May 12 2012

as a mother cares for her children

 

NOTE: Following is a copy of the discussion guide that will be used in MoSt Church’s LIFE groups tomorrow, May, 13. This guide will enable your follow-up of my sermon, As a Mother Cares for Her Children, from Isaiah 49:13-15; 66.12-14. You’ll find these LIFE group discussion guides categorized each week here on my site under the category title “LIFE group guides.”

Aim

To impress upon us the powerful and wonderful loving care of God for his people.

Word

Sing, heavens! Rejoice, earth! Break out, mountains, with a song. The Lord has comforted his people, and taken pity on those who suffer. But Zion says, “The Lord has abandoned me; my Lord has forgotten me.” Can a woman forget her nursing child, fail to pity the child of her womb? Even these may forget, but I won’t forget you. (Isaiah 49.13-15 CEB)

The Lord says: Look, I’m extending prosperity [shalom; peace] to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like an overflowing stream. You will nurse and be carried on the hip and bounced upon the knee. As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you; in Jerusalem you will be comforted. When you see this, your heart will rejoice; your entire being will flourish like grass. The Lord’s power will be known among his servants, but his fury among his enemies. (Isaiah 66.12-14 CEB)

Open

Icebreaker questions are meant to help us all start talking. Choose one of the following to discuss as a group.

1. What are some of the good things you are quite sure you will remember for life?

2. Tell us of a good memory you have of your mother’s care for you, a motherly-like care someone has extended to you, or the care you have witnessed of any mother for her child.

Dig

These questions are meant to help us grapple with Scripture related to this morning’s sermon. Choose some.

1. What do you know of the original context of these two statements in Isaiah?

2. List the specifics of how a mother cares for her child that are directly noted in these texts.

3. How exactly does God reassure people that he has not forgotten them (Isa. 49.15-15)?

4. The image shifts from Israel as a child (in Isa. 66:12-14a) to Israel as something else (vs. 14b). What does God expect his children to grow up to be?

Reflect

These questions facilitate our sharing what we sense God’s Spirit is doing with us thru his word. Choose some.

1. In light of these two texts, what are some proper responses to becoming aware that God is ever faithful and good to you?

2. Do any well-known Christian songs come to mind as you reflect on these words in Isaiah?

3. These two passages are full of powerful promises from God. What are some of God’s promises that you find yourself coming back to again and again for reassurance and hope?

4. What characteristics of God do you see reflected in a good mother’s care for her child?

5. Someone says to you, “I feel like God has totally forgotten me.” How would you respond?

6. Specifically, how can you extend God’s mother-like care and shalom to those around you?

May 12 2012

this went thru my mind

 

Brain & reading: The Brain and Reading

“… when people learn to read, brain areas designed for other skills are being converted for the reading skill.”

Culture & homosexuality: How to Win a Culture War and Lose a Generation by Rachel Held Evans

“When asked by The Barna Group what words or phrases best describe Christianity, the top response among Americans ages 16-29 was ‘antihomosexual.’ For a staggering 91 percent of non-Christians, this was the first word that came to their mind when asked about the Christian faith. The same was true for 80 percent of young churchgoers. (The next most common negative images? : ‘judgmental,’ ‘hypocritical,’ and ‘too involved in politics.’)”

Honesty: Bonhoeffer on Telling the Truth

“Under the heat of the Nazis, in Tegel prison, and surely under the cloud of having participated in a conspiracy to wipe out Hitler, and clearly how he responded in interrogations and concealed the conspiracy, [Dietrich] Bonhoeffer wrote a short essay, or a fragment, called “What does it mean to tell the truth?””

Introverts: 5 Ways I Breakout of My Introversion by Ron Edmonson

“I am frequently confused for an extrovert. On Sundays and other important days of ministry I can perform as an extrovert. I assure you, it’s not the real me!”

Parenting: So How Do We Talk About This? When Children See Internet Pornography by Amy O’Leary

“There is no set script, and no predictable moment for the conversation.”

Politics: Partisan Psychology: Why Do People Choose Political Loyalties Over Facts? by Shanikar Vedantmm

“… partisans reject such information not because they’re against the facts, but because it’s painful.”

Simplicity: The 10 Most Important Things to Simplify in Your Life by Joshua Becker

“Based on our personal journey, our conversations, and our observations, here is a list of the 10 most important things to simplify in your life today to begin living a more balanced, joyful lifestyle.”

Social networking: Here’s Why Google and Facebook Might Completely Disappear in the Next 5 Years by Eric Jackson

“Mobile companies born since 2010 have a very different view of the world.”

May 9 2012

this went thru my mind

 

Assumptions: Better to Ask than Assume by Rubel Shelly

“Lots of confusion could be eliminated and far more progress made this week by following this simple rule: When something isn’t clear, ask. Don’t assume. Don’t guess. Don’t mind-read. Trying swallowing your pride and saying, ‘I’m not sure I understand. Do you mind explaining that to me?’”

Bible geography & interpretation: Studying the Land by Wayne Stiles

“Studying historical geography, in my own experience, has permanently marked my life and changed the way I understand the Bible.”

Church & self: Church as Self-mortification? by Richard Beck

“A big part of church is learning to say No to yourself.”

Church leadership & success: Why Are So Many Church Leaders Falling? by Shawn Lovejoy

“Here’s my basic conclusion: the main reason so many of us are struggling stems from our basic definition of success. Our root problem is that we have exchanged God’s definition of success for our own. We have begun to measure success the way the world does.”

Church membership: Leaving Church … for Another Church by K. Rex Butts

“… the reasons for which we leave one church for another is a luxury that only a culture of affluence, division, and denominations can afford!”

Reading: Top 10 Most Read Books in the World [infographic; I've currently only read #1, #9, and #10]

“Based on number of books printed and sold over the last 50 years.”

Shopping: Skip Impulse Buys with a 30-Day List

“Take a minute to create a 30-day list, and every time you want to buy something that’s not absolutely necessary … put it on the list with the date it was added to the list. Make a rule never to buy anything (except necessities) unless they’ve been on the list for 30 days.”

Spiritual growth: How Spiritual Growth Really Happens by Brian Jones

“A Christian taking credit for growing closer to God is like a rooster taking credit for the sun coming up in the morning. Bible study, worship, prayer, etc., are all vital parts of the Christian journey and powerfully aid in creating the context in which God can draw near to us. However, in the vast majority of instances God makes himself known to us in spite of what we try to do, not because of it.”

May 8 2012

Civil War & Stephens County, OK (27)

 

Roland Cornelius Morgan (1835-1928)

Roland Cornelius Morgan, a twenty-two year old native of South Carolina, married fourteen-year old Sarah Vienna Blalock (b. Feb. 25, 1843; d. Mar. 26, 1923) on Dec. 13, 1857 near Carrollton, Georgia.

Late in the summer of 1861, when the CSA, 3rd Battalion, Georgia Infantry was organized at The Rock, Georgia, Roland was one of those that enlisted (Aug. 31). Participating in the Cumberland Gap and Kentucky Campaigns, the 3rd GA Battalion suffered the loss of 13% of their men in the Battle of Murfreesboro (aka: Stones River; Dec. 31, 1862 – Jan. 2, 1863). The following spring, May 1863, the 3rd GA and the 9th GA Battalion were merged to form the 37th Georgia Infantry Regiment and the was assigned to the Army of Tennessee. Roland served as a Private in Co. I in the 37th GA.

The 37th Georgia Infantry “saw the elephant,” fighting with the Army of Tennessee at Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Atlanta, Hood’s winter campaign, and then, late in the war, in North Carolina. Though the 37th Georgia’s most costly experience was at the battle of Chickamauga (Sept. 18-20, 1863) where every other man was lost (50% casualties), surely the most harrowing experience for Roland was when he was captured near Atlanta on Aug. 7, 1864. Roland spent just over nine months as a prisoner of war, finally being released from Camp Chase, Ohio upon taking oath of allegiance on May 13, 1865.

Making his way home following the war, Roland and Sarah were reunited and went on to have at least six children born to them: Tillie Lia (1864-1865), Sarah Sellina (1866-1914), Christopher Cornelius (1868-1934), Dora Elizabeth (1870-1952), Dannil Rolen (1871-1936), and William David (1873-1958). Moving to Texas and living there for a time, Roland and Sarah, all of their children now grown, eventually moved to Pickens County, Indian Territory in 1896, the county that would later become Stephens County, Oklahoma. According to the 1910 Stephens County census, Roland and Sarah lived in the Brown Township at that time (305-308). They lived in Comanche at the time he applied for his Confederate pension (#1192) from the state of Oklahoma.

Roland’s grave is located in the Old Fairlawn cemetery in Comanche, Oklahoma.

May 7 2012

word for the weak: week nineteen

 

Family is the theme for this week’s reading in the Uncommon Truth for Common People project at MoSt Church. The reading schedule is:

• Mon., May 7 – Deuteronomy 6.1-9; Luke 2.41-52
• Tues., May 8 – Exodus 20.12; Ephesians 6.1-4; Titus 2.1-15
• Wed., May 9 – Genesis 2.8-21; Psalm 68.5-6
• Thur., May 10 – Matthew 12.46-50; 10.32-39; Ephesians 2.19-22; 1 John 3.7-10
• Fri., May 11 – Joshua 24.15; Matthew 18.1-10; Galatians 6.7-10

This week’s memory verse is: “…my family and I will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24.15b CEB)