Taking Faith Home

You may have noticed a new page in the worship bulletin attached to the announcements called “Taking Faith Home” (and if you haven’t noticed, take a look!). These pages provide ideas and insights that help you take the Scripture readings, the Gospel words, and the themes of worship home with you. “Taking Faith Home” gives ideas for conversation starters that relate to the scriptures—great topics for Sunday brunch or any night’s dinner conversation.

“Taking Faith Home” also gives ideas for service, devotions, and rituals that relate to the Scripture readings from the week. Some of the ideas have been a specific prayer focus for the week (example: on the week we read about John the Baptist’s death a prayer focus was “those unjustly imprisoned”); other ideas are making a list of ways you have seen God at work in the previous week, or as a household choosing someone whom you feel needs encouragement and praying for them and planning concrete ways of encouraging them throughout the week.

“Taking Faith Home” also provides a list of daily Bible reading for the week ahead that ties into the Scripture readings from Sunday. One member of the congregation showed me that she tucks that page into her Bible and uses it to guide her daily devotions. A memory verse is provided each week. If you haven’t ever tried the spiritual practice of memorizing Scripture it can be a wonderful gift. You memorize a verse and then it becomes a theme that guides your week, or you memorize a verse and then maybe seem to forget it (this often happens to me!) and yet the verse comes back to you clear and plain in the very moment you need a word from God.

Each week “Taking Faith Home” has wonderful ideas and tools that can help us grow our faith and relationship with God. So make sure to take a look, and then take it home with you! May it be a useful aid in your devotions, prayers, and living out of God’s love in church and at home.

Together in faith,

Pastor Shelly