Last Sunday before I go home

Just threw some ribs in the oven but I’m using my own bbq sauce instead of the recipe so it’s probably goona be off.

Long hair don’t care.

Last Friday was the Base Dinner, so all my DEUs are still at B1, it was a good time from 11:30-bedtime I was with my coworkers so that was pretty neat.

Apparently it was much better than it had been in previous years so good to know.

Church @ The Gathering

Shorter service due to advent Christmas carol reading

Reading from Matthew 2,

The Christ birth

Speaker Lisa Chisholm-Smith

The original Christmas Gifts

Matthew 2:1-12

Multiple choice questions 

It doesn’t say how many wise men came

It’s just traditional with the three gifts I think.

Same with three kings, the text does not say

Connection with Isaiah 60, 1,3,6b

“King of the Jews”

...

Matthew 27:37

Date of dec 25, until the mid 300s.

Pope Julius of Rome declares it and it coincided with the winter solstice festival.

Cry of a tiny babe - Bruce cockburn

What gifts do you have to offer Jesus?

The Gathering after breaking the AirPod

This weekend I went to the board games night hosted by the anime club.

It was a good time, mostly played games that I brought.(wait nope I only played games I brought)

And then went to dinner afterwards, and after dinner I noticed I lost an AirPod, and I found it, take a look.

Yeah it’s rough, 

Rip Apollo(R), you will be missed.

Now The Gathering.

Announcements:

Bible study tonight,

Speaker: Rick Rowland

Beauty in small things matter 6:5-15

“Prayer”

The smaller you go you still see beauty and design and structure.

God is lavish with his creation.

We are impressed by immensity, but more impressed by gods attention to what should be obscurity

Story about his small home town school, and his smal hometown united church

The difference between small communities and big communities.

In prayer we merge our small needs with gods infinite provision for us.

Now I lay me down to sleep I pray the lord my soul to keep

And _______ I be a child of thee?

Learning about informal prayers, everyday language, etc

When you pray do you like spontaneity or a set prayer

Do you ask god for things or do you think he will provide

Do you think prayer strengthens your relationship with god and other people

Mr Dallas philosophy prof at Southern California university

Wrote the divine conspiracy

“Prayer is talking to god about what we are doing together.”

Jesus wasn’t against people being seen praying..

He was against people praying to be seen.

The Lord’s Prayer broken down:

Informal but respectful

Provision and protection

Giving god the glory. (Thine is the kingdom...)

Things that we cannot see are still real.

Heaven is very near to us

God is our father

Small is not a bad thing

God will provide and protect if we rely on him.

We have free will.

‘The Three Essential Prayers’

Help me, thank you, and wow

Story about riding a bike and dozing off.

Meal

Small group bible study

Acts 2:1-13

The Gathering after Cuba

Well that’s ends my vacation,

Overall it was very relaxing, a good chance to reconnect with my Bro’s and see who their current friend group is.

South America/Oceania was very enjoyable. Still quite touristy, but I enjoyed my time there.

I need to conglomerate my friends pictures soon

Announcements:

Something happening Dec 12,

Small group studying Acts later tonight

Speaker Georgiana Stewart

Do not worry?!? Matthew 6:25-34

Story, disaster befalls a town 

Pat did not leave the town.

I sent a car, boat, and helicopter to save you

Do not worry is a commandment, similar to ‘“love your neighbour’

Context to the passage,

What’s going on, previously? Afterword?

Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is teaching crowds and crowds and crowds about the kingdom of heaven, who gets in and how.

Earnings about hypocrisy, self deception, etc

No one can serve two masters, hate one, love the other, or be devoted to one and disloyal to the other.

Priorities.

What matters most in our lives?

Where do we look for security and sense of worth.

A grade, a degree, a legs status, a relationship etc

These are not bad or undesirable.

But, when we put something ahead of God in our list of priorities, it is not pretty

How do we tell we are striving for the kingdom?

Doing God’s will and not falling into deception?

Aside from full contrary things to the gospel we can’t.

Don’t we want exact gps coordinates, neon signs, etc

Striving for the kingdom feels like stumbling along, two steps ahead and it’s vanished.

Thomas Mertons Prayer

 Humility and uncertainty,

Our desire will hopefully please you, and I will trust you always

Discussion:

Think of something that might get in the way of striving for the kingdom of God for you.

The Gathering before Cuba

Announcements,

Regular gathering on 2 Dec, something else on 9 Dec

Normal Gathering on the 16th?

Today is all-saints day (the day/Sunday after Halloween) 

Speaker Sylvia Keesmaat

The law and the Kingdom: was Jesus joking?

Matthew 5:17-20

I’ll talk about the law! How thrilling...

I have not come to abolish. The law and the prophets.

- the whole story of who Israel was. The law embedded in that story.

It’s purpose is to shape us into a certain community and what that looks like as followers of Jesus

An idea of what the kingdom looks like on earth

The sabbath laws.

-traditions of not using money on a Sunday

The purpose of that in the sabbath is that it gives everyone a rest from labour and economic transactions

Historical Israel and obeying laws

Leaving for the widow the orphan and the poor, the refugee the immigrant and the alien

You don’t squeeze everything you can from your land

Leaving for nature as well.

Deuteronomy 22, don’t just leave your neighbours ox out. Build a parapet around your roof, don’t let people fall off the roof

Don’t wear clothes with wool and linen, it will fall apart know the limits of creation

Tassels on the prayer cloak

They are all about the health of community, about the vulnerable

Given the world/culture in which we find ourselves,  what kind of laws would create a community that demonstrates hope and _______ for the vulnerable.

Supper and discussion time

That’s all for now.

Almost November

I should get my registration done this week buuuut...

Speaker: Doug Caldwell

A Kingston Lawyer and law Christian fellowship leader

Should we even have enemies?

Matthew 5:43-48

“Do not even the tax collectors do the same?”

Putting the protagonist last, and then first.

The character roles are reversed from one verse to the next.

God provides for everyone equally, and regularly.

It is inevitable.

Presuming that we have enemies

Wouldn’t we prefer to not have persecutird or enemies? Or just not even deal with them

Inclined to appease enemies, reinterpret it as not MY fault

Jesus taught us to love our enemies.

...

Simple the presence of Jesus was enough to generate enemies.

“I am the bread of life”

Heading on the sabbath

Not giving them a sign when they said to give us a sign.

Obviously angering the religious leaders etc.

Jesus set out to be obedient to his father, meaning he generates enemies

We too will have enemies if we imitate and follow Jesus. We may be disliked for who we are, what we say and what we do.

...

Recreational league baseball story

A good assistant coach over the course of a season

Other parents and players berating the umpires, etc

Developing a rivalry, besting the rivals

“I’m sick and tired of your quiet and unassuming manner”

Story about the former queens grad student Nurse in Ottawa,

A really amazing nurse, but the other nurses/staff were threatened by her

Student who lived with his mom after his father had passed away

The school kept pursuing her to take the full time position as a math teacher

60% time at work and the rest for volunteering around Toronto.

The teacher confronted her asking how she expected to pay for her holidays to Spain and Colombia if she didn’t work full time? She didn’t. She needed to volunteer

It’s about living a life of faith

Doug is speaking about the reality of having enemies

Ask the question

How did Jesus respond to the enemies he had?

>clue about what it means to live our enemies.

That’s all for now.

3/4 through October

Announcements:

Amandas Bible Study on Wednesday’s

Reading from Matthew:

“If your eye causes you to sin ...”

Phoebe _____ 

The St. James music? intern

Speaker: Stephen Martin 

From Kings university in Edmonton

Topic:

“When is a look more than a look?” Matt 5:27-30

What would Jesus say about #MeToo?

• disappointed
• Focus on harmony
• Avoid mob mentality
• Avoid victimization? 

Don’t see people as objects, see....

Issue of how we should look at people.

Relates to Jesus shown the coin with Cesar’s head.

“Trick question, give unto Cesar...”

Human beings are created in the image of God,

A presence(sp) lamp

Represents that the sacrament is present

Desmond tutu(sp) former archbishop of cape town and leader of the ______ movement

Grew up in the johannasberg slum

Before apartheid

Sorry about Tutu and his fathers huniliation in a store

And his mother passing a priest in a cassock, Boeing before his mother as they passed on the street.

Tutu knew that if that could happen than anything can happen.

That was the moment that changed his life.

Tradition if the lamp is lit we genuflect(sp) to show respect.

Tutu says we should do that to each other out of respect. All of us are presence lamps. Cs Lewis said something similar in that people are carriers of the presence of God.

Do we see the “more than” that is within each person?

The Gathering

Announcements:

No meeting for the Gathering next week, no bible study either. 

Inductive method for Amanda’s Bible Study.

Songs

Matthew, the Beatitudes 5:_______

The story about Jesus and the centurion’s servant.

“I am not worthy, only speak the word and he will be healed...”

Series on Matthew, the Sermon on the Mount

Speaker: Doug ______

The parables and the SotM include Jesus central/core themes.

“A steep and difficult climb”

Deitcirch bonnhofer, ______, 

The teachings are so brief,

What do I think about this passage? Which opinion do I agree with more?

SotM, snippets of teaching.

More an overture than an oratorical, or a symphony.

More An abstract, less a book

A series of these.....

A bunch of brushstrokes, not the whole canvas.

It serves to give you a glimpse, a summary of things to come.

Stories of people’s encounters with Jesus; parables.

Those who mourn.... - jeras daughter, or Lazarus

Those who hunger - the motif of the persistent widow

The merciful - the unforgiving servant

The lure in heart - nathanial, the Israelite in whom there is no guile

The peacemakers - parable of the Good Samaritan

...probably not a great sermon, if someone delivered it in homiletics, there is too much there. But grade as an abrstact abstract, A++

Reading into the beatitudes

Jesus is on a mountainside, in Luke he was on the plains

Maybe he is repeating his teaching

Maybe there is subtext, Matthew places him in the mountain for a reason. Israel has a history with mountains

Moses received commandments

Noah’s ark came to rest on 

Holy of holies,

Mountains are where god shows up

It is Matthews shorthand for god showing up.

Each time there is an identification of Jesus is god on the mountain

Thesis statement; 

Story about his family.

His aunt gives him the keys to her, Chrysler New Yorker, 

It was a very fancy car.

Not just a stereo, an experience.

I understood that I was poor, in my car.

Chevette vs New Yorker

He was the cook in his 5 person apartment.

Story about bar Bar exam in Ottawa

The cook prepares a diffeeent meal,

He understood that he was poor in eating,

Thinking back to the centurion,

The centurion understood that he was poor in authority

When I compare myself to Jesus, 

I actually understand what it means to be poor in spirit

Discussion: whatever you all feel like

That’s all for now