In reflection of last week's lesson, I didn't stress enough that in small groups you not only hold each other to a higher standard, but you also love and encourage one another. In fact everything we do, even when it's calling someone out or holding them to a higher standard, we do out of love for that person. We should never be "judging" someone as better or worse than ourselves. Concern should be expressed as caring loving concern not in a judgemental way with a "better-than-though" attitude. In Philippians 2:3-5 Paul says, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." And what is Christ's attitude? Read Philippians 2: 6-8
In Ephesians 4, Paul talks specifics about how we should live as children of the Light. Ephesians 4: 25-32 are his instructions to the people of the church in Ephesus and still apply to how we should lead a Holy life especially the last verse..."forgiving each other just as in Christ god forgave you."
John Wesley gave the early Methodists 3 general rules as a guide for living a Holy life. These rules still apply today.
1. Do no harm.
2. Do good.
3. Attend to the ordinances of God.
Table Group assignment:
In small group each of you need to take a notecard on your table and number 1-3 down the notecard. Each number represents Wesley's general rules. I want you to write a statement of something that you are going to do this week to commit to following these 3 general rules. For example: #1 is: Do no harm so I might say that "this week I will not say unkind words about my co-workers." Under #2 I might say, "I will spend time with my elderly neighbor." And under #3 I might say, "I will pray before I go to work every morning." When you have completed all of your statements, I want you to share them with your group if you feel comfortable and I want you to ask your prayer partner from last week to hold you accountable to doing these things. Make sure you phone or text your accountability partner this week to see how they are doing with their commitments.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Living a Holy Life - Feb. 3, 2013
Where do chickens come from?
Where do eggs come from?
So which came first... the chicken or the egg?
This question is a common way to describe two things or events that completely rely on each other. In the church, the chicken and egg question applies to faith and works. You can't have one without the other. James 2: 14-26 In Genesis 22: 1-9 we read the story of Abraham being asked by God to sacrifice Isaac, the son Abraham never thought he would have. And in Joshua 2 we read the story of a prostitute Rahab that risked her life to hide some men that she knew were sent by God. In both stories we see examples of faith accompanied by actions that show dedication to God and his purpose.
We've talked about John Wesley and his part in forming the Methodist Church. John Wesley traved to Georgia from England to minister to the Native Americans and he struggled with this task. When he returned to England, he felt like a failure and questioned his faith. He met a man named Peter Bohler, a Moravian, after he got back to England and Bohler gave Wesley this advice: "Preach faith until you have it, and then because you have it, preach faith." What did Bohler mean? Simply this: When we act on our faith, even when our faith feels weak or when we have doubts, our faith will grow stronger. What are those ways we act on our faith? Go to worship, celebrate Holy Communion, pray daily, read and study scripture, do acts of mercy and service, meet in small groups. All these things help us become more holy but only with God's help. Practicing these acts of faith provides the opportunity for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. The more we practice, the more and more chance God has to come into our lives.
Some of these acts of faith we can do on our own, but the one way God offers help is through the support and witness of other Christians. The first Methodists in England met in small groups called classes. They would gather to pray and read and study scripture. They made a covenant with one another to avoid sinful behavior, to perform acts of charity, to participate in worship and to grow in God's grace; and they held one another accountable to this covenant. Those who did not hold up to these things were expected to repent and with the help of their small group members, continue striving for perfection in their faith. Matthew 18: 15-20; 1 Thessalonians 5: 10-11
So on Sunday, Feb. 10th we will start a new evening gathering time called DIG (Deeper in God). This will be a time spent in fellowship, devotional, and small group. Small group time will be like your present table time in confirmation class but on a little different scale. It will be a start of the small group that you will have from now until the end of high school. This is a group that will help you grow in your faith and maturity as a Christ follower. Hopefully, the other members of the group will hold you to a higher standard. They will celebrate with you when something good happens, pray with you when you suffer, and call you out and guide you when you've messed up.
Table time:
Students were asked to write their name and phone number and a few prayer requests on pieces of paper and then those names were drawn from a hat so that the students formed prayer partners. Students were then instructed to pray for their prayer partner throughout the week and to also contact them during the week to see how their week is going and to encourage them to come to class and church this Sunday.
Students are also reminded to memorize their verses: John 15: 5; John 13: 34-35
Where do eggs come from?
So which came first... the chicken or the egg?
This question is a common way to describe two things or events that completely rely on each other. In the church, the chicken and egg question applies to faith and works. You can't have one without the other. James 2: 14-26 In Genesis 22: 1-9 we read the story of Abraham being asked by God to sacrifice Isaac, the son Abraham never thought he would have. And in Joshua 2 we read the story of a prostitute Rahab that risked her life to hide some men that she knew were sent by God. In both stories we see examples of faith accompanied by actions that show dedication to God and his purpose.
We've talked about John Wesley and his part in forming the Methodist Church. John Wesley traved to Georgia from England to minister to the Native Americans and he struggled with this task. When he returned to England, he felt like a failure and questioned his faith. He met a man named Peter Bohler, a Moravian, after he got back to England and Bohler gave Wesley this advice: "Preach faith until you have it, and then because you have it, preach faith." What did Bohler mean? Simply this: When we act on our faith, even when our faith feels weak or when we have doubts, our faith will grow stronger. What are those ways we act on our faith? Go to worship, celebrate Holy Communion, pray daily, read and study scripture, do acts of mercy and service, meet in small groups. All these things help us become more holy but only with God's help. Practicing these acts of faith provides the opportunity for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. The more we practice, the more and more chance God has to come into our lives.
Some of these acts of faith we can do on our own, but the one way God offers help is through the support and witness of other Christians. The first Methodists in England met in small groups called classes. They would gather to pray and read and study scripture. They made a covenant with one another to avoid sinful behavior, to perform acts of charity, to participate in worship and to grow in God's grace; and they held one another accountable to this covenant. Those who did not hold up to these things were expected to repent and with the help of their small group members, continue striving for perfection in their faith. Matthew 18: 15-20; 1 Thessalonians 5: 10-11
So on Sunday, Feb. 10th we will start a new evening gathering time called DIG (Deeper in God). This will be a time spent in fellowship, devotional, and small group. Small group time will be like your present table time in confirmation class but on a little different scale. It will be a start of the small group that you will have from now until the end of high school. This is a group that will help you grow in your faith and maturity as a Christ follower. Hopefully, the other members of the group will hold you to a higher standard. They will celebrate with you when something good happens, pray with you when you suffer, and call you out and guide you when you've messed up.
Table time:
Students were asked to write their name and phone number and a few prayer requests on pieces of paper and then those names were drawn from a hat so that the students formed prayer partners. Students were then instructed to pray for their prayer partner throughout the week and to also contact them during the week to see how their week is going and to encourage them to come to class and church this Sunday.
Students are also reminded to memorize their verses: John 15: 5; John 13: 34-35
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Sacraments- Jan. 20, 2013
Pastor Matt Stone presented the lesson on Sunday on "Sacraments". In the United Methodist Church, two acts of worship are considered to be sacraments-- Baptism and Communion. What makes these sacraments? These two acts are ordained by Jesus himself. Jesus was baptized by John (Mark 1:9) and told his followers to go and baptize people "in the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19). Jesus instituted the sacrament of Holy Communion, instructing his disciples to partake of his body and blood- the bread and the cup- "in remembrance" of him (1Corinthians 11: 23-26). Since these two acts are outlined in Scripture as practices that Jesus commands us to do, the United Methodist doctrine defines these as sacraments.
Baptism- In the United Methodist Church we baptize people of all ages. We believe in infant/small children baptism as an affirmation of God's prevenient grace-- the grace that goes before. Parents take the vows on their child's behalf. In our church, we affirm that "children are born into the brokenness of the world and should receive the cleansing and renewing forgiveness of God...." ("By Water and the Spirit: A United Methodist Understanding of Baptism"). Baptism is a sign of God's grace and that God's grace is at work in a person's life even before that person responds to God's grace by professing his or her faith. Not only do parents accept the vows of baptism for their child but the entire congregation does too. We also believe that a person only needs to be baptized once. Since we believe that God does the work in baptism, we also believe that God does it perfectly and therefore there is no need to baptize a person more than once. There are 3 ways to baptize: sprinkling, pouring and immersion. At KUMC we traditionally do baptisms by pouring or sprinkling. The reason being more about convenience, we don't have a baptismal pool, rather than any other reason. In an immersion baptism, the dunking in the water is very symbolic-- dying to your old self when you go under the water and being raised to a new life in Christ when you are brought out of the water. Not all Christian denominations baptize infants. Some practice believer's baptism meaning that a person can be baptized only when he or she is old enough to make a profession of faith. In the United Methodist Church, we call this time Confirmation. Confirmation is a time when a person is old enough to accept for himself the vows of their baptism. They don't get re-baptized but they confirm that they are now ready to accept God's love and grace and the responsibility of seeking a life in Christ.
Communion- Christians may and should partake in the sacrament of Holy Communion frequently. Through Communion, we are nourished by God's saving grace and reminded of the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. Communion is done most of the time in community. Celebrating communion not only draws us closer to God, but also draws us closer to one another. In the United Methodist Church, all are invited to receive the bread and cup. This is called an "open table". In the UMC Communion litergy, the invitation is to "all who love Christ and earnestly repent of their sin and seek to live in peace with one another." Other denominations who practice closed Communion believe that being worthy to take Holy Communion means being in a right relationship with the church and/or sharing the church's understanding of Holy Communion.
The sacraments are more than just rituals. They are practices ordained by Jesus himself as ways for us to more fully experience God's forgiving love and grace. They are ways in which we live out our faith and come to know God better.
(Notes taken from: Credo Confirmation Curriculum)
Baptism- In the United Methodist Church we baptize people of all ages. We believe in infant/small children baptism as an affirmation of God's prevenient grace-- the grace that goes before. Parents take the vows on their child's behalf. In our church, we affirm that "children are born into the brokenness of the world and should receive the cleansing and renewing forgiveness of God...." ("By Water and the Spirit: A United Methodist Understanding of Baptism"). Baptism is a sign of God's grace and that God's grace is at work in a person's life even before that person responds to God's grace by professing his or her faith. Not only do parents accept the vows of baptism for their child but the entire congregation does too. We also believe that a person only needs to be baptized once. Since we believe that God does the work in baptism, we also believe that God does it perfectly and therefore there is no need to baptize a person more than once. There are 3 ways to baptize: sprinkling, pouring and immersion. At KUMC we traditionally do baptisms by pouring or sprinkling. The reason being more about convenience, we don't have a baptismal pool, rather than any other reason. In an immersion baptism, the dunking in the water is very symbolic-- dying to your old self when you go under the water and being raised to a new life in Christ when you are brought out of the water. Not all Christian denominations baptize infants. Some practice believer's baptism meaning that a person can be baptized only when he or she is old enough to make a profession of faith. In the United Methodist Church, we call this time Confirmation. Confirmation is a time when a person is old enough to accept for himself the vows of their baptism. They don't get re-baptized but they confirm that they are now ready to accept God's love and grace and the responsibility of seeking a life in Christ.
Communion- Christians may and should partake in the sacrament of Holy Communion frequently. Through Communion, we are nourished by God's saving grace and reminded of the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. Communion is done most of the time in community. Celebrating communion not only draws us closer to God, but also draws us closer to one another. In the United Methodist Church, all are invited to receive the bread and cup. This is called an "open table". In the UMC Communion litergy, the invitation is to "all who love Christ and earnestly repent of their sin and seek to live in peace with one another." Other denominations who practice closed Communion believe that being worthy to take Holy Communion means being in a right relationship with the church and/or sharing the church's understanding of Holy Communion.
The sacraments are more than just rituals. They are practices ordained by Jesus himself as ways for us to more fully experience God's forgiving love and grace. They are ways in which we live out our faith and come to know God better.
(Notes taken from: Credo Confirmation Curriculum)
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Moving on to Perfection- Jan. 13, 2013
Several weeks ago Rev. Welch talked to us about "Way of Salvation" and he mentioned Wesley's 3 general rules: 1. Do no harm; 2. Do good, and 3. Attend to the ordainances of God or in other words, love God. He also mentioned that we should strive or move on to perfection which is a belief that Wesley emphasized in his sermons. John Wesley believed that we move toward a perfect faith, a perfect love. Wesley insisted that "a believer daily grows in grace, comes nearer and nearer to perfection, and that we ought to be continually pressing after it and to exhort (encourage) all others so to do." In Philippians 3:12 Paul writes, "Not that I have already obtained all this or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that which Christ Jesus took hold of me."
So how do we do this? How do we move on to perfection, or a perfect love. The way to consistent Christian living and true holiness has remained the same (Ellsworth Kalas, Being United Methodist): Wesley's 3rd general rule-- attending to the ordainances of God-- prayer, worship, studying the Bible, celebrating communion, and serving others.
But doing these things are hard, right? Why? Besides being something we have to make time for or something we have to remember to do, Kalas says that he would argue that the hardest part about attending to the ordainances of God is doing it in the right spirit. Doing these because we want to advance ourselves is the wrong way and we'll miss the mark. Doing them to please and glorify God and to bless others is doing them in the right spirit. If we can think of praying, studying the Bible and praising God daily because He loves us and calls us to be in relationship with Him, doing these things would somehow be easier to do. Starting each day by renewing our day for the Lord would help us to do those things to be in relationship with Him.
True Holiness = Pure Love (love of God and love of others)
Matthew 5: 43-48 describes God's perfect love-- loving the good and the evil, sending rain and sun for both, and asking what is the reward to love those who love you? Verse 48 says: "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." Loving those that aren't nice to us, who are different than us, who you may think look weird or act weird is not easy. But it's what Christ describes as "pure perfect love" and it's the love that He wants us to have and show. Everyday we need a new commitment to a Godly life and renewed love for God and others. Everyday you have to "put on love". 1 John 4: 18-21 says that there is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear... the one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because He first loved us. If anyone says , "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. In Ephesians 5:1-2 Paul tells us, " Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Philippians 3:12-- we're not perfect yet, but we should take hold of that which Christ has taken hold of us and keeps pursing us daily. Who wants to be imperfect, when Christ's goal is for us to be perfect? Remember our new verse (the one you should memorize): John 13: 34-35- "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
So how do we do this? How do we move on to perfection, or a perfect love. The way to consistent Christian living and true holiness has remained the same (Ellsworth Kalas, Being United Methodist): Wesley's 3rd general rule-- attending to the ordainances of God-- prayer, worship, studying the Bible, celebrating communion, and serving others.
But doing these things are hard, right? Why? Besides being something we have to make time for or something we have to remember to do, Kalas says that he would argue that the hardest part about attending to the ordainances of God is doing it in the right spirit. Doing these because we want to advance ourselves is the wrong way and we'll miss the mark. Doing them to please and glorify God and to bless others is doing them in the right spirit. If we can think of praying, studying the Bible and praising God daily because He loves us and calls us to be in relationship with Him, doing these things would somehow be easier to do. Starting each day by renewing our day for the Lord would help us to do those things to be in relationship with Him.
True Holiness = Pure Love (love of God and love of others)
Matthew 5: 43-48 describes God's perfect love-- loving the good and the evil, sending rain and sun for both, and asking what is the reward to love those who love you? Verse 48 says: "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." Loving those that aren't nice to us, who are different than us, who you may think look weird or act weird is not easy. But it's what Christ describes as "pure perfect love" and it's the love that He wants us to have and show. Everyday we need a new commitment to a Godly life and renewed love for God and others. Everyday you have to "put on love". 1 John 4: 18-21 says that there is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear... the one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because He first loved us. If anyone says , "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. In Ephesians 5:1-2 Paul tells us, " Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Philippians 3:12-- we're not perfect yet, but we should take hold of that which Christ has taken hold of us and keeps pursing us daily. Who wants to be imperfect, when Christ's goal is for us to be perfect? Remember our new verse (the one you should memorize): John 13: 34-35- "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
Worship- Jan. 6, 2013
If someone asked you what "worship" is what would you say?
The dictionary meaning says, "Worship is reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power-also an act of expressing such reverence - or a form of religious practice with its creed and ritual - extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem."
For those who worship the Lord, it is honoring God through our words, our prayers, our songs and our actions. It is recognizing that we can have an encounter with the living God.
People have worshiped God since the beginning of time. Cain and Abel brought to the Lord their best. Abraham built an altar to the Lord; Jacob set up stones to mark the place where he had an encounter with God; the Hebrews built a tabernacle for a place to worship the Lord; Solomon built a Temple; people gathered to honor and adore the One who had saved them from their enemies, the One who sustained them in times of trial and tribulation, the One who knew them intimately.
Jesus worshipped at a synagogue - a place where the people gathered to hear the Word read and proclaimed and offered their prayers and sang hymns or psalms of praise.
In the Christian community, worship is something we do together to honor and show our devotion to Christ.
Worship, or "The Service" means the work of the people. We are not suppose to be spectators or a passive audience in worship, but instead, we gather to collectively realize the presence of God in Christ, and to respond together in adoration, in sung praises, in prayer, hearing His Word, and in the dedication of our lives. Worship is the Christian community concentrating on God so that God's presence may overflow into the activities of our lives in the entire week to come.
What does our worship look like?
Our worship service is basically built around the form represented in the worship experience of Isaiah found in Isaiah 6: 1-8. In the scripture, seraphs are gathered around the Lord, singing praises, a person confessing their sin, an assurance of pardon, the Word of the Lord spoken, and a response to the Word. In our worship services we have many of these same elements: the Gathering, Praise, Adoration & Thanksgiving, Confession, Assurance of Forgiveness, Hearing the Word (anthem, Scripture, sermon), Responding to the Word, Going forth into the world to spread the Gospel. Special parts of the service are Holy Communion and Baptism.
The way that the church is laid out and the items in that place are very important for it's people to experience the story of God as known in Jesus. In the Old Testament Moses is given instructions by the Lord for the layout of the place of worship. The altar is a place of offereng to ask God to forgive sins. The altar represents the grace that Christ offers to us through the sacrament of Holy Communion. Candles remind us of Christ who is the Light of the World and the Holy Spirit whom we ask to join us in our worship. The empty cross in our church reminds us of the resurrection of Christ and His victory over sin and death. The pulpit is the place where the Word is proclaimed. The baptismal font is the basin of water used in baptism. The communion rail is the place to kneel before the Lord showing humility and honoring God. The paraments are the colorful cloths on the altar and serve to remind us of what we are celebrating and observing in worship. These paraments center around the Liturgical year, which tells the story of our faith year after year and helps to structure our worship.
The Liturgical year is as follows:
-Advent- Prepare for Christ; 4 weeks before Christmas Day; color is purple
-Christmas- Celebrate Christ's birth; 12 days; color is white
-Ephiphany- Celebrate Christ's divinity and we learn about Jesus; Until Ash Wednesday; color is green
-Lent- A time to think about our lives and Jesus; 40 days, not counting Sundays, before Easter; color is purple
-Easter- Celebration of Christ's resurrection; 50 days; color is white
-Pentecost- Remember the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Christian church; longest season; color is red
-Ordinary Time- time to reflect upon doing the work of God's Kingdom and to grow spiritually; lasts until November; color is green
Thank you Rev. Tefteller for this informative lesson.
The dictionary meaning says, "Worship is reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power-also an act of expressing such reverence - or a form of religious practice with its creed and ritual - extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem."
For those who worship the Lord, it is honoring God through our words, our prayers, our songs and our actions. It is recognizing that we can have an encounter with the living God.
People have worshiped God since the beginning of time. Cain and Abel brought to the Lord their best. Abraham built an altar to the Lord; Jacob set up stones to mark the place where he had an encounter with God; the Hebrews built a tabernacle for a place to worship the Lord; Solomon built a Temple; people gathered to honor and adore the One who had saved them from their enemies, the One who sustained them in times of trial and tribulation, the One who knew them intimately.
Jesus worshipped at a synagogue - a place where the people gathered to hear the Word read and proclaimed and offered their prayers and sang hymns or psalms of praise.
In the Christian community, worship is something we do together to honor and show our devotion to Christ.
Worship, or "The Service" means the work of the people. We are not suppose to be spectators or a passive audience in worship, but instead, we gather to collectively realize the presence of God in Christ, and to respond together in adoration, in sung praises, in prayer, hearing His Word, and in the dedication of our lives. Worship is the Christian community concentrating on God so that God's presence may overflow into the activities of our lives in the entire week to come.
What does our worship look like?
Our worship service is basically built around the form represented in the worship experience of Isaiah found in Isaiah 6: 1-8. In the scripture, seraphs are gathered around the Lord, singing praises, a person confessing their sin, an assurance of pardon, the Word of the Lord spoken, and a response to the Word. In our worship services we have many of these same elements: the Gathering, Praise, Adoration & Thanksgiving, Confession, Assurance of Forgiveness, Hearing the Word (anthem, Scripture, sermon), Responding to the Word, Going forth into the world to spread the Gospel. Special parts of the service are Holy Communion and Baptism.
The way that the church is laid out and the items in that place are very important for it's people to experience the story of God as known in Jesus. In the Old Testament Moses is given instructions by the Lord for the layout of the place of worship. The altar is a place of offereng to ask God to forgive sins. The altar represents the grace that Christ offers to us through the sacrament of Holy Communion. Candles remind us of Christ who is the Light of the World and the Holy Spirit whom we ask to join us in our worship. The empty cross in our church reminds us of the resurrection of Christ and His victory over sin and death. The pulpit is the place where the Word is proclaimed. The baptismal font is the basin of water used in baptism. The communion rail is the place to kneel before the Lord showing humility and honoring God. The paraments are the colorful cloths on the altar and serve to remind us of what we are celebrating and observing in worship. These paraments center around the Liturgical year, which tells the story of our faith year after year and helps to structure our worship.
The Liturgical year is as follows:
-Advent- Prepare for Christ; 4 weeks before Christmas Day; color is purple
-Christmas- Celebrate Christ's birth; 12 days; color is white
-Ephiphany- Celebrate Christ's divinity and we learn about Jesus; Until Ash Wednesday; color is green
-Lent- A time to think about our lives and Jesus; 40 days, not counting Sundays, before Easter; color is purple
-Easter- Celebration of Christ's resurrection; 50 days; color is white
-Pentecost- Remember the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Christian church; longest season; color is red
-Ordinary Time- time to reflect upon doing the work of God's Kingdom and to grow spiritually; lasts until November; color is green
Thank you Rev. Tefteller for this informative lesson.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Way of Salvation - Dec. 9, 2012
Pastor Jim Welch gave the lesson on Sunday on "Way of Salvation".
Jim started by reminding us that when we are saved we are saved from something to something. Sin is the state of being separated from God, neighbor and self. Sin is aloneness, and brokeness. So if salvation is being saved from our sin, we are being saved to wholeness, to relationship with someone, and right relationship with God, neighbor and self.
God's love is a seeking love so it doesn't matter how much we separate ourselves from God, he will always seek us out. There are many Greek words for love: eros- word that means the kind of love we feel, philia- word for the kind of love we have with a friend, storge- word for love a parent has for a child or siblings have for each other, agape- word for sacrificial love/ how God loves us.
In Luke 15 there are 3 parables - Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, and Lost Son. All are found. In each case, it's a story of a seeking love. They are parables about God's character and how He seeks us out in every moment of life.
John Wesley indentified 3 types of grace that helps us clarify God's love and grace. Prevenient grace is that which goes before. In comparing this to a house, it would be like standing on the porch and the porch light always being on. It's a preparing grace which prepares us for God's love. When we talk about repentance from our sin, repentance is going in the other direction, we think of turning toward the porch light of God's love. Justifying grace is like walking through the door of the house. It's a welcoming grace, an assurance that you are welcomed and will be embraced. (1 John 1:9) Sanctifying grace is a holiness of life and heart. With sanctifying grace we are inside the house and get to explore the house. We are living worthy of God's love.
John Wesley says that this grace that God offers us is a grace that helps us move on to perfection in our faith. We work to move toward a perfect love. Three general rules that Wesley says that we should live by are these: 1. Do no harm, 2. Do Good (or be in love with others), and 3. Attend to the ordinances of the Church (or live out that love).
Jim started by reminding us that when we are saved we are saved from something to something. Sin is the state of being separated from God, neighbor and self. Sin is aloneness, and brokeness. So if salvation is being saved from our sin, we are being saved to wholeness, to relationship with someone, and right relationship with God, neighbor and self.
God's love is a seeking love so it doesn't matter how much we separate ourselves from God, he will always seek us out. There are many Greek words for love: eros- word that means the kind of love we feel, philia- word for the kind of love we have with a friend, storge- word for love a parent has for a child or siblings have for each other, agape- word for sacrificial love/ how God loves us.
In Luke 15 there are 3 parables - Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, and Lost Son. All are found. In each case, it's a story of a seeking love. They are parables about God's character and how He seeks us out in every moment of life.
John Wesley indentified 3 types of grace that helps us clarify God's love and grace. Prevenient grace is that which goes before. In comparing this to a house, it would be like standing on the porch and the porch light always being on. It's a preparing grace which prepares us for God's love. When we talk about repentance from our sin, repentance is going in the other direction, we think of turning toward the porch light of God's love. Justifying grace is like walking through the door of the house. It's a welcoming grace, an assurance that you are welcomed and will be embraced. (1 John 1:9) Sanctifying grace is a holiness of life and heart. With sanctifying grace we are inside the house and get to explore the house. We are living worthy of God's love.
John Wesley says that this grace that God offers us is a grace that helps us move on to perfection in our faith. We work to move toward a perfect love. Three general rules that Wesley says that we should live by are these: 1. Do no harm, 2. Do Good (or be in love with others), and 3. Attend to the ordinances of the Church (or live out that love).
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Way of Discipleship- Dec. 2, 2012
Rev. Judy Tefteller provided the Confirmation lesson this past Sunday on "Way of Discipleship".
Rev. Tefteller addressed 4 parts of discipleship. The first was devotion. Judy talked about how devotion is spending more time alone with God and that devotion involves prayer, meditation, and reading and reflecting on Scripture. Devotion is a daily thing. Rev. Tefteller gave the students an advent calendar and a devotional lesson that they could use to devote time to scripture everyday.
Next, she talked about worship. Worship is spending time with God as part of a group. Acts 2:37-47 tells us that right after the first Christian community came together, the people joined one another in worship. Judy handed out bulletins from the KUMC worship service and spent time talking about the different parts of worship and which part the students like the best.
Compassion is the third part of discipleship. The word compassion came from two words that would literally be translated as 'to feel with'. When we have compassion for someone, we try to feel what they are feeling and to meet their needs and heal their pain. Rev. Tefteller talked about all the compassionate things that the comfirmands had done as a group, focusing on our mission at White Oak apts and how that was truly an act of mercy.
Last but not least, Judy talked about justice as the last part of discipleship. There is a simple definition of justice-- justice is God, all people, and all creation living in right relationship with one another. Like compassion, justice involves loving others. And like worship, justice is corporate. We work with other people to bring about justice for all. "Shout for the Silent" was an act of justice. Judy talked to the group about what they learned and what they could do about those caught in human trafficking. She also reminded the students that there are many forms of those who are silent around the world and even in their class and school. Scripture has a lot to say about justice. Check these verses out: Dt. 16:19-20, Isaiah 42:1-4, Amos 5:15, Micah 6:8.
The final thing that Rev. Tefteller discussed was the KUMC mission statement: To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world to the Glory of God. Our vision: Connect to Christ and to one another, Grow in faith, and Serve in love. And our goals- We are to become disciples who: confess Jesus as Lord, empowered by the Holy Spirit, worship regularly, practice a vital prayer life, connect through small groups, rooted in scripture, share the story of God's love in Christ, practice generous giving, and serve the least, the last and the lost.
Rev. Tefteller addressed 4 parts of discipleship. The first was devotion. Judy talked about how devotion is spending more time alone with God and that devotion involves prayer, meditation, and reading and reflecting on Scripture. Devotion is a daily thing. Rev. Tefteller gave the students an advent calendar and a devotional lesson that they could use to devote time to scripture everyday.
Next, she talked about worship. Worship is spending time with God as part of a group. Acts 2:37-47 tells us that right after the first Christian community came together, the people joined one another in worship. Judy handed out bulletins from the KUMC worship service and spent time talking about the different parts of worship and which part the students like the best.
Compassion is the third part of discipleship. The word compassion came from two words that would literally be translated as 'to feel with'. When we have compassion for someone, we try to feel what they are feeling and to meet their needs and heal their pain. Rev. Tefteller talked about all the compassionate things that the comfirmands had done as a group, focusing on our mission at White Oak apts and how that was truly an act of mercy.
Last but not least, Judy talked about justice as the last part of discipleship. There is a simple definition of justice-- justice is God, all people, and all creation living in right relationship with one another. Like compassion, justice involves loving others. And like worship, justice is corporate. We work with other people to bring about justice for all. "Shout for the Silent" was an act of justice. Judy talked to the group about what they learned and what they could do about those caught in human trafficking. She also reminded the students that there are many forms of those who are silent around the world and even in their class and school. Scripture has a lot to say about justice. Check these verses out: Dt. 16:19-20, Isaiah 42:1-4, Amos 5:15, Micah 6:8.
The final thing that Rev. Tefteller discussed was the KUMC mission statement: To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world to the Glory of God. Our vision: Connect to Christ and to one another, Grow in faith, and Serve in love. And our goals- We are to become disciples who: confess Jesus as Lord, empowered by the Holy Spirit, worship regularly, practice a vital prayer life, connect through small groups, rooted in scripture, share the story of God's love in Christ, practice generous giving, and serve the least, the last and the lost.
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