How We Live...
...flows out of who we are. At GCC we seek to re-orient our lives around who we are in Christ and how He has called us to live as the People of God in the world. Our core identities are lived out in these six life practices.
ALL CHURCH RETREAT 2011
All Church Picnic July 10, 2011
We Celebrate ~ We gather together often to celebrate God's extravagant blessings. God calls people to regularly celebrate his goodness and grace. We gather weekly in gospel communities and regularly as a larger family, to share stories and celebrate all that God is doing in and amongst us. (Leviticus 23; Acts 2:42-47; Hebrews 10:24-25)
We Bless ~ We intentionally bless others through our words, gifts and actions. God desires that all nations, cultures, and people would be blessed through Jesus. And now, as His people, we live out this mission as we bless others. We ask God to show us who He would have us tangibly bless each week in our families, jobs, neighborhoods, and weekly activities (Genesis 12:1-3; Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:8-10; 1 Peter 2:12)
We Eat ~ We regularly eat meals with others to invite them into the community of God. Meals are a daily reminder of our common need for God and his faithfulness to provide for us both physically and spiritually. Jesus called us to remember him and his sacrifice for us through a meal. When we eat together, we commune around this truth. We regularly eat meals with both those in and those not in our immediate family or circle of close friends, discipling them toward a life of dependence on God. (Leviticus 23; Matthew 6:11; 26:17-30; Acts 2:46-47; Romans 12:13)
We Recreate ~ we regularly take time to rest, play, create and restore beauty in ways that reflect God to others. After powerfully and joyfully creating the universe, God rested. We were created in his image and therefore were made to joyfully create and then rest and enjoy creation as well. As finite beings made in the image of God we display our trust in HIs Sovereign rule over all things as we take time to practice a sabbath principle to allow God to recharge our bodies and minds. (Genesis 1-2:3; Deuteronomy 5:12; Mark 2:23-28; Hebrews 4)
We Listen ~ We intentionally and actively listen to God daily and we set aside specific times to do so as a community. We listen by regularly interacting with God’s Word. We also believe he speaks today through His Spirit in us, through creation and through the specific movements of our Sunday worship services, such as the call to worship, public reading of scripture and the Lord’s Supper. (Mark 1:35-37; John 16:7-15; Hebrews 1:1-3; Romans 1:20)
We Tell God's Story ~ God has been unfolding His story since before time began. We believe we are participants in the story and need to understand it and see how our lives intersect with it. Therefore, we regularly reacquaint ourselves with the Story by studying God's Word. We look for ways and times to tell the Story often. We also take time to listen to others stories and help them find their lives within God's Story. (Genesis 1:1-2; John 1:1; Psalm 1; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
