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Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4 Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And he was amazed at their lack of faith.
REFERENCES: PROVERBS 18:19, MATTHEW 7:3-5, LUKE 4:16-22
God can do a whole lot with a little. Just think of the great oak. It’s a massive tree that provides plenty of shade under its branches, yet its vitality is held within a system of small roots hidden underground. Remove the roots and the tree comes tumbling down. We can think of our faith as that root system, our belief in Jesus sustains us through life’s challenges. But there are enemies, like shame, doubt, and fear, that can sap the life out of our faith. Another sneaky destroyer of faith, familiarity, comes breeding contempt for all that we have been given by God. It seeks to point us to what we are missing instead of to what we have. If we are not careful, that which makes us familiar can distract us and cut down the very faith that has helped us grow so strong. The people of Jesus’ hometown, all too familiar with his beginnings, scoffed at his miracles and didn’t recognize that he was only beginning. Jesus had the whole of humanity to save, and the lack of honor he received wouldn’t be the thing to stop him. To combat the parasitic effects of familiarity we must recognize that in our faith walk with God, he reveals a new, wondrous bit of himself little by little.
There’s still more to discover about God, you haven’t gotten to the best part yet.
To escape the trap of familiarity, we are called to remove the splinters and logs of our lives, those things that easily prevent us from seeing our faults and serve as hindrances. But on the other side of that door, there is a Carpenter willing to restore us.
The hometown prophet was in front of them and they were blinded to it. Instead of seeing a savior, the people who knew Jesus best saw an insignificant carpenter. They didn’t get their breakthrough because they couldn’t see through the fog of familiarity. Instead of honor, they chose offense, the bait of Satan.
The size of our faith pales in comparison to the size of our God, but familiarity trivializes the big works of God. Therefore, we must not become complacent in our faith journey but honor the one who can change our mess into a miracle. Honoring God and those he has placed around us is our step forward. When we reflect on all that he has done and look to the future, we break the cycle of familiarity. Then with each day dawning we will have the opportunity to experience his new mercies.
Run outside of your comfort zone. Try a new food, new Bible plan, or even a new show and look for God to speak in the unknown.
Need a midweek reset? Join us every Wednesday at VOUS Miami Gardens and VOUS Design District in the Prayer Room for an incredible hour of prayer starting at 12PM. Make it part of your weekly rhythm!
Where: VOUS Miami Gardens and VOUS Design District
When: Every Wednesday
Time: 12:00PM - 1:00PM
Join us for Vision Sunday! Pastor Rich & DawnCheré Wilkerson will be sharing vision and marching orders for the year ahead. Be sure to invite your friends & family and get in the room!
For more information on Vision Sunday, click here
Team Night is happening on Wednesday, November 12th across all four VOUS locations starting at 7:00 PM!
Whether you’ve been serving for years or are just getting started, your presence matters. Team Night isn’t just for a specific team or department, it’s for our locations to come together as one cohesive team and move forward as one.
Sign up for your location below:
SoMi | City | Miami Gardens | Design District
Are you interested in leading a crew? Click here to fill out an application to become a crew leader in SZN 1 2026!
You don't want to miss the chance to hang with us at VOUS High Nite on Wednesday, November 5th @ 7PM, a night for the middle and high school community of VOUS Church.
We'll be hosting a Parent Hangout during VHN – an opportunity to get to know other parents in our community. Dinner provided.
To RSVP for VOUS High Nite, click here
To RSVP for the Parent Hang, click here
Where:
VOUS SoMi @ One City Church | 6750 Sunset Drive
VOUS Miami Gardens | 17801 NW Second Ave
Make Thanksgiving special for a family in need by serving at our annual Thanksgiving Bash, a morning of distributing hundreds of meals to families in our community and watching teams compete for the VOUS Bowl Title in our spirited 7-on-7 flag football tournament.
To donate a meal kit online, click here
To serve, click here
Date: Saturday, November 22nd
Time: 11:00AM
Location: Charles Hadley Park
Join us bright and early at Peacock Park for the VOUS 10K Turkey Trot! Start your Thanksgiving with fresh air, great friends, and all-around fun! We’ll see you at the starting line!
Sign up for the Turkey Trot, click here
Date: Thursday, November 27th
Time: 6:00AM
Location: Peacock Park
VOUS SoMi
10:00AM / 12:00PM / 6PM
VOUS City
10:00AM / 12:00PM / 6PM
VOUS Miami Gardens
8:30AM / 10:00AM / 12:00PM
VOUS Design District
8:30AM / 10:00AM / 12:00PM
Church Online
10:30AM / 12:30PM / 5PM Español
Growth Track
After every service or join online at vouschurch.com/growthtrack
