“He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me.”
- Psalm chapter 18. verse 19
Follow Jesus with us via the the Bible App; Set Open Road as 'My Church' to get updates.
Ahoy Open Road!
Despite the rainy week, we managed moments of Sunshine on Sunday!
This Sunday, join us under the tent on the College Green at Caloundra Christian College. Enjoy the songs this week so you can sing from your heart on Sunday.
In last weeks message, I shared about the Narrow Gate, the only way to enter God's Kingdom Life. As I shared, my personal reflection on Matthew 7 was that if you choose the Narrow Gate (faith in Jesus, not yourself, or your worthiness), you get a Wide Life (life as it was meant to be). If you choose the Wide Gate (faith in yourself and what everyone else says is important), you get a Narrow Life (life aside from God's promises and presence).
While the invitation of Jesus is open to anyone, you only receive it on his terms.
It's like when you are invited to a wedding, the bride and groom often request a certain dress code, such as smart casual, formal or black tie. You're invited, but there's only one way to turn up.
Similarly, Jesus has invited you and I to his family by faith. However, you have to come in faith alone, not faith plus morality, or faith plus your own set of alternative beliefs or values. If you seek to enter his Kingdom, or family, by anything other than faith, you're actually seeking to enter through the wide gate.
I sahred on Sunday about a road trip we went on. Since we had such a large family and heaps of possessions with us, we had to travel on the 'wide' highway. However, when we went to visit the most beautiful places (a hidden cavern) I had to squeeze through a narrow cave entrance!
Our giant KIA setup, our cavern and a bad photo of the VERY narrow path we had to squeeze through.
Similarly, if you and I want to experience the rich, inner, spiritual life of God, Jesus says we have to literally squeeze into it with nothing but ourselves and our faith in Jesus. It may sound like an unnecessary challenge to some, but it's actually a gift. Because the only criteria is nothing - literally, you have to leave everything behind and give your whole self to God - it's open to everyone.
This morning I read Psalm 18:19, "He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me." This shows that Jesus' offer wasn't a Plan B, but God's eternal Plan A. God truly delights in knowing and dwelling with us. The chief outcome, practically speaking, of God's rescue of our souls is to expand, not contract, every aspect of our life.
So, may you give up everything that limits you from choosing the Narrow Gate of Jesus, and come to enjoy God's delight in every part of your being. May faith in Goa alone lead you to experience all he has designed you for and promised to you.
This Sunday, Caloundra Christian College is welcoming us to set up our tent on their College Green. Bring some snacks for before/after if you want to chill on the grass or under the tent. We'll worship, pray and share in communion.
Much love, and see you Sunday,
Dan
Learning to Follow Jesus
Last Sunday we explored Jesus' teaching to Choose the Narrow Gate. If you missed it, why not take time to read the devotional or simply read and meditate on (prayerfully consider) the scripture below.
“13 Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Matthew 7:12-14
Coming Up
November - Home + Moffat
Mondays - Young Adults - Marcello + Mariela 0428 986 423
Tuesdays - 5am RPM (Run, Prayer, Men) - Ryan
Fridays - 6am Men's Prayer - Fred 0431 437 080
Oct 01 Sunday Gatherings: Home + Tent Worship + Communion
Oct 08 Sunday Gatherings: Home + Beach
Oct 15 Sunday Gatherings: Home + Beach Baptisms
Oct 22 Sunday Gatherings: Home + Beach
Oct 29 Sunday Gatherings: Home + Beach
Our Mission
To help people find and follow Jesus.
Our Vision
Fully Alive through faith in Jesus. To see this vision come to life, we developed FAM, our Fully Alive Model. Ideally, you can work through FAM with someone else.
Our Rhythms
Get to Know Jesus: how are you getting to know Jesus this week?
Invite people into your life: who can you intentionally open up your life to?
Gather and get involved: who can you connect, listen, share, or pray with this weekend?
Giving Up, In, and Out
Our church encourages people to set aside money each week/month to meet the needs of our church, community and beyond. We follow the same simple pattern of giving that we encourage each other individually: UP, IN, and OUT.
Giving UP
As a church, we give 2.5% to our denomination to support what's happening in churches like ours statewide and show appreciation for all the support they provide. We encourage each follower to consider giving "up" to support their local church - in this case, ours :)
Giving IN
We encourage you to be alert for personal/family needs within our church. If you know someone with genuine needs that you can't meet yourself, please REPLY now.
Giving OUT
We encourage people to be generous not just in/around our church family, but also to those serving beyond us.
"Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed." - Proverbs 19:17
Last month's giving: $10,061
Last month's expenses: $15,288
Balance: $65,941
If you would like to support what we are doing and our giving to those in need, you can get started giving to Open Road to meet the needs of our church or get in touch with any questions you may have.
Keen to know more?
Subscribe: At the bottom of every page you can subscribe to our newsletter.
Updates: View a list of all our weekly updates.
