Dear Christ Community Church,

Our next sermon series which starts this Sunday is called “The Church is Called to be...: Gleanings From Paul’s Letters.”

The series is born out of thinking about how those in our various contexts should describe our church as we seek to live as a kingdom of priests in the midst of a fallen world. I would love for Christ Community to be described as generous, missional, and prayerful by those who are not part of our church. If you notice, all three of these descriptors is “other” and outwardly focused if applied in a priestly way. These descriptors are also applicable to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. For each one, we will first examine how it is displayed by a member of the Trinity before thinking through what this should look like in the life and praxis of the church. The series will focus on passages from Paul’s letters as follows:

• 10/12: God is Generous: Ephesians 1:3-14

• 10/19: The Church is Called to be Generous: 2 Corinthians 8:1-15

• 10/26: Jesus is Missional: Galatians 3:23-4:7

• 11/2: The Church is Called to be Missional: 2 Timothy 2:1-13

• 11/9: The Holy Spirit Prays: Romans 8:26-30

• 11/16: The Church is Called to be Prayerful: Philippians 4:4-8

Attached is a chapter entitled “Expositional Listening” from What is a Healthy Church Member? by Thabiti M. Anyabwile (which is resource that I would commend to you all). Too often, we fail to recognize our responsibilities in listening to God’s Word preached. My prayer is that this resource will serve to equip you at some level to grow in active listening to and application of the Word of God presented in every service.

Click here for Chapter

Blessings in Christ,

Cameron