ReAlign Recap
Welcome to session 5 of ReAlign 2025! If you missed sessions 1-4, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. This is our tenth annual ReAlign conference, and officially our last one as a church. The topic for this year was “Legacy,” and this is the final block in a list of our ReAlign conferences. In looking at the topics for all of the ReAlign conferences, we come up with the story of our first chapter, that is summed up like this:
“We began with the choice to Fix Our Eyes on Jesus and find life in the flowing grace of our Living Water, being Rooted in the Word of God. Then, we leaned into the mess of our Broken Pieces to find healing from the Lord so we could be in Pursuit of the things on His heart and Rise Up to lead others as we learned to live Worthy of the calling He has given us. And all of that plunges us to Live Sent with a mission mindset to look for What’s Next and learn to live intentionally in the Legacy God has for us.”
Session 1 Recap
In session one, Jimmy spoke about what our personal legacy looks like and how our story is reflected in the story of the world from creation to new life. He spoke of the new legacy we are joined into when we accept Jesus: we are all born again into the family of God. When Jesus left this world, He promised to leave behind the Holy Spirit, and this is the person of God who lives in us as Grace, Peace, and Comfort. John 14:16 (AMP) 16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever—
Session 2 Recap
Laura brought us a word in session 2 on Family Legacy, how the Bible defines family roles, and what your generational legacy can look like. Our earthly families are all messy, and we are going to have conflict, but God’s perfect design is redeeming broken humans. A family should be a place for development, healing, training, and a safe place to land; this is not always the case, but this is God’s design. God’s mercies are “new every morning” (Lam. 3:22-23 ESV
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.)
Session 3 Recap
Session 3 was a Q&A panel with Jimmy and Laura. We talked through topics like hearing God speak, escaping the victim mentality in our walk with Jesus, and glorifying God through our brokenness in our families. There was a lot of good stuff about abiding in the Holy Spirit and being faithful. Jimmy said that the Lord spoke that he has done more than God even planned for him to do, and about how the amount you die to yourself is the amount you will see returned to you (using the examples of the parables of the talents in Matt. 25 and the soils parable found in Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8). He boiled it down to: be simple in heart, hear God, and obey. He talked about forgiveness and how we are called to forgive even when it doesn’t make sense: the Lord’s Prayer is an invitation to forgiveness and to be forgiven. When we sin, God does not distance Himself from us until we do enough to be in His presence: He forgives completely. In talking about working out of our brokenness, they said it takes a team to be a witness.
Session 4 Recap
Yale ended our day with session 4, and he gave us a story about running the race set before us. (Ask him about the whole story later; it’s a lot of fun.) Hebrews 12 talks about “the race” God calls us to run and how we are to run it-- with our eyes fixed on Jesus. Our ministry won’t look straightforward and usually won’t be in first place, but it’s about the craziness along the route, and taking what you are given. Faithfulness is the most important thing. You don’t have to do or be anything, but say ‘yes’ and obey God. “Legacy” is setting up the next generation to follow Jesus and leading as many people in this generation to do it with us. He asked us what steps we need to take in this race full of craziness to build that legacy.
Today
As we discuss the idea of Legacy, I have felt a deep conviction over the weekend that God desires us to pursue a deep devotion to HIM in 3 specific areas:
- Personal Devotion to the things of God
- Family of God
- Expectancy and Participation in the Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Personal Devotion to the things of God (Love God)
23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23–24
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1–2.
Family of God (Love People)
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:1-2
Expectancy and Participation in the Ministry of the Holy Spirit (Live out your Faith)
7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” John 16:7–15.
