Just wanted to take a minute to share a few important updates:
There will be No youth group this Saturday June 15th, as the youth ministry staff (along with many other ministry teams) has been asked to join the deacons for a special meeting of many of ministry leaders and church volunteers.
Instead of switching to our summer schedule on the 17th, we will have regular Youth Group (aka 24/7) on the 22nd to make up for not having youth group on the 15th.
Also, in case you missed out Saturday night, we heard some fantastic stories from people who had practiced the Private Discipline of "Pray, Read, Think, Write, Pray" (PRTWR) this week. (I especially loved Abby's story about a tough situation with a teacher, and how some verses from Proverbs got her through it.) We talked about our priorities again, and threw out the challenge to write down what you think your priorities should be, then see how much time you spend actually doing the things you say are important. If you aren't sure what your priorities should be, then just keep track of what you actually do, and you'll find out what your priorities are.
Remember - God's priority for my life is that I become more like Jesus.
If we say that we love God with all of our Heart Soul Mind and Strength, and our Neighbor as ourself, but our actions don't back it up, we have a problem. As we read in James, "Faith without actions is dead."
So while it is good to know what do you believe. It is more important to be able to describe how what you believe impacts what you do. After all "It is useless to know truth if you have no intention of doing anything about it."
Monday, June 10, 2013
Saturday, June 1, 2013
How Faith Grows - private disciplines
Over the next several weeks we will be talking about the things that make faith grow, and hopefully getting better at communicating out personal story of faith (the word for this in 'christianese' is testimony).
Tonight we discussed God's number one priority for our lives, being like Jesus. In order to do this we need to learn how Jesus lived.
This leads us to number one on our list of Ways Faith Grows: Private Disciplines.
We have all been told "read your bible, pray every day and you'll grow grow grow". But how do we actually study the bible?
Answer. if you've never really made opening the bible a habit, or if you have, but just don't feel like you are getting it, then try this: Pray, read, think, write, pray
Pray: that God will help you understand what you are about to read.
Read: a chapter, start with one of the parts about Jesus. They are labeled Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Think: what can I do because of what I just read, or what is something I need to remember.
Write: what you just thought. Keep it short and sweet. No longer than a single text message or tweet.
Pray: that God will help you do something because of what you just read.
There you have it, a simply easy way to read your bible and pray every day.
Ps. There are dozens of greate ways to study the bible. If you've already got something that works well stick with it, or maybe try adding some piece of this suggestion. I'd also love to hear what you are reading and thinking and writing, so post comments!
Tonight we discussed God's number one priority for our lives, being like Jesus. In order to do this we need to learn how Jesus lived.
This leads us to number one on our list of Ways Faith Grows: Private Disciplines.
We have all been told "read your bible, pray every day and you'll grow grow grow". But how do we actually study the bible?
Answer. if you've never really made opening the bible a habit, or if you have, but just don't feel like you are getting it, then try this: Pray, read, think, write, pray
Pray: that God will help you understand what you are about to read.
Read: a chapter, start with one of the parts about Jesus. They are labeled Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Think: what can I do because of what I just read, or what is something I need to remember.
Write: what you just thought. Keep it short and sweet. No longer than a single text message or tweet.
Pray: that God will help you do something because of what you just read.
There you have it, a simply easy way to read your bible and pray every day.
Ps. There are dozens of greate ways to study the bible. If you've already got something that works well stick with it, or maybe try adding some piece of this suggestion. I'd also love to hear what you are reading and thinking and writing, so post comments!
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