Saturday, December 11, 2010

Unicorn. A single corn.

Here is a Scripture study from our rehearsal this past Wednesday. Thought you might like to see what we talked about.

Big Idea:
God is not ignorant of our loneliness. He is warmly personal.

Scriptural Anchor:
Romans 15: 1-7 (MSG)

1 Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status.2 Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?”3 That’s exactly what Jesus did. He didn’t make it easy for himself by avoiding people’s troubles, but waded right in and helped out. “I took on the troubles of the troubled,” is the way Scripture puts it.4 Even if it was written in Scripture long ago, you can be sure it’s written for us. God wants the combination of his steady, constant calling and warm, personal counsel in Scripture to come to characterize us, keeping us alert for whatever he will do next.5 May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all.6 Then we’ll be a choir—not our voices only, but our very lives singing in harmony in a stunning anthem to the God and Father of our Master Jesus!7 So reach out and welcome one another to God’s glory. Jesus did it; now you do it!

This is an amazing passage!

Often times, when we feel lonely, excluded, used, forgotten or on the outside, we feel that we are the only one who understands our situation. The assumption that no one understands is the vehicle that we ride in, allowing us to comfort ourselves in our own misery. But here we see that God is a deeply understanding and warmly personal God who sets the example for those of us who are Christ followers. This is how we are to act and behave toward others around us who may be in need or even in crisis. We can become part of the solution just by extending the same personal character traits of Jesus to others. We may even overcome some of our own issues with loneliness in the process!

Questions:

- Do we view God as “Warmly Personal” and “Understanding”?
- How has our view of God impacted the way we’ve treated others who may be in need – positively or negatively?
- Can a solution for our problem be found in helping others find a solution for theirs – by living as an extension of a “warmly personal” Christ?

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Finally. Somebody Gets It.

I've spent the last several years hating Christmas. Four years ago, when my son Cole was born, I thought I would begin to get excited about this time of year. But it still didn't happen. Whenever Christmas rolled around, I immediately began thinking about buying gifts, how I never had enough money for all the people I needed to buy for, and how even if I had enough money, the gifts would probably be disappointing anyway. Depressing. This year though, something is different. I am so excited to spend Christmas with my awesome family. Here is something else, I am starting to see other people who are getting it too. Check this out. As Susan, Cole, Cohen and I were driving the other night, I saw a house set off to the right that was absolutely covered in Christmas lights. I decided it would be fun to drive through the little neighborhood to find that house. After a few minutes and a few turns, I found it. Up close, it was even more incredible than we thought. Check out the pictures.

 


But the most amazing thing happened when we got closer to the driveway. There was a sign posted by the homeowner explaining why they decided to go to such incredible lengths to decorate their home. Check out this picture.

Yeah. As I read the sign out loud to my family, I began to cry. Finally, somebody gets it. Me.

You can support the "Meter Buster Christmas Display" on facebook and donate to the cause here:
http://www.facebook.com/TheMichaelFerrari#!/pages/Lancaster-PA/Meter-Buster-Christmas-Display/190756176605?v=wall