Getting Started This Week | At The Movies | Week 02
July 13 - July 18, 2026
Getting Started | Week 01
Focus of the Week:
Our culture often tells us, "Your past defines you." But in Christ, we are forgiven and released from our past, so we can be set free to experience real, hopeful joy grounded in the present and looking to the future.
Our culture often tells us, "Your past defines you." But in Christ, we are forgiven and released from our past, so we can be set free to experience real, hopeful joy grounded in the present and looking to the future.
Getting Ready For The Week
As we set out this week, we will look at the major themes and process through reflection.
Notes on the practices:
Reflection helps to slow down and be mindful of what is being read. These questions are here to be a guide, not a task. Let the Holy Spirit lead you to whatever He may want to highlight for you specifically.
Getting Started:
Our past is part of our story. It can be hard to let go of, it can hurt, but it can also be transformative. Christ takes who we are, saves us, and then works to change us to be more like Him.
There's no better case study for this than Paul. Philippians 3:5-10 depicts his story. Yet he did not let his past define him. He pressed forward knowing he was forgiven in Christ and called to extend the Gospel to those outside of the Jewish faith.
Paul could have dwelt on the people he chased down, likely tortured, and condemned to death. Yet, Jesus saved him, he was forgiven, and Christ continually worked to make Paul less like his past and more like Him.
Let this be the starting point:
Ask God to reveal one or two things you may be holding onto from your past that you have already been forgiven for and need to let go of this week.
Notes on the practices:
Reflection helps to slow down and be mindful of what is being read. These questions are here to be a guide, not a task. Let the Holy Spirit lead you to whatever He may want to highlight for you specifically.
Getting Started:
Our past is part of our story. It can be hard to let go of, it can hurt, but it can also be transformative. Christ takes who we are, saves us, and then works to change us to be more like Him.
There's no better case study for this than Paul. Philippians 3:5-10 depicts his story. Yet he did not let his past define him. He pressed forward knowing he was forgiven in Christ and called to extend the Gospel to those outside of the Jewish faith.
Paul could have dwelt on the people he chased down, likely tortured, and condemned to death. Yet, Jesus saved him, he was forgiven, and Christ continually worked to make Paul less like his past and more like Him.
Let this be the starting point:
Ask God to reveal one or two things you may be holding onto from your past that you have already been forgiven for and need to let go of this week.
Scriptures For The Week
Scripture helps us hear God and live out His truth. This week we will focus on Scripture that demonstrates God's redemptive power over our past.
- Tuesday | Psalm 30:11-12 - God Redeems
- Wednesday | Hebrews 12:15 - Forgiveness
- Thursday | 1 John 1:9 - Guilt
- Friday | Psalm 34:5 - Shame
- Saturday | Colossians 3:9-11 - New Life
Weekly Memory Verse
Read It Once A Day. Let It Shape How You Think And Pray This Week.
"Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends."
Proverbs 17:9 NLT
Proverbs 17:9 NLT
Reflection
Reflection Helps Us Pause, Listen, And Let God Speak To Our Hearts.
- Is there something from my past I have let define me instead of being defined by who I am in Christ?
- Have I let an instance in my past dictate how I act or will act?
Ready To Begin?
You Don’t Have To Have Everything Figured Out.
Just take the next step.
Just take the next step.
Come Back Tomorrow
This week is about learning to trust God as Lord over all of our life, including our past.
Come back tomorrow as we take the next step together, discovering how we can respond to God's redemptive power of our past.
Come back tomorrow as we take the next step together, discovering how we can respond to God's redemptive power of our past.