I looked at our lesson for today, Service, and wondered how I was to make a connection with the above story.  Let’s say that the table that is being set is “God’s church” and each piece of “service” represents individuals and what gifts they bring to His church.  No two pieces are the same and each piece serves an individual purpose.  All are necessary, but all are different. We are given instruction and proper placement of our “service” through God’s Word.  If we come to the table without “service” it would be extremely difficult to partake of the feast before us.  The same is true of God’s church, in that, if we come to His church without “service”  we can not truly call ourselves “servants of Christ”.  Maxie Dunnam writes:  “To be a Christian person, one fully alive in Christ, is to be one whose life reflects the life of Jesus.”   Paul writes -  “ we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the life of good deeds which God designed for us.”  (Ephesians 2:10)  “and it is he who has given some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip God’s people for work in his service, for the building up of the body of Christ…” (Ephesians 4: 11-12) – Karen

     Maxie Dunnam quotes Second Corinthians 9:10 – “Now he who provides seed for sowing and bread for food will provide the seed for you to sow;  he will multiply it and swell the harvest of your benevolence, and you will always be rich enough to be generous.”  What a promise that is!  Our giving back to God what He has freely given to us is of such importance that it is a much written about subject in the New Testament, see, Matthew 6:21; Matthew 7:6; Matthew 10:8, Matthew 22:21; Luke 12:48; Luck 16:10-12; Acts 20:35; 1 Timothy 5:8; 1 Timothy 6:6,7; and, 1 Timothy 6:10.

     The subjects of stewardship and tithing are ones that can be uncomfortable to discuss in an open forum.  I believe that is why we are given our church packets and asked to take them home and open our hearts to Him through prayer.  There, we can ask for His guidance and have trust in our Father that, when we give with a generous heart, He will accept our gifts and, as He assures us in Second Corinthians 9:10 – “add a little something to it!” – Karen

     Worship is not optional, it is a commandment. “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” Exodus 20:8 – This is not to say that we are only to set aside one day for worship, but rather it is the opportunity for the church to celebrate together and gather strength and support in one another’s arms, praising God and saying “Hallelujah” and “Amen” together.  It offers Christ the opportunity to walk amongst us loving us as a whole body, His body.   I believe that when the early churches read Paul’s letters that they actually felt his presence amongst themselves.  Do you feel the presence of our Savior when His Word is spoken from the pulpit?

     Consider this…what if the day you decide to not be present is the day that God has a very special purpose for your life and the life of His church?  We all have reasons to be absent from our church worship service from time-to-time – but do we take the time, when absent in body, to become united with our church family in worship and prayer during our scheduled worship services?  

     Maxie Dunnam asks – “Have you ever experienced a deeply moving worship service?” – I say – “Let’s share!” – Karen

After reading today’s lesson, I came away with a clearer sense of how God views “His people” and how we should see our relationship with Him – royal and holy.

If we are “one body” then I thought about what we “bring into the body” to sustain nourishment and life.  With our physical bodies, we go out and bring into ourselves food and drink to maintain our energy, essentially life itself.  The same is true with the body of Christ, the church…we need to “go out” and bring into the body that substance which nourishes it – without continual nourishment, it dies.  If we only desire to maintain this “body”, the church, by letting it feast upon itself, it will wither and become lifeless. 

The opening scripture today – 1 Peter 2:9- says that we are chosen, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. I view royalty as “putting on the crown of glory” – and, as we all know, our crown is a crown of thorns.  We can acknowledge Christ’s suffering, or we can put on that crown of thorns, share in his suffering and “go out” and “bring in” that which will sustain His church.  Indeed, it will take “sacrificing” our time and talents, it requires that we reach out and “speak the truth” – being guided by the Holy Spirit.  We are not alone in this commission – the Holy Spirit is ready to work miracles within each of us to show to the world God’s grace and glory!  Yes, our crown has thorns…but no crown of gold could shine brighter then when we “go”, boldly trusting God’s will.

Look for your miracle today! – Karen   

In today’s lesson, What Defines Christian Community, Maxie Dunnam says that there is “no such thing as solitary Christianity.”…and “there is no true Christianity apart from the church.”   He also reminds us that Jesus’ life and ministry were never “private” matters; he lived his life for others…that although our “Christian faith and experience must be personal, they cannot be private” especially if we truly live to follow Christ’s example.

 He goes on to further discuss how we become a true Christian community and refers to the need to become “obsessed” with God.  “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30 

I personally like the way he defines this obsession as a “God addiction”.  When I thought about the principals of any addiction, and applied them to my relationship with God, I came up with these thoughts:  1) He is something that we can never get enough of; 2) He is something that we can’t live without; 3) We need Him to get through our day(s); 4) We are physically and psychologically dependent up Him; and  5) He is a power over us which we have no control over…when we choose to live for Him.

When we live joyfully in a “God addicted” community, loving, showing hospitality and kindness, sharing, caring, and bearing one another’s burdens, the magnitude of His grace is revealed.  So my question is this –  Are you committed (bound or obligated –Webster’s Dictionary)…or are you addicted (being physically or psychologically dependent on something – Id)? – Karen

Knowing — and doing — God’s will.  The second part of that equation is equally important.  The author quotes Paul from the 7th chapter of his letter to the Romans to illustrate the frustration we all experience in knowing what is right, but doing what is wrong.  How did Paul deal with this issue?  How do you deal with it?

In looking at today’s chapter, let’s start with some scripture:

9 “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.
10 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Luke 11:9-10 (NRSV)

 We’ve discussed (and even blogged) this topic before.  What does it mean that God will answer our prayers?  We can have that discussion again, but I like the way that Maxie Dunnam turns it around:

“What if there are some things God either cannot or will not do until people pray?”

Think about that for a minute (and then post your thoughts).  I’m fine with “will not do”, but what is your reaction to “cannot” do?

The author also gives us a different perspective by tackling us once again on our human tendency to want to work our way toward a certain result, even when we might be reluctant to pray for that very same result.  “If it is right to work for a certain end, isn’t it just as right to pray for that purpose?”  He then quotes the Scottish theologian, John Baillie:

“Clearly we must not pray for any end towards which it is wrong to labour, but likewise we must not labour toward any end for which it is wrong to pray.”

There are many other things we can say and discuss about prayer, but what are your thoughts on these specific ideas?

 But born to do what?  That is the question left unanswered too often.  That is the difference in what we believe and what others believe.  To what purpose do we die?  For what purpose are we “born again”?  For me, the answer is to live our lives as if Christ were in us.  And that focus is on “us” — not “me”, but “us”.

 ”We” are the Church — the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church — the Bride of Christ.  We not only serve as Christ would serve individually, but corporately as the Church.  Sometimes we forget this in our frontier society attitudes toward the “rugged individual”.  True stewardship recognizes that we bring our gifts, our prayers, our service together.  In the Adult Bible Study Series for this quarter I was struck by today’s Daily Bible Study scripture, which is from Acts:

44 All who believed were together and had all things in common;
45 they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.
46 Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts,
47 praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.   Acts 2:44-47 (NRSV)

What a wonderful description of the early Church.  We forget sometimes how much the Church is the focus of the New Testament.  Think about this for a minute — how many of the Epistles are directed to individuals?  How many to churches?  How much of Paul’s concern was for what the churches were doing as it was for what trouble and dissension was being caused by individuals?  Maybe “losing our lives” means not doing so individually so much as surrendering our individuality in voluntary service for the greater good.  How do you square this concept with what you might think about the American ideal of the “rugged individual”?  But is this really an “ideal” in our heritage; or did the founding fathers (and mothers and brothers, etc.) really make the same argument that it is through “hanging together” that we achieve true freedom?

 I know some of you have thoughts on this . . .

In the beginning of this chapter, the author talks about one of his favorite gospel songs “Constantly Abiding.”  The words are on page 116.  I also have favorite gospel songs, the one today that speaks volumes to me is “In the Garden.”  The song begins…I come to the garden alone, but the refrain says it all…He walks with me and He talks with me, He tells me I am His own…”.

Maxie Dunnam asks…”What does abiding in Christ mean to you?”  In what ways do you practice abiding in Him…?”  To me, abiding in Christ is to have confidence in His presence and strength, to trust in His forgiveness and grace, and to have faith in His constant love for me. – Karen