RETREAT | Introduction to the Heart

Introduction to the Heart: If following Christ is all grace, why does it feel like so much work? It can be exhausting to be a follower of Christ. With daily personal worship, evangelism, service ministry, Sunday worship, SP groups, discipleship groups, and whatever other personal church ministries you might be involved in, is our focus in this life really where God wants it to be? Is this the life "to the full" Jesus mentions in John 10:10? We tend to measure spiritual maturity in terms of what we know (theology, bible history, etc.) and what we do (quiet time, evangelism, service, etc.). These are all great things, but God's "first and greatest" commandment is simply to love God (Matthew 22:37-38), and the fruit of the spirit (our desired spiritual destination) is a list of character attributes (Galatians 5:22-23). The truth is, we have a God who is more interested in relationships and our hearts than information or performance. Is how we pursue God - in personal worship, in discipleship, in our relationships, even in how we see the world - consistent with that truth? Do we even know how to pursue these things? Introduction to the Heart is a one day mini-retreat focused on raising awareness of the workings and importance of the heart - the thing God cares about most and the thing that gives us life in this world. We attempt to do that though a combination of scripture study, teaching, discussion, film clips, and silent, personal, spiritual reflection times. This is intended to be a discovery experience, not a study of theology or a skills workshop, although much scripture will be referenced, and many skills will be discussed. Come and learn about the freedom and peace that comes from being the whole-hearted man or woman that God made you to be. Registration has a fee of $15 that is used to pay for a printed and a pdf copy of an 80+ page guidebook for use during and after the retreat, lunch on site, and coffee during the day (you get all of these whether you pay or not). Scholarships are available if needed (contact info@spcommunity.org for more information). If you register, we ask that you commit to being present at the retreat for the entire day with only emergency use of your phone. Registration closes at midnight on Sunday, Nov 1st.