Fall Fellowship

On October 15th, we fellowshipped at Noah's for a fall extravaganza. We began with a hayride through beautiful country roads and into the woods.  Noah lit a cozy campfire, and we all gathered around for delicious hot roast beef sandwiches (which were admittedly not very hot anymore!) and other delicious dishes.  The evening wouldn't have been complete without campfire games, smores, and a pumpkin carving contest. 

As you can see from the short slideshow below, we had a blast!  Thank you, Noah, for hosting us so graciously again this year.

For a full album of pictures from this event, please visit us on Facebook.

Walk by Faith- Not by Sight

Walk by Faith and Not by Sight

Do you think there is truth in the statement “seeing is believing”?

Let’s read John 20

Jesus appeared to Mary; then to the disciples; then to Thomas who is referred to as Doubting Thomas; Then to all the disciples again.

Thomas had to see with his own eyes before he believed any rumors for fear of participating in heresy against his Lord.  However, let’s be clear about one thing- Jesus loved Thomas and understood his need for the genuine & authentic truth and met Thomas where he was at in his faith.  Jesus even let Thomas experience Himself through physical touch and sight.  

Jesus said in 20:29 You see and believe but blessed are those who have not seen yet believe.  This was not a rebuke or condemnation to Thomas- rather an exhortation to not trust with his eyes.  Jesus had you and me in mind when He made that comment because the disciples walked with Jesus while He was here on earth but knew there would be a time when people had to choose by faith to believe on His name for salvation and to become His true followers.  Read and reflect on John 14:23-31

Jesus knew that times would come that would be difficult and we would have to stand in faith trusting in who He is and that He will do what He said He will do.  Jesus knew that we have an enemy who is out to deceive people and would tempt us to have many doubts.  Doubt is the opposite of faith and without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6)

What is Faith? Wikipedia defines it as “trust, hope and belief in the goodness, trustworthiness or reliability of a person, concept, or entity.”  We put our Trust in God because we know that He alone is Good and Trustworthy and Reliable.  So we have faith in God not in people or things as those can and probably will disappoint you.

Read Paul’s teaching in 2 Corinthians 4:18 and 5:7

Object Lesson Videos… watch a couple of videos of why Paul said to walk by faith and not by sight. 

(Youtube link to all the brain game videos. It is a safe sight even though it says something about hijackers)

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/AfgHijackersExposed#g/c/2EF30FD05EA9C105

If we only trust in what we can see- we will be fooled.  Did you catch what the narrator was saying? He said that “it turns out that 30% of your brain is devoted to your sense of sight.  So when your body must choose between trusting what you’re seeing or what your other senses are telling you, it implicitly trusts your eyes and often makes the wrong choice.”

So my question to you is, “Are you trusting only in what you can see or trusting in the God who sees/knows it all and can work it out for your good?”

Blessings, Melissa and Beth

The Problem with Habitual Sin

The class discussion was focused on this one question- Though we have a natural sin disposition, why can't we (as true believers/followers of Christ) habitually sin?

This question is not dealing with whether or not we are capable of habitually sinning, but rather why we can't continue to commit a habitual sin and call ourselves true Christ followers.

In Beth's lesson, she pointed out that there are four main reasons (which will be further discussed in greater detail later)...

1.  Committing a Habitual sin is incompatible with the laws of God- 1 John 3:4
2.  Committing a Habitual sin is incompatible with the work of Christ- 1 John 3:5
3.  Christ came to destroy the works of satan- 1 John 3:8
4   Committing a Habitual sin is incompatible with the ministry of the Holy Spirit- 1 John 3:9

Because of our love for God and our desire to become Christ-like, it is impossible to habitually sin and be in fellowship with a pure/holy God.  We need to ask ourselves if we are engaging in behavior that helps us walk in the light as He is in the Light.
1 John 1:5-7 says, This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not practice the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleasnses us from all sin.

Blessings,
Beth

Transgression vs. Iniquity

In Review

*Beth broke down the false teachings of Gnostic believers which state:

        a) You can have intimate fellowship with God and still live in immorality

        b) You can obtain salvation through knowledge

        c) There is no need for forgiveness to achieve eternal life because
             people are morally blameless

Pg 18 of our workbooks states “The sins we see easiest in others we have

learned first in ourselves” but Pg 16 encourages us to look within suggesting that only pride will keep us from admitting our own sins.

Jesus also had something to say about this- Read Matthew 7: 3-5

Let’s answer question: What causes us to focus so much on the sins of others?

So next our class began to discuss the “Steps of Confession/Forgiveness”  

(See last lesson notes)   As a class, we agreed that the first step was to Acknowledge Sin. 

Have you ever been the target of somebody’s sin or targeted anyone else with your sin?  (Project Part A- a board with every possible sin listed and we each took turns throwing darts symbolizing we recognize that we have either been a target of one of these sins or participated in them ourselves )

Read Psalms 51.

            -Verse 1 & 2, David was asking for Gods’ mercy upon his
              transgression and iniquities.  I felt it important to draw out the
              difference between the two...

Transgression: the violation of a law, command, or duty.  This can be an intentional or unintentional act and points to our conduct.

Iniquity: when we trespass but excuse it away, hide, cover, or rationalize away the sin.  In doing so, you fail to agree with God that it IS sin.  This points to the attitude of our heart.  The problem with this is that when we make a justification of our sin, we also are refusing to repent over it.

Turn to Psalms 69:5-6 to see how sin affects others.

Turn to Psalms 66:18 to see how iniquities affect our relationship with God.

Turn to Matthew 7:21-23 to see the final tragic consequences of regarding
iniquity in our lives.

Pg 25 addresses a new way of looking at sin- seeing our sin the way God see’s it.

(Project Part B)  I turned the target board over to show who our sins really are hurting.  You can see the darts have pierced Jesus.  This represents anytime we sin against ourselves or others- we are also sinning against God.

  

We must acknowledge and confront our sin honestly

before God.  We need to understand that our sin hurts the heart of God and damages personal relationships.  Allow the Holy Spirit to cleanse,
heal, and restore all areas that sin has affected your life.

God Bless,

Melissa

Steps of Confession

This week was an introduction to "Experiencing God's Forgiveness" in chapter 2 of our workbooks.

Our focus today was to discuss "What are the steps to confession?"   We paired up into small groups of 2-3 and here are the collective class results:

-Search your heart and recognize transgression through the conviction of the Holy Spirit
-Respond to the conviction. Allow yourself to see things as God see's them  (2 Cor. 7:10-11)
-Confess your sin and ask for forgiveness (agree with God that His ways are better)
-Renounce the sin to release the stronghold (its grip on you).  By doing so, you shut the door
      to the enemy in this area of your life
-Ask for the strength to live differently/righteously and to overcome the temptation to fall into the same snare
-Repent- make the conscious decision to live differently
-Find accountability if necessary
-Correct any offenses
-Forgive yourself

We will continue the topic of forgiveness when class resumes on September 18th.
Blessings

It's a Sin Thing!

Love Each Other, Session 1, Part 1
(1 John 1:1-2:2)

1 John 1:1-4 reminds us that Jesus Christ is the Word of Life.  This eternal life he offers is meant to be revealed, experienced, and shared. No longer is God hidden behind the shadows of ceremonies and rituals as He was in the Old Testament, but He is revealed to us through Jesus Christ. Just as our words reveal to others how we think and feel, Jesus Christ (the Word of Life) reveals to us the mind and heart of God.  John knew Christ and lived alongside him, and as believers, we are called to experience a personal relationship with him as well.  This truth is meant to be shared...that we may have fellowship, joy, and assurance of our salvation... and that we may not sin or be deceived by false teachers.

1 John 1:5-2:2 teaches us the importance of recognizing that sin is still active in our own lives, but remembering that we have an Advocate in Jesus Christ.  It is much easier for us to exclaim "It's a God thing!" when something positive happens to us than it is to admit "It's a sin thing!" when we make choices where sin rears its ugly head.  We must continually take inventory of our own hearts and lives, confessing the areas where sin still has its grip so that our hearts do not become calloused and hardened.

To put this lesson into practice, today we broke into smaller groups and shared some examples of "God things" and "sin things" in our lives. We then prayed for one another, praising the Lord for the ways He has been actively moving in our lives and humbly asking for His guidance to overcome our struggles.  It is our hope that as we continue through this study that we will cultivate the depths of our relationships with one another so that it becomes easier to confess our struggles and lean on eachother for encouragement and support.  After all, that's what FAMILY is for!

***Homework:  Join us next Sunday as we address 3 false claims being made about sin. Though these false claims originated over 2,000 years ago, they still continue to exist today.  Review the scriptures of 1 John 1:5-2:2 to see if you can identify these 3 false claims about sin.  Be the first person to email us the correct answer at clcsaltandlight@gmail.com, and you will win a prize!

Singles Sunday Picnic

A big thanks to Wendy for all her hard work for teaming up with Ginghamsburg Singles and organizing the Singles Sunday Picnic at Englewood Metropark this afternoon!  It certainly was a big success. We feasted on Smokey Bones pulled pork, smoked turkey, and beef brisket, along with plenty of homemade goodies. Many enjoyed playing cornhole, volleyball, and frisbee, while others opted for a peaceful hike in the woods and skipping stones along the river. We had so much fun!

For more pictures from today, please visit our Facebook page.