Growing in Christ

April 29, 2026 / by Pastor Scott Boerckel

Living things grow. Here in the spring, we see all kinds of life and growth. Why is it that many Christians grow stagnant in their relationship with Christ?

Too often, that leads to spiritual deadness that Jesus points out to the church in Sardis. Jesus says, “You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” (Revelation 3:1) We do not want merely the reputation of being an alive church or of being an alive Christian. We want to grow in Christ! In this edition of the OakLeaf, you will discover some ways to enliven your relationship with Christ.

As I have pondered this topic of Growing in Christ, it occurred to me that too many Christians grow old rather than grow up. Without intentional attention, we can easily fall into a spiritual malaise that leads to dryness that leads to what Jesus calls deadness. How can we focus intentionally on our growing in Christ? While that is a huge topic that involves both our individual relationship with Christ and our engaging in our pathways of discipleship with others, I want to point out just a couple of exercises that you can do individually that can jump start your growing in Christ.

First, spend time in God’s Word. This is where you will experience God communicating with you. If you have not done so, join our Read Through the Bible program this year, reading the “One Year Chronological Bible.” Don’t worry that you did not start on January 1. Just pick up today and start reading. That reading plan is available on the YouVersion app.

Second, memorize God’s Word. As a church, we are committed to scripture memory and have set out several verses that your elders believe that everyone should memorize. Those verses are: Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23; Romans 5:8; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 1:12; John 3:16; 1 John 1:9; 1 John 5:14-15; Psalm 119:9,11; John 14:21; Joshua 1:8; Acts 1:8; Matthew 4:19

Third, put on the full armor of God. Paul reminds us that in this life, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but that there are spiritual forces arrayed against the believer. As such, we need to have our spiritual armor on. Ephesians 6:10-20 provides clear guidance in that spiritual armor. It would be a good discipline to read that paragraph once a week, praying that the Lord might bless you as you put on your spiritual armor.

Finally, take time to pray. Prayer is the means by which we communicate with God. The “ACTS” acronym is helpful as a guide to our prayers:

Adoration—taking time to praise our triune God
Confession—expressing our sorrow over our sins and agreeing with God about them
Thanksgiving—telling the Lord specific ways that we are thankful to Him
Supplication—praying for others around us who have need of God’s tender care

Again, in this edition of the OakLeaf, you will discover many more ways to grow in Christ. Let’s not become idle or grow weary. Let’s not grow dry or even dead. Rather, let’s follow our Lord Jesus’ counsel to that church at Sardis: “Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die… Remember what you have received and heard. Keep it, and repent…He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelation 3:2,3,6.

Scott loves being a pastor and teaching God’s Word. Before he was a pastor, he worked as a ceramic engineer (and bonus points for anyone who actually knows what that is). He sometimes uses the training that he received at the University of Illinois (Go Illini!), Grace Theological Seminary, and Jerusalem University College. Scott’s wife, Carol, is an awesome watercolor artist who really knows how to think Christianly about the arts. Scott likes cycling with friends, enjoying his ever growing family, and learning from the community of God’s people at East White Oak.