Sunday, April 13, 2014
April 8 Care Group
We spent the evening discussing possible ways to serve all the new people who are coming to our church. We prayed for everyone who is making decisions about how to structure care groups and make new ways for people to build relationships and meet new people.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
March 18 Care Group
Mark began by asking us if we had a strong grasp on "Righteousness through faith in Jesus." Here are the comments:
-It's amazing that God counts Jesus' righteousness as toward me!
-He sees me as perfectly righteous now.
-It's refreshing to keep hearing the truth of the Gospel from the pulpit.
-The environment of our church is "rich in truth" and this helps chip away at our tendency to look at ourselves and be introspective in an unhealthy way instead of looking to Jesus.
-Our righteousness is in heaven - Jesus Christ himself!
-The lack of legalism in our church is restorative.
-I feel completely free to serve God without fear or guilt.
-Religious rituals can lead to deadness and dryness of spirit. God wants us to experience His righteousness through faith.
-I Cor 6:9-11 "...and such were some of you." We have been moved from darkness to light. Now our fundamental identity is that we are righteous in Christ!
-What hope this brings to our lives. All we encounter in this fallen world beats us down. He equips us with His outlook, like glasses to see through.
-Knowing the truth of His righteousness given as a gift through faith in Jesus lifts the burden of having to perform to please God.
-Thank you, Lord!
-It's amazing that God counts Jesus' righteousness as toward me!
-He sees me as perfectly righteous now.
-It's refreshing to keep hearing the truth of the Gospel from the pulpit.
-The environment of our church is "rich in truth" and this helps chip away at our tendency to look at ourselves and be introspective in an unhealthy way instead of looking to Jesus.
-Our righteousness is in heaven - Jesus Christ himself!
-The lack of legalism in our church is restorative.
-I feel completely free to serve God without fear or guilt.
-Religious rituals can lead to deadness and dryness of spirit. God wants us to experience His righteousness through faith.
-I Cor 6:9-11 "...and such were some of you." We have been moved from darkness to light. Now our fundamental identity is that we are righteous in Christ!
-What hope this brings to our lives. All we encounter in this fallen world beats us down. He equips us with His outlook, like glasses to see through.
-Knowing the truth of His righteousness given as a gift through faith in Jesus lifts the burden of having to perform to please God.
-Thank you, Lord!
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
March 4 Care Group
We had a good discussion about this past Sunday's sermon from Romans 1 & 2. Mark asked us when, in our christian journeys, we became aware of God's wrath.
Some of us lived in guilt, some had a sense of God's displeasure or wrath, some were aware of being alone or searching for meaning in life. God worked in us in many different ways, in our hearts and minds, to move us toward Him and the knowledge of the truth.
In many different ways God made us aware of His displeasure with us, our sin, and our need for Him and His salvation.
The next question he asked was about how we are tempted to look down on others who may be caught in sin.
We agreed that we humans are hard-wired to judge others. How sad! Even though we are so imperfect and have received so much forgiveness and mercy, we still tend to look down on others who don't "have our knowledge or understand the bible like we do."
It's by His work and grace that we can be turned away from this kind of arrogance in thinking and living!
God reveals His flawless, perfect righteousness to us with no pride. He is truly awesome!
We go through seasons of getting a little bit of knowledge in an area and then can feel superior to others.
We need to remember that all we have is a gift! There's no room for arrogance or pride in a christian's life.
Some of us lived in guilt, some had a sense of God's displeasure or wrath, some were aware of being alone or searching for meaning in life. God worked in us in many different ways, in our hearts and minds, to move us toward Him and the knowledge of the truth.
In many different ways God made us aware of His displeasure with us, our sin, and our need for Him and His salvation.
The next question he asked was about how we are tempted to look down on others who may be caught in sin.
We agreed that we humans are hard-wired to judge others. How sad! Even though we are so imperfect and have received so much forgiveness and mercy, we still tend to look down on others who don't "have our knowledge or understand the bible like we do."
It's by His work and grace that we can be turned away from this kind of arrogance in thinking and living!
God reveals His flawless, perfect righteousness to us with no pride. He is truly awesome!
We go through seasons of getting a little bit of knowledge in an area and then can feel superior to others.
We need to remember that all we have is a gift! There's no room for arrogance or pride in a christian's life.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
February 4 Care Group
We had such a sweet time together! First we sang about trusting in God and about how there is no one like our God. Then we prayed fervently for our dear friends, Mark and Kristi, and their family. We discussed Sunday's message about being captivated by and confident in the gospel:
-We are captivated by Jesus and who He is. That's the gospel, the good news about who Jesus is, and all that He's done for us.
-He is all-consuming. When we belong to Him He has ALL of us, he's taken over our lives completely.
-Even when we're aware of our sins and shortcomings, we know we are still loved by God and by those who love God. It's humbling!
-When a penitent person is blatantly honest and transparent it makes us captivated by the gospel.
-The concept of condemnation is not relevant any longer for those who belong to Christ. I am now quicker to go to Him, confess, be cleansed, confident of His work in us - captivated by His power.
-Knowing His sacrifice in a very real and personal way brings us to tears.
-God holds us captive by His amazing love and power. He has led us to obedience and worship and brings us to confidence in Him.
-We appreciate the faith He's given us and it gives us more confidence as we move forward in life.
-We were held slaves to this world but Jesus broke our chains and freed us to serve Him and be His slaves. He's holding on to us - we are captives of His, and we love it!!
-Evangelizing is simply being honest about the truth of God with us and in us and working through the trials and paths of life, speaking to all whom God brings our way.
-It's also how we live our lives - people notice us and know who has hope, peace, love and joy in this life.
-We can actually shock ourselves with the faith and grace He pours on us when we need it.
-We sense His presence so very much when we go through hard times. We KNOW He's there for us, giving us confidence in His help.
-We are captivated by Jesus and who He is. That's the gospel, the good news about who Jesus is, and all that He's done for us.
-He is all-consuming. When we belong to Him He has ALL of us, he's taken over our lives completely.
-Even when we're aware of our sins and shortcomings, we know we are still loved by God and by those who love God. It's humbling!
-When a penitent person is blatantly honest and transparent it makes us captivated by the gospel.
-The concept of condemnation is not relevant any longer for those who belong to Christ. I am now quicker to go to Him, confess, be cleansed, confident of His work in us - captivated by His power.
-Knowing His sacrifice in a very real and personal way brings us to tears.
-God holds us captive by His amazing love and power. He has led us to obedience and worship and brings us to confidence in Him.
-We appreciate the faith He's given us and it gives us more confidence as we move forward in life.
-We were held slaves to this world but Jesus broke our chains and freed us to serve Him and be His slaves. He's holding on to us - we are captives of His, and we love it!!
-Evangelizing is simply being honest about the truth of God with us and in us and working through the trials and paths of life, speaking to all whom God brings our way.
-It's also how we live our lives - people notice us and know who has hope, peace, love and joy in this life.
-We can actually shock ourselves with the faith and grace He pours on us when we need it.
-We sense His presence so very much when we go through hard times. We KNOW He's there for us, giving us confidence in His help.
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