Our Ladies Discipleship Meeting is Saturday, December 18th at 10AM. The focus will be on scripture from the December She Reads Truth Advent study: The Everlasting Light. This will be a sweet time of worship, activities, fellowship, and prayer to prepare our hearts to celebrate the birth of the Messiah. Please invite a friend or neighbor! Please RSVP HERE so we can plan for food and crafts. If you’re not participating in a discipleship group but would like to be,  please contact Susie Marcin at [email protected].

ESSENTIALS | Wednesday September 29th, October 6th and 13th @ 7PM

Essentials is a three week (Wednesday evening) class covering what we believe are some essentials of the Christian faith. We’ll look at what it means to have an identity in Christ and how it’s meant to shape our lives. We’ll learn how to read the Bible and discuss the centrality of prayer in the life of a disciple. Finally we’ll discuss the importance of community. If you are a newer believer and need some guidance, this class is for you. If you have been a follower of Jesus for some time but are interested in deepening your walk, this class is for you.

Register HERE.

On Sunday July 25th, Nathan shared with us how God has been working in his life through a unique experience with drawing.

“Recently, I came across a book called ‘Drawing on the Right Side of The Brain.’ It claimed it could teach anyone how to draw. I was skeptical, but willing to give it a try.”

Early in the book the Author gave an unusual assignment where they were asked to try to replicate an intricate Picasso drawing. The catch was that they were only shown the drawing upside down and asked to draw it as they saw it (also upside down).

When Nathan flipped over his replica, he was stunned to see that he had drawn something very close to the original. “It was the best thing I’d ever drawn, and rather than taking effort, the whole process was actually enjoyable.”

Nathan shared how he wrestled with thoughts of how he could happen to draw something perfect upside down, but not right side up. The author of the book explained the secret saying that the difficulties Nathan had with drawing weren’t caused by a deficiency in his hands, but a deficiency of seeing.

More specifically, there was something that was preventing Nathan from seeing things as they were, and that was the left half of his brain. The left brain looks for symbols it recognizes. The right brain allows us to see the scene itself just as it is, without interference from the symbols and inner dialogue of our left brain.

Sometime later, it clicked for Nathan what the Bible meant by the phrase “eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear”.

“It’s the blindness of familiarity. It’s seeing the symbol so much that we miss the reality.” Nathan went on to share “Just like my failed drawing attempts, I attributed my spiritual scribbles to either a personal deficiency or a lack of sufficient effort. But God is showing me that the only real deficiency is a deficiency of seeing.” Reading the Bible now through this lens, Nathan can see so much of it is written as an invitation to his right brain — to stop right where he is and enter in.

“‘Be still and know that I am God.’ ‘Taste and see that the Lord is good.’ ‘Open the Eyes of my Heart.’ These are invitations to me right now, to put aside my stale symbols and experience the beautiful reality.

I’m still learning what this means in practice. But the moments I’ve been able to put away my phone, to quiet my mind and wordlessly linger over the curves and lines of God’s grace, the more I’m surprised at how effortlessly the act of seeing Him changes me. It’s not my effort that makes me loving — it’s seeing God’s love. It’s not shame that motivates good works – it’s savoring God’s perfect forgiveness.”

To listen to Nathan’s full LOCAL Story, you can find the recording on our podcast.

Annie, Lily, and Katie shared a Local Story about the joys of being involved in a Discipleship Group. About 10 months ago they began meeting every week as a small group. It started as a time for them to read the bible together and share about their weeks, but eventually transformed into a time for trusted sisters in Christ to gather, deeply analyze the Word, and walk together in life.

“These ladies have shown such regular humility and trust that it is easy to drop our walls and share areas of our lives that we would typically keep quiet.” The content of their gatherings has varied since they began meeting. “We have read different books both in the Bible and outside of the Bible. We don’t have a specific system for choosing our next book, but we allow for the Spirit to guide our hearts to topics or books that are relevant to our lives.”

They went on to share how gathering as a Discipleship Group has allowed them to break down barriers that kept them from having true intentional fellowship with one another. “I was comfortable just going to church and saying hi to others over a cup of coffee…The idea of being completely vulnerable made me skeptical about joining a discipleship group. I used to think, ‘I really don’t want to open up and have others truly see my heart.’ Now I think, ‘what a privilege and gift it is to be able to share my heart, walk alongside, and pursue holiness with other believers.’”

Annie, Lily, and Katie have been able to discover how sweet this intimate time of fellowship is. We have various Discipleship Groups who meet outside of our Sunday gatherings in similar ways to how these ladies do. To put it simply, Discipleship Groups are 2-4 people (same gender) meeting to read the Bible together, pray with one another, and hold each other accountable in faith.

Want to be a part of one but don’t know where to start? Click HERE.

A Study in Colossians | July 11th & 18th 6:30-7:30p

Do you ever find yourself asking questions like, “Now what? What am I supposed to do after declaring Jesus as Lord over my life? How do I live a life pleasing to him? What does that even look like?” Ryan Hoagland and Miguel Contreras will walk us through chapter one of Colossians helping us appreciate the beauty, wisdom and guidance this letter brings.

Join us Sunday PM, 6:30-7:30p on July 11th and 18th. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore the Bible with others. Colossians is the perfect letter to read with someone who is new to following Jesus or who desires to grow in their understanding of the centrality of Jesus in everyday life.

Shuffleboard Night | April 23rd, 6-8pm

Join us for a cool night under the lights at the St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club. This will be a FREE family friendly event and a great opportunity to invite friends and neighbors. Bring some food and drinks for your family. Cues and discs provided.

St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club
559 Mirror Lake Dr N, St. Petersburg FL 33701

Josh Allen, one of our pastors, gave a brief word of encouragement about what “abiding in Christ” is all about. Jesus said in John 15:5 “Whoever abide in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

“This is a word which was lost on me for a very long time. Abide…. Abode… house… live in… OK, I think I get it. But, not really. Why is this lost on me? I do still love the Lord and I do still believe he is true and means what he said. But why have I not experienced the ongoing rest and fruit-bearing that comes with abiding in him?”

Josh discovered, “Abiding doesn’t happen at once. It happens day by day. Like a friendship, true fellowship comes with a longer acquaintance. We are a branch grafted into the vine. It takes time to grow…We must remain, we must abide daily if we are to continue in the rest Jesus gives.”

He went on to share his struggle, “I confess that, until recently, I have known very little of this blessing of abiding in him. Maybe you, like I, never knew the fullness of this call. Or maybe you didn’t know that a life of deep binding fellowship was actually possible and within your reach. You know it exists for some, but cannot see how it can be attained in your own life? Or do you believe it is possible for you, but you just haven’t found the secret of how to attain it? Or maybe you recognize that it is your own unfaithfulness that has kept you from attaining it…”

“I cannot tell you that your abiding will happen when you read such-and-such a book or pray such-and-such a prayer or when you spend 10min, 30min, an hour a day or that you should be out in nature or in your “prayer closet” or sitting or on your knees or prostrate before the Lord. Maybe you are already experiencing a deep daily relationship of abiding in Christ…But if you are listening and think you might be missing out on this abiding, then that may be the case and there is no time like the present to change that.”

Hear Josh’s full word of encouragement on our podcast.

On Friday, April 7th from 7-8pm, we will gather to reflect on the death of Jesus through song, prayer, reflection and communion. Childcare will be provided for Nursery through Age 3.

Jesus’ life not only ended in a way that surprised everyone, it turned out to be the beginning of something new. What does the end of Jesus’ life have to do with the beginning of ours?

ALL are welcome! Be our guest Easter Sunday April 4th

Gathering // 9a + 11a (Live-streaming our 11a gathering)