In a world where our habits of feeling, thinking, and acting do not always reveal your glory we can become like beasts, possessing riches without truly understanding what you have given us. But there You are, loving us, calling to us, and saving us! Thank you! You reached out to us; Raised the veil, and brought us into your fellowship. Now we abide in the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You have given us a new hope: Christ in us, the hope of glory!
We confess we do not always know what we do. We confess we sometimes know what we are doing and rebel against You. We confess that our ways and our thoughts are not your ways and your thoughts.
We want to listen again to the voice of Jesus — that we might turn from hate and become generous; that we might turn from lust and become sincere; that we might turn from anger and become loving. Lord we drop these at your feet and ask you to forgive us.
Restore to us the joy of Your salvation and fill us with Your Spirit that we might bear the good fruit Jesus has made possible.
Nothing is impossible with you.
We pray for your peace in the hearts of many being drawn toward violence in Northern Ireland, in Haiti, and in Myanmar. Oh Lord, come. Raise up leaders who will put the brakes on the descent into dark days in which everyone just does as they see fit without regard for their neighbour or for the weak.
We lift up the dear people of Minneapolis who are reliving the trauma of death from the power welded by police. Oh God, how long!? Empower your church who know the Great Healer, to welcome, to care, to advocate, and to proclaim Jesus — gentle and humble — as Lord.
We know we need you Lord and so we pray as Jesus teaches us:
(Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer.)
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one; for yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
This prayer was part of the Origin Church Weekend Broadcast on 16 April 2021.
Student leaders run out of steam for a lot of reasons. But what if our system is failing them!?
Our staff team read through Tim Casteel’s insightful article, Turning Drowning Students into Christ-Centered Laborers, back in February. Ever since we have been working out how we might adapt his idea for students here at UBC.
Tim highlights the need for sustained growth in personal formation that yields leadership and service on campus over the long-haul. We resonated with his observations and concur that students in our church do indeed run out of steam. Many want to be able to do more, but may have neglected the formation of habits and perspectives that will carry them through not only the last year of University, but also into their careers. The transition starts in their “third year” and seems to be eating their lunch and their bandwidth for making spiritual leadership investments in new relationships.
Maybe our system is the problem. We know we need to adjust to a different student reality. Many of the students involved at Origin Church have professional work experiences (we call them “co-ops”) throughout their degree. They may leave campus and work with companies for 3, 6, 9 and even 12 months at a time. So, the average undergraduate at UBC may take as many as five and half years to complete their degree.
As they enter into the last years we know they are changing gears and are often looking beyond our community and church. But we have always been thinking longterm about their life with Jesus even if they were not . Our hope is to keep “doing stuff together that sparks a life journey with Jesus.” We keep hoping they will make significant contributions into the spiritual life and development of other students. Read: relationships!
We have been equipping upper year students to make significant investments with first years and their peers. But we think Tim may be onto something about this generation and the need to give them keys for unlocking sustainable habits in multiple areas of their lives. We like the idea of giving attention to multiple areas of formation: spiritual, personal and missional.
Here’s our plan at the moment. It’s definitely a work in progress! We have been taking time in our weekly staff meeting to generate ideas for the next session. This next week I will be writing the session: Develop Friendship Capacity.
Equip our core team of students during the summer term to implement this plan Fall 2021. 9 Keys and 9 Meetups with sessions of about 45 minutes. Provide a printed guide or pdf doc which can be viewed on their phone. Provide a 15 minute video that they can watch together. Provide suggestions on how to take this “key” and unlock this area of growth.
Here are the topics we are proposing:
Here’s a little more about the topics:
Live loved —An exploration of The Gospel of Jesus & A life full of the Holy Spirit
Develop a Growth Mentality: An exploration of research related to the Growth Mentality.
Increase Friendship Capacity An exploration of the different realms and dimensions of friendship.
Meet Jesus in Prayer: Getting started; in solitude and in community
Develop Executive Function Skills and introduce becoming “a non-anxious presence”
Curiosity: Rock Philippians 2:3-4; Initiate conversations & and take an interest in their spiritual life.
Meet Jesus in Scripture. Develop a plan. Use the Hand Illustration.
Become a Giver (instead of a Taker): An exploration of Adam Grant’s work.
Point to Jesus and Make Invitations: missionary ID and evangelism as a lifestyle.
We’d love to hear from you. Like I said: Literally this is a work in progress!
Students: If you are an upper year student, what do you wish you had given some more energy and focus to in terms of growth in your first and second years?
If you are a first or second year student, which of these are you most interested in?
Ministry Leaders: As student ministry or church leaders do you have similar concerns for this generation?
All: Are there other topics you might propose for each area of formation?
Thank you for loving us and bringing us into your communion. You have not abandoned us to our unbelief. You have sent your Son to reveal your love to the world and to rescue us from our sins. Thank you for sending your Spirit to us and for stimulating faith in You when we heard the Gospel of your promises fulfilled. Now our hope is truly in you!
May our worship of you fill out our whole lives with the character of Jesus. May His gentleness and His humility create a reliable strength in your people so your faithful love permeates our fellowship and informs our service to each other and to our communities.
Lord, we are weary from the demands of the pandemic and our responsibilities. For some of us the daily press of decisions and the weight of social unease and absence is taking a toll. Help us Lord. Meet us again. Fortify us with your Spirit and help us persevere.
We lift up to you our brothers and sisters at The Point Church at Simon Fraser University. Thank you for their faithful witness to your love. Thank you for their love for each other and their desire to serve the community well. Encourage them Lord and build them up.
We lift up to you our campus community. Please bring healing and help to those who are facing illness and even home-sickness — as they feel the distance from the familiar and from loved ones. Bless those who are studying and preparing for exams: grant them delight in their studies. Ignite a growing curiosity about your Creation, what you are doing in it, and they can be a part of it with you.
We know we need you Lord and so we pray as Jesus teaches us:
(Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer.)
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one; for yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
This prayer was part of the Origin Church Weekend Broadcast on 9 April 2021
As if drawn to a waltz, the hawk turns over the sandy foreshore seeking its prey.
I watch enchanted. No, not enchanted. Appreciative. Our conversation ebbs onto a quiet plateau, like the calm space lovers lightly posses when confident of their affections.
Yet, I know You are the stronger, the sovereign, the seer of all hearts.
