The Everyday Faith Steps:

• Born-again / Saved
• Water Baptized
• Holy Spirit Activated
• Healed + Set Free
• In Community
• Contributing
• Personal Growth
• Reproducing

Faith Scripture:

II Corinthians 5:7: For we walk by faith, not by sight.

As we follow Jesus and walk in "Everyday Faith," this theme this year is designed to help you get free and walk in life more abundantly.

We live in a culture that is absolutely obsessed with self-improvement and quick fixes. We love the dramatic before-and-after photos, the lottery winner stories, and the overnight success. We are constantly looking for that one thing—that one perfect circumstance, that one new habit, that one breakthrough—that will "change our life." We treat transformation like a finish line we cross or a one-time event we attend.

But as a church, we have a vision statement that we keep directly in front of us. It drives everything we do. Our vision is: "To lead people into an encounter with God that ALWAYS results in LifeChange."

Notice the specific wording there. We didn't say "Change Life." Because there is a monumental difference between a single, external event to change your life, and committing to a supernatural, continual process of LifeChange.

One is a flash in the pan; the other is a slow burn that alters your trajectory forever. Trying to "change your life" is an external, cosmetic, human effort. But true LifeChange is an internal, supernatural work of the Holy Spirit.

We aren't a church that just wants you to show up, fill a seat, check a religious box on a Sunday, and go home the exact same way. We are here to create an environment that welcomes the raw presence of God to meet us exactly where we are—in our brokenness, our habits, and our hidden struggles—and begin a work that changes us from the inside out.

But a vision statement on a wall doesn't have the power to transform a heart. The vision statement is just the setting—but the Word of God is the feast. And to understand what this vision looks like in reality, we have to look at the Word.

Philippians 1:6 NASB95: 6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Part 1: The Anatomy of an Encounter

Notice that in our vision, LifeChange doesn't just happen because we try harder. It is always preceded by a specific catalyst: an encounter.

We use that word a lot in the church world, but we cannot afford to bypass it or rush past it. What does it actually mean?

An encounter is not just an emotional experience. You can have an emotional experience at a movie, a concert, or a football game and leave the exact same person.

An encounter is a collision between human brokenness and divine holiness. It is the exact moment where who you are meets who He is—and it is impossible to leave the room the same way you walked in.

When you look at the text, a genuine, God-sized encounter always has three distinct dynamics:

1. An Encounter Interrupts Our Agenda

Every time someone in Scripture met God, it was an interruption. Isaiah was in the temple during a year of national grief. Saul was on a road trip to Damascus with arrest warrants. Jacob was camped out in the dirt running for his life. God breaks through our routines, our comfort zones, and our coping mechanisms.

That is why we build the expectant environment we do on Sundays. We don't want a smooth, predictable routine that keeps you comfortable. We pray for Holy Spirit interruptions. We want God to disrupt our neatly planned schedules to meet you in your raw reality.

2. An Encounter Exposes Our Reality

An encounter doesn't stroke our ego; it removes our mask. It’s the moment the lights turn completely up, and we realize we can't fake it anymore. But God never exposes us to reject us. He exposes us to restore us. He reveals the true condition of our condition so He can perform the surgery.

3. An Encounter Imparts His Spirit

An encounter doesn't leave you empty-handed. It doesn't just tell you what's wrong with you; it deposits the very life and fire of God inside of you to empower you to walk differently.

Part 2: The Two Altars

To see this play out clearly, we have to look at the visual demonstration of an encounter in Isaiah 6, and the theological mechanics of how God pulls it off inside of us in Ezekiel 36.

1. The Isaiah Altar: The Undone Moment (Isaiah 6:1-7)

Isaiah 6:1-7: 6 In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. 5 Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.”

In Isaiah 6, the prophet walks into the temple, and he gets caught up in an environment of God's raw, unfiltered, heavy presence. He sees the Lord high and exalted, and the train of His robe fills the temple. The doorposts are shaking, the room is filled with smoke, and angelic beings are crying out, "Holy, holy, holy!"

Look at Isaiah’s immediate reaction. He doesn't look around and say, "Wow, what a great service! The music was awesome!" No, he is completely overwhelmed by the holiness of God. In verse 5, he cries out:

"Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips..."

When you have a real encounter with God, it reveals how holy He is and how broken we are. Isaiah was completely undone. His agenda was interrupted, and his reality was exposed. That is the crisis point of the encounter.

But watch what happens next. An angel flies over to the altar, takes a live, burning coal with tongs, and touches Isaiah’s lips. The angel says, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

That burning coal represents the refining, beautiful, sometimes painful process of sanctification. God didn’t just give Isaiah a temporary emotional high to "change his life" for a week. He laid a burning fire against his rawest, most broken area to purge him, purify him, and start a deep, lifelong process of LifeChange.

2. The Ezekiel Altar: The Heart Transplant (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

Now, how does God actually execute that inside us today? How does a burning coal on an altar become a permanent reality inside your chest on a Sunday morning?

This is where the prophet Ezekiel drives it completely home. In Ezekiel 36, God addresses a broken and exiled Israel, promising a dramatic turnaround that is initiated entirely by His grace rather than their merit. He vows to gather His people from the nations, restore their ruined land to Eden-like fruitfulness, and vindicate His holy name before the watching world. This physical restoration is paired with a profound spiritual rebirth. God gives us the blueprint of exactly what happens when that refining fire hits a human heart:

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees..."

Church, look at the contrast between "Change Life" and "LifeChange."

When you try to "change your life," you are taking a cold, hard heart of stone and trying to force it to behave. You are trying to polish the outside of a rock. You are trying to use white-knuckle human effort to stop the addiction, fix the marriage, or manage the anger. It’s exhausting, it’s temporary, and it always fails because the fundamental nature of the stone hasn't changed.

But when you step into an environment where you genuinely encounter God, He doesn't polish the stone. He does a supernatural heart transplant. He rips out the cold, stubborn, unresponsive heart of stone, drops in a soft, living, breathing heart of flesh, and puts His very Spirit inside of you.

The fire of the burning coal from Isaiah 6 moves from the altar and takes up permanent residence inside your life.

Part 3: The New Testament Fulfillment (Acts 2)

And this isn't just a poetic metaphor. This is the literal, historical promise of God that explodes into fulfillment in Acts chapter 2 on the Day of Pentecost.

See the beautiful continuity of the Word of God here:

In Isaiah 6, we see the absolute holiness of the fire. The burning coal was on a physical altar, and an angel had to take tongs to touch one man’s lips. It was isolated, heavy, and external.

But remember what Ezekiel prophesied? God said, "The day is coming when I’m not just going to visit you on the outside. I am going to remove your heart of stone, give you a heart of flesh, and I will put my Spirit IN you."

When you open Acts 2, the believers are gathered in an environment of expectant prayer. Suddenly, the encounter happens. The Holy Spirit interrupts the room like a rushing mighty wind.

And watch what appears over their heads: Tongues of Fire.

Don't miss this: That fire is the burning coal of Isaiah 6, but it’s no longer confined to an altar in a building! Because of what Jesus did on the cross, the fire of God’s holiness didn't fall on a temple made with hands—it fell directly on people.

The fire touched them, purged them, and moved from the outside straight into the inside. The Holy Spirit took up residence in their chests. In that exact moment, Ezekiel 36 was fulfilled. The stone hearts were shattered, the new hearts of flesh were activated, and God put His Spirit inside of them.

This is the ultimate reality of our vision statement.

An encounter with God is no longer about an angel with tongs at a distant altar. Because of the Holy Spirit, the altar is right here in your chest. The fire is available to every single person in this room. You don't have to travel to a temple to see God high and lifted up; you just have to surrender to the Holy Spirit who wants to dwell inside of you and produce LifeChange from the inside out.

Conclusion & Invitation

That is why our vision is LifeChange, not "Change Life."

Trying to change your life is a temporary human effort to rearrange your external circumstances. But LifeChange is a supernatural, continual process that starts the moment you collision with the presence of God. Isaiah walked into the temple with unclean lips, encountered a holy God, and left with a fire in his soul that caused him to say, "Here am I, send me." The event changed his direction, but he spent the rest of his days walking out the process.

We are not here to put on a show. We are not here to entertain you. We are here to create an environment where the blind can see, the bound can be set free, and where the burning coal of God's presence can meet you right where you are.

If you feel a tug in your chest right now, that is not emotionalism. That is the Holy Spirit interrupting your agenda. That is God exposing your reality because He wants to impart His Spirit.

Stop trying to fix your old heart. Stop trying to "change your life" on your own power. Come to this altar today, encounter the living God, and let Him give you a new one. Let's step into the room where an encounter with God always results in the continual, permanent process of LifeChange.

The altars are open. Let's move.