Come bounce the winter blues away! On Fridays, January 21 and 28 the bounce house will be set up in the Lobby from 9am-4pm. All are welcome! To RSVP click HERE. If you have any questions please email our Children’s Ministries Director, Lindsey Lugo.
Political discipleship is the act of following Jesus into the call to citizenship. In a climate where distrust of politics seems prevalent, we want to think about ways our faith informs how we might engage in politics. This class will encourage small groups to respond to the call to citizenship and will offer a theology of citizenship and best practices for doing politics better.
The curriculum for the political discipleship class was developed by the Center for Public Justice (CPJ). CPJ is an independent, non-partisan organization devoted to policy research and civic education. Working outside the familiar categories of right and left, conservative and liberal, CPJ seeks to help citizens and public officeholders respond to God’s call to do justice. CPJ’s mission is to equip citizens, develop leaders, and shape policy in pursuit of our purpose to serve God, advance justice, and transform public life.
The class will be led by Jan Fields, Will Miller, and Doug Koopman. We’ll meet on Wednesday evenings at Fifth Church at 6:30PM, and we hope to live stream the event as well. Here’s the course schedule:
When reading the Bible, sometimes we need to do some homework to determine the purpose for which a biblical book or letter was written. That’s not the case with the Gospel of John. The Apostle made his purpose very clear: “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30-31). John wrote so that we might believe in Jesus and have new life in his name. This winter and spring we will journey through John’s Gospel paying particular attention to the way each story points us to faith and life in Christ.
One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. Our spiritual lives can fall victim to this pattern. We can tend to rely on our willpower and determination to break the habits of sin in our lives. We work hard to avoid sin. We fail. We pray. And we go right back to working hard to avoid sin, hoping that – this time – it will deliver the results we desire. No wonder life can feel crazy! Gladly, there is a different and better way to follow Jesus.
The sermon series this fall will focus on eight healthy habits to foster spiritual growth. If practiced, these habits become predictable patterns that place us before the Lord so he can transform us. Many Christians who have gone before us have learned the lesson that if you want a different life, you need to behave differently by fostering new spiritual habits.
With all the uncertainties of the past two years, it seems that many of us are struggling to regain a sense of rhythm in a world that feels more fractured and distracted than ever. There is no better time to focus on significant spiritual habits that place us before the Lord and help us fix our eyes on Jesus.
We have partnered with Western Theological Seminary (WTS) for years in the development of leaders for the church. We’ve sent many students there, and we’ve hosted many interns from the seminary. This is Connection Week at the seminary, a week of focused effort between the seminary and local churches to support each other. Toward that end, five faculty members from WTS prepared devotional videos to share with churches participating in Connection Week. The first is from Dr. Winn Collier. To watch the devotion, click HERE.
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