For me, Saturday mornings typically get launched via Bible-study, coffee, and conversation with the guys in the covenant group I meet with at 7:00.

Our purpose is to encourage one-another as disciples, to study scripture together, and to support one-another in prayer. Wake Forest Presbyterian now has two such men’s groups meeting Saturday mornings, and one Wednesday evenings – plus the larger, traditional, Friday morning gathering.

Our vision for the covenant groups is to keep them small, keep multiplying, and build a flexible ministry model that not only equips men who want to be more deliberate disciples, but also reaches men who are standing on the sidelines, unsure of how to respond to God’s invitation.

SPIRITUAL LIFE? This morning we looked at Philippians 1:12-26. The whole passage is inspirational, but a lot of our conversation seemed to emerge out of verse 20, where Paul wrote, “It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death.”

We talked about the sense of duality so many of us operate under so much of the time. We’ve all heard the expression, “Your/my/our spiritual life,” as if there is A) Our actual life, and then, B) Our spiritual life. But Paul’s writing suggests that it is all, simply, “Life.” As disciples there is no room for duality; there is no “Following Jesus” plan that allows for compartmentalization.

If we are Followers of the Living Way of Jesus, then Jesus isn’t “Plan-B,” our “Last resort,” the “Fallback position,” or “Something we turn to if we find ourselves in the hole, or out of other options…”

No, Jesus is indispensable, no matter what it going on. Jesus is not separate from any element of our life. “Christ is exalted” – or otherwise – because we tend to tell the truth about our faith simply via the manner in which we live.

VISION: The glasses I wear have these progressive lenses; so they’re on all the time. The first thing I do in the morning is to reach out my hand, grab the glasses, and put them on my face; it’s the only way I can see with any real clarity. That’s how I need to look at the world with Jesus. I need to somehow grab my Jesus glasses, put them on my face, and look through a world-view that’s watermarked, clearly, J-E-S-U-S.

 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light…” (Matt 6:22)

I’ve been involved with small groups for many years now. And I’ve got to tell you, this kind of encouragement, and support, and accountability – from my brothers – has got to be one of the key reasons I understand exactly what Paul was talking about when he wrote:

I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me. (Philippians 1:3-7)

– DEREK