Why do we do this every year? Why do I ask you every year to prayerfully, thoughtfully, and intentionally commit to worship, connect, serve, pray, and give?
I ask because I passionately believe that these areas are key to developing our personal spiritual lives and they are key to developing the life and health of the church. I ask because I am absolutely convinced that most people have good intentions but few people are intentional about living out those good intentions. And, I ask because am constantly reminded by Scripture that it is dangerous to presume to know the mind of God (“I’ll just do what I have always done”) without actually asking prayerfully His will for our life.
I ask because I think God wants more than admirers. He wants followers who intentionally order their lives around obedience to His will. I ask because I feel commanded by God to “spur one another on to love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24). I ask because we live life at a hectic pace and rarely take time to assess our priorities and to ask “why” we are doing all we are doing. I ask because the discovery of God’s love motivates us to want to bring our life into alignment with His will. And, I ask because I have discovered in my own life a peace, joy, and love that springs out of trust and obedience.
Each week we are covering one of those five areas of commitments (we have covered worship, connect, and serve–this Sunday is pray) and we are asking you to spend some time asking God about the commitment He is calling you to make. Every week we are giving you a tear out portion of the bulletin with some ideas to spur your thinking. We hope you will keep this portion as a rough draft to assist you in discerning your commitments for 2017. There is no “right’ answer we are looking for from you; there is simply your obedient response to how God has spoken to you (Extra copies of each week’s tear out portion can be found at the welcome desk and are included in the weekly church email.)
Ephesians 4:16 says, “From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” If you are faithful to God’s call upon your life, you will be doing your part and the body of Christ will grow and be built up in a way that proclaims the amazing love of Christ for all the world!
At worship on November 20th, we will hand you a box and a clean 2017 commitment form that will list all five areas of service: worship, connect, serve, pray, and give. We will ask you to fill out that form, place it in the box, wrap the box with Christmas paper (of if you are like me, put it in one of those colored gift bags), and bring it back to church between November 27th and Dec. 25th. These commitments will become a part of our response to God’s love shown to us in Christ!
Thank you again for all you do to share Christ’s love and grace with all the world. Greater things are yet to come!
Yours in Christ,
Jeff