Defining moments, the topic of this week's sermon, always seem like such a big thing in my mind. Probably because when I think of the phrase "defining moment," I think of the pivotal point of a story, the point where our protagonist becomes the story’s hero. Now, I know that defining moments can be big or small, and it's not always something as big as “becoming the hero.” As Glenn mentioned, these things can be everything from the Continental Congress, which literally defined our country, to something like choosing to do a study abroad program in college. But there's one defining moment that we all share as Christians: the moment we said “yes” to Christ. After that, our lives completely changed. 

As Pastor Glenn was preaching, I started thinking about how our culture impacts, shapes, and adds to our definition of identity. Culture, and how to engage culture, is something we've been discussing at Grace Downtown for years. It was the topic of our 2014 Fall Retreat, and we've had panels, discussions, and dinners centered around cultural intelligence. <strong>The culture we come from impacts the way we think, the jargon we use, how we drive, and how we approach relationships.</strong> We let our cultural identity set the tone for many of our social norms. Do we let our spiritual identity have the same weight? 

<blockquote>God’s faithfulness to us does not depend on our faithfulness to him.</blockquote>

Our worldview is so heavily impacted by culture, yet our entire understanding of life is impacted by the faith and grace that comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ. <strong>Why, then, do I feel like there's a disconnect between the two?</strong> At least in my own life, I feel like religion has always been a part of my life but I don't allow it to be as all-consuming as I probably should, for fear of offending someone who thinks differently, or for fear of being discounted for what I believe. The thing is, <strong>despite my fear and my hesitations, God will be faithful</strong>. I feel like Glenn has said this before, but he mentioned it again in his sermon this week: God's faithfulness to us does not depend on our faithfulness to him. I let fear hold me back (even though I shouldn't). I let my broken and sinful worldview shape my engagement with this city. But God can and will still use me to carry out his plan. 

So as we move forward, how are we going to let our culture as Christians impact our engagement with D.C.? How are we going to let our choice to follow Jesus shape how we see not only the world around us, but also how we see ourselves? 

<em>This week's sermon response comes from Grace Downtown member Katie.</em>

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