PASTOR MIKE’S MEDITATIONS

September 2020

As a Pastor, I am excited to share a word of encouragement with you from our Growth Group ministry. As many of you know, our Mission as a church is that We invite people to discover, follow, love, and share Jesus. Our worship services are meant to be an environment of discovery as we gather to worship Jesus and learn more about Him. This is meant to flow over or into our Growth Groups, which are our primary space to experience the invitation to follow Jesus by growing together in smaller groups. As we grow together in community, we reflect the love of Jesus by giving ourselves in love for others and we find ourselves empowered to share Jesus by going out into the community and beyond to reflect the good news.

We see this pattern or practice of discipleship in the early church. In Acts 2:42-47 we see that…42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Notice, that Christ-followers maintained a rhythm of corporate worship, every day they met together in the temple courts. But they didn’t stop there, they broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts. They met in home fellowship, they shared meals together and continued to explore the apostles’ teaching in fellowship with one another. These smaller groups were the primary place where believers learned to apply the teaching of the gospel to their lives. In the accountability and support that smaller groups provide, they learned what it meant follow Jesus. The community also cared for one another. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. As Beth will talk about in an upcoming video, Growth Groups play a huge role in our system or network of care as a church. Meeting on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, we often learn about the needs of one another and are often able to attend to them as a group. At other times, we may need back-up care or further support and that is part of why we are here to help each other meet greater needs. My favorite part of the passage, however, is the news that the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Through witnessing and experiencing loving community that reflects Jesus, others come to have a favorable impression of the church and may come to a saving relationship with Christ themselves.

That is why we exist as a church; to be disciples who are making disciples and to share the good news of Jesus so that others come to worship, follow, serve, and share Jesus as well. Jesus truly is the hope of the world and we want to witness to that hope in our community through our smaller groups or communities who are on mission together. So, my prayer for our groups is that they truly are places where we learn to Discover, Follow, Love, and Share Jesus together. If you are not yet in a Growth Group, we would invite you to come to our Growth Group Sign-up Fair on Sunday, September 13th after each worship service or email beth@sierrapres.com.

-Pastor Mike