Hey friends –

As our series on calling comes to an end, this is my prayer:

Loving Father, you made us for yourself, and you made us for a purpose. Will you lead us into the plans you have for us, fan into flames the gifts you have given us, sharpen the skills you have entrusted to us, stir up our passion for your glory and enlarge our hearts for this world you love so much. Help us to hear your voice, to be filled with courage, and to follow you deeper into the call you have for us. And collectively, as a church family, may we be blessed to be a blessing, may we have impact for your kingdom in our homes, workplaces, and city, in churches planted near and far, in your loving mission lived out locally and globally. Lord make it so! We ask in Jesus’ name, amen.

Below I’ve printed out the exercises that go with each of the previous weeks’ teaching, and if you have not already prayed through them I encourage you to make them part of your daily devotions in the days to come. (And if you missed any of the teachings you can download them from our website or subscribe to them on itunes via our podcast.)

And one final reminder:

This Sunday we will be joined by our friend Wayne Carlson (Director of Church Planting with our denomination’s Pacific Southwest Conference) as we pray through some new opportunities in church planting and beyond.

Looking forward to being with you! Lord bless you -

Tim
Mt 6:33

calling exercise – putting the pieces together

Ordinary
In your ordinary, day-to-day life, what are some ways in which you are able to serve God’s purposes? To make your sphere of influence look a little more like the kingdom of God? To be a blessing to others in Jesus’ name?
• List at least 5. (But don’t stop at 5 if you have more. List even things that seem mundane or almost not worth mentioning)

Foundations – refer to sovereign foundations exercise (below)

Failure
Have there been times when you felt called to something but got scared and quit? Or where you approached it your way rather than God’s, or others somehow undermined your efforts and failure resulted?
• Revisit these instances, list them, and pray through each. Ask: “God what are you/were you doing in that situation? What do you want me to learn from it and carry with me into my present and future calling?”

Encounter
Hearing God comes only through practiced listening. Make the following a daily listening exercise.
• As you prayerfully read the Bible, ask “Father what are you saying to me in this Scripture? How would you have me respond?”
• At the end of your day, take some minutes to reflect in prayer on the events that transpired and people you interacted with. Ask “Lord are you speaking to me through any of these people or events?”
• Keep a daily journal of how God directs you and of insights he gives you.

Doubts
As you think about living into your calling, what fears, objections, and insecurities come to the surface?
• Prayerfully submit these to God, and ask him to give you what you need to accomplish what he calls you to.

Enough
“What is in your hand?” – What has God given you (talents, abilities, spiritual gifts, resources) that you can use now for the good of others?

[sovereign foundations exercise]

Block out at least two hours of solitude and prayerfully work through a “time-line” of your life, asking God to help you better grasp his sovereign foundations in your life. Here are some questions to help guide you:

Shaping people and circumstances:
• What are the life and family circumstances, both positive and negative, that most shaped me as a child? Teen? Young adult? Older adult? What did I learn from these?
• What are the critical incidents, both positive and negative, that have most shaped you? What lessons did you learn from each of these?
• What qualities, interests, and values were present in childhood that are with you still? What do they say about who you are?
• List the critical people God has used to influence and shape you (both ongoing relationships and briefer “divine contacts”). What did God impart to you through each?
• The qualities of character I admire and desire for God to shape into my life are _______________. Why?

Gifting and passions:
• Which spiritual gifts best help me sense God working through me?
• When I think about how I would like God to use me in the future, I am especially drawn to ______________. Why?
• People who know me well believe I am most used by God when I am involved in _______________. Why?
• My activities, church related or not, that contribute most to God’s kingdom are ______________. Why?
• I am deeply moved to sorrow or joy by ____________. Why?
• If I knew I could not fail, what would I want to do with my life?

Summing up:
• What common insights or themes emerged in your time line?
• If I were to write the next chapter in my timeline, what would it include? Take a step of faith and prayerfully write out in a sentence or two what you think God might be directing you toward.
• Get feedback from someone who knows you well. Write out the first five steps you would take if moving in this direction.