- Whose Son Is He? - Ryan Sutherland
(Click here for download instructions)
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Whose Son Is He? (Matthew 1:18-25)
It's the first Sunday of Advent (from the Latin meaning "coming") and so we spend a week looking at why Jesus had to be human and what his humanity actually did for us!
Sunday, November 20, 2011
The Importance of Prayer for Shalom (Ephesians 1:15-23)
- The Importance of Prayer for Shalom - Christian Cryder
(Click here for download instructions)
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Explorers - Jesus 101
Let's face it: most of us have questions about faith and spirituality. Often though, our friends don't really want to talk about these things, and churches seem to look down on people with doubts and struggles.
Explorers is a safe place for unbelievers, and for the unbeliever in all of us. It's a place where you can be honest about what you think, and get honest answers about the Christian faith. It's a place where you can make up your own mind about historic Christianity, by looking at the sources, rather than settling for second hand opinions.
Fundamentally, Explorers is all about working on our spirituality in community. It's a place where you can be yourself - share a meal, talk about your struggles, wrestle with your faith, as friends rather than foes. We meet once a week for about two hours. We share a meal. We laugh together. And we share our thoughts.
This Winter we'll be looking at Jesus 101 (The Gospel of Mark).
In 7 weeks you'll study an entire book of the Bible - the Gospel of Mark. We'll take a firsthand look at the person, work, and claims of Jesus. This group is geared for non-Christians, new-Christians, and people who aren't even sure what it means to be a Christian. You won't be asked to sing, pray, or do anything that would make you feel uncomfortable. You can come as you are; you can say as little or as much as you like.
The goal of these groups is not to convert you. Our job is simply to introduce you to the Jesus of Scripture so you can figure out what you believe for yourself. In the process, you will learn a lot about Jesus, Christianity, and your own spirituality. You'll also have a chance to build friendships with interesting people who are asking the same questions you are.
If this sounds interesting, please contact Christian (529-5568) ASAP so we can figure out who's interested. Hope to hear from you soon!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Resources for Reconciliation (Ephesians 1:3-14)
What are the resources we need to pursue this kind of reconciliation?
- Resources for Reconciliation - Christian Cryder
(Click here for download instructions)
Monday, November 7, 2011
What is a Missional Church?
Here at All Souls, we talk a lot about being a "missional church." Ever wonder what we actually mean by that? Perhaps this recent lecture by Tim Keller on What is a Missional Church? will shed some light on things.
Pique your interest? Raise questions? Want to discuss this over coffee, lunch, or a beer? Give us a holler! We'd love to get together...
Pique your interest? Raise questions? Want to discuss this over coffee, lunch, or a beer? Give us a holler! We'd love to get together...
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Reconciliation 101 (Ephesians 1:1-23)
How do we go about this whole reconciliation and shalom thing that we've been talking about? It all comes back to an attitude of gratitude. So how do we cultivate that kind of attitude?
- Reconciliation 101 - Christian Cryder
(Click here for download instructions)
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Christians as Subversives
Q: Do American Christians too easily assume their surrounding culture is Christian?
We do. It is useful to listen to people who come into our culture from other cultures, to pay attention to what they hear and what they see. In my experience, they don't see a Christian land. If you listen to a Solzhenitsyn or Bishop Tutu, or university students from Africa or South America, they don't see a Christian land. They see something almost the reverse of a Christian land.
They see a lot of greed and arrogance. And they see a Christian community that has almost none of the virtues of the biblical Christian community, which have to do with a sacrificial life and conspicuous love. Rather, they see indulgence in feelings and emotions, and an avaricious quest for gratification.
Importantly, they see past the facade of our language, the Christian language we throw up in front of all this stuff. The attractive thing about America to outsiders is the materialism, not the spirituality. It's interesting to listen to refugees who have just gotten into the country: what they want are cars and televisions. They're not coming after our gospel, unless they're translating the gospel into a promise of riches and comfort.
Q: Do you preach to your congregation about this?
Yes.
Q: How do you do that? I'm sure that's not easy.
Well, I'm one of them. I live in the same kind of house they do. I drive the same kind of car they do. I shop in the same stores they do. So I'm like them. We're all in this together.
It's possible for a few people to break out of society and form some kind of colony in order to challenge society as a kind of shock troop. But that's not my calling, and I don't find it credible to use the language of separatism in a congregation where we've all got jobs, where we're trying to find our place as disciples in the society and do what we can there. If I do that, I lose credibility. I'm using one kind of language on Sunday and another on Monday.
So what I have tried to develop first of all, in myself, is the mentality of the subversive. The subversive is someone who takes on the coloration of the culture, as far as everyone else can see. If he loses the coloration he loses his effectiveness. The subversive works quietly and hiddenly, patiently. He has committed himself to Christ's victory over culture and is willing to do those small things. No subversive ever does anything big. He is always carrying secret messages, planting suspicion that there is something beyond what the culture says is final.
Q: What are some specific acts of Christian subversion?
They're common Christian acts. The acts of sacrificial love, justice, and hope. There's nothing novel in any of this. Our task is that we develop a self-identity as Christians and do these things not incidentally to our lives, but centrally. By encouraging one another, by praying together, by studying Scripture together, we develop a sense that these things are in fact the very center of our lives. And we recognize they are not the center of the world's life, however much cultural talk there is about Christianity.
If we can develop a sense that sacrificial love, justice, and hope are at the core of our identities – they go to our jobs with us each day, to our families each night – then we are in fact subversive. You have to understand that Christian subversion is nothing flashy. Subversives don't win battles. All they do is prepare the ground and change the mood just a little bit toward belief and hope, so that when Christ appears, there are people waiting for him.
We do. It is useful to listen to people who come into our culture from other cultures, to pay attention to what they hear and what they see. In my experience, they don't see a Christian land. If you listen to a Solzhenitsyn or Bishop Tutu, or university students from Africa or South America, they don't see a Christian land. They see something almost the reverse of a Christian land.
They see a lot of greed and arrogance. And they see a Christian community that has almost none of the virtues of the biblical Christian community, which have to do with a sacrificial life and conspicuous love. Rather, they see indulgence in feelings and emotions, and an avaricious quest for gratification.
Importantly, they see past the facade of our language, the Christian language we throw up in front of all this stuff. The attractive thing about America to outsiders is the materialism, not the spirituality. It's interesting to listen to refugees who have just gotten into the country: what they want are cars and televisions. They're not coming after our gospel, unless they're translating the gospel into a promise of riches and comfort.
Q: Do you preach to your congregation about this?
Yes.
Q: How do you do that? I'm sure that's not easy.
Well, I'm one of them. I live in the same kind of house they do. I drive the same kind of car they do. I shop in the same stores they do. So I'm like them. We're all in this together.
It's possible for a few people to break out of society and form some kind of colony in order to challenge society as a kind of shock troop. But that's not my calling, and I don't find it credible to use the language of separatism in a congregation where we've all got jobs, where we're trying to find our place as disciples in the society and do what we can there. If I do that, I lose credibility. I'm using one kind of language on Sunday and another on Monday.
So what I have tried to develop first of all, in myself, is the mentality of the subversive. The subversive is someone who takes on the coloration of the culture, as far as everyone else can see. If he loses the coloration he loses his effectiveness. The subversive works quietly and hiddenly, patiently. He has committed himself to Christ's victory over culture and is willing to do those small things. No subversive ever does anything big. He is always carrying secret messages, planting suspicion that there is something beyond what the culture says is final.
Q: What are some specific acts of Christian subversion?
They're common Christian acts. The acts of sacrificial love, justice, and hope. There's nothing novel in any of this. Our task is that we develop a self-identity as Christians and do these things not incidentally to our lives, but centrally. By encouraging one another, by praying together, by studying Scripture together, we develop a sense that these things are in fact the very center of our lives. And we recognize they are not the center of the world's life, however much cultural talk there is about Christianity.
If we can develop a sense that sacrificial love, justice, and hope are at the core of our identities – they go to our jobs with us each day, to our families each night – then we are in fact subversive. You have to understand that Christian subversion is nothing flashy. Subversives don't win battles. All they do is prepare the ground and change the mood just a little bit toward belief and hope, so that when Christ appears, there are people waiting for him.
- from Eugene Peterson's The Contemplative Pastor, pp 10-12.
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