Belong Week: Weekly Bible Study

Hello again KCB Blog readers..

It’s Belong Week.. and I’d like to ask.. When you think of “belonging,” what comes to mind? Big crowds all together? Loud moments with others? Maybe something else?.. But the more I think about it, the more I lean towards the quieter side of the word. The small groups.. the deep conversations.. Sometimes “belonging” shows up as a handful of broken people from different backgrounds sharing their experiences together without judgement. And for me, I’ve had the honor of leading a little group just like that for awhile.

A group that’s not about performance, but about experiencing the very presence of God.. and I’m talking about our weekly Bible study here at the Community Center on Thursdays at 11am.

We’ve been doing that for about a year now. Every Thursday, right on the couches here. We’ve done video studies, parables, and right now we’re in a series called “The God Who Is,” looking at one attribute of God each week with a supporting Scripture. We usually have about 5 or 6 people.. sometimes up to 10 on a good week.. and it’s a somewhat consistent group, but we always welcome new faces. Anyone can walk in.. there’s no sign-ups, no pressure to talk.. just opening the Word together and gathering in a space where we can grow.

I wanted to highlight the Bible study this week because although it’s small right now, it’s such a good depiction of what belonging actually is. We open in prayer, everyone gets a voice if they want it, we share experiences around the passage, we eat together, and end with personalized prayer requests. It’s simple, but it’s real. There’s this one neighbor who joins almost weekly.. an atheist. We’ll leave her nameless for privacy, but I know God’s calling her.. and I hope and pray the seeds that are planted stick and grow. Another neighbor often comments on how much it means to him.. that it’s a place where he can come and feel heard and actually take next steps forward.

Isn’t that what belonging is all about? Being able to come as you are and move in the same direction as others?

I think so.. and even though it’s not always the easiest thing to prepare every week, I was called to it. I believe it’s one of the reasons I’m in the position I’m in now. I’ve learned over the course of my life and experiences that faith is more than just a feeling or belief.. its active. A verb. It means hearing the voice of God and saying “yes” without hesitation.

Just today we focused in on how God is “Holy. Holy, Holy.” And how the prophet Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, the train of His robe filling the temple, seraphim crying out that holiness. Isaiah’s first response wasn’t awe or excitement.. it was brokenness. He saw God’s holiness and immediately saw his own sin. “Woe is me!” he said. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” He didn’t try to clean himself up first. He didn’t make excuses. He just owned it.

And yet.. without hesitation, when the Lord asked, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” Isaiah said, “Here am I. Send me.”

That’s what gets me every time I read it. The same man who just called himself ruined, unclean, unworthy.. is the one who steps forward. Not because he's got it all together. Not because he earned it. But because he encountered a holy God who forgives, who touches the coal to his lips and says, “Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” And in that moment, Isaiah is free to say yes.

That’s the invitation in our little Bible study too. We don’t have to come cleaned up. We don’t have to have all the answers or perfect theology. We just have to come. We open the Word, we share what’s real, we pray for each other, and somewhere in the middle of it, God shows up. He meets us in our mess, touches what’s broken, and asks, “Who will go for Me?” And week after week, I see neighbors.. some who are sleeping on the streets, some who are just lonely, some who don’t even believe yet.. quietly saying yes in their own way. Not always with words. Sometimes with showing up again. Sometimes with a tear. Sometimes with a question that hangs in the air. And that right there.. that’s belonging to me. Not having everything figured out, but being in a place where you can be honest about what’s broken and still hear the call to step forward.

It’s a place where neighbors feel seen and connected.. not just to God’s Word, but to each other. Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us.. “Let us consider how to spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.” In context, the writer’s urging believers not to isolate when life gets tough, but to go against those urges and actually gather, build each other up, and remind each other of what’s true. That’s what happens on those couches every Thursday.. spurring each other on, one verse, one prayer at a time.

Every week.. part of my prayer is that these circles continue to grow. And I will keep on praying that prayer even when it does. More people need to know they belong somewhere.. and right here in the heart of Bellflower, is a place where you can belong too.

That’s our Thursday Bible study. Small. Simple. Real.

A place where broken people gather, open the Word, and find they’re not alone. If that sounds like something you need, come see for yourself next Thursday at 11 a.m.

Thanks for reading..

Until next time..