Known: Values | Learning Guide

September 17th, 2023

Text: Exodus 20; Luke 6:17-38 (NET)

Introduction:​

Most nights as we’re putting our kids to sleep, we pray the same prayer: Dear Jesus, Thank you for Charli and Eli. We pray that you give them sweet dreams, and help them grow up to have thick skin, soft hearts, and open minds, and to know and love you. And know that we love them too. Amen.

This ritual prayer reveals the things Tim and I have determined are the most important in our parenting: thick skin (it’s important to not assume offense), soft hearts (we want our hearts to be broken for the people and things God cares for), open minds (curiosity and humility are important), feeling confident in our love for them, and most centrally, knowing and loving God. Our hope as parents is that the repetition of these elements in the prayer roots the ideas in our kids’ hearts and minds, and that they’re conversation starters as they grow up. These are the things we value most.

Like my family’s nightly prayer, there are repeated ideas at Grace that reveal what we care about most and the values that guide our practices.

Join us this weekend as we discuss our values and the role they play in the life of our church.

Laura Holland and the Grace teaching team

Big Idea:

Our values inform our practices, just as our practices reveal our values. Being firmly planted in our values provides the rootedness for curiosity, growing, and, in some cases, changing our mind.

Take Away:

Our values are more than our beliefs. They’re the guiding principles, ideals, and standards that inform our behavior and practices—who we are and what we do.

How does this fit with Belong, Become, Believe?

Our values at Grace can be understood to fall into the categories of belong, become, and believe. We value inclusion, hospitality, authenticity, and curiosity, just to name a few. Inclusion and hospitality are central to belonging. We must feel safe to be authentically ourselves if we’re to become. And curiosity is essential to believing.

What's Next?

Next week we’ll explore our culture at Grace by letting our kids take center stage.

Resources:

To access the Known participant guide, register here: https://beknown.church/known/participants/ You'll be asked to provide your name, email address, and location, and will select "Grace Church NWA" from the dropdown menu when asked for Church Name. For future logins, your email address is your user id.

Once registered you will have access to the Known Tell Your Story: Participant Guide, allowing you to follow along each week, considering your own story through the various lenses through which we'll be telling the story of Grace Church NWA. This is the same curriculum we'll use for our fall Table Group discussions, so you can get a headstart by reflecting on the individual story prompts now.