::WAREHOUSE CLEANING PARTY

Once a semester we give our meeting space a deep clean--and it needs it!  Make plans to join us on Friday night, January 14th at 7:00 p.m. in the warehouse as we paint, sweep, rearrange chairs, scrub floors and bathrooms, etc.  We need as many hands on deck as we can get.  Let us know you'll be there be attending the facebook event

::COUPLE RETREAT 2011

Married and engaged couples: join us for an in-town retreat on Friday and Saturday January 28th and 29th.  We'll be welcoming Jason Dukes, a pastor from the Orlando area, as we take part in teaching and discussion about marriage, families, and everything in between following our Jack and Jill: It's Complicated series.  Childcare will be provided in Well Kids, and registration is open here for only $20 per person.

::MID WEEK PREVIEW
Check out this week's Mid Week Preview, featuring our Director of Excitement James Parsons and our Lead Pastor Dean Inserra here.

::SWEATSHIRTS

Want a Well hoodie of your own?  They're on sale for only $19.00 and will be here by next Sunday.  You must pay for your in advance here.

 

"Elementary" by Jovanna Gomez

Lately, I've found myself unjustly using one word a little much-elementary. In describing the bible study guide I've been using, I said, "It's good, but very elementary." One of my good friends recently gave me a Life Journal that takes you through the bible in a year and while I decided I enjoy it, I recently labeled it "elementary."

But who am I? Who am I to ever think that I am intellectually, spiritually, or theologically above the gospel? Above the very words God breathed?

Hello reality check.

If you know me, you know I certainly have no grounds to call anything related to Christ "elementary". I got saved three years ago and have only started my journey since then. The gospel was not a part of my life growing up. Actually, I can still remember the day I asked Krissie Inserra, over a cup of Starbucks, "This thing (the Bible) is so big, where do I start?" And though I've learned a lot since then, there's still infinitely more to learn.

Truth is, since starting the Life Journal, I've felt closer to Christ that I have in ages; walking with him from birth to his early ministry (in the book of Luke), reading about the miracles he performed and seeing the magnitude of peoples' faith. I'm enjoying this guided path through the Bible and it's anything but elementary.
 

As Christians, new or seasoned, we get tendencies to dismiss a church as being for seekers or a devotional as being for new Christians. The gospel calls us to "be transformed by the renewing of [our] mind" (Romans 12:2). Why not do this by starting from the beginning from time to time? The only way to transform our minds is through the gospel. God uses His word to transform us, and there is nothing elementary about that!

My prayer is that for the rest of my life, I will never again see myself as too intellectual, theological, or spiritual or whatever for anything related to Christ. God uses every situation to glorify himself and I need to realize I do not get to be the judge of what is worthy of that purpose.

I'll end with a quote by Tim Keller, found on Dean's blog: "the gospel is not the ABCs of salvation, but the A to Z of the Christian life." It is where we start, and we should never go beyond it.