Weekly Challenge

What a wonderful night of discussion!  Thank you to everyone who spoke up and shared their thoughts, opinions and feelings on Saturday.

In Colossians 2:1-8 Paul is hitting the crux of the issue.  He encourages the church against false teachings and worldy philosophies.  The ammunition with which to fight these things is the knowledge and wisdom of Jesus Christ.

On Saturday we discussed that worldly and deceitful philosophies don't necessarily have to be anti-Christian worldviews.  It could simply be a system that focuses on knowing about Jesus rather than knowing who He is and developing a deep relationship with him.

The Challenge:
Take time to ponder if their are any kinds of worldly wisdom to which you grasp on to.
Ask God to show you the truth with which to combat it.
Meditate on your relationship with God and ask Him to show you what the next step is in your relationship.

In Him,
Aaron

Weekly Challenge

Paul describes the mystery of Christ in us as glorious riches in Colossians 1:27.  The list of spiritual riches we came up with in class included power, energy, wisdom, abundance, peace, hope, etc.


The Challenge:
Spend time reflecting over the riches you have as a result of Christ in you.
Spend time thanking God for those riches.
Seek ways to share those riches with others.

In Him,
Aaron

February Family Devotional

"LOVE" Mealtime Moments

 

     With Valentines Day approaching I thought it would be a perfect opportunity for us to share with our kiddos what God's view of love looks like. Opposed to the worldly view of love that they see on TV, in movies, through the commercialized Valentines Day hoopla, etc.  Love isn't something you do only when you feel like it, or something you do every once in a while. Love is an act of obedience, regardless of how you feel, and puts God and others before yourself. I have to admit this is one of my pet sins. I have a very difficult time loving with out my selfishness and feelings getting in the way. God seems to constantly remind me and I consistently have to repent for my selfish unloving ways. The most convicting part, aside from not being obedient in how God has called me to love, is that I portray the wrong kind of love to my daughter. So with that said, I'm excited about using these activities to share God's Word on what love truly is.

 

Follow this link to the Mealtime Moments from Focus on the Family, on the topic of "Love." http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/spiritual_growth_for_kids/family_mealtime_devotionals/love.aspx

There are 5 activities listed under this topic. So shoot for sitting down and eating a meal with your family at least once a week. If you can throw the 5th one in there somewhere, great!

 

Here are the topics of love addressed in each activity:

Eat It Up! - Who does God love? (Acts 10:34-35)

Featuring the Greatest Commandment, Part 2 - Who does God tell us to love?

 (Matthew 22:37-39)

Anniversary: You First - How does God define love? (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Let's Bake!  - God loves you! (Psalm 139:13-14)

Pizza Party - How are we suppose to love God? (Luke 10:27)

 

    You can do them in whatever order you like, but some of them will need some planning beforehand. I personally think "Pizza Party" should go before "Featuring the Greatest Commandment," but that's just me. The "Let's Bake" sounds yummy, but isn't going to help  me loose weight, so that may be the one we skip. Take a look for yourself and see what you think works for your family. Most of all, have fun being intentional!

 

Crystal (:

LG Weekly Challenge

Life Group Family & Friends:

That was an awesome class on Saturday.  Really enjoyed the great social time in the café followed by very comfortable couches for worshiping and discussing God’s word.  Our lesson revolved around reconciliation.  God the Father used God the Son to reconcile us back to Him.  Paul says that we were alienated from God.  We were enemies of God.  But through the sacrificial blood of our savior, we have been reconciled, holy, without blame, free from accusation, without blemish.

The challenge for the week has 2 parts.

Identify someone at work, in your family, in your neighborhood that needs to be reconciled with God.  Write down their name.  Place the name in a prominent place.  Pray for the lost soul.

Ask God the Spirit to put someone on your mind that you need to reconcile a relationship with.  Maybe you need to ask forgiveness.  Maybe you need to forgive.  Do you need to take the first step?

Be intentional.

Travis

Weekly Challenge

Great class last night on our continued journey through Colossians to discover " The Supremacy of Christ". One of the topics we discussed and all agreed upon was the fact that it is on us to learn what His supremacy is so we can be equipped to go out into our community that we interact with everyday, to live and speak according to the living word of our Heavenly Father.

We looked at many different descriptions, characteristics and promises that Jesus Christ himself was and is that we're given by His Father. These 7 categories were ones to call upon in times when we are confronted in our daily walk.

- Image of God

- Firstborn over all creation

- Creator of the Universe

- Head of the Church

- Firstborn among the dead

- God's fullness dwells in Him

- Reconcile to Himself all things

 

My challenge to all of us this week is to step out with someone that walks in your daily path that you know is not a believer and strike up a conversation if you can. For those of you that don't have someone like this in your daily walk. Pick one of the topics and have the discussion at dinner with your family but, start the dinner with "Why do you believe in Jesus?". Then take the time to reassure each of your family members the promise of the topic you chose. Thanks to Aaron and Travis for letting me lead the discussion this week and thank you to the people of our community for sharing Christ in your daily walk!

~ Will

Weekly Challenge

Life Group Family & Friends:
We finished week 2 of our Colossians study.  We focused on 4 characteristics of worthy, obedient living.
1. Bearing fruit in every good work.
2. Growing in the knowledge of God.
3. Being strengthened with all power.
4. Giving thanks to the Father.

We had a great discussion on how to achieve those tasks outlined by Paul.  Thank you for the insight. 

In Colossians 1: 9-14, Paul says we have a purpose and we need to follow the will of our creator.  We concluded that we use the Holy Spirit (or God the Spirit) to reveal and gain knowledge. 

My challenge to you this week is to talk with your family about the prevalence of the Holy Spirit in your life.  One very good resource is the book, Forgotten God by Francis Chan.  Forgotten God
Get the book from the LP bookstore or library.  You can also find it at (List of online bookstores)


Be intentional this week.
Travis

Weekly Challange

Life Group Family & Friends:

That was a great start to our new Colossians series.  During our background review of the letter, we learned the following:

·         When was it written?   60 AD
·         Who was the author?  Paul
·         Where was Paul when writing the letter?       Rome.  Prison.
·         Where is Colossae?    Turkey
·         What is the theme of Colossians?      The power of the gospel message.  The supremacy of Christ.

We will review these facts for the first several weeks.

In our 8 verse intro to Colossians, we heard about giving thanks to God, how our lives should bear fruit, be in constant prayer, make disciples, we have hope through Jesus, the gospel is truth, and we are responsible for sharing our faith with others. 

My challenge to you this week is related to Colossians 1:6.  Paul says that the gospel was bearing fruit and growing among them.  How is the gospel bearing fruit in your life?  In our LG?  In our church?

Be intentional this week.

Travis