It is in the name of freedom that Christ has set us free (cf. Galatians 5:1). Too many Christians live within “cages” that hold them back from experiencing the fullness of life. Freedom is available when you go on an intentional inSPIRE journey and truly learn to love God with ALL of who you are in the five areas of your life!
This means we try to be genuine and real. We do not try to live behind an elaborate “fig leaf” like Adam and Eve did when they sinned and were afraid. Living an authentic faith is crucial at inSPIRE Church. We are not perfect, and we won’t be perfect. But my goodness, the world around us is looking for people living authentic Christian lives that make a difference (cf. Hebrews 13:7)!
Nothing worthwhile comes without sacrifice. And every person we admire tends to have “sacrifice” as part of their DNA, whether that was the real Mother Teresa, William Wallace, or the fictitious Maximus of Gladiator. Jesus proved His love by sacrificing His life for us so that we might escape the consequences of our sins. At inSPIRE Church, we live for God’s purposes first and not the advancement of our own status or material gains. This is counter-cultural in our society today and therefore requires us to be a “living sacrifice” (cf. Romans 12:1).
This value is also counter-cultural (cf. Philippians 2:3). It’s the attitude that you have no special importance that makes you better than others. As pride is the downfall of many people, humility allows for selflessness and dignity to try to make our surroundings a better place.
Yes, God is love and has lots of grace and mercy. But we need to remember that He is also a Holy God! Reverence is having a healthy fear of God, knowing that there are consequences for our sins. Reverence is like when we go hiking Yamnuska, for example, or name your challenging hike. You approach that mountain with respect and some healthy fear (cf. Philippians 2:12). At inSPIRE Church, we want to respect the Holiness of God.
At the end of the day, we are called to be transformed (cf. Romans 12:2) by the renewing of our minds, but one that leads to actual transformation in all five areas of our lives (our SPIRE). Not only are we passionate about personal transformation, but we are passionate about community transformation at all levels. We are meant to be “salt and light,” a city on a hill (which we literally are in Canmore) for everyone to see (cf. Matthew 5:13-16).
Yes, JOY stands for Jesus first, Others second, and Yourself last. But we are not talking about that! We are talking about pure joy—fun—which Christians should be the best at! We have so many reasons to celebrate the goodness of God (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:16; 1 Peter 1:8-9), so let’s have fun and laugh!
