2009 has been a great year of spiritual growth and teaching for the Greater Nashville Church. We began this year's journey by sitting at the feet of Jesus and learning about the kingdom of God.  Then, we sat at the feet of Peter and learn about how different it is to live as a citizen of God's kingdom.

This year, we will help each other put these things into practice.  We have chosen Matthew 6:25-34 as our focus scripture for 2010.  From this scripture, we are pulling out three main themes.

1)    Faith.  We live in a society that frets and worries about many things.   Yet, Jesus tells us that we should not worry about our clothing, or food or shelter.  If we do, He says that we have "little faith".  We want this year to be a year that our faith grows more than ever before.  This year, let's learn to be content with what God has given us.  Let's use our faith as motivation to take challenging steps of spiritual growth as we never have before.

2)    Kingdom Priorities. Jesus tells us to seek the kingdom first.  There can only be one "first" in our lives. The center of our lives must be God's Kingdom.  All of our other endeavors must yield to it and revolve around it.  This year, let's decide to order our lives around the kingdom of God, rather than fitting the Kingdom into our already busy lives.

3)    Kingdom Righteousness.  Jesus also says to seek God's righteousness.  This not only refers to the righteousness that is credited to us by God's grace, but also the righteous lives we live in response to that grace.  The letters of Paul and others continually call the disciples to leave their former ways of life and pursue righteous living.  This year, let us throw off the sins that continually entangle us and live righteous lives.  Let us also seek righteous relationships.

These three themes will be woven though all our teaching and preaching during 2010.  If we focus on them and apply them to our lives, there is no limit to how God will bless us as individuals and as a church.

To God be the glory.

2010 Festival of Faith

The Athens Church in Athens, Georgia, will host this year's Festival of Faith for churches throughout the Southeast. This conference will bring together more than a thousand disciples of all ages and places in life. Many from the Greater Nashville Church will be attending for a great time of learning, fellowship and inspiration.

A few weeks after the death of Jesus, his supposedly defeated and dispirited followers burst upon the world, and changed it forever.

Nothing could stop them. They never shut up, slowed down, or settled in. They joyfully proclaimed their life-changing message of good news to the high and mighty, and the poor and lowly. They broke the barriers of persecution, tradition, religion, race, gender, and fear. For those willing to believe, a new life awaited - a life of freedom, joy and purpose.