We try to maintain sanity without looking to God, but grow even more confused. Psalm 40 teaches us that waiting for the Lord paves the way for transformation. ...
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, Discussion Week 3 Chapter 3: The Day Alone BACKGROUND toLife Together Refer to Discussion Week 1 for background.All quotations taken from: Bonhoeffer, Dietrich.Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community. New York: Harper and Row, 1954. Reprint 2009. QUESTIONS Icebreaker question: Typically, being an extrovert ...
Keep ReadingDietrich BonhoefferLife Together, Discussion Week 2Chapter 2: The Day with Others BACKGROUND toLife Together Refer to Discussion Week 1 for background.All quotations taken from: Bonhoeffer, Dietrich.Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community. New York: Harper and Row, 1954. Reprint 2009. QUESTIONS Icebreaker question: This chapter discusses the f...
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"Self-indulgence is the enemy of gratitude, and self-discipline usually its friend and generator. That is why gluttony is a deadly sin. The early desert fathers believed that a person's appetites are linked: full stomachs and jaded palates take the edge from our hunger and thirst for righteousness. They spoil the appetite for God." - Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., Presiden...
Keep ReadingDietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together Discussion Week 1 Chapter 1: Community BACKGROUND toLife Together Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Feb 4, 1906 Apr 9, 1945) was a German Lutheran theologian and pastor. He was raised in Berlin and studied theology under Adolf Von Harnack and Karl Barth, both of whom served as mentors to the young Bonhoeffer. Met with the rising of the Third Re...
Keep ReadingI mentioned in a recent sermon that the word Peter uses for "elect" means "to pick out" or "to select out of a number." Paul uses this verb in Ephesians 1:4, "he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us" Peter chooses this word to remind us that we are part of God's chosen people. In the ...
Keep ReadingTwo hundred years after the Bubonic plague killed half the population of Europe, John Hess, a pastor in Breslau, Germany, wrote to Martin Luther to seek advice. "Can a Christian flee from a deadly plague?" It was not a theoretical questions since black death, small pox and other contagious diseases still festered across Eurpean landscapes and towns in 1527. In reply Luther...
Keep ReadingThe Gift of the Holy Spirit Rev. Blake Altman, Lead Pastor God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passageand consider these questions. READ John 14:15-21, 16:7-15 (ESV) 14:15"If you love me, you willkeep my commandments.16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you anotherHelper,to be with you forever,17event...
Keep ReadingFive Types of People (part 1) Rev. Blake Altman, Lead Pastor God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passageand consider these questions. READ John 11:45-12:11 (ESV) 11:45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, 46but some of them went to the Pharisees and told...
Keep ReadingTrinity Families,Big emotions big feelings big responses in a time of stress such as these weeks have brought can be scary. As families navigate all that Covid 19 has brought us, our bodies, minds, and spirits can become weighed down and when the "release valve" is opened, it can be frightening. Developing an understanding of and the expression of emotions can help us "c...
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What do we do when Jesus let's bad things happen? John 11:28-44Rev. Scott Mitchell, Pastor of Community Formation God intends to change you by His Word. How is He at work in you to do that? Read the following passageand consider these questions. READ John 11:28-44 (ESV) [28] When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, "The Teacher is...
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