Sleep has Awakened Me
The following video and the story behind Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir has sparked a renewed sense that every ear will hear about Jesus in my lifetime. Now it begs the question, how will I participate and with whom might I partner to begin answering some of these questions?
- What opportunities await the Church in a world that continues to increase it’s knowledge ability exponentially with each generation?
- How might we be able to communicate the truth of who Jesus is and what He means to the world through the use of technology?
- How might the fellowship of believers change as intimacy and depth become more possible while remaining thousands of miles apart physically?
- How might we usher in the Next Age more rapidly if we put our minds to making disciples through the use of technology?
Tuesday is for Shallow Small Group
Small groups are growing churches answer to discipleship. There are numerous theories on how to do small groups, and when I was given the task in 2005 of developing the small group ministry at Harmony I tried most of them. Simply put, good small groups require hard work. If people are going to become more Christlike, which should be the ultimate goal of a small group, then getting people to uncover their crap takes time and effort. Neither of these is the comfort obsessed culture willing to give us, and so we not only battle Satan, but the powers and principalities that govern our American life. The following short video is supposed to be funny, but for many people who fear the vulnerability that becoming a disciple of Jesus requires I think this is really what they pursue…The Shallow Small Group.
Hey, I know you feel like you are risking your very life by dealing with the sin you have committed and the sin of others that you have endured, but if you really want to experience healing and wholeness then the faster you go deep the faster you grow deep. If you are in a small group be the first to confess, and if you aren’t find one where people will walk you into and through the depths.
Blessed are the Peacemakers – Sermon Follow Up
I spoke with a few people after preaching this weekend, and I have gotten a whole lot of feedback so I wanted to take a minute and address a few of the issues that were raised that I did not have time to touch on.
First, while we are supposed to engage in conflict, and embrace conflict in a way that leads to peace we cannot expect peace to immediately replace what we had before. We may have a peace that we are finally facing this issue, but some of us have a lot to work through before we are even able to forgive other people for the sins they have committed. We just need to be willing to walk through the process while holding onto the promise that peace is on the way.
Secondly, when we hold out an olive branch and allow ourselves to be vulnerable we may get rejected. Just because we are pursuing peace doesn’t guarantee that others will join us. It is definitely a noble thing we are doing by offering and seeking forgiveness, but there will be some who will try to knock us down. Some people will choose to hold onto the grudge, and then we are faced with the choice as to whether we get angry or feel sorrow toward them.
Lastly, take baby steps. Get involved with a group of people who will walk you through the steps you need to take in order to forgive or seek forgiveness. You may have lived with this issue for years, so give yourself time. Don’t be discouraged if you just aren’t at the place where you can offer or seek forgiveness. Be confident that as long as you are moving toward the conflict God will eventually get you there, and He will give you PEACE.
Thanks for sharing with me. It was a pleasure sharing with you. Let me know if I can help.