Posts with the category “uncomfortable-s2”

IntroductionThanksgiving is always a great time to get together and think about what God has done for you in the past, now, and future. We know that God will remain faithful, and we want our faithfulness to God to reflect that.OPENAs your connect group gathers. Put this question on a white sheet of paper: “What are you grateful for today?” This should keep the group occupied for a little while!!HE...  Read More

This Thanksgiving week has been an opportunity to share, so remember to thank and eat. I don’t want you to spend time with this study I want you to spend time with family, having fun with friends, and sharing a safe space together in love and joy. I will say this: Thank you for being a great community of belonging. May God bless you all. Happy Thanksgiving!...  Read More

Living a life of gratitude to God is a profound and transformative way that transcends mere lists of blessings. It is a holistic and all-encompassing approach to life that shapes our attitudes, actions, and outlook on the world.Living a life of gratitude to God means recognizing the inherent goodness in all aspects of existence. It is a perpetual state of mindfulness, a way of perceiving the world...  Read More

Gratitude is a transformative attitude that has the power to impact our lives, shaping our character and perspective profoundly. From a biblical standpoint, gratitude is not merely a pleasant disposition; it is a virtue that holds the potential to change us in meaningful ways. It can be used as resistance to the lives we sometimes feel are full of desperation.Cultivating Humility: Gratitude remind...  Read More

Daniel, a figure known for his unwavering faith and adherence to his beliefs despite the prevailing culture. Daniel's life in the Babylonian exile is a powerful illustration of living counterculturally.Dietary Choices: In the court of King Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel and his companions were offered rich and luxurious foods, but they chose to abstain from the king's delicacies and wine. Instead, they re...  Read More

IntroductionWelcome to our small group study on unity as depicted in the Bible. Unity is a profound and transformative theme that runs through the entirety of Scripture, revealing its significance to our faith and its divine purpose. As we embark on this study, we will explore how unity is not merely a desirable aspect of the Christian community but a divine mandate with profound implications for ...  Read More

Hope in unity in Christ is a profound and inspiring aspect of the Christian faith. It represents the belief that through shared faith in Jesus Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, believers can come together, transcending differences, and find strength, purpose, and renewal in their collective journey. Here are some key dimensions of hope in unity in Christ:1. Hope for Healing and Reconcili...  Read More

The discomfort of unity in Christ is a paradoxical aspect of the Christian faith that highlights the challenges and sacrifices often associated with pursuing a harmonious community of believers. While unity is a hoped-for ideal within Christianity, achieving and maintaining it can be a demanding and uncomfortable journey.One of the primary sources of discomfort in pursuing unity in Christ lies in ...  Read More

1 Corinthians 1:10, is a powerful and instructive statement made by the apostle Paul to the Christian community in Corinth. This verse reads: "I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought."In this verse, Paul addresses...  Read More

INTRODUCTION"How do you believe diversity within the body of Christ enriches our faith and our understanding of God?"This question encourages participants to reflect on the positive aspects of diversity in the context of their Christian community. It invites them to explore how differences in backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives can enhance their collective spiritual journey and deepen their...  Read More

When Jesus came to Israel, it was at a particular place and a particular time, to a particular group of people and to a particular religious expression. However, does this mean that God wasn’t working anywhere else in the world, and does it also mean that these people were more important to God that any other people groups that were in the world at the time? This is a fascinating question as we do...  Read More

in the book of Revelation we see a temple scene that holds a great multitude of people who are praising God forever, singing the same refrain over and over. This multitude is said to come from every tongue and nation, which means from every ethnicity, every country, and even every language group. This vast gathering is the culmination of the eschatology and a scene from heaven.But what it does not...  Read More

While many ethnic groups appear in scripture, one distinct group repeatedly appears. The Cushites occur in the Hebrew Bible more than 50 different times. In English translations, it is often translated as “Cush,” but sometimes as “Nubia” or “Ethiopia.” Cush was a powerful Black African kingdom located along the Nile River, just south of Egypt.Cushites were active players in the geopolitics and eco...  Read More

We have many examples of diversity within the stories and characters of the Old and New Testaments. As it has always been, the world then was multi-ethnic, and the biblical characters reflected that.While many of the characters in scripture are Semitic (and thus looked like modern-day inhabitants of that geography), the story often includes individuals or groups from a wide variety of ethnicities....  Read More

All people were created in God’s image. It is really that simple. The story of creation gives us an understanding that everyone who God has created has been imbued with God’s own image, and that image is not only excellent but reflective of God’s values.  Read More

The following is a guide to help facilitate discussion. Feel free to add, subtract, or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.  Read More

24 But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”Let’s sit on this phrase momentarily: I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.Do we say that? I know that we don’t offer burnt sacrifices to God, at least not how we used to in biblical times. Rather, we do offer ...  Read More

22 Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take whatever he wishes and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. 23 Your Majesty, Araunah[d] gives all this to the king.” Araunah also said to him, “May the Lord your God accept you.”The story continues, and we see something amazing. Araunah tells David that he can have whatever ...  Read More

21. Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?”“To buy your threshing floor,” David answered, “so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped.” A few things are happening in this text that are worth noting. The first is that Araunah asked a reasonable and thoughtful question about what was happening. He knew something important was going on but ...  Read More

2 Samuel 24:18 On that day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 So David went up, as the Lord had commanded through Gad. 20 When Araunah looked and saw the king and his officials coming toward him, he went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. We see David following the will of God. Th...  Read More

The following is a guide to help facilitate discussion. Feel free to add or subtract or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.  Read More

Genesis 29:14 . . . After Jacob had stayed with Laban for about a month, 15 Laban said to him, “You shouldn’t work for me without pay just because we are relatives. Tell me how much your wages should be.”16 Now Laban had two daughters. The older daughter was named Leah, and the younger one was Rachel. 17 There was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face. 18 S...  Read More

Genesis 17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. 2 I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”3 At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, 4 “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a mult...  Read More

John 13: 18 “I am not saying these things to all of you; I know the ones I have chosen. But this fulfills the Scripture that says, ‘The one who eats my food has turned against me.’ 19 I tell you this beforehand, so that when it happens you will believe that I am the Messiah. 20 I tell you the truth, anyone who welcomes my messenger is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming the Fathe...  Read More

The sons of Noah who came out of the boat with their father were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham is the father of Canaan.) 19 From these three sons of Noah came all the people who now populate the earth. 20 After the flood, Noah began to cultivate the ground, and he planted a vineyard. 21 One day he drank some wine he had made, and he became drunk and lay naked inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of ...  Read More

The church is filled with weird and crazy people. We can admit this to one another. It doesn’t sound like the most excellent thing to say about church people. But we are all a little crazy at times.Have you ever had that conversation with someone so awkward that neither of you knew what to say? You get to that point in the conversation where you are unsure whether to break it off or go in for more...  Read More

Welcome back to our Uncomfortable series. As you know, we are packing some of our series into two different packages. Getting to the second half of the year, we will see some familiar series come back to go deeper into the concepts and texts we have begun exploring in the first seasons of these series. This second season of the Uncomfortable series will discuss uncomfortable people, diversity, wor...  Read More