Time and availability allows us to get acquainted with those near us.  You may be discouraged, thinking I’m talking about adding things to your already busy schedule.  Sometimes that’s necessary, but usually it’s just about making intentional choices to Love God, Love Neighbour in the midst of daily life.

Think about your downtime – how can downtime connect me with neighbours?

First, be interruptible.  I used to have a retired neighbour who was often outside, and always up for a chat.  His availability meant I could ask him for a ladder, to get the mail while we were away, etc.  My availability to stop and chat meant he could ask me questions about the theology of the church he grew up attending.

You can also make other choices.  Stick around on weekends instead of going away.  Play in the front yard instead of the back.  Putter around your garden, walk the neighbourhood, and read on your porch.

Ask questions, talk about the weather, laugh about something that happened.   Ask for referrals – who did your driveway/kitchen/landscaping?  Ask about the neighbourhood – how’s X doing?  Share something – let someone park in your driveway for a party, or share newspapers.

As you do, get to know their name, and then a bit of their story.

Challenge: Look at your calendar and see how you spend your time over the last two weeks.  Reflect on how this compares with your priorities.  How can you spend more time with your neighbours, to get acquainted?

mapthumbChallenge #2: Try to complete the second part of grid: one fact you know about them.   Not sure what we mean?  Click here: https://www.redeemthecommute.com/2013/09/18/strangerstoneighbours or look under Extras.

Don’t forget our outdoor movie night is this Friday night!  Click here for details.

Ryan Sim - October 31, 2013

Thursday - Act On It - Growth - in Discipleship

This week we’re exploring how to become a church community united by common learning goals, even when we are busy! We’ve seen that the church is made up of many different complementary gifts and passions, but all put to use pursuing the same goal. The Bible described this as “maturity, the full stature of Christ”. The learning goal is learning and emulating Jesus’ character in everything life throws our way. How? Well, most topics are learned through a mixture of learning styles, like a textbook, lectures, discussion and homework, and experience. These are many different learning styles, but the same content is meant to be communicated through them all. Textbook: We’re going to start to read Bible together. We study it in in our challenges, but only a little snippet at a time. Now we’re going to start reading longer portions in sync together. Lectures: These challenges are obviously one form of teaching, and our live Christianity 101 course that just concluded in Whitby. Take advantage of whatever future learning opportunities you can! Discussion: This is critical, so I encourage you almost every day to start a discussion group based on our challenges. Have you? This means you’ll be getting encouraged and challenged by those you know, and can see and learn from others trying to follow Jesus. Make sure to contact Ryan with the good news, and to enjoy some leadership coaching and encouragement. Lab Experience: Every Thursday we give a challenge, and although they are easy to ignore, this learning process depends on you actually trying to live out Jesus’ teachings in your life, where they will transform you! In our case, Jesus’ character, lifestyle, spiritual maturity that comes from God alone, is learned through many forms. Challenge: Start with the textbook learning. We are going to start to read the Bible in sync as a community every day. We will add a Bible reading plan to our web site and app, where you’ll find a daily Bible reading starting next Monday!

From Series: "Becoming Like Family"

This series looks at becoming “like family” with others learning to follow Jesus. We're exploring how the church is not a building, institution or event, but a community of people. It's important that explore what church means as we prepare to launch a new church in Ajax in 2014.

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