Standing Back

Think back over the last several weeks.

You started with Scripture. You learned that God speaks. That His Word is inspired, authoritative, clear, sufficient, necessary, and powerful. That the Bible is not one resource among others. It is the voice of the God who made you.

Then Missions. You learned that the same God who speaks also sends. That the church is not a destination but a sending station. That you are sent into your home, your workplace, your neighborhood, your city, to the nations, in the name of Christ.

Then Discipleship. You learned that a disciple is one who has heard the call of Christ and is following Him. That the disciplines of learning, imitating, obeying, persevering, and multiplying are not optional add-ons. They are the basic shape of the Christian life. That Christ is making you a disciple. Your job is to follow.

Then Worship. You learned that worship is not a Sunday performance. It is the answer of the creature to the Creator, gathered in reverence and joy, ordered by Word and prayer and sacrament and song. That all of life is worship, lived under the gaze of God.

Then Fellowship. You learned that God does not save us as isolated individuals. He saves us as a people. That the church is not a service organization. It is the body of Christ. That you are bound to specific people in a specific place, and that the bond is eternal.

Five courses. One picture.

The Christ who saved you is shaping you, through His Word, by His Spirit, in His church, for His mission, unto His glory.

That is the Christian life. That is the path Mayflower walks. That is what these Core Values mark out.

Now, before the covenant you will write, sit with one honest question.

Where, in the last few weeks, have you sensed the Lord pressing on you? Which course made you flinch? Which doctrine made you uncomfortable? Which Core Value do you already know, in your bones, that you have been ignoring?

You do not have to write the answer here. You will write it in the next step. But name it, in your heart, before God.