This is the first Wednesday night service of the school year. I am so stinking excited of what my wife and I have been planning for and praying about this year.

If you have been with us for the first year of me being here, you have noticed the room has changed a lot. We had Polaroids hanging on this back wall. But now they are taken down. And we have a blank 180 sign up on the side wall.

Playing behind me is a bunch of pictures of the polaroids.

Point out some students that comes up.

We all have changed over the year. Some of us have gotten better in a sport. Passed and moved on from a certain grade. Others you weren’t with us but you can remember where you were at a year ago and how drastically your life has changed. Move or at a different church.

As we start a new school year, I want us to take a snapshot of our lives right now, and reflect how we want to be at the end of the year.

Planning for this talk I couldn’t really decide where I wanted to go with this. But I think this is where we will go.

My hope and prayer is that this every time you enter this place you will grow in who you are, you know your belonging, and you know your purpose.

At somepoint everyone will ask these 3 questions.

Who Are You?

Where Do You Belong?

What difference do you make?

We are Kingdom People.

I want us to look at a piece of scripture tonight that I hope leads us into a series of talks on the Sermon on the Mount.

Right before this talk Jesus starts his earthly ministry like this.

Matthew 4:17 (NIV)

17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

He tells people first to REPENT. Turn from their sin and turn towards God. Make a complete 180 degree turn in your life and live for God. Because the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN; what is that?

A kingdom is a group of people ruled by a king. So this is a Kingdom under God’s Rule.

My heart for you this year is that you would be:

A people Led by Jesus.

Jesus after He says this then goes and calls the first disciples.

May we be a youth group LED BY JESUS everyday as we are walking and going about in our schools.

Matthew 4:19 ESV

19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

A people SHAPED BY GRACE.

“the most important thing in your life is not what you do; its who you become. Thats what you will take into eternity.” - Dallas Willard

Discipleship is the process of becoming like Jesus for the sake of others.

Jesus calls fishermen, not the brightest bunch. He went to a wal-mart parking lot and picked out the rednecks that were reving their engines. Imagine what Jesus could do with you, this year.

Be a people MOVED BY LOVE.

I love this quote, “Only love gets close enough to know.”- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Its easy to tell people truth from a distance, but to love someone is to be close with that person.

Matthew 4:23–24 NIV

23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them.

Its really easy to preach the truth from a distance. Its much harder to practice love up close. Because it is messy. Jesus was never afraid to get His hands dirty. He got close enough to know.

May we be Kingdom People. Led By Jesus. Shaped by Grace. & Moved by Love.

This year may we: LOVE GOD & LOVE PEOPLE.

Last worship song.