There’s much more for you to discover

On May 4, 1991, something happened that changed my life.  I watched as beautiful Britton Johnson dressed in sparkling white walked down the aisle towards me.  We’d known each other for a year and a half, we’d dated for six months, then been engaged for six months more before we were married.  I had spent every waking moment with Britton. I thought I knew her and she knew me better than anyone else in the world, yet we discovered a lot more about each other in the weeks and months that followed .

Over the last several weeks we have been talking about taking next steps in our relationship with Jesus.  The starting point of a relationship with Jesus is making a decision to admit that you violated God’s way of living, accepting the sacrifice and forgiveness provided by Jesus’ death and resurrection, and deciding to follow Jesus’s leadership in your life.  That’s just the beginning though.  Just as Britton and I discovered a lot more about each other and our relationship after we were married, there is much more for you to discover about Jesus and living in relationship with Jesus.

This decision is what moves you from Exploring faith to the next step of Discovering relationship with Jesus. Having a relationship with Jesus is all about discovering you can trust Jesus and his teachings, and letting him lead you through life.  You know you are in the Discovering group if you are asking questions like:

• How does my faith in Jesus impact my life, my family, work, friends and my priorities?
• What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus and how does it affect what I do every day?
• Who am I in Christ? What has faith in Jesus done for me? Why does it matter?
• What is the Bible all about and why does it matter?  Is it relevant today?
• What is the church and why does it matter? Why do I need it?
• What is baptism and why does it matter?  Do I really need to be baptized?

Just as your relationship with your spouse, your children, your friends, your co-workers, and even your boss takes effort, so does your relationship with Jesus.  Unfortunately many people never truly wrestle with these questions, or others they may have, to find answers.  Many never take the next step in their spiritual journey and so they never discover the fullness of life that Jesus promises his followers in John 10:10.

So what are some possible steps you could take as someone who is discovering what following Jesus is all about?  A survey done a number of years ago of over 1000 churches and 100,000 people a lot like you, discovered three catalytic actions that could help you grow in your faith.

1. Read – One of the most catalytic things you can do to grow in your faith, no matter whether you are Exploring, Discovering, Growing and Surrendering, is to read the Bible consistently.  We want to help you discover the joy that comes from discovering more about God through the Bible.  If you are just getting started reading the Bible we’ve created a First Steps Reading plan which will have you read one chapter a day over sixty days. Each day you’ll discover more about Jesus and about what it means to be a follower of Jesus.  We have also created a page with some helpful tips on how to get started reading the Bible.  After sixty days, check out our regular Bible reading plan which is posted with our Weekly News and Announcements.
2. Join – When I was a youth pastor I taught our teens that your friends help determine your future.  It’s true for kids, teens and adults.  Surrounding yourself with people who are also seeking to follow Jesus will help you as you seek to grow in your faith.  By joining one of our community groups you’ll find people with whom you can discuss life and faith.  You’ll also get an opportunity to talk more about what we are studying on Sundays or a specialized theme from the Bible that your group is interested in.  If you’d like to check out a group before you make a commitment, you can check out one of our MidWeek groups, starting Wednesday, Sept 12.  If you’d like more information about our community groups you can read more here.
3. Attend – Weekend worship services are a great place to discover more about Jesus and some of the regular practices that are part of a follower of Jesus’ life.  We sing, because Psalm 100:4 teaches that we enter God’s presence through praise and thanksgiving. We teach you songs that will help you enter God’s presence.  We speak from a passage from the Bible to equip you with practical knowledge and skills which will help you live as a follower of Jesus each week. We pray multiple times during our services  to demonstrate how you can talk with God throughout your day.  Attending a weekend worship service will help you grow as a follower of Jesus.

Are you discovering what it means to follow Jesus?  Are you ready to take your next step in following him?

We’d love to help you discover your next step.  Drop me or one of the other pastors a note. We’d love to get to know you and help you move from discovering to growing in your relationship with Jesus.

This weekend, I’ll be continuing our ‘Songs of Summer’ series and speaking on Psalm 56.  I hope you’ll join us as we learn what to do when you are having a bad day, and how God has something incredible for us to discover when things aren’t going our way.

See you Sunday,

Pastor Kirk

PS…next week we’ll talk about Growing in relationship with Jesus. If you’d like to read the other posts in this series (parts 1, 2 and 3), check out Are You Kicking the Tires of Faith? (Part 3), Where do you see yourself?(Part 2), and I wonder what might happen if…(Part 1)

Family Worship Experience
Join us this summer for a family worship experience.  We have redesigned our worship service for the summer months to be shorter and to be an active learning and worship experience.  Each week kids in kindergarten to grade six will be invited to participate in the sermon through experiential learning experiences.  There will also be activity boxes each week for kids who just want to stay in their seats.

Hope Kids (K-Gr 6) will resume September 2. Wonder Years preschool for ages 2-4 and First Steps nursery continues throughout the summer.

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.

Coming Events