sermon reflections for 1/23/11

Hello again,

Last Sunday we took our special offering for the kid’s school milk program.  You can still contribute this coming Sunday.  Also, the children sang for us, first the younger ones and then the older ones.  That’s always a special treat!

Tonight (Thursday) at 7:00 p.m. is our first Administrative Council meeting for 2011.

This SUNDAY is our annual program planning event.  If you are on the church officer’s/leaders list, please plan to attend.  We’ll serve a catered lunch (free will offering) sometime between 11:30 and noon.  After lunch we’ll gather in a large group to review our church goals for 2011 so that each committee can begin deciding, with the tasks they are responsible for, how their group can help us reach these goals.  Also, as a large group we’ll brainstorm ways in which we can extend our ministries into the community.  Finally, each committee will meet to organize their work for the year.  Dismissal time is 3:00 p.m.

This week our specific prayer concerns include Ilene Parkhill (hoping to resume chemo treatments soon), Edith Haines (chemo treatments), Gordon Frizzell (broken bone in leg), Dorothy Brandes’ daughter Sheri (critical condition with crushed vertebrae),  Dorothy Brandes’ grandson Richie (back brace), and Wanda Seydel (Shirley’s preacher friend confined to bed until further notice).


For this Sunday (23rd)

• Scripture:  I Corinthians 1:10-18
• Sermon Title:  Has Christ Been Divided?
  

For Reflection

1. Has our church ever faced division?  In what way?
2. What happens when people in the church align themselves with different leaders or different beliefs?
3. In what ways can this behavior be destructive to a faith community?
4. What did Paul say the church needed to remember in order to achieve unity?
5. What happens when we fail to make decisions in our church without considering what God/Jesus would want?  (and sometimes we will!)
6. What do we need to remember when divisions appear among us?
7. Reflect on this statement by Jurgen Moltmann: “The nearer we come to Christ, the nearer we come together.”
   

LOVE & JOY
TEXtor