SSB Sunday Gathering, Uncategorized

SSB Gathering – July 31, 2016

Kathi

Spiritual Sounding Board – This is your place to gather and share in an open format.

wild flower

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Luke 16: 1 – 18

Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg – I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

“So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, How much do you owe my master?’ ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’

“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’ ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. He told them, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

“No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.

“The law and the prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law. Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

Deuteronomy 27: 19

“Cursed is the man withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

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I couldn’t resist:

baby baptism

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 – Wild flower and bee, Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, Portland, OR

10 thoughts on “SSB Gathering – July 31, 2016”

  1. Please pray for our family. We moved to a very rural area 4 years ago. The church situation is terrible–full of legalism and shame. The dysfunction if incredible. We came from a very grace based church and our healing was almost complete. This move, the lack of genuine Chrisitan community, the lack of acceptance of and judgementalism has taken its toll on us. I dread Sundays with a passion. I want to hear about the love of Jesus and have my soul nourished. I am disappointed every week. I feel like a withering plant in the hot sun just hoping for a drop of water. Please pray we can sell our farm to move back to a safe and healthy environment.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Teacher4music – I am so sorry to hear about your situation. We will definitely be praying for you.

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  3. Last week I was walking with my kids in town. A couple of guys walked nearby and heard me speaking English.

    “You speak English!”, they said.

    “Yeah”, I replied.

    We chatted for about ten minutes.

    They were migrants from Morocco.

    ‘Economic migrants’… ‘Illegals’… ‘Aliens’ … ‘Boat people’.

    (The ones who don’t belong yeah?!)

    I asked the younger one, “how old are you?”.

    “25”.

    “Where are your parents?”, I asked.

    “Back home”, he said.

    I asked him why he made the trip to Europe and he said that he just wanted to get a job and work.

    I asked him if he was OK and if people were treating him well.

    After hearing him tell me of the judgment from locals I told him that not everyone hates him and that I care and wish him well.

    Tears welled in his eyes and he said, “I can tell you care by the way you are talking with me”.

    Then I got to tell him of the One who IS love.

    Ahh.

    The alien.

    There are no borders with God.

    We do not need to fear those who can harm the body.

    Where I live people are in fear of ‘the aliens’.

    Even the Christians.

    I read the news from the USA and am confident that Jesus wouldn’t be welcome there if his parents needed a room.

    The 99% say this and that.

    We need to do the 1%.

    I’m thankful Europe is now full of those ‘aliens’ who are in spiritual bondage.

    a bit of persecution should do us all a bit of good. 😊

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Has anyone got a link to an article to respond to the Wayne Grudem “vote for Trump” piece?

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  5. Persephone – Are you wanting to a link for what Grudem said or links to opinion pieces against what Grudem said?

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  8. @Persephone

    Here is another article that I’m sure I saw through twitter. It’s written by Warren Throckmorton. He shows how Grudem’s position on Trump is a reversal of his expressed ideals when Clinton was impeached.

    http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2016/07/31/compare-what-christian-leaders-said-about-bill-clinton-in-1998-to-trump-endorsements-now/

    I really wish people didn’t mix politics and religion. Jesus wasn’t a Republican or a Democrat.

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  9. Persiphone – re: Wayne Grudem and Trump, Steve Hays at Triablogue has written a useful piece on this. I find it good in that Hays does not have an axe to grind against Grudem for other theological disagreements, and gives credit where credit is due.

    But he does pull apart very effectively in my opinion a level of deception going on in evangelical circles regarding Trump.

    http://triablogue.blogspot.de/2016/07/patsies-for-trump.html#more

    Someone recently said to me in the offcie here in Europe ‘With a population of about 320 million, are these the only two they can come up with’. 🙂

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