Elizabeth O'Connor writes that the members of the Church of the Saviour in Washington DC "are committed to being a people on an inward journey and a people on an outward journey". This, she says describes "what the Christian life is all about".

The inward journey involves growing in self-knowledge and in our relationship with God. We give attention to this aspect of our Christian lives through prayer, worship, reading the Bible and other devotional practices.

But the inward journey alone is only half of the story. O'Connor says that "if prayer does not drive us out into some concrete involvement at a point of the world's need, then we must question prayer." In a sense, the inward and outward journeys need each other - they each strengthen and make the other possible.

This Sunday, we conclude our preaching series on "Hearing God" by focusing on the outward journey. We have thought about how God speaks to us individually through the Scriptures and through God's still, small voice. We turn our attention this week to how God calls us as a church and calls each of us individually into mission and ministry for the sake of the world. What does the outer journey look like for you at this time in your life?