Grace and Peace to you on this beautiful Saturday. I’m glad we spent the week together in the Pastor’s Workshop. “Working” and “walking” through the Scripture together is always a blessing.

On Saturday we join in a ‘prayer to prepare’. We know worship is more than the preacher talking and people listening. Worship is about God working! By the Spirit, God is growing up grace in our lives. Through prayer we want to be ready to participate.

This week’s challenge is about making healthy choices for our minds. Our theme verse was Romans 12:2 – be transformed by the renewing of your minds. When God redeems it’s not simply about our souls. It’s also about our bodies and minds, so that we might live more fully today.

We looked at three areas for possible positive change: knowledge, wisdom and understanding. These were drawn from Proverbs 2:6 (one of our focus Scripture verses).

· With knowledge: How do you want to ‘grow in what you know’? What do you want to ‘focus on’? Is there anything you need to ‘filter out’? Good, healthy information leads to positive, personal transformation.

· With wisdom: How you can you use what you know to serve and bless others and also glorify God? Your expertise can be a ministry with others. You can share in a way that others experience God’s care. How might you use what you know?

· With understanding: As you review your basic assumptions (beliefs) about life, God, yourself and others in light of God’s truth in Christ, how might that renew your mind in God’s transforming love?

When we start “renewing our minds” with God’s transforming truth there is a lot to think about (and to pray about)!

Even as you prepare with prayer, know that God hears and answers. God is a God of grace. It is God’s will to grow you and me up in that grace in Christ. God wants to equip and enable us to be the blessings we were created to be. Renewing our minds in Christ, as our Way, Truth and Life is a gift God gives.

In that faith, I look forward to prayer today and worship tomorrow!

See you then!

Prayer: Gracious God, thank you for the gift of our minds. We praise you for the blessings you give: in how we can grow in what we know, be wise to live in your ways, and come to understand the depth of your Kingdom’ purpose in us. For your transforming truth that would refresh and renew our minds in you today and always, we bless you, through Jesus Christ our Light of Truth and Life. Amen