We are a church that exists to honor God; we are here to glorify Him. God has sovereignly, graciously and strategically put us where we are at this time in history to spread His fame. Since we know and believe that, just how do we go about glorifying God? Well, I believe there are four avenues through which we can bring glory to God. The first we looked at last Sunday morning (1-18-15): GATHER. We gather to worship God and everyone (no exceptions) needs worship!

The next avenue through which we spread the fame of God is GROW. Growing is essential to the Christian experience. We cannot call ourselves followers of Jesus without growing and we can’t grow without getting into God’s Book, the Bible. We believe this growth comes as a result of personal study and corporate study. I believe we need both. We need to dig into the Bible every day on our own to hear God’s voice and let Him set the direction for our lives. We need this discipline. It’s like drinking a refreshing drink of water on a hot day after a really hard run – it is something that we need! But we also need each other to grow. The early church made a strong commitment to this…

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching…” (Acts 2:42)

I can, and should, spend quality time in God’s Word each day; however, the one problem with that is there is neither accountability nor camaraderie. We need each other to help us grow, keep us thinking the right thoughts, sharpen one another’s iron, encourage us to stay in the game, and hold each other’s feet to the fire. The avenue through which we’ve decided this is best expressed at Calvary is Sunday school. Our classes are broken into smaller groups that are age specific.

These smaller groups of Bible study provide us with a sense of community. This is where actual relationships take place; this is where we share life with one another; this is where life-long friendships are formed. Truth is taught, honest questions are asked, tough issues are addressed, love is expressed and intimacy is experienced in these times together.

If you’re not involved in one of these groups, then let me encourage and challenge you to find one that fits you. Come and grow with us.

Grace & Peace,