come to me, come to me. 155 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:57,920 And that moment of the invitation of Jesus to the 156 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:00,360 little children who the disciples wanted to send away 157 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:03,480 felt super special to me as one of my earliest memories. 158 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:06,640 And I remember that moment is actually when I think I really 159 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:10,320 started wanting a relationship with Jesus when I was when I saw 160 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:12,480 Jesus even welcomed little children to him. 161 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:16,840 That was really special for me when I was 7 to actually see 162 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:26,600 that. And so when was your earliest 163 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:32,080 memory with Jesus? Now you also received an 164 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:34,760 invitation to origin church. How did that happen? 165 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:38,559 I think that's another specific invitation or something you 166 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:41,159 found out about that. We're glad you're here. 167 00:08:41,159 --> 00:08:42,880 You might have seen our signs are on campus. 168 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:45,120 You might have have a friend from Bridges who invited you. 169 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:46,640 Those guys. We really appreciate you guys 170 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:48,880 give invite, give invites. I'm saying like you guys do a 171 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:51,520 great job or you might have had other friends of different 172 00:08:51,520 --> 00:08:54,640 groups invite you. However you did, you're here for 173 00:08:54,640 --> 00:08:57,240 a reason. It's because somebody invited 174 00:08:57,240 --> 00:09:00,800 you. Somebody invited you and you may 175 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:05,160 have also been invited to Alpha for at some point in your own 176 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:07,200 life. I actually be thinking about how 177 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:09,280 did you get invited to alpha for the first time? 178 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:12,040 If you experienced that, if you didn't, you're officially 179 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:15,440 getting your invite today. So today will be your marker 180 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:17,600 point for that invite. But if you but if you dig invite 181 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:21,000 to Alpha, how did that happen for you and why did you say yes 182 00:09:21,280 --> 00:09:25,760 to go to going now at the I just want to remind us of something 183 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:28,360 something something cool attached to our vision with 184 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:29,960 origin. At the beginning of the 185 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:33,880 semester, we started this big vision called operation. 186 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:37,520 What was it? Operation 1516. 187 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:41,360 Yeah, we have this big vision to reach 10,000 people with the 188 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:46,440 love of Jesus, and by God's grace, I know that we've reached 189 00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:50,320 actually 1002 thousand even, maybe even more people than that 190 00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:53,760 through Operation 1516. So I'm thanking the Lord that 191 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:57,640 we've been able to do that. And Alpha is one of the ways 192 00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:00,520 next semester that we really want to extend that and go 193 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:03,840 further. We really want to see our campus 194 00:10:04,080 --> 00:10:07,600 reach with Jesus because we believe as a church, as an 195 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:12,360 individual's, that Jesus chose us and sent us out to go bear 196 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:17,600 fruit, fruit that would last. And so church, you are invited 197 00:10:17,640 --> 00:10:22,320 to be part of this vision to join Jesus and his mission. 198 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:29,000 And here's our vision for Alpha. OK, we want to help you reach 199 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:33,360 your friends with Jesus. So how does Alpha join Jesus and 200 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:36,080 his mission? By helping you reach your 201 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:41,040 friends with Jesus, by helping you reach your friends with 202 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:44,920 Jesus, that our church seeks to not only reach you, but to help 203 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:46,960 you reach your friends. And Alpha goes further and 204 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:50,560 really helps us focus on sin, on reaching our friends. 205 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:54,840 When we ask for prayer requests every week, almost every week 206 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:58,520 without fail, we have one person who will say, hey, I'm praying 207 00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:00,480 for my friend. I want to share Jesus with them. 208 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:04,160 I don't really know how to do it or what what to say or they were 209 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:06,200 going through this thing, but I want to love them in the midst 210 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:09,000 of this. And so we we read those and we 211 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:12,200 think, oh, what can we do? And actually Alpha is one of our 212 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:16,080 answers for how we want to help you reach your friends with 213 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:18,480 Jesus. You are somebody's friend 214 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:21,000 potentially and they are thought I'm going to pray for that 215 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:23,720 person. I want to reach them and I want 216 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:27,120 them to know Jesus. And so we want to do the same 217 00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:30,120 for others. You know, one of my favorite 218 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:33,440 life verses has got to be John 1513. 219 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:39,240 Greater love has known than this, to lay down one's life for 220 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:42,880 one's friends. You know Jesus that called you 221 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:45,920 friend and He cared for you so much and we know the story that 222 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:48,600 He gave up His life for us to have a relationship with Him. 223 00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:54,480 That was a significant step that Jesus said that has blessed me 224 00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:57,920 beyond words ever since I that 7 year old where it felt like 225 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:02,120 Jesus invited me. Have you felt like Jesus was 226 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:04,840 your friend and was trying to reach out to you? 227 00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:08,120 And what does that mean for you to be? 228 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:10,880 I'm a friend of Jesus, but I could help somebody else become 229 00:12:10,880 --> 00:12:15,320 a friend of Jesus. That's pretty special. 230 00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:19,840 And so now I want to take a moment to consider what does 231 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:24,200 Alpha actually look like and how does Alpha help us reach our 232 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:25,800 friends? You may see this photo. 233 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:28,440 This is actually from one of our Alpha gatherings that happened 234 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:32,960 last year. Alpha basically is this it's 235 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:37,360 friends gathered around dinner tables to enjoy food, to enjoy 236 00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:41,640 each other, to have easy conversation about God, faith, 237 00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:46,160 and significant, interesting, important questions that you 238 00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:50,200 might be wrestling with. When have you had questions 239 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:53,160 about God, Jesus, survival, all these things? 240 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:56,480 When have you, when have you had those that in your life? 241 00:12:56,720 --> 00:13:01,960 Maybe you're having some now. Well, I find it's often easier 242 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:05,360 to, to have these questions and sometimes it's actually hard to 243 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:11,160 find answers to these questions. But the joy of Alpha and the 244 00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:13,480 thing that gets me really excited about this is you don't 245 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:16,360 have to have the answers at Alpha. 246 00:13:16,680 --> 00:13:19,640 We actually, I, I don't want you to have all the answers at 247 00:13:19,640 --> 00:13:23,600 Alpha, but what we do want you have is curiosity and, and, and 248 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:25,800 excitement about just being together with people to enjoy 249 00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:30,240 food and spend time with one another, because we enjoy being 250 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:33,680 with one other and embrace being curious. 251 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:36,280 And So what does Alpha look like? 252 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:38,920 It looks like a large group of people gathered together to 253 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:42,440 enjoy meal and spend time with each other and reflect on 254 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:45,120 significant questions. And who is Alpha for? 255 00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:47,520 Who is Alpha for? It is for you. 256 00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:50,840 It actually is for you. We really believe it could be 257 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:52,800 for you. We believe it's for your 258 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:57,400 friends, for the curious. Now, an interesting thing about 259 00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:02,000 Alpha is that we invite everyone to come, but our, our, our main 260 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:05,160 focus is to help our friends who are searching, exploring, maybe 261 00:14:05,160 --> 00:14:09,000 new to Christianity or not, not, not too, not sure where they're 262 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:10,440 at. That's the group that we're 263 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:13,080 mainly hoping to come because we want to reach some of Jesus. 264 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:16,280 If you're a mature believer, we're actually so glad that 265 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:17,960 you're here and we want you to keep growing. 266 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:20,800 But your opportunity now with Alpha is to say, Hey, I want to 267 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:23,280 invite my friends to be part of that. 268 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:25,320 And I have more to say about that. 269 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:28,600 Yeah. Alpha is for every student, for 270 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:30,880 everyone searching for answers, for everyone struggling, for 271 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:34,480 everyone wanting to find maybe hope or something that something 272 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:36,800 to give them confidence or courage. 273 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:41,240 And so one other important thing about Alpha that I actually love 274 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:44,880 is that it's hosted by the Association of Christian Clubs. 275 00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:48,720 You may have heard of this group before, Origin Power to Change 276 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:52,360 in a Varsity, Bridges, Navigators, UCM, Every nation 277 00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:56,280 and so many other groups are a part of the Association of 278 00:14:56,280 --> 00:14:58,880 Christian Clubs. And we host it together and we 279 00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:03,560 have over 100 people that join us for this every single week. 280 00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:07,960 And it's starting in January and we're inviting all these groups 281 00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:09,800 and all these ministries to be part of it. 282 00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:14,840 And so we're really excited to gather with you and others and 283 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:18,200 these groups all together. It's the same vision to reach 284 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:24,720 our friends with Jesus because we all have the same belief that 285 00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:29,360 that your friends best life would be with Jesus. 286 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:35,880 Do you believe that, that, that your friends around you, their 287 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:43,240 best life would be with Jesus? Not a perfect life, but a best 288 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:46,840 life because you have hope and joy and you have community and 289 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:49,920 fellowship and you know the way, the truth and the life. 290 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:56,600 And so we're so excited to host Alpha. 291 00:15:57,960 --> 00:15:59,080 Now. I don't know if you know this 292 00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:04,360 also, but that there are 7000 Alpha courses across Canada this 293 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:08,760 year that there were 7000 / 7000 hosted. 294 00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:12,840 And this is an interesting fact. Over 3000 of them were hosted by 295 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:17,480 youth that are younger than us. And so I'm just saying I think 296 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:19,880 we have an opportunity here to host something and convert to me 297 00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:22,800 really special. And here Alpha UBC has been 298 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:25,720 going on for many years now and we get to continue that. 299 00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:30,840 And so all right, why and how should I tell others? 300 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:35,920 Why should we reach our friends with the love of Jesus? 301 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:38,720 I just want to review a few things that I noticed in this 302 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:44,880 that the word go is mentioned 1513 times in the Bible. 303 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:48,800 So Jesus tells us to go like he he mentioned that. 304 00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:53,840 I thought that was great. And the gospel means good news. 305 00:16:54,120 --> 00:16:55,880 I love that. That's really cool. 306 00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:58,200 I thought that the phone, the phone call thing was the 307 00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:00,080 funniest thing. Like he tried to call people and 308 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:03,840 the news got fat, like got past him faster than he could share. 309 00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:05,920 I wonder if that's ever happened to you. 310 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:09,960 And we love sharing good news. It's so significant. 311 00:17:10,040 --> 00:17:12,760 And then the last part is this is that Jesus said you are the 312 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:17,400 salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. 313 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:22,560 When he's saying you are, he's saying that is your identity, 314 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:27,119 that is who God has called you to be, and he is making you into 315 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:29,400 that. And so becoming like Jesus, 316 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:33,840 you're becoming the light, like the light of the world, and 317 00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:36,520 you're joining him in his mission to be a lighthouse to 318 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:40,520 other people. And now I want to transition to 319 00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:44,360 a testimony from Alpha. We're going to do a testimony 320 00:17:44,360 --> 00:17:47,640 video that I think is actually really special from a really 321 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:51,520 unique and really kind of a interesting story there. 322 00:17:51,600 --> 00:17:56,000 That testimony with you. Well, I, I actually really love 323 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:58,680 this one. It feels so authentic and just 324 00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:02,760 like he went, he's like, I don't even almost know why I'm here. 325 00:18:03,120 --> 00:18:05,880 And then then he was had noticed all these things and of 326 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:09,920 resistance that he was feeling. Yet at the end of that video, 327 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:12,480 what was the word that he used to describe how he felt? 328 00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:16,680 Peace. So I don't know if you've ever 329 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:19,320 had this experience, you've seen it happen in other people. 330 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:23,000 But it's very normal actually, for our alpha experience to have 331 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:25,440 people come who are at first, like, I don't know if this is 332 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:27,640 for me. I don't know if this is what I 333 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:30,760 want to be about or if I really should be here. 334 00:18:31,120 --> 00:18:34,080 Or, And you may be feeling like your friends might be having 335 00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:36,840 similar feelings about the idea of going to something like this, 336 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:40,280 but also God has some feelings about how he wants to meet that 337 00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:42,960 person and offer peace to them in the midst of what they're 338 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:44,560 feeling. And he wasn't even paying 339 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:49,040 attention to the prayer, but the Holy Spirit was at work in his 340 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:50,640 heart in ways he didn't even know. 341 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:54,160 And so that's something that I'm really excited about office, 342 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:58,320 that we can invite whoever God puts on our heart and trust the 343 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:01,160 Holy Spirit to work through them through whatever they're 344 00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:03,880 thinking or feeling. And so that's pretty neat. 345 00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:07,880 So everyone who comes to Alpha has a unique story. 346 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:11,160 I want to share a story specifically with you and some 347 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:13,600 of you guys will be here. And I, I didn't ask to show this 348 00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:14,880 photo, but we're showing this photo. 349 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:17,640 This is from. Yeah. 350 00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:21,680 So this is from our Alpha experience that we had last last 351 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:24,200 year. It was my time, my experience of 352 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:27,640 Alpha that I really loved. And what I realized looking back 353 00:19:27,640 --> 00:19:32,120 on this Alpha experience with these guys was, was that this 354 00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:36,640 was the most fun and most joy I've ever found talking about my 355 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:39,640 faith and questions about God with anybody. 356 00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:42,160 Was sitting around this table with these guys, meeting with 357 00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:45,040 them every single week because they came from different 358 00:19:45,040 --> 00:19:47,400 backgrounds, different levels of maturity in their faith. 359 00:19:47,640 --> 00:19:49,600 And we had one or two other guys that were there that weren't 360 00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:51,680 even weren't even Christians that came to our group. 361 00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:54,040 And I was blessed to be with them. 362 00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:58,760 And so the stories are super personal and wonderful. 363 00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:01,720 And so my thought as what I realized about this is what I 364 00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:06,160 thought is that felt like I was part of Alpha and that I was 365 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:09,640 part of Jesus mission and I got to enjoy doing it. 366 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:12,880 That's what that group of guys telling me that I could enjoy 367 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:16,280 being a part of Jesus mission through Alpha and that blessed 368 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:20,520 me and that you can be part of Alpha as well. 369 00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:23,840 And so there's a few ways I want to invite you to be part of 370 00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:26,480 Alpha. The 1st is this. 371 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:31,520 I would invite you to consider participating with us. 372 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:34,920 We would love for you to participate in Alpha with us. 373 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:39,000 Being a part of our church is the first step of you being 374 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:42,960 involved in Alpha. You are part of Alpha and we 375 00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:45,360 really think that you being part of our community, RA says. 376 00:20:45,360 --> 00:20:49,320 We're in doing this together and if you can't participate or come 377 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:52,440 to Alpha, you can actually still participate in another way. 378 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:57,040 You can actually still engage and invite friends and pray and 379 00:20:57,040 --> 00:20:59,080 other things, which I'll share more about in a moment. 380 00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:03,880 The next ways you can help serve with us, We actually have many 381 00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:06,600 ways that we'd love for you to serve and use your giftings and 382 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:09,360 what excites you to serve, whether it be with with food or 383 00:21:09,360 --> 00:21:13,680 helping set up or tech stuff or or any of those areas. 384 00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:16,280 We would really love for you to be somebody to say yes, I want 385 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:19,720 to help with that one thing so that my friends and so that 386 00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:22,760 other people's friends can be reached by Jesus. 387 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:26,720 And then the last way we invite you to service by hosting a 388 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:29,120 table. This is a really special and 389 00:21:29,120 --> 00:21:32,920 significant way for you to consider serving and I don't I 390 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:35,720 all these other roles are great, but by hosting a table is you 391 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:39,600 get to meet with friends and facilitate a conversation that 392 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:42,680 talks about Jesus and other things that just significant. 393 00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:47,040 And then the next one I want to give you is is this to invite? 394 00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:49,800 I have two questions by inviting one. 395 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:51,960 What excites you about inviting people? 396 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:55,600 What excites you about inviting people? 397 00:21:55,600 --> 00:21:58,080 Hold on to that. Is it lives being changed? 398 00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:00,480 Is it friends finding Jesus? Is it just having a good 399 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:03,400 conversation? The second question is what 400 00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:05,480 fears do you have about inviting people? 401 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:08,560 What fears do you have about inviting people? 402 00:22:09,360 --> 00:22:11,200 Because those fears are honestly, they're valid. 403 00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:12,760 I have. I have one story I just want to 404 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:15,360 share with you about this. I remember being in a ministry 405 00:22:15,360 --> 00:22:19,120 in California a couple years ago when I was doing college and 406 00:22:19,120 --> 00:22:22,960 some things there and we were having a Bible study and a dorm 407 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:26,760 and I was standing in the lobby just inviting people who walked 408 00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:28,920 into our dorm like that. That's what we decided we were 409 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:31,720 going to do. And this girl walked in and I 410 00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:34,400 remember I was singing some, this is almost embarrassing. 411 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:36,040 It was embarrassing. I was singing some song. 412 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:38,480 It got really awkward when she walked in and I was like, oh, 413 00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:41,240 hi, because I was trying to invite and I was like, hey, 414 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:43,520 this, I know this is random. We're having a Bible study. 415 00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:45,960 Would you like to come to this Bible study? 416 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:47,600 And she's like, are you guys a cult? 417 00:22:47,600 --> 00:22:51,200 And that was her first question. And I was like, oh, take it. 418 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:53,600 How in the world do I answer? I'm like, I don't think so. 419 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:56,760 Like I think I remember saying like, no, I'm pretty sure we're 420 00:22:56,760 --> 00:23:00,440 not. It was the most, it was the most 421 00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:03,200 awkward moment of like invitation I've ever given. 422 00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:06,320 And I was like, there's no way she's coming to hang out with 423 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:08,200 us. There's no way that she's 424 00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:10,560 coming. And little I know the next night 425 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:15,120 or that evening, she actually came to our group from based off 426 00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:17,800 this really awkward invitation. I was given her. 427 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:21,720 Her name was Jackie. And then months later, one of 428 00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:26,080 her friends had the opportunity to lead her to Jesus and then to 429 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:29,200 baptize her at our church, all because of this stupid 430 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:31,880 invitation that I gave and that moment. 431 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:35,040 So, so I'm telling you, the power of invitation is not in 432 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:39,640 the words that you say, but in the Holy Spirit who's behind you 433 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:45,080 in the invitation. And so you have an opportunity 434 00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:49,000 to offer an invite to somebody, whether you're fearing maybe 435 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:53,080 being embarrassed or being rejected, or maybe I'm 436 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:56,760 forgetting what to say or feeling like they might not be 437 00:23:56,760 --> 00:23:59,720 interested, you have the opportunity to ask and let the 438 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:01,560 Holy Spirit figure out the answer. 439 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:09,560 And so my, my, my request is that consider participating, 440 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:12,160 consider serving, consider inviting, make it personal for 441 00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:13,720 yourself why you would want to do this. 442 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:18,200 And then consider also giving to this Alpha ministry. 443 00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:20,400 I would share more about all these things, but I'm running 444 00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:22,960 out of time. But, but, but I really want to 445 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:25,760 emphasize one of these things about Alpha that we, that we 446 00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:28,600 love is how many people can reach, but it takes actually a 447 00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:31,560 lot. We pay over $10,000 every time 448 00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:35,840 we do do United Alpha. And that's not like we're like 449 00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:38,880 saying, Oh, we really, we really need your, your help. 450 00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:41,920 We're not begging, but we, what we're saying is God has blessed 451 00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:43,440 us when people want to participate. 452 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:45,960 And if you feel like you have a church at home that wants to 453 00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:48,080 bless students, invite them to be part of this. 454 00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:50,560 If your ministry wants to be part of it, please be part of 455 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:51,800 it. If you have an opportunity to 456 00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:54,680 give a few dollars to help a meal happen for somebody to 457 00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:57,360 reach Jesus, that's it. Special. 458 00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:01,520 I've had coffees, conversations that cost $5 where I got to 459 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:04,360 share the love of Jesus. And at the end of it, they 460 00:25:04,360 --> 00:25:06,680 decided they want to follow Jesus for the first time. 461 00:25:07,360 --> 00:25:09,720 And so it's a special, it's a special thing to give to 462 00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:13,560 something like this. And so I'm going to wrap up my 463 00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:15,120 sharing about that. And now we're going to take some 464 00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:18,280 moment for action. Now is the time to make a move. 465 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:21,680 It's a time to make a move. So I'm actually going to invite 466 00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:25,520 the people that were invited to to, to come down to the 467 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:28,680 different spaces and they're going to have some cards for us. 468 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:31,280 So if you're people that they're going to be going to those 469 00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:33,200 places with the cards, go to your positions. 470 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:34,720 I'm going to explain what's going to happen. 471 00:25:35,120 --> 00:25:38,520 OK, This is a little unique and I'm actually inviting you to 472 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:42,960 take some action here. In their hands they have two 473 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:44,760 things, and in my hands I have two things. 474 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:50,520 The first is a prayer card. The 1st is this prayer card 475 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:51,280 here. Did you? 476 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:54,320 Oh sick. OK, the first is this prayer 477 00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:56,560 card. On this prayer card, you're 478 00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:59,840 going to notice a couple things. There's going to be 3 spots for 479 00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:04,080 you to put the names of friends that you want to intentionally 480 00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:08,240 pray for and invite to Alpha. We're actually going to take a 481 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:11,800 few minutes just to reflect and get you a chance to think who 482 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:14,640 could I invite to Alpha? And then we want you to write it 483 00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:16,880 down on here. If you don't have a pen, ask a 484 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:19,600 friend or write on your phone, but we want you to write it 485 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:21,000 down. That's the first card. 486 00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:22,640 We're going to give you the second. 487 00:26:23,120 --> 00:26:25,000 Can you it people in the row hold it up with me. 488 00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:27,840 We have these, we have these Alpha invite cards. 489 00:26:28,120 --> 00:26:32,280 All right, these we're going to give you 3 per person for you 490 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:36,280 invite those three people who you wrote down on the card. 491 00:26:37,040 --> 00:26:40,800 We really want to be intentional about inviting our friends to 492 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:43,200 this event. This is not just like what 493 00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:49,160 Tabling want to give them rooms. We come to his table now to 494 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:54,080 recall that Jesus did indeed give a costly gift of Himself 495 00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:59,160 when he made us friends. When he made the way to 496 00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:04,880 friendship, He gave. And so we're going to take the 497 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:06,880 bread and we're going to take this cup. 498 00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:14,360 And as we do so, would you recall again his great gift to 499 00:27:14,360 --> 00:27:16,600 you? Because I think you have to go 500 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:22,280 forward motivated by love, to invite someone else to Jesus, to 501 00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:25,200 invite them. The invitation to Alpha is 502 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:30,000 really an invitation to get to know Jesus and his people. 503 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:38,000 And so we want to encourage you that the step forward here is 504 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:42,960 just really recall and reflect on the great love of Jesus for 505 00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:48,400 you as we come to this moment. So those helping with the Lord's 506 00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:50,040 Supper, I'm going to invite you all to come. 507 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:54,600 I'm going to invite you all to stand, stand up together, and 508 00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:59,240 we're going to worship. Let the Lord remind you of three 509 00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:06,560 people and recall them. And as you take this bread and 510 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:10,120 you take this cup, just think about Lord Jesus. 511 00:28:10,120 --> 00:28:13,680 What would it be like to get to do that? 512 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:20,160 Paul reminds us that very rarely will someone die for someone 513 00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:25,120 else. Very rarely will someone die for 514 00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:29,920 a criminal, though perhaps for a good person. 515 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:32,320 Someone might say you're worth it. 516 00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:39,120 And here's the extraordinary thing is that God looked at me. 517 00:28:39,200 --> 00:28:44,920 God looks at you and he says you are worth it. 518 00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:52,400 And so in Christ Jesus, God looks upon us and says you are 519 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:56,720 worth it. And he lays down his life in 520 00:28:56,720 --> 00:29:04,960 order to pay for our sin, become sin for us, so that we might 521 00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:10,760 actually have life and a life giving friendship with God that 522 00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:16,680 goes on and on and on. And so we never want to take 523 00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:20,560 that for granted. And so we're called to 524 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:24,720 regularly, whenever we break bread, whenever we take the cup, 525 00:29:25,160 --> 00:29:30,400 remember, we remember the Lord Jesus, that on the night he was 526 00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:33,760 betrayed, he took bread. And when he had given thanks, he 527 00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:37,120 broke it. And he said, this is my body, 528 00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:41,960 which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. 529 00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:06,880 In the same way, after the supper, Jesus took the cup and 530 00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:11,360 he said, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. 531 00:30:12,240 --> 00:30:16,480 Do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me.