Going Deeper this Week (Our pastors encourage you to use the questions, suggestions and text below as you reflect upon today’s message in your devotional):

 What individuals form your spiritual heritage?

Take time this week to offer thanks for those who have shown you the way of Christ.

Reflect upon those whose “finger prints” are most prevalent upon your heart. How might you seek to live into the positive imprint that would make your spiritual mothers and/or fathers proud of your life in Christ?

Read Hebrews 12 this week.  Who is present in your “great cloud of witnesses?” In what ways do you remember them “running the race” with faithfulness? How can you learn from the way they followed Christ’s example?

From Hebrews 12, spend time reflecting upon our connection to Jesus, as “pioneer and perfecter” of our faith.

How closely are you following him in “the race?”

As you read Hebrews 12, what direct family resemblance can you claim and consider in Jesus’ life, death and suffering?

Do you feel God calling you to connect more deeply to Christ and receive the discipline of the Holy Spirit? If so, what are you willing to do to invest in pursuit of that calling?

When we are honest, some days it is hard for others to see our “sacred connections.” Sin and our self-interest often cover over God’s goodness within.

What are you willing to do to reveal Christ more in your daily interactions?

How can your Family connection (in Christ) grow deeper to more faithful horizons?

In what ways can you utilize summertime as a means to condition, for the holy race set before us?

How can summer be a great opportunity for you and your family to reveal your connections in Christ? What individual and family commitments can you make to do this authentically, whether traveling or otherwise this summer?

If you want to go even deeper for the present preaching series, Pastor Gina suggests a great quick read (or re-read) of In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership by Henri Nouwen. In a short, concise reflection upon his spiritual journey from professor/renowned academic at Norte Dame, Yale and Harvard to personal care aide for a person with special needs, Nouwen draws a path to the true essence (image) of Christ in life, service and leadership.