Our Means for Beholding Christ

At EFree, we aspire to be, really, a joy-filled community. That joy must come from treasuring God in Christ supremely. When we behold that treasure, we are indelibly changed - note that "beholding" is the way to be "transformed" in 2 Cor. 3:18, and note that it's God the Spirit who accomplishes this.

God uses means for us to "behold" Christ: the Word, prayer, and fellowship. We behold Christ in the Word, in prayer for God to cause us to see Christ in the Word. But this is meant, like a body, to happen in relationship to each other. As we speak the truth to each other, and pray for each other, we behold Christ more clearly. Discipleship Groups aim to cause our use of these means to be more intense, and more fruitful. To use the old Puritan phrase, in Discipleship Groups we seek to most intensely "attend to one another's souls", in Word, prayer and fellowship characterized by love and truth. In a different week I may discuss what that means further, but for now, I wanted to encourage you to explore the various groups. You can do that by visiting the Discipleship Groups page on our website, and the list of current groups.

This fall we will be forming a new group, which will walk through the gospel itself, and then move to training in sharing the gospel in ordinary life. This group will be for everyone, and we are seeking to provide childcare as well. If you are interested in joining this group, please let me know (jed@slcevfree.org or 801-365-0340).

There are always other groups going on that are not mentioned on our "official" groups page. This is by design, and I encourage you to talk with me or another elder to find a group that fits best with what God is doing in you, and what's most important to you right now.