“I have come that you might have life and have it to the full.” – John 10:10
Happy New Year! We are standing on the threshold of a whole new year; a brand new experience in living that has the capacity to alter and change our future as well as the future of people around us. You might be skeptical and cynical and believe the previous sentence is pure pastoral optimism and destined for extinction. Before you push the delete button of your heart and mind, let me challenge you with the biblical promise of Jesus that He has come to make all things new. Following Jesus is an adrenaline-filled faith experience of living beyond our human capacity and encountering the supernatural dimension. God has placed on my heart the concept of living an EPIC life. Epic is defined as “extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size or scope.” What an amazing description of the life that Jesus came to bring! The EPIC life of Jesus means living beyond the ordinary existence of what our contemporary American culture has to offer. I believe that everyone is truly aching and longing to be and do something EPIC.
The well-known contemporary author, speaker, and blogger Leonard Sweet has described EPIC with the following acrostic:
E – Experiential – We want to personally encounter God and His world.
P – Participatory – We want to actively engage and not be spectators.
I – Image – We are living in an image-based culture where what we see has become the new reality.
C – Connected – We don’t want to do it alone but with other people.
What a description of the EPIC life that Christ has come to bring to His counter-cultural people known as the Church. I believe that this year is going to be one of the most EPIC filled years atCentralChurchas we personally and corporately live beyond our comfort zone. As you are in the process of evaluating the highs and lows of 2011 and cast your gaze upon the New Year, I would encourage you to think through some of the following EPIC categories – domains of thought that go beyond the ordinary and usual.
- EPIC Dreams – What are the God-sized dreams and accomplishments that He has placed on your heart that only He can fulfill in you?
- EPIC Love – How is the agape unconditional love of Jesus going to be expressed this year in your life?
- EPIC Pursuit – We all will follow and give ourselves to something and someone this year. What is going to be epically different about your pursuit of Christ this year?
- EPIC Service – One of the missing links in our Christianity is serving the least of these. Who are you going to serve this year that are currently not being valued by the Church?
- EPIC Humility – Life is not about you – it is about Christ. How are you going to move yourself out of the way this year so that Christ might get more of your life?
We could go on and on. Christ has come so that we might live life to the full – what a description of an EPIC life! May we plan for and pursue Christ this year,
Pastor Ernie
