Life on Purpose: Learning Life, Part One
This has been an abnormal week. Becky Clements, the wife of my senior pastor, passed away after a long battle with cancer. She died last Thursday. So, when we gathered for worship on Sunday, the funeral had not taken place. That made for an awkward worship experience. We knew that we needed to try and keep things as normal as possible. But, in the light of all that had happened, “normal” was difficult. Imagine attempting to preach a sermon called “Giving Life” in the midst of a death that impacted our church so deeply.
This week we are focusing on learning life. This is all about growing in the “grace and knowledge of our Lord & Savior.” In the church, we tend to focus our discipleship (learning to live like Jesus) efforts on Bible study, Sunday school attendance, and listening to sermons.
However, this is a fairly limited view of learning. While studying and hearing the “word” does help one learn, it is not the only way to learn. Too often, the church overlooks experience as a learning tool. That’s why so many of our worship gatherings are non-paticipatory. Experiential learning is going to be essential if the church is going to provide meaningful learning opportunities.
What are some ways that you have learned about and grown in your relationship with Christ (assuming you have one)?