On Sunday 21st June, Ben spoke on our 5th Value: Growth.
The reading was Matthew 13: 31-33. You can download the talk as an mp3 or listen below.
Ben talked about different seasons of pruning and fruitfulness in our lives, he prepared a handout that explores this a little more. You can find that here.
I am in a Kairos Community the grows my faith.
This week in our Lent Examen journey our focus is Community. As someone created in God’s image you are created for relationships. God is love, so you are made to love and to be loved. Our call as a church focusses on three things, loving God, building community and sharing Jesus.
Community is built by developing relationships and Kairos Communities build relationships around a particular mission purpose. You might be a leader of one of these communities, you might be an active participant – part of that groups core, you may be more on the fringe of one or two communities: getting a feel for them, trying them out. These smaller communities have a life span and change and grow, that means some of us may not be in a community right now, or might never have found a place that fits.
Wherever we are in terms of Kairos Community, we can all invest and develop relationships within Kairos. We can all get to know someone, or invite them into our life. We can all invest in others.
The thing is: many of us probably think other people are better connected, with healthier relationships, than we are. And many of us may feel lonely or isolated from time to time. Love is proactive! How might you take initiative and invest in relationships with one, two or three others?
One thing I love that some of our communities are currently doing is breaking down into smaller groups of 2 or 3 for regular prayer or accountability. Are there a couple of other people you could meet with regularly as you encourage each other to follow Jesus?
Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.
Hebrews 10: 24 – 25
Ponder
Who are the people in Kairos that make you most grateful?
What does community look like for you right now?
Can you think of ways in which other people are helping you grow your faith?
How are you helping others grow theirs?
Read a story or two about Jesus’ meals with friends
(try Luke 10:38-42, John 12: 1-8 or Matthew 26: 17 – 30).
Ask God to show you something new about Jesus’ community.
Is there anyone you might like to get to know better or build relationship with?
Are there ways you could invest in others or help welcome them?
Try This
Visit a Community, try out one or two of their activities.
Have a conversation with someone in your community about how you might grow or develop your shared life together.
Invite someone from Kairos for a coffee, food, or a conversation. Learn about their life.
Ask one or two other people to meet with you and pray together.
Continue a ‘try this’ practice you found helpful last week.
It’s not your job or my job to make new Christians. It’s none of our jobs to ensure that Kairos or your MSCs grow. Paul explained this when he was reflecting on the work of the Gospel in Corinth. “I planted”, he says, “Appollos watered, but God brings the growth.”
God brings the growth. He brings people to faith, he blesses groups with extra people, he deepens his work in lives. He is really good at it too! He has been doing it successfully for a number of years, he even managed to save you.
But good as he is, he invites you to participate. That is pretty cool: the church growth master, the discipleship expert invite you to play. He makes space for you to plant and water.
Plant – How can you bless people around you? Who can you tell about your story – why are you still a Christian, what is God doing in your life? Who could you offer to pray for (my experience is people love it when you do this). How could you connect with more people and see something started.
Water – Who is leaning in to you and paying attention to Jesus through you. How could you take that further: Bring them to a gathering? Invite them to your MSC? Encourage them to do alpha?
The pressure’s off, God brings the growth.
The opportunity is open, how can you plant and water?
Ben
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