Hello everyone.. here are some announcements of things that are coming up...
Wednesday March 26th (tomorrow) - Home Group - We are meeting at the Visio Dei Building with the Oberlin Group. We will be meeting at 7:00 pm at the building. If you would like to make a snack or bring something to share that would be great.
Saturday March 29th - Kickball Tournament - We are having hotdogs and hamburgers afterwards (I think). This is to support the African Hope Center. Talk to Corey for more details... coreypaxton@gmail.com
Saturday night Silver is also playing at the Lincoln Theater. I think they are playing at 10:00 pm. Email John Enzor for more information john.enzor@gmail.com
Sunday March 30th - Visio Dei Service - Joseph from the African Hope Center will be speaking at the Visio Dei Service. After the 11:00 service we will have a potluck. Bring something to share. Again talk to Corey for more details...coreypaxton@gmail.com
Wednesday April 2nd - Home Group - Same time but DIFFERENT place. We will be meeting at Erin MacDermut's new place. Address is 105 Adventure Trail Cary 27513. We will be having dinner together since it is the first Wednesday of the month. If you want to eat together come at 6:30. If you don't come about 7:00-7:30.
We NEED someone willing to organize the dinner part. So if you are interested email Mandy...mrsdanielglennsmith@gmail.com
Sunday April 6th - Visitor Reception - after the 11:00 am service for about 20 minutes.
Julianne is attending this for our Home Group. Thanks Julianne!!!
Saturday May 3rd - Aids Walk+Ride SIGN UP here
Sunday May 4th - Leadership Development - 4:00-6:00 pm.
Ok if I forgot something - I apologize. Post it yourself or add a comment with the event and information!
See ya'll tomorrow night!
Enjoy the Sunshine
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
James 5 - Recap
Tonight we wrapped up the book of James by discussing James 5.
Some of the words that stood out were as follows:
Some of the words that stood out were as follows:
- Perseverance
- Eat your flesh like fire
- Patience
- Luxury and Self-indulgence
- Job
- Pray
- The Lord's coming
James points out that all of our material possesions will waste away. He also points out here that God pays attention to injustice. He tells his readers to be patient and that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. He charges us to pray for one another and confess to one another without judgment.
It occurred to someone in the group that we (Americans) may, on the global scale, be the "rich people" that James refers to in the first section. We spent a lot (okay, all) of our time talking about ways that we are part of a system that, wittingly or not, oppresses certain people in order to gain more wealth. We were forced to ask the question, "In what ways have I at least helped to "[condemn] and [murder] innocent men, who were not opposing [me]." The first section spoke about obtaining riches off of the backs of others. In James' day there was a direct equivilant to not paying the workmen who mowed the fields, but maybe our modern day example of this would be sweatshops or when any worker doesn't recieve a fair wage for their work.
It doesn't seem to be a sin to be wealthy. Though, it is a sin to gain wealth or power at the expense of others. We need to examine the way we treat others and the practices we are endorsing just by "doing the things that Americans do".
Simply put we need to live, speak and act in accordance with our faith. Once we realize where we are in the world we need to figure out where to go from there. This is where it gets interesting.
Takeaways:
- Educate yourself on ways that your life intersects in a negative way the life of other people. This could be anything from examining the things you buy to ensure they are eco-friendly or were made with "fair trade" to the way you treat someone at the workplace.
- Find 2 or 3 concrete ways to change the way you live in order to at least lessen your negative impact on the world. (and not just ecologically, though that is a good place to start)
Corey mentioned an author named Shane Claiborne who has written some books that will mess with your head, so be warned.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
James 4
Hi to everyone who missed this week. Bernie facilitated a great discussion. I know for me it really related to things happening in my life and my thought process. I apologize that because of this I found myself listening more and writing less, and find my notes are a bit stream-of-consciousness. I'll try to summarize in a coherent manner! The overall theme seems to be focused on living a life focused purely on God's plan for us, or God's hope for us, as opposed to the world's ways for us. Here's an idea of what was discussed:
Observations:
A few words that stood out to us: fight, battle, quarrel, speak, judge, double minded, mist/fog, humble...This section focuses on things and customs of the "world." When opposed to the section just before this about peace and compassion, this section seems to show the world as one of quarrelling and bickering about selfish desires.
Interpretations:
We noted that when living according to the world, people seem to fight, quarrel, and do whatever it takes to get what they desire in the world. People fight for status, power, material goods...James calls us to give up this battle and ask God to show us His will instead, to humble ourselves and stop fighting for our selfish desires.
We wondered how to know when we are fighting for ourselves and when we are striving for God's will. A few thoughts were that if your actions are not for your personal gain, but for general good to glorify God or to put God first, that would be a pretty good signal you may be on the right track.
But even at times when we try to humble ourselves yet still struggle to know if we are in God's will, we can remember these thoughts from James: Our actions don't affect God's will in the end. We can strive to do what we think is right, but God's work has already been done in the world all around us. Our lives are just a passing moment, like a fading mist or melting fog. As we seek after him, our decisions should be put into this perspective: our decision is not that important to the will of God being lived out in this world. It is more important that we decide to be humble before God and not strive for self-glory, that we might catch a glimpse of what God's kingdom really looks like. A few members of the group noted how they have caught that glimpse, and feel able to love others just for the sake of loving or serving them, not for any personal gain.
The question came up of what it means to be a "friend of the world" and what that word "world" means for us. One main idea that was mentioned stood out for me- That living according to the world's ways or a worldly system of values means that it is OK to manipulate something good so that is becomes something for self-gain. This creates such a sad image to me...the innocent heart of a child manipulated for an adults' selfish pleasure...the beauty of loving another person manipulated for the other's gain...the beauty of creation and God's creatures misused for selfish power...we all have examples of being misused, and of misusing, the good gifts of God.
So what can we do? How can we live in the world without acting out worldly values? We can bring new thoughts and ideas about how to live in humility, ideas that many people might not hear about very often. We can "fan the flames" of Christ-like living in the lives of non-believers. Affirm any tendency you see in others to live a life as Christ would, and maybe let them know that as a Christian you share those same values. We can be humble in our decisions and not manipulate situations, people, or resources for our personal ambitions. As Bernie pointed out, our closest friends are the ones we spend time with, listen to, talk to, focus on...we should be friends of Christ, not friends of worldly ambitions.
Hi to everyone who missed this week. Bernie facilitated a great discussion. I know for me it really related to things happening in my life and my thought process. I apologize that because of this I found myself listening more and writing less, and find my notes are a bit stream-of-consciousness. I'll try to summarize in a coherent manner! The overall theme seems to be focused on living a life focused purely on God's plan for us, or God's hope for us, as opposed to the world's ways for us. Here's an idea of what was discussed:
Observations:
A few words that stood out to us: fight, battle, quarrel, speak, judge, double minded, mist/fog, humble...This section focuses on things and customs of the "world." When opposed to the section just before this about peace and compassion, this section seems to show the world as one of quarrelling and bickering about selfish desires.
Interpretations:
We noted that when living according to the world, people seem to fight, quarrel, and do whatever it takes to get what they desire in the world. People fight for status, power, material goods...James calls us to give up this battle and ask God to show us His will instead, to humble ourselves and stop fighting for our selfish desires.
We wondered how to know when we are fighting for ourselves and when we are striving for God's will. A few thoughts were that if your actions are not for your personal gain, but for general good to glorify God or to put God first, that would be a pretty good signal you may be on the right track.
But even at times when we try to humble ourselves yet still struggle to know if we are in God's will, we can remember these thoughts from James: Our actions don't affect God's will in the end. We can strive to do what we think is right, but God's work has already been done in the world all around us. Our lives are just a passing moment, like a fading mist or melting fog. As we seek after him, our decisions should be put into this perspective: our decision is not that important to the will of God being lived out in this world. It is more important that we decide to be humble before God and not strive for self-glory, that we might catch a glimpse of what God's kingdom really looks like. A few members of the group noted how they have caught that glimpse, and feel able to love others just for the sake of loving or serving them, not for any personal gain.
The question came up of what it means to be a "friend of the world" and what that word "world" means for us. One main idea that was mentioned stood out for me- That living according to the world's ways or a worldly system of values means that it is OK to manipulate something good so that is becomes something for self-gain. This creates such a sad image to me...the innocent heart of a child manipulated for an adults' selfish pleasure...the beauty of loving another person manipulated for the other's gain...the beauty of creation and God's creatures misused for selfish power...we all have examples of being misused, and of misusing, the good gifts of God.
So what can we do? How can we live in the world without acting out worldly values? We can bring new thoughts and ideas about how to live in humility, ideas that many people might not hear about very often. We can "fan the flames" of Christ-like living in the lives of non-believers. Affirm any tendency you see in others to live a life as Christ would, and maybe let them know that as a Christian you share those same values. We can be humble in our decisions and not manipulate situations, people, or resources for our personal ambitions. As Bernie pointed out, our closest friends are the ones we spend time with, listen to, talk to, focus on...we should be friends of Christ, not friends of worldly ambitions.
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