What to DO with Perfect Grace?

Greetings from Lifestone Church, Herriman Utah! As always, a special thanks to all of you who follow this blog and pray for our church plant!

Check out these pics from our November Baptism Celebration when we baptized 4 new believers!

We are so thankful that God is using us to reach the masses here. We are blown away at how He continues to bring more and more to know Him! Four more individuals have asked to be baptized this Sunday, February 1st! Pray that God gives them courage, as Believer's Baptism is an incredibly bold move in our corner of the world!

We also ask that you be in prayer for our LifeGroups. We currently have 6 groups (just over 60 individuals cumulatively) meeting in homes to study God's Word through What on Earth Am I Here For? These LifeGroup members have committed to a 40 day reading plan which outlines God's 5 purposes for living: Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry, and Evangelism. 

Already, we are finding that this study is particularly relevant to the new believers who have a background in the culture here. So often we hear new believers ask: "Now what? What do I do next? What, if any, rules should I follow? What about good deeds-how do they fit into my new life?" Our new friends have trusted in the fullness of God's grace and the salvation they find there, but are not sure what to DO with that grace this side of Heaven. These questions are already beginning to be answered through the reading challenge and the discussion happening in our LifeGroups!

Pray that all of us at Lifestone, no matter whether we are seeking Christ skeptically, trusting in Christ timidly, or following Christ whole-heartedly, are transformed through the understanding of life's purposes. Pray that ultimately the people of Lifestone Church are united under these purposes as God grows a church who will continue to reach more and more with His love! 

Ephesians 1:11-12(MSG)

"It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone!"

Living With Purpose

Welcome back and Happy 2015! We are super excited about all God has in store for us in the new year, but before we get ahead of ourselves, we'd like to catch you up on what was a very exciting close to 2014!

In late November, we baptized 3 new believers and have enjoyed walking alongside them as they learn to live in His abundant grace! Since that time, 2 more individuals have asked to take part in Believer's Baptism! We will have pictures posted here for you soon of both baptism ceremonies. 

In December, we took a step toward providing space for more people in our Sunday morning service. We now set up for worship in a room that fits about 30 more chairs than the room we were in before-and it's just down the hall! As we continue to pray that God leads us to a more permanent solution to our space "problem", we are thankful that we've bought a little time with this room at the Rec Center as it provides space to welcome more from our community to hear about the Good News of Jesus' love!

Christmas celebration at Lifestone included a Community Candlelight Christmas Eve service as well as several Christmas parties within our small groups. What a special time it was to reflect on all that God has done for us and through us-and to look forward to what He will do in 2015!

In 2 weeks we will begin what Ben is calling "the most exciting time in the life of our church to date!" We will begin a series outlining the purposes for which we exist. During the 6 weeks of this sermon series, our small groups will study Rick Warren's book What on Earth Am I Here For? It is our prayer that all who attend Lifestone Church in the coming weeks, life-long believers as well as those who are "seeking", will have a deeper understanding of why we were created and begin to live our lives with clear purpose and intention!

Pray for Lifestone Church Herriman, that God will continue the good work He has started here. Stay tuned for more details on how you can pray specifically as God reveals all He would have us to accomplish in the coming year. Pray that even as this place begins to feel more like home, and the people here like family, that we do not lose sight of why we came-to live our lives with the purpose of sharing the news of Jesus' love, mercy, and grace with those who are without it. 

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21, NLT