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Lifelong Discipleship Formation11/2/2020 For 7 weeks in November and December, we invite all members of the presbytery to pray for the revitalization of our churches and presbytery. Our weekly prayers are based upon the 7 marks of a vital congregation. The focus of this week’s prayer is Lifelong Discipleship Formation. What is Lifelong Discipleship Formation? At the center of our faith is the decision to follow Jesus. Following Jesus has many facets, but two are worth noting. To follow Jesus is to recognize and receive the saving grace Jesus makes possible through his life, death and resurrection. Faith is more than an extracurricular activity or mere head knowledge. It impacts our hearts. To follow Jesus is also to model our lives after Jesus. So vital discipleship is awakened and engaged in issues facing today’s culture: injustice, inequality, divisive segregation, oppression, suffering, and abuse of creation. This mark acknowledges that becoming a disciple of Jesus takes a lifetime. It is not a one-time deal at the moment of conversion. Churches pursuing this mark seek to help people, from the cradle to the grave, to be formed for right living with God and with all people.
This mark is concerned with who we are becoming and what is forming us. It pursues a discipleship that is formed and strengthened in the community of Christ and permeates daily practices and daily living. The question for us is: Are we being formed primarily by the community of Christ followers, who worship, study, serve, and act for justice together? Or are we being formed primarily by something else? The power and energy behind lifelong discipleship formation is the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who convicts us, who transforms us, who shapes us to become more and more like Jesus in our beliefs, values, and actions. How do congregations pursue Lifelong Discipleship Formation in a pandemic? Many churches have adapted their education and formation opportunities to be offered online, via Facebook, Zoom, or other media platforms. But what about those adults who feel “zoomed out”? What about children, who often thrive with more tactile learning? I have been impressed by churches who have gotten creative in how to offer discipleship opportunities through take home kits. For example, in the summer of 2020, Clear Lake Presbyterian Church offered R&R boxes (the Rs stood for Rhythms and Relationships) to any church family or individual interested in receiving one. Though the boxes were designed with children in mind, they included activities for adults as well. There was always a box of something to bake together, coloring pages, Scripture memory verses to post on the refrigerator, and activities to do as a family, centered around a spiritual theme. The R&R boxes were so popular that Clear Lake Presbyterian is planning on offering them again for Advent. Let us pray: Living God, we give you thanks and praise for the new things you are doing among us. Especially we thank you for your call to follow the way of Jesus. Living God, by the gifts of your Spirit, help us to bear witness to the risen Lord by growing in the image of Christ. Living God, in the great mystery of our faith receive us each night and revive us each day, that we may be dead to sin and alive to you; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
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