Howdy, Zion folks. This is Pastor Kyle. I'm the new discipleship pastor here at Zion. And most of you don't know me and I don't know you, and hopefully that will change. But I wanted to make a connection and at least introduce myself to you very briefly and sort of, uh, in an informal way. My hair is a little janky. That's pretty much par for the course for me, I guess. But I wanted to share with you something of my heart as, as I, um, kind of immerse myself into this community here. And for me, as a discipleship pastor, fundamentally, discipleship is not about doing more Christian things. It's about being. About learning to be with the Lord and with one another, and to find our hope, our peace, and our identity in Christ. That's fundamentally what, um, what I'm all about.

And I think of, uh, like Genesis, the creation story. Adam and Eve were created on day six. Their first day of life is a day of rest. Their first day of life as humanity is not to do things for God, not to do things at all, but to rest. And fundamentally, that sets the tone for what our identity is. We are people made to rest in the Lord. To find our dependency in God. Jesus begins the Beatitudes, which I think the Beatitudes in the Gospel of Matthew set the tone for what discipleship is. And the very first one is, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." Not blessed are the proud, not blessed are the strong, not blessed are the capable, the poor in spirit who see their need and live in it. And that's what I'm all about, and that's what I hope to cultivate with us together as a community of faith in Christ, is a community of people who are rooted in their identity, in their dependence on Christ for all things. And in that, it's the great equalizer. We are no different in our need for God. And to lean into that, and to live into that is the task of discipleship.

I'm a very, uh, old soul, I guess. You might call it traditional or orthodox or contemporary or, or not contemporary, liturgical, I guess. And so I want to leave you with a, a liturgy that I, uh, compiled. And uh, it's a prayer for us for today. And I want to leave you with that as, as I sign off. And so you can listen along, you can close your eyes and pray along, um, but I hope this liturgy meets you in your day today.

Today is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad for this day. We live in this day with a spectrum of thoughts, emotions, worries, and anticipation. May the spirit of the Lord meet us in our hearts today. God welcomes us all as his children into his presence. And so may we find peace and assurance because the Lord is with us.

Look upon us with mercy, Lord. We are human. We are incapable of stopping time, slowing our aging bodies, or escaping death. If we live today with anxiety or stress, calm our hearts, Lord. If we live with anger or bitterness, soften us with forgiveness. If we live with joy and gladness, may we brighten the lives of, of those around us. If we live today with sickness or pain, soothe our lives with the healing of your presence in our suffering. If we live today with uncertainty, remind us that you are the God of the future. May we be mindful of this time today, Lord. Cast away distraction and help us to bring our concerns and worries to you. Bless us with your goodness, oh Christ. Set our minds on Jesus, who is our hope and the way of abundant life. Amen.

I hope to see you around soon. I hope to get to know you more soon, but for now, go in the peace of Christ today.