Great Expectations

Please take a moment to read Philippians 4:13

Earlier this week, I had, for the first time, the privilege of seeing my son’s business in Minneapolis. I am in awe of all the hard work he has done to make his dream a reality. In all fairness, he has benefited from much support. But at the same time, he has rocked it! My “dad-heart” is soaring!

Many of you know that I am kind of an old-school parent. I was raised on tough love and I find objectionable much of the excessive rewarding that happens in our society today. Put another way, I was not a “you can be whatever you put your mind to” kind of parent! I parented in favor of reasonable expectations.

I’ll admit I grew up under the cloud of low expectations. I’ll also admit that I am very much motivated by others who tell me what I cannot do. I see this same fire in the belly of my son, and I admire him for his drive! I was also very much a late-bloomer, and so also was my son. It must be a pattern that Bouvier boys take a while to figure things out.

The nature of our expectations is the emphasis of our new worship series, Great Expectations. I find curious the many contradictions I see these days regarding expectations. We simultaneously expect very little and very much out of ourselves and others. What is more, we often use the Bible as the means by which we create a false set of expectations.

In worship over this last weekend, we started this new series looking at Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through God who strengthens me.” Does the Apostle Paul really say this to create a set of personal expectations on our ability to do anything? Nope! Paul is talking about the strength he gets from his faith and not how much he can accomplish.

I hope you will walk with us through the summer in worship – preferably in person and in community, but online and by video, as necessary. I also pray that you may reflect on the weight of expectations you’re feeling in life right now. How aligned with reality are your dreams? Even more, how can we support you in the pressure you feel?

Let us pray…
Jesus, you both expect much of us, and yet love us regardless of how much or little we accomplish. Help us to live out of you being our strength. Amen.

Written by Pastor Greg Bouvier

Pastor Greg heard God’s call to Sheridan in 1999 and that began a journey which has become his life’s work. Having played a variety of roles as pastor of Sheridan, Pastor Greg was called as the Senior Pastor in 2011. He leads the staff and his primary focus is on the creation of culture, the overall direction of worship and partnering with our amazing team. Pastor Greg has been married to Rose for more than 30 years and together they have two servant-hearted grown children.