First United Methodist Church
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Know - Grow - Serve - Share
 
Our Spiritual Goal Is Growing Up!
(“Spiritual Formation”)
One of the miracles about babies is watching them grow and develop. You think Janie is wonderful when she starts to smile. You get excited when Sam holds up his head and starts using his hands. Though it happens again and again all over the world, it continues to be a bona fide wonder!
 When we accept Christ, we say we are “born again” because we too are in some ways brand new. Whether it happens at baptism, confirmation or some other point (or points) in time, after that birth into newness, like a baby we want to grow up spiritually.

Think of a potter forming a lump of clay into something useful and attractive. “Spiritual formation” refers to the process in which God takes the clay that is us, mixes it with grace and uses the potter’s wheel of our obedience to form our spirits into what we’ve always wanted to be. Why would God want our spirits to be formed? Certainly it benefits our relationships in concentric circles of people around us, but it’s not just about us. God's purposes are much bigger than that. It's about the transformation of the world.

Imagine a world in which people treat each other with love. Imagine a family that does. Imagine you doing it. That's the point. We choose to give ourselves to this holy purpose or not.
 
 

We Choose to Follow Jesus
Some people simply admire Jesus, some people take it further and believe in Jesus, and some people decide to follow Jesus. We can teach Sunday School or serve on the Council of Stewards and still never actually follow. But when we give our life to Jesus Christ sincerely, we give it all. We try hard to obey him in every part of our life – when someone pulls in front of us on the interstate, when someone in the family displeases us, when we’re setting policy at work, when we are faced with suffering at home and abroad. Everywhere. We practice following. Not perfectly but purposefully.
 
The question is how?
Jesus wanted to be a good carpenter and a good man so he apprenticed himself to his father. For years he watched him and listened and copied. Finally it became natural. We do the same thing. We apprentice ourselves to Jesus. We study him, we learn from him and we practice.

We practice love until the new ways are “habituated.” As we practice, Christ’s love slowly transforms our spirits and builds our characters. (The Greek word for this kind of love is agape or agapao. It’s a courageous kind of love that acts and cares about the spiritual well-being of people even if we don’t like them.) If the apprenticeship process was a reality TV show, it could be called “X-treme Makeover” or as Dallas Willard would say, “Renovation of the Heart” because that renovation is our destination. The journey there is an adventure, and we have a map for it – The 1-3-5 Way.
 
 
The 1-3-5 Way

1
   We have ONE PURPOSE:
  •       To apprentice ourselves to Jesus Christ so we can spiritually “grow up” and be transformed to love.
3   Apprentices of Jesus Christ are actively developing and increasingly marked by THREE LOVES:
  •       Love of God
  •       Love of neighbor
  •       Love of self
5     Through the grace of God, the loves “form” in us through FIVE PRACTICES:
       These are the “tools of the trade” that Jesus used, so we use them too.
       We practice them until they become natural and God uses them for good.
 
 
 

† We CONNECT
with God and other followers
Pray daily so you can stay in love with God. Be part of a small, loving group of apprentices for at least six weeks a year – preferably more.
 
† We GROW in understanding and love
Study. Use the Bible and other spiritual resources. Practice extravagant love. Be merciful (include yourself). Speak the truth but only in love. Practice Wesley’s Three Simple Rules for loving.
·         Do no harm.
·         Do all the good you can do.
·         Do what it takes to stay in love with God.

† We SERVE
at church and in the world
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” Include the poor. Take risks. Work for justice. Discover your gifts and use them. (Take the “Celebrating Our Strengths” class.)

† We SHARE
our money and faith
The Old Testament says to give 10 percent, a “tithe.” Some people should give more. Others give sacrificially when they give less. Give until it feels good. Give with a joyful spirit. When someone is struggling, share what your faith means to you. Invite people to church. Pick them up or meet them there.

† We WORSHIP
privately and in community
Passionately praise and thank God every day. Worship with your faith community unless you are sick or out of town.
 
PRACTICE!!!!!