THE 5:14 JOURNEY STRATEGY SUMMARY

“The 5:14 Journey—Take the Next Step”

Galatians 5:14 teaches us that: “The whole law can be summed up in this one command:

‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

What is “The 5:14 Journey”? Christians are called to love our neighbors. Our vision is to constantly and continually build redemptive relationships with our neighbors. A “neighbor” is anyone we’re around where we live or work, at the gym or pool, the parents of our children’s friends and teammates; cashiers at stores we frequent, the mailman, trashman, or FedEX deliveryman—literally anyone with whom we regularly come in contact.

For many of us, knowing how to love our neighbor doesn’t come naturally; we need help learning how. We also need encouragement, and it’s very motivational when there’s a ground-swell of many people taking similar faith-steps together. So this summer we’re devoting four weeks to try as a church to take the next step—whatever that may be—to “love our neighbor”. We believe that God will be glorified and we will be encouraged as together we focus on loving our neighbors.

How will we do this? Each week the sermon will focus on an element of love: love speaks, love prays, love welcomes, love serves, and love witnesses. Each of these elements will be illustrated with real-life stories from our TCC family. Then, each of us will return to our neighborhoods with an assignment which is within our reach—yet which will stretch our faith. Our assignments will focus on building relationships. They will not be random or anonymous acts, but person-to-person connections. Already feeling stretched?! Not to worry—the 5:14 Journey is just four weeks long. We can do this!

What will be the result? Well, for starters, our neighbors will be loved! And God will be glorified. And us?—we’ll experience joy. Philippians 2:2 teaches that our joy becomes “complete” when we are “intent on one purpose”. So, expect increased faith, boldness, and others-centeredness. In some cases, the ultimate act of love—evangelism—will no doubt also take place.

Ready? Since “love welcomes”, this week as you take your walk in the “neighborhood” pray silently for an opportunity to extend a welcome to a neighbor. If you see anyone you already know, stop, chat, and invite them to have coffee with you. If you meet someone new—learn their name, chat a bit, and if possible, invite them to have coffee with you. Love welcomes—it’s that simple!

Learn more about The 5:14 Journey.

APPLICATION / CHALLENGE

• Invite a “neighbor” to have coffee with you or to a July 4th cook-out.
• Use your home (boat, pool, gear, etc.) in some way to show hospitality to a neighbor.
• Help show hospitality to international student leaders (At: tcc.org, keyword: Romans).
• Tell us your stories—and hear from others—on social media using #TCC514 with Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter OR submit your story through our TCC514 Stories form OR email at TCC514@tcc.org.

TAKE ONE STEP

Each week, write down one doable concrete step of obedience, small or large  that you will put into practice this week. (James 1:22: “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”)