God has placed us in a family and/or body. We need each other to stay centered in Christ. The Board is appointing a Theology Committee that will take special interest in guiding this area, nudging us along in our journey of discovering the beauty of Jesus and his ways.
Posted by: Len
Church: Metro Community Kelowna, BC
Date: July 31st, 2011
Speaking from Acts 10-11 this weekend, and marveling at how Luke shows us two contrasting stories. This pattern is really obvious in the Gospel of Luke, so no great surprise that he continues the same pattern in Acts.
First we see Cornelius, a pagan soldier. And not just a pagan, but an officer in the occupying army that has oppressed God’s people. But something is odd here. This soldier walks in humility, prays, and gives to the poor. ANd suddenly God shows up, and instructs him to seek the help of Peter.
Next we see Peter, the Holy apostle. A member of a privileged but oppressed people, God shows up to him also. But he doesn’t “get” the vision and it is repeated three times. God speaks to an unholy pagan, and then God gets “holy” and “unholy” foods all wrong too. Peter is still confused when a group of pagans show up at his door.
Fun speaking out of these chapters, and I closed with a four-fold Franciscan blessing.
May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.
May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.
May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.
May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really CAN make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God’s grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.
And the blessing of God the Supreme Majesty and our Creator,
Jesus Christ the Incarnate Word who is our brother and Saviour,
and the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Guide,
be with you and remain with you, this day and forevermore.
Posted by: Arlene Friesen
Church: Nassau Street Church Winnipeg
Date: July 27th, 2011
Aug. 7, 6:30 PM at Gospel Mennonite Church – note the change of location (232 Nassau St. N., Winnipeg). Ed and Joy Loewen will be teaching us about Culture and Hospitality as we reach out to our Muslim neighbours and co-workers. Ed and Joy spent many years in Pakistan and have now been ministering to Muslims in Canada for the last 23 years. Joy’s book is called Woman to Woman and she also blogs at http://joyloewen.blogspot.com.
Posted in: Books/Ideas, Loving Our New Neighbours, News, Urban and Inner City Ministries,
Posted by: Jacob Friesen
Church: Nassau Street Church Winnipeg
Date: July 27th, 2011
As Evangelicals we feel a special connection to the Apostle Paul. We shape our theology, evangelism, missions philosophy and devotional practices after him. Or so we think.
Many scholars are encouraging us to take another look. Some suggest that our understanding of Paul is loaded with misconceptions. Arlene is preparing to teach a course at SBC this fall entitled – “Galatians to Philemon”. Her study results in interesting dinner conversation but more importantly gives me a desire to dig deeper into the Word.
I invite you to join our discussion. Attached is an article from Christianity Today to get you started.
Note: I post this not to create trouble but to cause us to dig deeper because our understanding of Paul and his theology does shape our understanding of our faith and mission.
The Paul We Think We Know – Click Here