Thursday, May 7, 2009
Intro thoughts
So I've been thinking about our upcoming first week of small group and pondering over the words of the very first chapter of the book, which reviews what position our hearts should be when pursuing learning about and experiencing the disciplines. The author presents some thoughts to ponder about Jesus' emphasis on the internal state of the heart; the internal posture, if you will. The Pharisees placed emphasis on laws and rules and externals; Jesus placed the emphasis on the internals. That is the place to start, the inside...
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Welcome to the Celebration!
Greetings friends,
Ready to embark on a journey together?! I am ready to experience some life-changing awesomeness as we read, discuss, challenge each other, and see each other's faces rocked off as we encounter God through implementing the disciplines into our life...
In this group, we plan to actually implement the topics into our lives in a practical way. I have an idea for a fun, tongue-in-cheek system of keeping each other accountable, which we are actually going to do. Not in a rough, legalistic way at all. But when we cultivate any good habit, we always, always need some structure, accountability, and active focus on the habit we we would like to develop.
We will also be focusing on cultivating our relationship with God 1. in the atmosphere of grace from the Holy Spirit and 2. through the encouraging atmosphere of community. In regards to growing in community: No coal will become hotter if it sits by itself, away from the rest of the fire. Think about it. No, really; sit there and think about that marvelous quote that I just came up with all by myself...
A few years ago, when I was very down and discouraged one day and ready to "give up" (whatever that means; John 6:67-68 - "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life"...), I decided to evaluate and "count the cost" on whether I had what it took to "cross the finish line" or not...I figured out I did have all the resources needed to finish the race, but we will discuss what those resources are during our first discussion time...
Well, enough for now...you can contact me via email if you'd like...
pjgoodman07@gmail.com
If you'd like to check out an excerpt from the book, which includes the table of contents and first chapter, check out http://books.google.com/books?id=FR4z93ezwqwC&dq=celebration+of+discipline&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=iojPodEQms&sig=ryg3odZsrxkjnLquGvH7nBiZJ5M&hl=en&ei=atX5SaS0L5KMNcTmpLUE&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7
I am planning on buying a few copies of the book and having you guys reimburse me (probably about $5.00). If you'd like to buy your book on your own and want to be thrifty, I suggest getting a used book from Half.com. Here is a link: http://product.half.ebay.com/Celebration-of-Discipline_W0QQtgZinfoQQprZ4617824
Blessings!
Ready to embark on a journey together?! I am ready to experience some life-changing awesomeness as we read, discuss, challenge each other, and see each other's faces rocked off as we encounter God through implementing the disciplines into our life...
In this group, we plan to actually implement the topics into our lives in a practical way. I have an idea for a fun, tongue-in-cheek system of keeping each other accountable, which we are actually going to do. Not in a rough, legalistic way at all. But when we cultivate any good habit, we always, always need some structure, accountability, and active focus on the habit we we would like to develop.
We will also be focusing on cultivating our relationship with God 1. in the atmosphere of grace from the Holy Spirit and 2. through the encouraging atmosphere of community. In regards to growing in community: No coal will become hotter if it sits by itself, away from the rest of the fire. Think about it. No, really; sit there and think about that marvelous quote that I just came up with all by myself...
A few years ago, when I was very down and discouraged one day and ready to "give up" (whatever that means; John 6:67-68 - "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life"...), I decided to evaluate and "count the cost" on whether I had what it took to "cross the finish line" or not...I figured out I did have all the resources needed to finish the race, but we will discuss what those resources are during our first discussion time...
Well, enough for now...you can contact me via email if you'd like...
pjgoodman07@gmail.com
If you'd like to check out an excerpt from the book, which includes the table of contents and first chapter, check out http://books.google.com/books?id=FR4z93ezwqwC&dq=celebration+of+discipline&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=iojPodEQms&sig=ryg3odZsrxkjnLquGvH7nBiZJ5M&hl=en&ei=atX5SaS0L5KMNcTmpLUE&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7
I am planning on buying a few copies of the book and having you guys reimburse me (probably about $5.00). If you'd like to buy your book on your own and want to be thrifty, I suggest getting a used book from Half.com. Here is a link: http://product.half.ebay.com/Celebration-of-Discipline_W0QQtgZinfoQQprZ4617824
Blessings!
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