BLESSED | Rooted Church

What does it mean to be Blessed to B.L.E.S.S?

Blessed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ to B.L.E.S.S. (The Other 6 Days)

The Elders and Pastor invites Rooted Church to order their lives around the Gospel of Jesus Christ by fulfilling our Mission and Vision together. Sundays are for Our Gathering where we meet together as family to enjoy the Gospel and to be equip through the sermon. The other 6 days, as we scatter to engage the cites of the Triangle Region where we live, work/school, and play matters to God. The servant leaders of Rooted Church desires to flesh out what is looks like to be a Gospel-Centered disciple who is blessed by to God be a blessing to both to Rooted Church and the city.

The nucleus of this plan is Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, an explosive epistle that we believe God will use root us deeper in the Gospel and to bear spiritual fruit in our relationships. We are trusting the Trinity to grow us into a community of contagious believes who are rooted in the Gospel to reflect God’s glory.

“3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” – Ephesians 1:3-6

“15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” – Ephesians 1:15-23

“14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” – Ephesians 3:14-21

“ 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.” – Ephesians 6:13-20

VISION

Devote 15-30 minutes to enjoy God from Sunday to Friday to exercise with this tool, accountable to your growth partner, a friend, or a team. (Saturday is a flex or rest day.) Instead of always training alone, we encourage you to be accountable with those connected to Rooted Church at least once or twice a week. You can meet up in person, redeem time as you drive on the phone safely, and other creative ways to sharpen one another. We believe God will use this discipline to grow in us 3 habits of Gospel-Centered, spiritual healthy and contagious followers of Christ:

1) Practicing God’s Presence: Becoming more present to, aware of, and in awe of our Big God who has adopted us as his sons/daughters, is for his kids, and fills us with his fullness (Ephesians 1).
2) Praying BIG: Praying God-sized prayers together, trusting God for only what He can do, and putting on the full armor of God to wrestle against “the cosmic powers over this present darkness” (Ephesians 3, 6).
3) Pondering Christ’s Purposes: Discovering our unique design/workmanship and the good works God is calling us to walk in to build up the body of Christ and influence our city (Ephesians 2:10).

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Practice Presence - Practice making yourself fully present to God—He is present with you right now and wants to draw you into deeper awareness and awe of Him. Perhaps transition into this encounter with God with a few minutes of silence/stillness, then read the Bible straight* (at least a chapter). Explore some of these questions with your Father: What is this text about? Who or what has been capturing your awe instead of God? What’s a verse or phrase in this text that the Spirit is impressing upon you to deepen your awe and enjoyment of God? Write that phrase down and use it as your main conversation piece with your Father throughout today.

*www.ligonier.org/blog/bible-reading-plans (set spiritual goals for yourself)

2. Pray BIG - God can do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think. We glorify God when we pray big. Put on the full armor of God (see Ephesians 6:13-17) and join your church family in “standing against the schemes of the devil” and praying today’s big prayer.

➢ Sunday: Ask God to freshly show His power to transform and grow our awe of Him as Rooted Church gathers.

➢ Monday: Ask the Holy Spirit to guide to guide you and Rooted Church to be a Blessing with our neighbors at home, work, school, and where we play.

➢ Tuesday: Pray for at least 5 non-Christian friends by name in Triangle Region that you hope Jesus saves. Pray for God to open doors for the Gospel to be spoken by you with your life and lips.

➢ Wednesday: Pray for the Holy Spirit to multiply your discipleship and growth group to be Rooted in the Gospel to Reflect God’s glory in the Triangle Regions.

➢ Thursday: Ask God to do what seems impossible to you by unwavering faith. Pray for God to unleash His power to save and transform lives. Pray for God to advance the Gospel through Rooted Church boldly.

➢ Friday: Ask God for humility to sincerely loves those not like you and those in need.

➢ Saturday: Enjoy flexible/rest day/exercise/play

3. Pondering Christ’s Purposes - Stay in communion with Jesus as you walk with Him by the Holy Spirit. This is about growing a relationship with the Living God, not accomplishing a task. Your Heavenly Father has a unique design and call on your life, and He is committed to revealing more of this to you. What might God be saying to you thru your Bible reading about your unique design and the good works He’s calling you to walk in today to build up (equip) Rooted Church and to engage the cites of the RTP? What’s the Spirit showing you about the unique design of somebody else in our church family, and how could you speak words of life that encourage that person today?

Talk with your Father about anything else you need to talk with him about. He is for you and His glory! Rest in His presence, take a deep breath, then go about your day in awe of Him & the full armored of God with His power.

Begin with prayer – I will trust God, not myself. I pray for God to help me see and to open doors for the Gospel. I will not fear man, but trust God intentionally.

Listen with care – I will set apart specific time to listen to the Holy Spirit (designated time without distractions). I will ask God to help me to listen to people with care and to show the worth of person by the way I listen. I will listen for the struggles, concerns, stresses, and pressures people face. Then, I will reflect and learn what Christ has done, says and is doing as I live a Gospel-Centered life.

Eat together – God has given us about 21 meals each week. I will be faithful to EAT with people each week (intentional meals: church leader, church members, neighbors, co-worker, classmate, guest/new person at church, and at least one who is not following Jesus)

Serve in love – By God’s grace, I will seek to be like Christ by blessing people (Christians and non-Christians) each week through words/texts of affirmation, acts of kindness, and/or gift giving.

Share your story – As a follower of Christ, you are a disciple and a missionary (a “SENT one”), I am pointing others to God through Jesus. A simple what to share your story is to ask the other person what’s your story, listen to them, and then share your story about how God saved you (your testimony).

**adapted from Justin Buzzard of Garden City and The Five Habits of Highly Missional People by Michael Frost