I have a dream of a church which is a caring church –
whose congregation is drawn from many races,
nations, ages and social backgrounds, and exhibits
the unity and diversity of the family of God,
whose fellowship is warm and welcoming,
and never marred by anger, selfishness, jealousy or pride,
whose members love one another, forgiving one
another, and bearing one another’s burdens,
which offers friendship to the lonely, support to the
weak, and acceptance to those who are despised
and rejected by society,
whose love spills over to the world outside, attractive,
infectious, irresistible, the love of God himself.
I have a dream of a caring church.
-John Stott
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Selections from John Stott’s A Living Church this week and next direct our attention to a caring church and a serving church. This Sunday’s focus directs us to caring about *growing faith* at Saint Gabriel through Children, Youth and Family ministry and Adult Discipleship.
What we see in scripture that growing faith in the home is our starting point. In the great shema, above, from Deuteronomy 6, the household is central to handing down the tradition of faith. "Teach your children well" as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young used to sing!
So, we give our attention to growing faith from youngest to oldest in our community, encouraging household instruction, praying together, and leading by example.
We point our children and youth to Jesus, while at the same time grappling ourselves with what the faith says to adults who must engage real world concerns. What does being a follower of Jesus Christ look like in 21st century America? How do we ensure that our children and grandchildren become firmly rooted in the love of God, knowing the Father intimately, through the Son and in the power of the Holy Spirit? Those are questions that together we are to pursue with diligence, prayer and study.
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” ~ Proverbs 27:17
Where is God calling us to grow in faith?
Every blessing in Christ Jesus our Lord!