“I’ve Been Meaning to Ask…What Do You Need?” (Job 2:11-13)
We believe everyone has needs, but each of us needs different things at different times. God calls us to care for one another—in seasons of joy, transition, and hardship. How can we commit to listening and being present in the ways in which those around us need the most? What do we do with our own needs and worries while we do this?
“I’ve Been Meaning to Ask…Where Does It Hurt?” (Mark 5:21-34)
We never know just from looking at someone where they have been in their life and what they have gone through. Everyone carries hurt and also, everyone has the capacity to acknowledge the pain of others. God draws us close in every moment of our suffering. How can being vulnerable help our compassion? How can we be present for one another in ways that shares God’s love?
Dancing with the Spirit: From Opening Night to a Lifetime Run (Galatians 5:22-26).
What does it look like when the Holy Spirit is in our lives? Does that mean we are superhuman Christians, or just still regular folks with the same old problems? If the Spirit is, indeed, influencing our lives, then does that change how we live our lives and the choices we make? This week we’re exploring together what it looks like when the Spirit is in us and what that could mean…
Dancing with the Spirit: Learning the Steps
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8a
As followers of God we want to know that our lives serve a purpose…but often we’re unsure of what that purpose is. How does the Holy Spirit guide us in finding our purpose and what could it be? Does the Spirit have expectations of how we live our life and the choices we make in it?
“Dancing with the Spirit: Holding the Count”
Romans 8:24-27 & Matthew 18:20
When we want to know answers to tough questions, make decisions, or know how to help others we often turn to prayer as a way to find what we need. Why do we pray and what do we hope to gain from prayer? Is prayer an action or a pause? What if we don’t know how to pray or what to even pray for—do those prayers count with God? Does the Holy Spirit guide us in those prayers, or hear those prayers, or answer those prayers?
Who and What is the Holy Spirit? Is It real? Is It God? Does It talk to us? How do we know? While the Holy Spirit can feel ambiguous, we can be certain that It is real and present in our lives today. But just saying that probably doesn’t make It any less confusing for us. So how do we know anything about It at all? Dancing with the Spirit reminds us to do just that…learn how the Holy Spirit is present in our lives and to be open to the movement of that Spirit so we can live into our values as followers of Jesus. While we explore together we might ask more questions than find answers in this series, but that’s okay, because that’s how our faith grows…
“Dancing with the Spirit: Who’s My Partner?”
Genesis 1:1-2 & Numbers 9:15-22
Do you ever wonder what the Holy Spirit is? Is It really a ghost? Or, perhaps It’s more like that force that guides all our heroes and heroines in Star Wars? The bible describes the real Holy Spirit in a variety of ways, as a great wind, a creative force, a presence of cloud and fire that exists all the time…It is our comforter, our wisdom, and our bringer of knowledge. Who is the Holy Spirit and how does It dance into our lives?
We’ve heard of prophets in the bible. We generally think of them running around in hair shirts, having locusts for dinner, and shouting how bad everyone was. But there was more nuance to prophets in the biblical text than what caricatures want us to recognize. The need for prophets has not disappeared over the years. What’s a modern prophet look and sound like, and what role do they to play in our time? How do they speak for God and how can we know that they speak truth? What challenge do our modern prophets present to us and are we willing to grow into the people that they believe we can be? With the idea that “Well behaved women seldom make history” we take a look at women from biblical and modern times—and how they are prophets among us.
We’ve heard of prophets in the bible. We generally think of them running around in hair shirts, having locusts for dinner, and shouting how bad everyone was. But there was more nuance to prophets in the biblical text than what caricatures want us to recognize.
The need for prophets has not disappeared over the years. What’s a modern prophet look and sound like, and what role do they to play in our time? How do they speak for God and how can we know that they speak truth? What challenge do our modern prophets present to us and are we willing to grow into the people that they believe we can be?
With the idea that “Well behaved women seldom make history” we take a look at women from biblical and modern times—and how they are prophets among us.
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Phone: 913-717-8563
Email: info@shawneecommunity.org
