Unforced Rhythms of Grace, Pt. 7: Witness
Take Communion
Leader Note: Begin your time together by taking communion, whether as a full meal or some version of the bread and the cup before or after your meal. If you don’t already have a Communion liturgy, have someone read from the gospel of Matthew 11v28–30
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.
Review the Last Practice
Leader Note: As you review last week’s Practice, it may be helpful to remind everyone that this is a space to simply notice how it went, not to correct or advise anyone.
Before we jump into tonight’s Practice on Witness, let’s take a few minutes to share how we chose to stop, rest, delight, and contemplate during Sabbath this past week.
How did your preparation day go?
Which 24-hour period did you choose?
How did your sabbath compare to your expectations?
Did you invite anyone in? Is there anyone you would consider inviting in for this weekend’s sabbath?
Read This Overview Aloud Together
God’s vision for humanity, from beginning to end, Genesis to Revelation, was for all people, of every nation and tongue, to enter into his rest and reign over the earth. As sin grew in the hearts of humans, we separated ourselves into categories like race, class, and economic status. This division fostered hostility between these groups, but Jesus “broke down the wall of hostility that separated us…creating in himself one new people…reconciled to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other has been put to death” (Eph 2v14-16). It is because of this, we as a church are committed to becoming a community of hospitality in a culture of hostility through the practice of Witness.
Jesus himself welcomed into his kingdom men, women, children, thieves, murderers, and notorious sinners of all kinds - even you and me! He also sent out his followers to the highways and byways to do as he did, and welcomed in all people. The disciples were sent out to be witnesses of Jesus. The word “witness” in the New Testament is our translation of the Greek term from which we get the English word “martyr.” Jesus’ followers were asked to lay down their lives to tell the story of Jesus. Witnessing and hospitality will always go hand-in-hand. We share the story of Jesus because we love it, and we share the story of Jesus by the way we live it. We share this story in the way that we share our lives with others. This is the witnessing we are called to do today as his followers in Portland.
Tonight, we are going to take some time to talk about what it means for us to be witnesses of the gospel in the way we invite others in and are sent out into our city.
Do This Practice Tonight
Because there room for all around the foot of the cross, there should always be room for everyone around our dinner table.
The practice for tonight has two parts. First, we want to plan how we can welcome in the lost to join us at the table at an upcoming family night. Then, we want to plan how we are going to go out to serve those on the margins, with the goal of kinship, for our mission rhythm this month.
Leader Note: Before the discussion, welcome the Spirit to come guide your time together – inviting God to bless the Community as you become people marked by witness and hospitality, believing in God’s original mission to welcome in all people.
Let’s start with hearing from one another about how we’ve experienced the hospitality of God and/or others.
When was the last time you experienced being welcomed? What made that interaction meaningful?
Can you remember a time when you felt very unwelcomed? What made you feel that way?
Now, let’s take some time to discuss and plan setting aside an upcoming family night to invite those in our lives that have yet to follow Jesus, and discuss ways to make them feel most welcome.
When is our next open (unplanned) family night?
What meal options and activities would be the most inclusive and welcoming?
How might we exemplify the gospel in our interactions without words?
Who comes to mind that we could invite?
Leader Note: Make sure there is either a clear plan before moving on or that there are clear next steps and people assigned to carry things forward.
The second part of our Practice tonight is to discuss what our mission rhythm will look like this month. Let’s take the next 2-3 minutes to answer these questions:
(If you don’t already have a mission rhythm) How would we like to serve people in our city who don’t know Jesus this month?
(If you don’t already have a Mission Coordinator) Are there one or two people in our Community who would be willing to help plan and coordinate our mission rhythm this month?
How can we intentionally utilize that time and space to grow in kinship with those we are serving? (e.g. get to know someone’s name, communicate when we’ll return, etc.)
Are there other invitations that we can extend to these folks as we seek to serve them without over promising and under-delivering.
Leader Note: Make sure there is either a clear plan before moving on or that there are clear next steps and people assigned to carry things forward. We would suggest closing out this section praying for the opportunities that lie ahead to witness and welcome others in.
Read The Practice for the Week Ahead
For the week ahead, let’s commit to pray (or continue to pray) each day for the lost in our lives as the midday part of our Daily Prayer Rhythm (bridgetown.church/midday-prayer). If anyone hasn’t already, let’s take this moment to set a reminder for 1pm every day with a few names to prompt our time of prayer. Remember, these prayers don’t have to be long, just sincere. After each midday prayer, let’s be sure to take a moment to meditate on the ways God might use us to be the answer to our prayers or to the prayers of others.
The next time we meet, we’ll take time to hear about how this Practice of Witness went for each of us as we pray for the lost each day.
End in Prayer
Leader note: Close your time together in prayer, asking God to continue teaching your Community that his yoke is easy and his burden is light through the Practice of Witness.