Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Be Praying...
this week about what steps God is calling you to do to live your life as a greater reflection of Him. We've done lots of talking and we need to ready our hearts for some action...
LiFE
LiFE
SMALLER and Smaller...
"We can not do great things, only small things with great love. It is not how much you do but how much love you put into doing it." - Mother Teresa
We spent the majority of our time in small groups last week looking at the cultural background/significance of the mustard seed parable. God often chooses to use the small, seemingly insignificant things to slowly and methodically do His work. I will attach the passage we read and some of the various groups' comments from their discussions (remember these are paraphrases of broader discussions):
Group 1
*"Small" people that God used to make great changes: The disciples, Mother Teresa, David, Billy Graham
*Billy Graham broke the mold, worked in a way that the church typically didn't work
*Church is too concerned with the bottom line
*Disciples went out and served vs. Christians today come in - to be in community - but then do not go to the people that Jesus served
Group 2
*Order can be a barrier to God - it keeps some people in and some out
*Subtle - Christianity should be more underground - not so "mega church", "bigger, better, attract more people" is out focus - but what really makes an impact is one on one
*Community - we've lost the ability to connect on a deeper level
*Infamous - we want to use people who fit in, who are "perfect" examples of "strong Christians"
*Kudzu - it grows no matter what we do vs. we try to plant things we can control
*Jesus seems to put things one step farther than we would like him to go, he was a deconstructionist - he removes man's structures.
*How do we get ride of what is not really of Jesus?
Group 3
*We're all agents of chang but God is really taking the world back and realigning it
*God's kingdom is present tense. Make Earth as much like heaven as possible while we're here.
*John 12:24: Die to self so I can be productive for God, dying seed is not pleasant at the time, like God pruning us (John 15:2) and remaining in him, the vine
*Kingdom of God is not just for the Jews, as they thought but God is inviting everyone in. Everyone needs and desires a home.
*Jesus was a trouble maker, we've tamed him down
*Psalm 97:1-6: His power was not in crushing but in being crushed.
Group 4
*Jesus turned power on it head, this is the mystery that we celebrate - Christ does things so differently then the power structures we set up
*Building our towers and sanctuaries hoping to reach God - we can get further from him in our "attempts" to reach him. Will the megachurches of today be the museums of tomorrow like the cathedrals of Europe? Will/can the church stay true to Christ but continue to grow and change to meet people where they are at?
Blessings,
LiFE
We spent the majority of our time in small groups last week looking at the cultural background/significance of the mustard seed parable. God often chooses to use the small, seemingly insignificant things to slowly and methodically do His work. I will attach the passage we read and some of the various groups' comments from their discussions (remember these are paraphrases of broader discussions):
Group 1
*"Small" people that God used to make great changes: The disciples, Mother Teresa, David, Billy Graham
*Billy Graham broke the mold, worked in a way that the church typically didn't work
*Church is too concerned with the bottom line
*Disciples went out and served vs. Christians today come in - to be in community - but then do not go to the people that Jesus served
Group 2
*Order can be a barrier to God - it keeps some people in and some out
*Subtle - Christianity should be more underground - not so "mega church", "bigger, better, attract more people" is out focus - but what really makes an impact is one on one
*Community - we've lost the ability to connect on a deeper level
*Infamous - we want to use people who fit in, who are "perfect" examples of "strong Christians"
*Kudzu - it grows no matter what we do vs. we try to plant things we can control
*Jesus seems to put things one step farther than we would like him to go, he was a deconstructionist - he removes man's structures.
*How do we get ride of what is not really of Jesus?
Group 3
*We're all agents of chang but God is really taking the world back and realigning it
*God's kingdom is present tense. Make Earth as much like heaven as possible while we're here.
*John 12:24: Die to self so I can be productive for God, dying seed is not pleasant at the time, like God pruning us (John 15:2) and remaining in him, the vine
*Kingdom of God is not just for the Jews, as they thought but God is inviting everyone in. Everyone needs and desires a home.
*Jesus was a trouble maker, we've tamed him down
*Psalm 97:1-6: His power was not in crushing but in being crushed.
Group 4
*Jesus turned power on it head, this is the mystery that we celebrate - Christ does things so differently then the power structures we set up
*Building our towers and sanctuaries hoping to reach God - we can get further from him in our "attempts" to reach him. Will the megachurches of today be the museums of tomorrow like the cathedrals of Europe? Will/can the church stay true to Christ but continue to grow and change to meet people where they are at?
Blessings,
LiFE
