Building Renewal 

August 2-September 6 Worship Series

The life of faith flows from and through relationship. Relationships are not an option. They are the fabric of life. As disciples of Christ we are invited to prioritize our relationship to him, to draw nourishment from him as a branch is nourished by the vine and to bear good fruit for the sake of the world. This fruit is the overflow of faith that begins with loving God in mind, spirit, and body and overflows from our lives to the neighbors around us. Healthy relationships take work. Like healthy branches of a vine, they require cultivation. This six-part preaching series will focus how we cultivate our faith through basic spiritual practices.

August 2: Psalm 1:1-3; John 15:1-11
Theme: Life on the Vine
The life of faith requires a deep connection to God, our source of nourishment. Like trees planted by streams of water and branches connected to a vine, our faith is nourished by our healthy relationship with God and our connection to Jesus. If we want to be a congregation that stretches out a wide canopy to offer healthy, nourishing fruit to our neighbors in need, we need to acknowledge and immerse ourselves in the source of our faith.

August 9: Romans 12:1-2; Mark 12:28-31
Theme: Loving God with Our Mind
Relationships often begin with the mind. Learning begins with asking questions, listening, and being curious. Loving God with our mind is about being in conversation with God, listening to God through Scripture, prayer, and the witness of others. Loving God with all our mind is a call to foster a deeper and more consistent connection to God and an imagination for serving. This is what it means to be transformed by the renewal of our mind, helping us discern the will of God.

August 16: Colossians 3:14-17; 1 Peter 2:4-10
Theme: Loving God with Our Spirit
Loving God with all our spirit begins with recognizing that we are called by grace to be like a royal priesthood. We are God’s own people, chosen to bear fruit. Our spirits respond with thanksgiving, worship, singing, praying, and “sacrifices” of praise. As a congregation and as individual followers of Jesus we give thanks continually for the relationship we have with God. These thanks may be quiet or contemplative, or they may be boisterous and demonstrative. This overflow of the spirit is meant to be carried out the door and into the world.

August 23: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 1 John 3:16-20
Theme: Loving God with our Body
Loving God with all our body is a call to embodied action. Loving God with mind and spirit are crucial, but loving with the body is the connective tissue between loving God and loving neighbor. It is difficult, if not impossible, to love God without loving neighbor. God’s love compels us to act for the good of the neighbor. Our baptismal charge captures this well: “Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

August 30: 1 Corinthians 12:4-13; Ephesians 4:1-6
Theme: Loving the Body of Christ
We are called to love our neighbors in the community of faith. A healthy faith community recognizes the varied gifts of its individual parts, supports its members in times both good and bad, and seeks ways to maintain unity and peace. This does not mean that we will never disagree, but our shared faith helps us recognize that all are flawed and all are forgiven. Our unity in Christ, our connection to the Vine, calls us into true and loving community.

September 6: Matthew 5:43-48; Mark 12:28-31
Theme: Loving Even Those Neighbors
Perhaps the most difficult part of being a disciple of Jesus is to follow his instruction to love our enemies. In many ways, it is this kind of love that shines a light most brightly on what it means to be a follower of Jesus. In a world marked by fear, fighting and feuding, Jesus calls us to bring the fruits of peace, love, and reconciliation.