I Hate Presents
Nothing wrecks a gift faster than making a law of out of it.
Read whole article at I Hate Presents - Mockingbird (mbird.com)
I hate presents.
I swear, though, that I have not always been such a Grinch. It hasn’t always been this way. I can distinctly remember a time when I was still Cindy-Lou Who. There was that glorious Christmas when all my presents had to do with the Nutcracker, marking my brain so indelibly that ambulance alarms in France sound to me like the opening notes of the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. When I was a kid, I counted down the days each May till my birthday, and when the big day finally arrived, I was astoundingly grateful for everything. (Well, that’s how I remember it, anyway.)…………………..Read the rest at I Hate Presents - Mockingbird (mbird.com)
![[Bible Study] Chapter 5 | 2Corinthians](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1636732523030-4ARWKNTJGIIOVDJ1R3ZA/2+cor+bs5.jpg)
![[Sunday] Cheerfully Generous - Forgive & Give](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1636067585682-7YXYU5NL2GEHOB7KF6XH/F%26G+3a.jpg)
[Sunday] Cheerfully Generous - Forgive & Give
We are reminded to look at the Macedonians, how they had nothing and yet were generous. We’re to look to Paul and see how he had nothing yet lived a generous life. Most of all, look to Jesus, who gave it all up for you so that you might be rich. May we have the same spirit of generosity.
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Sunday Worship is up now! Click above.
Questions for the week
Describe the most generous person you know and how they live their life. What do you most admire about their generosity?
Read 2 Corinthians 8:1-9. What examples does Paul use to encourage the Corinthians to be generous?
Read 2 Corinthians 9:6-15. What advice does Paul give you about living a generous life?
How has Jesus been generous to you? How does that shape how you live your life?
What Had happened at Grace this week.
![[Sunday] Royal Introduction - Kingdom Way](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1732292654207-IOAL90WWETSNSYJWNI92/KW+1a.jpg)
![[Sunday] All Things - Keep It Simple](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1731687836393-04YTHZK3FOM503Y57MM3/Simple4a.jpg)
Eugene Cho: ‘Christians, Stop Being Political Jerks’
One of the biggest temptations in our world today is to dehumanize those we disagree with and in that process, we actually don’t know that we’ve done it.
read the rest of the article Eugene Cho: ‘Christians, Stop Being Political Jerks Click Here’
very November, the online political discourse ramps up as elections across the country take place. Politics have become increasingly divisive in recent years, leading to people fighting with family, loved ones and strangers online and in-person. And no group is exempt from this. Christians can often be found in the comments of Facebook posts exchanging harsh words with one another.
Rev. Eugene Cho, pastor and the president/CEO of Bread for the World, the huge Christian anti-hunger and poverty organization, sees the ways the Church is handling politics. He wants …………………
![[Bible Study] Chapter 4-5 | 2Corinthians](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1635518810426-E56TC4S8W33MTGL7KGDS/2+cor+bs3.jpg)
The Tragedy of an Incidental Christ
The tragedy of the incidental Christ I was raised with is that he was really no Savior at all.
Read the article at The Tragedy of an Incidental Christ | 1517
As obvious as it may sound, Christianity is all about Jesus Christ. In the person and work of Jesus, God is revealed to us. The entirety of the Old Testament, in ways both subtle and bold, tells us about the need for and promise of a Savior. In the Gospel accounts, it is revealed to us that Jesus is the Savior the Old Testament promised us. He is fully man, obeying all the commands of God, all the while being fully God himself. At just the right time, he laid down his life to make a blood sacrifice that paid for the sins of all mankind for all time. Jesus is the Savior of the world. Jesus for us is the subject of Chrsitianity. He is the beginning, the end, and everything in between………
![[Sunday] Generous Creation - Forgive & Give](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1635519259749-7TPZCFMBD2C71R2TAPYR/F%26G+2a.jpg)
[Sunday] Generous Creation - Forgive & Give
We are a new creation who has seen the amazing generosity of the Father though the Son. Let us go with new generosity into all the world, giving good news.
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Questions for the week
Describe the funniest viral video (think America’s Funniest Home Video) that you’ve seen.
Read 2 Corinthians 5:11-15. What are some ways you’ve seen people compelled by the love of Christ to do things that are “out of their mind”(NIV) or “beside themselves”(ESV)?
Read 2 Corinthians 5:16-6:2. As you live in the new creation, brought by Christ, what does it look like for you to be an ambassador of reconciliation today?
Video From the Sermon Today
What Had happened at Grace this week.
Laughing at our Weakness
We smile, wince, and shake our heads precisely because the comedic tragedy of it all is true.
Read article at Laughing At Our Weakness - Mockingbird (mbird.com)
These days, we are so politically segregated that we often read, watch, eat and play according to our own values. Democrats wear Levi’s denim, watch the NBA, and drink Starbucks; for Republicans it’s Wrangler jeans, NASCAR, and Chick-fil-a. Of all the big data metrics, one’s political leanings are a reliable indicator of what you might consume. The realm of comedy is hardly an exception, offering a wide array of both red state comics and blue state comics. If you are a fan of John Oliver, there is very little chance you are also a fan of Larry the Cable Guy — both have significant followings but hardly ever within the same zip code…………….
![[Sunday] Ordinary Jars - Forgive & Give](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1634919227441-GG3OCUXQL5JMGZ96IVQR/F%26G+1a.jpg)
[Sunday] Ordinary Jars - Forgive & Give
Can you remember birthdays and Christmases past? All the presents wrapped in beautiful paper - well, except the ones wrapped in old newspaper. Which one is the better gift? Perhaps it's the one that is just ordinary.
Questions for the week
Describe a time you tried to set someone straight and it didn’t go as planned. How did it feel following that incident?
Read 2 Corinthians 4:7-12. What do you think Paul means that we have “this treasure in jars of clay?” Where have you witnessed treasure in jars of clay?
Pauls speaks of being persecuted, struck down, and death. In those depressing times of life, where does Jesus give you hope?
When you were reconciled to someone, what did that process look like?
What Had happened at Grace this week.
![[Bible Study] Chapter 1-2 | 2Corinthians](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1634930683934-PXV7DVI9ZFKQWY9I9IIR/2+cor+bs2.jpg)
Death and Forgiveness
For each and every one of the ancient philosophers, the idea that we should love our enemies would have registered as self-evidently absurd.
Read article at https://comment.org/death-and-forgiveness/
In January of 2018, I took a plane to Albuquerque to sit in a hospital with my dying father. To say my dad and I weren’t close is an understatement: we had cut ties when I was twelve, and rebuilt them for a time in my early twenties only to have them quickly fall apart again. His life had since become a mystery to me. I knew, however, that heart problems had kept him in and out of the hospital for years, and despite several surgical interventions his health had long been in decline. So when the call came from S., his girlfriend of nearly two decades who hadn’t spoken to me since I was a preteen, I wasn’t exactly surprised. That she called at all meant things were serious. I took a brief leave from my obligations and packed my bags for New Mexico…………..
Forgive and Give
God gave His one and only Son so that we might be forgiven. This core idea of the Christian faith seems to permeate Paul’s words as he works to reconcile the relationship with the Corinthians. A generous spirit is one that heals people. It's amazing to think of how a generous spirit in all ways, especially our money, could heal and give good news to so many.
God gave His one and only Son so that we might be forgiven. This core idea of the Christian faith seems to permeate Paul’s words as he works to reconcile the relationship with the Corinthians. A generous spirit is one that heals people. It's amazing to think of how a generous spirit in all ways, especially our money, could heal and give good news to so many.
![[Sunday] Christ the King Sunday 2021](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1637337391706-RFGQNEMC1L5ACOOKG6N8/CTK+21a.jpg)
![[Sunday] Strong Weakness - Forgive & Give](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1636732880933-BW95MBE2L3G410IF4JYJ/F%26G+4a.jpg)
Guys night is every 1st Thursday