Por encima de todo
¿Que esperabas?
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

SEVEN: A Porta Aberta

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.

Palavra

‭‭Apocalipse‬ ‭3‬:‭7‬-‭13‬ ‭NAA

Ao anjo da igreja em Filadélfia escreve: “Estas coisas diz o santo, o verdadeiro, aquele que tem a chave de Davi, que abre, e ninguém fechará, e que fecha, e ninguém abrirá. Conheço as obras que você realiza. Eis que tenho posto diante de você uma porta aberta, a qual ninguém pode fechar. Sei que você tem pouca força, mas guardou a minha palavra e não negou o meu nome. Eis o que eu farei com alguns dos que são da sinagoga de Satanás, desses que se declaram judeus e não são, mas mentem. Eis que farei com que venham até você, prostrem-se aos seus pés e reconheçam que eu amo você. Você guardou a palavra da minha perseverança. Por isso, também eu o guardarei da hora da provação que há de vir sobre o mundo inteiro, para pôr à prova os que habitam sobre a terra. Venho sem demora. Conserve o que você tem, para que ninguém tome a sua coroa. Ao vencedor, farei com que seja uma coluna no santuário do meu Deus, e dali jamais sairá. Gravarei sobre ele o nome do meu Deus, o nome da cidade do meu Deus, a nova Jerusalém que desce do céu, vinda da parte do meu Deus, e o meu novo nome. Quem tem ouvidos, ouça o que o Espírito diz às igrejas.”

REFERÊNCIAS: Isaías 22:20-23, Zacarias 4:10

Ideia Principal

Você alguma vez já ficou perdido em um novo prédio e não tinha certeza de qual porta abrir?  Sem uma direção adequada e uma orientação, nós podemos facilmente nos perder ou entrar em uma porta que nós nunca deveríamos ter entrado. Nós podemos começar a ficar ansiosos tentando descobrir qual das portas abrir e acabamos ficando presos no corredor. Contudo, com Jesus como nosso guia e fonte da verdade, nós podemos ter certeza do caminho que precisamos tomar. Ele nos encontra onde estamos para nos liderar para a porta certa. Se você está sempre em uma situação na qual você não consegue discernir as mentiras das verdades, abra a palavra de Deus e você vai encontrar o caminho para a vida.

Nossa resposta e antídoto são encontrados em Jesus

  1. Portas abertas e fechadas

Uma das coisas mais misericordiosas que Deus pode fazer por nós é fechar uma porta que nós não deveríamos caminhar por ela. Às vezes somos curiosos para saber o que está por vir em nossas vidas, mas Deus nos mantém seguros, mostrando-nos o Seu plano para a nossa vida. Se Deus fecha uma porta, ninguém pode abri-la e se Deus abre uma porta, ninguém pode fechá-la.  

“Conheço as obras que você realiza. Eis que tenho posto diante de você uma porta aberta, a qual ninguém pode fechar. Sei que você tem pouca força, mas guardou a minha palavra e não negou o meu nome.”

‭‭Apocalipse‬ ‭3‬:‭8‬ ‭NAA

Não desperdice seu tempo tentando abrir uma porta que Deus já fechou
Jesus tem a chave mestra, e por causa dele nós temos acesso ao reino de Deus
Escolha caminhar pelo caminho que Deus te chamou

Até Deus abrir uma nova porta, apenas glorifique ele no caminho

Qual foi a porta que Deus fechou para que você pudesse encontrar a porta que Ele queria que você passasse ?

2. Obediência

Obediência é geralmente um requisito para fazer parte de um time esportivo, um trabalho ou até mesmo nas tarefas domésticas para ter acesso a todos os seus benefícios. Da mesma maneira, a obediência a Deus é nossa porta de entrada para todas as promessas dele. Entretanto a obediência a ele não compra o amor dele por nós, ela abre portas para as bênçãos dele.

Fé não é sobre conseguir o que estamos pedindo, é sobre guardar o que ele nos pediu para fazer
A obediência leva ao favor
Se você guardar a palavra, você vai se encontrar fazendo coisas impossíveis

Deus tem grandes promessas para aqueles com pouco poder que obedecem

Compartilhe um tempo que você se agarrou a uma promessa que Deus te deu e que sustentou sua fé durante um período difícil?

Conclusão

O trabalho de Deus não é nos obedecer mas vice e versa, e o discernimento em  oração é a chave para reconhecer a liderança Dele em nossas vidas. Nós não aprendemos o que é a verdade estudando o que é mentira. A palavra Dele nos firma na resistência da paciência, enquanto Deus abre e fecha portas em nossas vidas. Refletindo sobre as verdades de Deus, podemos distinguir melhor as portas que Ele abre das que nossos desejos terrenos nos tentam a forçar a abrir. Quando confiamos na verdade de Deus, e caminhamos em obediência, o favor Dele nos lidera para as promessas que Ele nos oferece gratuitamente. Deus nos ama e promete justiça diante dos nossos inimigos, proteção contra o maligno e identidade firmada nele.

Chamada Para A Ação

Reflita sobre o discernimento de quando Deus pode estar nos chamando para passar por uma porta que Ele abriu, versus nossa natureza terrena que nos tenta a tentar abrir uma porta que Ele já fechou. Busque ter uma perseverança paciente na comunidade cristã.

Aqui estão alguns exemplos de como começar:

  • Participe de uma crew que pareça interessante ou se alinha com seus talentos
  • Fale com alguém sobre a VOUS que tenha expressado interesse em explorar mais a espiritualidade

Anúncios

DOMINGOS NA VOUS

VOUS SoMi

8:45h / 10h / 12h / 18h

VOUS City

10h / 12h / 18h

VOUS DD

10h / 12h

Igreja Online

10h / 17h Espanhol

Growth Track

Após cada serviço ou inscreva-se online em vouschurch.com/growthtrack

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

Care Request Form

If someone in your Crew needs care, we want to come alongside you. Our Care Response Team is designed to equip you to walk with people in different seasons of their life.Our team is committed to celebrating life’s best moments with you and offering support through its hardest ones.We would love to come around you for the following life events:
+ Marriages
+ Births
+ Deaths
+ Hospitalizations/Illness

Please submit a request at vouschurch.com/requestcare

VOUSCon 2025: Dying to be Different

This isn’t just another conference. It’s a holy moment to encounter Jesus, be filled with His presence, and reset your heart around what matters most. Over three days of powerful worship, teaching, and community, you’ll be equipped to lead with clarity and live with boldness.

From curated workshops to next-level add-ons, VOUSCon is designed to meet you where you are and where you lead—whether that’s in your church, your workplace, or the middle of a major life decision. Every session is crafted to grow your faith and strengthen your voice.

For more information or to purchase tickets, click here.

When: Thursday, June 19th - Saturday, June 21st

Where: Watsco Center
1245 Dauer Dr
Coral Gables, FL 33146

VOUSCon Prayer Night

VOUSCon is here! On Wednesday before kicking off VOUSCon 2025 in strength and unity we are going to pray.

Don't miss the moment to join us in prayer. Please RSVP by clicking here for our FREE VOUSCon Prayer Night

When: Wednesday, June 18th
Time: 7:00PM
Where: Watsco Center
1245 Dauer Dr
Coral Gables, FL 33146

The Road to VOUSCon

Join us on the road to VOUSCon as we embark on a 40-day relay run through the state of Florida. From Jacksonville to Miami, runners from every region are invited to participate in carrying the good news. Our finish line? VOUSCon 2025. Led by a core VOUS team, we’ll link arms with partner churches along the way, spotlighting the body of Christ and championing the local church through weekly outreach initiatives.

Starting Line: Sunday, May 11
Finish Line: Thursday, June 19

Learn More

ILMC Serve Day

Serve Day is happening Saturday, July 12th, and we want to get ALL of our crews involved in loving our city so please sign your crew up for a Serve Day project! To see the projects and sign up, please click here! Please have your form in by Wednesday, July 2nd.


When
: Saturday, July 12th
Where
: All VOUS Locations
Time
: 10:00 AM

Sundays at VOUS

VOUS SoMi

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

VOUS City

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

VOUS Miami Gardens

8:45AM / 10:30AM / 12:30PM

VOUS DD

10:30AM / 12:30PM

Church Online

10AM / 12:00 PM / 5PM Español


Growth Track

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

Sign Up for a Crew ->