Por encima de todo
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Above It All
What Did You Expect?
Above It All
What Did You Expect?
Por encima de todo
¿Que esperabas?

Crew Leader

Introduction (2 minutes)

Use the Zoom chat feature to keep everyone connected. As people join in, ask for their first and last name, email address, and where they are tuning in from. Save the chat as an attendance record.

Reflect

Ask Crew members to share their favorite points from the talk. What phrase or moment did they relate to the most?

Icebreaker: Reflection or Conversation Starter or Virtual Icebreaker (5 minutes)

For your icebreaker, choose from the options below. Have Crew members unmute themselves to share.

Conversation Starters (Choose One)
  • What's something you did this week that you feel proud of?
  • What did you eat for breakfast?
  • Name the best book you’ve ever read.
  • What’s your morning routine?
  • What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
  • If your life was a story, what would the title be?
Virtual Icebreakers (5 minutes)

Preaching Game - Choose random items and allow individuals to find ways to encourage others using that item. (Pick 2-3 volunteers)

Show-and-Tell - Pick an object in your home that has significance for you, something with a funny story behind it, anything unique, or something you've used to simply pass the time.

Crew Discussion

The Art of Joy: Life Lessons from Philippians

Pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr.

Continuing the Conversation
Last Crew's Call to Action

God calls for us to forgive while maintaining boundaries necessary to steward and nurture our souls. This week, lean in to the wisdom of Solomon and study the book of Proverbs to help you develop tools for cultivating Godly relationships while asking God for the courage to forgive. Don’t forget to check out additional resources at https://www.vouschurch.com/care.

Scripture

Philippians 1:1-11

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons[a]: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Main Idea

Having a positive personality makes us feel good, but having joy is not based on happiness or circumstances, it's something that we cultivate through Christ. We can cultivate joy by practicing our gratitude and remembering all the good things that God had done for us. The more grateful we are, the more joyful we can become.

God is greater than our mistakes, and His mercy is not attached to our wrong-doings. If He started something in your life, He will finish it.  He is directing us to not walk in circles but always leads us to His path. Enjoy the journey loving what God is doing. Remember, when you make joy a habit in your life you’ll reflect His love.


Gratitude is the seed of joy.

1.  Remember his faithfulness

When Paul was imprisoned, he taught us the art of joy by remembering what God had done for his friends in Philippi, in spite of his current circumstance.  Just like Paul, we can lean into the Joy of the Lord by remembering his faithfulness.


It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me.

Philippians 1:7

The position that we are in does not have to dictate our posture.
Practice praying with joy.
Remember what God has done in this church and in your life.

We are not after cheap happiness, we are after God’s everlasting joy.

Share a time when God was faithful in your life or someone else's.

2. Look forward to what God will do

It’s always exciting to start something new and to stick with it until it’s completed. But when God starts something in our lives we don’t need to walk around aimlessly, He guides and steers us until we have a clear vision of where we are going. As we look forward to what God is doing we can encourage each other to not give up and be confident that no matter where He takes us or how long, He will complete it.


Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:6

God will develop you in private and reveal you in public.
Don’t get weary in doing good
Before God accelerates something, he has to make sure he has your direction in place

God never promised to finish what you started, he will finish what he started

What is one area in your life that you’re looking forward to for God to show up in?

Summary

Joy is a weapon that can only be sharpened when we adopt a posture of gratitude for what God has done and will do. As we make joy a habit, our reflex should be to love what God is doing through ourselves and others around us. You may not always like what you’re currently going through, but loving what God is doing in your life will prepare you for His will. No matter what season of life you find yourself in, remember — gratitude leads to joy and joy leads to strength. If you're having a hard time seeing what God is doing in your life, start by celebrating what he is doing in someone else's.

Call To Action

Reflect on how you can practice joy in your relationship with others. Choose 3 people in your VOUS Crew that you want to celebrate and shout them out in your crew’s group chat this week.

Announcements

Pray First

We’re in week two of Pray First and there’s still time to join! Prayer is where intimacy with God begins—it aligns our hearts with His will and unlocks Heaven’s power in our lives.

Let’s grow closer to God together. Don’t miss this opportunity!

Join us for Pray First by texting "PRAY" to 30596.

Monday - Friday

Zoom Prayer @ 6:30AM
vouschurch.com/zoom

Monday - Saturday
IG Live @ 12:00PM

Wednesday - 12:00 - 1:00 PM
Prayer Rooms - Miami Gardens

Wednesday, January 15 - Pray First Gathering
7:00PM Pre-Hang
7:30PM Service
SoMi, Miami Gardens, Design District

For all gatherings information and resources on Pray First, please click here!

Baptisms Sunday

We are having baptisms this Sunday, January 19th, across all of our locations, and on the beach.

To sign up for baptisms, please click here.

Heart & Soul

Heart & Soul will be taking place on Wednesday, January 22nd. This is a night for anyone who loves VOUS with worship, community, and a stakeholders message from Pastor Rich on where we're headed in 2025.


This SZN, we will be holding Heart & Soul at VOUS City!


‍RSVP here to let us know which location you will be joining us at. This is a night you do not want to miss!

I Love My City

This month's spotlight initiative is human trafficking awareness. We aim to bring light to this critical issue by partnering with organizations working to prevent trafficking and support survivors.

We will meet at our South Miami, Design District, and Miami Gardens locations on Saturday, January 25th at 10:30am to gather and serve at an outreach throughout the city.

To sign up for an outreach at one of our locations or an Off-Site outreach, please click here.

Sundays at VOUS

VOUS SoMi
8:45AM / 10:30AM / 12:30PM / 6PM

VOUS City
10:30AM / 12:30PM / 6PM

VOUS Miami Gardens
10:30AM / 12:30PM

VOUS Design District
10:30AM / 12:30PM

Church Online
10AM / 5PM Español

Visit VOUS


Growth Track

After every service or join online at vouschurch.com/growthtrack

Sign Up

Crew Leader

Introduction (2 minutes)

Use the Zoom chat feature to keep everyone connected. As people join in, ask for their first and last name, email address, and where they are tuning in from. Save the chat as an attendance record.

Reflect

Ask Crew members to share their favorite points from the talk. What phrase or moment did they relate to the most?

Icebreaker: Reflection or Conversation Starter or Virtual Icebreaker (5 minutes)

For your icebreaker, choose from the options below. Have Crew members unmute themselves to share.

Conversation Starters (Choose One)
  • What's something you did this week that you feel proud of?
  • What did you eat for breakfast?
  • Name the best book you’ve ever read.
  • What’s your morning routine?
  • What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
  • If your life was a story, what would the title be?
Virtual Icebreakers (5 minutes)

Preaching Game - Choose random items and allow individuals to find ways to encourage others using that item. (Pick 2-3 volunteers)

Show-and-Tell - Pick an object in your home that has significance for you, something with a funny story behind it, anything unique, or something you've used to simply pass the time.

Crew Discussion

What Did You Expect?

Pastor Luke Barry

Continuing the Conversation
VOUSCon 2023: Reflect

VOUSCon was nothing short of a miracle! We're still praising God for all He did. Reflection builds gratitude. Spend the first few minutes of Crew sharing a testimony or reflection from VOUSCon 2023.

Continuing the Conversation
Last Crew's Call to Action

God calls for us to forgive while maintaining boundaries necessary to steward and nurture our souls. This week, lean in to the wisdom of Solomon and study the book of Proverbs to help you develop tools for cultivating Godly relationships while asking God for the courage to forgive. Don’t forget to check out additional resources at https://www.vouschurch.com/care.

Scripture

Ephesians 3:20-21 NKJV

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Additional Scripture References: John 11:32; Job 13:15; John 11:5; Matthew 14:31

Main Idea

Life often doesn't meet our expectations, leading to frustration and disappointment. We may hope for one outcome, only to be met with something entirely different, creating a gap between what we expected and what we experienced. This gap can lead us to question God, our faith, and our hope. But through stories like that of Lazarus and Job, we learn that God isn’t in the business of just meeting expectations, He’s in the business of exceeding them.

God’s power to perform exceeds our ability to ask

1. Hope and Expectation

Faith grows through hope and trusting God’s timing. Positive expectations can fuel faith, while unmet expectations can lead to disappointment. Often, we expect something specific from God but find ourselves limiting Him to only a particular outcome. When we don’t see Him come through just as we expected, we can find ourselves frustrated and disappointed — where was God? The truth is, God is always at work. We may not always see Him moving, or understand His plan, but He has something greater in mind.

Disappointment can tempt us to give up on expectations, but it’s an opportunity to strengthen our faith
God’s plans always exceed our expectations
Don't allow your expectations of what God was “supposed” to do get in the way of what He wants to do

If God always met your expectations, how could He ever exceed them?

What areas of your life are you waiting for God to show up? How can you operate from faith in the present as you hope for the future?

2. Endurance and Enjoyment

Job’s story is a powerful example of enduring pain and disappointment without losing faith. Even in his suffering, Job declared, “Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him.” Despite the immense loss, he continued to trust God, showing us that our hope can remain, even in the midst of struggle. Endurance is the ability to trust that God is working, even when we can’t see it.

Endurance strengthens our faith through trials
God hasn’t called us to merely endure life, He’s called us to enjoy it
Enjoying life is appreciating the little, it’s not a pain-free life, but a grateful one

We can say: “God, I don’t understand everything but I trust you in everything”

How has a difficult season strengthened your appreciation for God’s blessings?

Summary

Possibly the greatest source of frustration in life is unmet expectations. The difference between what we expected versus what we experienced often leads us to stop expecting. But there’s an invitation of faith amidst the frustration. Don’t lower your expectations; lift your faith. Give God something to exceed. God can do it, the question is: can you believe it?

Call To Action

Identify areas where you may be limiting God by expecting a specific outcome. Practice finding gratitude by celebrating the little things.

Announcements

Pray First

We’re in week two of Pray First and there’s still time to join! Prayer is where intimacy with God begins—it aligns our hearts with His will and unlocks Heaven’s power in our lives.

Let’s grow closer to God together. Don’t miss this opportunity!

Join us for Pray First by texting "PRAY" to 30596.

Monday - Friday

Zoom Prayer @ 6:30AM
vouschurch.com/zoom

Monday - Saturday
IG Live @ 12:00PM

Wednesday - 12:00 - 1:00 PM
Prayer Rooms - Miami Gardens

Wednesday, January 15 - Pray First Gathering
7:00PM Pre-Hang
7:30PM Service
SoMi, Miami Gardens, Design District

For all gatherings information and resources on Pray First, please click here!

Baptisms Sunday

We are having baptisms this Sunday, January 19th, across all of our locations, and on the beach.

To sign up for baptisms, please click here.

Heart & Soul

Heart & Soul will be taking place on Wednesday, January 22nd. This is a night for anyone who loves VOUS with worship, community, and a stakeholders message from Pastor Rich on where we're headed in 2025.


This SZN, we will be holding Heart & Soul at VOUS City!


‍RSVP here to let us know which location you will be joining us at. This is a night you do not want to miss!

I Love My City

This month's spotlight initiative is human trafficking awareness. We aim to bring light to this critical issue by partnering with organizations working to prevent trafficking and support survivors.

We will meet at our South Miami, Design District, and Miami Gardens locations on Saturday, January 25th at 10:30am to gather and serve at an outreach throughout the city.

To sign up for an outreach at one of our locations or an Off-Site outreach, please click here.

Sundays at VOUS

VOUS SoMi
8:45AM / 10:30AM / 12:30PM / 6PM

VOUS City
10:30AM / 12:30PM / 6PM

VOUS Miami Gardens
10:30AM / 12:30PM

VOUS Design District
10:30AM / 12:30PM

Church Online
10AM / 5PM Español

Visit VOUS


Growth Track

After every service or join online at vouschurch.com/growthtrack

Sign Up

Sign Up for a Crew ->