2017 Starts with a big "Yes!" But what does it look like when we say yes to God? Through several different examples we see what it looks like when we listen, when we recognize what God is doing, and when we say yes to living a bigger story.

We're starting off the year with stories from Scripture where people said yes to God's invitation to be a part of a bigger story. One of the best examples of this is a young boy named Samuel and the moment where he first heard the voice of the Lord. Brian shares this same invitation to hear the voice of the Lord with us, explains what our response is like, and invites Dan Lance to come up and share his own "saying yes" story.

The READY series continues to examine God's invitation to living a bigger life by looking at what it's like to hear God's voice when He's calling. Brian takes another look at Samuel's calling and shares practical tools for helping us learn to hear and to discern God's voice when He's calling to us. Brian emphasizes that this is not a formula, but by listening carefully and taking a "could be" approach, we can grow confident that we are hearing His voice.

The Ready sermon series has talked about how this hebrew word, "Hineni" not only means "I'm here" but also carries a connotation of "I'm ready". In this message, Brian talks about this idea of being ready and how we see it in Isaiah chapter 6. In this passage, Isaiah has an encounter with God that dramatically impacts him. In a moment where he experiences the incredible power and the mercy of God, Isaiah responds with this simple and profound phrase "I'm here, send me!" As Brian illustrates, the gospel is an invitation into this same story: we encounter the power and the mercy of God and when we do that, we cannot help but respond with our own simple phrase, "here I am, Lord, send me".

Our Ready series has focused on hearing and responding to God's invitation to live a bigger story. Most of us would agree with this idea; who wouldn't want to live a bigger story? That is, until we get the details. Gene dives right in by looking at one of the biggest heroes in the scriptures – Moses – and how his initial reaction was to try and get God to ask someone else. Yet, as Gene unfolds this encounter, there are several valuable lessons to be learned: though we may be unaware, God is always preparing us for our next role, though it may not seem like it, God's timing is best, and at the end of the day, responding to God's call is a team effort.

We've talked a little during the "Ready" series about how saying yes to God causes us to live a bigger story. This big story occasionally involves dramatic action, but it often involves simple meetings and one-on-one interactions. As Brian shows in this message, the key to all of this is to be willing to be interrupted, inconvenienced, and even uncomfortable as we engage those God has put in our path; even the ones we least expect.

We've been talking a lot about saying yes to God during this series. In this message, Gene takes a moment to look at the other side of this relationship; what happens when God says "Hineni" to us? Hineni, the Hebrew word we've translated as "ready" is meant to convey the idea of being not only completely present, but invested as well. Gene dives into the scriptures to show us that there are several places where God tells us that He is fully present, fully engaged with us for our good. As Gene shows, God wants us to know that He is fully committed to our redemption and to our restoration.