Serve the House | Serve the City | Serve the Globe – Celebration Church in Austin, TX

This weekly thought is designed to inspire, inform and focus Celebration Serve Teams around why we do what we do.

Vision – Happy Easter!

1 Corinthians 15:3b-4, “Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.”

Jesus is alive! …and we are alive in Him! Serve with vigor. Serve with joy and expectation. Serve extravagantly! Many will believe in Jesus because you bring them face-to-face with His love. Let’s WOW people. Church, show off!

Information

Easter Services – Georgetown campus details:

1) The KIDS Auditorium is a Volunteer Green Room all weekend – bring food to potluck, kick back in there when not serving, store your things. The space is for you!

2) Please park across the street in the Austin American Statesman parking lot to keep our lots open for Easter guests…and arrive EARLY to serve!

Baptism Next Wednesday, April 7th – after XL & Adult services in Georgetown. Sign up online at www.celebrationchurchtx.com or just SHOW UP. Be verbal about taking the baptism plunge or inviting your friends to do so – especially those who give their life to Christ this Easter!

April 11th – Some great things happening!

Young Adult Service – new 6pm service format for Georgetown at 6pm: in Celebration HD & designed just for Young Adults with Pastor Jonathan!

Celebration Classic – Sunday morning Celebration HD will now be open only at 10:30 & called Celebration Classic: a worship service with less-loud music (a hymn or two!) & an inviting smaller-venue vibe. Same great Pastor Joe message on the screen!

Cedar Park Two Services – now at 9 am & 10:30 am every Sunday!

Kingdom Builders, April 11th – Also next Sunday, Kingdom Builders are gathering at 4pm in Georgetown to party (!) & hear from Pastor Joe about exciting Fall plans. Be a Kingdom Builder and lead in your giving to tangibly build God’s Kingdom! RSVP to gcannon@celebrationchurchtx.com.

Prayer

Pray that God’s real, living presence fill everything we do today. Pray for a WOW-factor. Pray that many step from death into eternal life today. Oh, Lord, SHOW OFF!

This weekly thought is designed to inspire, inform and focus Celebration Serve Teams around why we do what we do.

Vision

Isaiah 58:10, “Feed the hungry and help those in trouble.  Then your light will shine out from the darkness and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.”

Celebration Church is in an all-out servolution!  Each of us is called to open our eyes to the needs of those around us:  How can we serve?  How can we meet people’s needs?  Who is in trouble?  As we help, the light of Christ will shine powerfully in our city.  What serve project are you involved in?  Even this week, on Sunday the 28^th, you can donate blood to save someone’s life.  You serve, I serve, Celebration serves!

Information

Celebration SERVES – It’s on! We are mobilizing to SERVE others and then INVITE our city to experience Christ at Celebration this Easter!  Serve your community through a Celebration Church project or one of your own.  Whatever you do, share the experience on our Celebration Serves Facebook page!

Easter Services – This is the week to invite your family and friends to our Saturday & Sunday Easter services!  Georgetown members – When making Easter weekend plans, think about going to Easter services on Saturday @ 4 & 6 pm or Sunday at 6 pm; leaves your Sunday free & makes room for tons of guests on Easter Sunday!  Identical services!

Prayer

Pray that God gives us courage and creative ideas to serve our city this week.  Pray that we invest in people’s lives and invite them to experience Christ at Celebration this Easter.  Pray that the Lord stir up a holy noise among the city – inspiring people’s curiosity and hunger for Jesus Christ.

Serve the House

This weekly thought is designed to inspire, inform and focus Celebration Serve Teams around why we do what we do.

Vision

John 12:26 “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.”

At the center of the Kingdom is service:  first to Christ and then to others.  Jesus always inspires us to serve others in His name and with His authority.  Serve Christ with great confidence and know the God will cover you with honor.  This honor will give you favor with the people you serve: their walls will fall, their courage will rise and they will know Him more because of you.

Information

Growth Track Sunday – This Sunday (today!) March 21st is Growth Track Sunday.  Who can you invite to: Join the church at Connect >>> get good teaching at Grow >>> learn about our passion for the house, city & globe at Serve? Classes at 6 pm in Georgetown, 12 pm in Cedar Park & 3:30 pm in Spanish.

Celebration SERVES – March 26th to April 3rd, we are mobilizing to SERVE others and then INVITE our city to experience Christ at Celebration Church Easter!  Get creative:  how can you serve your city for $100?  Share your ideas here at www.CelebrationServes.com where the most creative posts will receive $100 toward a Serve Project!  Need help with a project?  Register for one of many CelebrationSERVES projects at www.celebrationchurchtx.com or at the CelebrationSERVES booth in the Blend.

Easter Weekend, April 3^rd & 4th – Georgetown Saturday at 4 & 6 pm, Sunday at 9 am, 10:30 am, 12 pm, 6 pm (1:30 pm in Spanish) / Cedar Park Sunday at 9 am & 10:30 am.  Take some Easter invites to your neighbors today!

Prayer

Pray that our team will be baptized with a new, radical sense of obedience to follow Jesus wherever He goes.  Pray for confidence for the team as we sense the prompting and leading of God.  Pray that we would serve with a deep sense of fulfillment and purpose – knowing that because we serve, others will know Christ.

As the church, we are a living testimony and representation of Jesus Christ, who came to world, clothed in humanity, ministering healing to the broken, offering hope to the hopeless, lifting the poor and valuing the outcasts.

The church is not tucked away, sheltered and hidden from the rest of the world. It is a force, an ever-evolving, innovative and dynamic organism, affecting the spiritual climate of our city, our nation, and our world.

This Easter, we are banding together for Celebration Serves. Ten days of intense service across our city where we all have the chance to invest in others through service. What ideas do you have of how YOU can get creative and serve? Use your creativity to impact your neighbors, your friends and your community!

Celebration SERVES gives you a variety of ways serve in your community and invite them to become a part of ours this Easter! (Check it out on CelebrationChurchTx.com to sign up for a project this March).

Take the $100 challenge. How would you serve YOUR city with $100?  Post your ideas to facebook , twitter or right here on this blog. The most creative posts will receive $100 towards their serve project. Start posting away! What ideas do you have?

This weekly thought is designed to inspire, inform and focus Celebration Serve Teams around why we do what we do.

Vision

Genesis 28:12&13, 16&17 “Then (Jacob) dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: ‘I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants…’  Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.’ And he was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!’”

God is in this place!  Awake!  Serve God with gladness!  People often come through church doors sleepy and unaware, but our prayer is that they will wake up at Celebration!  They will hear God’s voice and they will declare, “This is the House of God!  This is the gate of heaven!”  When you serve, you open doorways (kid doors, youth doors, front doors)…doorways to heaven so that many will receive Christ and be saved!  God is in this place!

Information

Celebration SERVES – March 26th to April 3rd, we are mobilizing to SERVE others and then INVITE our city to experience Christ at Celebration Church Easter!  Get creative:  how can you serve your city for $100?  Share your ideas here at www.CelebrationServes.com where the most creative posts will receive $100 toward a Serve Project!

Growth Track Sunday - next Sunday, March 21st, is Growth Track Sunday.  Join the church at Connect >>> get good teaching at Grow >>> learn about our passion for the house, city & globe at Serve.  Who can you personally invite to take the next step?

Prayer

Pray that God awakens people’s spirit when they walk through the doors.  Pray that each team member recognize the important role they play in seeing people won to Christ.  Pray that God’s presence in this House is tangible and fills our heart with love and joy.

This weekly thought is designed to inspire, inform and focus Celebration Serve Teams around why we do what we do.

Vision

2 Samuel 23 “These are the names of David’s mighty men…”

We are looking into the lives of David’s mighty men and recognizing that they embodied certain characteristics that we, as a church, should embody today.  These mighty leaders were (and Celebration should be ) #1 intense, #2 willing to do what what no one else would do and #3 spiritual. To be spiritual is to be sensitive to the Spirit of God & people.  They LOVED their King.  They trusted him enough to stick their necks out for him.  Be sensitive to the spiritual anointing that’s upon you.  Boldly trust your King and, as you serve, people will sense a regal extravagance from you.  Others will be better for it and you will too!

Information

This Thursday, March 11th!  Women’s Lunch in Cedar Park at 11:30am (Twin Creeks Country Club) and Women’s Dinner in Georgetown at 6:30pm (Heroes Auditorium).  Only $10 get you and a first-time-Celebration-friend in the door!

Celebration Serves – projects and website to launch next Sunday, March 14th.  Be thinking of creative ways YOU can serve your city for only $100.

Prayer

Lord, pour your anointing on us as we serve today.  We want to be sensitive to your presence.  Please open our spiritual eyes & ears to what you are doing.  Thank you for your church and for the opportunity to serve.  We do it with a cheerful heart!  Amen!

V.I.P. Thought for Sunday, February 28th & Wednesday, March 3rd

Vision

2 Samuel 23 “These are the names of David’s mighty men: Josheb-Basshebeth…Eleazar…Shammah…(great) were the exploits of the three mighty men.”

Just as these men were stand-outs in the Kingdom, we want to stand-out for our King today.  Here’s our second look at the qualities that made King David’s men “mighty” ~ they’re the same qualities that make a church mighty.

#2 Mighty Churches Are Willing to Do What No One Else Will Do.  Before we serve let’s think, how can I go above-and-beyond in my service today?  How can I better meet the needs of those I serve?  How can I better represent Christ in my second-mile attitude?  Ultimately, are we willing to GO where no one else is going?  Let’s stand out today…and take time this week to think and dream and ponder how the Holy Spirit would have us serve with more might.

Information

Baptism Sunday, February 28th - 5pm baptism & 4pm class.  Go public with your faith! Sign up online or at the Welcome Center.

Leader Night, March 2nd - mark your calendars for this great Tuesday night of training beginning at 6:30pm (Small Group Leaders come early for a 5:30pm dinner!).  We’ll talk through Celebration Church Easter Service Plans plus train current and NEW volunteers through some exciting ministry breakouts.  All are welcome!

Prayer

Lord, please give us creativity into things no one has ever thought before, courage to do what no one else has done, and vision go where no one else has gone.  We are at Your service!  Amen.

V.I.P. Thought for Sunday, February 21st & Wednesday the 24th

This weekly thought is designed to inspire, inform and focus Celebration Serve Teams around why we do what we do.

Vision

2 Samuel 23 “These are the names of David’s mighty men: Josheb-Basshebeth…Eleazar…Shammah…(great) were the exploits of the three mighty men.”

Just as these men were stand-outs in the Kingdom, we want to stand-out for our King today.  The qualities that made King David’s men “mighty” are the same qualities that make a church mighty.  We’ll look at these over the next few weeks.

#1 Mighty Churches are Intense:  let’s be good at what we’re supposed to be good at; let’s be unforgettable in God’s eyes today; let’s serve with an intense enthusiasm; let’s love with an intense love.

Information

February 21st is Growth Track Sunday! Connect • Grow • Serve classes are at 6pm on the Georgetown Campus (3:30pm in Spanish).

Baptism Sunday, February 28th - 5pm baptism & 4pm class.  Go public with your faith! Sign up online or at the Welcome Center.

Leader Night, March 2nd - mark your calendars for this great Tuesday night of training beginning at 6:30pm (Small Group Leaders come early for a 5:30pm dinner!).  We’ll talk through Celebration Church Easter Service Plans plus train current and NEW volunteers through some exciting ministry breakouts.  All are welcome!

Prayer

Your Holy Spirit is what sets us apart.  Your Holy Spirit is what makes us mighty.  Your Holy Spirit gives us a healthy dose of intensity.  Cover us as we serve Your people.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen!

V.I.P. Thought for Sunday February, 14th & Wednesday, February 17th

This weekly thought is designed to inspire, inform and focus Celebration Serve Teams around why we do what we do.

Vision

2 Samuel 23:16 ”So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink it, but poured it out to the LORD.”

King David was surrounded by a number of leaders and servants, but there were three who stood out:  his “three mighty men.”  You and I can learn from these men and should desire to be used in a special way as they were.  (I don’t know about you, but I want to be a stand-out Christian and a leader in God’s Kingdom.)  First, the mighty men knew how to fight.  They did not run away from challenges, but directly into them.  Second, they picked up on the longing of their King.  We must be intuitive, having the eyes, ears & heart of Jesus Christ and Celebration Church.  Third, they could submit.  These three had a captain named Abishai (see vs. 18-19).  You and I must be team players: teachable, trainable, correctable.

Information

Travel the Growth Track at Celebration Church.  Growth Track Sunday is February 21st & the third Sunday of every month.  Connect • Grow • Serve classes are at 6pm on the Georgetown Campus (3:30pm in Spanish).

February 19th & 20th’s Encounter is a two-day pursuit of God’s presence starting Friday night, February 19th at 7pm at Georgetown Campus and continuing Saturday, February 20th at the Texas Disposal Systems Exotic Game Ranch & Pavilion) from 10am to 4pm.  $25 includes food & resources ~ childcare available upon request.

Prayer

Lord, we want to be mighty men & women for You.  Help us serve with strength, intuition & submission.  Give us unity as a team and loyalty for You, Celebration Church & one another.