De-cluttering

So who’s got ideas about de-cluttering?
* How do we do it?
* What do we do with the stuff?

And any success stories out there?

Generosity

Last Sunday, December 2, we talked about generosity. We showed a clip of “The Christmas Carol” and talked about the lesson we learned from Ebenezer Scrooge; namely, the size of our heart increases not by taking more in but by giving more away. At the end of our lesson I gave a few practical suggestions on keeping generosity at the forefront of our thoughts this week. They come courtesy of “Seismic Shifts” a book by Kevin Harney. Here they are:

* Make 20 labels that say “God’s stuff.” Go around your house or apartment, yard and car and tape them on the things that are most important to you this week.
* Consider increasing your giving to the church this next year by 1 or 2 percentage points.
* Or consider making a significant contribution to our building fund at the end of this year.
* Interview someone you know and respect who has developed a lifestyle of giving generously. Specifically, if you know someone who has the habit of tithing to the church, ask them:
o How has giving impacted your perspective on material things?
o How have you experienced God’s blessing and provision?
o If you could go back to living without tithing, would you do it? Why or why not?

Ron Paul?

So for you political junkies, is this election cycle the most interesting ever? It seems like it to me. First of all, we have the potential for brand new alignments. The front runner for the Republicans is a fiscal conservative and a social liberal. For the last 30 years (or more) we haven’t believed that those two fit together. The current front runners for the Democrats are a woman and a person of color.

And then there is Ron Paul. He is the only candidate my 20 year old son was familiar with as of a month ago. I wonder what that says. Is Ron Paul this year’s Howard Deen or does the internet/college campus fascination with him signify something more? Just musing …

Is Death Inevitable?

Have you heard of Aubrey de Grey? He’s a Cambridge educated scientist who has been espousing - with a straight face - that there are human beings currently alive who will be able to live to 1,000 and beyond. You read that right. He is seriously suggesting that we begin to treat death as a disease and that we try to cure it.

So what do we make of such an idea?

What do you think?

Rick Warren on hosting Obama

Check out this video:

Spending Time With Jesus #6

The First Touch

Read Luke 15:1-32

The Rub Down

• Luke has obviously arranged this material. This means that he has taken familiar, memorable stories of Jesus and put them together either for literary reasons or to prove a point. What is Luke suggesting by putting these stories together?
• Consider the audience. Are you more like one of the “tax collectors and sinners” or are you more like one of the Pharisees?
• What do you think these stories say about Jesus’ attitude toward people who are far from relationship with Him? What is your attitude toward people who are far from God?
• What do these stories say about God’s initiative toward us when we are far from Him? (Think of everything the key actor does to find the lost item.)
• What is the significance of the joy expressed in each story over the lost thing being found?
• In the story of the Lost Son, what prompted the son to return home?
• In the story of the Lost Son, God represents the Father. When the prodigal son comes home, the Father “runs” to meet him. This is the only time in Scripture that God is pictured as running. This is why we emphasize outreach at Gateway.

A Deeper Massage

• Identify four or five people in your relational network who are far from God. Spend time praying for them right now.
• Think of the joy created by the return of the lost things. Examine your attitude toward spiritually lost ones who are making their way to God. (The only non-rejoicer in the stories is the older brother in the parable of the Lost Son and he is not a favorable character.)
• Meditate on and memorize Philemon 6. (For help finding it, go to: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philemon%206&version=31.)

Spending Time With Jesus #5

The First Touch

Reach Luke 9:18-27

The Rub Down

• Why is Jesus interested in what the crowds think? Or the disciples?
• How would you answer this question to Jesus?
• Notice in verse 18 what Jesus was doing at the start of this episode. What does this tell you about Jesus?
• Notice, too, that after Peter’s confession Jesus begins to talk about his own death. This is his attempt to explain what it means to be the Messiah. Jesus will not become a hero - at least not in the traditional sense. He will not take up the Jewish national cause by leading a revolution against the Roman oppressors. To be the Messiah means to “suffer many things, and be rejected … and be killed … and be raised to life.”
• This is the backdrop for his teaching in verses 23-27. So what is Jesus saying to you today through this teaching?

A Deeper Massage

• Have you come to the place in your spiritual journey that you can make Peter’s confession? Do you understand Jesus’ sense of his own Messiahship? When did you come to this understanding? Spend time thanking God for his part in showing you who He is.
• I recommend that you write verses 23-27 on a card and keep it in your wallet. Look at the card at least once a day for the next month and see what it does to your mindset and your connection with God.
• For further study you can look at Matthew 16:13 and following for a different take on this episode.  (Mark also covers this story in Mark 8:27 and following.  His material is very similar to Luke’s; many scholars believe Luke’s version owes itself to Mark’s account.)

Spending Time With Jesus #4

The First Touch

Read John 6:25-71

The Rub Down

This is a difficult passage - both to understand and to accept. It is not hard to see why many people rejected his teaching at this point (v. 60).

• Make a list of Jesus’ claims concerning himself, both directly (e.g. “I am the bread of life”) and indirectly (e.g. I will raise you up on the last day).  Don’t cut this short.  He makes many, many claims in this passage.
• In verses 41-42 how do the crowds respond to these claims? Why do they respond this way?
• According to Jesus, what part does God play in our becoming truly connected to Him? What part do we play?
• Many trees have been felled in support of books and articles written to analyze this passage, but try your hand at one of the more complicated questions here: what would Jesus say is the connection between his life and ministry and that of Moses?
• Jesus seems to be beating a dead horse in verses 53-58. He stretches the food analogy seemingly beyond its natural limits. So what is he getting at? Why does he develop this analogy even more graphically?
• What does Peter’s response in verses 68-69 say about Peter’s heart? About Peter’s relationship to Jesus? How much do you think Peter understood of Jesus’ teaching?

A Deeper Massage

• A teaching like this forces us to examine what we think of Jesus. Do you really believe his claims concerning himself? Meditate on Jesus’ self-claims.
  • Mine the significance of the claims. What do they mean for you? For the universe? For who Jesus is?
  • Mull over the most provocative of his claims. Turn it over in your mind. Do you really believe it and all that it implies? Why or why not? Take your answer to him in prayer.
  • Memorize the passage that includes the claim that speaks the most comfort to you right now.
• Pray in praise of Jesus - acknowledge his claims, and as much as you are able surrender yourself to him. Ask him to help you surrender all that you know of yourself to all that you understand of him!

Spending Time With Jesus #3

First Touch

Read Mark 4:1-20

The Rub Down

Many of Jesus’ parables are told to make one point. In fact, it is usually dangerous to over-read his stories and to try to make them into allegories or to try to make several of the details represent several different things. This parable is an exception to that rule. It is an allegory for how different people respond differently when God speaks into their lives.

• What do you suppose verse 10-12 means? Why would Jesus teach so that some would be “ever hearing but not understanding”?
• What distinguishes those who are told “the secrets of the kingdom” from those “outside”?
• Identify the three soils that reject the seed. What are the causes? Which of these causes have you experienced in your own life? In the times that you have rejected God’s Word, which has been the cause most often?
• What would a crop inspector say about your crop yield?

A Deeper Massage

• Try focusing on James 2:22-25 after this lesson.
  • Mine its significance, especially try to unpack James’ analogy about the mirror.
  • Mull over its meaning for you today.
  • Memorize part of it.
• As you pray today, thank God that He still speaks. Praise Him for the many ways He has spoken to you. Thank Him for the people He has used to plant His word in your life. Pray for those you know who do not know God. Pray that the soil of their hearts would be softened. Pray for Jesus to show Himself to them.

Spending Time With Jesus #2

First Touch

Read Matthew 5, 6, 7

The Rub Down

• You could spend a lifetime analyzing this teaching from Jesus. Many have. Start with very general observations today.
  • How does this teaching make you feel?
  • How does it jive with most people’s assumptions about what religion really is?
  • How does it address your assumptions?
  • What does it say about “the Law”?
  • What do we learn about Jesus as we listen?
• In many cases Jesus seems to start with a known teaching and then go further. So where does he “go” when he goes further? What does he seem to be driving at?

A Deeper Massage

• This teaching covers many topics. Pick one and make it a source of meditation today.
  • Mine its significance for our culture.
  • Mull over its meaning for you.
  • Memorize one verse or phrase from the section you choose.
• Make a list of your own top ten spiritual dos and don’ts. Elaborate on them so that someone else could have a clear sense of what you’re getting at.
• Write or type out your prayer today. Praise God for how perfectly right and just He is. Dwell with Him on what that means for our world. Ask Him to make you an agent of all that is right and good and just.