Monday 1 September 2014

9: Conclusion

Thanks for being here.  I hope you have found the Bible Study helpful.

Don't worry if you haven't finished it yet.  Please remember there is no such thing as being behind. Only the appropriate time to begin. And your schedule may not be the same as mine. August 1st was a good time for me. Maybe August 14th was your time! Or August 26th! Or September 5th. Whatever! Just enjoy the process at whatever speed is good for you. Remember, when this series was preached at church, they came in weekly instalments not twice weekly.  The blog will stay live and you can visit anytime.

I've made this video of  my journal so you can see it all at once.


If you haven't already done the Identity study then you can find it here.


Thanks for joining in.
Bernice


Thursday 28 August 2014

8: Correction and Honour

Welcome to the last of eight sessions on A Culture of Honour.  These messages were brought at Jubilee Church Solihull.   You will find all the podcasts for this series here.  There is one more concluding post.


Bible Verses
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh;  rather, serve one another humbly in love.  For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.    So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?

The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor.   The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

“Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”

David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die!  He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.

I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children.  Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.

Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it - I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while - yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance.  For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us.  Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.  See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.

Worship Song
Mighty to Save

From the inside out



Journaling
In your journaling you may want to write your feelings and your prayers and ignore the prompts.  The prompts are to help you and you can choose those that speak to you most.  You can download these prompts as a PDF.

Have you experienced the rod of discipline?  How have you recovered from this?
Have you been corrected through love and a gentle spirit?
Have you been changed by this study?  In what way?

Rob mentions a talk given by a visiting speaker and that has been added to the podcasts.


You can see my creative response to this session at Newly Creative.

I hope you that you have found today's message and journal prompts useful.  Share your thoughts, questions and journaling in the Facebook group.


Monday 25 August 2014

7: Honouring Leaders part 2

Welcome to the seventh of eight sessions on A Culture of Honour.  These messages were brought at Jubilee Church Solihull.   You will find all the podcasts for this series here. 

Please be aware that this talk is very specific to the life of Jubilee Church Solihull

Bible Verses
And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues.

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.


Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you.  Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.

Or in The Message
And now, friends, we ask you to honor those leaders who work so hard for you, who have been given the responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your obedience. Overwhelm them with appreciation and love!


Worship Song
Oceans

New Day



Journaling
In your journaling you may want to write your feelings and your prayers and ignore the prompts.  The prompts are to help you and you can choose those that speak to you most.  You can download these prompts as a PDF.

Do you have someone to whom you are accountable?   Who do you allow to speak into your life?
How do you show honour to the leaders of your church?  Or your boss at work?

You can see my creative response to this session at Newly Creative.

I hope you that you have found today's message and journal prompts useful.  Share your thoughts, questions and journaling in the Facebook group.

Thursday 21 August 2014

6: Honouring Leaders part 1

Welcome to the sixth of eight sessions on A Culture of Honour.  These messages were brought at Jubilee Church Solihull.   You will find all the podcasts for this series here.


Bible Verses
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.   And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then (workers of) miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues.  Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?  Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues?   Do all interpret?  Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.

3 reasons
Leaders are God’s Appointment (for us), God’s Arrangement (in the body) and God’s Authority (on them).

Rob mentions Renewal.  This is a large church local to Jubilee.

Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.


Worship Song
10,000 reasons



Journaling
In your journaling you may want to write your feelings and your prayers and ignore the prompts.  The prompts are to help you and you can choose those that speak to you most.  You can download these prompts as a PDF.

In our culture of fairness and equality what do you think about God’s arrangement that some people have a greater anointing?
What anointing or gifting do you have?  What gifting are you desiring?
Who inspires you to grow in your gifting?
What name have you given yourself?   What name has God given you?
In your own church or workplace are you prepared to take the risk of honouring those that lead us or who have roles more prominent than ours?    It will lead to incredible blessing.
Have you been hurt in the past by someone in authority?  Have you been able to deal with this?

You can see my creative response to this session at Newly Creative.

I hope you that you have found today's message and journal prompts useful.  Share your thoughts, questions and journaling in the Facebook group.