Becoming the People We Most Deeply Desire
We are becoming. What are we becoming?
As we discussed on Sunday, spiritual formation is a given. The question is more about what kind of spiritual formation we are under. We do not live in a middle passive space regarding our formation and discipleship as if there are no external factors contributing to the person you are becoming. If you take an honest assessment of your life I think you will find that your life is centered around something, some things, or someone. Some may be centered around a formation through various forms of media (Netflix, Instagram, Amazon). Others may be centered around a formation through careerism (“everything I want and need in life can be discovered through my job”). Jesus makes a claim about the biggest questions of our lives, but these alternatives do too! Instagram is telling you something about who you should be, what you should spend your time on, what makes the good life, etc.
What we discussed Sunday is how Jesus invites us to organize and structure our lives around Him. Acts reveals to us that these early disciples were devoted to a “way” of living. To be christian was to lead a life where Jesus was at the center. He was their teacher. He was their Lord. He was their God. It was not just talk. It was an authentic embrace of Jesus because He truly did become the very substance of what their lives were about.
As we move into Lent, this is at the heart of what we hope we can all experience together. Lent is really about counting the cost of discipleship and accepting Jesus’ terms of following Him in the world. Lent is about turning from the alternate pathways of formation to a better way with Jesus. It will be hard. It will be costly in some ways. But it is totally worth it.
As we move into Lent, our church is entering in to a fast together where we intentionally take a break from certain things as a way to increase our hunger for the Lord and grow in allowing the Lord to truly captivate our hearts and lives. As we all consider what this will look like for us, here are a few areas you may consider:
In addition to fasting and prayer, we are going to be taking a break from Acts to do a sermon series on Repentance. Some of the questions we are going to be answering during this series are:
We anticipate that the Lord will really be at work over the next few weeks as we gear up for Easter. I want to ask you: Can you commit to take the next few weeks and really seek the Lord? Can you sit aside time each day to seek Him in prayer? Sitting before Him in silence? Responding to His voice and Spirit appropriately?
I love you guys so much. And I am praying for you church. See and Savor Christ. Trust and Treasure Him,
Alex Gailey
As we discussed on Sunday, spiritual formation is a given. The question is more about what kind of spiritual formation we are under. We do not live in a middle passive space regarding our formation and discipleship as if there are no external factors contributing to the person you are becoming. If you take an honest assessment of your life I think you will find that your life is centered around something, some things, or someone. Some may be centered around a formation through various forms of media (Netflix, Instagram, Amazon). Others may be centered around a formation through careerism (“everything I want and need in life can be discovered through my job”). Jesus makes a claim about the biggest questions of our lives, but these alternatives do too! Instagram is telling you something about who you should be, what you should spend your time on, what makes the good life, etc.
What we discussed Sunday is how Jesus invites us to organize and structure our lives around Him. Acts reveals to us that these early disciples were devoted to a “way” of living. To be christian was to lead a life where Jesus was at the center. He was their teacher. He was their Lord. He was their God. It was not just talk. It was an authentic embrace of Jesus because He truly did become the very substance of what their lives were about.
As we move into Lent, this is at the heart of what we hope we can all experience together. Lent is really about counting the cost of discipleship and accepting Jesus’ terms of following Him in the world. Lent is about turning from the alternate pathways of formation to a better way with Jesus. It will be hard. It will be costly in some ways. But it is totally worth it.
As we move into Lent, our church is entering in to a fast together where we intentionally take a break from certain things as a way to increase our hunger for the Lord and grow in allowing the Lord to truly captivate our hearts and lives. As we all consider what this will look like for us, here are a few areas you may consider:
- Can I limit how much TV I watch?
- Can I put limits on when/how I use my phone?
- Is there a meal each week that I could fast so that I could spend that hour in prayer or moving toward others in love?
- Is there an indulgence that I struggle to go without? How might I push against this during Lent by asking God to help me?
In addition to fasting and prayer, we are going to be taking a break from Acts to do a sermon series on Repentance. Some of the questions we are going to be answering during this series are:
- What is repentance?
- Why do we need to repent?
- What makes repentance a Christian thing?
- What does repentance look like in the local church?
We anticipate that the Lord will really be at work over the next few weeks as we gear up for Easter. I want to ask you: Can you commit to take the next few weeks and really seek the Lord? Can you sit aside time each day to seek Him in prayer? Sitting before Him in silence? Responding to His voice and Spirit appropriately?
I love you guys so much. And I am praying for you church. See and Savor Christ. Trust and Treasure Him,
Alex Gailey
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