Our guide

Eucharisteo takes intentional practice.  Have you practiced this attitude of gratitude this week?  You can't change the way you do gratitude overnight, but we can start small by talking to a trusted friend about why Eucharisteo is hard for you. These are the deeper conversations that produce growth in our relationships with God and others.

Being a follower of Jesus is a journey.  Personal character growth is a journey.  Developing a strong team of people who will walk with you on this journey takes time and intentionality.  Being on the followers journey is hard but it is worth it.........keep at it!

This week we will be talking about our guide on this followers journey.....The Holy Spirit.  We may not understand a lot about our guide so come tomorrow and find out about baby steps.   Read Romans 8:26-28 for Sunday.

See you tomorrow,
Alex

Eucharisteo

I spent last week in Michigan investing time in prayer, study of the word, planning for the next year and time with my family.  It was a great week to get away and clear my head.  Jesus did this often.  One of the reaffirming themes I walked away with is that i cannot journey alone as a Christ follower, nor can you.   Even in the work I was able to get done, I needed to bring it back into the community of our staff and trusted people in my life.   There is an incredible benefit to kingdom work when we connect with each other for the sake of Christ.   Not only does it benefit the kingdom, but it brings life to us as well.  Scott was right with his question from last week, who is the person or small group you are thinking about meeting with in order to grow more in your faith? 

Take a step in the right direction by making known your need for intentional relationships on the followers journey.  We got a great response to Scott’s email.  We would love to continue to hear from you. 

Please email us by hitting the reply button at the top of your screen or talk to us about how you are growing. It helps us know you.

This week we are talking about a word that you will need for the journey of following Christ, “Eucharisteo” (giving thanks)  Read Luke 17:11-19 for Sunday.  One leper had something the other nine did not. 

See you Sunday,

Alex

Keep Following!

Take aways from last Sunday......

• Following followers of Jesus is the model. 1 Thess.1:6 
• Those who are following jesus need to be teaching others to follow Jesus…..like Jesus' approach of reaching out to the disciples.
• Pull out of the love affair of the American dream to pursue the Kingdom dream. Matt. 6:33
• Do not be afraid!  When Jesus is working in your heart - it is scary and overwhelming. Luke 5:10
• Mentoring/triads/small groups-hh/grow groups are our model of the followers journey.
• Is your following reproducible in others?
• There is a choice to be a follower…..Peter agreeing to fish even though it seemed foolish. Luke 5:4
• Jesus was unlike other master teachers in that he went to the people rather than them striving to get to follow a rabbi.

Read John 3:1-8  and 19:38-40 in prep for Sunday.  Why did John point out that it was night when Nicodemus talked to Jesus? Why would it be significant that Nicodemus was at the burial in John 19?  

See you Sunday,

Alex

Who would you follow?

If you could pick any person from history to follow around for a year, who would it be?  Imagine with me that this person said they saw something in you and wanted you to follow him/her.  You would feel honored right?  You might feel unworthy because you don't have anything to offer.  You would clear your schedule and make necessary sacrifices to be with them.  You would say things like....."this is an opportunity of a life time" or  "I need to do this because I may not have another chance like this one".

Read Luke 5:1-8 and see how Peter responds to Jesus, a master teacher who is inviting him to follow.  Put yourself in Peter's shoes and ask, would I have followed?

See you Sunday,

Alex

He Lives

Easter week is a reminder that the death and resurrection of Jesus was not only an event in history, but also the way of life for the Christ follower.  Jesus brings new life out of the broken and dead.  I long to see the death and resurrection lived out in the people of Wabash Friends Church and Christians around the world.  This is the crux of our turning point…..the risen Christ is the beginning of the kingdom of God bursting forth in our lives, church and world!

Would you reflect on how you came to believe and love Jesus Christ?  Will you be willing to share this story with others?  People need to hear how Jesus and his people have brought new life into your life.

See you Sunday,

Alex

Easter week line up

·      Christ in the Passover meal – celebrate the Seder and see how all the scriptures point to Jesus.  Thursday, April 5^th at 6:00 pm. @ WFC RSVP-ASAP!

·      Community Good Friday Service – Take a good look at Christ on the cross. Christ Church UMC at 12:10pm – 12:45pm.  477 N. Wabash St.

·      Journey to the Cross – bring your whole family and your neighbors to experience the last week of Jesus’ life.  Friday, April 6^th from 6:30-8:30pm at WFC.

·      Easter Sunday Turning Point at Wabash Friends Church @ 8:00am, 10:25am, 10:35am.

Resurrection life

What do you believe to be true about Jesus?  We are confronted every Easter with whether or not the death and resurrection of Jesus is true.  We also need to decide if the way of Christianity, the death and resurrection way of life, is true for us today.  The way of Christianity is to join Jesus in his death and resurrection in order to restore our relationship with God.  We must come to the conclusion that we are dead spiritually, cut off from God, and without Christ there would be no path to a restored life with God.

Our stories and confessions about Jesus help us to experience this death and resurrection truth.  We have the scriptures and we have modern day turning points displaying the power of Jesus and his people living out the gospel.  We just need to share those stories with each other!

How has your life been changed by the death and resurrection of Jesus?

Read Romans 6:5-11 in preparation for Sunday.

Alex

Full Hope

“And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:2b NIV)

So much of our life hinges on timing.  Our plan and the timing of it leaves us feeling either in control or out of control, steady or chaotic, hopeful or in despair.  In God’s kingdom, His timing is perfect and very different from our timing and expectations.  Why is this? Is this good for us? Why did Jesus show up four days after Lazarus died?  In this case, it was to reveal Jesus’ power and authority but at the same time it revealed his compassion and grief.  We get an opportunity to see the heart of God in Jesus as the resurrection and the life, the messiah and rescuer. God’s glory was made known to us.

When Jesus’ timing is revealed in our turning points we are compelled to point to His power and glory.  We open our hands (trust & hope) as we journey, allowing the timing of Jesus to call us out of the grave, from death to life in our heart, mind, soul, and relationships.  Don’t forget that Jesus also calls us to allow others (safe people) to take our grave cloths off.  Grave cloths are a reality for all of us. The Turning Points are just the beginnings of life change, healing, becoming more like Jesus and His Body.  It is in the death to life experiences and in the removal of our grave cloths that we find a hope that does not disappoint and a grace that we now stand on.  Through suffering and perseverance we gain real substance to our hope that nothing is too far gone for the power of Jesus.  If the resurrection of Jesus is true then it changes the way we journey through life and connect in relationship with the living God and other people.  Again, the Kingdom of God is bursting forth through you!

Read Romans 5:1-5 in prep for Sunday. 

See you Sunday

Alex