Do you wish you had more opportunities to build your friendships
with folks you only see on Sunday morning? Would you be willing to
open your home once or twice to such an opportunity?
Our Journey Group ministry will soon be starting back
up and we hope you will be a part! Keep watching and
listening for details about our new Journey Group approach!
Back to…
August is done and September is here! As we arrive at the Labor Day weekend, we have to ask, “Where did the summer go?” If you are like me, you have no doubt heard the moans of a return to school, and perhaps a return to work after a late summer, or summer long vacation.
In
many ways, back to school represents another “New Year’s Day”. In January, it is a time to turn the page and
make goals or resolutions about how the next 365 days will be different than
the last. This, I believe is a blessing from God. God gives us continuing grace
and mercy, and the opportunity to start fresh is an example of this.
So as we have arrived at this
natural mile post in the rhythm of our year, it is a great time to take stock
and start fresh. While we may dread the return to school, or perhaps enjoy the
return of a familiar routine, we can also take advantage of the opportunity to
refresh and return to a spiritual routine that may have slipped over the summer
or even since our resolutions were made in January.
What are the spiritual
practices that you need to refresh, restart, and recommit to? What are
practices that you may need to begin for the first time or grow and expand? For
some of us, it might be reading our Bibles. For others, it might be learning to
“pray without ceasing”, that is carrying on a conversation with God throughout
our day. Maybe for others, it is making Sunday morning worship a first
priority, or joining a Journey Group.
Wherever you find yourself,
the Back to School transition is a great opportunity to return to much more
than routine. It is an opportunity to grow and strengthen your faith. So as the
calendar moves forward in its’ steady advance towards New Year’s, let’s take
advantage of the opportunity to return, restart, renew and recalibrate our
lives so that we can finish the 2019 strong.
Pastor Evan