{"id":407,"date":"2017-08-29T20:46:27","date_gmt":"2017-08-29T20:46:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/missions.nalcnetwork.com\/?p=407"},"modified":"2017-08-15T20:54:42","modified_gmt":"2017-08-15T20:54:42","slug":"graying-in-grace-bible-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/missions.nalcnetwork.com\/graying-in-grace-bible-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Graying in Grace Bible Study"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It is our joy and privilege to present this free resource to all of our congregations in the NALC. \u00a0Many of our congregations, leaders, and lay people have articulated the need for such a resource.<\/p>\n

\u00a0We are grateful to Pastor Hales for donating his time to share this resource. \u00a0In the introduction, he writes:<\/p>\n

In Psalm 71:17-18 it is written, “O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.”<\/em><\/p>\n

We\u2019re never too old to grow in our relationship with the Lord and share the \u201cGood News\u201d of Jesus Christ, are we? Aging is a part of life, and the psalmist reminds us that God will continue to walk with us and use us to grow Christ\u2019s Kingdom. And this is done is by becoming disciples and making disciples for Jesus.<\/p>\n

The facts are clear. America is aging at a rapid rate. Daily, 10,000 people are turning 65 years of age. By 2060 almost 100 million people in the United States will be 60 years old or more. e fastest growing population within the older realm will be those individuals 85 years and above. And then there is the church. e church is already feeling the e ects of the \u201cage wave.\u201d e average congregational member is in his or her 60s. When you walk into many of our parishes a \u201csea of gray\u201d overwhelms the pews; the shouts and laughter of young children are seldom heard.<\/p>\n

Some would surmise this is the reason the church is declining. Some would suggest that simply hiring a youth director would attract young families with children. While a possibility, this\u00a0is not realistic in the majority of our congregations. We simply need to change our way of thinking. Instead of looking negatively upon an aging church, we should begin to see the possibilities for evangelism, discipleship and renewal. As the general popula<\/p>\n

tion grows older, why can\u2019t the church use this resource to grow\u00a0\u201cmature disciples\u201d and bring about \u201cvibrancy\u201d within the life of the Body?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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This is the focus of our Bible study: Assisting older adults in clinging to the faithful promises of God, and \u201cwalking alongside\u201d those who want to grow into \u201cmature disciples.\u201d Because as we grow into the discipleship of Jesus Christ, we will have several opportunities to disciple others. As it is written in Isaiah 46:3-4:<\/p>\n

\u201cListen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house
\nof Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.\u201d<\/p>\n

To download the entire Bible Study Packet, please click here: \u00a0Graying in Grace Bible Study.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is our joy and privilege to present this free resource to all of our congregations in the NALC. \u00a0Many of our congregations, leaders, and lay people have articulated the need for such a resource.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":409,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/missions.nalcnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Graying-in-Grace.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/missions.nalcnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/missions.nalcnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/missions.nalcnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missions.nalcnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missions.nalcnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/missions.nalcnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missions.nalcnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/missions.nalcnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missions.nalcnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missions.nalcnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}