This message kicks off "Catalyst," a 40-month journey focused on kingdom transformation. The speaker explains that Jesus transforms individuals to spark transformation in those around them, drawing on Paul's letter to Titus. The sermon includes personal testimonies of transformation, including Addison's story of infant baptism and later choosing to make her own public declaration of faith, and Teresa's story of finding Jesus after a job loss.
The teaching focuses on Titus chapter 3, verses 3-8. The speaker reminds listeners of their past state—foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. He emphasizes that God saved us not by works of righteousness, but by His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit, poured out richly through Jesus Christ. This transformation means believers are no longer who they once were, but are fully known, fully loved, and washed clean by the blood of Jesus.
The speaker asserts that this transformation is empowered by the Spirit of God and leads to good works, not as a means to earn righteousness, but as an outflow of the righteousness already given. He highlights that transformed lives are meant to be lived out and shared, making believers "the light of the world" as Jesus declared. The message also details the church's vision for growth, including the addition of a fourth campus in Oak Ridge and plans to invest in two to three new church plants, with an $8 million financial goal for these initiatives.
