Wanderingbeliever's Weblog

Crown of Thorns

Noel — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 19:05:22 +0000

Hello all, Welcome Back. Here are our questions for discussion….

1. How are thorns an appropriate symbol for the consequence of sin?

2. Do you think we are capable of living lives of loving sacrifice like Jesus did?

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Peace & the New Humanity

Noel — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 22:51:31 +0000

Hello out there. Jesus says “seek and you will find” – well if you are here, wondering if the sermon blog is up and running you are right!!

I didn’t specifically mention the sermon blog at all this morning – I was curious to see what would happen if I didn’t.

For those that missed out, or need a little re-cap we read from Ephesians 2:11-22. I focused primarily on the relationship between peace and the “new humanity” that Paul talked about.

Through the ministry, death & resurrection of Jesus there is now no separation between Jew and Gentile – Jesus cast down the barriers in life and faith to unite us all in the Spirit of God based on His saving Grace. The former “rules”, cultural standards, religious expectations and divisions no longer hold any meaning.

The Kingdom of God that John the Baptist and Jesus both talked about so much is the predecessor to what Paul describes as the New Humanity. All are equal before God, all are to be united together because of the grace, love and peace of Jesus.

Yet human, namely Christian, history shows us that we easily find ways to divide ourselves over small, less-than-significant issues; rather then remembering the new humanity rooted in peace that Jesus came to establish….

Questions for the week:

1. At the end of the service, we spoke “May The Peace of Christ Be With You” to each other…. what did this experience teach/reveal to you?

2. If all are equal to God, including people of other social & religious standing, how are you relating to them this week?

3. Any other comments/questions for each other?

Please click “add a comment” above to list your responses

The Powerful Witness of Unity – Peacemaker 2

Noel — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 20:21:48 +0000

Here’s the sermon in a nutshell….

Our text was Ephesians 4:1-6….

Living at peace is the key to unity Living at peace is a key to our christian witness

Unity does not mean we need to see everything the same way!!

Unity is not necessarily uniform thinking

Real, true unity invites diversity

disagreements do not need to be seen as conflict (m.s.)

UNIFORMITY is the facade of external peace

UNITY is the expression of internal peace

that said, here are this weeks questions:

1. Why does real unity leave room for people to have different opinions?

2. How can diverse ideas about faith and life enrich everyone’s spiritual journey?

click “add a comment” above to …. add a comment…. thanks for your participation – even to all you lurkers out there….

The Peacemaker – #1 Real Peace

Noel — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 20:09:07 +0000

Hello Friends and everyone else….

Here are the Questions of the Week:

What do you understand “peace” to mean?

How would you describe the ideal “peacemaking” person?

remember, click “add a comment” if you want to respond…

Philippians 3 – Who’s In & Who’s Out

Noel — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 22:25:15 +0000

Hello all, This week we discussed the implications of the Early Church’s struggle to balance Jewish tradition with people’s newfound faith in Jesus. The Jewish believers were incorrect in assuming that Gentiles must convert to Judaism first, before being considered real Christians, which Paul addressed in chapter 3 of Philippians. We also looked at Mark 3 where Jesus really announced His revolution by blowing open everyone’s concept of culture, society and family. Really Brilliant.

Statue of Jesus overlooking the city

Your questions for the week are:

1. What social, religious boundaries do we create today?

2. Why is it so uncomfortable to believe that Jesus can see everyone as equals?

****click “add a comment” at the top to respond****

Philippians 2 – Incarnation of Jesus

Noel — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:34:00 +0000

This week we discussed Paul’s letter to the Philippians, targeting chapter 2. The overall themes discussed centered on Jesus’ humble incarnation into our world. That he lived her as both God and human to seek and save all that had been lost. He descended into culture to change culture, pointing people to God. How then are we to live?

I referenced Alan Hirsch’s book The Forgotten Ways, who came up with the APEST approach to leadership you would have seen in the Pastor Survey last year.

Question #1

What does “living more Christ-like” mean to you?

Question #2

What are your comments/suggestions for how we should seek to humbly and peacefully engage our culture with the Good News of Jesus?

You can post your comments by clicking “add a comment” above. Please reference which question, or posted comment, you are referring to.