eNews

Well, today we have come to the end of our 40 Days of Community journey. However you might feel about that, the question has to be asked, ‘Where to from here?’

The benefit of the 40 Days journey is not really in what it gets us doing and thinking about for just the 40 Days – but the ‘habits’ that it instills in us that we take with us into the rest of our lives. Here are a few of those things that I want to encourage you to make an on going part of your life.

1)     The practice of regular devotions

For some, the idea of a daily time reading / studying and praying was pretty new during the 40 Days. Maybe it was the first time you were able to keep up (or almost anyway) that sort of regular time. I want to encourage you to build this into your weekly and daily timetable. If you are looking for somewhere to start, start reading through Mark in your Bible. If you are looking for a devotional guide, talk to your Small Group and see what they can recommend. Or else feel free to email 40days@redlandscrc.org.au

2)     The practice of weekly church and Small Group attendance

Life is busy, and there are lots of things that compete for time and attention. I want to encourage you to take church and Small Group attendance out of that ‘competing’ realm, and place it as an essential practice for yourself and your family. We need that time to build relationships within the church. We need that to connect with God and reflect through the service. We need that time to be feed and nourished by God’s Word. Other people need your presence and encouragement. That’s the way God designed his body. You are an integral part of the church.

3)     The practice of serving in ministry and mission

We are not encouraged to give our lives away in service today. We are taught to stand up for ourselves and be independent. But they way of Jesus and the way of the Jesus community is different. It is the way of giving up our lives, in order to keep them. It’s the way of becoming the least, and serving others, both inside and around the community of faith. I encourage you to make service, in the church, and in the wider community, a regular part of your life. Maybe you can do that in an organized way, through a ministry role in the church, maybe its something that you do in an unstructured way, as you meet the needs of people around you. But serving is never to be a ‘project’ it is a way of life.

4)     The practice of community

Really, this is what all the other 3 are a part of. The great message of this journey is that we are not meant to consider ourselves individuals, but a community first. Jesus does not just call and save individuals, he calls and saves a people. Our identity, our lives, can not be understand apart from the community God has placed us it. So live that. Be connected. Love others, let others love you. Be thankful and protective of God’s family.

We want to hear from you:

We would love to put together a collection of stories, encouragements from the 40 Days journey. If you have something you would like to share, something that excited you, challenged you, stunned you, then we want to share that with others as an encouragement to them. It brings honor to God when we tell good stories about what he has done.

Please email them to 40days@redlandscrc.org.au