Deeply Rooted Week 5 - N E W L I F E

What would it be like to stand before God’s throne, unafraid and unashamed? This is the gift of God to us – justification, as if we never sinned, and regeneration as a new creation; a born-again child of God, adopted into His family.

[RUMINATE: to chew on, ponder, or meditate on]

Each week, we will P.R.A.Y. – “P,” pausing to be still. “R,” ruminating on scripture. “A,” asking God to help us and “Y,” yielding to His will in our lives, come what may. This practice is also known as “Lectio Devina,” which is Latin for “Divine Reading.” Lectio Devina is an ancient practice dating back to early Christendom and is a way of meditating on a passage of scripture and letting the Holy Spirit speak to you afresh through the ancient words.

READ PASSAGE

Show less

We want these truths to be engrained on your heart; solidified there to be recalled in a moment of need. We’d love for you to intentionally memorize a passage of scripture that we’ll all me memorizing together! This week’s verse is a bit long but we know you can do it if you’re determined! For the lock screens, we focused on the first 2 verses to get you started. Even if you only master those two verses this week, we’ll call that a win!

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:17-21

Download this image with this week’s verse on it and set it as the lock screen on your phone. This way, every time you look at your phone (about 4,932 times per day) you are reminded of God’s truth and you’re one step closer to committing it to memory. As a way to help you get one step closer to memorization, these lockscreens only have the first letter of each word in. the verse. We also have a couple options for you to choose from: one that has a more feminine feel, and one that’s a little more masculine. Click on the thumbnail to download.

Need help installing these lock screens? CLICK HERE

These are some great apps to help you commit these verses to memory. Keep in mind as you begin your memorization journey, the goal is to hide scripture in your heart in order to be full of God’s truth. Don’t allow this practice to become a burden or a Pharisaical way to pat yourself on the back. These apps will give you badges and gold stars for reaching your goal…don’t let that become what it’s about. There are two apps that we’ve found. Bible Memory is free. Verses is simpler and more esthetically pleasing but it costs $5 a year if you want to use a translation other than KJV.

DOWNLOAD BIBLE MEMORY DOWNLOAD VERSES

Show less

As this season has made it easier to isolate, we want to lean into community! We encourage you to discuss the things God is revealing to you! Whether that’s your Life Group, a mentor, or simply one friend or neighbor that you choose to be intentional with…we know that one of the best ways to work out the things God is stirring in us is through community! Take a risk and find someone to discuss God’s Word with this week!

Click below to download the group discussion guide that follows along with the weekend messages. This is a great resource to help you dig a little deeper and discuss the things God is teaching you through the weekend messages as well as your time in the Word this week.

DOWNLOAD DISCUSSION GUIDE

If you’d like to dig a little deeper on this week’s topic of justification, we’ve complied some great resources from Pastor Tim Mackie and the Bible Project, as well as some great questions to get the conversation started with whomever you’re discussing with.

DIG DEEPER

Show less