Spiritual Sounding Board – This is your place to gather and share in an open format.
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Luke 11: 1 – 28
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.'”
Then he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’ The the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
“So I say to you: As, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. But some of them said, “By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.” Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven. Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub. Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.
“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils. He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters.
“When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then in goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.”
As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
Psalm 22: 24
For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.
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(For Leaning on You – Music starts at 1:55)
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May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you;
may he guide you through the wilderness: protect you from the storm;
may he bring you home rejoicing: at the wonders he has shown you;
may he bring you home rejoicing: once again into our doors.
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Feel free to join the discussion.
You can share your church struggles and concerns.
Let’s also use it as a time to encourage one another spiritually.
What have you found spiritually encouraging lately?
Do you have any special Bible verses to share, any YouTube songs that you have found uplifting?
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photo credit – Kathi – Springtime Gerbera Daisies
Spiritual Sounding Board 
I hope everyone has a nice Sunday.
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Today I walked right by the church I’ve been attending off and on for the past few months. Instead I went to a bookstore and got a copy of Barbara Brown Taylor’s “Leaving Chruch” which I’ll start sometime today. I sat in the bookstore cafe and wrote and drank chai and had a croissant and finished reading a novel I’ve been working through. Through it all, I was passively (or close to it) acknowledging God’s presence, but mostly just being. Church has become such a scary place for me, even though I’ve not been hurt recently. I think I’m starting to come to grips with the fact that I have been hurt though and church people did it. Both by action and inaction. I’m fairly certain I’ll go back, but right now I’m just chilling out with God and trying to keep my distance from others. (Which sucks because I’m in a new state and barely know anyone. Anyone have ideas on how to make friends outside of church? I never learned that one because 1. Homeschooled and 2. Pastor’s kid.) Anyhow, that’s my struggle today. Hugs and coffee (or tea) to those also dealing with this. It sucks. Thank providence for places like this.
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Thank you, Brian. Same to you 🙂
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I actually went to a very nice non-denominational Christian church this morning. One of my clients’ kids was performing in a musical and they invited me to see it. It was a really cute program, and the central message, which they stated several times, was: “We are all God’s treasures here on Earth,” which in my opinion is precisely the message a Christ-centered church is supposed to be delivering. The lead pastor did several baby dedications before the musical, and he seemed really nice and very down-to earth. During the welcome half-a-dozen people said “Hi” and shook my hand.
Afterward I stuck around and eavesdropped on a few conversations while drinking my coffee (which I bought at their coffee stand in the lobby, all proceeds going to a mission group that I’ve heard of), and everyone sounded like perfectly regular, normal working people with perfectly regular, normal problems who are there to make friends and to try to make sense of the world. It was really eye-opening.
I can’t even begin to imagine guys like John Piper or Doug Wilson in that setting. I think some of the rougher members of this congregation would throw those people out on their ears because of their hateful message. These people are there to get along, not to confer judgement.
The whole experience really changed my perception of what a modern church might be. I doubt I’ll start attending on a regular basis, but who knows.
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ChurchGirlEvolving – Welcome! Glad to have you join us on a Sunday. My only suggestion for finding friends outside of church is to find a group of people who share an interest/hobby as you do. My husband has me several people online through photography. Some live local, others all over the U.S. and world. We have had several come through town to meet up with us and to go shooting. Whatever your passion is, there’s usually a group that gathers.
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