This year’s Laity Sunday theme is: Rise Up! And Revive God’s Gift. The focus is on rekindling the fire of faith that lived in the hearts and practices of those who have loved us into faithful and responsive life in Jesus Christ.

We Christians claim and sing that “I am the church! You are the church! We are the church together!” Then, what do we mean by it? What is the reason that Jesus Christ wants us to do ministries? This Sunday, we are going to listen to what the Bible has to say about these two questions through the story from Mark 10:46-52.

Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny yourself and take up your cross and follow Me.” How can I deny myself and crucify my ego on the cross? It does not happen over night. It takes daily spiritual exercise. This Sunday, we are going to learn the followings from Philippians 2:1-11:
1. John Wesley’s spiritual disciplines
2. the reason for daily spiritual exercise
3. the essence of spiritual discipline.

Jesus said, “Take your cross and follow Me.” What does He mean by it? This Sunday, we are going to learn what it means to take our cross and follow Jesus Christ as His disciples.

How you do respond to your emotions when you’ve lost your beloved one? What would God want us to do when we know someone who lost their beloved ones? What does God do when we are grieving over the loss of our beloved ones? We are going to learn what the Bible has to say about these questions this week.

Why do we need to read the Bible and meditate on It? Because the Bible says so? Is it a good enough reason for you? Is it motivating enough for you? We are going to learn what it is so good about reading the Bible and meditating on It this Sunday.

God teaches us three disciplines about how to be effective listeners through James 1:19-20. Last Sunday, we learned the background of the Letter of James and the first discipline. And this Sunday, we are going to learn two other discipline.

In “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” Stephen Covey states, “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” Are you really listening or just waiting to talk? There’s a difference. How can we be effective listeners in order to build stronger relationships with one another? We are going to listen to what the Bible has to say about it this week.