Deepening Faith and Growing Friendships

Christians need each other! Our congregation’s small groups offer an important way to learn spiritual truths and to develop interpersonal ties. An overview about our existing groups is at Small Groups | Arlington Church of Christ. I encourage you to participate in at least one. Below are recent developments in three of these.

Reading Circle will discuss C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity via Zoom on March 10 starting at 7 PM. In this classic book Lewis explains why Christianity makes sense. His perspective is that of a scholar who at age 32 was dragged into Christianity like a prodigal, "kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance to escape." Lewis posits that all humans, across cultures, have an intuitive understanding of right and wrong. From this he infers a moral lawgiver: God. This divine being, Lewis explains, is the source of goodness; He created humanity to live in harmony with Him. But our individual lives demonstrate that we often fail to live up to right and wrong. And this is a mess we cannot fix ourselves. So, Jesus Christ, both fully divine and fully human, entered the world to save humanity: his death and resurrection make reconciliation with God possible. God calls Christians in their everyday lives to demonstrate prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude (which Lewis calls “cardinal virtues”) and faith, hope and charity (which Lewis calls “theological virtues”). These virtues involve not mere rule-following but transform the whole person as God re-shapes the Christian into an individual with Christ-like behavior.

Ears to Hear begins watching together and discussing via Zoom Drive Thru History: Acts to Revelation. In this video series, the narrator visits and provides background about sites where New Testament events are said to have occurred. The narration is well-grounded in the Biblical text and offers interesting and accessible insights. This group now meets on Thursdays at 8 PM.

Gathered Singers next meets in person at noon on March 15. Participants in this bilingual group have been learning about singing technique and musical notation. With this knowledge, in upcoming meetings the group will begin work on the separate vocal parts (typically, soprano, alto, tenor and bass) of specific hymns. On March 15, we will focus on the four parts of Robert Lowry’s hymn, Low in the Grave He Lay. We will do this in both English and Spanish.

We have other groups too (about which I know less because I take part only in the three above). Which of our small groups best fits your interests and schedule? Find at least one and participate regularly to grow your faith and circle of friends.