Life Together

In the Scriptures and throughout the centuries, we see countless examples of God speaking to people from every tribe and nation. Regardless of geography or era, people call out and speak to God; sometimes from a stage, but most often in quiet isolation. What we see in the Bible and the life of Jesus is that listening and obedience to God is meant to be the natural outflow of what it is to be fully human.

Scripture passages: Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and John 10:1-10

Respond:

• How many times has God spoken to you through the Scriptures? Times where you needed comfort, peace, guidance, correction etc. In what ways have you sensed God’s leading through thoughts, impressions or voices in community?

• Some (not all) principles to keep in mind to discern if you are hearing the voice of God:

  • Does it sound like Jesus as revealed in Scripture?

  • Does it push you to be more like Jesus?

  • Does it love your neighbor?

• Do you believe that God is speaking to you often? When you think of the times where God has spoken to you, what patterns emerge (ie. Scripture, lectio divina, prayer, impressions, thoughts, community etc.)

Life Together

Everyday we find ourselves in proximity to colleagues and friends whose faces and stories may bear little resemblance to our own. Jesus’ life displayed the heartbeat of God and broke down the dividing wall between people. He did this through coming near to us and caring deeply about people. In order to be incarnational, followers of Jesus ought to be present and committed in community.

Scripture passages: John 15:9-17 and Hebrews 10:19-25

Respond:

• Kosuke Koyama says that Love has a speed. God, who is love; walked at three miles per hour. There was a pace of Jesus’ life that made him available to others even when it could be considered an interruption. What changes might the Holy Spirit desire to make to your pace and schedule?

• How many times does an unexpected opportunity to bless or be God’s hands, feet and mouthpiece arise when you continue to ‘show up’ in relationship? In what ways can you exercise servanthood in the positions of authority that you carry? (ie. seniority at work, as a parent, older sibling etc)

• Sherry Turkle: “Friendships embody the power of the gospel in a unique way, because in friendship we live out the truth of the gospel to each other. What is the gospel besides that Jesus knows how broken we are and sticks around to love us anyway? What is a friend except someone who knows how broken we are yet sticks around to love us anyway?” Thank God for the friends in your life who exemplify this, pray that you might be this for others.

Thanksgiving re-connects us to a trust in God (even in times when our eyes see nothing but challenge ahead), a divine pathway out of being imprisoned by present circumstance. Pastor Mike Linnen will share a biography of a hymn writer named Martin Rinkart who had to lead a church (and in some ways his town) through times of exceptional war, disease and famine.

Scripture passages: Jeremiah 33:10-11, Psalm 100

Life Together

Humanity has a history of leveraging power in ways that abuse and dehumanize others. To his followers, Jesus says “Not so with you.” The people of God are called to be set apart, to be a slave of all. The life of Jesus, his character and his actions; demonstrated the heart of God, he tells us to "go and do likewise." This week we continue our series on ‘Life Together: Values of Renewal church’ focusing on participation in the kingdom of God.

(Recording unavailable)

Scripture Passages: Mark 10:35-45 and Philippians 2:1-11

Respond:

• Humanity has a history of leveraging power in ways that abuse and dehumanize others. To his followers, Jesus says “Not so with you.” In what ways can you exercise servanthood in the positions of authority that you carry? (ie. seniority at work, as a parent, older sibling etc)

• The character and mindset of Jesus was revealed through his choices, to take the nature of a servant, humble himself and to become obedient. Are you willing to look outside of your own interests and in humility value others over yourself? What are the habits of Jesus that help produce that same love in us?

• Jesus’ life and schedule was purposeful, but he was open for divine interruptions. There were unexpected opportunities to serve people that surfaced regardless of where he was.In what ways can you participate with what God wants to do in your existing workplace, with your existing gifts and abilities?

When we live in a land of fast-food outlets and enough drive-through snacks to feed a football team, maybe we've forgotten what it means to be hungry. Yet, how often are we satisfied? Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, "Those who follow Jesus grow hungry and thirsty on the way." Let's taste and see... Might Jesus satisfy, and make us hungry for more?

Scripture Passages: 1 Corinthians 10:1-10; Matthew 5:6

Life Together

The way we organize our life, and the practices we are devoted to determine the people we become. Jesus’ life and teachings interrogated the scripts that people tend to live into. He called his people to be set apart. This week we continue our series on ‘Life Together: Values of Renewal church.’ We will focus on communion: the table anchors us in the gospel, focusing on his death, resurrection and his return as our hope and joy.

(Retreat Weekend)

Scripture passages: Luke 22:14-20 and Galatians 2:11-21

Life Together

The way we organize our life, and the practices we are devoted to determine the people we become. Jesus’ life and teachings interrogated the scripts that people tend to live into. He called his people to be set apart. This week we begin a series on ‘Life Together: Values of Renewal church.’ We begin with Formation: our lifelong goal is to be learners of Jesus and to live like he did.

(Recording unavailable this week)

Scripture Passages: 2 Corinthians 3:17-18, 2 Peter 1:3-8

Respond:

• The way we organize our life, and the practices we are devoted to (learning, service, financial, prayer, physical etc.) determine the people we become. Take some time to interrogate the habits that you live into. Consider the habits of Jesus.

• Followers of Jesus adopted Jesus’ yoke, they were bound to his teaching and way of life. Out of Jesus’ habits and practices (prayer, Scripture, solitude, Sabbath, worship, obedience, surrender etc), which ones happen to be the most difficult to practice today why might that be?

• So we know that spiritual formation is a process through which we partner with the Spirit, to become more like Jesus. In what ways might a view that spiritual formation is only God’s work lead to an unhealthy life? On the other hand, how might a view that spiritual formation is only achieved through human effort harmful? What is the role of the community in spiritual formation.

We will be reading from Matthew 18:1-7 which highlights Jesus' answer to the question: who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Jesus extends an invitation to become like little children, adopting their humility, dependence and becoming a welcoming people.

Respond:

• Jesus teaches “whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” Who are the ones like children in our midst? In our workplaces, our communities?

• If our entrance into the kingdom of heaven is predicated on our becoming like little children, shouldn’t that cause us to pay close attention to what it is to be a child?

• Do you often find yourself getting caught up in the race for greatness? If so, in what context(s)? What do you suppose lies behind that motivation?

• What practices have drawn you into greater dependence upon God? What helps you to be truly humble before God and people?

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." There are no shortage of ideas of what it means to live a ‘good life.’ In a series of teaching known as the Beatitudes, Jesus is inviting people into a way of living that will not only produce true flourishing in the here and now, but also in the age to come. This Sunday, we conclude a series in which we deeply explore each blessing of these endlessly rich statements of Jesus.

Respond:

• Those who are “persecuted for righteousness’ sake” are the people that long to see right happen in the world. Have you ever been treated unfairly for doing what was right? What happened? What did it cost? Would you do it again?

• Everything demands your allegiance. Jesus teaches that we cannot serve two masters. Following the Lordship of Jesus involves an individual’s finances, sexuality, relationship to power and the values that one orients their lives around.

• Take some time to evaluate each of these categories of your life in relation to following Jesus. In what ways does following Jesus challenge both the religious and cultural norms today?

“Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” Why does Jesus respond to this statement with a parable. This week we will explore how Jesus shows what God is like and what is God’s invitation in light of who He is.

Guest Speaker (No recording this week)

Respond:

• We learn about a God that is full of grace.

• We learn that God experiences anger, suffering and costly love.

• We see that God’s heart is full of generosity and invites people to join him in his mission

"What do we do when life falls apart because of our sin? This story of David and Bathsheba is such a powerful one of our need for forgiveness and the incredible depth of God's love and grace. It is a reminder of the need we have to forgive others."

Guest Speaker (no recording)

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." There are no shortage of ideas of what it means to live a ‘good life.’ In a series of teaching known as the Beatitudes, Jesus is inviting people into a way of living that will not only produce true flourishing in the here and now, but also in the age to come.

Respond:

• As you reflect on the life of Jesus as peacemaker (ie. between ethnic, gender and socio-economic barriers). In what ways are you called to make peace in the different spheres you occupy?

• The apostle Paul teaches “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Where in your life right now are there conflicts that need to be stilled? Where are there relationships that need greater wholeness?

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." There are no shortage of ideas of what it means to live a ‘good life.’ In a series of teaching known as the Beatitudes, Jesus is inviting people into a way of living that will not only produce true flourishing in the here and now, but also in the age to come. This Sunday, we begin a series in which we will deeply explore each blessing of these endlessly rich statements of Jesus.

Respond:

• Jesus says “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” In what ways do you feel your heart is being pulled in different directions?

• God is calling us to a single-hearted devotion to him. Allow the Spirit to disrupt the ways in which you may be tempted to only partially seek God.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” What is life in God’s kingdom and under his rule like? Jesus is inviting people into a whole new way of living that not only produces true flourishing in the here and now, but also in the age to come. He does this while declaring some of the most counter-rational statements on what it means to be happy. Blessed are the merciful.

Respond:

• How has God been merciful to you? When you think of the lavish grace displayed by God in your life, go and extend it on others. For what in your life do you need mercy?

• Who do you struggle to forgive or to show mercy towards?

“Praise God that you bear that name.” Those are the words of Peter written to a people who were greatly suffering. What does it mean to bear the name “Christian?” What does it mean to allow the Holy Spirit to work through people to be Christ’s spokesperson, his intercessors, and his servants in the world today?

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” We continue to draw from the deep well of the beatitudes where Jesus teaches what life under the reign of God looks like. What does it mean to have a deep yearning for things to be right?

Respond:

• Righteousness and justice are paired often in the Hebrew Bible. The word ‘righteousness’ as used by Jesus can be interpreted as righteousness and justice. How does this pairing throughout the Hebrew Bible and the Greek word itself bring a fuller understanding to what Jesus meant?

• Cultural scripts tend to dominate our imagination and shape our desires. Desire itself is not bad, but our aims are directly influenced by our desires.

  • What do you long and yearn for?

  • What practices can help us shift towards seeking first God’s kingdom and righteousness?

The beatitudes are an announcement of what life in the kingdom is like. That the proud, arrogant and powerful are not the ones who inherit the world. Where God is king there is a reversal where the meek inherit the earth. Jesus is inviting people into a whole new way of living that not only produces true flourishing in the here and now, but also in the age to come. He does this while declaring some of the most counter-rational statements on what it means to be deeply happy.

Respond:

• In the first century, the earth was held by the emperor, those in power, the oppressors, the opportunists. The original listeners saw Rome crush everything, colonizing like crazy, when rumors of uprising emerged, military force would display their force as a reminder to get in line. Today, what has remained consistent and was has changed in regards to how the world operates today?

• In the life of Jesus, we see him demonstrate strength under control in his encounter with Pontius Pilate, while clearing the Temple, and while dying on the cross. Jesus is described as meek and gentle, how does this bring a fuller understanding on what it is to be meek?

“You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.” What is life in God’s kingdom and under his rule like? Jesus is inviting people into a whole new way of living that not only produces true flourishing in the here and now, but also in the age to come. He does this while declaring some of the most counter-rational statements on what it means to be happy. Blessed are those who mourn.

Respond:

• Jesus promises that all who mourn will be comforted. In what ways may we miss out on the comfort offered by God because we refuse to mourn and as a result carry unresolved grief, sorrow or pain?

• When you encounter feelings of grief and sadness, what distractions do you turn to or what emotions surface that may prevent you from mourning?

• What in your personal story, your circumstances, and in our country and world calls for mourning in the people of God?

“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.” What is life in God’s kingdom and under his rule like? Jesus is inviting people into a way of living that will not only produce true flourishing in the here and now, but also in the age to come. He does so while declaring some of the most counter-rational statements on what it means to be happy.

Respond:

• Do you tend to see the Beatitudes as a list of attributes to pursue? If so, how might the context, culture and reflection of this passage challenge that idea?

• The Beatitudes were rooted in an ancient Jewish tradition. Some teachers taught about ways to flourish in the world that seemed to be contrary to what Jesus taught. What are some beatitudes that may be taught from Forbes, wall street elites? Do they align with the good news or flourishing that Jesus announces? If not, how might you be able to announce the good news in the way you live, speak and befriend others?

• As you wrestle with ““Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The Spirit can reshape and cause a reversal in our perspective. Ask the Holy Spirit to apply this beatitude as a lens through which you see the people around you.

Trinity Sunday

There are no shortage of ideas of what it means to live a ‘good life.’ In a series of teaching known as the Beatitudes, Jesus is inviting people into a way of living that will not only produce true flourishing in the here and now, but also in the age to come. This Sunday, we begin a series in which we will deeply explore each blessing of these endlessly rich statements of Jesus.

Respond:

• Eugene Peterson warns that crowds are more dangerous than drugs. Jesus says “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”

  • Reflect on your deepest desires - Are they shaped by the seemingly universal values of the ‘crowd’: greed, ego, lust etc or are they shaped by the person and characteristics of Jesus?

• In Matthew, Jesus’ public teaching included his disciples and a wider crowd as the audience. Jesus’ teaching was an invitation for everyone present, for those who had ears to hear they were invited to move from the ‘crowd’ to a follower of Jesus.

  • In what ways is the Holy Spirit inviting you to move from crowd to disciple? From slavery to sabbath? From self-centeredness to humility etc.?