It’s Summer(!!!!!), which means it’s time for us to enter, yet again, into our Ordinary Time. Ordinary Time is a season of rest for us as a church where we cease to “do” and simply sabbath.
If you want to hear more about it, listen to the last sermon in the “So What” series on “Rest”.
We will continue to meet on Sundays in a simplified way, and will have the Preaching Guild (a collection of preachers within the congregation)carry us through the summer. There will be no podcasts during this season.
The summer preaching series is on “Blessed are…” from Matthew 5. The schedule is as follows:
July 13 - …the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven - Kevin Makins
July 20 - …those who mourn, for they shall be comforted - Matt Willard
July 27 - …the meek, for they shall inherit the earth - Justin Eisinga
August 3 - …those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied - Sandy Purple Shwarma
August 10 - …the merciful, for they shall receive mercy - Leshia Knopf
August 17 - …the pure in heart, for they shall see God - Cindy Stover
August 24 - … the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God - Stephen Edwards
August 31 - … those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (and the following verse) - Jared Both
Finally, a fitting quote on the need for ceasing:
“We need to have times of pruning in our churches, times where most, if not all, activity ceases. Times of rest and abiding. This runs contrary to principles taught in most church growth courses and seminars. How can one grow a church larger by shutting it down for a season? Yet that is exactly what happens at many of the churches where we have discipled the leaders and introduced them to the principles [of rest and work].
We encourage them to stop all small groups and to drastically scale back the worship service. Often there is just a simple time of singing and a brief word of encouragement shared. Many of the members go away on holiday or spend more time with friends and family. It looks to many like nothing is happening.
But in this time of abiding, great strength is given to those who do the teaching, singing, and serving throughout the rest of the year. Without a time for their spiritual ground to lie fallow, there would be a very poor harvest in the year to come.”
- Building a Discipleship Culture, Mike Breen and the 3DM Team