Over the course of this week, I have met with several groups to do Bible reading.  The object of these groups is to read the Bible together and listen for what God is saying to us individually, as a group, and as a congregation.  This particular time, I worked with two groups, our Men’s group on Wednesday evening, and a couple of teen guys on Thursday afternoon. 

Listening to the voice of the Spirit is an essential part of the life of a disciple; it is also a necessary part of congregational life.  Those of us who landed on the Free Church/Congregational side of the Reformation understand that all who have the Spirit of God are able, at least at a basic level, to discern God’s will, both individually and together.  This is the theological basis behind having meetings of the congregation to make decisions. 

This practice applies to the sermon process as well.  As we listen to the Bible together, we hear God speaking to us by the Holy Spirit.  Hearing others contextualize what they hear in the passage, and applying it to their lives gives me a stronger sense of connection to what the message must look like or sound like to be able to connect to the people who will be a part of the audience, in the end. 

What this does, however, is push the final sermon prep to the end of the week.  This is not a very good situation, as I believe the Sermon should not be hanging over my head during my days off - theoretical though that concept often is.  But at the moment, it is a practice for me of connecting with the congregation to “do the faith together,” as so many have said. 

In order to pull this off, we use the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), so that everyone can be on the same, albeit arbitrary, page.  And, really, this helps us live the story of Jesus’ life as we cycle through the seasons and the Gospels together, which I find to be a really good thing. 

Therefore, tomorrow we will be hearing from 1 Peter 1:17 - 23.  What do you hear God saying there?