[Sunday] The Staff- Missio Dei

God came into the world not in power but as a baby born in poverty. When God set his people apart, he did not find a powerful ruler but a man who had no son. When God looked for a new king, he picked the one that was left in the field. And when God was asked how "How will they know I came from you?" He said, "Bring your staff, Moses."

Questions for the week

1. What causes you to groan in life? What is your staff of Moses?

2. Read 2 Corinthians 5:11-21.   What does a ministry of reconciliation look like in your life?

3. Focusing on verse 21, what assurance do you have from Jesus in the middle of groans and sins of life?

4. How might you encourage someone in the groans of life?

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

Rise and Fall of Mars Hill Podcast

I have talked about this Podcast a few times now. For the last year we have talked about power. This podcast is about that and its corruption in one of the biggest churches in the world. Its very interesting.

The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill | Podcasts | Christianity Today

Founded in 1996, Seattle’s Mars Hill Church was poised to be an influential, undeniable force in evangelicalism—that is until its spiraling collapse in 2014. The church and its charismatic founder, Mark Driscoll, had a promising start. But the perils of power, conflict, and Christian celebrity eroded and eventually shipwrecked both the preacher and his multimillion-dollar platform.

[Bible Study] Galatians Chapter 3-4

[Sunday] The Reset - Missio Dei

The head Pharisee yelled at the guard for not capturing Jesus, “Has the whole world gone after Him?" Frustrated, this head Pharisee desperately needed a win, but not just a win; winning was his entire goal, and that goal blinded him to the heart of God in the world. We are no different. We need a reset.

Questions for the week

1. Think of a time when you took wanting to win too far.  How did that affect you and the relationships around you?

2. Read John 8:21-20.  Jesus speaks of “being lifted up.”  What does this mean?  Why would that be divisive?

3. As you read through the gospel of John, how does Nicodemus understand what it means that Jesus is lifted up?

4. How has Jesus reset and restored you?

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

God For The Skeptic

I don’t want to be bound by anything. I want my boundaries limitless. I don’t want anything to stop me, hinder me, or throw a wrench in my affairs. And when God demands that he will be God and I must remain human, fallible, and perishable, I react as if someone is coming after me with a straitjacket — buckles waving in the air, sleeves ready to bind me, and a locked and padded cell awaiting me. I fear that being a Christian will imprison me. Like St. Augustine, I pray, “God grant me chastity, but not yet. Grant me religious fervor, but not if people will think I’m weird. Grant me a clean heart, but let me giggle at something smutty now and then. God, give me a future, but let it be on my own terms. And keep that damn straitjacket of religion far away.”

[Bible Study] Galatians Chapter 2

[Sunday] Look & See - Missio Dei

Questions for the week

1. Describe a time when you were amazed and said, “Look and see!”

2. Read John 1:19-36. Who are the priests and levites looking to see? How does John the Baptist point them to someone even greater?

3. Like John the Baptist, how can you help prepare the way for people to see Jesus as the “Lamb of God” and the “Son of God?”

4. How is your life influenced by looking and seeing that Jesus is the Savior and King of the World?

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

[Bible Study] Galatians Chapter 1

Habitat For Children Ministries

Habitat For Children Ministries

Current Building Needs for their medical office complex in Haiti

Items Needed Cost Per Item Total

Truck Load of Sand (7 needed) $150/ load $1050

Concrete Blocks (2000 needed) $3/ each $6000

Rebar 3/8, 1⁄2 & 1⁄4 (5 tons needed) $1000/each ton $5000

Cement (500 bags needed) $10/ bag $5000

2×4 Wood (20 pieces needed) $4/ each $80

Plywood (30 pieces) $55/each $1,650

2 Rebar Tie Wire Steel $100/each $200

12 Dozen Metal Poles $35/each $5040

2 cases of nails $100/each $200

You can make any donation amount to either of the following:

Grace Lutheran Church, mark the donation as “Habitat for Children”

Visit our website: www.hfcm.info

Paypal- https://www.paypal.me/Habitatforchildren

Mail: Habitat For Children Ministries- P.O. Box 1195, West Palm Beach, FL 33402

[Sunday] Famous Expectations - Missio Dei

Questions for the week

1. The people of Nazareth thought they were entitled to receive Jesus’ gracious words and deeds because they were his friends and relatives. What things cause us to feel entitled to receive God’s grace and mercy?  How do we counteract that sense of entitlement?

2. Read Luke 4:14-30.  Nazareth was a thoroughly Jewish community.  As such, the people labored non-stop to keep themselves pure from spiritual uncleanliness of the Gentile world surrounding them.  Their penchant for personal purity, however, blinded them to God’s compassion for the world and their participation in his mission.  How do we do similar things today that get in the way of our participation in God’s mission to the world?

3. How has Jesus liberated you to serve in his mission?  Who might you bring this Good News of Jesus to this week?

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

Grace Ladies Tea

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DNF

Read whole article at DNF - Mockingbird (mbird.com)

I came to with a blur of faces standing over me. “Let me finish,” I mumbled. “Please, please let me finish.” I tried to get up from the stretcher but was gently pushed back down.

“We need to make sure you’re okay first,” someone told me. “We need a doctor to clear you.” I nodded and lay back down. I told myself that I would be fine, that I just needed to start running again.

A man who I assumed was the doctor came over to my stretcher. He looked me over. He asked the nurses, “She threw up?”

[Bible Study] Galatians Overview 1

[Sunday] Feather In The Wind - Missio Dei

Questions for the week

1. How have you seen God work in the middle of chaos in your life?

2. Read John 12:27-36 (and John 18 and 19 for extra credit). How do you see God in control at all times, even in chaos?

3. How can we be more effective as witnesses in presenting the cross as a sign that God is in control of the chaos?

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Bollywood Remake of Forrest Gump Trailer

Opening Scene From Forrest Gump Featuring the Feater

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

[Bible Study] Chapter 16 | Gospel of Mark

Enduring the World

Read the whole Article at https://mbird.com/everyday/enduring-the-world/

Like most people, I’m not immune from feeling the pressure to be perfect in this world. For me it often manifests in body image stuff. I’m prone to compare myself to others, even those in superhero movies, and find my lack of a six pack distressing. Whether it’s because of this insecurity or because of my love of sports, I’ve always been rather familiar with the inside of a gym………………..

[Sunday] Constant Christmas - Missio Dei

Questions for the week

1. Describe a time when you’ve misunderstood Jesus or a teaching of His.

2. If someone were to ask you “Who is Jesus?”, how would you answer?

3. Read Matthew 16:13-20. How does Peter appear to get it all correct but also get it all wrong about Jesus at the same time?  

4. How does knowing that Jesus came even for “the Peters” of the world, give you hope?  

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

[Bible Study] Chapter 15 | Gospel of Mark

[Sunday] I Am Sending - Missio Dei

Questions for the week

1. How "Sent by Christ" do you feel? That is, how aware are you each day that Christ has sent you on His mission to proclaim the forgiveness of sins?

2. What does it mean to you that the risen Christ came back for Thomas? What does this say about Jesus, about Thomas, about you?

3. As a mission-hearted Christian, give your best answer to the question, “Where do you come from?”

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What Had happened at Grace this week. 

Tales the Carpenter Told - Mission of God

Read the whole article at The Tales the Carpenter Told - Mockingbird (mbird.com)

Jesus’ father was a carpenter. Presumably his father was a carpenter as well. And his father before him. We might well imagine a few generations of tradesmen, passing their sophisticated engineering knowledge down from father to son: how to hang a plumb line, sharpen a hand saw, or level a wall. Jesus, likewise, would have learned the highly specialized craft from a young age. Alongside the usual religious education for children, Jesus and his siblings would have at least helped his father in the family business. If your roof caved in from a windy storm, Jesus would have been handy with a bow saw. Everything changed, however, when Jesus turned thirty. Leaving behind his auger, Jesus went into the kingdom o………………..