WINTER 2025 - HAPPINESS IS...

January 5, 2025:  Flourishing Together:  Rooted in Christ

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

This text serves as the core passage for this year-long study of what it means to be Rooted in Christ. In this passage, Paul declares that the Holy Spirit searches the deep things of God. It is only through a dynamic relationship with Christ through the Holy Spirit that we can attain the spiritual depth needed to flourish as Christians. The good news is that God has made it possible! We can engage with God in this personal relationship, and He will reveal the mystery of His wisdom to us!

Flourishing Together Weekly Reading: 1 Corinthians 2:6-16

January 12, 2025:  Rev. Oza Jones, BGCT Director of Evangelism

Guest Preacher

Flourishing Together Weekly Reading: Psalm 1

January 19, 2025:  Don’t Worry, Be Happy!

Psalm 68:3-6

Modern theologians often distinguish between happiness and joy. Joy is normally understood to be the abiding reality available to Christians regardless of circumstances. Happiness is often portrayed as more dependent on circumstances and refers to an emotional state. However, the textual evidence in the Scripture seems to indicate there is a great deal of overlap in how the writers of the Bible portray happiness and joy. In other words, these two English terms are viable translations of a number of both Hebrew (OT) and Greek (NT) words. They are in the same semantic domain and have some synonymous connections. I will introduce the concept of connecting these two terms in this sermon as I draw from a number of texts in both the Old and New Testaments.

 Flourishing Together Weekly Reading: Philippians 4:4-9

Flourishing Together: Launch Weekend --- January 24-26, 2025

In October 2021, Baylor University and Harvard University announced the launching of the Global Flourishing Study. The research team is comprised of some 45 scholars/researchers who are guiding the longitudinal studies of over 200,000 people across 22 countries. This work is to take place initially over the next 5 years. It is the most comprehensive undertaking of its time in social science history.

Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion and the Human Flourishing Program of Harvard University have now joined with the Abundant Life Flourishing Program of Regent University to study and promote flourishing in the church in the 21st century.  This is a wonderfully new outgrowth of the Global Flourishing Study.

The work of this group will focus on three levels: Individual Christians, Congregations, and Communities Surrounding Congregations. They intend to research the factors that lead to the facilitation of flourishing Christians. Collectively, these Christians living in community with each other will result (or already has resulted) in flourishing congregations. Then, these flourishing congregations will have an impact on the surrounding, greater community and contribute to its overall flourishing.

On this pivotal weekend, we will begin a three-year journey as a church with a church-wide retreat. We will focus on the introduction of the concept of human flourishing to our congregation. We will provide an overview of the Six Domains currently being utilized by the Global Flourishing Study.

Scott Heare, Chief Vision Officer of the Global Flourishing Project – Austin/San Antonio Region will be our guest for the Friday and Saturday sessions as he will introduce us to the Global Flourishing & Church initiative.

Retreat Schedule:
Friday – January 24

5:30pm - Meal (Optional) - Fellowship Hall

6:30pm - Kick-Off Session - Sanctuary - Children in childcare*

8:00pm - Dismiss - End of Day 1

Saturday – January 25

9:00am - Grab-and-go Breakfast & Coffee - Campus

9:30am - Session 2 - Sanctuary - Children to childcare*

10:30-10:45am - Break

10:45 - 11:15am - Bible Study Small Groups

11:30am - Session 3, Worship & Prayer - Sanctuary

12:00pm - End of Day 2

12:15pm - Volunteer Lunch for those who are serving during the retreat.

Sunday – January 26

Normal Sunday Morning Schedule

8:30am - Classic Worship

9:45am - Gather in Fellowship Hall to hear from Scott Heare

11:00am - Contemporary Worship

January 26, 2025:  Flourishing in Purity

Matthew 5:8

One of the Six Domains in the Global Flourishing Study is Happiness and Life Satisfaction. Sociologists have long identified the desire for happiness and life satisfaction as universal among human beings. We will continue our exploration we began last Sunday on the topic of happiness as we launch a study of the Beatitudes. We will begin with the fundamental declaration from Jesus – “Happy are the pure in heart!”

 Flourishing Together Weekly Reading: Matthew 5:1-12

February 2, 2025:  Flourishing in Poverty

Matthew 5:3-5

In today’s message, we will connect the first three Beatitudes—poverty in spirit, mourning, and meekness. All of these have something to do with the acknowledgment of God’s resources in the midst of inadequacy, loss, or the bridling of our aggressive tendencies. These three pronouncements from Jesus remind us of our dependence on His presence and power to enable us to flourish in the real-life challenges of the human experience.

Flourishing Together Weekly Reading: Luke 6:17-26

February 9, 2025:  Flourishing in Pursuit

Matthew 5:6

Jesus continues to describe a flourishing Kingdom citizen with His declaration that we demonstrate (or discover) happiness through pursuing His Kingdom’s interests. As followers of Jesus, we have to deal with our selfish desires that lead to selfish pursuits aimed at selfish ends. Overcoming those temptations towards self-centeredness is necessary if we are going to discover true happiness. The pursuit of righteousness is a life-long journey and it promises a greater reward than we could ever imagine!

Flourishing Together Weekly Reading: Matthew 6:25-34

February 16, 2025:  Flourishing in Pity

Matthew 5:7

The English word “merciful” translates the adjectival form of eleos in Greek. According to the Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, eleos is “the outward manifestation of pity.” While there is a distinction between “mercy” and “pity” --- there are textual connections throughout the Bible in both Hebrew and Greek. Today we will explore how God can work through our compassion towards us to extend mercy. This outward expression of love and concern for others is characteristic of a happy and blessed person in God’s Kingdom.

Flourishing Together Weekly Reading: Matthew 18:21-35

February 23, 2025:  Flourishing in Peacemaking

Matthew 5:9

We live in a society marked by rancor, polarization, and separation. Ours is a loud culture! We find evidence of the relational brokenness on every level imaginable. Families, neighborhoods, school boards, houses of legislature, Christian denominations, and so many others are places of division, anger, and accusatory language. We need people of peace who can help broker peace in these spaces across our society. This text challenges us to evaluate how God might use us to be voices of reconciliation in the face of so much division in our world. Jesus says this much-needed expression of Kingdom life is characteristic of God’s children!

Flourishing Together Weekly Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

March 2, 2025:  Flourishing in Persecution

Matthew 5:10-12

Unfortunately, our world has not always favorably received God’s people or God’s message. This remains true today. Obviously, many of the original disciples of Jesus faced serious persecution from both Romans and Jews. In fact, for over 250 years after the time of Christ, believers were often persecuted for their faith. Today there are places where serious persecution is a reality for Christians. For those of us in the West, the opposition we face may not rise to the level faced by those in the broader Christian family, we still often deal with the opposing forces of evil. Jesus promises us that our Father is paying attention and His care for us reaches into eternity.

Flourishing Together Weekly Reading: James 1:1-18