When I was a kid, I had all sorts of dreams of cool and exciting things that I wanted to do.  My cousin and I built a Tom Sawyer-type raft and rode it down the creek that went through our farm.  We went a whopping ten feet until it got stuck in the mud! It was not a very deep creek!! 

I remember dreaming of places that I wanted to go, people I wanted to meet, hobbies I wanted to have and experiences I wanted to live.  Something happens when we become adults. We become more cynical and start thinking that those kinds of adventures are not prudent or reasonable.  We think we are too busy to do anything extraordinary, so we settle and stick with doing what is safe.   But we were made for adventure.

Then there comes a time when we consider our own mortality and the dreams start again. We dream about how we want to finish our life and what we want to do before we die.  Some have affectionately nicknamed these dreams their bucket list. Some of those dreams are more fanciful like skydiving, swimming with sharks, or climbing a mountain. Others are more serious such as writing a book, getting closure on a deep hurt, or showing deep gratitude to someone.  When people view their mortality, it changes things.

The night before Jesus died, he shared and modeled a “Bucket List” with his closest friends. It wasn’t necessarily a list of things that He would do before He died, it was a list for us!  Now usually if we don’t accomplish our Bucket List, it won’t make a huge difference in the quality of our life.  Climbing a mountain or roasting a marshmallow over a volcano won’t make a huge difference.  Jesus’ Bucket List will.  Not doing these things will greatly lessen our ability to live well.

The Bible suggests that to live well, there are some things we need to check off our ‘list.’ Among them, are building a bridge, leaving an impact and committing with passion.  Jesus started the list and the apostle Paul finished it.  Over the next few weeks, we will look at some of these things on the list.  The Bible adds one more common denominator.  We can’t do these alone; we are to do them with others.  They are accomplished ‘one another.’ 

I am not sure what is on your “Bucket List”, but I’m going to challenge you to add a few more items. We can’t delay adding them for they are too important.  I’m praying that God would us to live out His incredible adventure with the deep and supportive relationships of His people.

-Pastor Terry

Click here to download the "Bucket List Journal" and follow along as we journey together.

Messages By Week:

Week 1: August 22
Love With Sacrifice

Week 2: August 29
Bring Out The Best

Week 3: September 5
Leave a Legacy

Week 4: September 12
Honor a Life

Week 5: September 19
Lighten a Load

Week 6: September 26
Build a Bridge

Week 7: October 3
Take a Stand

.