And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” (Matt 16:22)

This Saturday, notice where fear is telling you to stop, protect what you have, or assume the story is already over.

Name one place in your life where you may be saying, “God forbid it, Lord.” Then ask instead: “What would it look like to keep following Jesus here?”

Before worship this Sunday, notice one thing you are carrying that has begun to bind you: a resentment, an old wound, a fear, or a story about yourself that no longer gives life.

Name it out loud, either by telling someone, writing it in a journal, or speaking it to Creation in prayer. Then ask: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗽 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗼𝘄? Bring that question with you Sunday.

Before worship this week, ask yourself this question:

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲?

Not: what would make us look successful?

Not: what would prove our worth?

What work, rooted in love of God and neighbor, might Christ already be preparing us to do?

Bring that possibility with you to church. See what it can sow.

The story of Peter walking on water is one that teaches us how our relationship with Christ is a process. Sometimes we trust absolutely. Sometimes we doubt. Sometimes we have absolute faith. Sometimes we sink.

Write a note to your future self and put it in a place you will eventually find it. What do you trust in? What are your doubts? What statement drives your faith? Where are you sinking? Where is Christ rescuing you. Come back to that letter in a few months and see how the journey unfolds.

Before worship this Sunday, look carefully at what God has already placed in your hands.

What food, money, time, wisdom, place, skill, or insight could meet a need in our family? Choose one thing you can offer, and don’t ask, “Is this enough?” but rather, “What might Jesus do with this once it is blessed and shared?”

Write down your asset, along with your name, and text it to your pastor. This way, he can add your number and your offering to the ever growing vision for our church. Roger is at 828-446-8105.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦?

Lord Jesus, loosen my grip on the ways I think faith is supposed to look. Give me courage to grow where I am planted, openness to be changed, wisdom to recognize what is worth keeping, and strength to let go of what no longer gives me life.

Teach me to seek your kingdom not as a set of rules to master, but as a life with you that constantly changes me.

Make me resilient, adaptable, faithful in practice, and wholehearted in commitment. And remind me that you are not finished with me yet. You are not finished with me yet. Amen.

𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻✨

Faithfulness requires us to examine the beliefs we have carried for years. Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Jesus continually calls us to examine our beliefs and assumptions by the fruit they bear.

This Sunday, come to church with one long-held belief in hand. Not a belief you are prepared to defend, but one you are willing to place before Christ. Ask what fruit it has borne. Has it deepened your love, or narrowed your heart?

Bring it with you. Let us examine it together in the light of Christ.

Join us for worship this Sunday, 9am In-person and online!

𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻✨

What kind of soil is my heart right now, and what might God be growing in me?

Change is hard. New people are not easy to know, love, and build beside. Rather than looking at what is wrong with the world in which we live, move, and have our being, what results become clear when we focus inward?

Am I the hard-packed path? The rocky ground? The thorns? The good soil?

We have all been these things, and we will one day be them again, but looking inward is the beginning of the way out. And the only way out is through.

Join us for worship this Sunday, 9am In-person and online!

𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻✨

I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Now if only we knew how to trust that infant still living in our hearts, we might get somewhere. But NO….we have to be serious, and wise, and stoic, and….perfect! Lets see what Jesus has to say about that this sunday…

Join us for worship this Sunday, 9am In-person and online!

𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻✨

What is God asking me to return? Why?

What might be the outcome?

Join us for worship this Sunday, 9am In-person and online as we contemplate these questions!