2004 Term 4 Week 7 - Final - Question Time

You ask the questions.

2004 Term 4 Week 6 - Killing Orcs - Part 2

Examples of people who kill orcs:
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
Gandi
Martin Luther King
Jesus

Is that the only way to kill orcs? Are you sure?

2004 Term 4 Week 5 - Killing Orcs

Destroying evil.

2004 Term 4 Week 4 - Wanting More

Recognising ‘Less’
- Fear of pain
- Luke 12:1-9 (Fear God more than man)
- Luke 14:27-33 (There is a cost, faith is believing the cost to be the less we refuse to settle for)
- Phil 3:7-11 (No more settling for less) and 3:18-21

Dreaming of what could be
- Parables eg Matt 13:44-46 (Buried treasure & Pearl)
- John 6:26-51 (Jesus is the bread, want him more than typical bread)
- Ephesians 4:28-5:2 (Stop that, do this instead) also Gal 5:16-25 and Col 3:1-10
- Phil 4:8&9 (Focus on good things)

Persevering
- James 5:7-11 (Wait for something better)
- Waiting for an inheritance

2004 Term 4 Week 3 - Why we sin

Settling for less

2004 Term 4 Week 2 - SIN and sin

How can the Bible say that Jesus death and resurrection means that we are no longer slaves to sin, yet we still sin? Romans 6:6. SIN is distinct from sin. SIN refers to the state of Humanity, sin refers to the things we do to express our Sinful nature. Jesus points to lust and anger (within the heart) as being sin as well as adultery and murder (expressions of the heart) – Matthew 5:21 & 22, 27 & 28. I distinguish between the two by saying SIN (within the heart) and sin (expressions of the heart). So the problem with humanity is not their sins, but their SIN. The problem is not that they murder, but that they have the desire to cause harm to others. In the new creation, brought about by Jesus, SIN has been dealt with (Jesus died for all SIN). Now it was this SIN that caused sin. It is good news as we are no longer controlled by SIN (Romans 6:6). And so sin doesn’t have to be our natural response. We can be good (only because Jesus has done what was necessary to allow us to be good).
The analogy we used was that of smoking. The more one smokes (sin) the more one gets addicted to nicotine (SIN) the more one wants to smoke. And so SIN/sin reinforces itself. The good news of the gospel is that nicotine (SIN) no longer exists. There is no longer any such thing as nicotine, the only reason you still smoke is out of habit. You are not addicted any more and can never be addicted again. The penalty of SIN is death (Romans 6:23) and that Jesus died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God (1 Peter 3:18) so that we would no longer be slaves to SIN.

2004 Term 4 Week 1 - New Creation

Continued on with the idea what the new creation is about. The old has gone and the new has come.

2004 Term 3 Week 10 - Intro to the New Creation

Romans 5:12 - 6:14
Had to be there

2004 Term 3 Week 9 - Jono's Follow up and New Creation

Had to be there

2004 Term 3 Week 8 - Why Step into the Chaos?

Had to be there

2004 Term 3 Week 7 - Jono's Chaos and Glory

Had to be there

2004 Term 3 Week 6 - Follow up

Had to be there

2004 Term 3 Week 5 - Personal Description of the Chaos

I got one of the guys to talk about what the chaos looks like in his life. He gave 3 examples, one from is family, one from his school, and one about girls. I had sat down with him during the week, just one on one, to talk through this so that he knew how the examples would be used in the group. After he talked I told the group I saw some patterns between the examples, which were: a fear of being shown as incompetent, a fear of embarrassment, a fear of risking/being vulnerable, he distracts himself from facing the chaos (and he rationalises the distraction), and he keeps his problems to himself (silent). I wrote up two lists on the board. The first was how he experienced the chaos (fear of being seen as stupid, embarrassment, don't know what to do, etc) and the second was how he attempted to avoid the chaos (avoid risk, leave it for someone else, distract, go silent, etc). The second list I labelled as sin. Here are the ways that he attempts to live life without God. The chaos in life causes us to either cry out to God or harden our hearts, the second list was all about hardening his heart, not feeling the pain of a fallen world. This took surprisingly little convincing, maybe it was really obvious (or just too left field - weird).
Anyway, I then told him that he uses the second list because it seems better than to try and move forward in the chaos. So the solution was to reveal to him how the second list had the appearance of life but was really death (or it is just gravel in your mouth). We have been using the Lord of the Rings to illustrate our ideas (mainly that each of our hearts longs to be Aragorn), so continuing this I told him that the Shire is protected from evil by the Dunedain (unbeknown to the Hobbits). When he leaves the chaos to be dealt with by others he is acting as one of the Hobbits. He is demanding that others protect him. I also told him that the effects of keeping silent is like what happened to Rohan when its king, Theoden, did nothing as Sauraman’s Uruk-Hai ravaged his people. I told him that when he distracts himself from the chaos he is deserting the fellowship and returning to Hobbiton. So we named his distractions (computer games, TV, radio) and banned him for a week. After I had gone through the list and made a mess of his sinful strategies I the guys that this is part of the battle for his heart. And in the discussion that followed we linked it with the idea that whoever loses his life for Christ’s sake will find it. And that ultimately if you don’t believe in God, you will try to avoid the chaos of life. If you don’t believe that God can raise the dead, then you wont risk your heart.

2004 Term 3 Week 4 - Reworking the Definitions of Chaos

Redrew the Binksy bit as a series of lines rather than a circle. This is to differentiate it from the circle that indicates the part of the chaos where our heart directs us to attempt to bring order to the chaos.

Used Linkin Park’s Breaking the Habit song to describe the chaos and our reaction to it.

Spoke about how we are all Aragorn in an epic story. The orcs are real. And the orcs will try to kill you. You have sword. I am here to remind you who you really are (like Gandalf awakening Theoden).

2004 Term 3 Week 3 - Pete Special

I'll get Pete's notes and post them here.

2004 Term 3 Week 2 - Lust Part B

This week was a continuation of last week.

2004 Term 3 Week 1 - Lust

This semester we will bring issues of life to the Bible do demonstrate that the Bible has something meaningful to say to the issue. The first issue we will look at is lust.
What is Lust?
Think of Bible stories or verses that would help us to understand the concept of lust.
Genesis 3 – Fruit
2 Samuel 11 – David and Bathsheba
Judges 14 – Samson and the young Philistine girl
Judges 16 – Samson and Delilah
Matthew 5:27-30 – Lust = Adultery
1 Corinthians 7:9 – Marry rather than burn with passion

The Greek words that are translated into Lust are also translated into Desire and Longing in the good sense of the word (eg Matthew 13:17, Luke 22:15). It is not so much the desire that is lustful, rather it is the way one seeks to fulfil the desire that can be lustful.
Why is it not enough to make a covenant (rule) not to look lustfully at women? (Job 31:1).
1 John 2:16&17
James 1:13-15
Ephesians 4:19
Galatians 5:17
1 Timothy 6:6-10

2004 Term 2 Week 9 - Sorry

Things people say as they apologise:

Sorry – But I’m not
“I’m sorry, but you’re wrong.”
“I'm sorry you're such an idiot.”
“I’m sorry, ALRIGHT!”

Sorry – But I’m not responsible for it
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t mean it.”
“I’m sorry, but its not my fault.”

Sorry – But I’m not as there are extenuating circumstances (I’m not responsible and I know where to place the blame)
“I’m sorry, but if you didn’t put it there I wouldn’t have trodden on it.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m having a bad day.”

Sorry – The problem is yours, there’s nothing wrong with what I did
“I’m sorry you feel like I attacked you.” / “I'm sorry you feel that way.”
“I’m sorry if you take offence at what I said.” / “I’m sorry if I offended you.”
“I’m sorry you’re overreacting.” / “I’m sorry you’re taking this badly.”
“I'm sorry you misunderstood me.”
“I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings.”

Sorry – I did wrong
“I’m sorry I hurt you.”
“I’m sorry I broke your toy.”
“I’m sorry I said such hurtful things.”


“When we give what I believe is a “healthy” or authentic apology, we can state clearly what we did that was disrespectful or inconsiderate without:
· immediately explaining why we did it,
· telling the person that however it looked or sounded, it wasn’t our real intention, or,
· bringing up some other issue that suggests that the other person contributed to or caused the problem.”
“When you accept an apology, and then walk away knowing it wasn’t real, you enter a world of make-believe where you pretend an issue is resolved while harboring resentments. Gently, firmly, without anger, you can decline a hollow apology.”
Sharon Ellison

Also see this article.


A way of apologising:
Person 1: “I’m sorry”
Person 2 / Inner thought: “What for?”
Person 1: Describe action and affect
Person 2 / Inner thought: “Why is that wrong?”
Person 1: Describe attitude/motivation


King David and Nathan – 2 Samuel 12:1-14
Prodigal Son – Luke 15:11-32

2004 Term 2 Week 8 - Strength - Part B

Words used to describe how we enter the chaos to bring order: Leader, Protector, Hunter.

We talked about how stepping into the chaos as a leader involves bringing clarity for another. For example the person may not see a way forward, you can lead them forward by saying things that bring clarity.
Protector was about stopping evil on behalf of another. For example, you are in a group of people and one person is saying hurtful things about (or to) another person. Telling them to stop is acting as a protector.
Being a hunter was about killing evil. We do this by taking evil into ourselves in order to destroy it. It si like turning the other cheek, giving your shirt as well as your coat, going the extra mile. It is what Gandi and Martin Luther King did. They did not pass on the evil. They received it and said, “Enough. The evil ends here”.



Men compensate for their insecurities. How can I arrange life to avoid doing things that terrify me? - Adam (silence), Gideon (hiding)
Men only move in areas of giftedness rather than character. I move where there is a plan (faith, dependence, and brokenness are not required). Moses (speaking in public)

Life does hurt. Fear is real.
Life is more than I can handle.

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness … When I am weak then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:9&10)
I can do everything through him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13)

I can respond to life with purpose

It takes more effort to avoid being strong than it does to be strong. Our natural inclination is to step into the chaos. Its what our heart wants. And then we make up all these reasons why we shouldn’t:
I don’t know what to do
I haven’t been taught/trained how to do this
Its not my gift
I don’t have time
I would only make it worse
I’ll tell the pastor/someone else
I’m busy now
I’d look silly
I’m not up for it (too tired/worn out/drained)
But what you need to remember is that your heart suggested it. As if it actually wants to do this. Trust your heart.

Remember homework is to listen for when someone says sorry. Take note of the very next thing they say. Also any aspects of life that you want to throw at the bible.

2004 Term 2 Week 7 - Strength - Part A

Men avoid places where strength is required unless they are absolutely sure they can deliver.
Stepping into the chaos requires strength, but not the sort of strength that society tells us about.
Society’s view on strength:
Men don’t cry (don’t show weakness or vulnerability)
Men must be competent (must be able to handle everything that comes their way)

Words used to describe how we enter the chaos to bring order: Leader, Protector, Hunter.

Where we fear the chaos most is in the areas of our giftedness.
Strength is strength when it is done for others. We step into the chaos not to prove that we can, but that we have a purpose. That purpose is to act for others, to bring good, to halt evil, and to bring order to the chaos to make life a bit easier for someone else.

Decided not to post my full notes here. I'll do part B next week. I realised I hadn't answered Will's question about how its more effort to attempt to avoid the chaos than it is to step into it.

2004 Term 2 Week 6 - Beauty

Definitions of beauty:
Looks good
Feels good
Tastes good
Smells good
Sounds good

We drew a link between beauty and God’s creation, and how beauty can draw out worship/praise.

Women exemplify beauty.
Men use and/or abuse women’s beauty.
Society’s view on beauty focuses on the physical element only, and only on a small proportion of the physical variations.

When men are threatened by women’s beauty it is men’s fault. If a woman walks naked down the street calling “take me. Do what you want. I don’t mind.” She is in no way responsible for the choice that men make. Men are solely responsible for their actions. It is Adam’s voice that says, “this woman that you put here caused me to sin”. It doesn’t matter what others do or say we are responsible for our own sin/choices. Jesus was surrounded by a culture that invited him to sin and he never did.

So then we started thinking about a better response to beauty. Words we used were:
Applause/Celebrate
Awe
What is man’s response to beauty to be? Stayed tuned for next week.

2004 Term 2 Week 5 - The Kingdom of God Part B

This week we used a lot of pictures. When I can figure out how to post pictures I will put the pictures here (they were some of my best ;).

The general idea was that the Kingdom of God (KoG) is separate to the earth. We talked about how Jesus established the KoG and will return to complete its work. And that the Holy Spirit is the link between the KoG and earth.

I drew a tree with a cherry (and a banana) with a rain cloud on the side. We said that Gavin was the tree, the cherry was joy (one of the fruits of the spirit that Gavin shows), and the rain cloud represents the work of the spirit. The fruit that appears is God's fruit not Gavin's. So Gavin shows us something of what God looks like (Joy).

It is through us that the KoG is revealed.

Homework:
Attempt to notice how people around you reveal the KoG.

2004 Term 2 Week 4 - Kingdom of God - Part A

Review of last week took up a lot of the time, so this topic will be done over 2 weeks.

In the beginning God created the world. When man sinned, God separated himself from man. The kingdom of God became separate to the world. The Bible tells us that Jesus came to establish God’s kingdom among people. God’s kingdom is spread by us (through his Spirit).

I had two circle drawn up. Its too hard to describe them. Simon or Brooksie can you see if you can find some html code for drawing. Thanks.

2004 Term 2 Week 3 - What can I do?

Be with others.
Romans 12:9-21 (15)
DEFINITION OF WITH
If I were to come and sit with you would that be being with you? Let’s find out.

Here I am with my friend Mark. He doesn’t look excited to have me with him. I’ve made a big effort to come and be with him and he doesn’t seem to be very appreciative of it. And well he shouldn’t. I have come to him on my terms. And am asking him to be with me, rather than going to be with him.

If you think back to verse 15 it says “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” If I am going to be with you I need to know where you’re at. How can I know whether to rejoice or mourn unless I take notice of your mood?

And yet it is not that simple. I want to do a compare and contrast exercise. I am not trying to contrast between right and wrong, or even good and bad, just highlight how we struggle to be “with” each other. We don’t often rejoice with those who rejoice. Sometimes we:
* Give them a quite word and bring them back down to earth
* Stop them from getting a big head
* Tell a similar story that happened to me and steal the limelight
* Think what about me, why doesn’t that happen to me?

And even when it comes to mourning with those who mourn. Sometimes we:
* Try to cheer them up
* Avoid them because we don’t know what to say or that we might say the wrong thing
* Give them time on their own to ‘get over it’

Examples of Withness
I think we do a very good job of avoiding being with people. Such a good job that we struggle to know what it means to be with people.

When my friend Darren Webb announced his engagement to Karen I found it hard to rejoice with him because it brought up all my emotions about not having a girlfriend and how alone I felt.

I was a leader on a camp a few years ago and one of the guys on the camp was real depressed and was considering suicide. I felt so out of my depth. I didn’t know what to do, my every instinct was to run away, to pass the responsibility to someone else. And for some reason I didn’t. I knelt down beside him prayed. For me that is one of the loudest moments of being with someone.

On another camp I was a leader on … adoption.

We have a God who knows how hard it is to be with people. A God who knows the cost of remaining with people. A God who became one of us and walked as a man. The Bible tells us that he partied with people. The Bible tells us that he cried with people.

Matthew 20:1-16 – Parable of the Workers in the vineyard. The workers found it hard to rejoice with those who the landowner had been generous to.
Luke 15:11-32 – Parable of the Lost Son

2004 Term 2 Week 2 - Legalism Continued

Allow guys to bring their thoughts on last week to the group.

Review of last term in more detail.

If we get time we will look at our glorious nature, but probably not until next week.

2004 Term 2 Week 1 - Legalism

We all live by rules. Rules tell us that we are bad people. If we were good people we wouldn’t need rules to make us be good.
If we can keep the rules we somehow think we are better than those who don’t. This can lead to self-righteousness. I can make myself be a better person (or stop myself from being such a bad person). And when your righteousness (sense of worth, God-likeness) comes from self (by keeping the rules) you no longer need God. I am able to stop myself from doing bad things (I am not that fallen/broken/sinful) I can do okay by myself. God is not in the picture. The funny thing is that very act of using rules to keep me from needing God is the very thing that drives me towards him. If I notice that I need to have a rule to be kind, or generous, or loving, or godly then I start to have doubts about my motives. And if I’m honest I am not as sincere in my good deeds as I would like. In fact if I didn’t have the rule I would probably not do it at all. I become aware that I am not a good person and that my rules only make me look like a good person. I am deceiving people, myself included. When I realise this I will make some more rules in the hope that these new rules will do what the old ones couldn’t, bring about a good change. Though we all know the new rules are no more powerful that the original rules. I can’t make myself good. I am stuffed and so I cry out to God, “God I can’t do it. Save me from myself. Make me like you, as I cannot improve myself.”

Example:
I become aware that my relationship with my friends is not as good as I would like it to be. So I make a rule that I will spend more time with them. Whilst spending time with them I become aware that I am forcing myself to spend more time with them and that I would prefer to do other things (read/play computer games). So I make a rule that I will take more interest my friends I will be more curious about them, hopefully they will seem more interesting to me than reading. Later I become aware that I am not really becoming more interested in them. Ashamed of myself I seek another rule to try to change my heart. If I take the time to notice I see that my heart is unavailable to others, uninterested in others, and unable to be changed by me. And my next question will always be “So, what do I do now?” And there it is again. I want a rule to live by. My rules haven’t worked, tell me your rule and I’ll give it a go. So what do I do? I realise that rules wont save me or change me, note to self: “No rules”. And that is my new rule. I can’t help it. I keep making rules to fix myself. Not once have I cried out to God. If I want I could work “Christianity” into my rules. I will read the bible everyday. That will bring about the change I want. I could do a similar thing with prayer too, or even fellowship. “God I don’t want to give up being master of my destiny. It feels like my whole world will collapse if I stop fortifying my life with rules. I don’t trust in your love. I feel the need to earn it, to prove myself worthy of it. I cannot bear to be broken/sinful/fallen in my own eyes, let alone the eyes of my friends and family, let alone you. God, change me.”


God brings about change through surprise. And the change is not the change I was trying to achieve. I suddenly become aware that something in me has shifted, I have become a little bit different.

Romans 3:19-24

Rules: I gotta love my wife (will she feel loved?)
I gotta take more interest in my friends’ lives
I gotta exercise regularly / eat healthier

2004 Term 1 Week 9 - Freedom (Part 2)

Review last week’s session.

Paradox
God can do what he wants : People can do what they want
I think society over emphasises the side that people can do what they want. I wish to over emphasise what God can do in order to give you another perspective.

2004 Term 1 Week 8 - Freedom

Write on the board:
“I can’t save myself”
“I can’t save others”
“I can’t make myself more Christ-like”

Who agrees with each question?

I can’t save myself / I can’t save others
Ephesians 2:1-10

I can’t make myself more Christ-like
Romans 3:8-20 (10)
Galatians 3:1-14 (3)
Philippians 1:6

2004 Term 1 Week 7 - Power

Follow on from must/should/can. When we say ‘must’ we want to have a certain level of power in the lives of others.

I think power is a myth. Humanity seeks it and reveres it (false god?). I can have power in peoples' lives (affect them) by two ways. I can force myself on them or I can be invited by them. The first is violent and forceful and is more about me and my power than the effects of my 'power' in the life of another. And the effect is horrendously damaging. The second is out of my control, no matter how loving I am or how generous I am with my heart I can't make anyone invite me to affect them (and if I do try how is this different to the forceful way?), it is their gift to me. Their choice to allow me to have impact and presence in their life, a wonderful gift. So power is a myth. I do not have that amount of control over others, nor should I. Jesus knew this and the stories of Jesus’ interaction with people show this.

Matthew 4:19 – “Come, follow me”
Holy Spirit – Gentle leader/guider

When I hear about laying down power I rejoice. Laying down power is like recognising the gun you hold is a water pistol. When people say that it feels odd to lay down something they don't have I say yes, that's it. It's recognising what you don't have and what you will never have. And realising that you don't need it. This is freedom, wonderful glorious freedom. And with this freedom, perhaps we will take note of what we do have in Christ and pursue that.

2004 Term 1 Week 6 - Must / Should / Can: Freedom and Bondage

Differences in the listener's acceptance of what you are saying.

I must obey God
I should obey God
I can obey God
I must love others
I should love others
I can love others
I must read the Bible
I should read the Bible
I can read the Bible
I must take an interest in other
I should take an interest in other
I can take an interest in other
I must speak to my friend about my faith
I should speak to my friend about my faith
I can speak to my friend about my faith
I must pray for others
I should pray for others
I can pray for others
I must try to stop sinning
I should try to stop sinning
I can try to stop sinning
I must live for others
I should live for others
I can live for others

On Monday night one of the guys said "you must ..." and it hit a nerve in me. Is that the gospel? Where one MUST respond, where the christian MUST love others, MUST be generous, MUST not sin. I know that what follows may seem like a spliting of hairs, yet to me the distinction is liberating.
In our group we spoke about how the word MUST is a heavy burden and implies that the person wont want to do it and they need to be convinced/forced into doing it by something external. For example, "you must be generous" implies that the idea of being generous is not inviting enough in and of itself. Contrast it with "you must take this all expenses-paid holiday to Tahiti", of course!
So the word suggested to replace MUST was SHOULD. Which still shows our need for the imperative, our need to tell people what to do. We agreed that SHOULD was less heavy than MUST and introduced the element of choice that was missing in MUST. But our fear was that SHOULD was just a more politically correct way of saying MUST. Also it still implies that we needed convincing to do it. "Be good. Why? Because you should, its expected."
The next word suggested was COULD which we quickly upgraded to CAN to give it a more certain feel. We noticed that CAN didn't feel like a burden. The other thing we noticed was that CAN put the emphasis back on to the subject. Eg. "You can go to the park", I find I am thinking about the park and if I want to go there. Likewise, "you can be generous", has me thinking about whether I want to be generous or not. That maybe there is something about being generous that makes it worth being generous. I don't need an "or else", "for the greater good", or "its expected of you". Rather being generous is its own incentive. Also CAN is inviting rather than forceful. For example, "What you are doing is selfish. You can be generous."
So I love the word CAN and the way it subtly changes the meaning so that I can offer alternative ideas without the baggage of the imperative. And the way CAN draws attention to the idea rather than me (it avoids "who are you to tell me what I should do?").

2004 Term 1 Week 5 - Squad Night

This week saw us doing:
Trust and Initiative Games
Volleyball "game"
Street Navigation
Lantern Hunt

The idea was to allow the guys to develop leadership and team skills. And to give them an opportunity to notice how they avoid chaos.

2004 Term 1 Week 4 - Two Responses to Life

The chaos of life is inescapable. We either toughen up so that we can’t feel it, or we cry out to God.
Cry out to God or Harden your Heart
Harden
Proverbs 28:14
Hebrews 3:7-19
2 Chronicles 36:13
Mark 6:52, 8:17
Exodus – Pharaoh
Relief and revenge

Cry Out
Treat people well or they may cry out to God. Implies that when life is unfair or hard we are to cry out to God.
Matthew 27:46 – Jesus cried out to God at the injustice of life.


Diagram
Ephesians 4:18-5:20

Haven't figured out this drawing in html yet, so ....

Chaos/Doubt - Can't cope
Ignore/Cover up leading to:
Harden of heart (I Can't be broken)
And so I use others (Ignorant/Insensitive)
And my focus is on self (Indulge/Insatable)

or
Chaos/Doubt - Can't cope
Acknowledge/Cry out to God leading to:
Soft heart (I am broken/sinful)
And so I can love others (Being with them/Being God-like)
And my focus is on God (Thankful)

2004 Term 1 Week 3 (Part B) - Silence in the face of Chaos

Men are silent when confronted by Chaos.
Examples:
Adam (Genesis 3)
Abram (Genesis 12)
Abraham (Genesis 20)
Isaac (Genesis 26)
Judah (Genesis 38)
David (2 Samuel 13)

Chaos is when life requires more from us than we think we have to give.
Examples:
Friend says, “My dad just got diagnosed with cancer”
Friend says, “I went to a funeral on the weekend”

When confronted by situations such as these we don’t know what to do or say. What we do next is our “silence”. For my I change the subject to something else that appears important, though it is just a cop out. Others do humour. They do or say something funny to avoid the situation. Others are speechless, they don’t know what to say so they say nothing. In each case, men avoid speaking into the chaos. Rather we stick to what we can do.

An example of speaking in to the chaos (or entering it) is to ask the person how they feel about their situation. Being with them.

2004 Term 1 Week 3 (Part A) - Definitions: Believe, Trust, and Faith – with Doubt

The following may happen:

...........Faith
Belief ----------> Trust
^______________|
...........Doubt
(Ignore ........ (dots) - formatting problems)

Doubt may cause you to rethink your original belief.
Example:
Belief = God will protect me from hardships
Faith = Help others because God protects
Trust = Continue helping because God protects
Doubt = Hardships in life come
Belief = God will be with me in hardships

Doubt and Faith
Faith = Certainty surrounded by doubt
Courage and fear. What need for courage if there is nothing to fear? So too what need of faith if there are no doubts?
Reclaim doubt. Doubt is a tool that we as Christian can use to further God’s kingdom. Doubt the world. One of the beliefs of the world is that we need to be selfish to survive life, “I need to look after myself ‘cos no one else will.” The Bible asks us to doubt that belief. The Bible speaks of sacrifice and service and love that is freely given. Even life itself asks us to doubt that. Mother Teresa and others inspire us to consider the merits of service.

2004 Term 1 Week 2 (Part B) - Creation

God is Generous
God made things and they were good.
God made things for people (Genesis 2)

God is Curious
God is curious as to what Adam will name the animals (Genesis 2).

The Fall
Adam sinned by being silent.
Satan put doubt in their minds about God’s goodness. That same doubt still echoes today. The world asks us to consider God’s goodness.

2004 Term 1 Week 2 (Part A) - Definitions: Believe, Trust, and Faith

Faith
Belief ---------> Trust

Believe: I believe the chair will hold my weight
Faith: I sit on the chair
Trust: I am sitting on the chair

Belief is abstract. You can believe without needing to act on it. “I believe that Earth is the only planet with life.”
Faith is acting on a belief. “I believe that through God I can bless others, so I will talk to Fred.”
Trust is remaining acting on belief. If faith is like the first step, then trust is all the steps that follow.

Ground Rules

1. One person talking at a time
2. Treat others well
3. No mocking
4. Listen to what others are saying
5. Respect others

We the undersigned agree to follow these rules during devotions:
All the guys signed

2004 Term 1 Week 1 - How reliable is the New Testament?

Will add stuff here later.