This week in worship. Our church is in a worship series called Five Promises. 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, 12 of 25, Gifts: Growing Toward a Tithe. A tithe is 10 percent of your income, the biblical standard for generous giving. For most people, tithing is a goal to grow toward over time, not a starting point. Ways to try it. Add 1 percent to your giving this year. Work out what you give now as a percentage of income. Bring it to Soul Tending. Share where you are on the journey toward a tithe and what’s making it hard or hopeful.
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. Be here in body and attention. God is already here.
Be honest. People of faith have long asked: how is your soul?
Keep it private. What’s said here is held in trust before God.
Give everyone space. Leave room for every voice. We need each other’s wisdom.
We Begin (2 min)
We’ll begin with a moment of quiet, and then we’ll pray together.
Gracious God, your Spirit is already in this room. Give us the honesty this hour deserves and the patience each person needs. 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 something you are looking forward to this month?
What is a smell or sound that takes you back?
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)
Where have you felt God’s patience with you?
What is God teaching you to let go of?
Now we’ll notice where God has been showing up.
God Sightings. Where do you see God at work in your life? (25 min)
Who did you see God use this week?
What did God do this week that you nearly missed?
Now we’ll name what we want to hand to God.
Growing in Grace. What challenge are you giving to God? (40 min)
What weight could this group help you carry in prayer?
What is God inviting you toward?
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, we came with full hands and we leave a little freer. Thank you. Go with us into the week. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
McPherson First United Methodist Church · mcphersonfirst.org/gracegroups