Stewardship - Tuesday December 1

Now that you have a strong, personal understanding of grace in your life, take some time to look at God's providence. What are things in your life that you find you are very appreciative of? Are they attributes of yourself? People you know? Things you possess? Things you find beautiful? As you discover these things, think of why you appreciate them and what kinds of value they hold in your life.

Prayer: Earnestly thank God today for the blessings He has given you.

Stewardship - Monday November 30

This month we will talk about stewardship and being called to action in Serving God. Before we get too far into this topic let's build off of some of last weeks topics to give us a proper perspective as we go forward.

Today, think about what you learned last month when we talked about redemption and forgiveness between us and God and between our personal relationships. Look for specific instances where you fall short, or need healing, and take note of how much of God's grace is extended to you in your average day. Look for areas where you need to extend grace to others or where they have extended grace to you.

Prayer: Pray that God will let you see His movement in your life.

Gratitude: Saturday November 21

After absorbing all of the thoughts we have processed this Month, think again to how Zacchaeus must have felt to be redeemed by Jesus in light of his relationship to all of the people around him who must have despised him. Think about how powerfully he felt redemption that, not only cleared his concience, but also empowered him to a heart of gratitude and service.

Prayer: Jesus said that the one who is forgiven the most sin is the one who is most appreciative. We have all been given special grace and forgiven much but often don't take the time to realize how much. Pray that God will teach you how much he has forgiven you and how much freedom He offers you. Let His grace lead you to a heart of true and genuine gratitude for Him and the relationships He has placed in your life.

Gratitude: Friday November 20

Think back to the blogs where we realized the effects of redemption in our personal relationships. Now think about how important our relationship is to God to have redeemed us through Jesus. How much does He care about us to come to earth as a man and die in order to show His love for us? If we each hold that much value to God, and he has redeemed us on such an epic level, then what kinds of permission does that give us in life on this earth?

Prayer: Pray that God will empower you through His grace in this life and that you will accept His affirmation and permission to live life to it's fullest realization as He has planned for you.

What would you do if were given absolute permission from someone of absolute athority to follow your creative and spiritual passions. How many times have you let someone else do something because you felt they would do it better than you, only to find that you actually could have done it better.

Often we miss opportunities that we instinctively feel we should own because we don't give ourselves permission. This is where faith comes into play in God's work. Think about areas where you believe God may be giving you permission to do something where you are truly gifted.

Prayer: Ask God to help you wrestle and come to terms with your faith. Let him teach you to trust Him daily in areas where you may usually be timid.

Gratitude: Wednesday November 18

As we understand what it really means to be the body of Christ, how well do you feel that you know your part within this body? Do you feel the real benefits of having the other parts around you. Do you feel that others are benefiting from the talents and purposes that God made you to do?

Prayer: Ask God to help make you aware of the distance and the functional relationship between those around you.

(Convergence has access to some good assessment tools for anyone that would like to get some insight into how they may be gifted in certain kinds of ministry. Ask any staff members and we will get you started.)

Gratitude: Tuesday November 17

Keeping in mind our ideas from yesterday about our unity with God and each other, think about the honor bestowed on us when God actually calls us part of His body. He could have just called us friends or children only. Dwell intently on the depths of what it means to have such an intimate and personal definition of our place as defined by God himself.

Prayer: Ask God to help us understand our true place in his will, his family and his kingdom.

Gratitude: Monday November 16

Yesterday in Ephesians 4 we read:

"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

What is the reason for Paul's repeated use of the word "one" when describing both the body of the church and God himself?

Prayer: Pray that God will help you understand the depth of unity he wants us to have with Him and with our fellow believers.

Gratitude: Saturday November 14

Today, use your list from yesterday and try exercising these ideas throughout the day.

Prayer: Pray for God's revelation as you as you try these ideas through the day.

Gratitude: Friday November 13

When have a more redemptive attitude in life we usually find that we are looking more outward toward the lives of other people and less inward to ourselves. What are some ways that you can be more insightful to other people's perspective so that some of these issues could be avoided. Write these down as you think of them throughout the day.

Prayer: Ask God to help you envision a less self-centered view of the world.

Gratitude: Thursday November 12

As we have probably seen so far this week, often our issues with other people are made more difficult by our view of ourselves and misunderstandings. By repairing relationships we can usually make them stronger than they were before. This exercise is an example of redemption.

Have you noticed some areas where you might need to adjust your boundaries or view of self in order to better facilitate a redemptive attitude in your relationships?

Prayer: Again, ask God for help with discernment as sometimes it is difficult to see truths about ourselves.

Gratitude: Wednesday November 11 2009

Think of an especially difficult relational situation you were in where you confronted the person/people and resolved the problem. How hard was it to confront the offender? How did your relationship change after the resolution?

Prayer: Ask God to help you learn the depths of what it means to have an attitude of forgiveness.

Gratitude: Tuesday November 9

Think about times that you have reacted to a relational issue in a strong way only to find out that you were reacting based on a misunderstanding of the situation. How did your attitude change when you realized the truth?

Prayer: Ask God for wisdom in discerning people's spirits.

Gratitude: Monday, November 9

Monday
Where do the feelings of anger, frustration, and hurt come from in these relational problems that we discussed last week? What personal boundaries or beliefs about yourself did they offend to make you feel the way you did?

Prayer: Pray that God will search you and give you insight to these issues as they are often hard for us to discern ourselves.

Notes from Sunday

Col 3:12-17

This month we are exploring gratitude. It seems like a natural fit because Thanksgiving is this month and we know we should at some point think about the things we are thankful for. But, we are really looking at much more than that. We are talking about an attitude. A way of being. A way of looking at the world, ordering our lives as centered in Christ. Ordering the way we see (value) ourselves and others – in Christ.

During Bible study for this series Jay and I noticed that the word “one” and “unity” occur over and over again. In the passages we are using this month, the same encouragement, admonishment, definition of a life lived in Christ is one of unity under the One God and a sense of identity that is rooted completely in Christ. A life lived in worship. And this leads to a life of gratitude. A state of joy. God’s desire for us is not merely popularity or moments of happiness, but a deep and abiding joy.

But, usually we settle for being thankful because there is stuff in the way of our gratitude. Stuff that builds up over time and comes on suddenly. Frequently it rears its ugly head at the oddest moments, like in traffic or when we drop a glass and it shatters just as we are headed out the door, late to a meeting. Or, when someone says just the wrong thing at just the wrong moment and we let loose with a force. Or maybe, for some of us, it doesn’t come out in a roar. Maybe for us the world just gets a little more chilly. We clam up. We stop talking, we won’t help her out again!

So what is that about? What is all the stuff that is building up that comes out as noxious steam?

These are gauges telling us that our tank is empty and we are not very grateful at all. So, we are going slowly this month starting at the roots. Developing an awareness of where gratitude comes from, what gets in its way of being foundational in our lives, what God has to say about it, and finally, how do we find our way to this state of being? This state of joy? This state of being grounded in Christ and… grateful.

Gratitude: Saturday November 7th

Think more about Zacchaeus and how he might have felt as he was shunned by the people enough to hide in a tree. How might it have made him feel to have Jesus call out to him in acceptance?

Today is a day to process the thoughts that you have felt during the week. Tomorrow we will discuss these things and you are encouraged to contribute any revelations or insights that you have come to this week.

Prayer: Today is a prayer of silence and listening to what God has to show you about the week.

Gratitude: Friday November 6th

What do you think about your personal value, do you feel like you are a person of high value or maybe not so valuable? How do you think other people view you? What makes you feel important, capable and rewarded? How much of your value do you receive from others and how much do you receive from yourself? What beliefs have been created about your value as a result of the painful incidents you have been thinking about?

Prayer: Pray for insight into your sense of self and personal value.

Gratitude: Thursday November 5th

Thinking about these issues, especially the deeper hurts, how do you feel they have changed you, or do you feel that they have at all? Have you avoided situations that could lead to simular hurt? Are there areas where you would like to grow in certain relationships but you are afraid to because you can't deal with the possible pain that could result? Are there things that you would like to accomplish that you can't because of fears resulting from these issues?

Are there areas in the church that you are hesitant about because of an issue you have had?

Prayer: Pray for strength as you process these challenging thoughts.

Gratitude: Wednesday November 7

As you look at these areas of hurt from Monday and the relationships from Tuesday, how do you feel these problems have affected the relationship? Did you react to the person or just let the issue go? Did you work to remedy the issue? Did the problem take you by surprise or just affirm what you have believed about the person? Was there a change in your relationship after this issue? Something small, something large, for better or worse?

If it was an issue in the church, ask the same questions.

Prayer: Pray for these people today.

Gratitude: Tuesday November 3rd

Let's process some of the things that we thought about yesterday. When we think of the major pain that people have made us feel in our lives, think about your relationship to those people. Were you close? Did you have a lot of respect for that person? Sometimes we respect people that we don't like so this could be a more complex question. If we had to put this person on a level, would they be above, equal to or below you? Do you know much about the person's background? Do you know what the person considers deeply important in life? Do you know about areas where they have been deeply hurt?

What about the negative incidents that happened during the day yesterday? Ask the same sort of questions about your relationship with those people.

Prayer: Ask God to give you creative insights to these relationships.

New Weekly Blog

We affirm the practice of “whole life worship” meaning that worship can be a constant state of being. We come together on Sunday nights to practice our faith and learn rehearse methods of living as Christ followers. To keep growing throughout the week, we have established a daily prayer journal and blog.

Each day you will find a meditation on the blog. These pose questions for deeper reflection and a suggestion for prayer. Our hope is that we will continue to process what is explored on Sunday through out the week. We hope you will journal on your own and post comments on the blog.

Feel free to comment on the previous worship gathering, response to the blog questions, thoughts, questions and challenges to one another.

Gratitude - Monday November 2

Luke 19: 1-10

As we try to relate to Zacchaeus we want to focus on how it feels to lack value in the face of ourselves and others.

Today think about major times in your life when you felt hurt. Were there times when you were incredibly embarrassed or maybe a time when you were deeply angered at someone? Has someone made you feel less than human or completely incapable of something you should have been able to do?

Has anything ever happened to you in the church to create these feelings?

As you reflect on these things, also think about the small things that happen throughout the day that create similar negative reactions.

Prayer: Confess your honest feelings about these painful things to God.