These are exciting times.

Whether you've been a part of TerraNova Church for a while or have just been joining us for a few months, these are exciting times to be a part of this church.

For the past few months, we've been building out and preparing a new space, located just off the freeway near the intersection of Bake & Rockfield. And we'll be moving into that space in a matter of weeks. (It's really coming along! If you haven't been there recently, you REALLY need to see it! Come out to a Work Day on Saturday or Sunday, or walk / pray through it on any Friday during our "Prayer Open Houses.")

But in as much as that space is still not ready for us, we believe that we're not quite ready for it, either. And as we're working very hard to prepare that space physically for our move into it, we believe that God is wanting to prepare us spiritually for who we need to be when we get there. A community where everybody is invited, everybody is included, everybody is important.

You see, God is all about the journey. "Journey" is one of the most prominent pictures in the scriptures of the spiritual life. And God regularly takes people on journeys in order to transform them. To change them. To teach them who He is, and who they are. Because it matters to God how we show up!

And so, as we prepare ourselves for this move into our new space, we're going to track with the story of another great journey in the Bible: The "Exodus." The story of how God took another group of people on a journey in order to prepare them for their destination. We hope you'll join us.

As Lyle was talking this weekend about David's experience building a temple for God (1Chronicles 29), I began to reflect on our experience, building out and moving into our space at 7 Whatney.
    If you've heard or read much about the story in the Old Testament, you know that the people of God were fairly conflicted about having a temple. There was something about the "permanence" of a temple, and the presumptuousness that God would even "need" a "house" that people felt fairly uncertain about. And David's words in 1Chronicles 29 seem to reflect some of this. His opening words set the tone, and jumped right off the page to me:
    "The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the LORD God." (1Chr 29:1)
    ("Yeah," I thought to myself, "That right. That's why this is such a big deal. Because this isn't about us, it's about God.")
    Then, you know what happens next. A veritable feeding-frenzy of generosity. People just gave like crazy because they're just so enthusiastic about this vision — to have a space in which to worship that reflects back some of the beauty and greatness of God. A space that makes God famous.
    And at the end of all that, David turns to God in praise. It's one of the all-time great expressions of praise in the scriptures. Grab your bible and reflect on 1Chronicles 19:10-13. Circle in your Bible all the times David says "You" or "Yours" to God. Then take note of what he ascribes to God. In the end, David is saying, "This is all about You. We are all about You. Everything is about You. Everything comes from You. Everything we have, we just give back to You. But it's all about You." It's beautiful.
    He looks at what they've just done (14-16) -- all this generosity -- and he shrugs his shoulders and says, "What's this? We've just given back to You what you gave us. It's all Yours!" And then we get a window into his heart (17-18). "You know my heart, God," he says. "As much as it is within me, my intentions have been pure in this. And now You see what these people have done."
    As I was reflecting on his words, I felt some of my own tension. On the one hand, I am so excited about this space. I SO want it to be a space where my friends and your friends find a relationship with God. Where 100s of others connect with God in a way they are not currently connecting with Him. Where all of us thrive spiritually and develop others as we ourselves are growing up. A space that's used as a tool to serve our surrounding area. Where boy scouts and girl scouts and AA and NA and whoever needs a space to meet can find a home.
    But on the other hand, as we move toward this dream and we need the resources to complete it and need to create work days and motivate each other so that we're all in the game being part of this, it can at times feel self-serving. Who am I to ask people to part with resources in order to fund this dream?
    And so as I read David's words, I found myself making this our prayer as well: "God, You know, to the best of our ability, our hearts are straight-up on this: We want this space to be a great tool for You. And we truly believe it will be. We want to make You famous in this space. And so we give and work and pray to that end. But what have we done? It's all Yours!"
    David closes: "Keep this desire -- these motives, this intention that says, 'God, this is all about You. We are all about You.' -- in the hearts of your people forever." And God, that's my prayer, too. That's our prayer. Keep this desire in our hearts as we move toward completing this space and moving into it. This is all about You.

There's something about a new year. Turning a page on a new chapter. The hope, the promise, the fresh start. Maybe you're looking for that.

So are we.

In 2007, we did something pretty crazy. We brought two churches together to form one new community. That's right — two churches came together. Unheard of? Well, yeah ... pretty much. Too often we hear of churches pulling apart. But this past year, Rock Hills Church and Canyon Hills Church combined to form TerraNova Church.

Our name means "new land" or "new earth." It hints at an adventure that lies ahead — a journey of faith and hope, of risk and restoration. And that's what we want to be about.

And now, we stand on the brink of a new year, and another, beautiful new chapter: In just a few weeks, we'll be moving into our own space. You see, we've been building out a space near the intersection of Bake and Rockfield (across the street from the auto mall.) The address is 7 Whatney. We've been praying and giving and planning and preparing for what feels like a very long time. And now, it's almost here.

Some time in February or perhaps late January, we'll throw open the doors to this new environment — an environment we can finally call our own — and invite our world to join us in this adventurous, meaning-filled journey toward God. We'd love for you to join us, too.

Maybe this would be the perfect time to start a new chapter in your life. A new chapter with God. A new chapter of community and discovery and healing and spiritual growth. We'd love to be a part of that chapter with you.

Have you ever wondered if there's more to preparing for Christmas than how many shopping days are left? The word "Advent" simply means, "coming." And for 100s of years, Christians have used the weeks before Christmas to prepare themselves, personally and communally, for the coming of Christ into their lives. Join us in December for a special series of weekends designed to help you and your family experience the fullness of Christmas.

Plus: Begin the season at our "Advent Celebration Night" on Sunday, December 2, 5:00pm at Los Alisos.

 How does your family prepare for Christmas? Do you have any favorite traditions? Share your experiences with us in the comments section.

This month we launched a new message series that pretty much flies in the face of everything we hear all day long. A series about living beyond ourselves. About serving others selflessly, and in the process, discovering real life.

And we capped off week 1, the introduction, with a challenge: Take the month of November and go on a full-tilt self-sacrifice BINGE! Miss no opportunity to serve another person, when possible. Sign up for some of our Incarnational Expressions. Offer to do the dishes at home. Help your least-favorite co-worker carry stuff to their car. You get the idea. Get dirty.

And we'd love to hear your thoughts on how this is going so far.  Click "comments"' and let us know what you're doing, what you're learning, how it's hitting you, stretching you, tweaking you.

Join us this weekend for part 3 in the series -- Just Jump In!