What does it mean to live in the Spirit? What difference does living in the Spirit make to our world? How does living in the Spirit impact your life, if at all? 

We talk a lot, in the Church, about living in the Spirit. But, if studies are to be believed, people outside of the Christian faith don’t see any difference in how we live. What they do see—and many of those leaving churches at an unprecedented rate see it too—is a Church that proclaims one thing, but lives something completely different: something that barely resembles the life of the Spirit that Jesus proclaimed and demonstrated.

Nevertheless, a Spirit-regulated life is an important mark of genuine followers of Christ. And those who live authentically and wholeheartedly under the Spirit’s influence leave a positive impact on their world and on the people around them. They use their voice for justice, their energy for compassion, and their faith as a source of wisdom and courage to work for a society of love and justice in their own small, but significant ways.  

And that’s why I am so excited to share this new Liturgical and Devotional Guide from Sacredise: 

Spirited
Living a Spirit-Regulated Life

It’s a resource that offers prayers, liturgies, rituals, and sermon-starters for the six weeks from Pentecost Sunday to Proper 7. It is based on the Gospel Readings from the Revised Common Lectionary for Year B, and is designed to help you transition from the first half of the Liturgical Year, which focusses on the Christ event, into Ordinary Time, when we apply the teachings and example of Christ to our own lives and world. And it equips you to set your church on a journey of deepening discipleship through the rest of the Ordinary Time season.

Spirited is more than a resource for worship and preaching. It is a manual for practical, everyday, Christlike living, empowered by the Spirit. And it addresses some of the challenging realities of our world:

● How to choose love over law
● How to discern the difference between good and evil in a world where they too easily get confused
● How to resist the urge to bring change through coercion and domination
● How to find a centre of calm in the midst of the chaos and turbulence of contemporary life. 

Spirited offers everything you need to create a meaningful and inspiring Season of Spirit with empowering, challenging, and life-enriching worship, preaching, and devotional practices.

Ordinary Time can be a meaningful and transforming season as we deepen our commitment to the reign of God even more.
And Spirited ensures that you are well-equipped for the journey. 

Spirited
is available in three options:

LIFE AFTER LOSS
Liturgical Guide includes:
● Purpose written prayers and liturgies for every Sunday from Pentecost Sunday to Proper 7B;
● Sermon Starters for every service of the series;
● Gathering, Responding, and Integrating liturgies for all services in the series;
● A theme-based Table Liturgy that can be used at any service;
● Theme-based graphics for your projection software, including welcome screens and backgrounds for song lyrics, liturgies, and sermon notes.

LIFE AFTER LOSS
Devotional Guide includes:
● Preparing, Responding, and Integrating practices for every day to help you enter into your devotional practice as deeply and mindfully as possible; 
● Copies of the Sermon Starters for each service for easy reference while doing your daily practice; 
● Daily reflection questions to enable you to listen more deeply to the message of the Scriptures and apply it to your life and relationships.
LIFE AFTER LOSS
Bundle includes:
Designed for communities that want to journey together, while also providing a meaningful personal journey for congregation members, the Bundle includes both the Liturgical and the Devotional Guides. It also includes a license to share the Devotional Guide through any or all of the following channels: 
● Printed handouts to distribute to congregation members; 
● Digital copies sent to members via email; 
● Posted on your church's social media channels; 
● Posted on your church's website.

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Spirited
includes the following chapters:

Pentecost Sunday B: Advocate
Pentecost is not about an absent Spirit becoming present. It’s about unaware human beings becoming aware of the Spirit’s presence within us, among us, and around us. It’s learning that there is nowhere we can go that God’s Spirit cannot reach us. And it’s becoming, in ourselves, little incarnations, embodying the divine Life and Being in our own frail humanity.

Trinity Sunday B: Mystery
But just imagine what might be possible if we allowed ourselves and one another to embrace the concept of Trinity as a doorway into mystery. Imagine what might happen if we were to accept God’s invitation to follow the unpredictable impulses of Spirit into a more grounded and calm experience of life, a more open and accepting approach to relationships, and a more resilient capacity to navigate the unpredictability of our world.

Proper 4B: Improv
When Jesus crossed lines, he did it thoughtfully, purposely, and for the sake of people in need. It was always selfless and generous. This is the way of the Spirit. The unpredictable wind-like Spirit crosses lines and improvises easily and without shame or doubt, but always in service of humanity, always for the sake of the greater good.

Proper 5B: Unforgivable?
One of the qualities we most need in our world today is the ability to discern the difference between good and evil. When the things we view as good are denounced as evil and the things we know are evil are celebrated as good, our society breaks down to a devastating extent. That’s why we need those who embrace the way of the Spirit, who can see evil clearly, who will stand up for good bravely, and who will cut through the lies and corruption.

Proper 6B: Unstoppable
God’s reign is present and at work within us and among us. It cannot be stopped and it cannot be destroyed. Wherever love and justice are manifest, God’s reign is present. And all we can do is notice and participate, and then allow the Spirit to transform us into people who embody God’s reign in our thoughts, attitudes, relationships, and actions.

Proper 7B: Calm
Storms will come, but we do not have to be overcome by them. We have the presence and resources of the Spirit to strengthen and guide us. We have relationships to comfort and support us. And we have the gift of a faith that can help us find a centre of calm even in our storms. And as we learn to embrace these gifts, we discover the goodness of living by the Spirit’s rhythms and wisdom.