Rule of Life
John 15
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’
26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
This Sunday’s service can be viewed on our Facebook page @ Sunday, December 31, 2023
Hello NewDay friends,
How do you usually celebrate the end of the year, and the new year? For many of us it is looking forward to an annual party or gathering we attend, playing board games, eating good food with family or friends, or watching a movie and hunkering down at home to ring in the new year.
Many people also take time on New Year's Eve/Day to create a list of do's and don'ts for the next year (AKA- New Year's Resolutions). This list may have things on it such as "start exercising more, eat healthier, reduce alcohol consumption, increase time with family/friends, quit smoking, end a bad relationship, find a good relationship, get married, organize my house, clean, bring things to Goodwill, etc., etc. I bet we all have made decisions similar to these in the past. To be fair, we all want to either quit bad habits, or begin new habits around the time of the New Year- the parking lots at our local gyms show evidence of this, or the Amazon packages of newly ordered exercise equipment or storage organizers give proof!
In James Clear's book, Atomic Habits, he says this: "Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity. This is one reason why meaningful change does not require radical change. Small habits can make a meaningful difference by providing evidence of a new identity. And if a change is meaningful, it is actually big. That’s the paradox of making small improvements.”
This year, we get to celebrate New Year's Day together in worship as a church family, looking back over the past year with gratitude and praise to God for all He has done for us. We will also spend time together considering how we want to order our upcoming year with purpose and intention, with prayer, reflection and conversations together, and create habits that will lead to a fuller, deeper, more meaningful life with God, ourselves and those we love and care for.
We will use the Rule of Life, and the Prayer of Examen during worship time this Sunday as a church community. I anticipate this to be a rich and fun experience for us all as a community, engaging in ancient practices for spiritual growth, mental/emotional, physical and relational health.
Jesus promises us in John 10:10 that he came to give us life, and life to the full.
I pray that 2024 will be a year of more of Jesus’s life in you, and as Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus, “...that you may have this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:19)
In Christ,
Pastor Kari
Save The Date: Our next potluck will be Sunday, January 7, immediately following the worship gathering. The Leadership Team will be making/serving pancakes and waffles, please bring a breakfast side dish to share.