You are a Learner, learning to follow God’s ways. Honestly answer the below questions to see how are you doing.
I desire growth in my Christian faith and carve out time to learn about God through personal and/or group study.
I believe that the Bible is God’s Word and seek him there first.
I intentionally seek to apply God’s Word to my daily life and have found changed decisions as a result.
We desire to renew our minds through the power of the Spirit, to be conformed to Christ’s image in our attitudes and world-view (Matthew 28:18-20; John 16:13-15; Romans 8:28-30).
Where do you need to grow, confess and repent? Talk it over in your weekly accountability group. Don’t have a weekly accountability group? Visit here to get into one.
These helpful questions came from Sojourn’s Personal Renewal Plan aka the “PRP.” The PRP doesn’t start with you “Doing” things, but rather, it starts with reminding you who you are and what God’s call is for our lives. We are all weak in certain areas and we need to seek renewal in those areas. If you’ve been rescued by God’s, His hand is on you! This is a promise! Get your PRP here.
Last Saturday several Sojourners joined the Haitian community for prayer at Bethlehem Baptist Church. Members of Haitian Bethel Church, Haitian Tabernacle, and Antioch Church met together and we heard the word proclaimed and the sovereignty of God affirmed as those gathered mourned for their family members lost in the rubble. Read this insightful post by Robert Cheong as he unpacks the realities he gleaned from the prayer meeting and the practical steps Sojourners can take when the stark reality of such a tragedy moves us to take some action.
Jeff Maguire posted this on YouTube on Friday. Jeff is the student ministries pastor at Mariners Church in Irvine, CA, and he posted this to help his students better understand the missional church. This video is very insightful and is a good introduction to helping us think about the mission of the church.
You are God’s Servant. Find out how you are doing by honestly answer the following:
Do I desire to serve God by serving the people that God has put in my life?
Am I willing to serve when I see needs arise within my church?
Do I believe that God has given me specific gifts and abilities to serve at my local church?
We are Christ’s Possession, purchased by His blood and freed from selfish sin for service to others – to embody His message with our deeds inside and outside the church (1 Corinthians 7:22-24; Galatians 1:10; Philippians 2:5-11).
Where do you need to grow, confess and repent? Talk it over in your weekly accountability group. Don’t have a weekly accountability group? Visit here to get into one.
These helpful questions came from Sojourn’s Personal Renewal Plan aka the “PRP.” The PRP doesn’t start with you “Doing” things, but rather, it starts with reminding you who you are and what God’s call is for our lives. We are all weak in certain areas and we need to seek renewal in those areas. If you’ve been rescued by God’s, His hand is on you! This is a promise! Get your PRP here.
The word of the Lord, spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, encouraged the Israelites exiled in Babylon to “settle down…and seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile.” (Jer 29:7). In his first epistle, Peter identifies Christians as “sojourners and exiles” and as such, we share in the command to seek the good of our neighbors and peace of our city (see also, Mt 5:14-16, Lk 10:25-37, Rom 13:1-10, Heb 13:16, 1 Pet 2:13-17). Sojourn, and especially SEED, has a particular heart for the Germantown-Shelby Park area. Through Mercy Mondays, the Fall Festival, medical clinics and more, we seek to minister to our neighbors through word and deed. The recent Smoketown-Shelby Park Makeover visioning session offered some practical ways for Sojourners to get involved. Held at Meyzeek Middle School, the event kicked off with a free breakfast and then moved to the auditorium, where a short film about the neighborhoods was shown. The over 100 residents in attendance then narrowed down the results of a previous survey to identify the five most important issues requiring attention. Focus-groups were formed around these issues, with residents offering input as to how to improve these areas:
Housing (upgrade, while maintaining history/character/diversity of neighborhood)
plans for revitalizing abandoned properties
accessible housing for elderly/handicapped
clean-up partnerships
Safety
utilize community centers for youth
appropriate use of park
greater police presence
Neighborhood Association/Church involvement
Jobs
youth mentoring
local vocational directory (mechanics, vocal instructors, etc)
jobs/training for felons
reinvestment…keep time, talents, assets here
Economics
no vacant properties (reduces perception of danger)
local ownership
business mentoring
Education
tutoring/mentoring
increased GED rates for dropouts
community involvement (including extracurricular activities)
Several of these areas have structures in place which need support, starting with the neighborhood associations. It took the Shelby Park neighborhood association 10 years to convince the city to install lighting in the park. Meyzeek Principal Chris Burba has a vision where neighborhood residents tutor students from 2:30-4pm weekdays after school, especially in literacy (books are also needed). Making Connections, a local agency, has provided $1000 stipends for sub-committees based on the five areas above, which will meet 4-5 times over the next few months.
Prayerfully consider how you can be salt and light in these endeavors, bringing encouragement to flagging sprits, vision to upstart campaigns and guidance to our youth, all to the Glory of God, upon whom all renewal depends. In prophesying about the coming Messiah, Isaiah proclaimed, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light…you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor” (Is 9:2,4). That light, of course, is Christ. May his light shine in Shelby Park, in Germantown, in Louisville and throughout all of creation! Amen.
Is your community group looking for a way to get involved in service? The HandyMan ministry is one avenue for your group to consider.
When: Saturday, February 13th, 2010
Who: 2 community groups to help complete home repair projects
Required Skill: NONE! No special skills are required, and a HandyMan Team Leader will be provided to [...]
Pastor Bryce just published a blog giving an update on Sojourn’s response to the disaster in Haiti. We were informed that there are in fact, around 1200 Haitian people living in Louisville and many of them have personally lost someone in the natural disaster that has captured the attention of the world. So this Saturday, January [...]
A Word of Encouragement
I hope you are encouraged this week as you go to your groups to spur them forward in being outward-focused. There is a lot of excitement in the air as the deacons of mercy have had time to gather together and discuss how to best equip Seed Leaders in their work to [...]
Encouraging Feed & Seed Germantown
This past Sunday the Sojourn Germantown Campus had our monthly Feed & Seed. It was an encouraging time to meet with fellow workers in the harvest and to reflect on how we might better serve our groups. We heard a challenging testimony from Rob Maine on the joys and pains of [...]
Last night, both Immanuel Baptist Church and Sojourn Community Church came together to pray for our Shelby Park neighborhood. It was a blessing to gather with our sister church and unite in prayer and concern for our city. We encourage you to pray along with us as we seek to increase God’s presence and advance [...]
Connecting What We Know With What We Do
In last week’s post we mentioned upcoming training opportunities at Sojourn for those in the body who feel a disconnect between their knowledge and their experience. We seem to know a lot, but when it comes to putting what we know into practice, it seems much harder. Part [...]