Scripture: Luke 9:20
Jesus asked the disciples, “And what about you? Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ sent from God.”
Thought for the Day: For the next few days, I am going to be guiding the congregation through multiple hour-long gatherings called Congregational Conversations. These are not intended to be an hour of conversation that concludes when the sixty minutes is up. My hope is to put forth ideas, expand on our vision and mission, to put the church (in the broad sense) within the current cultural context, and to think about Cypress Creek’s unique place within this strange new world of 2016. I want people to begin conversing and to continue the listening and sharing well beyond the hour.
John F. Kennedy said, “Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” A lot of what churches need to continue to do is to get in touch with purpose and direction as guided by the Holy Spirit. Simply having the courage to take a leap of faith is not enough if the faith was really nothing but a blind leap with no purpose. The question Jesus put before his disciples is central to who we are and what we are doing. The answer Peter gave was basically correct, but Peter and others were still rather clueless in regard to what it meant. It is one thing to declare our belief that Jesus was and is the Christ. It is something much more radical to ask the question, “And what does that mean for my life, my relationships, my work ethic, my priorities, my spending, my worldview, my… (the list goes on). A lot of what we will be discussing in our Visioning and Mission Conversations is going to assume Peter’s answer to question was correct, but moving on to explore the: So what?
Prayer: I might declare Jesus as the Christ, yet what does it mean, Lord? Help me to explore even when the potential answers confront previously held beliefs and agitate my comfort. Please be gentle and gracious while also pushing me along. Amen.
CHOOSE A DATE & TIME
Sunday, August 21
9:30am & 11:00am
Wednesday, August 24
Noon & 6:30pm
Thursday, August 25
6:30pm
