Last week our discussion centered around the idea of a generous God.  He created us just because he wanted to. We were created to have intimate fellowship with God.  We looked a little further with the help of theologian Miroslav Volf and discussed what our response should be to this generous God.  Volf argues in his book Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace, that we should respond to God's generosity with faith, gratitude, availability and participation (pp42-52).  What do these things look like in your life?  How are they worked out in your families?

For Sunday August 12 we are looking at the idea that God cares for his creation.  The lesson explores the basic idea that God's generosity is expressed in his care for people and their needs.  We could also think about how God cares for his entire creation, not just humans in this line of thinking. 

The lesson explores God as "loving shepherd," "our refuge," "our savior," and "our provider."  Which metaphor resonates best with you?   Do you ever think that God is not a very good provider? 

Volf's thoughts in Free of Charge help us here to explore God as generous provider.  He explains that God is the "first giver" or the non-receiving giver (61). God gives without having received in the first place.  God is also the "infinite" giver (62).  He can give without exhausting his supply. We are certainly not like that at all.  We do not have infinite resources to give even if we wished that we did.  Volf also explains that God is the utterly loving giver.  God gives to others without concern for his own good.  God also gives freely. No outside force compelled God to create, he just did.

How have you experienced God as provider in your life?  What good gifts do you have that you know came from him?  Sometimes we loose sight of God's providential care for us in the difficulties of our lives.  It may be hard to remember his good gifts at times.  All this week I have had a line from a hymn floating around in my thoughts.  The hymn is entitled "Have Faith in God" by B.B. McKinney.  The last line says "Have faith in God tho all else fail about you; Have faith in God he provides for his own . . ."  God is the great provider.  He cares deeply about his all of his creation, you included.

I'm excited about our new Bible study material beginning this Sunday.  We are beginning a study about gracious living.  What does that mean to you?  Have you ever thought about living graciously before? 

This is a topical study so we will be looking at several scripture passages each week.  If you are reading ahead why not make these passages a part of your daily routine? 

This week's topic is called "Our Generous God."  How do you view God?  Is he a vindictive tyrant looking to catch you in sin so he can punish you?  Is he more of a loving Grandfather type who gives candy to the grandchild while the parent is not looking?  We have some familiar passages this week that will help us sharpen our view of how God is generous to us.

November 6: About our Memories

Joshua 24: 14-18

¹⁴ “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. ¹⁵ But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

¹⁶ Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods! ¹⁷ It was the LORD God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. ¹⁸ And the LORD drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the LORD, because he is our God.”

Former NFL player Scott Bolzan suffers from retrograde amnesia after he fell in his bathroom in 2008 and hit his head. He and his wife recently released a book entitled My Life Deleted: A Memoir. His story is incredible because he lost all of his memories before the accident. His wife had to explain to him who his children were and all about the life they shared together. He had no memory of his NFL career either.

What a terrible loss it would be to erase all the memories you had of your previous life. So many seem to face this issue with high profile cases of early onset demensia or Alzheimer's disease as in the case of basketball coach Pat Summit. For the Christian this would be a terrible loss as well. Our memories of what God has done previously in our lives and the lives of others are a significant way that we move forward in our Christian life.

In the passage above the Israelites renewed their covenant with God at Shechem by recalling their collective memories of how God had saved them from slavery in Egypt. We too remember how God has worked in our past, the past of our church congregations, our denominations and how God has worked among the body of Christ for these 2 thousand years since Christ's death and resurrection.

Memories bolster our confidence to walk into an unknown future because we know that God has been faithful in the past and will continue to do so in that future.

Thank God this week for your memories. Thank him for your memories of how he has worked in your life in the past, knowing that it is a glimpse of how God will continue to work into your future.

I owe, I owe, so its off to work I go

Does work seem like a curse to you sometimes? This week we will examine the notion that work is not a "four-letter" word, but something that God can "sacredize" (make holy) if we let him. Did you have a job that was particularly demanding? Maybe you still do. God can be honored in your performance of that job.

Post Sunday ruminations

We had a good lesson on Sunday. We sure found out some interesting things about one another. I'm going to try and welcome God's piercing gaze into my innermost self a little more. Maybe I can find out more about myself in the process.

Is there someone who really knows you?

Our first lesson for August begins at the right place. This lesson thinks about knowing God in our daily life. The scriptures are very familiar to you. Psalm 139 and Proverbs 3: 5-6 (one of my favorites and perhaps your's too.)

Psalm 139 tells us that God knows us intimately. He knows everything about us. Its not just that he knows what we look like, but he can see right through us and tell what is at the very core of our existence. The really remarkable thing is that even though God really knows us that intimately, he still loves us and guides us and keeps us. How many people do you think there are out there who are afraid that if their friends knew all about them they wouldn't be their friends anymore? I'm glad that God is not like that. Since God knows us that well it only makes sense that we should trust him.

More to come . . . .

Our new Study begins August 1, entitled "Living Faith in Daily Life" We will explore the question "what difference does faith make when Sunday is over?" Topics include "Knowing God in Daily Life", "Enjoying the Life God Gives", "Building Community", and "Setting Right Priorities in a Money-Centered World."

Don't miss this new study!

Looking forward to fall: September 12th - BHBC Block Party
September 15 - Wednesday programming returns - including a Family Fellowship Meal!
September 19 - Sunday activities return.