Just something exciting happening which Expressions is honored to be a part of…
“So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body… But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual.” – 1 Cor. 15:42-46
How are you doing with God? Tell me about your last encounter with Him? It’s time for a Spiritual Check Up!
There are always ups and downs in life and our health is extremely important to us as we navigate those events. We exercise and watch our diets for our body’s to improve and maintain our physical well being; and we train our minds to learn and grow as we reach for new intellectual heights. Yet, how do we grow in our spiritual relationship with God? How do we know where we are at in our correlation with him?
They are fair questions and no doubt we need to also be free to express our answers with grace and non-judgement as He relates to us personally in many different ways. What is most important is that our spirituality is always interconnected with our whole life and we must be willing to see God in everything we do. God is always with us, speaking to us, teaching and working with us through everyday events and activities. That’s why we can so often see and encounter Him when we listen to music, speeches, and messages from the people and things around us. Or read scripture, news articles, magazines, or things from the web such as blog posts and websites and find moments of epiphany. We can even encounter God in movies, tv shows, and web videos as he reveals parables in their story’s! God is truly everywhere!
By sharing these moments where God has been showing up in your life we can find inspiration together and in some ways check in on where He is working in our community. So why not join in this coming May’s Adorations by bringing an article, or a video (if it is on the web you can bring/email Erik the address), or a song where God and Jesus might have impacted you spiritually in the last few weeks. Maybe you might even want to write something of your own; a story, poem, or personal column on how you’re doing with Jesus. Whatever it is, we cannot wait to see and hear it!
Homework: Bring something to share where God has been working and speaking into your life – Article, song, video, personal writing, whatever you can think of!!!
The night will start with our communion meal where we will have a pizza dinner (please bring $5 dollars to cover costs) and afterwards we can begin our Spiritual Check Up. If you are able to attend please email erik@expressionscommunity.org so we can ensure enough food.
“As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” – 1 Peter 2:4-5
“But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” – Romans 6:17
Easter can bring reflections to us all of the sacrifice Jesus paid for the sins in our life. It can be so easy to jump to the rejoicing of the resurrection without truly comprehending the price that was paid for our redemption in Christ’s crucifixion. Our world is broken; ravaged by the dictations of lust, hate, contempt, greed, and immorality both in thought and action. We are broken and each affected by this and must face the reality that we are a part of the story of brokenness both as individuals and… as a community.
Last week our friend Tim wrote a post titled ‘Trying‘ where he spent some time reflecting on his own brokenness and the desire in trying to be better. It became an inspiration to me in reflecting on my own desire to be better and an acknowledgement to the power of confession (James 5:16). I’d like to invite you to do the same over the next week just as I am. Ask yourselves these questions:
- What is “sin” in your life?
- How and in what areas of your character and personhood is God asking you to be better?
Homework: Write on a sheet of paper a few sentences describing your answers to the above questions and bring them to our gathering in Adorations.
This month’s Adorations will be divided between 2 gatherings and thematic parts. The first will be this Sunday April 3rd when we will meet for a pot luck communion meal followed by a discussion and our reflections around Romans 6 with our own response to our Broken natures. Our second gathering will be on Saturday April 23rd during the Easter weekend when we will spend an evening over coffee and dessert reflecting on Redemption, prayer, and reading a number of selected scriptures which will walk us through Jesus’ last supper, arrest, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection.
Communion Pot Luck Meal: If you are able to attend please bring some food to share with the group as part of our communion service. Thank you!
When: Sunday April 3rd, & Sunday April 23rd
Time: 5:30 pm – 9:30 pm
In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a highly skilled thief is given a final chance at redemption which involves executing his toughest job to date: Inception.
DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb, a specialized spy or corporate espionage thief. His work consists of secretly extracting valuable commercial information from the unconscious mind of his targets while they are asleep and dreaming. Unable to visit his children, Cobb is offered a chance to regain his old life in exchange for an almost impossible task: “inception”, the planting of an idea into a target’s subconscious.
Inception – an act, process or instance of beginning which is often shaped by our encounters with a dream and vision to our future hopes and desires in our lives. Dreams are powerful in nature and we would be wrong to ignore their significance and meanings. In some cases our dreams may very well be God’s spoken guidance into the fabric of our being and purpose here in the world. Elihu, Job’s friend and wisdom imparter reminds him saying, “For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, while they slumber on their beds, then he opens the ears of men and terrifies them with warnings, that he may turn man aside from his deed and conceal pride from a man; he keeps back his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword.” (Job 33:13-18)
Yet there is a danger also in the conceptualization of our dreams; if we choose to box their meaning in, stifle their implications, and bring our own singular interpretations to them, then to often these dreams can become ideological and lead us head long into the paralysis of idolatry. The writer of Ecclesiastes warns us, “For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity, but God is the one you must fear.” (Ecc. 5:7)
Join the Expressions Community this Saturday for God at the Movies when we will watch the film ‘Inception’ and explore the themes of Dreams & Ideologies. We will have snacks and drinks available as we look forward to seeing you here. If you and a friend are able to join us please email erik@expressionscommunity.org to ensure seating availability.
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to speak at Canyon Creek Christian Fellowship on Sunday January 2nd, 2011 about Living for Potential while focusing on Matthew 5:48. Although feeling a little rusty, here is what I shared…
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