Are you still growing?

Have you ever tried to grow something?

When the snow disappeared this past spring we discovered that much of our lawn had fallen victim to winter kill.  Since May I have been trying to grow grass and I’ve discovered that new growth takes work, a lot of it!

I had to prep the ground, put down new soil, plant the seed, and then the real work began.  I have been out there almost daily to water my grass, pick weeds, fertilize and look for some signs of growth.  Days and weeks went by, and it felt like nothing was happening. I was just about to give up! Suddenly there it was, a little blade of grass poking through the earth. A few days later that single blade of grass was joined by a whole bunch of friends.  I continued to water, weed, fertilize and care for that new growth.  Slowly my front yard began to change.  My lawn was once ugly, just a pile of dirt.  Now my lawn is a brilliant green and needs to be mown. The work never ends.

In Philippians 2:12 the Apostle Paul encourages us to “continue to work out your salvation.” Discovering forgiveness and relationship with Jesus is just the beginning. There is more for us to experience on our spiritual journey.  We don’t drift into maturity in our relationship with Jesus. It takes work in order to grow in Christ. The challenge is that many of us stop in the Discovering phase of our spiritual journey. We stop growing because we don’t do the work necessary to keep growing.

Over the last number of weeks we’ve been looking at the four stages of spiritual development:  Exploring, Discovering, Growing and Surrendering.

Persons in the Growing stage of spiritual development wrestle with questions like:

• What is God’s will for my life and how can I know it for certain?
• How can I be a part of what God is doing?
• What are spiritual gifts and why do they matter?
• How can I worship, honour and serve God with all that I am and all that I have?
• Who is the Holy Spirit and why does he matter?
• Can you really hear God’s voice?
• How can I live to stop sinning?
• How can I live free from regrets and hurts of the past?
• Is there something more to the Christian Life?

If you are wrestling with these or other similar questions, here are some things you can do to continue to grow in your relationship with God.  These actions steps build upon the actions identified last week in the Discovering category, why not choose one or two and make them your next step.

1. Discover the Holy Spirit – From the moment you first believed you received the gift of the Holy Spirit. He’s in you right now.  The challenge for many of us is that we never discover the power of the Holy Spirit or invite him to be in every part of our lives.  Instead, we struggle to follow Jesus, and ignore the one who Jesus promised in John 16 would help us follow his teachings and live as Jesus envisioned.  On the first weekend of February each year we host a one day conference that focuses on the Holy Spirit and why he matters in our life.  Plan now to join us on Saturday, February 2nd and discover who Holy Spirit is and why he matters so much.
2. Experience freedom through Soul Care – We are often limited by our past wounds, our current behaviours, and our faulty thinking. Our SoulCare conference and groups teach Biblical principles for healing the soul and overcoming broken and sinful areas of life. Join us November 29 to December 1 for a three day intensive course, or join us beginning January 9th for our weekly SoulCare group.
3. Learn to hear God’s voice – Did you know that God still speaks today?  God speaks to his children in many different ways. In the ‘Hearing God’ seminar, you’ll learn how to hear God’s voice every day.  Join me, beginning September 12th during MidWeek, and learn how to grow in your ability to hear God’s voice.
4. Serving – God has made you unique.  He has given you gifts, talents, passions and experiences for a reason. Part of that reason is to use your gifts, talents, passions and experiences to serve others.  God created us to live for more than ourselves. We are created to help and give ourselves to others.  There are lots of places in Living Hope and our community where you could use your unique gifts to help others. Living a self-less life will help you grow closer to Christ who models for us self-less living.

Are you growing in your relationship with God?

If I had stopped working on my lawn, I’d still have a pile of dirt, but because I’ve been putting in the work my grass is growing again.  It is still a little patchy, but I’m continuing to work on it, and someday I’ll have a beautiful lush lawn.  Are you still working out your salvation?  Are you still Growing?

We’d love to help you take your next step on your spiritual journey as a disciple of Jesus.  Simply drop me or one of the other pastors a note and we’ll help you figure out your next step on your path to growing in Christ.

This Sunday Pastor Daniel will wrap up our ‘Songs of Summer’ series by looking at Psalm 63 and the natural hunger we all have for an intimate connection with our creator.

See you Sunday,

Pastor Kirk

Elevate Prayer Summit
Join us this Wednesday 7 to 8 pm for an evening of learning about prayer, listening to God and sharing with each other what God is saying to us.  Elevate begins with singing and is followed by a short teaching time.  We then move into groups to pray for each other about things going on in our lives and in our church family.  

Living Hope MidWeek Starts September 12!
Join us Wednesdays, beginning September 12, for MidWeek, an evening where the entire family can sit around a table for a great meal and then find activities that will help them take their next step in their relationship with Jesus.  Check out our Weekly News & Announcements for more information on MidWeek.  There is something for everyone.

Global Leadership Summit – October 18 & 19
Your influence matters, learn how to maximize it!  Join us for this year’s Global Leadership Summit and get a unique blend of vision, inspiration and practical skills you can immediately apply.  The 2 day Global Leadership Summit will hone and improve your leadership skills with fresh perspective from world-class leaders.  Register today for this world-class event featuring Simon Sinek, Juliett Funt, Sheila Heen, John Maxwell and many more.

Coming Events