Painting masterpieces inspire as they capture a moment of what is and what could be. I can still remember seeing a print of The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh for the first time in my junior high art room. I was captivated with the swirling skies and the yellow glow of the stars overhead a darken, sleepy village. His vision of what is and what could be in a nighttime sky burned an image of an astronomical beauty within me at a junior high school art room. I also still remember touring the Metropolitan Museum of Art and seeing the famous original of Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze. I stood in wonder at the sheer size of the painting (the painting is over twelve feet high and twenty-one feet wide) communicating the magnitude of the revolutionary moment at hand to me. His vision of what is and what could be in that turning moment of the Revolutionary War stirred awe within me for Washington's leadership, courage and audacity in the cause.

But there is another masterpiece in process that has captivated me lately. It is God's masterpiece of the church and in particular, our corner of that painting called GracePoint as that part of the painting becomes increasingly clear and compelling. Over the last year and a half, God has been among us painting broad strokes of brilliant colors of faith, love and hope. That combination of a picnic and baptism on the last Sunday of August embodied part of it as the connections of community were revitalized and people declared their association with God through their faith in Jesus Christ when they were baptized.

And there is more to this painting God is developing at GracePoint. There are broad brushstrokes of additional brilliant colors that he is making in our portrait of GracePoint. While we'll spend our first message series of the fall detailing these new brushstrokes at GracePoint, let me give you a preview of them within this portrait God is painting among us at GracePoint.

1)    Pray at every level of ministry for God's power and effectiveness,

2)    Thrive in our faith and deepen our connection with Christ,

3)    Invite people to come and experience the way of Jesus at GracePoint during invitation-friendly worship gatherings and other venues,

4)    Reach out to our world for Christ with the whole gospel by pooling our resources together for the cause,

5)    Define who we are and how we live life as a church by incorporating as a legal, independent church.

So pray for God to do what only he can do in and through us. Thrive in faith by putting yourself in a position in life to do so. Invite people all around you to invitation-friendly worship gatherings on Sunday morning. Reach out to our world with the whole gospel by bringing your resources to bear on the cause of Christ. Lend your voice to define ourselves as an independent church. And come out on September 9^th as we begin our tour of Destinations that God is taking us on and the directions you and I can take to reach those destinations.

So go ahead. Pick up a paintbrush and add to the portrait God is laying before us.

Painting alongside you,

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