This week in worship. Our church is in a worship series called Five Promises. Your group works great on its own, and you are always welcome Sunday at 8:30 or 10:15 AM. Worship is also online at mcphersonfirst.org.
A Grace Group is six to eight people who meet about an hour each week to grow in faith and care for one another. There is no homework and nothing to prepare. We talk honestly, ask a few questions, and pray. You only need to show up and be honest, and everyone is welcome.
A Methodist Way of Making Disciples
Grace Groups recover one of the oldest Methodist practices. Almost three hundred years ago, John Wesley gathered Methodists into small weekly groups that asked one another, “How is it with your soul?” and watched over one another in love. A Grace Group is that same way of making disciples, brought back for today.
The Five Promises
Our five membership promises are also a simple way to talk about our faith journey:
Prayers: connecting with God through prayer, scripture, and listening
Presence: showing up for worship and the life of the church
Gifts: giving to support the church’s mission
Service: finding where you are called to serve
Witness: sharing your faith in word and action
This Week’s Practice, 6 of 25, Presence: Engaged Worship. Worship is not a performance you watch. It is a practice you participate in. The early Methodists believed that what we do together on Sunday shapes who we become the rest of the week. Singing trains the heart. Ways to try it. Sing every song, regardless of whether you know it. Listen as if God might say something to you. Bring it to Soul Tending. Share one moment from worship this week that stood out, even if you can’t say why.
Your Hour Together
Everything for your hour together. The times are a guide, not a rule.
Our Covenant (0 min)
Each time we meet, we say yes to these together.
Show up. Showing up is most of what makes this work.
Be honest. This is a place to be real, not to put on a show.
Keep it private. What is shared here stays here. Trust grows in safe soil.
Give everyone space. Don’t take all the time. Let everyone share.
We Begin (2 min)
We’ll begin with a moment of quiet, and then we’ll pray together.
Gracious God, you gather people who would not otherwise sit together. Thank you for this circle. Make us honest, and make us kind. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Getting to Know One Another (5 min)
We’ll go around the circle. Share your name, then pick one of these to answer.
What is your favorite season, and why?
If you could visit anywhere for just one day, where would you go?
The Three Questions
These three questions are the heart of our time. We’ll move through them in order, and everyone gets a turn. The smaller questions underneath are just to help, and there are no wrong answers.
Soul Tending. How is your faith journey going? (10 min)
What would you say if someone asked how your soul is?
What has grown quietly in you this season?
Now we’ll notice where God has been showing up.
God Sightings. Where do you see God at work in your life? (25 min)
Where has God been faithful when you were not looking?
What have you been grateful for that surprised you?
Now we’ll name what we want to hand to God.
Growing in Grace. What challenge are you giving to God? (40 min)
What are you holding too tightly?
What do you need help asking for?
Connect Back (optional, only if time allows): anyone may briefly name something they heard today that stayed with them. Keep it short, for connection, not advice.
We Close (55 min)
We’ll keep a few moments of quiet now, space to allow what you shared and heard, and how God has been speaking, to settle in your soul, so you can carry it into the days ahead.
. . . a few moments of silence . . .
Faithful God, you have heard every word and the things behind them. Send us out in your peace and keep us near one another. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
McPherson First United Methodist Church · mcphersonfirst.org/gracegroups