tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48574858985509324002024-02-07T14:27:34.240-08:00The Network ChurchDevon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.comBlogger115125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-3467157031710439232020-06-14T04:09:00.001-07:002020-06-14T04:09:04.169-07:00Click for online meetings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We're moving most of our time together throughout the week online. If you're interested in times of Bible reading, prayer, or just having supper with the church family, then we have you covered. If you look below then you'll see our updated schedule.<br />
<br />
If you want to join us for our time together then simply click <a href="https://zoom.us/j/5534728870" target="_blank">HERE</a> to join. You will find the password for each meeting on this post.<br />
<br />
Tuesday 6:00 PM (Dinner together)<br />
Wednesday 1:00 PM (Prayer Time)<br />
Thursday 8:00 PM (Bible Study)<br />
<br />Devon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-43087483655266388802020-06-04T16:08:00.002-07:002020-06-04T16:08:45.228-07:00Amos 7:1-17If you've spent enouhg time in the Old Testament you might recognize the pattern. "Repent and turn back to me, or be destroyed." Then the people either turn back and repent... or not, and the consawuences happen. This is to be expected in a collection of writings dedicated to the expereince of divinity meeting humanity. So when that pattern is broken, it becomes noteworthy.<br />
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Amos 7 begins with a strange collection. Two different judgments, one by locusts and another by fire, that God has decided to bring upon his people. But then the prophet appeals to God on their behalf. There is no preaching, there is no call to repentance, and there is no repentance to speak of, but on both occations God decides to relent his judgement. It is a pure case of mercy and grace for his people.<br />
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This is not so strange a thing really to find in scripture, It's just noteworthy as I said, and there's a few important things here. One is around the idea of God's patience, another around his sense of mercy and grace. But what I want to focus on is the sense of intercession.<br />
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It seems to me in the modern church taht there is a hesitancy towards intercession. I think this is partically because people simply don't want to devote the time/mental energy to intercession. I also think that there are some ideas aroud the sovereignty of God. "God will do whatever he wants, so why should we want to try and change his mind?" But this is the kicker, most of the heroes of the Bible believed that God could change his mind, and that they would have a hand in that. This would include Abraham, Amos (of course), David, and even Jesus himself.<br />
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The Bible gives a clear idea around the idea of intercession. God wants an interactive relationship. Dispite his soveregnty, he wants a relationship where we may very well have an affect on his decidsions, at least this is how scripture reveals that relatonship. It's all through the Bible. So the uncomfortable question is... why does it seem so lacking today?<br />
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I think the answer is what's uncomfortable. Christians to pray for intercession because they don't really believe that it will work. Sure, we'll pray for things that are easy to write off if it doesn't work. We <i>intercede</i> for abstract things. Mostly, I think that we try to word our prayers in a way that can protect our own dissapointment if nothing changes. But when was the last time you heard someone pray in a way where you could tell, "they really expect that this act is going to change things."<br />
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I for one, don't quite get the point of this whole faith thing if we don't beleive in relational prayer that expects it to make a difference. I'm looking forward to seeing how others feel.<br />
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For Discusion:<br />
1) Read the visions. What stands out about Amos's intercession? How do you try to "Defend your prayers," in case it doesn't work?<br />
2) What is your understanding of the plumb line? What is it's purpose?<br />
3) The second half of Amos 7 seems to give us the first sense of narrative in the whole book. What does this story show you of Amos' experience? Why would he include this?Devon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-31812779972786592692020-06-03T16:24:00.002-07:002020-06-03T16:24:32.724-07:00Black Lives Matter!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">We're Sorry.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">We're Listening.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">We're Learning.</span>Devon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-64667618686261763932020-05-21T10:51:00.001-07:002020-05-21T10:51:18.960-07:00Amos 5:18-27If you've been following along with this study, then you might be feeling like I am. "Ok, I get it. Injustice bad, and false worship bad. How can you make nine chapters out of this." And while it is definitely true that this book does seem to run on and make the smae points over and over again, it is also true that when speaking to people who fundamentally believe themselves to be innicent of these things, repetition is a bit of a neccessity. It's only after enough examples that someone listening might say to themselves... "Wait, is he talking about us?"<br />
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You might think this is a ridiculous part of human nature, and this is true. But it is something that I'v seen countless times. Personally I have taken to this particular line in many different sermons over the years, "You might be thinking to yourself right now, 'yeah he's right. Other people do need to change on this.' But no, I'm talking about <i>you</i>, <i>you</i> need to change with this."<br />
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So it's about this part of the book that I think it becomes more and more apoarent. Amos is speaking ot the reader, he's speaking to us. YOU HAVE A PROBLEM! We talk about this book as a message that was spoken to a particular people. This is true. But it was also written down, adn things that are written down are meant to last. Amos likely never thought that his words would be talked about by a group of people in another language thousands of years later, (Ok, he definitely didn't expect that), but he did know that this was meant for people he didn't know, and would never meet.<br />
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I have yet to meet Amos. So in this passage it's hard, but we have to look at these familiar ideas and remember that this is still important. There are important ideas here.<br />
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And the biggest idea is, again, the relationship between ethics and worship. This passage contains some of the most famous lines about rejecton of worship. God hates, despises, and cannot stand... their worship? If you were to compse a list of all the things the Bible says God hates it could be extensive. But would you really think of worship as one of your top three? And yet the reasons given in this passage are simple. The worship of the worshipper is rejected because their ethics are incompatible.<br />
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And this is where I had to stop. Is this repeated? Becasue I was struck with the feeling that this direct connection hasn't been brought up before. Not directly. We've talked a lot about the heart of the worshipper, or the intent of thier worship. But thier ethics, diretly? And I think that this has the most important implications for the christian fatih. Namely, can our concious ethical failures turn our worship into a hateful excercise?<br />
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I think yes. I think that the idea that we can worship, praise, and thank God while living a life that is disastrous to ourselves and others is impossible to stand. I think that choosing evil while praising a God of love is too contradictory to happen. But what does this mean of grace? Very little I think.<br />
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Sometimes I feel like Amos. I can look at the church around the world and I know that the worship that is happening here or there is destructive. I don't think this because of the style, and I don't think this because of the theological issues. I believe this is true because the church allows injustice to stand, it allows evil to reign.<br />
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Think about it this way. We do not worship dispite our evil hearts. We worship by standing against the evil in our own hearts. I think that truly accepting this, would create a lot of change in the world.<br />
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For discussion: Read Amos 5:18-27<br />
1) What do you think is meant by the Day of the Lord? Is this comforting, or is it frieghtening?<br />
2) Bonus: Do you think that modern Christian Eschatology is escapism?<br />
3) What examples have you seen of ethical dilema's hindering worship? Do you think any person is able to judge this for themselves?<br />
4) What is the greatest ehtical issue in the way of proper worship today? How?<br />
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<br />Devon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-31310591006670402502020-05-14T08:29:00.002-07:002020-05-14T08:29:38.588-07:00Amos 5:1-17The theme of Lament is an important one in the Bible. This makes sense when you think about it. Experiences and tragedies that bring people to lament their circumstance is an integral part of the human experience. The writers of scripture lament all through it's writings including the Psalms especially. But there's even a book called "Lamentations."<br />
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In many ways we have lost this practice in the modern experience. Much of the Christians world has put on a bit of a face. We want people to know how joyous and happy our faith has made us, so we speak about our faith as if everything in our lives is better and happier beause of it. Some (we might all know a person like this) seems to just burst with bubbly giddiness all the time be cause the Bible tells them to be joyous.<br />
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And there is an aspect of joy to faith and spirituality. However, to hyper-focus on the joyous natures of faith is beyond misleading into the realm of dishonesty. We all feel sadness and loss in life, and to ignore the anger, even hatred, that can come from these experiences is disingenuous to say the least. If we are to decalare our joy in faith, then it makes sense to declare out lament in faith as well. The realities of life and spirituality demand it. This is why it's so common in scripture.<br />
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So far the book of Amos is filled with all sorts of great imagery about the injustice and evil's of the nation. Amos speaks to a people boldly, sarcastically, and almost contemtuously at times to those who live in comfort on the backs of the poor. Heere though, in 5:1-17, we get Amos lamenting the disasters that are coming. This seems natural. even when we see the injustices of the world we may lament the evils that have been caused, and the catasstrafies that bring this justice.<br />
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This passage is a Lament of sorts. It is formed in a Chiasm. The passage begins and ends with lament wirting, but between them is a calling to seek God and justice. In the middle of all this is a hymn of praise to God declaring his power over all things. There is a wonderful point here. In the middle of our lament, God's glory still reigns.<br />
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We live in a time where many beleive that God is only in the positive. God gives us good things and protects us from bad things. But this misses one of the central truths of scripture. God is in the midst of all of our situations. It is only up to us to come to him with all of our feelings whether they be joy or anger, peace or hatred. God is bg enough to take it all.<br />
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For Discussion:<br />
1) What are you lamenting the most right now? Describe your feelings. Do you feel confident to bring all those feelings to God.<br />
2) The improper worship led to the temples being unsafe for the Israelites to find refuge. Christian places of worship have been destroyed throughout history. How do you "rely on the temple?"<br />
3) This hymn shows the power of inversion. How is the decription of God's power to reverse things relevant?Devon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-2780202425719789432020-05-08T12:19:00.003-07:002020-05-08T12:19:53.178-07:00Click HERE for all online meetings.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhROcIbAXW1NUUs0yPxJ1s59KojVzKO-aE0rToaLgS4fBxMFCITRXeQj8uwL5Gn7pP3ykaLasPVYmfoSbqv9QHIXjDnvNz6wT3kqqusv85tSe2fcOCb22CneKMwH3FGf2gYqSlYlM3cofAY/s1600/IMG_20200322_103135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhROcIbAXW1NUUs0yPxJ1s59KojVzKO-aE0rToaLgS4fBxMFCITRXeQj8uwL5Gn7pP3ykaLasPVYmfoSbqv9QHIXjDnvNz6wT3kqqusv85tSe2fcOCb22CneKMwH3FGf2gYqSlYlM3cofAY/s320/IMG_20200322_103135.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
We're moving most of our time together throughout the week online. If you're interested in times of Bible reading, prayer, or just having supper with the church family, then we have you covered. If you look below then you'll see our updated schedule.<br />
<br />
If you want to join us for our time together then simply click <a href="https://zoom.us/j/5534728870" target="_blank">HERE</a> to join. You will find the password for each meeting on this post.<br />
<br />
Tuesday 6:00 PM (Dinner together)<br />
Wednesday 1:00 PM (Prayer Time)<br />
Thursday 8:00 PM (Bible Study)<br />
<br />Devon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-82088257954198446552020-04-29T09:53:00.002-07:002020-04-29T09:53:49.485-07:00Amos - 4:4-13Let's say someone approached you and said that your place of worship was sinful, and would be destroyed by God. If you don't have a place of worship, then imagine your favorite charity or non-profit. The point is the same. This thing that you believe is special, and holy, and set-apart, is somehow seen as evil enough to deserve God's judgement? How would you react? What would you say?<br />
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It's reasonable to think that you might want to defend your organization. You might talk about all the different programs you run for the poor. You might tell stories of people who have found community. You might talk about the long history of your organization, and how you have always pshed through the hard times togther. This would be a reasonable way to defend yourself. Except there's one problem. It doesn't make sense?<br />
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If someone is accused of murder, it is commonly thought that with a horde of "good character wittnesses," one can be able to find freedom. This is absurd. It is well known that no amound of good work should free someone from justice for any attrocities they have committed.<br />
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Amos 4:4-5 is a powerful passage. After laying out the oppression and injustice that God's people have been involved with, Amos has a mock call-to-wroship filled with sarcasm. He makes it clear that while his people have been living oppressive lives, their worship has been unacceptable. At it's base is the connection between worship and behavior. Worship is done by the heart and, apparently, acceptable heart-filled worship is not possible while opressing and subdjigating others.<br />
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Amos derides the people for bringing their sacrifices to the temple every day, and special tythes every three days. This is interesting since these particular sacrifices were only required annually, or every three years. The people have increased their sacrificing hundreds of times over, and yet God is not pleased with it. He is still appalled by their lack of compassion and mercy.<br />
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This is directly transferable to the present day. No amount of giving, tithing, volunteering, conversing, hosting, fasting or any other spiritual act can make our worship to God more favorable when we are actively and intentionally participating in the oppression of others.<br />
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The rest of this section is filled with a series of judgements. To the modern reader it sounds like a wrathful God, uncaring to people and selfish, bringing disaster and famine to the people of earth. But what I see here is the declaration of people not returning to their God amid disaster. However you feel about the Old Testament, and no matter what interpretive model you use, the people of this time believed that God would bring disaster in order to show his power, and bring people back to him. But these people refused to see him, even within tragedy.<br />
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I think that there is a deeper lesson here. When we refuse to see God in what is happening in the world around us, then we are refusing to see God. I don't know if God intentionally brings disaster for special purpose. But if I refuse to wrestle with those issues, then I refuse to look for God. If I say to myself, "I don't believe God would do this," and never look for God in disaster, then I am refusing God's place and power in the most significant points of history.<br />
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I beleve that these two ideas are connected. If we want out lives to look like real acceptable worship, then we are going to need to look for God in all the negative and tragic things of the world. We are going to have to struggle with the issue that God is within disaster, not to reconcile why he might do it, but at least to struggle with God's power and qualities within it.<br />
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For discussion:<br />
1) The Old Testament makes it clear that sacrifices are not what God is after, but he did demand sacrifices. What does God want? What is true worship?<br />
2) How do you struggle with God within disaster and suffering? What do you beleive about God's involvement in disaster? Do you think that what you believe matters? Why or why not?<br />
3) What is the connection between worship and disaster?Devon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-50761086924547555232020-04-20T09:24:00.003-07:002020-04-20T09:24:56.897-07:00Pandemic Dangers - How do we talk about disinformation?The middle ages had all the best monseters. They seemed to always come up with the best kinds of <br />
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hybrids of different animals and man. Terrible monstrosties that just ooze death and fear. And that's what they were about. People all throughout history have always tried to take the intangible fears of everyday life and create an image for it. If it's not 'the dark' that we're afraid of, but some destructive monstrosity, then we have something tangible to strike back at. It feels better to fear something tangible rather than intangible.<br />
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And so we come to today. It turns out that people haven't really changed all that much over the last many thousands of years. We have more gadgets now, and a more 'modern' understanding of the universe, but we still deal with the primal things of life in the same way. We still deal with fear and anxiety much the same way. We create tangible realities to take the brunt of our fear, anger and hatred. We make the intangible, tangible.<br />
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And so comes today. Do you wonder why we have a rampant spread of false information in a society like ours? Why in a crisis live Coronovirus is false information so prevelant? Well, we can't be angry of a virus. You can't really be afraid of something mocroscopic, no matter how many times the picture is shown. A sickness is intangible. We would rather have something tangible for this to be all about. We want a person, a nation, a corporation, an organization to be responsible for what's happening how. We could understand this better if what we're going through is the opportunism of some during the crisis. Anything to make the intangible, tangible.<br />
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And so we have the roots, and the spreadable nature of false information.<br />
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So what do you do? You who are intelligent, educated and well informed? You go to correct all of these problems. You scour and find all the best info, and relentlessly (if loveingly) attack those who spread rumor and falsehood. Does it work? Of course it doesn't work, but you've done your part.<br />
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But I know why it doesn't work. Because if you prove to someone that the cyclops doesn't exist, they'll still fear the dark. Dealing with all the false information that spreads is dealing with the symptoms and never the sickness. Chances are you have a loved one, a friend, a coleague or someone else you care about who has spread false information. Is it your desire that you be right, or is it your desire that they be made well?<br />
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Here's what we miss. All their feelings, fears, anxieties, and struggles are real. What we often do when confronted with false information is tear it apart. We show them all the reasons why are wrong, why they are misled. But here's the kicker, no matter how true, or well placed your arguments are, there is no way to convince them that their feelings are not real. Because their feelings <i>are</i> real. They know this as an indisputable fact. Everyone knows that their feelings are real, and that is always an indisputalbe fact. People feel what they feel, and no matter what that is all they know to be <i>really</i> true.<br />
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"Monsters aren't real," we tell our children as they go to bed. But do any of us doubt that the child's fear of sleeping ina dark room on their own isn't real? No, we would never doubt that. So when someone shares false information, misleading information, and we say, "this isn't true." Well, some of it is true. Their feelings are true.<br />
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No matter how lovingly, or reasonably, we engage someone with their false information they know that what they feel is true. What can happen is that you inevitably become another voice in their head telling them, "your feelings are invalid." Just think about that. If you're attending a wedding for a dear friend and someone told you, "you're not happy," would you believe them? If you just recieved word that a family member has passed and someone told you, "you're not sad," would you trust it?<br />
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The feelings we feel are often the most indesputable facts of our experience. It is no different when someone tells us, "you are not actually afraid," or "you are not actually angry," we would never believe that. And this is exactly how it comes accross when we come into a conversation telling someone that their beliefs (if belief it truly is) is invalid, or untrue.<br />
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So when we're dealing with disinformation from a loved one or a friend, the fist thing we need to deal with is the feeling. And I know this seems conterintuitive, but dealing with the facts presented is getting right into the symptom, not the sickness. We need to find the sickness which is in the indisputable feelings being felt. Are they afraid? Are they scared? Are they lonely? The feeling that is motivating the spread of false information is what needs to be dealt with. They don't need to be told that they're wrong, (invalidating the feeling), they need to recieve comfort and companionship that deals with the feelings.<br />
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By far the best way to deal with feelings is through empathy:<br />
- "I'm worried about my parents getting sick too."<br />
- "I'm also scared about the future of our kid's education."<br />
- "I'm also worried about goverment overreach."<br />
- "I'm scared that other nations will try and take advantage of this."<br />
- (Help me out here, there's so many examples).<br />
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There will always be a feeling behind the sharing of false information. If there were no feelings, then they wouldn't be motivated enough to share it. It can sometimes be easy, and sometimes more difficult, but with love and conversation one could determine what the root feelings are behind the information. There's a good chance you're feeling it too. Make that known. Leave facts for later if they're neccessary. Probably they won't be. But sharing your own feelings and worries with the others is getting towards the things that really matter.<br />
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The second part is to share story. What is your story with these feelings? Why do you feel this way? What makes you feel better? What stories have you heard? Maybe this is the time to bring up those things you know, maybe not. And it definitely isn't time to turn it into a debate. But remember that <i>story </i>is what's powerful, not facts and statistics.<br />
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In the end it probaly doesn't matter if this one loved one has <i>all</i> the facts right. It rarely does. But hopefully these strategies will help us all lead each other to live more fulfilling lives. It will be far more beneficial to them, and yourself, to properly and communally deal with the feelings that this crisis is creating. Let's deal with the core rather than the symptoms. That, in the end, would be a far better outcome.<br />
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Note: If you don't know the person then these strategies problably won't work. Best piece of advice, don't get involved. ;) You might think that you can change their minds... you won't.Devon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-76223546538569871412020-04-15T09:07:00.000-07:002020-04-15T09:07:42.679-07:00Bible Study - Amos 3:1-8One of the strongest, grounding beliefs in the Christian faith is centered on God grace. It is taught that everything we have, everything we enjoy is from God. God gives us life, joy and blessing even though we don't deserve it. Even all of creation, as constantly held together and maintained through God's will, is a constant act of God's grace in our lives. And of course forgiveness is an act of grace as well. We enjoy relationship with God, new life in his family, simply because God has made it possible and for no other reason.<br />
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What Christians often miss, is that this is the story of the Old Testament as well. We don't often see the grace that the Hebrews gave credit to for their special election by God. It was by grace that they were freed from slavery in Egypt. It was by grace that they were given their land. It was by grace that the land was returned to them. The theme of grace, of God creating a relationship through his own personal activity and person-hood, is consistent throughout scripture.<br />
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So here's the big question. Is relationship with God one-sided?<br />
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In Amos 3 the prophet speaks to a group of people who believe strongly in their own blessedness by God. How could they not? They come from a long line of the chosen people. They are experiencing of time of unprecedented security and prosperity. How could God suddenly turn on them now?<br />
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Chapters 1-2 links the nation of Israel to the same sins of violence as the other nations around them. This evil is essential to the ongoing discussion. Amos makes it clear that simply being the chosen people of God does not automatically mean that they will escape the same judgement as any other nation would naturally experience.<br />
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The following verses give clear examples of cause and affect. Natural and simply understood examples of how one thing naturally leads to the other. Amos seems to be making the argument that God's justice seems to work on a basic cause-effect system. Does this clash with your understanding of God, or justice?<br />
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All together I quickly see several principles that arise from this passage. One being the often-declared truth that being chosen by God does not often mean being chosen for blessing, but being chose for responsibility. If anything, it is those who have experienced God's grace who will be judged more harshly for their actions. Also, it's interesting to note that Amos saw qualities of God directly from observing the natural world around him. This is called 'general revelation.' Amos saw that cause-effect rule, one thing precedes another, and linked this truth to the spiritual reality as well.<br />
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Amos starts off his book with many high-flung concepts. Ideas of the nature of justice, and the future of nations, and nothing less is worthy of discussion. It can be difficult to take such large concepts and understand why they matter to us as individuals. But we must remember that nations are made up of individuals, and our part still matters. It is also important to note that every single conviction we have, and every action we take on behalf of those convictions, must not be judged on behalf f how they influence nations and worlds. Our actions are always our own, and our influence may be only on ourselves. This does not mean that the truth of God is any less relevant in our lives, or that any issue is to big, or too small for our attention.<br />
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Discussion:<br />
1. What is the nature of a two-sided relationship with God? Does the nature of grace make the relationship too lopsided to be viable?<br />
2. Are blessing and prosperity signs of God's blessing? Why or why not?<br />
3. How do you feel about the cause-effect rule that Amos is declaring in this passage? At what level do you accept or reject it? What are your reasons?Devon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-48724062159127161802020-04-08T12:01:00.003-07:002020-04-08T12:04:09.672-07:00Bible Study: Amos 1:1-2:16The first couple chapters of Amos is one of the most repetative parts of the Old Testament. When you combine this with the fact that it is also one of those more "wrath filled" sections then you have a segment of scripture that most modern readers would rather ignore.<br />
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The "wrath filled" part of this section is, I find, one of the easier to deal with. God is pronouncing judgement on the nations for their routine, and systematic violence. Whether this be the violent kidnapping of slave-trade, or the violence of sacking the cities of your neighbors, or the violence of how they brutally descrated the bodies of their enemies, the violence of humanity is the consistent sin throughout these judgments.<br />
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"Those who live by the sword, die by the sword," so they say. The warnings of wrath can be seen as God's warning to humanity of the propensity and evil of violence used to dominate others for our own gain.<br />
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But this, in the end, misses some of the best that Amos 1-2 has to say.<br />
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The first six judgments of Amos are to the traditional enemies of the Hebrews. With long histories of war and resentment, you can clearly see how the Hebrews would hear these judgments and think to themselves, "Preach it Brother! These evil people deserve God's wrath." The more and more Amos pronounces the destruction of the traditional enemies of God's people the more they will celebrate.<br />
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The repetition of this section becomes important too. You can almost hear the people listening to this begin to chant along with certain lines Amos repeats, like a good crowd at a protest rally. The people start to chant along with Amos as he declares "for three sins even foor four." Ramping up their expectation as Amos continues to declare the evil and wickedness of their traditional enemies.<br />
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Then comes to big one. Amos comes from the southern Hebrew state, called Judah. Amos is preaching, however, in the northern Hebrew state of Israel. So when Amos declares the judgment on his own province of Judah, you can imagine the ecstasy of the northern Israelites, who are in many ways seen as the religious enemies of Judah. When they hear of their own God's judgment on Judah they must feel vindication, justification, and superiority over their neighbors.<br />
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And it is only now, when the crowds are in full agreement with Amos, when they are bursting with the womderful greatness of God's wrath against all these nations that Amos pronounces his judgment on Judah itself. The people must be stricken.<br />
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There should be an immediate, viceral feeling here when we thing about this. When we ourselves look around the world, or at our own neighbors and see the evil in their lives. It is easy to imagine, and even appreciate God's wrath when it is directed at others whose evil we understand and can see. But to ourselves?<br />
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Humanity has an incredible blindspot to our own evils. We have in incredible ability to justify within ourselves what we would never accept in another person. This capacity exists on a societal level as well.<br />
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The people os Israel in this time were in a time of relative pease and prosperity, at least for the minority. The prosperity of some in Israel was on the backs of the poor, gained from the violence of their military might. It is easy, afterall, to see yourself as blessed by God when everything is going well in your life, even if we are blind to the fact that this prosperity is based on injustice and violence.<br />
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Amos may be one of the most applicable books today. A socity that sees everything it does as justified; but stands on the backs of the poor, has extreme wealth disparity, looks with judgment on other societies even though it's guilty of the same things here. Below are some questions for when we get together that will hopefully help spark discussion for the meaning, and application of this passage.<br />
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Discussion Questions:<br />
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<ol>
<li>Amos preached judgement on his own people. What would you preach to this society as its greatest evil?</li>
<li>What are the blindspots of evil in our society? What do we judge others for which we fail to do ourselves?</li>
<li>How does the wrathful language in this passage make you feel? How does this affect your feelings and ideas about God?</li>
</ol>
Devon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-58934666978425157832020-04-06T12:03:00.000-07:002020-04-15T09:45:20.680-07:00Online Time: (UPDATED)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We're moving most of our time together throughout the week online. If you're interested in times of Bible reading, prayer, or just having supper with the church family, then we have you covered. If you look below then you'll see our updated schedule.<br />
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If you want to join us for our time together then simply click <a href="https://zoom.us/j/5534728870" target="_blank">HERE</a> to join. You will find the password for each meeting on this post.<br />
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Tuesday 6:00 PM (Dinner together)<br />
Wednesday 1:00 PM (Prayer Time)<br />
Thursday 8:00 PM (Bible Study)<br />
<br />Devon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-42833066092251794182020-03-31T08:30:00.000-07:002020-03-31T14:10:46.060-07:00Pandemic Dangers - And the social media bubbleOne of the biggest questions I have in this era of "social distancing," or "physical distancing," is around mental health. It's fairly well known that isolation tends to have a negative affect on a human being. We're stopping solitary confinement in prisons, because of the terrible consaquences it has on person.<br />
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In fact there's a long, dark and terrible history of isolation and mental illness. It shouldn't take much for the modern mind to bring up some sort of image of the old asylum. We can picture inmates (let's call them by how they were treated), all left in their rooms.<br />
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Jesus himself once came upon a man who was suffering from what was called a 'legion' of demons. The word 'legion' would have given the image of an overpowering, unstoppable enemy force. Certainly something those who have suffered from mental illness can relate to. There's a lot we could talk about from this story in Luke 8:26-38. But there's one thing that stood out to me as I was thinking about this topic. It comes from vs. 27, <b><i>"For a long time he had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs."</i></b><br />
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For the characters of this story living in a house meeant living in a community. There would have been several generations living in a house together. The fact that he didn't live in a house increases this idea of seclusion. "He didn't wear clothes," is important too. It wasn't being naked that was unacceptable, but looking at someone who was naked brought shame to the one who looked. So the fact that he didn't wear clothes is another point of communal isolation, since others would not have even looked at him. Finally, there's the fact that he lived 'in the tombs.' The people this story was written for, the Jews, believed that dead bodies were religiously unnacceptable to touch. Therefore this is yet another point of isolation, since he lived in a place which was 'unclean.'<br />
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Do you remember how we used to take care of people who suffered with mental illness? Ironically, we would lock them away. We would put them in straightjackets. They've been around since at least the 18th century. Straightjackets, which were used as a torture device in the Victorian Era, were used as a treatment. The isolation of an asylum, almong with the physical constraint of a straightjacket is disturbingly relatable to the trapped feelings that mental illness can bring. It is no wonder that these 'treatments' would only increase a patients suffering.<br />
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After all, it wasn't all that long ago that we didn't have medications to treat mental illness. We didn't have understanding of how things work. In fact, many people believed that these illnesses were the victims own fault. But most of all, and this is the important part, we just lacked a whole lot of compassion for who we didn't understand. And this is a reality that we have, sadly, not learned from too much. We still tend to have the least amount of compassion relative to the least amount of understanding.<br />
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Whether it's mental illness, or cultural differences, or ideological differences we still tend to lack compassion on those we don't understand. And it becomes a pretty straight line from "misunderstanding" to blame, anger, and even hate. And this could prove to be a real problem for us as we move forward in our current situation.<br />
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In the midst of this global pandemic I have, as many others, sought out social media and other online means of staying connected with people. This has been a great tool. But my fear is that as we self-isolate more than ever before the often referred to "social media bubble" is going to be rearing its ugly head with more vicerally than ever.<br />
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We are trapped. We don't have straghtjackets, and we're not locked away. But the feelings of being trapped and alone can still have a negative affect on us. This should only increase our compassion for each other, yes. But what worries me is the way that these feelings of seclusion and being trapped will have on the discourse that is likely to happen online. Our isolation is something that will only increase the terrible ways we are already capable of bringing to sometimes very hostile communication.<br />
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So far everyone's been talking about Covid. But pretty soon we're going to get back into politics. Soon discussions will all turn back to the contensious issues that have been vexing our society for so long. And now even more than even, social media is our only means of discussion. We are going to have our own ideas validated for us more than we've ever seen, because these sites automatically encourage us toward those opinions. And we're going to have opposing ideas vilified in greater ways than we've expereinced before. This, to me, is a truly terrifying reality.<br />
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The last thing we need in our society right now is greater polorization.<br />
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If we want to see compassion as a societal virtue, it's going to start with us choosing humility. We need to choose understanding over the isolation of ideas. Here's a couple things to remember.<br />
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1) Realize that you are curating your own reality.<br />
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The sites you look at, the posts you linger on. These things all influence the things that you will see in the future. At a time of human history where there is an alomost infinite amound of content, you can always find more of the things that you agree with. This can be great! But the problem starts to come when we believe that what we see is all that's out there, forgetting the infinite amount of other content.<br />
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For a little while, it would have been easy for me to beleive that YouTube has nothing but woodworking videas and Stephen Colbert. For someone else, they may have no idea that there's woodworking on YouTube at all. This may seem harmless at first, but when you really start to think about it, you start to see how this is the great first step of human beings manufacturing their own reality.<br />
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The trouble comes when people begin to take their feeds as reality. We think that the majority of people beleive what we believe. People who believe in a flat earth, or bigfoot, or alien abductions (I'm not making fun of anyone, truly), begin to believe that their opinions are shared by the vast majority of people. This is understandable, because all they see every day is people agreeing with them.<br />
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This becomes destructive when we start to believe that the vast majority of people agree with us about.... Abortion? Sex? Social justice? The last Jedi? If we know we are of the majority than we are truly able to discount, and even ostrisize any other opinion.<br />
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How can they believe that? Everyone knows their wrong. People who disagree with me are always of the minority... Are they?<br />
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This gets worse when we realize the next natural step.<br />
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2) Realize that corporations are curating what you see.<br />
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Algorithms written by companies focused on making money are choosing our worldviews. They are showing us what they think we will like. They are, in essence, choosing our priorities and our battles for us. This should be frieghtening all unto itself, especially in a time when we are more than ever turning to corporate based media as our primary means of connection.<br />
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Now this isn't to say that you shouldn't use it at all. I don't know how I could be connecting to my church at this time without it, we have a great advantage because of it. But there are a few steps that we can take to increase our humility so that the division may be lessened.<br />
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First, try not to overestmate how much your opinions are accepted. Try to assume that no one agrees with you. This is a tool I've use when researching a topic or idea. When you make no assumptions about people agreeing with you, then you need to <i>really</i> think about why you think this. Think hard and logically. But most of all, it forces you to picture people disagreeing with you. The more people disagree with you, perhaps the more coompassion you have on the other side.<br />
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Secondly, we need to work hard to bring back authentic dialogue. Not debate! Dialogue is far different from debate. When you debate someone you 'listen' but you're only llistening to try and find cracks in their ideas, or ways that you can flounder them. In dialogue you listen with the purpose of understanding their position, and also their personhood.<br />
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And once again, understanding is the greaat goal here. We're all in this together.Devon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-77459141738206077352020-03-23T16:26:00.000-07:002020-03-23T16:26:11.559-07:00Network Church Online Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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During this time of uncertainty we're still getting together in the ways we can. That's why we're having some online time together on Sunday mornings, to pray, learn, and share together.<br />
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We're also going to have time together to pray, share, and vent aobut our times of isolation. If you want to join us for our time together then simply follow the schedule and click<a href="https://zoom.us/j/5534728870" target="_blank"> HERE </a>to join.<br />
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Tuesday 6:00 PM (Dinner together)<br />
Wednesday 11:00 AM<br />
Thursday 8:00 PM<br />
Friday 11:00 AM<br />
Sunday Mornings 9:45 AMDevon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-83600518033308321452020-03-18T14:47:00.000-07:002020-03-18T14:47:03.130-07:00Love over fearI'm like the rest of you. I've watched the runs on toilet paper at the stores. I've watched as men carting six to eight Costco sized packs leave the store with a look on their face that says, "just try and challenge me on this." I've watched as one news article talked about pandemic last week, to this week when nearly every article is giving us some sort of update on the Covid-19 story.<br />
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I've watched as fear has taken over the hearts of people.<br />
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I've also seen love. Just the other day my family picked up a kit of crafting materials that a neighbor had put together for the families now at home for longer than they expected. I've seen people voluntarily sequestering themsevles at home for the sake of trying to keep the sickness from spreading. I've seen people reaching out to each other in ways to try and encourage each other on through our social isolation.<br />
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Don't get me wrong. I've seen the evil too. I've seen the opportunists. I saw someone selling packs with four rolls of toilet paper for $35 each. (I reported him by the way). A NY Times article told of a man who has over 17000 bottles of hand sanitizer, and how he sadly had now way to sell them now, because online sellers have closed his ads. (Hard to feel very sorry for the guy). I've seen the challenging faces. I've seen the hording. I've seen the panic.<br />
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Sin is a funny thing, isn't it? No, not HAHA funny. It's funny how we understand it. We tend to think of sin as something you do. You commit murder, and you have 'sinned.' Something I've learned is that sin is not something we do as much as it is something we are. We haven't sinned becasue we <i>do</i> murder, we sinned because we <i>are</i> angry. There's some great stuff Jesus said on this particular subject.<br />
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This reality about sin is alomst a comforting idea. The fear and the panic that we're seeing right now, even feeling ourselves, it's there because of sin. It's something within us that makes us feel like we're unprepared, lacking, or has us questioning our very safety and wellbeing. And I'm not trying to say that you are fearful, or <i>they</i> are fearful, because they are sinners. What I'm saying is that fear itself is sin. Fear is not sumething that's supposed to be. Fear is not part of the plan of God. Fear is not something that God hopes for us, or wants for us.<br />
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There's a reason that "do not fear" is the most common command in scripture. There's a reason that Jesus loved to ask "why are you afraid?"<br />
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In this time we all have an incredibly important decision ahead of us. Are you going to choose love, or are you going to choose fear. Choosing fear will be the natural thing to do. Choosing fear means stocking our shelves with no intention of sharing. Fear means anger and hatred towards those hoarding. But on the other hand, there are an infinite amout of ways that we can show love.<br />
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Right now choosing love may mean closing your doors and staying put. Love might mean a great deal of prayer rather than personal contact. But with out imaginations and the spirit's leading hand we have unending ways that we can show love.<br />
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- How are you going to show love over the next few weeks?<br />
- How have you felt fearful?<br />
- How are you going to stay connected with people?Devon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-77450292051900083092020-03-18T14:46:00.002-07:002020-03-18T14:46:54.424-07:00We were going to sing this on SundaySo I thought it would be fun to give a little taste of what our music was going to be this coming Sunday. It is good to be healthy, and we will still have our ways to connect. But, I will personally really miss the musical time that we will have together.<br />
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Personally I hate seeing myself in video, and this is far from a perfect take, but this is just for fun. Maybe you have an instrument and you want to practice along with a song or two like this. I love bing able to come up with my own parts nad new ways to play around with the melodies that are already there. God gave us a creative mind for a reason.Devon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-17024536972204760892020-03-17T07:11:00.000-07:002020-03-17T07:11:17.637-07:00Making Soup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We had already planned on getting ready for the flu season by preparing some dry soup kits for anyone in the neighborhood who might need them. Then Covid-19 happened. Wow, the timing!<div>
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We had a great time putting these together. We stayed very careful and we're hoping that others will be blessed if they're feeling sick or lonely in this time of self-isolations and quarentine. </div>
Devon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-57916416124115458492020-02-24T09:16:00.002-08:002020-02-24T09:16:19.464-08:00We're meeting at Bridgeport Community Center<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0JFnjPi8sso1wyV2AzF5jDz-rWUIOljxb7w0NFh4TEBA0fO4O2aIwJKP9O8XpwJ7TqNp8G4eXgBx4h40nFYOwf_86jXRh4juyARUufsRMqSS7g44Q_GRD4nhJGnoWAGrwyTIxZ4ys81RE/s1600/Bridgeport+setup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0JFnjPi8sso1wyV2AzF5jDz-rWUIOljxb7w0NFh4TEBA0fO4O2aIwJKP9O8XpwJ7TqNp8G4eXgBx4h40nFYOwf_86jXRh4juyARUufsRMqSS7g44Q_GRD4nhJGnoWAGrwyTIxZ4ys81RE/s320/Bridgeport+setup.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
We've been in our new home at Bridgeport Community Center for a while new. It has been great having this new wide open space for our group to meet for our tri-weekly worship services. Feel free to come and join us for one of our services, or contact us to find out more about one of our house churches. We have lots of volunteer opportunities as we reach out into our community. Services coming up are...<br />
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March 1st - Anniversary Service<br />
March 22nd<br />
April 12th - Easter SundayDevon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-71029106785431095792020-02-24T09:16:00.001-08:002020-02-24T09:16:10.841-08:00Love Mural<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNuQBIhIcc83isz4LVEdjsb3EmzWiVS0fTseVqiODKd_9D2yYoHVf8yvgANTSs3SIMc2i_-NaChB0VVmVd5KCchrY_p46OdBY0MuB7W6RUSiJyZQigWejnCS5Qt32WR5MIbU8sRmZB-Q0/s1600/Love+Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="876" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNuQBIhIcc83isz4LVEdjsb3EmzWiVS0fTseVqiODKd_9D2yYoHVf8yvgANTSs3SIMc2i_-NaChB0VVmVd5KCchrY_p46OdBY0MuB7W6RUSiJyZQigWejnCS5Qt32WR5MIbU8sRmZB-Q0/s400/Love+Poster.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Instead of Valentines day, one of our groups decided to take love to the next level. We gathered together scraps and pictures that represented love in many different forms that we've experienced in life. God's love reminds us that love is all around us in so many ways when we choose to look for it.Devon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-4379386318146892192020-01-07T07:14:00.002-08:002020-01-07T07:14:55.955-08:00Talking politics, and how we could do it better.Here in Canada we just came off a federal election year, not to mention a myriad of provincial and municipal elections over the last couple years. I don't know about you, but it seems that the older I get the closer these elections all get to each other. This may be a natural part of getting older. However, it has become clear over the last decade or so that politics, and the surrounding personal conversations, have become more and more toxic.<br />
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Part of me resents the rise of social media for this. Is it possible that the nature of online comments, which allow people to post unthoughtful things without fear of repruccusion, has seeped into our everyday interactions? I know that I have had experiences speaking with someone face to face where their words and tone seemed more appropriate to the online sphere. And not in a good way.<br />
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Furthermore, I find it hard to believe that this kind of discourse is compatible with following Christ. It is true that he often had harsh, and very harsh sounding, criticism of specific people and groups. But lets not forget that this is what it was, very sppecifically chosen words spoken against very specifically chosen people. Add on the fact that I'm not Jesus, and I wonder just how much of w hat I say could be comparible to those classic examples of Christ's criticism. And on top of all that, those classic barbs such as "white washed tombs," were directed at the religious leaders who, honestly, agreed most closely with Christ.<br />
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The Roman authorities took no harsh barbs from Jesus. The gentiles living in Jerusalem didn't take the barbs like the Pharisees did. The Samaritans, traditional enemies of Jesus people, were almost exemplified in Christ's teaching and never shot down in those harsh ways. In fact, the further out of Christ's circle that you were, the more love and grace was recieved.<br />
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In our world today, especially around political conversations, those who agree with us on basic issues are given all the grace we can muster. Those who stand on the other side of the spectrum, however, are vilified and dehumanized. We insult their integritty, their intelligence, their capacity and even their peronality for the sake of defending our positions. This is the world today. And we wonder why they won't join our side!<br />
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So over the next year it is my hope that we can bring a little bit of the Kingdom of God into the political discourse that is bound to happen. 2020 is an elevtion year, even though it's not an election year in Canada. I'm sure we will all find ourselves pulled into political discussions at work, with family, or just out in the world that we might rather avoid. How do we do this things differently?<br />
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Well I've got a few suggestions. But the big idea is the idea that how we talk about these issues is almost more important than what we think about them. We have to stop thinking that we are going to convince people with our wonderful sounding arguments, our unstoppable intellect, and our resounding rhetoric. Only by God moving in the hearts of people to transform us into lovng creatures can this word really change towards good.<br />
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<b><i>Suggestion 1: Our priority is to love our enemy.</i></b><br />
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Christ taught us to love our enemies. He said and exemplified this in radical ways. You love the people who hate you, who harm you, who kill you by blessing them, praying for them and giving to them. This is one of the greatest foundational aspects of Christ's teaching.<br />
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What is ironic to me is the propensity in the Christian world to then deny having any enemies. If our enemies are the ones that we need to love the most, then not having any enemies actually, strangely, makes us less loving poeple. I think that we need to get over it and recognize that an enemy can mean many different things. And the way the world is, those on the other side of the political spectrum are enemies.<br />
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So they're our enemy. So what do we do? Well, it's pretty amazing how quickly people forget Jesus' whole "love your enemy" thing as soon as we start to get practical. And so simply put if there are people in your life that disagree with you on these political issues, find a way to love them rather than engaging divisively. We show that our opinions and positions are never as important as the person themselves. The issue may be more important than any indavidual. But in this conversation the person is what's important.<br />
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This doesn't mean that we don't engage, give our ideas, or discuss. This should be an important fart of any loving relationship. Which gets into the second point.<br />
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<b><i>Suggestion 2: Learn to listen.</i></b><br />
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I don't know about you, but I can tell when I've been talking to someone and all they're doing is coming up with their own counter-argument. Sometimes it's in their eyes, and you can see thime thinking through something else as you speak. Sometimes it's what they say in response, which is only loosely connected to the things you say. I think that we have all experienced this kind of thing before, and there's two things that we should realize about this.<br />
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The first thing is that we do this too. You have been in a situation where someone is talking and all you can think about is what you're going to say back. And if you can imagine what it's like from your own experience, then you understand why the conversation is done and no one feels as if they have made any progress. The second thing is that every single time we do this we are showing others, and they are showing us, that we are not worth listening to each other.<br />
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Listening creates understanding. If we all understood each other, woudn't that be a great world to live in? But when we all constantly show that our ideas and opinions trump the value of people on the other side, what does that show about us? And what kind of world are we helping to create?<br />
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This doesn't mean that we never share our thoughts and ideas. But there is a great difference between counteracting someone, and engaging with what they are saying. There is a difference between debating and discussing.<br />
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We need to show that we have listened. Ask questions about their ideas and positions. Work through it and really understand what they are saying. Then insert your own ideas into the conversation. This does not need to be hostile, or argumentative. If that's all your getting from the other party, if they're not ready to hear what you have to say, then you don't have to. It won't help. The only thing you can do is to tell them that the don't seem ready to hear other ideas yet, and walk away.<br />
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<b><i>Suggestion 3: Pray for our political leaders.</i></b><br />
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You may or may not believe in the power of prayer. That's OK. If you don't then I hope you can see the benefit of hoping for, and urging the success of leaders in the world. If you do believe in the power of prayer then I would hope that praying for the leaders of the world is something you do on a regular basis.<br />
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Personally, I don't pray for the leaders of the world because I believe that they are the hope of the world. Quite the opposite. I pray for world leaders because they are <i>not </i>the hope of the world. As I said above, the hope of the world is God moving in the hearts of people to turn them towards a loving lifestyle.<br />
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When I pray for political leaders I don't often pray for their success in all they do. In fact, most of the time, I pray for them to not succeed in their endevors, since their endevors are often evil. Most often I pray that the leaders of the world will be moved to comassion and justice, and make decissions that will be for the best of all people in the world, especially the poor and the marginalized.<br />
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Beyond the power of prayer itelf, I think that this attitude of praying for political leaders helps to draw us into a place of seeing politics for what it is. Politics. Politics has a role and a place. Politics are important, and they do make a difference in the lives of people. But the act of prayer should draw us to a place where we see politics for what it is, and the divine for what it is. We should see the power in Jesus that trancends the powers around us.<br />
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I think that if we take these ideas, and others I'm sure, into practice we can bring just a little bit of the Kingdom of God into our conversations in the coming year. Perhaps in a significan, or small, way we can start to see Christ moving in people rather that further divisiveness over these issues.<br />
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For discussion:<br />
1) Who are the political enemies in your life? How can you choose to bless rather than debate?<br />
2) What is your experience like not being listened to? What are some pre-decided follow-up questions you can use when someone says something you vicerally disagree with?<br />
3) Do you pray for political leaders? What do you pray for? Perhaps you should practice this together right now?Devon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-80917092415305268172019-11-12T07:15:00.002-08:002019-11-12T07:15:19.956-08:00Palatine - The sinister nature of conformity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Emperor Palatine is one of the most iconic movie villains of all time. Personally powerful, incredibly influential, and clever and intelligent. But one of the things that gets me the most about the sinister Darth Sidius is how very recognizable he is. If we look back on the endless history of empires and their militaries you always see the same thing. And I don't mean the militaries look the same. I mean that everyone in the militaries look the same.<br />
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Every storm trooper wears the same helmet. It unifies them, it creates that intimidating look that carries much of their power. It also, literally, dehumanizes the individuals. In the galactic empire there are no individuals, there are no 'people,' they are just masks. They are stricken of their identity and what makes them who they are.<br />
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This is reminiscent of all society. We are constantly, in both small and big ways, enforcing a kind of subliminal conformity on everyone around us. Buy a house. Get married and have children. Get around the city by driving a car. Steer clear of the homeless. The list could go on and on of the ways that we all expect others to be like us. But it's almost more sinister in the smaller ways that conformity is expected. Dress this way, talk to this kind of people, don't stand out.<br />
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And this is to be expected. There is a desire for conformity within people. We automatically gravitate to people who look, think and act like us. And this is never more apparent than in the church itself. In Kitchener alone we have Black churches, Korean churches, Ethiopian churches and, definitely, White churches. Beyond this the church has hundreds of years of history of people leaving one church family to join another which thinks more like them. So in the church we end up with a segregation of peoples, as well as a segregation of ideas and thinking.<br />
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Martin Luther King himself once said that the most segregated time in America is 11:00 AM on a Sunday morning. This is true to this day.<br />
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So what can we do to change this? I want to make it clear that I cannot consider myself an authority on this. But in this one idea I feel fairly secure.<br />
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"Listen to people!"<br />
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The most insidious thing about this kind of conformity and segregation is that we always end up confirming ourselves with the dominant group we're a part of. We find people who confirm our ideas, our thinking, and we let those ideas pour over us again and again. This is the echo chamber. We are constantly fed a meal reminding us that the things we think, and the people like ourselves are best.<br />
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The best way to combat this is to intentionally listen to people. Think about who the minorities in your lives are. Give them a stronger voice in your life. Ask them to tell you their stories. Flood yourself with the experiences of the homeless, the refugee, the single mother or anyone else who's voice is rarely heard in your life. Throw the balance towards their favor.<br />
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Always remember that the push towards conformity is the voice of Sidius himself. He wants it, it's best for control and order. Don't give that voice any more power than it already has.Devon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-26017035227888134472019-10-05T07:15:00.003-07:002019-10-05T07:15:44.759-07:00Yoda - Lessons in self-control<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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With Episode 9 on the horizon I see myself reelecting on many of the characters of the star wars universe, and the story they make. Like many others I grew up watching the original series, even going on to read many of the novels and other material that came out. It became a part of my imagination and a part of who I am. I look at Rise of Skywalker and can't help but feel like this will be a conclusion to something that started even before I was born.<br />
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As reflect now, I see in the influence of these characters. Perhaps I see a little too much in it, or maybe It's my biblical study seeping into my movie watching, but I see lessons, ideas and manifestations all over the place. And this is easiest and most powerfully seen in the character of Yoda.<br />
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Yoda's journey on it's whole tells the story of a powerful and wise creature who lives for centuries at the height of power in the Jedi order. This is an important part of his background. Yoda never knew failure, not really, not institutional failure. He only knew the height of power. And when the Emperor took control of the galaxy, partially by sing the Jedi for his own gain, Yoda finally sees that failure for what it is, and is pushed into exile. It is there, in exile, reflecting on his years of leadership that Yoda forms his final thoughts on the force and living. These final thoughts are what he passes on the Luke Skywalker.<br />
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Yoda sums up his wisdom in this. "Control, control, you must learn control"<br />
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Self control is an important Biblical topic as well. With just a quick search you wold find passages like Proverbs 25:28, 1 Timothy 1:7, 2 Peter 3-7, or Titus 2:6-9. Take a quick peak. It is quite obvious that self-control is an important virtue. And this makes sense, all other virtues stem from this. It would be hard to be generous without self control. It's hard to hospitable without self control either. It's hard to pray, or fast, or do pilgrimage without self control. All of these are important, even essential spiritual practices, and at their core is self control.<br />
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The real questions become important;<br />
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Do I have enough self control? Am I trying hard enough? Can I increase my self control?<br />
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Big idea:<br />
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If there's one idea that we need to remember about self-control it's the fact that it is not for our benefit. The world we live in seems obsessed with a selfish form of self control. This virtue is turned into something that's about getting what we want, usually around a healthier body, better eating, or being more disciplined with our money. The problem is that this is all about ourselves, which means that the grounding virtue of all our virtues becomes about selfishness, and only what we want for ourselves. Biblically, self control is almost always centered around anger, and the words we use with other people. This is an important flip-around from the selfish to the communal.<br />
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When we go through the discussion questions this week, let's focus on this idea of speaking/anger in the idea of self-control.<br />
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Discussion questions: (feel free to pick some, or do out of order).<br />
1) How does your self-control affect others?<br />
2) What is an area of self-control that you need to work on? Why?<br />
3) How would you go about increasing your self control in one area, without taking energy away from others? (Remember the habit loop).<br />
4) What Biblical, historical, or modern character do you look to as an example of self-control? Why? How could they help you?<br />
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<br />Devon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-12876675342322202192019-05-28T07:23:00.002-07:002019-05-28T07:23:27.601-07:00Belonging Vs. Fitting inI think that we all have an experience of not belonging to something. Whether this was a foundational aspect of our upbringing and experience, or simply a hurtful inconvenience, we know what it's like to be left out. This can have terrible consequences fro the rest of our lives because, as we all innately seem to know, belonging is an important part of the human experience.<br />
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This desire to belong can be so powerful that we end up trapped in the common mistake of trying to fit in. Fitting in and belonging, for the sake of this argument, are two completely different things. Belonging happens when we bring our honest selves, our contributions are appreciated, we appreciate the contributions of others, and there is a communal sense of goal.<br />
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Fitting in asks us to change who we are, and instead of focusing on the communal, is constantly worried about the self. Fitting in seeks attention for ourselves in some way that feels like we belong. But belonging doesn't happen by building up the individual, it can only happen in the building up of the group. 'Belong' by it's very meaning necessitates the communal. It is only in the modern western world where it seems acceptable to think of 'belonging' as something to be used for personal gain. And when we see a naturally mutual, communal idea being used in an individualistic even selfish way it's no wonder we have so many people who don't feel like they belong.<br />
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The issue is that we've replaced belonging with fitting in. We ask a group of people to think, act, and prioritize the way we do. We gather these like minded people together and we decide that we're all going to do these proper kinds of things. This is what fitting in looks like. Everyone changes or hides certain things about themselves in order to 'belong,' but they only end up living a dishonest version of themselves.<br />
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This happens to Biblical heroes as well. look at Galatians 2:11-13<br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-d9917915-7fff-e028-41c2-a51a78ea972e"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.</span></b></i></span></span><br />
<span class="text Gal-2-13" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">There is a lot that's happening here, and a lot of debate about what exactly is going on, (defining certain groups/controversies). But what I think is plain to see is that Peter (Cephas) was led astray by the simple desire to fit in with this group from Jerusalem. Maybe they were a dynamic group of people. Maybe Peter just felt comfortable with 'his own' people after being with gentiles for so long. maybe they ridiculed Peter enough in order to manipulate him into what they wanted. Whatever the case what we know for sure is that Peters desire to fit in with this group from Jerusalem led to Peter and others forcing gentile Christians to change their eating habits, and even become circumcised. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">There is nothing that describes the powerful, and destructive, desire to fit in better than the reality of grown men cutting off their foreskins because they think that will help them belong. That's the destructive power of fitting in. Belonging, on the other hand, takes people as they are. Later on in Galatians Paul says. (Galatians 3:26-29)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-c24fdc23-7fff-3cb0-f94d-71714f4a3d1e"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed,and heirs according to the promise.</span></span></span><br />
<span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Paul brings us from a place where you needed to fit in by changing who you were to a place where he breaks down all barriers. You'll notice the barriers of race, class, and gender. Paul says, "Nope, in Christ you belong. You belong totally. You're made God's child and heir." </span></span></span><br />
<span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">So when we see the life giving, fantastic ways of belonging and contrast it to the destructive nature of 'fitting in' for ourselves and the others we </span></span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">subconsciously</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> demand it of, there's an important question... </span></span></span></span><br />
<span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">... <b>Are you asking people to fit in, or are you asking them to belong?</b></span></span></span></span><br />
<span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span>
<span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">When we reflect we can see how powerful this is. Are we asking people to be honest with who they are, letting them know that they don't have to change before we'll accept them? Or are we demanding that they hide their true struggles and desires from us so that we don't have to deal with them, and call that community?</span></span></span></span><br />
<span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hopefully these questions will help us work this out.</span></span></span></span><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do you have a place to belong right now? What does it look like?</span></li>
<li><span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Describe a time in your life when you felt like you didn't fit in? What were the demands?</span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why are we more interested in hiding ourselves in order to fit in, rather than presenting ourselves honestly in order to belong?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">How are we asking for people to fit in rather than asking them to belong?</span></li>
</ol>
Devon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-87761715810549022742019-03-26T07:26:00.002-07:002019-03-26T07:26:36.113-07:00The Lord's Prayer: Temptation and Deliverance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The story of Jesus temptation is one of the most famous stories about him. The great clash of Jesus the savior and Satan the tempter comes to some sort of climax before the ministry even begins. This scene of Jesus life sets the stage for him as one who defeats evil. Jesus's enemy isn't people but the things that tempt us towards evil.<br />
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This story is also one of the main ways that Jesus becomes a figure which is foreign to us, separate from us, and unsympathetic. The scriptures tell us that Jesus was human and was tempted yet never gave into that temptation. How then is Jesus a living example for us to follow? Are we expected to never give into the temptations that we experience? Not once? The fact that Jesus was able to do this seems to make him an unattainable figure right from the start.<br />
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I think that this problem comes from what is really an assumption, and an incorrect assumption. In the modern world we have a very specific idea of temptation. At least we do in the spiritual realm. We see temptation as something imposed on us. Temptation is something that is brought to us outside of our will and choice. Temptation is a burden placed on us that we need to bear. This is the lie. I believe that the reality of temptation is quite the opposite.<br />
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<b>Temptation comes from within. It's not a condition, it's a habit.</b><br />
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<i>James 1:14 "But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and entice."</i><br />
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Temptation is a condition from within. It is when a desire builds up within our hearts and we feed it and give it strength. Temptation is something that feels good. It feels good, right, to want something.<br />
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When the snake famously spoke to Adam and Eve it didn't 'trick' the couple into eating the fruit. The snake didn't paint the fruit another color and hang it under another tree to trick them. The snake didn't push it down their throats when they were sleeping. He simply gave them a justification. "You will be like God" the snake said. This justified the eating of the fruit for Adam and Eve. They wanted that fruit. Genesis says <i>"When they saw that the fruit was good for food, pleasing to the eye, and desirable for gaining wisdom," </i>they took some and ate it.<br />
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Adam and eve weren't tempted by some external force. They wanted the fruit, all the snake did was give them a justification. But 'he lied' some may say. The snake lied to them. This is true, but all justification of evil is based on a lie. And we justify things to ourselves all the time in order to give into temptations, or more importantly, and to continue building those temptations in our hearts. Because temptation comes from within, it is a habit.<br />
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The story of Job tells us of a man who struggled with the temptation of loosing everything he had. His flocks, his fields, his children, his homes, everything Job had was taken from him in what is one of the most devastating stories ever recorded. Job is left with nothing but a body covered in sores, with no possessions, lying in the dust yet refusing to curse the name of God.<br />
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The temptation that Job struggled with was the temptation to curse God because of the terrible things happening to him. Satan, in the story, does not push this onto his heart. All Satan can do is change Job's circumstances in the hope that Job will curse God as a result. Again we see that temptation is an internal thing, that Job was able to control by refusing to build it up in his heart, and to instead praise God as a counter to choosing cursing.<br />
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<b>Back to Jesus:</b><br />
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When looking at the temptations of Jesus there is something quite interesting when you accept this idea. All of the temptations were something specifically applicable to Jesus. "Turn the stones to bread." "Cast yourself off the temple to be saved by angels." "Worship me and take all the kingdoms of the world." These are all temptations that were specifically, and even uniquely applicable to Jesus. And they were true from <i>within himself</i>. He could use his divine power to care for himself. He could prove his worth and person-hood to the world. He could rule the world into a great new age. All of these things Jesus could have done, uniquely. These would have been temptations in his own heart (he was tempted after all). The difference was that Jesus, in each case, refused for these temptations to take hold of his own heart. He had defenses ready for all of them, and an answer first in his mind.<br />
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It's interesting to note that in the temptations of Jesus the devil never once lied, and Jesus never refuted any of the devils claims. The devil quoted scripture at Jesus to justify what was there in his heart. So if we believe that knowing the truth, and leaning on scripture is enough for us to defeat temptation in our lives then we may simply be trapping ourselves.<br />
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<b>Solution:</b><br />
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The last line in the Lord's prayer goes "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." There are a lot of issues and intricacies in the language and theology of this line. But instead of looking at all that I want to remind you of a simple truth. This is a prayer. I know that this seems a little too simple, but I believe that we sometimes approach these things without remembering that this is a prayer. It's not a systematic theology, or a story, or a parable. This line is a prayer, which gives it a special purpose.<br />
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The temptation line of the Lord's prayer reminds us to invite God into our temptations. We are to pray for God not to intercede, or miraculously take a temptation away. The purpose isn't for strength for us to defeat it ourselves. The purpose is for God to take the place that these temptations are filling in our hearts. The act of praying with God about our temptations is about praying to God about those things we fill our hearts with on a regular basis. The things we feed into our own spirit. The things that we want to be there, the things that give us joy to look at or long after.<br />
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Sitting in prayer with God over these things reminds us to fill our hearts with something else. To have a defense to avoid filling our hearts with it. That is the issue.<br />
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<b>Discussion:</b><br />
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1) As a church, a culture, or even as a world the masses like to feel better about themselves by pointing to people who are guilty of "greater sin than us." What is that greater sin? What is the worst temptation? (Don't pretend like you don't think that way).<br />
2) Romans 2 says "you are guilty because you who judge do the same things." Is this teaching that we are all equally guilty? How do you view yourself in comparison with others in this way?<br />
3) When we think about the struggles we have with sin, it is easier to think that these desires come from another place, another entity that's forcing it on us. How do you honestly feel about the idea that we are responsible for filling our own hearts with temptation?<br />
4) What are some ways that we can create natural defenses against feeding our 'habit temptations.'Devon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-53149345476924118822019-03-06T07:52:00.002-08:002019-03-06T07:52:29.171-08:007 Years!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's hard to believe that it's already been seven years for our little church. But a lot has happened in that amount of time. Sometimes it feels like seven years couldn't possibly fill everything that's happened.<br />
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When we started we were no more than four-five people with an idea. The idea that a church can look different, and structure differently, to live out the values of the church in its best possible way. We believed that we could work with other churches, communities, neighbors and friends to by God's power and direction to bring his kingdom more fully into this world.<br />
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We believed strongly that a church should be first concerned with worshiping and glorifying God with our lives. We believed that scripture gives us the strong example that this is do be done together as a strong community. And we believed that a strong community in close relationship with God would naturally lead to meeting the practical, relational and spiritual needs of the world around us. That as we grew in relationship we would find that our own needs were met in the service and growth of others with us.<br />
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Over the years we have discovered many ways of trying to live out this Kingdom of God mindset. We have always made the priority of using our resources and time to Give as much as anything else. We've thrown BBQ's for our neighborhood. We've made jam, and gift baskets. We've cooked soup together, and shared so many meals I couldn't count them. We've become a staple group at Ray of Hope, routinely serving large groups of people while developing friendships with fellow guests.<br />
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We've also been there for funerals and weddings. We've been together for new births of life into our church. We've seen children grow and thrive in friendships together, learning together about God, Jesus, scripture, and the values we live in life.<br />
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As a church we have been lucky to see God blessing us. Although we have had heartache and times where things seemed difficult we have also seen the opportunity to grow and plant a second house church outside the city. We've seen our services grow from a living room, to a cafe, to a community center. But most of all I have seen the moments of true spiritual clarity, forgiveness, reconciliation. I hope that the time ahead for the Network becomes one where God's kingdom will grow in us in every spiritual, tangible way. </div>
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<br />Devon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857485898550932400.post-87803390415057505832019-02-14T10:34:00.000-08:002019-02-14T10:34:08.222-08:00Prayer: Give us our daily bread.Our society has just a little too much.<br />
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That's something you've heard before isn't it? Over a third of the food produced in North America ends up thrown away. We put mountains of clothes in the landfills. We have large homes filled with stuff, so we buy space, lockers, and rooms and sheds to put more stuff. We've got just about everything we need in excess... if we're lucky.<br />
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So for the average Canadian who can afford both food and shelter, what is the purpose and meaning behind Jesus' prayer, "Give us today our daily bread." When we live and don't worry about where our next meal will come from, what we will wear, or where we will sleep that night, what purpose does this prayer of asking and relying on God for the necessities of life actually have for us.<br />
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If you're anything like me, growing up in the church we seemed to naturally find meaning for this prayer in a metaphorical interpretation of it. In an attempt to make this prayer 'relevant' we changed every basic meaning it can have. "Us" becomes "me." "Daily" becomes "the future." And last "bread" becomes "whatever it is we're after at the time."<br />
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Just consider this. The basic meaning of this prayer is a communal request for the needs of life on a daily basis. Have you ever actually prayer this with that intent? More likely you pray "give me" without even thinking about it. We individualize the prayer without a second thought, removing all the wonderful meaning that comes from praying with a communal perspective. More likely you don't pray 'today' with the expectation that God will meet your needs or answer prayer 'today.' More likely you pray for things that you want, desire, or will make life easier and more comfortable, rather than for the real needs we have in life.<br />
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The challenge that this prayer gives, I think, is simple. That we have created a mentality far from what was intended when Jesus taught us how to pray. We pray with the intention of the individual without thought of including ourselves in the communal nature of the church or world. Instead we can pray understand ourselves as a part of a whole, but even more, also as an essential part of the whole which needs to be fully engaged. We pray always for the future. Instead we can learn to pray and expect God's intervention on a daily basis. Finally, we pray with broad and vague needs. Instead we can be specific and ask God exactly what it is we're looking for.<br />
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<b><i>Discussion:</i></b><br />
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<ol>
<li>When you pray for others do you "see yourself in the group?"</li>
<ul>
<li>Needy, sinful, lacking, sick, unwise, lost.</li>
</ul>
<li>Do you pray daily with expectation that God will answer your prayer today? Why not?</li>
<li>Do you keep your prayers specific or vague? How so?</li>
<ul>
<li>Vague Christianese buzzwords: Understanding, wisdom, bound, guidance, protection, strength, etc...</li>
</ul>
<li>Take prayer requests with the following conditions:</li>
<ol>
<li>Something personally important (not for someone else).</li>
<li>Something you can expect God to make a difference with today.</li>
<li>Specifics, specifics, specifics...</li>
</ol>
</ol>
<br />
<br />Devon Waglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09565768057624622301noreply@blogger.com0