Summary of June 8 Care Group

Thanks to Sue Brown for the yummy Strawberry Shortcakes! We began with a question "What is a disciple?" Here are the comments:
-a convert who is observing what Jesus said, walking it out, working it out
-an apprentice, a follower, a life-long learner of Jesus
-one who has a passion for following, yearning to be like Him
-one who sees Jesus as lovely, beautiful, a treasure, and is excited to follow Him

Then we were challenged to make Jesus our #1 priority, to truly follow Him and not waste time pursuing other time-sucking activities instead of doing what is pleasing to Him. We prayed for God to move in our hearts and minds and help us to prioritize our lives properly. "Incline our hearts to your testimonies!" we prayed.

We finished by remembering and describing the ones who influenced us to become Christians or to be true disciples of Jesus. These are some people described:
-godly spouses
-godly older Christians who invited us into their homes and spoke the truth to us
-families who lived out the Christian life in a practical way in front of us
-godly friends who took time to invest in our lives
-Christian authors whose works have taught, explained, corrected us

Summary of May 18 Care Group

After singing "Happy Birthday" to Cheryl (who brought the snack on her own birthday!!) we sang about how deep the Father's love for us is. Tony asked Cheryl to read Matthew 28:18-20 to begin: "And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." The third strand of our Mission Statement is to "Reach the World for Christ." We discussed this verse and the following themes:
-We are all challenged by this verse.
-The tendency is for us to be condemned that we are not "doing enough" to fulfill this command, but that wasn't Jesus' intention when he spoke it.
-There are many facets and roles in sharing the Gospel, including speaking the Word, helping new believers on their journey, teaching children, reaching out to neighbors and co-workers, taking an interest in others' lives, offering to pray for others, being available to help those in need...
-This verse describes a life-long process of being pleasing to the Lord.
-We must remember that the Word never comes back void when it is sent out, even through imperfect vessels.
-We can pray for God to open our hearts to see opportunities to share the Gospel. He can lead and guide us so easily into "Gospel-sharing" moments. (Mary prayed for us all to be led by God to people that He has been preparing to hear His Gospel.)
-God doesn't want us condemned by this verse nor puffed up by a successful sharing experience. We are part of the whole movement of the church as it is used to share the Gospel and glorify God.

Summary of May 4 Care Group

We discussed the second part of our church Mission Statement, "Love Others." Here are the themes discussed:
-John 13:34-35 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
-It's impossible in our own strength to love every other Christian the way God loves us.
-The sum total of our Christian life is wrapped up in this statement and we will be trying to please the Lord by loving others until we go home to be with Him.
-The Bible is full of "impossible" commands that we need His grace to fulfill.
-We depend on God for all the grace and direction to love others.
-We can't look at our shortcomings alone, we must look to Him and let His grace fill us.
-This command can highlight our limitations but we must remember that "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." (I Cor 10:13)
-Practical examples of how we can love others are listed in I Cor. 13. There are times when we need to step out of our comfort zones and serve others.
-The Gospel must be the motivation of our desire to love others or else it can become a moral sacrifice on our part.
-He produces in us a truly God-glorifying, genuine desire for the good of others. If we can truly pray for others, then we know that we are not harboring ill-feelings.
-God looks at our hearts. He enables us by His grace to truly desire blessings for those who have sinned against us and to be able to pray for them.
-God's love is so multi-faceted. It is described in numerous ways throughout the New Testament.
-One of the most challenging verses in the N.T. is Phil 1:8 "How I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus." By God's grace Paul was able to have affection for ALL of them. We can desire God to work such godly affection in our hearts for God's people.
-We must remember that God loves every single person more than we do.
-People know that we are disciples of Jesus if we love one another. It is a powerful witness of His presence and work among us.
-This is a "new" commandment because Jesus raised the bar from the old covenant standards. He set the standard for the motivation of our hearts to be like Him and love as He has loved us. This is impossible without His work in our hearts by the cross.
-I Peter 3:8 "Have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart and a humble mind." Jesus changes our hearts and gives us His love so that we can please Him.

Summary of March 23 Care Group

Thanks to Doug and Sue we enjoyed some great berry pie! And thanks to Susan and Gary, as always, for the great meeting place!

We began with the following scriptures:
IJohn 4:19 "We love because he first loved us."
Romans 5:1-5 "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
John 13:34-35 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
These verses show the foundation of how we are to fulfill Jesus' command to "love one another" as fruit of his work in our hearts. We also discussed how we see this work happening in our spouses because marriage is the fertile ground of the love of God. We should witness the love of God from our spouses toward others as well as those in the home.

Summary of March 9 Care Group

Debbie made us delicious breadsticks and cookies, and Susan had all of our favorite beverages ready for us. Thanks to you both! We all enjoyed snacking and chatting together before we started our discussion. Tony read from John 13: 34-35 before we sang about His love: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." Tony asked us to elaborate on how God loves us, giving specific adjectives and examples from our lives. Here's the list of what was discussed:

-unconditionally - We bring Him our inadequacies, our poverty, our lack and His gracious gifts inspire awe in us. Why did He choose us?
-deeply and sincerely - His attention is always there for us and is never distracted from us. How amazing and mind-boggling that is!
-sacrificially - He cares for every person enough to reach out with the Gospel and change lives.
-electing - He chose us from before the foundation of the world and knew us before we even imagined knowing Him.
-exposing - God exposes Himself and His truth to others, at the same time exposing their sins and uses us in His amazing way in His love.
-safe - He cares deeply and tenderly for us. We are in a safe place when we trust in His love and follow where He leads. There are no regrets when we walk with Him.
-unchanging - God reaches out to us in our wretched state and opens our eyes. He keeps us and moves us on His path, keeps loving us, changing us, providing for us and helps us!
- He is sympathetic and has a profound care for us even when we go our own way. Jesus prayed "Forgive them for they know not what they do."
-intimate - He knows the number of hairs on our heads, when we lie down and get up. It's awesome!
-lovingkindness - He loves us in spite of our faithlessness. His love is steadfast and with us always. Even after we sin as Christians who "know better" He remains faithful and keeps His loving eyes on us.
-God wants us to experience His love now, but the full realization won't be until we are in heaven. He has plans for our lives and is always willing to rescue us from trouble.
-protective - He has kept us from danger and death untold times. We can't even know how much he has protected us from our own destruction in His kindness.
-personal - He loves ME and gave Himself for ME. Sometimes it's easier to believe that He loves everyone, but we must receive the personal love of God.

We ended with Romans 5:5 "hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

Next care group we will discuss point number 2 from our church's Mission Statement "Love Others." We need to understand and be able to elaborate on how God loves us before we can effectively love others. Jesus said "just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." He is our ultimate example!

Summary of February 23 Care Group

After some tasty cherry and pumpkin pie, we sang about how we "want to sing of His love." Tony started us off with Psalm 121:1-2 "I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." Here are the questions that we considered in response to a recent Sunday morning message from early January:

1. Do you have a clear mission for your life? If so, what is it?
2. Our church's mission statement starts with "Love God." How do you implement that into your daily life?
3. Are there current obstacles in your way that are affecting your love for God?

We discussed various themes as we elaborated on what God is doing in our lives and how we seek to love Him practically. Those themes were:
-being thankful for friends that pray for us
-being thankful for His word and seeking to make spending time with Him a priority
-knowing that our love for God is weak, and yet striving to love Him more and more
-wanting to please Him with our everyday activities and reactions
-remembering that God is pleased with the fact that we love Him
-wanting to give Him glory as we seek to honor the gospel with our lives

Mark read from Psalm 43 "Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people, from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me! For you are the God in whom I take refuge...Send our your light and truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! Than I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God."

Summary of January 19 Care Group

Tonight we welcomed Mark and Kristi to our group! Everyone was in attendance. After singing about how deep is the love of God for us, Tony started us off by reading from Ps 86:5-6 "For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace."

Tony then asked us how the CD series we just finished by Paul Tripp has affected our walks with God. Here are the themes that were discussed:
-Having worked through the messages with everyone from the care group has amplified the benefit in our lives because we had the chance to work out practical applications for our everyday lives.
-We feel more connected to the body.
-This is a safe place to know my heart is guarded by accountability to others.
-private vs. public persona: -It's good to know that we don't have to pretend we are flawless in front of others.
-It's important to respond to others with the soft brush of God's grace.
-God's agenda is evident as we come together.
-God never intended for us to be alone in our walk with Him. His perfect plan includes us caring for and loving one another.

Then we spent the remainder of the time identifying gifts in some of our members. Here are some of the evidences of grace we see by God's activity in each other: mercy, caring, faithfulness, serving, friendship, love, sacrifice, wisdom, humility, approachability, steadfastness, committment. Isn't God amazing?? He takes people like us and works His beautiful fruit into our lives so that others can see!!

Eric ended with Ps 16: 1-2 "Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, 'You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.'"

Summary of December 8 Care Group

Sue and Doug treated us to a Christmas Ice Cream Cake to start the evening off. Tony began by reading Psalm 57:2 "I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me" and Psalm 62:8 "Trust in him at all times, o people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us." We sang about how we are His Forever and then began our discussion of the 5th CD in the Paul Tripp series. We were slightly surprised that we actually had come to the end of our sweet journey through these messages.

Some themes we discussed about being "Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands" were:
-We are instruments in His hands in very subtle ways, being directed by God as we go throughout our day as He wills.
-We are connected to His and He would have us be in tune with His voice and His leading in the middle of life's situations, being functional in our workplaces.
-Instead of trying to "find" the areas where God is using us, we could let Him show us how He is using us where He has placed us in life.
-We can use this desire to be instruments in God's hands to stir us to pursue holiness.
-Knowing that God uses us in any of His purposes gives us such a swell of joy - an incredible sense of fulfillment. All else pales in comparison. What else in life could be so thrilling?
-The key is "Christ is in us willing and working according to His good pleasure." We desire to say "I want to do only what I see Him leading me to do."
-We can be quick to give glory to God as He works through us, trusting Him as our Father who is in control.
-We must be aware of the enemy who can whisper lying accusations, and acknowledge God's truth about our lives and those we are trying to help.
-We want to be God's chisels, not crowbars or sledghammers, in the lives of others.
-Galatians 6:1-2 lays out a beautiful process of how to handle those who are caught (entangled) in a sin. We must remember that God is the Master Craftsman using us as He wills as soft brushes, chisels in others' lives. And we have no idea how many other people He is using as His instruments!
-"Wrecking ball responses to people are never restorative." said Paul Tripp. We lament the times in our lives when we've responded inappropriately to our children, spouses, brethren, etc. God wants us to be gentle in our approach. He gives us wisdom for each situation and can do miracles whenever He wants!
-We need to always minister to others with an eye on ourselves because we are people who need help helping people who need help. We must remember the "log in our eye." Romans 2 warns us about passing judgment on another because we are actually condemning ourselves.
-We need all the grace and instruction that we give to others. Gal 6 says "You who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness." And James 3:17 says "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere."

Summary of November 17 Care Group

Cheryl's amazing pumpkin roll started the evening off. We then began to discuss how these messages we've been digesting by Paul Tripp are ones that can bring change in our lives as we respond to God in the midst of life's trials. In his loving way, God uncovers our sin, refines us, all the while bringing love and restoration to us with no condemnation. God disciplines and refines us as we go through the trials that life brings our way. It is an act of his grace that he disciplines us in love as our Father, like Hebrews 12 says. "God disciplines those whom he loves." We can never be punished for our sins because all of that was absorbed by our Savior on the cross. God instructs and corrects us to see to it that we bear fruit for God. Overanalyzing events in our lives to try to always find cause or blame is dangerous. Rather, we should simply trust that God is in control.

Opening ourselves to others in a godly community setting means that we will suffer because we become vulnerable, involved, and concerned for the welfare of others. But we must always remember that He leads us by quiet waters and restores our souls like Psalm 23 says.

We must remember that we are pilgrims passing through this life to our REAL home. Thorns and thistles are on the way but we're headed toward the celestial city, like Christian and Hopeful from Pilgrim's Progress. We can walk through this life with our eyes fixed on our final destination!

Summary of October 20 Care Group

We had several people not able to attend because of busy schedules. We started out with a nice pumpkin cake baked by Sue Brown! Then we sang "Jesus, Thank you" to begin our night of expressing thanks to God. Tony began by saying that he has been experiencing a burgeoning sense of thanksgiving to God for all that He has done for us. We read the series of scriptures that follows:
I Chron 16:8 - Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples:
Ps 30: 4-5 - Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name.
Ps 54:6 - With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you; I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good.
Ps 69:30 - I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
Ps 79:13 - But we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
Ps 118:1 - Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!
Ps 145:10 - All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you!
Col 3:15-16 - And let the peace of Christ rule in hour heats, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Col 2:6-7 - Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
I Thess 5:16-18 - Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

We then took turns speaking about the themes of thankfulness in our lives. We discussed:
* This worldly generation is marked by a sense of entitlement and a lack of gratitude. So we, as God's children, should be marked by an unmistakable attitude of thanks to God no matter our circumstances. Then we can say like Habakkuk "Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation."
* Ps 19 "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes." We are so thankful for God's word and its effect on our lives. It is true food! We are thankful for God's faithfulness to preserve it for us through centuries and despite all the attempts to destroy it. His word is like a two-edged sword that lays us bare, convicts us when necessary, and helps us to keep our way pure.
* We are thankful for nature and the obvious Creator that is behind all of the beauty that we are surrounded by. Ps 23 is a visual gift to describe God's leading, comfort and working in our lives. He leads us on his path which is onto something better than where we might find ourselves.
* Eph 1:7 - "In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will." Even when we turn, struggle, have trouble, he's committed to our well-being and cleansing!
* God is not impressed with the length of our prayers or bible-reading. We can rest on the fact that we have been freed from sin by the perfect sacrifice of Christ. And we have a never-ending salvation that is far-reaching and all-encompassing. This amazing salvation is not based on anything we can do to impress God!
*Is 49:8 - In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people...they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them.
*We have been adopted as sons. Rom 8:15 says we have received the spirit of adoption where we cry "Abba, Father." It's amazing that he's chosen us and enabled us to cry to him as an heir. We must be mindful that some of this inheritance comes with suffering.
*We are thankful for our children and the work that God is doing in them all by his grace. We prayed for God to make their paths straight.

Summary of October 6 Care Group

We began our evening with a delicious apple crisp, brownies and ice cream that Mary brought. Everyone was present. After singing about the Lord our Shepherd and how glorious he is, Tony asked each of us to share about what God is doing in our lives. Maria talked about how certain images help to see God's work in our lives, like the underside of a tapestry, sheep with a shepherd, and the potter and the clay. We discussed many themes including: looking at the "big picture" in this life as we look toward heaven, being available and obedient for his service, being thankful for godly friendships, counting it all joy as we encounter various trials, and keeping our eyes focused on Jesus.

Doug shared from Phil 1:12 "I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel." When Tony asked us to consider if our difficulties are a sign of God's inattention, we all gave a profound NO. We talked about how nothing we do can deter God's purpose of sanctification in our lives. Mary shared that God is firmly committed to our growth in holiness regardless of our distractions, reactions, sins, etc. Nothing can stop Him from working in our lives for His glory. Phil 1:6 "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."

Wade said that our faith is at stake as we navigate through life's trials. Abraham believed God and yet he was tested. Peter was sifted so that the excellency of the gift should be seen for what it is. We ended by contemplating longing and groaning to be with Him, getting a whiff of eternity and living for his glory.

It was a beautiful time of sharing and encouragement! What a wonderful group of friends!!

Summary of September 22 Care Group

We met at the DeVivo's home and started the evening with a warm cherry crisp and banana bread brought all the way from Butler by Debbie and Eric. We sang about "How Deep" the love, mercy and grace of Christ are in our lives. From our discussion questions on the Paul Tripp CDs we talked about how none of our lives has gone according to our own plan. God leads us to places and circumstances where we don't want to go in order to accomplish in us what could not be done any other way. His loving purpose in our lives is our sanctification and He accomplishes just that as he "turns up the heat" in our lives and purifies us from our 'ore'-ific state into the likeness of His Son. We discussed how we must trust God's timing with our lives and not question His infinite wisdom.

Maria shared the analogy of the tapestry from Corrie Ten Boom. She said that our lives are a beautifully woven tapestry that, if only viewed from earth, resembles the underside of any embroidered piece with knots, frays, and loose strings. The design is usually unrecognizable from the underside. But when the piece is turned right-side-up we can see the beautiful design from the correct point of view, as we will see our lives from heaven. Only then will we understand all of our "knots, frays, and loose strings" that can baffle us in this earth-life.

Can you relate to some of those knots and loose strings?

And one day we will see...

Summary of September 8 Care Group

We met at the DeVivo's home and began the evening with warm apple crisp lovingly prepared by Cheryl. After a short time of fellowship and singing "I Will Glory in My Redeemer," we discussed how we can be used more effectively in our daily lives for God's glory to share the Gospel and serve the brethren in our church. Tony reminded us of the scripture verse that Cheryl shared with us last month from Psalm 9:10 "And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you." We agreed that it is imperative to put our trust in our God for every situation in life, both those that we face and those that we see our dear friends facing. We also talked about living with a view toward heaven. Wade shared that there aren't many things on this earth that have much allure for him these days. We talked about how to practically live here on earth while preparing to be with our Lord in heaven someday.
Then we took some time to share individual concerns and struggles. We are growing as a caring, redemptive community of believers who want to hold each other accountable, help each other to grow in holiness, and encourage each other to love Him more and more. Thanks everyone for a beautiful time of true fellowship!

Summary of July 21 Care Group

We welcomed Eric and Debbie Grubbs while enjoying a lovely picnic dinner provided by everyone. A little lightning and some rain chased us inside the Brown's home for a time, but after dessert we sat on their beautiful deck for the rest of the evening. We filled the Grubbs in on what we have been gleaning from the CDs that we've been listening to by Paul Tripp. We've been applying his messages as we grow as a transparent community of believers.

Summary of July 7 Care Group

The DeVivos, Angels, Bennetts and Versaces attended. To begin, Wade encouraged us all with Ephesians 2:13 - But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Thanks Wade!

Tony directed us to Hebrews 10:19-27 and Hebrews 3:12-13 from the Paul Tripp messages that speak about our identities in Christ and the call to godly community embedded in the middle of those verses. Our first identity is as sinners who must grasp the gravity, seriousness, depravity and the destructiveness of sin so that we can appreciate the wonder and magnitude of Christ's gift to us. Transparency is necessary between close brethren where we let our guard down and let others see who we really are and where we struggle. Then we can be helped by their insight and care! We don't want to be people who have one persona in private, and another very different persona in public. Tripp says that "Personal spiritual insight frequently comes in the context of community."

Our second identity in Christ is to be those who have received the glorious grace of God. Tripp says that we Christians should be the saddest and the most celebrant people on earth simultaneously. If we embrace one aspect of our identity without the other, there will be problems. Dennis cautioned us not to let the awareness of sin overwhelm us without letting God reveal His help and His way of escape. He reminded us of the faithfulness of God to never let us be tempted beyond what we are able to handle, but always provides the way of escape (from I Corinthians 10:13). We should always be looking at the cross 10 times, for every 1 look at our sin!

We also discussed that discipline is unpleasant but that we must trust the loving hand of our heavenly father in leading us for His glory. It's healthy to admit when sin has reared its head in us, and that even our clear conscience doesn't acquit us from guilt. We need the constant cleansing of His presence and forgiveness. We can glory in our weaknesses so that His grace can be made strong in us. Gary encouraged us to "Count it all joy" because we can trust God and His sovereignty in all trials. We ended with Romans 12:2 "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

Summary of June 23 Care Group

We were greeted by a delicious pie and some sweet tea that Susan prepared for us when we arrived at the DeVivo's home. We lingered a while on their beautiful deck, chatting and enjoying the lovely weather and the gorgeous plants.
After singing about surrendering our all to the Lord, serving Him with all of our lives and giving Him glory, we discussed the coming care group locations and details. Then we read from I Corinthians 12:4-11 and Romans 12: 3-13 about how God distributes gifts as He desires to each member of the body for serving one another and for His glory. We discussed how God gifts us and how it is important to know how God uses us to benefit the body. Other themes we talked about were:
-being aware of where God has gifted you
-how God has the right to use us however he wants, whenever He wants, even in the mundane moments of our lives
-how sometimes we don't even know He is using us for His glory
-how we need to be available and faithful to serve Him
-how we need to let God show us opportunities that He provides for service
-how important it is to sense His pleasure as we serve Him
-not to compare ourselves with other people and consequently feel like a substandard servant

Topics for next Care Group on July 7: Discuss our identities in Christ as described by Paul Tripp on the first 2 CDs. Refer to questions 12-15 on the list. Also, we will begin to discuss areas of need.

Summary of May 19 Care Group

After enjoying some refreshments lovingly provided by Sue and Doug, we discussed the ESGC meal for May 31st. Here are the details: Meatball Subs - Versaces, Macaroni Salad - Bennetts and Browns, Angels - Veggie Tray, DeVivos - Dessert.

Then we continued to discuss evidences of God's grace in some of our care group members. It was very encouraging to identify the gifts God has placed in each other. It motivated us all to be more like Jesus, and to be quick to recognize His work in others. In doing this we put into practice the community aspect of our walk with God the way that Paul Tripp prescribes.

For our next care group Wade will bring a scripture that all of us can use to pray about, meditate on and hopefully memorize. Also, we will begin to discuss areas of difficulty in our walks with God in an effort to build transparency and provide encouragement and help for our small group.

Summary of May 5 Care Group

After a short time of conversation and apple crisp, we again had an opportunity to point out areas of God's grace in action in some of our members. We realized that our self-perception is usually not the same as what those around us see. We need each other to identify where God is at work in our lives, as well as to see areas where we need to pursue His loving discipline. Everyone was encouraged to see the hand of God moving to encourage each of us.

Scriptures read: Hebrews 3:12-13 "Take, care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." Hebrews 10:24-25 "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

Summary of April 21 Care Group

We met at the DeVivo's home. The Angels, DeVivos and Versaces attended. We briefly discussed the first message in the Paul Tripp series about how God wants us to demonstrate his fruit in our lives as we grow in effectiveness and productivity. We also talked about how walking together as a community of believers is a multi-faceted process including encouragement, long-suffering, and helping one another in trials, as well as pointing out areas of weakness or sin. The bulk of our time was spent encouraging one another in the God-given gifts and talents that are evident in each other's lives. We all were thankful for the opportunity to point out evidence of God's grace in each other.

Summary of April 7 Care Group

All attended. The meeting occurred at Tony and Maria's house. Tony had previously assigned listening to the first CD of "your walk with God is a [community] project". See the side bar for more information about this CD. Tony lead us through the first 9 questions of the 17 he compiled (see below). We will pick up the remainder of questions for discussion at the April 21 meeting.

The group discussed God ruling in the mundane moments of our lives, God sending his grace to us through the thoughtful and sometimes challenging words of friends, and our desperate need for each other as we navigate through this Christian life.