I am excited that it is finally time for us to begin our Journey! We will officially begin on Sunday, March 10 with worship when we delve into the first of the guiding principles we will address: We forgive others as God has forgiven us. Make sure you pick up your Guide Book in the gathering space. It has the Scripture readings with places to take notes for Sundays as well as everything you need for when your group meets. Make sure you read the Welcome (copied below) before your first group meeting.
Welcome to the Journey! I am glad that you have decided to be part of our journey together at Risen Lord. One of our commitments in redevelopment is the deepening of our discipleship and building relationships which is a big part of this journey. Beyond that, this journey hopes to help us engage more deeply in our purpose and guiding principles. The journey has three parts: 1. Worship 2. Small Group Study 3. Challenge Each week, the theme will be introduced in worship. Reading the scripture for the week in preparation for worship will help you listen even more deeply and hear what God may be saying to you. As you worship, bring this journey guide so you can write down things that resonate with you or make you wonder so you can ponder them more later or talk to your group about it. Your journey group will gather each week at its appointed time to share fellowship, study together and review how the challenges have gone. Please make it a priority to make as many group meetings as you can. While we all have other commitments and things come up from time to time, the group misses out when you aren't there. They don't get to hear your insights, nor do you hear theirs. Each week's study concludes with a challenge to complete before your group meets again. This is to help you consider how you can live out our purpose and guiding principles in your life. These challenges are designed to push you out of your comfort zone to try something new. Some of these challenges may not be a challenge for you – in that case, find a way to up the ante! Some of these challenges may not work in your daily life, so feel free to choose your own adventure. As you go through this study, you might wonder why we are only studying five of our seven guiding principles. Well, there are two main reasons: 1) This study is intended to last for five weeks. 2) Two of our guiding principles will be integrated into our whole journey – gathering for worship weekly and all our studies will be grounded in the Lutheran faith. As with anything, the more you engage in this process, the more you will grow in faith and be shaped as disciples of Christ. May God go with us on our journey! In the abiding hope of the Risen Lord, Pastor Lecia pastorlecia@risenlordlc.org