Tag: hope

Great Hope for Screw-Ups

Rob Woodrum3 Comments

Well, the holidays are over and somehow it really feels good to get back into our routines.  One of those routines being our study of the Gospel of Luke.

Have you ever messed something up royally…I mean, done something that you wish everyone would just forget forever, including yourself? I know I have a huge file labeled “cringe” that every once in a while a folder will slip out of  and I have to be reminded of how very prone I am to messing things up.  In the passage we’re going to look at this Sunday, Jesus is going to preemptively  point out a huge failure that Simon Peter is going to experience.

As you read the passage, how do you imagine Jesus saying these things…that is, how do you read his emotional response; angry, sad, irritated, or what?  Imagine that YOU are the one who’s going to screw up (like Peter), and then imagine that Jesus’ words are being spoken to you. How does that read – do his words leave you hopeful or condemned? Is this different from how you imagine God’s response when you fall short and sin?  What can we take away from this?

v35-38 have always been somewhat troubling. Jesus’ meaning is not very clear on the surface. Does reading the Message Paraphrase add any insight for you into what Jesus may be trying to say? Do you find any connection between Jesus’ identification of an Enemy (Satan) and his warning in v35-37?

The Small Groups are going to launch after Sunday, and group leaders may want to pull some of the questions posed here to supplement the questions already provided to you.  If you don’t have a leader’s guide, you can download the PDF for this week’s passage here:  leaders guide 22-31-38

Please make the commitment to get involved in one of the home groups that are starting – it is vital for our church to make deeper community connections.  Remember, everything about the Christian life is expressed in the context of community – to grow with God we MUST grow closer to other people.  If you need to know what home groups are available, you can download the PDF of the home group list here:  small group flyer

The Finder of the Lost

Rob Woodrum5 Comments

Ever lose anything…like something pretty important?  What was it?  How did you feel, what did you do?  If you found it again, what emotions did you experience?

I lost my dog Shadow once…but I’ll tell that story on Sunday.

Jesus goes toe to toe with Pharisee lame-ness in our passage this Sunday, Luke 15:1-10.

The story opens with Pharisees grumbling because Jesus is hanging out with the wrong crowd, yet again. They specifically are upset because Jesus is eating with decidedly non-spiritually minded people.  What’s the big deal with that, do you suppose?

To answer, Jesus responds the best way he does, with four different parables (not three, as Eugene Peterson points out in his book “Tell it Slant”) about lost-ness. He talks about a lost sheep, lost coin and two lost sons.  We’ll only look at the first two this Sunday.

I love these stories.  What are your thoughts on what Jesus is conveying about the nature of the Kingdom of God advancing in this world?  What does this reveal about God’s heart toward humanity…and what does this reveal about humanity…about YOU?  Read v5 and close your eyes and imagine the scene…what does it evoke in you emotionally?

Man…I love this section.  Hope you can make it this Sunday.  Surf n Grill is this Sunday too!!! Come hang out at St. Andrew’s St Park and we’ll eat and enjoy the beach and baptize a few folks who are “found”…and let’s get stoked!  We still need people to hang late and help clean up…so pray about serving Christ this way!  See you then!

Easter is Here!

Rob Woodrum5 Comments

They had seen him die.  They had watched in horror as his tortured body gasped and gurgled it’s last breath. They saw his skin change color, his jaw go slack and his eyes set.  Still, lifeless, they knew that the person they had followed and loved was a stranger to them now. No sparkle in the eye, no grin or laughter, no knowing look.  Just a shell; a grizzly mannequin hanging like an effigy of all their hopes and dreams.

When all hope is gone, when dreams and loves have run through your fingers like sand, when you slump to the wall and whisper “it’s broken, it will never be right again”, God has one final word for you.

RESURRECTION!

Look in wonder at wide open horizons of hope that resurrection reveals. God reveals that he’s the God of NEW BEGINNINGS, and no matter what we say is plausible or rational or scientifically viable, God winks and reminds us those are not the adjectives that describe a deeper magic.  Resurrection reminds us that God is God and the possibilities are endless as life passes through his hands.

No one expected this. During those three days not one disciple suggested that maybe Jesus would be back. Why would they? This is unheard of, unthinkable, impossible. Yet there he was. He had passed through the grave and come out the other side in a whole new condition of existence.  Sometimes our hopes and dreams have to have the mark of the cross on them. Sometimes we have weep and bury them, only to discover they were really the seeds of a whole new answer and purpose we hadn’t anticipated. Flowers that are different from the picture on the package, but are far more wonderful than we could have conceived of.

This is the wonder of Easter.

I hope you can come out and celebrate with us at some point this weekend…or for everything we’re doing!  Here’s what we have going on:

FRIDAY @6:30 pm, APRIL 22nd: We’re having a special GOOD FRIDAY BURNING HOUSE service.  We’re going to have elements of the Seder (the Passover meal) for you to sample, and we’re going to talk about the correlation between the Seder and Jesus’ instructions to us concerning the communion.  There’ll be music and praying for each other and hanging out and laughing and maybe crying…all the stuff connected with human beings reaching for the Divine.

EASTER SUNDAY @6 AM: The Dawn Patrol Sunrise Service!  GET UP! GET STOKED! HE’S ALIVE!! Easter morning we are going to meet on the beach for a time of worship, reflection and prayer as we begin the day where we remember that Jesus rose from the dead and changed everything forever.  If that’s not a reason to get up early, I can’t imagine what is. Bring a lawn chair or a blanket. We’ll be meeting at the corner of Oriole and Gulf drive on Panama City Beach (off of Thomas Dr).  Here’s a map

EASTER SUNDAY, 9-11 AM: Come celebrate Easter as we read and explore John 20:10-20, 24-31.  It’s the story of a guy named Tom…someone I consider a soulmate.  We’re going to look at his journey from honest doubt to real faith.  Have you ever struggled with doubts and questions concerning the claims the Bible makes?  We don’t need to be afraid of doubt, and especially don’t feel shame.  Tom is our guide through those times we ALL have.  What do you see in this story?  What does it inspire in you?

Ok…well….long update, but worth it! Hope to see you at some point this weekend!

Where Do You Go When Life Seems Hopeless?

Rob Woodrum2 Comments

This Sunday we’ll be returning to our exploration of the Gospel of Luke, and we’ll be reading Luke 8:40-56.

There is so much jam packed into this story…a critical life and death drama which sandwiches a pitiful tale of wreckage and restoration.  Beyond the spiritual significance of our text, there is no denying that it’s just good story-telling.

This is one of those passages that we will never be able to do justice to in the short time we have to explore it on Sunday mornings…there are so many ways to approach the lessons inherent to it.  We could explore the characters of the drama, consider their faith and the example it leaves us.  We could consider how Jesus is revealed as One with authority over sickness and death, just as he has authority over nature and spiritual evil.

I’ve decided to look at something that may not get talked about as much…and that is, how this story reveals to us that Jesus is a solid basis for finding hope when life seems hopeless.  As you read the text, what reasons can you find for placing your hope in Christ when circumstances seem beyond the reach of hope?  I know that’s not much to go on…but mull it over, and see what comes to mind.

Remember, we still have two services now…9 and 11am.  Hope to see you there!

A New Hope

Rob WoodrumLeave a comment

Hope everyone is having a great Christmas so far!  I know we are…it’s awesome having the kids come home to visit.

We’ll be looking at Luke 2:21-40 this Sunday.

Joseph and Mary follow through with what the Law of Moses required of them concerning a first-born son.  How important do you think it was for them to obey those commands, given the nature of the Son they had?  Do we learn anything from their obedience?

We also get introduced to two other characters in this section…two people who had been waiting a long time for their hope to be realized.  There are lessons for us concerning hope in the lives of these two people…what do you see in their examples that can instruct you about having hope in the face of delay or sorrow or pain?

We’ll unpack it as best as we can this Sunday.  See you then!

Backstory; Birth of John the Baptist

Rob Woodrum3 Comments

Have you ever had a major disappointment in life?  Have you ever asked God to intervene, only to feel like heaven was shut up and silent?  In the next section we will read, we’ll be introduced to a couple who went through that very thing.  We’ll be looking at Luke 1:5-25 this Sunday.  By the way, you can listen to this passage read HERE.

How did you feel when your prayer didn’t seem to be answered?  Did you feel like you did something wrong.  In our passage, we have an old couple who are described as people who are committed, observant followers of God…yet who suffered what was often considered a sign of God’s curse on their lives.  They were childless.  Not only that, they were advanced in years, meaning, they were past the age of doing anything about being childless.  You wonder how they felt, yet it appears it didn’t cause them to give up their trust in God.

What’s really interesting is that these people are the starting point for Luke’s account.  He frames it in the time of Herod the Great…but then shifts the focus from that impressive, historical leader to these two backwoods people who are the equivalent of an old country pastor and his wife.  People who should be considered insignificant, who can’t even get a prayer answered by God.  It’s with these folks that Luke starts the story of Jesus.  God is just cool like that.

When the angel appears to Zechariah, how does he respond?  Does it change the outcome of what the angel says?  What DOES it change?  Do you relate to Zechariah at all?  What does this passage say to you?

“Peace”

Rob Woodrum16 Comments
Joe Nori
Joe Nori

 Joe Nori, 11/7/59 – 7/27/08

“I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 
 “Where, O death, is your victory?
      Where, O death, is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  –1 Cor 15:50-57

Just in case you didn’t know, Joe made his trip home last Sunday.  We’ll be having a memorial service for him at the Eastgate building this Friday @ 7 pm, and everyone is invited.  We’ll also be streaming the service on the internet for Joe’s family to join in (so please pray that the technological stuff doesn’t let us down).

Dale reminded me that Joe’s parting word was always “peace”.  We don’t grieve as the world does because we have the Hope that Joe now knows a peace we can only dream of.

“See you later Joe.”

“Peace.”

*The above photo of Joe was taken from Dustin’s blog, Livesalty.com.  Thanks Dustin.