Welcoming

This week we begin a new series called Image of God – Values. Over the past year we have been asking some tough questions, such as, “How do we develop a strategy for Mt. Calvary?” In a world that seems to be pulling farther and farther away from Christianity, we need a plan to share our faith with the world. In order to do that, we have looked at many different things, one of which is values. Values define us personally, but also as a culture and even as a church. Whether you know it or not, we have been formed around specific values as a church. Sometimes they are hard to recognize. Taking time to look at our church and to see how God has formed and gifted us uniquely at Mt. Calvary is a key step in reaching out to those who need Jesus.

The next four weeks in August we will read from the book of Leviticus and talk about values. Leviticus may seem like an odd book for this discussion. Perhaps, in your own Read 1 discipleship practices you ignore the book of Leviticus or simply skip over it. In reality, Leviticus has a lot to say to people who have been formed with different values than the ones that God wants them to have. As God’s people, God wanted the Israelites to have the values they had when He created them in the image of God. So, God laid out values, sometimes translated as rules, for the Israelites to follow, and at the end of the day, be different than the rest of the world.

Just like the Israelites, our journey in Christianity can be similar. The more we grow in Jesus, the more the Holy Spirit shapes us and allows us to look and be different than the world. Some of His “shaping” (values) is what stands out to others as they come into our culture, environment, and church.

Mt. Calvary has 5 key values. These are important to talk about and nurture so that we can use them for the glory of God. The first one of those values is being welcoming. Perhaps you’re saying, “Well of course!” Believe it or not, welcoming is a key value God teaches His people, and one that our sinful, selfish nature wants us to do away with. If the devil can get us immersed in ourselves, we would end up self-focused and rude. Therefore, being welcoming is truly a characteristic that makes God’s people look different to the world.  At Mt. Calvary, it is one of the values God has built in us. This week we will talk about how we can strengthen and utilize this important value.