Study of the Gospel of Luke

Beginning this Sunday, June 14, we will begin an in-depth, textually-based look at the Gospel of Luke. Luke, arguably more so than the other 3 Gospels, tells the story of Jesus Christ as a story for the entire world. Beginning with the story of John the Baptist, Luke presents God's message of salvation that is overtly directed as Jews, Gentiles, indeed all of Humanity. As a class, we will seek to understand the context and purpose of the Gospel by discussing each passage of text to discern its purpose in the First Century and its power in our lives.

Please join us for this study and discussion each Sunday at 11 am in Rm 311 at Clear Lake United Methodist Church.

New Series: Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations

We have been blessed to have local pastors that take an active interest in the lives and spiritual education of our church. Personally, I've been able to personally get to know each of the CLUMC pastors, and they each provide unique and valuable resources to the spiritual development of the church. Rev. Harold Travis is one such pastor, and he will begin a 5-week study of the book Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations. Rev. Travis is a wonderful, friendly person with no pretensions and plenty of things to teach us.

The book, however, focuses on what we as a congregation can do to edify, glorify, and unify each other and the community we live in. The great thing about this is that the entire congregation will be studying this book concurrently. Obviously, the church leaders want us all to get on the same page regarding how we think of ourselves as individual Christians as well as a unified congregation, which I think is a great idea.

From the 5 Practices website:
The Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations

• Radical Hospitality
• Passionate Worship
• Intentional Faith Development
• Risk-Taking Mission and Service
• Extravagant Generosity

These words capture the core process by which God uses congregations to make disciples - congregations offer the gracious invitation, welcome, and hospitality of Christ so that people experience a sense of belonging; God shapes souls and changes minds through worship, creating a desire to grow closer to Christ; God's Spirit nurtures people and matures faith through learning in community; with increased spiritual maturity, people discern God's call to help others through mission and service; and God inspires people to give generously of themselves so that others can receive the grace they have known.

These fundamental practices are so critical to a congregation's mission that failure to perform them in an exemplary way results in congregational deterioration and decline. By repeating and improving these practices, churches fulfill their mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.