Grow in the Work
Here at Christ Church St Ives, we want you to Finish 2023 Well and Start 2024 Well. We together are God’s temple, the place God dwells, and we want to honour him in what we do here and make sure we are loving and encouraging each other. We want you to become more and more the visible picture of the Gospel God desires us to be - we are praying you will be an engaged and committed contributor to all that happens here rather than a casual consumer.
The second thing we want you to ask yourself is, what am I going to do to make sure I am growing as a Christian in 2024?
There is absolutely no doubt when you read the NT that God’s plan for Christian people is that they grow more and more into the likeness of Jesus. Paul prays for the Colossians asking God to fill them with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that they may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way.
So how does God God fill you with the knowledge of his will? Primarily through his spirit-breathed word, the Bible. If you are not regularly engaging with God’s voice, being transformed by it in the power of the Spirit, you will not be growing to the likeness of Jesus. You will be growing into the likeness of someone however - your friends, your boss, your parents, your favourite influencer. We are all being transformed, we are all changing, we are all growing but only by engaging with God’s Word will you grow to be like Jesus.
You can engage with God’s word daily by yourself. Excellent. Do that in 2024.
You can engage with God’s word in your household or 1-1 with a friend. Excellent. Do that in 2024.
But I want to push you in one critically important direction today.
Growth Groups.
A growth group is a group of 12 or so people who meet weekly to do 4 things:
To teach one another by being deep in God’s word and prayer
To spur one another on through mutual accountability
To care for each other in all the joys and trials of life
To encourage each other in our mission mindedness.
And in our church, growth groups are absolutely critical to you experiencing belonging. To you feeling like you are a part of what is happening. To you finding consistent care and community. In a larger church you cannot know everyone and you need a circle of belonging and that is established by joining a growth group.
The choice not to join a growth group or not to attend regularly is a choice to remain isolated from others, insulated from community and independent from the mainstream of what we do as a church. It’s a choice not to deepen your sense of belonging.
Don’t make that choice in 2024.
You have 12 weeks before groups start next year.
12 weeks to get your life sorted and get into a group.
Head to the website, sign up today, sort yourself out and grow in the work.
Choose a circle of belonging over an insulation of self.
Jesus is worth it.
