Becoming Rooted - Connecting with God, Your Church, and Your Purpose

Recently, my wife and I attended a 10 week program in our church (Trader's Point). This program is called Rooted, and it's meant for anyone who wants to grow in their relationship with Jesus. In our church it is divided into Men/Women/Couples groups and you get to choose which group you'd like to join. During these 10 weeks you'll grow closer to God, your church, your purpose, and you'll get very close to your group buddies. It is even likely that you'd like to continue meeting with them after the experience is over.

Rooted is accompanied by a book that you'll be following. For obvious reasons, I can't detail all of our experience, but I'll try to do my best at describing key aspects and why we felt so much closer to each other and to God after this experience.

Week 1 - What is Rooted?

Rooted consists of 7 Rhythms, as they were first modeled by the early church in Acts 2. These 7 Rhythms are Daily Devotion, Prayer, Repentance, Sacrificial Generosity, Serve the Community, Share Your Story, and Worship.

"In a world marked by constant change where we are surrounded by chaos and confusion, our attention pulled in every which way, God's Word clearly lays the foundation for transformational Christian living. With our eyes set on Him (Hebrews 12:2) and our roots in the Truth of God's Word (Colossians 3:16), we can be sure God will produce the kind of life-change that will echo through His Kingdom for generations to come." (The Rooted book)

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
Colossians 3:16

The purpose of Rooted isn't just bible reading, or making friends in the church you belong to. It is to transform lives. By rooting ourselves in God's Word and His truths, we have a firm foundation on which we love the world. Every week you'll be asked to try and memorize a verse that's relevant to that week's topic. As you go through the next week's reading and questions, try to tie them back to the verse yourself, and see if your thoughts align with the book's.

If you consider joining Rooted, please be aware that it is not a small commitment, and that you will be required to attend at least 8 of the 10 meetings, otherwise you'll be asked to join at a later time that will fit your schedule. Come to these meetings with an open heart and mind, and the wonderful goodness of God will overwhelm you and be shown to you in many ways.

I should mention that being from Israel, from a non-believing culturally Jewish household, and growing up with Hebrew as my native tongue, have helped me bring a unique perspective into these meetings, and have - in general - helped me expand the discussion about scripture, whether it's with my wife, our friends, or with strangers.
I invite you to think about the unique perspectives that you can bring to discussions about God and His Word. What could they be? Maybe it's an experience from your past, or dreams that you've been having, or anything that could feel relevant, good or bad. The purpose of Rooted is not to judge your experience, but expand others' understanding of God and to provide them with tools to get closer to His Truth. Trust is built across time, but I encourage you to be a waymaker in your honesty and transparency as you go about Rooted, it will make it so much more impactful for you and your group.