There’s a moment in Luke’s Gospel when everything makes a decisive turn. It’s understated—easy to miss—but it changes the whole story: “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51)
That line has been lingering with me since Mackenzie preached from it as we prayed over children preparing for PASSPORTkids!
“Setting your face forward” sounds dramatic. But it’s not always a grand gesture. Sometimes it looks like zipping up a suitcase for the first time without your parents. Or saying yes to a calling that’s been quietly growing for years. Sometimes it means choosing kindness when you could just as easily scroll past.
Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem. Around here, I’ve seen faces set forward toward Montreat, Hillsborough, the Attic, the fellowship hall, and the American Tobacco Trail.
This month, we keep walking.
Forward in Faith
Our elementary kids head to PASSPORTkids! in early July. Camp shows young people that faith is walkable, that being a Christian is daily commitment to trust God again. Many will come back with something planted deep inside them. Forward-facing faith when you’re eight years old and your sunscreen smells like bubblegum.
Then, the next generation steps forward. Twenty-three youth from Yates travel mid-July to PASSPORTmissions. While they’re away, our church hosts a creative service project: making fidget blankets for dementia patients, partnering with Connecting with Threads and the Triangle Nonprofit Leadership Center.
A sewing circle turned sacred ground. Our young people will stitch memory into motion and mercy into fabric. Setting your face forward—with a glue gun in one hand and purpose in the other.
Holy Ground in Hard Places
Sunday, July 20, we set our faces toward Orange County Correctional Center to worship alongside the men there. Every visit leaves a mark. The Holy Spirit moves in that chapel in ways that are raw, real, and unexpected. We’ll sing, share snacks, and remember that no locked door can keep God out (John 20:19). Not easy work, but this is what forward-facing love looks like.
Later this month, we ordain Jane Williams to ministry. Jane has walked faithfully for years—through hospitals, retreats, alongside spiritual seekers and hurting people. Her calling has not been a lightning bolt, but a steady ember. This month, we fan it into flame (2 Timothy 1:6). Jane set her face years ago. Now we affirm what’s already begun.
Planted Here
In worship, we continue our Planted Here series with stories about setting faces toward grace. July’s theme is Planting and Listening. We’ll meet Naaman, a decorated general who discovers that healing sometimes means turning toward something absurdly simple—like dunking yourself seven times in a muddy river (2 Kings 5).
We’ll travel a bumpy road with the Good Samaritan, where mercy shows up from an unexpected ZIP code (Luke 10:25–37). Then we’ll step into Mary and Martha’s living room, where Jesus invites us to turn away from performance and toward presence—without proving our worth by the number of side dishes we’ve prepared (Luke 10:38–42).
By month’s end, we’ll watch the disciples set their faces toward Jesus and ask him to teach them how to pray—only to receive something that sounds like trust in daily doses, not performance on demand (Luke 11:1–13).
Each story asks the same question we’re asking this month: Where is God calling you to turn? The Spirit is speaking. Our job is to listen.
Freedom That Serves
Right in the middle of it all, the Fourth of July rolls around—our annual celebration of independence and freedom. While we give thanks for civic liberty, we remember that Christian freedom doesn’t shout, it serves. It’s less about fireworks and more about footwashing. Less about declaring ourselves free, more about choosing to be bound in love to our neighbors.
Paul’s words still ring true: “For freedom Christ has set us free…only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.” (Galatians 5:1,13)
Setting Our Face
What does it mean—for us—to set our face forward this month?
It might mean showing up for someone else’s moment. Or sitting still long enough to hear something you’ve been trying to ignore. It might mean letting go of a perfectly reasonable excuse, and walking into the thing God keeps nudging you toward. It might mean mentoring a youth. Learning a name you’ve overlooked. Or just staying put long enough to grow. We don’t set our face because we feel ready. We do it because God is already there, ahead of us, preparing the road.
So pick up the thread. Lace up the sneakers. Pour the lemonade. Hug the kid who just got back from camp. Walk into July with your face set in the direction grace is already moving—one stitch, one step, one yes at a time.
Grace & Peace,