Dear Church Family and Community,
I was blessed to grow up with lots of family around me. I spent so much time with family that many of my cousins were more like siblings. We played together, and we worked together. We went to school together, and we played sports together. We taught each other, and sometimes we were even willing to learn from each other. With family so close, I was able to learn one of my life’s biggest lessons: we are all always influenced by and influencing the people around us.
One of my first mentors said it like this, “All of us are like a book, and whether we feel it or see it, we are all always being read.” This has always stayed with me. Having family members all around helped teach me the need to positively pour into others while you are also being positively being poured into. Living in community as members of one another, teaching and being taught by each other, and pouring into others as you are being poured into is part of the foundation of Christian discipleship.
The heart of Christian discipleship is that Jesus is Lord. Christ, the One who saved us by grace through faith. calls us to follow Him. The fuel for Christian discipleship is the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit calls us back to God, guides and directs our walk with God, and transforms us in the image of Jesus our Christ. The ultimate goal of Christian discipleship is to build God’s Kingdom. God partners with the Spirit and us to welcome His children back home, to invite us to life more abundantly, and to bring heaven down to earth.
This week we will continue our DNA: Living Out Our Uniqueness, and into Our Call sermon series by looking at our work of being disciples who make disciples. Please take time to read through our primary text, Luke 5:1-11. Matthew 4:18-22, Mark 1:16-20, and John 1:35-42 would be great to read as well. In looking at Jesus calling His first disciples, we see the heart, fuel, and ultimate goal of Christian discipleship. As you read, please reflect on the following questions: What does following Jesus mean for you? How has God proved to you that Jesus is worthy of our complete faith and trust? Who are the people who God used in your life to disciple you? And who is the person (or the people) God is calling you to disciple now?
Also, in this week’s services, we will have a Ministry Moment by Pastor Woody, who will review with us some of our current churchwide discipleship options. Our hope is that you find a place where you can serve and be served, learn and grow, and answer our call to be disciples who make disciples. As always, if you missed last week’s service and want to catch up on our sermon, please be sure to check it out here on our website, or through our sermon podcast at Soundcloud, Google Play, iTunes, or Stitcher. Our focus was Jeremiah 29:1-14 and continuing to answer our call to seek the peace of our city by being shalom-makers and light-bringers here.
May this week find you growing in the grace and mercy of our God, living to love as you have been so loved by God. Take care and God bless you all.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Hank (Matthew 4:19)
P: (717) 561-2170, ext. 104
E: pastorhank@harrisburgbic.org