Community is not simply an important part of Christianity, it is at the core of who we are. Even our creeds use the plural pronoun to describe what we believe. Have you ever noticed that the Lord's Prayer is in the first person plural?
"Our Father...give us this day...our daily bread...forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed agains us...lead us not into temptation...deliver us from evil..."
A relatively new phenomenon has occurred in the West that tries to divorce our faith from the community. How can we be the Body of Christ if we we're not really a body? A hand is only a hand in reference to the arm. A knee is only a knee because it's connected to the leg. You get the point.
Scraps
-Can we be the body of Christ and be disconnected from the body?
Thoughts? Go.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Don't Curve In
I have this big meeting tomorrow. I mean, it's huge. It's literally the equivalent to my "Bar Exam". My meeting will determine if I'm commissioned by the church to be a provisional elder. However, in the past few weeks, this process has consumed me. Paper work, preparing Bible studies, sermons, and doctrinal questions were all part of the process. It was easy to fall into the "poor me" cycle where you just sit around and whine.
In the early church there was a term for this sort of selfish preoccupation: cor curvum in se (curved in on ourselves). It's not that hard to put others before ourselves when our life is in proper order. Often, by sheer force of will, I have consistently thought of others before myself. However, when my life is in upheaval, that all goes out the window. Mature Christians learn to do it all the time. Are you cor curvum in se?
Scraps:
-Share a time when you were curved in on yourself.
-Did you "force" yourself out of it, or did you find that you had to rely on God to do the work?
In the early church there was a term for this sort of selfish preoccupation: cor curvum in se (curved in on ourselves). It's not that hard to put others before ourselves when our life is in proper order. Often, by sheer force of will, I have consistently thought of others before myself. However, when my life is in upheaval, that all goes out the window. Mature Christians learn to do it all the time. Are you cor curvum in se?
Scraps:
-Share a time when you were curved in on yourself.
-Did you "force" yourself out of it, or did you find that you had to rely on God to do the work?
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Habits
We are what we habitually do. As much as humans love the idea that we're independent, autonomous, and free to change at will, science and history has shown that we're basically creatures of habit. We do the same things over and over. There's comfort in repetition.
What about in our spiritual life? If you consistently worship, I'd call you a "worshipper". If you consistently spend some time reaping from God's Word, I'd say you love the Bible. Those who are faithful in prayer have been given the moniker "prayer warrior". Regardless, our actions define our character...for better or worse.
Scraps:
-What practices help you grow closer to the Lord? (Try to think outside the obvious ones like preyer, Bible reading, etc. Those are good, but I want to hear other ways as well).
-What practices do you find habitually distract you away from God? Would they be a good thing to "give up" during this season of Lent?
What about in our spiritual life? If you consistently worship, I'd call you a "worshipper". If you consistently spend some time reaping from God's Word, I'd say you love the Bible. Those who are faithful in prayer have been given the moniker "prayer warrior". Regardless, our actions define our character...for better or worse.
Scraps:
-What practices help you grow closer to the Lord? (Try to think outside the obvious ones like preyer, Bible reading, etc. Those are good, but I want to hear other ways as well).
-What practices do you find habitually distract you away from God? Would they be a good thing to "give up" during this season of Lent?
Friday, February 24, 2012
Problems Posting
I posted a segment on how to post comments on here, but found out I was wrong about it. I think you have to create an account on here (it's free). Many of you may not want to do that, and I understand. However, if you're interested in keeping the dialogue going, consider making an account.
Again, it's free. This is a hassle but I really want this to work for our mutual edification!
Again, it's free. This is a hassle but I really want this to work for our mutual edification!
Hard Work
As Christians, we believe in grace. I would define grace simply as this: God initiating everything in our lives. In other words, it is grace that you even have the ability to believe in God. It is by grace you have been saved through your faith (Eph 2:8-10).
If we believe in grace, then we don't believe that our works can save us. There is nothing we can do to earn God's favor.
Here is the scrap for today:
-Is there a time/situation when hard work is simply the right answer? I'm not saying we take the credit or that we believe God saves us through our works, but we're definitely called to work in the kingdom, right?
-I ask because my sermon prep is kicking my butt. I'm stuck on a difficult passage and can't decide which direction to go. But I'm wondering if the answer is to just "stick it out" and "work through it".
Thoughts? Go.
If we believe in grace, then we don't believe that our works can save us. There is nothing we can do to earn God's favor.
Here is the scrap for today:
-Is there a time/situation when hard work is simply the right answer? I'm not saying we take the credit or that we believe God saves us through our works, but we're definitely called to work in the kingdom, right?
-I ask because my sermon prep is kicking my butt. I'm stuck on a difficult passage and can't decide which direction to go. But I'm wondering if the answer is to just "stick it out" and "work through it".
Thoughts? Go.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Bonhoeffer on Christian Fellowship
"So between the death of Christ and the Last Day it is only by a gracious anticipation of the last things that Christians are privileged to live in visible fellowship with other Christians. It is by the grace of God that a congregation is permitted to gather visibly in this world to share God's Word and sacrament."
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer in "Life Together"
Scraps:
-Corporate worship, the physical gathering of God's people in a building, home, etc., is a gift and grace.
-Is there salvation outside the church?
-What about the sick, shut-in, etc.? How do they experience the corporate worship of God?
Thoughts? Go.
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer in "Life Together"
Scraps:
-Corporate worship, the physical gathering of God's people in a building, home, etc., is a gift and grace.
-Is there salvation outside the church?
-What about the sick, shut-in, etc.? How do they experience the corporate worship of God?
Thoughts? Go.
Scraps
If you're here, it's because you know me. At this time, I don't plan to be very public with this blog (although it's on the web so it's technically as public as one could be). I've blogged before, and really loved it.
When I was in the first half of my basic training I blogged all the way through. It was a way for my family and friends to see what I was doing and what the Army was really like. After basic training, I didn't have a need to blog. Or so I thought.
I'm constantly having what I call "scraps" pop up in my head. I'd guess that 80-90% are just random thoughts with no real substance, but sometimes I have thoughts that I want to share with my Christian brothers and sisters. Usually these thoughts aren't "big enough" or developed enough to be sermons or even Bible studies. They're just scraps.
I'm going to start posting some scraps. I want you to "talk" to me about them. Some will no doubt be junk, others may be junk to me but meaningful to you. I love dialogue and for this to work, you're gonna have to talk to me.
A few rules:
1. If this blog ever becomes a pity party for me or becomes some sort of narcissistic outlet for my ego, I'm deleting it. Blogs, by their nature, are a little egotistical. Think about it, I'm basically saying, "What I think or feel is so important, I need to post it to the web." Really? Are they that important? Am I that important? No. But I do believe that dialoguing with you could yield some fruit for our Christian walk. I think that's worth pursuing. You'll notice that theres' no "Hi, I'm Kevin and I like long walks on the beach...blah...blah...blah" post. You know who I am. And I hate beaches.
When I was in the first half of my basic training I blogged all the way through. It was a way for my family and friends to see what I was doing and what the Army was really like. After basic training, I didn't have a need to blog. Or so I thought.
I'm constantly having what I call "scraps" pop up in my head. I'd guess that 80-90% are just random thoughts with no real substance, but sometimes I have thoughts that I want to share with my Christian brothers and sisters. Usually these thoughts aren't "big enough" or developed enough to be sermons or even Bible studies. They're just scraps.
I'm going to start posting some scraps. I want you to "talk" to me about them. Some will no doubt be junk, others may be junk to me but meaningful to you. I love dialogue and for this to work, you're gonna have to talk to me.
A few rules:
1. If this blog ever becomes a pity party for me or becomes some sort of narcissistic outlet for my ego, I'm deleting it. Blogs, by their nature, are a little egotistical. Think about it, I'm basically saying, "What I think or feel is so important, I need to post it to the web." Really? Are they that important? Am I that important? No. But I do believe that dialoguing with you could yield some fruit for our Christian walk. I think that's worth pursuing. You'll notice that theres' no "Hi, I'm Kevin and I like long walks on the beach...blah...blah...blah" post. You know who I am. And I hate beaches.
2. We are totally allowed to disagree. We can disagree and keep the love. I have some diverse friends. Many of you won't know each other or each other's background. Should make things fun!
3. This is a Christian blog, but it's not a devotional blog. Like I said, these are scraps, not fully developed Bible studies or sermons. You're going to read some things and think, "Well, he didn't develop that real well." I know, it's a scrap!
4. My real reason for doing this is that I've had great "success" with social media and ministry. Facebook has been another outlet for me to minister to God's people (and be ministered to). I am concerned about our society's evolving dependency on technology over and against real, physical interpersonal communication. But like anything else, a little social media in moderation is great.
Okay, let's get started. I can't wait to learn from you!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)