Angel Tree

Angel Tree is a ministry that buys Christmas presents for children of whom at least one parent is in prison. We get to deliver the gifts and spend some time talking about the Gospel with the family/kids. We discussed participating in Angel Tree as a group on Tuesday, so here are more details to help us make a decision.

What we talked about last week was to sponsor more than one child. What do you think? (There are approximately 10 of us in group right now...) Feel free to comment on what you think we should do. We have to sign up soon.

The cost of Angel Tree Christmas is minimal, approximately $40 per child
reached. Each child is to receive a minimum of two gifts. When we send you the
children's names we will include a suggestion for one fun gift and an article of
clothing that the prisoner picked out using our gift guide. Each gift must be
new and valued at $15-20. We will provide you with a copy of the Angel Tree
Christmas Gift Guide, so you can get an idea of the types of gifts prisoners
will request (dolls, stuffed animals, sports equipment, etc.).

Guide questions: Romans 9&10

Good discussion on Tuesday night, ladies! Here the questions for the next two chapters. Looking forward to next week.

1. Do you feel about anyone the way that Paul feels about the Jews in Romans 9:1-3, if so, what can you do? What does Paul do? How could you acquire and show an attitude toward others' salvation like the attitude Paul describes in Romans 9:1-3?

2. Why is it important to keep God's will and man's responsibility in balance? This week, ask God to reveal how you can participate in bringing His will to pass.

3. Are you ever tempted to regard God as unfair or arbitrary in His dealings with people? Meditate on his sovereignty and mercy in Romans 9:6-29 and Ephesians 1:1-14. How does this chapter in Romans affect your view of God?

4. How is Christ brought up and down in Romans 10:6-7? What does it mean to do this? Why is it unnecessary?

5. Are envy and anger evangelist techniques? (Romans 10:19)?

Stay well! Blog well! :)

Pastor Mark's book, quoted this, I thought I would share. BTW-- the book is AWESOME!

How shall I pray?
Are tears prayers, Lord?
Are screams prayers?
or groans
or sigh,
or curses?

Can trembling hands be lifted to you,
or clenched fists
or the cold sweat that trickles down my back
or the cramps that knot my stomach?

Will you accept my prayers, Lord,
my real prayers,
rooted in the muck and mud and rock of my life,
and not just the pretty, cut-flower, gracefully arranged
bouquet of words?
Will you accept me, Lord?
as I really am,
messed up mixture of glory and grime?


- Guerillas of Grace by Ted Loder

Guide question: Romans 8

Ladies, thank you for being so real and open on Tuesday (and for letting me be, too)..

Here are the guide questions for next week!

1. In Romans 8:5-8, Paul contrasts the way of life "according to the spirit" with the way of life "according to the flesh". List as many contrasts as you can find.

2. What difference should our hope of ultimate resurrection, both physical and spiritual (Romans 8:11) make to our lives now? Why do you think God saved us "in this hope" rather than giving us our full inheritance of resurrection glory immediately? (Romans 8:24-25) Consider what waiting in hope accomplishes in us.

3. Give a brief definition in your own words of what it means that God foreknew you, predestined you, called you, justified you, has glorified and is glorifying you. (Romans 8:29-30) See John 10:14-15, 1 Cor 8:3, Galatians 4:9, 2 Timothy 2:19 and 1 Peter 1:20. Meditate and pray about what God has predestined you to be. Ask Him to give you a fervent desire for this to happen and a peaceful faith that He can accomplish it. Ask Him to show you how you can cooperate with this purpose.

4. Are you aware of the Spirit doing in you what Romans 8:26-27 describes? How is this promise a comfort to you?

Blog on!

Testing...

The last two weeks, we've talked about testing and spent some time thinking about how and why God seems to test us. We talked about how we are supposed to allow our painful times to bring perseverance in the midst of suffering and discussed how hard those concepts are. Our two character studies were Abraham (call to sacrifice Isaac) and then Adam (temptation to eat from the forbidden tree).

So, I've been thinking about being tested quite a lot lately. I hit on something in John Ortberg's The Life You've Always Wanted which has helped me be convinced of what we discussed in group.

Ortberg writes:

"A test is a difficult experience through which a person's true values, commitments, and beliefs are revealed. Test became a very important word in the Old Testament, and the way it is used there reveals something about how endurance develops.
1. It is used only in reference to people of God, never to heathen nations
2. It is applied only to people of faith, never to the ungodly.

Testing is reserved for those in a convenant relationship with God. Even though it is painful, testing in an act of love. Suffering serves to test our faith...

He continues...

"Surely we will experience suffering of one sort or another. Yet the question remains: How will we run the race? Will we finish well? Will we keep the faith? We do not accomplish this from sheer strength of will. The reason we can trust God is that he understands what it is to walk in darkness. One message of the Cross is that God chooses not to stand apart from our suffering. He is not unmoved by the pain of the creatures he loves. He embraces that pain and suffers with us."

I don't know about you, but this encourages me! I guess I don't know who this is going out to besides myself right now, but stay strong! God is near!

Thoughts

I was really encouraged and challenged by our discussion on Tuesday night. It's so interesting to hear the different perspectives each person has on Paul's writing. I found my brain hurting throughout the discussion! There's just so much to take in! Romans alone touches on so many different topics and areas of our lives as Christians. There's this never ending ability to learn more... we will never know all the answers and most of us agreed we don't want to.

I'm so thankful that we serve a God who is the alpha & omega, all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and yes, thankfully, all patient.

Even if we (I) never figure out Romans completely, I think God is smiling on our efforts and enjoying our discussions this semester. =)

Guide Questions for Romans 6:15 - 7:27

1. What evidence can you offer to support or refute Paul's claim in Romans 6:21 that sin has no benefits which outweigh its costs? (see Ecclesiastes 5:10, 15-17; 11:9-12:8)

2. Have you experienced Romans 7:7-11 since becoming a Christian? The Message translation:

... 'The law code had a perfectly legitimate function. Without its clear guidelines for right and wrong, moral behavior would be mostly guesswork. Apart from the succinct, surgical command, "You shall not covet," I could have dressed covetousness up to look like a virtue and ruined my life with it. Don't you remember how it was? I do, perfectly well. The law code started out as an excellent piece of work. What happened, though, was that sin found a way to pervert the command into a temptation, making a piece of "forbidden fruit" out of it. The law code, instead of being used to guide me, was used to seduce me'..

How do we guard against this?

3. What hope does Paul have of deliverance from his struggle against sins in this life? (Romans 7: 24-25) Thank God for providing the way of escape in your struggle against sin.

Looking forward to hearing from you all on the blog and in group. Stay blessed!

Encouraging words from Dad

Hey everybody!

Dad just sent me an email with wonderful encouragement about Romans. I wanted to pass it on to all of you.

"Your work in Romans will shape your perceptions of 'what being grounded in the Word' means to you, every day. Every pavement day."

Here's to hard work seeking after Him! May it filter into our lives - every mundane and every spectacular day.

Guide Questions: Romans 5 - 6:1-14

Really good discussion on Tuesday! We missed a bunch of you that were not there! Hope to see everyone next week! Here are the discussion questions for next Tuesday:

1. Does suffering always produce endurance? Why or why not? How does faith enable a person to let her suffering produce endurance and hope rather than bitterness and despair? How is this fact relevant to you?

2. What hinders you from letting hope fill you with joy in midst of your circumstances? or what keeps you from taking full advantage of your access to God? Pray about this

3 How does Romans 5:1-11 show the Trinity working in harmony? What does each Person do?

4. How can you actively reject the reign of sin in your life this week? How can you offer the parts of your body to righteousness?

5. What two things did Adam introduce into the world and pass on to his descendants? (Romans 5:12) Contrast Adam's trespass and God's gift (Jesus) (Romans 5: 15-19)

Questions about Question #3

Here is what A Commentary on Romans by Charles Hodge says about Romans, Chapter 4:

"The third argument (that Paul makes in this chapter) is designed to show that circumcision is not a necessary condition of justification, from the fact that Abraham was justified before he was circumsied, and therefore is the head and father of all believers, whether circumcised or not (vs. 9-12)."

I know that circumcision was an outward symbol, but wasn't that symbol deemed unnecissary because God's grace was there for everyone? Isn't that what the argument is saying?

If that's so, why do we need outward seals of a Christian's righteousness by faith? Why do we need an outward ratification and guarantee?

I understand that "having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 1:13), but that seems as though it is something that comes upon you when you believe, rather than an act that is done as a ratification and guarantee.

Am I misunderstanding? Anyone have any thoughts? What do you think?