Known: Essentials | Learning Guide

Known: Essentials

October 8th, 2023

Introduction:​

For a certain season of my life, everything revolved around one specific little book, the Texas Parks and Wildlife annual hunting and fishing guide. Long before the internet, I depended on this yearly offering to plan out my life from September to January. The opening of dove season central zone, bow season whitetails, bag limits for ducks on the coast, South Texas opening day… all were poured over, planned out and prepped for. Work, weddings, vacations, birthday parties, even Thanksgiving and Christmas were affected by the sacred dates listed in the oracle. Among the group I hunted with it was understood you didn’t ever , ever offer anything to conflict with an opening day.

But of course the calendar wasn’t the thing, it was the thing the calendar called attention to, what it signified the start of and the end of.

We all live by calendars of different sorts, school, sports, holiday, political and personal ones. They all show in some manner the things that define our life, what is essential to us. This week, we wrap up our introduction to the Known curriculum by asking, what is essential? To understand that, we’re going to take a look at our calendars.

Grace and Peace Y'all,

John Ray and the Teaching Team

Big Idea:

How we organize and plan our lives reflects what is essential to us.

Take Away:

A liturgical calendar is a way of constant and consistent renewalIt keeps Jesus at the center of our conversation, community, actions, attitudes. It gives us a consistent, practical and communal point of orientation.

How does this fit with Belong, Become, Believe?

Welcoming people to participate, to be part of our celebrations and observances is part of our way of practicing belonging to God and each other. These practices help us become more and more like Jesus and form and are informed by the things we confess we believe.

What's Next?

Exodus 31:17 (NET)