Belonging in Action
Author: Daniel Owens, PhD
October 12, 2023
If Sundays are for worship and rest, Mondays and the rest of the week are for action. On Sunday morning Pastor Chris preached on the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6 and called us to press into our vision for this year, which is expressed in the theme of Belonging.
As you think and pray about what it means for you to press into the three areas of Worship, Community, and Outreach, I would like to suggest some practical ideas for you to pursue. We would love to hear how you would like to grow in each of these areas. If you haven’t already shared that with us, you can do so by filling out the following form.
Worship
Bible reading plans
- Crossway has nine different Bible reading plans that you can download for free and print: https://www.crossway.org/articles/download-a-free-bible-reading-plan-for-2017/.
- If you prefer to use digital resources, go to https://www.bible.com/ and download the Bible App (free, available for iOS [iPhone and iPad] and Android devices. (Also available on the church’s website.) The particular benefit of using this app is that you can tick off your daily readings as you read them, and if you get behind, simply tell the app to Catch Me Up. From within the app, tap on Plans and Find Plans and identify one that suits your goals. Our family went through the Bible Project plan to read the New Testament, though it also has a plan to read the Old Testament in a Year or the Biblical Storyline. These plans include links to helpful videos about each book.
Prayer resources
- Use the Lord’s prayer as a framework for praying every day. This is a time-honored practice in the church. For example, after “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name” (v. 9), you can express your praise to God for who he is. After “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (v. 10), you can pray for specific areas where you want God to work in your life to bring about his good purposes. The rest of the prayer addresses our daily needs (v. 11), confessing our sin (v. 12), and dealing with temptation (v. 13).
- If you want to use an app that will remind you to pray for people or things, consider using Prayer Mate, which I have used for myself and with our family for years. It is available for iOS (iPhone and iPad), Android, and Kindle devices.
For individual or family worship:
- Be Thou My Vision (Crossway, 2021) provides 31 daily liturgies, which will lead you through a comprehensive worship service each day. Use alone or with others.
- The Valley of Vision (Banner of Truth, 1975) is a collection of Puritan prayers and poetry for devotional use.
Hymns and Scripture Memory
- The Hymnary has a hyperlinked list of popular hymns. Many of the classic hymns are available with lyrics on YouTube.
- For more recent songs, check out Brett McCracken’s list of The Best New Worship Songs of the 2010s, which is also available as a playlist on Spotify or Apple Music.
- For Scripture memory, the Navigators suggest A Simple, Easy Bible Memory System, which includes lists of verses on various topics.
- Various apps are available to help you take your Bible memorization with you, including Remember Me, which is a free app available for iPhone, Android, or on the web. I usually use the Fighter Verses lists, but within the app you can find many different lists.
Schedule a regular time to fast and pray
Give regularly to the church (https://www.newcovenantnaperville.org/giving-ncc).
Community
Most of the action steps in our response card/form involve your reaching out to someone in the church. If you want to join a Bible study group or volunteer to serve, contact the church office.
If you are looking for ideas on spending time praying with a friend from church:
- Consider using the Lord’s Prayer as a framework for praying together (see above).
- Meet for coffee to catch up about your past week, share a couple of prayer points, and then pray together.
- Consult David Helm’s book, One to One Reading, and read a passage of Scripture together and discuss it either using the Swedish Method or the COMA Method. Both are easy to follow. After a brief discussion, spend time praying in response to the passage you read.
Outreach
- Outreach simply involves reaching out to someone. Just inviting a friend to a church event can help him or her along the road to knowing Jesus. Or let us know you are interested in helping to organize outreach events or a Christianity Explored class here at NCC.
- Listen to a message by medical doctor and evangelist in Australia, Sam Chan, entitled How to Share the Gospel for All to Hear. Sam uses a light touch to help us start to build redemptive relationships with our nonbelieving friends.
- Join a club or activity to build more relationships outside the church: Consider signing up to a program at your local library or park district.
- Volunteer to serve with Wayside Cross or another local ministry. Wayside Cross suggests a variety volunteering opportunities to help “hungry and hurting neighbors who need safe shelter and support in desperate times.”
- Reach out to Caring Network to support its efforts to assist “women facing unexpected pregnancies, to restore those who’ve already been hurt by abortion – and to mobilize God’s people for the work of life.”
The members of the church leadership team are thrilled by your desire to delve more deeply into God’s kingdom calling to belong. Please reach out with your ideas and questions, and we’ll be happy to help.
Daniel Owens, PhD, is NCC’s pastor of discipleship.
Photo by Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash
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