All in Discipleship
Is it possible that I resist treating anything as sacred because to do so would encroach on my freedom, my own self-assertion? I don’t want anything or anyone telling me, “No.” How dare anyone tell me how to sit or dress, or where I can or cannot go?! But it seems to me that the sacred can only exist where there is a boundary. Where something is off-limits. Where guardrails are in place that prevent us from desecrating the holy.
I can honestly say that I am very blessed right now, even in the midst of all the grief. Why am I blessed, despite my mourning? It’s because I am being comforted in my mourning by fellow believers. Would I call myself “fortunate,” at least in the ways the world outside uses the term? Probably not. But I am most certainly blessed, in that good biblical sense of “the state in which everyone has exactly what they need right now, thanks to God’s good work in their lives”
Once you understand that your identity is grounded in God’s love, you are free to take risks, to grow and learn from your mistakes, and to try and fail because the outcome will not affect your identity in Him.
As you are planning events for the spring, general seasonal-themed events or ones focusing on local interests or holidays are good to consider. Bridge events create community on multiple levels: within our own churches by giving an opportunity for new members to get to know people as well as building bridges between our congregation and the community.
We live in a time and a culture that seems especially tempted to see the unfairness and brutality of human existence as good reason to let go of God. And if we are honest, there are probably times when it feels like holding on is pointless, when we wonder if our struggle to keep our faith is even worth it. And to that experience, this story offers us a gift: May we be as stubborn as Jacob: refusing to let go, until we get a blessing.
We never really grow the Kingdom of God. God does that. However, burying the Kingdom not only hides it from others, but from ourselves. Consequently, we stunt our own spiritual formation out of fear of not growing the Kingdom, but when we boldly go into our world with the good news of a Kingdom built on love and grace with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone, growth will take place.
It helps to have a clear idea of the outcome you desire or what you hope to achieve. Once that is established, you need to list all of the options at your disposal, even the ones you think are bad, even the ones that you believe will result in the worst consequences.
Out of fear that Mary was getting too much credit for her role in salvation history, we decided to give her none. Among us, there must not even be a hint of devotion to Mary. In the end, we might not have thrown the baby out with the bathwater, but we do seem to have thrown out the baby’s mother. And in doing so, I think we’ve lost quite a bit.
Jesus’ teaching here is that the children of the kingdom will have to wait until harvest time to see evil completely destroyed. This waiting, however, does not imply conforming to the world or indifference to its injustices.
While this is only a short list of ideas, my hope is that these suggestions offer a point of reference for what intentional intergenerationality could look like in your church as you think through your own context. Regardless of how your church seeks to include children more intentionally within its worship practices, the most important point is to start somewhere so that you can embody being a church where all God’s people gather.
Whether it is a stranger needing shelter from the elements, a visitor needing someone to share a meal, or a newcomer needing community, resolve to be the one to welcome—even if you have to leave the comfort of your home and trudge through the storm to invite them in. Be purposeful about welcoming others, and plan to surprise someone with unusual kindness.
Living from the false self distances us from God. By building a persona based on pride or external validation, we alienate ourselves from the divine connection. The false self obstructs our spiritual growth, resulting in a divided life in which we are separated from both our true self and God.
Like many of your families, we have an extravagant meal do the whole routine of “Let’s go around the table and everyone share something they are thankful for.” We resolve to be more thankful throughout the year. And we do the same thing the next year. So how do we live in thanksgiving in between holiday celebrations?
We can follow the example of our Lord Jesus. We can model his humility. We can talk about others the way we want to be talked about. We can refrain from judging, from being hypocritical. We can use discernment. We can lead with love, remembering that each one of us was made in the image of God.
If you want to get serious about studying Scripture, you have to become serious about poetry. God chose to allow his interactions with humanity to be written in both prose and poetry. There are both histories and hymns, statements and also songs.
How great and enduring should our gratitude be? It should be immeasurable and eternal. And how can we show it? By remaining at His feet, serving His cause, confessing before the world that He was “wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, and by his stripes we are healed.”
The “burning bush” moment is that they have learned the good news of Jesus—that he died for their sins and was raised from the dead. Their call is to be born again into the Kingdom of God.
For many of us, the default rule of life demands our production and performance. I fear we have allowed ourselves to accept busyness as fruitfulness, when in reality these two things don’t go hand-in-hand all the time. There are so many good things we can do for the Lord, but “good” doesn’t always equal “fruitful.”
God’s creation reveals to us his character. It helps us to experience the God who is the Creative Creator and to reflect on his majesty. In Psalm 50:2 the psalmist writes, “From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.” Beauty can reveal to us glimpses of the Ultimate Good, the Truly Beautiful.
“Who am I?” I am God’s! Because I am God’s, I have nothing to fear. So, when He calls, and He will call, we can approach Him in humility and gratitude and say, “Here am I, send me! Do with me what you will.”
