Dear Saddleback Family,
Another amazing weekend! We now have more than 6,400 small groups and averaging record attendance on the weekends. That means you are excited about learning how to Live Your Calling and you’re sharing it with friends and family.
This past weekend we discussed your second purpose: YOU ARE CALLED TO BELONG.
God formed you for HIS FAMILY.
You are CALLED TO BELONG to His church
There are 5 benefits of BELONGING:
1. In God’s family you learn YOUR TRUE IDENTITY.
“You are members of God’s very own family... and you belong
in God’s household with every other Christian.” Eph. 2:19 (LB)
2. In God’s temple you are SUPPORTED BY OTHERS.
“I want us to help each other with the faith we have. Your faith will
help me, and my faith will help you.” Rom. 1:12 (NCV)
3. In Christ’s body you DISCOVER YOUR UNIQUE VALUE.
“Just as there are many parts to our bodies, so it is with Christ's
Body. We are all parts of it, and it takes every one of us to make it
complete, for we each have different work to do. So we belong to
each other, and each of us needs all the others.” Rom. 12:4-5 (LB)
4. In God’s flock you RECEIVE PROTECTION.
“Take care of God's flock, his people, that you are responsible
for. Watch over them because you want to, not because you are
forced to do it.” 1 Peter. 5:2 (ICB)
5. In God’s garden you BECOME PRODUCTIVE.
“A branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and
you cannot be fruitful apart from me. I am the vine and you are the
branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce
much fruit. But apart from me you can do nothing.”
Some of you are in Saddleback family, but you don’t belong to Saddleback family. If you haven’t taken the step to become a member of the family, join me March 9 for Class 101: BETTER TOGETHER at the Lake Forest Campus. Don’t just attend… belong!
Take a picture with your group and send it to me at PastorRick@saddleback.com with the names of your group members in the picture so I can pray for you.
GET THE MOST OUT OF THIS SERIES:
2. Listen to the Saddleback Worship playlist on Spotify® at saddleback.com/playlist.
3. Start or Join a group: Go to saddleback.com/mycalling and click Host or Join a Group
4. If you’re a small group host, make sure to listen to the weekly Host Help video at saddleback.com/hosthelp.
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Dear Saddleback Family,
For the second week in a row, you showed up in record numbers to learn how living your calling can change your life and hundreds of lives around you.
This past weekend we discussed:
Your first purpose is to BE LOVED BY GOD.
Jude 1:1 (NLT)
Your first calling is to ENJOY A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
Romans 1:7 (NLT)
That relationship is to BE HIS SON/DAUGHTER.
1 John 3:1 (Amp)
God’s love for you is…
WIDE ENOUGH TO BE EVERYWHERE
LONG ENOUGH TO LAST FOREVER
DEEP ENOUGH TO HANDLE ANYTHING
HIGH ENOUGH TO OVERLOOK MISTAKES
If You Stay Aware of God’s Unconditional Love for You:
1. YOU FEEL ACCEPTED RATHER THAN ASHAMED.
Roman 5:1 (CEV)
2. YOU ARE BOLD IN BRINGING YOUR NEEDS TO GOD.
Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)
3. YOU HAVE PEACE IN PAIN THAT YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND
Romans 8:28 (NIV)
4. YOU GAIN THE COURAGE TO TAKE RISKS.
1 John 4:18 (NIV)
5. YOU WORSHIP INSTEAD OF WORRY.
Matthew 6:33-34 (NLT)
If you missed the message this weekend you need to watch it now… it could radically change your life if you understand that you are CALLED TO BE LOVED.
HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THIS SERIES:
1. Share last week’s message with a friend
Click here to see the message, then share the link with a friend, family member, or co-worker that needs to hear it.
2. Listen to the Saddleback Worship playlist on Spotify®
Go to saddleback.com/playlist to start listening to Saddleback’s weekend music playlist. IT’S FREE
3. Download the Saddleback Notes App
Start taking your notes directly on your iPad or iPhone, so you can access and share your notes, literally, anywhere. Search “Saddleback Notes” in the App Store to download the free app.
4. Pick Up a What On Earth Am I Here For? T-Shirt
Our Saddleback Bookstore team has created a new way for you to share What On Earth Am I Here For? Like usual, ALL proceeds of the bookstore go towards our Benevolence Ministry.
5. Send Me Your Photo
Take a picture with your small group this week and send it to me at PastorRick@saddleback.com with the names of your group members in the picture so I can pray for you.
If you’re not in a group, IT’S NOT TOO LATE. Go to saddleback.com/mycalling and click Host or Join a Group.
If you’re a small group host, make sure to listen to the weekly Host Help video at saddleback.com/hosthelp.
MAKE THE MOST OF SUPER SUNDAY
If you are planning a Super Bowl Party for your friends and neighbors this Sunday afternoon, why not invite them to services on Saturday evening or Sunday morning?
See you this Weekend!
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Dear Friend,
Please consider how you might answer this question:
How would your life change IF you felt completely and unconditionally loved by God every single moment of your life? I’ll share the incredible benefits this weekend.
In our six-week series LIVE YOUR CALLING: What On Earth Am I Here For? we’re looking at the five “LIFE CALLINGS” or reasons that God created you. This Saturday and Sunday we’ll look at the most important one:
THIS WEEKEND: YOU ARE CALLED TO BE LOVED BY GOD!
I’ll share your first and primary calling (assignment, purpose) in life. It’s more important than anything you’ll do or achieve or learn or experience in life.
God says your first calling, or purpose, in life is this: to let God love you! Everything else you do is to be a response to His love. So if you don’t understand how deeply God loves you, it is impossible to fulfill the purpose God created you to fulfill.
God made you to love you. So... more important than trusting, obeying, or serving God... is for you to first experience and feel God’s love for you!
If you truly “get” this transformational truth – that your first priority is not to do something for God, but rather to enjoy how much God loves you – it will liberate and release you from all kinds of pressures, problems, and expectations.
I believe this vital message may be a turning point for your life, especially if you’ve been a Christian for a long time.
Your problem is not that you don’t love God enough. The root of your problems is that you don’t fully understand how much he loves you!
My message this weekend is also the most important good news your friend or neighbor could hear. EVERYBODY needs to know HOW MUCH God truly loves them, and what difference that truth can make on a daily basis. So forward this email on to them and invite them to attend with you.
You make a living with your career… but you make a life with your calling.
I’ll see you this weekend!
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Dear Saddleback Family,
What a weekend! We launched the most significant Spiritual Growth Campaign in Saddleback’s history: Live Your Calling: What On Earth Am I Here For? with over 2,200 NEW small groups. We now have over 6,000 groups in 49 states and 40 countries . . . now you have no excuse not to participate!
You have a God-given calling on your life and only YOU can answer that call! In Part one, The Call Is For You, we discussed what you need to know about your calling and how to respond to it.
I have already received feedback from several of you about how the message changed how you look at your life’s calling and thousands of you committed to answer God’s call . . . and that was just week one!
If you missed the message, Watch It Now!
Here’s what I want you to do this week to get the most of out this series:
Join or Start a Group!
70% of all we do will be done in and through a small group for the next six weeks.
It’s not too late to Join or Start a group! It’s easy to be a H.O.S.T.: Have a heart for people, Open your home, Serve a snack, and Turn on the DVD. Just find a friend to join you, and ask that friend to find one more person, and you’ve got a small group!
Go to saddleback.com/mycalling and click “Host” to start or join a small group right now.
Pick Up Your Group Materials
If you haven’t picked up your group kit after service or if you need additional material, email smallgroups@saddleback.com or call (949) 609.8701. Each host kit includes a free What On Earth Am I Here For? book and workbook for each member, as well as memory verse key chains and bookmarks and the series DVD.
Memorize This Week’s Verse
“I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born.” Isaiah 44:2
Give It Away!
You grow best when you share what you know with others. Make a commitment this week to ask someone to start a group with you or attend a service with you. It could be the most important message they ever hear, and your invitation can be the catalyst to them spending eternity in heaven.
I’m praying for you and your small group this week! Visit saddleback.com/mycalling for additional resources, host tips and suggestions.
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Dear Saddleback Family,
It all starts this weekend!
We’ve been hard at work for nearly a year… preparing this moment for you
… and I’m so excited about how it’s going to genuinely help you.
LIVING YOUR CALLING:
What On Earth Am I Here For?
Our Six-Week Personal Growth Campaign for 2013
As I told you last weekend, you L.E.A.R.N. to LIVE MORE WISELY
using 6 different features… 6 different learning styles … for 6 weeks
THE BENEFITS OF LEARNING TO LIVE WISELY
“Wisdom is good for the soul. Get wisdom and you’ll have a bright future.” Prov. 24:14 (TEV)
“Those who get wisdom do themselves a favor, and those who love learning will succeed.” Prov. 19:8 (NCV)
“Treasure wisdom, and it will make you great; hold on to it, and it will bring you honor.” Prov. 4:8 (NCV)
“Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life.” Prov. 9:11 (NLT)
“Wise people have great power.” Prov. 24:5 (NCV)
“Wise people will gain an honorable reputation.” Prov. 3:35 (TEV)
“Wise people's lives get better and better.” Prov. 15:24 (NCV)
“Wisdom offers you long life, as well as wealth and honor. It can make your life pleasant and lead you safely through it. Those who become wise are happy; wisdom will give them life.” Prov. 3:16-18 (TEV)
“Nothing will stand in your way if you walk wisely, and you will not stumble when you run.” Prov. 4:12 (TEV)
“Learnto be wise, and develop good judgment.” Pr. 4:5 (NLT)
HOW DO I L.E.A.R.N. TO LIVE WISELY?
LISTEN TO GOD’S WORD EVERY DAY
“Start with God. The first step in learning is bowing down to God.” Prov. 1:7 (Mes)
“It is the Lord who gives wisdom; from him come knowledge and understanding” Prov. 2:6 (TEV)
“A wise person is hungry for truth, while the fool feeds on trash.” Prov. 15:14 (NLT)
ENLIST FRIENDS WHO CHALLENGE ME
“Spend time with the wise and you will become wise, but the friends of fools will suffer.” Prov. 13:20 (NCV)
ASK QUESTIONS & ACCEPT CORRECTION
“Intelligent people are always open to new ideas. In fact, they look for them.” Prov.18:15 (NLT)
“If you stop learning, you will forget what you already know.” Prov. 19:27 (CEV)
REMEMBER & REINFORCE WHAT I LEARN
“Listen, and I’ll teach you what the wise have said. Study their teachings, and you will be glad if you remember them and can quote them” Prov. 22:17-18 (TEV)
“Don't lose sight of my words. Let them penetrate deep within your heart, for they bring life and radiant health to anyone who discovers their meaning” Prov. 4:21-22 (NLT)
NOW DO IT!
“Don’t deceive yourselves by just listening to the Word; instead, put it into practice. If you listen to the word, but don’t put it into practice you are like people who look in a mirror and see themselves ...but once they walk away, they forget what they look like. But if you look closely into the perfect law that sets people free, and keep on paying attention to it and you don’t forget it, but you put it into practice—you will be blessed by God in what you do!” James 1:22-25 (TEV)
YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO MISS THIS WEEKEND… or any of the next six!
Bring a friend!
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January 12, 2013
Dear Saddleback Family,
GOD PROMISES to bless your life in over 20 different ways...
IF you build your life around HIS wisdom.
The Bible says that learning the wisdom of God is the key to every blessing God wants to give you in your future. So this weekend, I’m teaching The Way to a Wise Life: What it Takes. It’s the final prep message for our 2013 Personal Growth Campaign which begins next weekend.
Buckle up! You’ve never been where I’m about to take you!
Don’t be fooled by this year’s campaign title. Because “WHAT ON EARTH AM I HER FOR? is the subtitle of The Purpose Driven Life you may think you already know what we’ll cover. YOU DON’T! It’s a whole new look at God’s calling and intention for the rest of your life.
If you heard my Christmas message and last week’s New Year’s message, you know this campaign is going to be transformative and life-changing. We’ll go deeper than you’ve ever gone. If you didn’t get to see it, watch it here.
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO
• WATCH OPRAH’S LIFECLASS THIS SUNDAY NIGHT WITH FRIENDS! YOU WANT TO INVITE TO THE CAMPAIGN! My message on Oprah’s show, “Dealing With the Hand Your Dealt”will explain how our choices shape our lives-- which is the foundation of this new spiritual growth campaign.
I accepted Oprah’s invitation SO YOU WOULD HAVE AN EASY OPPORTUNITY to invite neighbors over to watch the show and then invite them to join you in our study of What On Earth Am I Here For? Don’t miss this opportunity to share the Good News with friends. Click here for times and channels in your area.
• IF YOU HAVEN’T YET EXPERIENCED “BETTER TOGETHER: CLASS 101 I urge you to take the class THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON at 3p.m. It is foundational to all I’ll teach you in the next 6 weeks. At our Lake Forest campus. Click here to sign up!
I love you and I’m praying that the next six weeks will empower you for a successful rest of your life!
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Dear Saddleback Family,
HERE ARE 5 WAYS TO START YOUR NEW YEAR RIGHT:
1. DON’T MISS: “GETTING READY FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE” THIS WEEKEND! Your life is too important to waste. But if you aren’t being intentionally directional, you are simply driftingthrough life!
This will be the first of two messages to prepare you for our “What On Earth Am I Here For?” six week study. YOU NEED THIS MESSAGE AT THE START OF 2013.
2. THE NEW SADDLEBACK NOTES APP lets you take message notes on your iPad or iPhone, and so much more! It’s so cool. You can download it for free right now by visiting the App Store from your iPad or iPhone and searching for “Saddleback Notes.”
3. SIGN UP FOR A SIX WEEK DISCOVER #MYPURPOSE SMALL GROUP and I’ll give you a free copy of the new, updated and expanded 10th anniversary edition of The Purpose Driven Life, re-titled What On Earth Am I Here For?
4. SHARE YOUR CHRISTMAS SERVICE STORY WITH ME. I’d love to hear your story about the people you invited to a Christmas service and their response. Over 3,900 of our friends and neighbors gave their lives to Christ at Christmas! I’d like to use your story to encourage others, so click HERE to send me your story.
5. RE-SIGN UP FOR THE DANIEL PLAN! The beginning of the year is a great time to get in shape and shed those holiday pounds we all gained! Click HERE to get started with the Daniel Plan.
See you this weekend for great kickoff to a new year! It’s WORSHIP TOGETHER weekend, so all our teenagers will be worshiping with us.
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Dear Saddleback attender,
Want to begin the new year with a fresh start?
Join me this weekend as I baptize at each service.
Don’t let another year end with procrastination. Start the new year by honoring God and publicly identifying your faith in the Savior who came at Christmas!
YOU DON’T NEED TO PREPARE! If you have committed your life to Jesus, JUST SHOW UP! I will have everything you need prepared for you, including clothes and a towel.
““This is what happens in baptism. When we go under the water, we leave the old country of sin behind; when we come up out of the water, we enter into the new country of grace—A NEW LIFE in a NEW LAND! That's what baptism into the life of Jesus means.” Romans 6:3 (Message)
I’ll see you at the baptism pool outside the Lake Forest Worship Center! It will be my privilege to baptize you!
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Dear Saddleback Family,
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I am so thrilled to report that, in the first 3 of our Christmas services, 643 people have committed their lives to Christ for the first time!
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This means two things: 1) The service is deeply touching hearts, and 2) Some members deeply care about the eternal destiny of their neighbors and co-workers, and they are bringing them to the Christmas services. There is a spiritual wave here that I don’t want you to miss.
Romans 10:14 explains why you need to BRING friends to Christmas services: “They can’t be saved until they believe. But how can they believe in him if they haven’t heard the message of Good News? And they can’t hear the message until someone tells them!”
1. Over the next 3 days (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday) you have 34 opportunities to bring friends to Christmas at one of our 8 campuses.
2. For family and friends beyond Southern California, they have 84 opportunities to watch the service online. Call them now!
FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE . . .bring someone to Jesus this Christmas!*
Your Savior who came at Christmas to die for you . . . and your friends . . . does not want you to miss this opportunity for your friends to be saved. They will be eternally grateful.
* Many members are coming to multiple services to bring multiple friends
Click HERE for details and directions.
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Merry Christmas Everyone!
Kay and I have loved getting your Christmas cards, especially the ones with photos of you, which makes it easier for me to pray for you.
3 WAYS TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THIS CHRISTMAS
The spirit of Christmas is generosity, so…
1. Give the gift of Good News to a friend.
With the recent tragedies of Sandy Hook school and Sandy Hurricane, your friends need the hope of Christmas more than ever. I hope you’re inviting neighbors and coworkers to one of our 33 Christmas services over 5 days in 8 locations. Here are the details for the service nearest you: (christmasatsaddleback.com)
For your family and friends who live out of the area, encourage them to watch one of our 84 online Christmas services! (saddleback.com/internetcampus/live)
2. Give a birthday gift to Jesus.
Why do we give gifts to everyone except Jesus at Christmas? It’s HIS birthday? How will you express your gratitude to God for all the ways he helped you this past year? Kay and I will be doing what David did: “Lord, I will give you an offering to show my deep thanks to you.” (Psalm 116:17) Bring your Christmas Offering to a service or give online here: (http://saddleback.com/giving/opportunities/christmas/)
3. Give yourself the gift of quietness.
To fully experience the wonder of Christ’s birth, you need to get alone and be quiet. Too often in the busyness of preparations and activities we have no time to think. Make some space in your schedule to quietly read Luke chapter 2 and thank God for all that Jesus came to do for you!
NEWS
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Pastor Rick on TV Because of Christmas, and the tragedy in Connecticut, I’ve accepted several interviews you might watch:
Today FOX: Neil Cavuto
Dec 20 PBS Real Orange,5pm
Dec.20 NBC The Rock with Brian Williams, 10pm
(Interviewed by Chelsea Clinton in our Refinery)
Dec.23 Fox Sunday With Chris Wallace
Christmas Day: CNN Piers Morgan
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Brian Houston at Saddleback: Dec.29-30
I’m so excited to announce that Pastor Brian Houston of the world-famous HILLSONG Church in Sydney, Australia will be speaking at Saddleback! Brian is flying over from Australia just to speak that weekend! Many of your favorite worship songs, like Shout To The Lord, came out of HILLSONG church. I’ll see you at this incredible end-of-the-year service!
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JANUARY: DISCOVER YOUR CALLING: What On Earth Am I Here For? In January, we begin our long-awaited, new spiritual growth campaign. I’ve been working on this all year, and I can’t wait to share the book, small group studies, and messages with you
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