“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14)

Pastor Tanner’s sermon yesterday was on our church vision, “Cultivating a community for Christ.” (Can be found at https://www.californiaecchurch.com/sermons/ if you missed it J) His message, as usual, made a very interesting point; time will progress and the church will do something over this time, but what is it that the church should be doing? If you listen to his sermon, this is the question that the church vision addresses. Our vision is a single statement that clearly points to what our future holds. It acts as a guiding principle for all decisions to be weighed against. When the church derives new plans, the board will evaluate if these plans will lead the Church towards “Cultivating a community for Christ” or not, and make decisions accordingly. Having a vision and understanding its meaning and relevance is key to having a church flourish. But as each of us are a part of the church, we too need to set a vision for our own lives. And this is where we pull from the divine guidance and experience of the Apostle Paul. Paul may not have known it at the time of its writing, but today’s verse from Philippians 3:14 is probably one of the best Christian vision statements I have come across. Paul clearly states his goal to “press on toward” his one and only goal for the future. To not just be a part of the Christian endeavor, but to win at it. To take home the gold, when it comes to living for Christ Jesus. Paul states that his vision is to win the prize for doing what God has called him to do. Which is to live his life always looking heavenward and let his thoughts and actions be consumed with Jesus. So today I urge you to think about your own vision statement. And if you get stuck, I’m pretty sure Paul wouldn’t mind you borrowing this one.