S P A C E S

the UF foundational stakes

 

 

STORY

You have a story! 

I like your story and I can't wait to hear it. 

 

It does not matter if the details are fractured or ambiguous or beautiful or assured...it's your life story. 

Our lives can turn on one breath.  As long as we're breathing, our story is still unfolding. 

If you're breathing, God is with you!

 

    Our story is precious to God as He put us together!  

 

    Psalms 139:16 says

    "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

 

 

PROFOUND

There is a God.

He loves you. 

He made you. 

He sacrificed his Son so we could have a path to him. 

The Son is alive. 

The Son is coming back. 

 

Truly, there is a being who is -- Majestic. Creative. Thorough. 

Far-reaching. All-powerful. 

All-knowing. Glorious. 

Righteous. Victorious. 

 

    Habakkuk 2:14 says

    "For recognition of the LORD's sovereign majesty will fill the earth just as the waters fill up the sea."

 

 

AUTHENTIC

Authenticity and Truth are linked.

To some, truth feels dynamic -- moldable, shifting with culture or convenience.

Authenticity pushes back against that.

Something cannot be false and also be authentic.

Something cannot be manipulated and be authentic.

 

Authenticity does not replace Truth.

It points us back to the source. And the source of Truth

is urgently vital.

 

    John 14:5-6

    Thomas said, "Lord, we don't know where you are going. How can we know the way?" Jesus replied, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the     Father except through me."

 

Thomas -- usually called "doubting Thomas" -- is one I've always liked.  I relate to him.  Maybe you do too. 

He asks hard questions about the source of truth.

After the resurrection, Thomas wants to touch the wounds on Jesus' body, he wants to know that what he believes is real. 

That's not doubt for doubt's sake.

That's pursuit of the source.

 

In John 14, Thomas voices what everyone else is thinking:

"Who are we really following?  Where are we going?"

His question is a cry for authenticity from Jesus Himself.

 

And Jesus replies with emphatic, divine finality:

 

One way. One Truth. One Life. One Father and One path.

 

We aren't doing this Unemployed Fishermen thing without Jesus as our One Authentic Truth.

 

 

COMMUNITY

Belonging.

We need each other.

God made us to live life together.

When we gather authentically -- in truth -- the Spirit of Jesus is present with us.

This isn't a group project done out of duty or obligation.

It's something deeper.

It's people who didn't even realize how thirsty they were until they tasted the living water Jesus pours for us.

Everyone comes with unique containers.

Some bring only a tiny dropper.

Others, a five-gallon bucket.

It doesn't matter.

 

What matters is the living water itself.

In this kind of community, we get a glimpse of heaven --

a group that belongs together,

even if they just met, even if they didn't expect it.

Authentic community forms when the source runs deep, 

when Jesus begins to pour,

and when people live an authentic part of their life together.

 

    John 4:14

    But whoever drinks some of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again, but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.

 

EXPERIENCE

The journey.

What makes you come alive? 

What makes creation sing? 

When you begin to see yourself as part of creation,

it sinks in --

creation singing and you coming alive are the same thing!

 

There's something to being outdoors in creation. 

Or put another way --

there's something about

being out-of-doors. 

 

Doors limit visibility and connection. 

Doors offer a sense of security --

but the trade off is enclosure and isolation. 

 

Let's get OUT of DOORS! 

I am not just talking about rugged mountains or deep seas (though maybe)! 

It's letting go of our enclosures and isolation.

 

Take the risk to say YES --

to experiencing life with Jesus,

to walking in creation,

to building community. 

 

That "yes" begins an experience that changes everything -- forever.

It's the invitation to live life, and life to the fullest.  

 

    Psalm 98:7-8

        "Let the sea roar, and all that     fills it;  the world and those who     dwell in it!  Let the rivers clap     their hands;  let the hills sing for     joy together"

 

 

 

SIMPLICITY

Simple does not equal easy.

 

    Luke 9:23

    And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."

  

A three-step process:

Deny something.

Carry something.

Walk. 

 

Sounds simple.  

People really like three step plans.

 

But it's not natural to deny yourself anything.

Carrying something is bothersome.

And walking -- we all know what that takes.

 

Things that are simple are also repeatable.

And simple, repeatable things can become life-changing patterns.

 

The hardest part about doing anything is getting started -- taking the first step.

 

Some days, these patterns are going to feel big.

Other days they are going to feel small.  

But either way, we know it is not easy. 

 

But these daily rhythms -- denying, carrying, walking -- compound over time.  

 

This sense of simplicity is core to Unemployed Fishermen. 

No over the top programming or stadium style events. 

 

Just learnable, achievable, repeatable, doable life -- together.

We practice this in backyards, driveways, ball fields, happy hours, coffee shops. 

Sometimes in areas with

no cell service,

no roads,

no noise.

 

    Luke 9:24

    "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it."

    

Simple does not equal easy.