Psalm 1

Summer in the Psalms: PSALM 1

INTRODUCTION

Long before a child ever begins to speak, they are spoken to for countless hours. How many words might a young child hear before they are able to utter back the simplest of sounds? In fact, all of this “talking to” is absolutely essential for a child to learn how to answer back. Eugene Peterson says: “Prayer is answering God.” Just like a child, long before you ever talked to God, he has been talking to you. We are simply talking back. 

During Missio July Sabbath, we will continue exploring how to respond to God through a master class on prayer, otherwise known as the Psalms. July is designed to be a time of needed disruption from typical rhythms and hurried patterns so that we might have the space to re-discover God’s voice. As a church family, our hope is that these guides will be simple portals into God’s presence this month. 

HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE

This guide is designed to be used by individuals, friends, families or as a missio community. It can take you anywhere between 30 minutes to one hour to journey through each guide. The process is designed to be a simple pathway to listen for God’s voice and respond. Don’t underestimate or overlook how ordinary moments can become divine appointments with God this July Sabbath.

STEP 1: READY

The unbelievable truth is this: You are about to hear God speak. Everytime you pick up the Bible, an encounter with God is possible. Would you ready yourself for coming into God’s presence and hearing God’s voice? To begin, offer this simple prayer to God and then wait in silence for 2 minutes:

Father, help me hear your voice.

Jesus, help me sense your presence.

Spirit, help me live according to your ways.

STEP 2: READ

Read through the Psalm slowly pausing at the end for 2 minutes to let it resonate deeply in your heart and community. Then, read through it again a second time.

PSALM 1

1 Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,

2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.

3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.

4 Not so the wicked!
    They are like chaff
    that the wind blows away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

STEP 3: REFLECT

Use these questions to guide discussion as a group or reflection as an individual:

• As you heard the Psalm read, which word or phrase do you sense Jesus is trying to get your attention with?

• What do you think it means to meditate on God’s Law day and night?

• Can you think of someone in your life who embodies “that person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither”? What do you see that person doing?

• How might the description of the wicked in this Psalm, serve as a warning for us to watch over our lives closely? 

• What patterns and practices do you want to begin developing now so that this Fall is a season of flourishing?

STEP 4: RESPOND

Every Psalm is an invitation to trust and loving obedience. From your conversation with God today through this guide, how are you (& your community) going to respond? Try to summarize in one sentence how Jesus is inviting you to live this week during our Sabbath month. 

STEP 5: REST

In the True Story of the World, rest is not a reward for hard work but rather the starting place for engaging with God’s world. God rested on the 7th day and he invited us into that rest before he sent us out to cultivate His creation alongside Him. - Charlie Meo

As you go this week, would you operate from a place of grace not guilt and abundance not scarcity. Would your pace be slow and would you linger in moments so that God might surprise you with His presence.

Read these words aloud as a benediction:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 

and I will give you rest. 

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, 

for I am gentle and humble in heart, 

and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

For More Equippings Visit: Missio Dei Mesa’s YouTube or our Website

Click here For More Resources Written by Charlie Meo

On Generosity

On Generosity

On our own, we conclude:
there is not enough to go around

we are going to run short
of money
of love
of grades
of publications
of sex
of beer
of members
of years
of life

we should seize the day
seize our goods
seize our neighbours goods
because there is not enough to go around

and in the midst of our perceived deficit
you come
you come giving bread in the wilderness
you come giving children at the 11th hour
you come giving homes to exiles
you come giving futures to the shut down
you come giving easter joy to the dead
you come – fleshed in Jesus.

and we watch while
the blind receive their sight
the lame walk
the lepers are cleansed
the deaf hear
the dead are raised
the poor dance and sing

we watch
and we take food we did not grow and
life we did not invent and
future that is gift and gift and gift and
families and neighbours who sustain us
when we did not deserve it.

It dawns on us – late rather than soon-
that you “give food in due season
you open your hand
and satisfy the desire of every living thing.”

By your giving, break our cycles of imagined scarcity
override our presumed deficits
quiet our anxieties of lack
transform our perceptual field to see
the abundance………mercy upon mercy
blessing upon blessing.

Sink your generosity deep into our lives
that your muchness may expose our false lack
that endlessly receiving we may endlessly give
so that the world may be made Easter new,
without greedy lack, but only wonder,
without coercive need but only love,
without destructive greed but only praise
without aggression and invasiveness….
all things Easter new…..
all around us, toward us and
by us

all things Easter new.

Finish your creation, in wonder, love and praise. Amen.

Walter Brueggemann

BLESS Rhythms

For 15 years we’ve made, matured, and multiplied disciples as Missio Dei Communities utilizing #blessrhythms. Each rhythm is purposefully simple, tangible, and reproducible in any context in the world. That’s not because we are so creative (we got them from Tim Chester) BUT because they come straight from the Story God himself tells in His Word. Each is a rhythm for life in the kingdom of God alongside the people of God who are sent together as part of the mission of God.

As an extended spiritual family of Missio Communities - We want to live into the calling of Jesus to be salt and Light in any culture, network, or neighborhood we are in. And this helpful acronym reminds us what this looks like as a community.

Why BLESS?

Because the gospel is good news that changes what we know in our heads AND who we are (our hearts) AND how we live (our hands.) This is the same whole life apprenticeship to Jesus that has been the call of the people of God since the beginning. And the people of our church have actively been following Jesus in these rhythms as hundreds of MC’s have taken shape. This is the work we believe the Spirit is guiding and we are continuing to walk in these simple, but beautiful rhythms of grace.

So… As you are making disciples these rhythms give shape to shared life and worship!

Bless.

Listen

Eat

Speak

Sabbath

Don't forget what Jesus just said to you...

“Don’t forget what Jesus Just Said To You.”

This was the reminder from last night. Each time we sit with Jesus, His words, and His people there is so much kingdom potential. The sparks of creativity, the inklings of wonder, the tension of conviction, they are all gifts from Jesus himself. Don’t let them slip away.

Here’s some questions to consider as you contemplate next steps?

• Was there anything said that still discomforts me? Don’t avoid discomfort but sit with it a bit.

• Was there a next step that Jesus invited me into? Write it down as clear as you can.

• Is there anyone else that I should tell this to? Write down their names and follow up.

• Do I feel like this is a word for my MC as well? Connect with your MC leadership team about some space to share with them.

Remember…

Jesus is Lord.

We are the Church.

We are sent as disciples who make disciples.

Remember: It’s going to take some time

One of the hardest disciplines in teaching and training others isn’t figuring out what you will say- it’s figuring out what you won’t. This Sunday as we dialogued through Jesus’ invitation to Peter and Andrew from Matthew 4 -these thoughts didn’t make it into the final conversations- but I still think they are helpful reminders.

Remember: Being formed by Jesus takes time. There is no microwave or insta-pot recipe for discipleship. Apprenticeship to Jesus is thorough and will take time.

By the time we come to Jesus most of us have already given decades of our life to being formed without God at the center of it all. That means that we all have distorted relational webs, deep idolatries, addictions, unhealthy coping mechanisms, and wounds we’ve received AND caused. We’ve gone in debt, made sketchy romantic choices, and scrolled a whole lot of the internet. That’s a lot of decisions that take time to re-form out and heal.

But Jesus invitation is to do just that.  Re-form in His image and heal at a soul level.

As we follow Jesus he forms us into something we aren’t yet, but we were always meant to be. He redefines and retrains us how to relate to one another. And he graciously pries our fingers off of our self-preservation and places in our hearts and hands a deep love for others.

But it’s going to take some time.

Don’t grow weary in the process my friends. Jesus is present and is leading us forward. But the journey is going to take some time. ”Come, follow me…”

New Creation. New Collaboration. Same Mission.

5 years ago today I woke up and realized things were decidedly different.

The day before was Easter Sunday and our Missio Mesa MC’s had gathered for the last time with our Tempe based MC’s. As I drove away from the Lutheran church used as a gathering space I remember feeling an odd mix of bitterness and sweetness. We were only moving our focus a city away- but that had a cost. It meant leaving what was familiar, it meant far less time with some friends, coLaborers, and disciplemakers we enjoyed dreaming and scheming with. And it meant we knew we’d be tested in fresh ways as we planted the gospel in Mesa.

It was bitter because it had been 10 years before that we planted our first MC’s in Tempe. Many of us had been mesmerized at the stories we were now a part of. We were in awe of the way the kingdom of God continued to break into lives and communities,.

A small tribe of us had been discerning that the Spirit was stirring up something fresh for us though. We had been aligning more of our time, talents and treasures in disciple making just east of Tempe. The calling was clear. The decision was made. But this didn’t make the bitterness of leaving the friends and the familiarity any more desirable. But businesses had been started, homes had been purchased, leases signed, and friends re-oriented in new zip codes. But that was only the beginning.

The last five years as an extended spiritual family have been a journey of experiencing why God was calling us into this space at this time. We faced scenerios as a community that have tried our faith- but it’s come through refined as gold. We’ve seen disciples made, we’ve suffered, we’ve loved a city and one another through a global pandemic, we’ve baptized friends, we’ve started businesses, we’ve seen MC’s planted, grow, reproduce, and others de comissioned as they served their assignment and moved on to what was next.

We’ve grieved at gravesides, celebrated at weddings, and spent countless hours in prayer and shared spaces enjoying the gifts of friendship and coLaboring kingdom work. We’ve said goodbye to friends as they moved to make disciples in other parts of the country and done with less to continue seeing new works emerge across the world. It has been hard. It has been good. It continues on.

So a few months ago when Charlie met up with the leadership team of Missio Dei Communities to say that The Missio Tempe MC’s wanted to move over and collaborate in a new way with Missio Mesa it was also bitter sweet. It was bitter because I know there’s a lot of pain in that decision. I know there’s disappointment. I know there is a deep love for the disciples of Missio and a discerning care that led their elders to that decision. It has now been 15 years since we first planted the gospel through MC’s in Tempe. The seeds of those MC’s have scattered and formed hundreds of communities, equipped thousands of disciplemakers in over a dozen countries, and served as a place of healing and hope for countless neighbors.

The ending of a form is bitter. But make no mistake the substance is continuing on. The mission of seeing healthy disciples made, matured, and multiplied has not shifted. We will absolutely continue to be formed by God, for the sake of others- Together. We are welcoming in our extended East Valley family, and are honored to continue the work of bearing witness to the gospel alongside them.

This is the sweet part of the bitter sweet. The initial prayer for Missio was to have a community where the message was always the gospel and the methods were always missionary. That means we wanted to be faithful to the biblical story and contextual in the ways we arranged our communal life to the times and places we were sent. I believe that the Spirit is present in the move of the Tempe MC’s to form a disciple making hub with our Mesa and Gilbert MC’s. We will be blessed with the gifts and perspectives of sisters and brothers that wasn’t present before, we will get to hear of what God is doing all across the East Valley, and we will continue to collaborate towards gospel saturation in the Valley! I’m sure the shift will not be without struggle, but in that struggle I fervently believe we will experience the salve of the Spirit’s work.

So today, the day after we celebrate the Resurrection, may we lean into what the Spirit is doing in us and through us. Yes, the future will be decidedly different- but isn’t that the message of Easter? A day that changed almost everything. Everything but the faithful love of God and his ongoing work to reconcile all things to Himself in Jesus!

So may we be filled with faith, hope, and love. Remembering that the greatest of these is love.

Jesus is risen and we follow him together-

Kevin

A Weekend of Wonder and Worship

Today is the day that we reflect, or maybe a better word is linger, on the reality of the crucifixion of Jesus. Good Friday is part of the week that we turn our gaze to the climax of history so far- the moments that God’s own son lived, died, and resurrected. This weekend is a highlight of the church calendar as we together remember the Good News events.

As you engage with this weekend, we want to give you a few thoughts to help curate a weekend of wonder and worship.

Good Friday

• Reflect on the events surrounding the death of Jesus.

• Consider the weight of your own sin.

• Gather with our Missio Communities in downtown Mesa for our Good Friday liturgy. 6pm.

Silent Saturday

• Carve out some time for silence today. 5 minutes, an hour, a morning.

• Prayerfully consider (and maybe even journal) the disappointment the disciples must have faced that Saturday. What disappointments do you want to bring into the presence of Jesus today?

• Bring other friends into God’s presence in prayer who you know are struggling with disappointment and disillusionment because of life situations. Remember- even when it’s silent the Spirit is still stirring up new creation!

• There’s a liturgy that one of our Missio Community members put together for us that you can use to guide you. Download it here.

Resurrection Sunday

• Rise and Shine in the reality that Jesus is alive and a resurrected King!

• Spend some time reflecting- Where do you see New Creation realities today?

• Gather with Missio Dei Mesa at 4.30 for our Resurrection Celebration AND the baptism of one of our sisters!

Scattered Sunday - 3.26

This is your friendly reminder that our Missio Communities are not gathering in Downtown Mesa this week. It’s a scattered Sunday so spark up your imaginations as you Sabbath together (or on your own.)

New to Missio and curious what that is about?

Our Scattered Sundays are how we usually spend the final Sunday of any given month. We “scatter” throughout the cities we call home to sabbath in different rhythms than our regular equipping gathering.

This is a great day to take a silent retreat, grab brunch with your MC, host a house church gathering, have a new person over for a meal, or even create space for a friend you want to bring closer to Jesus.

We still practices this day as a Sabbath, a day to rest and worship, we just don'd do it all together in downtown, Mesa. Our next gathering in downtown will be April 2nd and we hope to see you and your disciple making community there.

Have a question or just wanna chat? Reach us anytime at hello@missiomesa.com

Sunday Prep- Jonah 3

Sunday we are going to continue on with our equipping series in Jonah. Our prayer every week is that we encounter Gods presence, are equipped for faithful disciple making, and encourage one another in the gospel!

This Sunday’s training will have some teaching, some dialogue, and some prayer! Come early enough to pick your favorite table as the room will be set up around tables!

What can you expect?

We are going to have some time to talk so think ahead about the following quesitons if you like to prepare for the dialogues:

1. How has the spirit spoken to you through Jonah so far?

2. How has this book helped you see Jesus more clearly?

3. How has it equipped you for the work of making disciples?

Ash Wednesday

We all need a thaw every now and then. Burdened by relentless schedules and hamster-wheel existences, it seems like we’re always moving and rarely in touch with the depth beneath. Stuck in patterns of shame and guilt, we fail to thrive. Numb to our heart’s longings, we live at the frozen surface of life, just surviving.

Ash Wednesday opens us to the possibility that something more is available to us. It invites you to listen to the whisper of God trying to break through all the noise of life saying, “You were made for so much more!” Frederick Buechner puts it this way: Christ’s love sees us with terrible clarity and sees us whole. Christ’s love so wishes our joy that it is ruthless against everything in us that diminishes our joy.

The words of Ash Wednesday may not sound joyful – You are dust and to dust you shall return. But they are an invitation to joy precisely in this regard – they are an invitation back to the goodness of your God-given, God-created, God-redeemed lives.

Chuck DeGroat what is lent

Giving and Missio Mesa

Missio Dei Communities is an extended spiritual family who is being formed by God, together, for the sake of others. We do this by following Jesus and leading others to do the same in Missio Communities, Sunday Gatherings, and everyday life.

Like any family - we set a family budget and adjust as needed. This budget is a little different though- instead of a parent or multiple parents who provide financially for the family unit- We give together. What’s that mean? It means each of us give what God has prompted us to. Then as sisters and brothers we gather those resources together and then use them as financial parameters for what we get to steward as a church in this moment and, lord willing, into the future. We believe that Jesus is doing something beautiful and powerful here in Mesa and we are honored to play a role in that with our lives and with our resources!

Jesus has always had something to say about the way we respond to his generosity. He has given us everything we have and calls his people to by setting aside portions of that for the life and ministry of his church. But he also left some freedom in how that gets practiced.

At Missio we don’t mandate everyone give 10%, but do want everyone having the conversation with Jesus and then listening to what he says. Sometimes that’s 10%, sometimes it’s more. sometimes it’s less- but when done in obedience to hearing the voice of Jesus- it’s what we’d say is faithful! We ask all our community to consider with Jesus what is faithful, regular, and generous in response to His voice- then just be obedient to that.

Three Steps To Continuing Your Generosity Journey with Missio

1. Watch this Video on Storyformed Generosity. (10 min)

2. Set aside time to prayerfully consider the % of your income that Jesus is inviting you to invest in kingdom work through Missio Dei Mesa in 2023.

3. Obey whatever He directs you to do. (if you need to adjust giving amounts here is the link)

“But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.”

— Paul (2 Cor 8.2)

Members & Missionaries Notes (1.29.23)

Before you turn the page....

If you are looking at the New Year and find it a bit daunting because of the weightiness of what’s already in your hands, I’d love for you to spend a few minutes and meditate on this post!

What are you carrying into 2023?

If you are finding yourself carrying a lot of weight, I’m encouraging you to let this part of Jesus’ prayer be a core phrase for the new year!

“Your kingdom come… your will be done…”

So what is the weight? Is it Frustration? Weariness? ? Painful situations that haven’t resolved? Betrayal? Loss? Anxiety over the reality of your home, marriage, dating relationship? Insecurity at your job? A new boss, frustrating co-worker, or potential lay-offs?

Or maybe it’s disappointment, missed expectations, and honestly you you have just a little hope left in the tank on a good day? It could be with your MC, with Missio, or even with God himself.

Good news…. Those difficult things mixed with trust in Jesus is a fertile environment for experiencing the kingdom!

At Jesus’ first Advent the kingdom came into normal nitty-gritty life. He came into a weary world longing for redemption. A world of groaning creation, oppression, loneliness, dissatisfied hearts, manipulated man-made religion, broken and bruised relationships.

The world has all those hard things, but now it also has Jesus. He rescuer, redeemer, healer. Immanuel. God is with us. In the hurt. And will one day make all things new. But while we wait for that day he is making us new- right now. It’s as we are wounded and healed that we bring a message of healing and hope with us into the networks and neighborhoods we live in.

As you turn the calendar page to 2023 I’m not telling you to just try harder to leave behind the hurt, the disappointments, or even frustrations- that’s too simplistic and honestly ineffective. But don’t let those places be the final destination on your journey.

I’m encouraging you to enter even more fully into the story of God and recognize that the Kingdom of God is for people who know the wounds of the world and trust Jesus anyway. Those of us who bring faith, hope, and love because of Jesus with us on this often confusing journey. He has given us His Spirit. We Abide in His love. And we continue on asking him to bring his kingdom even more fully into our midst.

Friends, having the bravery to Hope, choose Love, and cling to Joy in the midst of a groaning creation would truly be evidence that his kingdom has come in Mesa and Gilbert!

Matthew 5-7 may be a a great place to meditate starting the new year!

Pray with us! “Your kingdom come….”

Reflection Questions:

1) What are the weights you are you carrying with you into the New Year?

2) When you reflect on God’s presence with you in those situations? What do you feel Him saying to you?

3) Who can you share what God is doing in you with? (MC? Spouse? Friend?)

#missiomesa @missiodei_mesa @missiodei_communities #disciplesmade #disciplemaker #makediaciples #kingdomcome #mesaaz #gilbertaz #eastvalley #dontloseheart #yesandamen #tempeaz #chandleraz #sobremesa

A Word On Hope

"We call this time Advent because it reminds us of what comes from God for the creation of his kingdom on earth. Hoping does not mean doing nothing. It is the opposite of desperate and panicky manipulations, of scurrying and worrying. And hoping is not dreaming. It is not spinning an illusion or fantasy to protect us from our boredom or our pain. It means a confident, alert expectation that God will do what He said He will do. It is imagination put in the harness of faith. It is a willingness to let God do it His way and in His time."

- Eugene Peterson

Read this one slow over a whole cup of coffee (or tea.). These words should linger in our hearts and minds as we plan our calendars, budgets, and meals. Hope isn’t wishful thinking or passive. Enjoy these words from Eugene.

Happy Thanksgiving (Please Read The Warning Label)

Happy Thanksgiving.

We are blessed. That isn’t just a hashtag, it’s a state of being for everyone who is in Christ. God has poured out his blessings on us (see Ephesians 1-3 for some reminders) AND we get to enjoy those in the everyday, not just the someday. Thanksgiving is a day where our culture turns their collective gaze to the blessings that have been there year round. We should be at the frontlines of those celebrating! 

In it’s core principle- Expressing gratitude as a community over a shared meal is a beautiful preview of what we participate in everyday as the people of God. Expressing gratitude does not negate the groaning we experience, but gives voice to both realities! 

All of our communities have rhythms of gratitude and feasting that go far beyond one day a year- but this one day can be celebrated as well- and we’ve had a lot of practice!

The Warning Label

Today marks open season for your greed, consumerism, and selfishness to be targeted by the enemy. Yes, he’s always attacking on these fronts, but this season billions more dollars are invested in his devious strategy. Whether it’s an instagram ad campaign, cleverly rigged tik tok algorithm, a substance used to escape, or a conversation with a sibling, his aim is to stir up your good desires and twist them. Decisions made these months often move us into places of debt, decreased capacity, relational strain, and addiction. Let us be wise. Let us be loving. Let us be faithful.

This isn’t a call to do more religious to offset the irrieligious. It’s a call to stay faithful in the face of a great adversary. It’s a call to rest in the reality that we are not what we own. We are beloved children who have been given resources of time, talents, and treasures and they are meant to be used as blessings towards others. The blessing is never meant to end on us!

Ephesians has taught us that it’s not a visible enemy we face, but principalities, powers, and darkness. Jesus is victorious, but maybe even more than other seasons we need to keep watch over our hearts, our wallets, and our calendars to stay faithful to our role in God’s story and live in that victory!

A Practice: We encourage you to pick your percentage of generosity before setting your gift budget for the year. This doesn’t earn God’s blessings, but is a response to it. 

A Practice: Carve out a rhythm of prayer (Like This) for your days during the holiday season.

A Daily Rhythm of Prayer

Thank you for taking up your role in God’s story by being a person of prayer. God’s people have been experiencing God’s presence and finding strength for the journey by talking with God himself since… well since the beginning of time. The first stories in the Bible tell of an uninhibited life of communication with God, and with life, death, and resurrection of Jesus that sort of access is welcomed again. In the words of Ephesians, we have both access and proximity to God.

In fact, Paul reminds us all throughout his letters that one of the responses to good news of Jesus and His Kingdom is a prayerful life. I think this means the consistent and constant listening, talking, and responding to the movement of the Spirit all throughout the day is a mark of every maturing follower of Jesus.

If you ever need someone to sit and pray with you (not give you advice, but just pray and listen with you) please don’t hesitate to reach out to your Missio Community leader to ask. If they aren’t available, you can text us and someone will join you in prayer!

Morning

An ancient practice that has helped people across time, culture, ethnicity, age, personality, and even enneagram type is starting the day in prayer. We add the added strong suggestion of taking a moment to turn to Jesus before turning on your phone and simply praying the Lord’s Prayer. This prayer isn’t a spell to make you have a better day, but a pattern of life to live into throughout your day. It does however shift the start of your day from the stress, pressure, and priorities of others for you- to simply sitting with God’s voice in the words Jesus prays for you! It will change your day to start by speaking with Jesus and letting Him speak a better word over you than opening your first waking moments to the myriad of voices on your phone!

Midday

Pausing at the halfway point of your day to intercede for friends is a simple practice. You can do while waiting in line at the cafeteria in school, on a park bench as you get some fresh air, or between meetings. Seriously, you can even do this between taco bites! We recommend using this time to both pray for those who don’t yet know Jesus Spirit, Here’s a sample prayer:

• I pray you would open the eyes of the hearts of my friends that they would receive the gospel. (Then pray for them by name.)

Evening

I really don’t know a better way to prayerfully reflect over your day then using the Examen that we’ve developed. It’s a twist on the Ignatian process of looking over your day and paying attention to what God was doing that day. Often moments seem like a blur passing by you- but God is present in each of them. In true Missio fashion we’ve modified the questions to reflect the overarching True Story of the Bible.

Bonus: It also ends with one of my favorite questions “What are you trusting God with as you go to sleep tonight?” It is a way more soul satisfying than a Netflix Binge. I promise you!

What do we do with our past?

There is darkness in our past.  We have made embarrassing choices. We’ve been harmed and, whether we meant to or not, we’ve been the cause of harm in others lives. We have done harm to God’s creation, and in rebellion raised our fists to Him. Wounds that we’ve received and wounds we’ve caused others are on almost every page of the story of our lives. And hear me, I’m not dismissing or minimizing the pain that we’ve experienced or the choices we’ve made, but I’m offering good news from the pages of Ephesians.

The good news that because of the new work of Jesus, in his life, death, and resurrection-  painful things that have been done to us and that we have done are now swallowed up in this new reality and find a new order. 

Paul is clear- our sins are forgiven and our pain can be redeemed. The guilt has been removed, the unhealthy shame that clings to us can be shed. We are saved and raised up with Christ. Not because we worked hard to pay ooff our sin and the wrath we’d earned, but because we were saved from them and Jesus took them on himself.

The gospel speaks to our dark and painful pasts and says that they can change and be part of our redemption story. What do we do with our pasts? We bring them to Jesus.

 This is good news for the world. It’s good news for Mesa. It’s good news for us.

May this reality guide our steps this week and prompt deep joy as we walk in the world!

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved”

— Ephesians 2.4

A Pray of Confession From Ephesians

Last night we spent some time in Ephesians 1.15-23. It was an incredible night of conviction, encouragement, and curiosity being sparked for what could be! As you continue processing We wanted to give a confession to integrate this teaching into your weekly prayer.

Our hope is that we are encouraged by the words Paul prayed, but also use his prayer as a pattern for praying for one another. Remember that our moments of prayer are not optional or a precursor to a missionary life, they are the oxygen for every disciple of Jesus.

“Father, I confess….
I often live without hope.
I can easily forget I am loved.
I don’t believe you can _____.


Open my heart to see…
The hope in your calling
The wealth of your inheritance
The immeasurable power you’ve given us.

You. We want to know you.”

— Missio Dei Communities

Story of God

“The Story of God may be the best thing we do for discipleship in our church….”

Why do we do the Story of God? Short answer- it's one of the best tools we have for learning who God is and what it looks like to live faithfully in his world.

Longer answer: Alasdair MacIntyre offers a clue for why we do these day long immersions when he says, “I can only answer the question ‘What am I to do?’ if I can answer the prior question ‘Of what story do I find myself a part?’” These questions can only be answered from within a story. Thankfully, the Bible offers us just that all-encompassing all-of-life Story. And this is the Story that everyone, both followers of Jesus and those who follow something other than Jesus, need to hear, know, and experience. Again and again.

We’ve seen this environment for telling the True Story helpful in both individuals processing the gospel story and often serves as the building blocks of new communities. Whether you are new to following Jesus, been a disciple for years, or are just starting to ask the first questions of “could this all be real?” This experience is for you!

We’ve watched as the Spirit brings new life to new disciples and those who have followed Jesus for years, but grown cold in their affections. We’ve watched new missional communities form, new businesses launch, and new churches be planted as followers of Jesus begin to ask, “What story am I a part of?” before asking, “What am I to do?” Above all, we’ve been changed as we rehearse and reorient in this Story.

Would you considering investing one day in dialogue that will bear fruit for years in discipleship? Consider yourself invited to the Story of God. Want to learn how to lead this Story in your own context? Come and learn with us and we’ll help equip you to lead your own!

Our next one is September 25th 9am-4pm. RSVP Below!

July Week 5- Imagine what God Could Do.

We are committed to the process of being formed by God, together, for the sake of others. We believe this takes place as we take up our role as active participants in God’s story following Jesus to make disciples.

---

We hope this guide helps stir up your affections, your memory and your imagination for what God could do in and through you as part of a Missio Community. This week builds on the previous three reflections you’ve already done. As a refresher:

So far in July we’ve …

• Paid attention to what God is up to in our own hearts and in our community right now.

• Reoriented in our identity as disciples of Jesus

• Continued learning how to hear God’s voice as his beloved children.

• Been in awe once again of the scope and splendor of the Mission of God.

• And now we are looking at how we as disciple makers are taking up our role in God’s story.

Now you are invited to watch this short video and then spend some time exercising your kingdom imagination AND listen to the voice of God for how he may be calling you to start or join up with a Missio Community sent as disciples to make disciples together.

Before you jump to this weeks discussion though… How did you do in following through on what you felt God calling you to last week? Was it a meditation? An act of kindness? A rhythm shift? A sin to put to death? Ok. Let’s jump into this week. It’s a short video, then some dialogue to follow!

Keep Processing:

We only had a 10 minute video this week so we’ve got plenty of time to keep dreaming and processing. Whether you are on your own with a cup of coffee and a journal or in a living room with some friends, don’t rush these questions, but listen to the voice of God for what he may be speaking to you.

• Creativity Practice: Put five minutes on a timer and then come up with as many networks, neighborhoods, or places that you know of in Mesa (or your city) that could use a gospel people purposefully sent to make disciples and bring the good news of the kingdom!

• When you think of shared life and disciple making in a MC… What excites you? What gives you reservation? What is Jesus speaking to you in the midst of those feelings?

• Imagination: If God called you to start a MC (or even join with a new startup MC as a teammate) what would be your biggest barrier to saying “Yes?”

• Listen for God’s Voice: Spirit, breath of the living God, what work are you doing in me right now that you want to also do through me?

• Listen for God’s Voice: Jesus where are you already at work in my network of friends or neighborhood? How do you want me to join with you in that work?

• Listen for God’s Voice: Father, would you remind me that I do not work for you as a hired hand, but am fully loved by you as a child, filled with your Spirit, and will never be left alone- Jesus is still with me.

• What’s next: In light of what you’ve heard from God’s word, God’s spirit, and maybe even God’s community- what is your next step of obedience in following Jesus?