In 2023 we are going on a year-long spiritual journey as a church into The Ways of Jesus. Much of Jesus’ teaching was actionable – “believe in me, repent, be baptized, love your enemy, forgive those who hurt you, let your light shine, seek God’s kingdom first, watch and pray, etc…”. As you study these teachings of Jesus, you’ll find there are 52 of what are often called the “commands of Christ”. These 52 are The Ways of Jesus we will be teaching through and learning from as a church in 2023.
During this year-long spiritual journey, we believe God’s spirit is going to transform us and empower us to live and love more like Christ than ever before. We are asking everyone in our church to commit to five things that will help us get the most from this spiritual journey.
- Worship weekly: Attend church each week in 2023 to hear all 52 ways of Jesus.
- Grow daily: Read and pray through the daily devotional that focuses on that week’s way of Jesus.
- Connect seasonally: Join a ROOTED group and/or growth group to discuss and practice the ways of Jesus.
- Serve regularly: Serve in the church and/or out in the community through ministry teams and service projects.
- Share with a friend: Invite a friend to join you in one or all of these experiences.
Anything significant is worth a commitment. And I can’t think of anything more significant than being transformed by God’s power to better live out the ways of Jesus to those around me. I pray you will join me in this commitment and spiritual journey.
In John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life”. Jesus himself is the way, and He is the goal of this spiritual journey. These ways are not a religious check-list to follow, or steps on a stairway to Heaven we must climb. Jesus is the goal. Jesus is the way.