Things that help you grow
Living things grow. While that statement might seem obvious, many times in our faith we don’t grow–we stagnate…we never move forward, becoming more like Jesus and enjoying the promised full, abundant life (John 10:10).
One of the core actions we stress at Deep Water is grow. Our spiritual life should be moving forward every day. There are many ways to grow. One of the things that helps many people grow is something called “devotions”. While is may sound like a weird cereal when people talk about it (“Have you had your devotions today?”, “Dude, I had devotions with my breakfast this morning!” or “Hey, I found something cool in my devotions today!”), it is essentially a time to step back and reflect on God and the Scriptures–that is, it is a time devoted to growing in your spiritual life.
So, what does one “do” when doing devotions (or as we call it in my house, Jesus time)? Essentially, it is a time to read Scripture and pray. While some people simply read and study books of the Bible, others find something called “devotionals” helpful in maintaining their spiritual growth. Devotionals are like mini-sermons and a Scripture.
When first introduced to them, I recall getting a small booklet with a few short paragraphs and a Scripture to read. Of course, the internet and apps have brought change to the form in which they come. Many of these devotionals are now available online, through email, RSS feeds, apps (iOS, Android and others), Twitter and Facebook.
Someone after church asked me a simple question: Do I have any to recommend. If you know me, you know a question like that can send me into a great deal of searching, reading and thought…I found some good ones…and, well, let’s just say “not as good ones”. So, here’s a quick review of a few of the materials that I looked at this week that seem to be good sources for people here at Deep Water.
Our Daily Bread
This has been a classic devotional for as long as I can remember. It offers a brief commentary on Scripture and can now be played audibly for your drive to work. It is available online and as an app on iOS ($0.99) and Android. You can also sign up to follow them on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.Today
Randomly found this one when looking through some apps and found the material well written and relevant. It is available as and app on iOS and Android. You can also sign up to follow them on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.7:14
This is a prayer app developed by the Assemblies of God. As I was looking though it as something that might help us be intentional about prayer, I noticed the devotion button and found written devotions. It is available as and app on iOS but Android is still in development…YouVersion
It’s available online and as a great Bible app for your iphone, ipad or android device–and also offers devotional material here. Of course, you can review or discuss the sermon weekly thru live events (and check out the group for Deep Water).
Please check them out–and let me know about your experience so I can continue to recommend them to others. And if you use any and find them helpful, please let us know what you use or have used.
More about Groups
One of our motto’s is that life is complicated–church shouldn’t be. Church can often become a place where an endless number of possibilities confuses us about exactly what we should do and where we should connect. To explain who we are at as a church, we have three core actions–that is, three things we feel are essential to living out a faith in Jesus. We encourage those who are considering calling this home to live out these actions: Gather, Grow and Engage.
Gather
To come together in order to worship God, learn from the Bible how to live and experience community as a larger group.Grow
To intentionally develop and mature in our faith.Engage To connect with others in order to make a difference in the world and serve others through the church body.
To help everyone understand where we’re going as a church, I’d like to talk a little about Grow today…
In order to help people grow in their faith, we offer small group learning experiences. While many of these may be informal, we do have several that meet informally. Of course, our “formal” ones are still very causal–just advertised better! And we have other groups to join now (and more in the future!) in order to be part of serving the community or the church. Sometimes it is difficult to classify what a group is–like Multiply… But here are some definitions that you might find helpful:
Community Groups
While personal disciplines of prayer, Bible reading, etc. are helpful, it is often easier to grow when connected to others in community. These groups are designed to help you grow in your faith–while getting connected and experiencing community. Sometimes they form along the lines of age-groups, stages of life, etc. They normally have anywhere from 3 to 12 people–although they sometimes grow a bit larger.
Discipleship Groups
These are variants of community groups with normally 2-5 people (normally of the same gender) meeting for a defined period of time with a goal to to help people grow in their faith. These groups can take the form of getting together with someone for coffee and going thru some basic materials about what it means to follow Jesus–or sort out what it looks like to live a life following Jesus though answering questions and coaching. Sometimes members can use more intense forms or materials with homework to study and learn more in depth.
If you’re interested in becoming part of a group or being in a discipleship group to learn more about following Jesus, we have groups forming now. Some will be listed in our groups directory. However, many will not be. For example, if I meet with someone over coffee for 45 minutes a week to go through our 7 week course “First Steps, Learning to Follow Jesus”, we won’t list that as an official group because it meets short term and informally. Oh, and by the way, throwing that in there was a subtle way of letting you know that there are some of us here at Deep Water who would love to sit down and talk to you about what it mean to follow Jesus and go through that 7 week course.
Check out our updated groups page to see available groups.
Open Mic
While not officially a Deep Water event, some of us are involved in the local music scene. One way that we can make our community a better place and connect with local people is to support local music. So, come check out the Open Mic at Espresso-N-Ice on Friday, February 22 at 7pm. And if you have some talent you’d like to share, sign up here.
Film & Speaker at Schwartz Center
As believers, we want to confront darkness and sin in the world as we continue Jesus’ work to make the Kingdom of God a reality here on earth. As a church, we want to make a difference in the world outside of our gathering place.
Some people at Deep Water have expressed interest in getting involved and helping with awareness of issues. There is a film and speaker series at the Schwartz Center this Friday night. For those unfamiliar with Human Trafficking, I recommend the following links: Project Rescue and Free International to familiarize yourself with the issue.
This is an issue that may not be suitable for young children. Parental discretion is advised.
Event Details:
Film & Speaker Series featuring, “Not My Life”
Friday, February 15 at 7 pm
Free and Open to the PublicNot My Life is the first documentary film to depict the horrifying and dangerous practices of human trafficking and modern slavery on a global scale. Filmed on five continents over a period of four years, Not My Life unflinchingly, but with enormous dignity and compassion, depicts the unspeakable practices of a multi-billion dollar global industry whose profits, as the film’s narration says, “are built on the backs and in the beds of our planet’s youth.”
While acknowledging that trafficking and slavery are universal crimes, affecting millions of human beings all over the world, Not My Life zeroes in on the fact that the vast majority of trafficking and slavery victims are indeed children. This fundamental truth, says the film’s director, Oscar® nominee Robert Bilheimer, raises profound questions about the very nature of our civilization.
In addition to the film – Speaker, Arica Coleman, of the University of Delaware, Assistant Professor of Black Studies, will discuss the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment.
While not an official church event, I invite you to join me and others from the community.
eXchange
This week we begin a new series at Deep Water at 11am on Sunday. We’ll be continuing in the book of Luke, but will move forward beginning in Luke 9:18-27. I’m excited to look at the choices we make everyday–and the eXchanges that God offers us.
Remember, you can follow along now with the podcast–and on YouVersion (a free, online Bible and app). To get to the current YouVersion Event, check for “live events” from the app. Or click on the Bible icon on Deep Water’s website. That will take you to our YouVersion Group and the latest event. The event will give you quick access to all of the Bible verses used, as well questions that can be used to review the sermon content or as discussion with some friends.