A Sojourner's Quest

PA RT I I I : L I V I NG I N T H E WAY / 1 5 5

This amazing seasonal portrayal of the life and hope of Jesus can inject a Christ-centeredness into your studies and ministries, helping you keep front-and-center the heart of the matter: Christianity is Christ, and if we ignore him and this great tale of truth and hope, we will wind up dancing off tune with God’s recurring beat. The Church Year keeps the rhythm of that Story that conducts the music of the spheres, and is itself a dynamic cycle that provides us with a fresh outlook and vision of the meaning of our lives as we live out our days here. Theology at the Service of Worship: Bearing Witness to the Living Christ in the City What does all of this history about Christian celebration and remembrance and stuff have to do with your worship and discipleship? In our minds – everything! This Story of God in Christ is the fuel in the engine of authentic theological preparation and leadership development, and every follower of Jesus must confess what believers have confessed from the start. Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. The Church Year, when appropriated with a Christ-centered focus and Scriptural base, can transform your spiritual formation and reset the spiritual climate of everything you do. The Story of God in Christ which it tells can greatly enhance your purpose, enrich your worship, and re-calibrate your direction as you seek to incarnate Christ in your home and on your job. Remind yourself often that Jesus of Nazareth is the reason proper for all we do in Christian worship and mission: to become like him as Elder, Chief Shepherd, and as the Bishops of our souls is the raison d’etre , the reason for our existence and sojourning here as disciples. Nothing less than him will suffice; nothing more than him is needed. For us, Jesus is Lord of all. Surprised by Joy: Retelling the Greatest Story Ever Told As fellow pilgrims and disciples together of the Lord Jesus, our consistent, fervent prayer for you is that you would all be personally transformed by the powerful Story of Christ, and that being trans- formed by him through the Word and his people, you would become an effective witness of that Story in your home, neighborhood, and community. However we come to tell it, demonstrate it, sing it, or