Welcome to Resurrection Parish as we enter into the fourth week of our current message series, “Staying Power.” This series is all about making and keeping the commitments that will help us grow spiritually.
We have been suggesting that spiritual growth places us at a distinct advantage when it comes to life. Spiritual growth empowers you to identify your purpose and to accomplish what God has created you to do. Spiritual growth enables you to become the best version of you, the person you want to be. Spiritual growth encourages you to love the people around you the way you want to love them but often fail to. Spiritual growth equips you to love and care for yourself in a way that is not selfish but selfless. In fact, your most important objective in life could be to grow spiritually.
We have identified five commitments that we believe are very important for spiritual growth, and they form the acronym STEPS: Service in ministry or mission, Tithing, Engaging in small groups, Prayer and sacraments, and Sharing your faith. We have already discussed in some depth Prayer and Sharing your faith.
The “step” we are going to talk about today is rather fitting since today is All Saints Day. There is an old adage, “Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.” When we spend time with people we become more like them. The people in our lives pull us in their direction, and they influence us either for the good or the bad. Peer pressure is not just a teenager thing; it is a people thing.
If you want to grow as a follower of Jesus Christ, you need people who walk with you
in your walk with the Lord. Think about it: Our great grandparents lived in a Christian culture. We don’t. If the only contact you have with other Christians is once a week, a few times a month, here at church, and the rest of your time you are immersed in a completely secularized post-Christian culture, that is actually often even hostile to your faith, you are more or less trying to live your faith all alone and on your own and that is a very difficult thing to do. Without Christ-centered friendship, our walk of faith will most certainly be a slower, less steady one, and we’re far more likely to fall and fail.
The saints are our brothers and sisters of the Faith who have been successful in the only thing that really matters: following Jesus. They were not perfect, and they came from all walks of life. While they are now living in Heaven, they are all about praying for us. We really should develop a devotion to a few of the saints who speak to us, maybe because they struggled with the same kind of things we struggle with, or because they modeled a particular virtue that we are still striving to master. The saints want to be our friends.
Yet friendship with the saints is not the only Christ-centered friendships what we need. We also need Christ-centered friends in the here-and-now of our lives. This is what our Small Groups are all about.
Small Groups are a group of people who commit to meet with each other every week. The meetings have a very simple format. There is some time to gather and catch up. Then we pray, and nobody has to pray out loud if they don’t want to, so don’t freak out about that. The group then watches a video together which has been developed by the Rebuilt Parish Association. The video is another take on the weekend message that I preached the weekend before. Then there are some discussion questions. On Sundays you sit in the pews and listen to me preach. In small groups you sit in a circle, and it is your turn to talk – to apply the message to the circumstances in your life.
Small groups are not adult education. They’re about life change. Small groups are an opportunity to share the wins and losses, the troubles and challenges you’re experiencing right now. When you share a joy with others, the joy is doubled. When you help carry another’s hurt or heartache, you lighten their load. And besides their immediate value, small groups are like insurance. You invest in them so that when you hit the storms of life you have the support and friendships you need to weather the storm.
Right now we have two small groups in the parish; one for men and one for women. Both are meeting on Thursday evenings, and I know that both are open to new members. You could also form you own small group. The women’s group formed on its own; several of the women are in the folk group, and they decided to also get together to pray. A few other women heard about what they were doing and asked to join in. If you want to start your own group that is great; just call me or Rich Scanlon so that we can assist you in finding the videos and the discussion questions related to the current message series.
Jesus said, “The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12). In what ways are you serving others around you? In what ways are you acting with real humility and allowing others to serve you? The Lord is teaching us, its the very best way to live. And small groups are a great place to start.