Pastor Chris wrapped up Chapter Four of Mark’s Gospel today.

Length: 58:17

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We showed this video in service today:

We departed from the usual closing with a few worship songs and closed with the following video:

Here’s News 12’s report

Watch Channel 12 at noon today to see the mayor’s press conference featuring the Tress House Rehab Project in Tamarind.

more later…

Pastor Chris had fun with the following video as he continued teaching through Mark 4.

Length: 56:29

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· teaches you to develop a conversation between you and God through the practice of studying and meditating on and praying through Scripture.

· teaches you to absorb the Word of God, to converse with God openly, and to live out what you’ve processed as it becomes a part of you.

There are four elements of lectio divina:

1. Read

2. Think

3. Pray

4. Live.

Each element has a purpose and overlaps and weaves into the other.

Read.
Thoughtfully, leisurely, faithfully, attentively, and repeatedly.

Think.
Each subtle, significant, powerful word of Scripture is meant for you. One word may speak today and another tomorrow, but God sent each of them straight into your life. So listen. Go into your reading with a clean slate. Don’t bring what you think you need to hear, what others have said, or what you’ve been taught about a particular passage. Don’t bring fear that you’ll misinterpret the text. This is about what God has to say to you.

Pray.
God yearns to converse with you. And he wants far more than just “thanks for this, can I please have that” prayer. Respond to him in dia­logue. That means it’s as much about listening as it is about speaking. Open your ears and your heart to hear his voice. Fill your prayers with Scripture. Using the words you have read helps you ensure that your prayers line up with God’s Word and intention for your life.

Live.
You can read, think, and pray all day, but unless you live in God’s Word as well, you miss the point. (James 2) If you have taken God’s Word to heart and truly made it part of you, it will by its very nature change you. And when it does, you will find yourself called to act. There will come a time when God takes you to the end of yourself then asks you to go further. He wants you to put yourself at his disposal, to go and do what he asks, even the impossible.

Write down what God is saying to you in a journal. Be prepared with something to share with your group each week what God is teaching you through his Word by his Spirit. The result will be personal growth and group edification.

commitment to meet
Workout are gathering together to invest in the Kingdom of God through discipleship. To the best of our ability, as God helps us, we want to invest in one another through prayer and genuine fellowship. For this to happen, we are asking for a six month commitment to meet once a week with workout partners. Each week we’ll meet for about 1 ½ hours.

commitment to the process
Each group will decide on a book of the Bible to read. During the week prior to the meeting, each person will spend some time reading through an agreed upon chunk of Bible text. Using the Lectio divina process, everyone will write down in a journal what he or she believes God is revealing in His Word by His Spirit. The expectation is that everyone will have something to offer to the group each week from their journals. The result will be personal growth and group edification.

commitment to confidentiality
Others centeredness is the focus. Information and discussion shared in the group time stays in the group. That means we don’t fill in our spouses or co-workers or anyone outside the group about anything said. Trust is our most valued commodity. Trust violated carries consequences beyond estimation.

commitment to prayer
Group members will commit to pray for each other. And we’ll update one another with answers and progress. Journaling these answers is vital since every six weeks groups will combine and give testimony to God’s faithfulness to answer our prayers. The payoff will be stronger and more real faith for everyone. We’ll pray for one another often/daily.

As we pray in our groups, we’ll want to make sure that our prayers are not used to disguise an agenda to lecture or give advice.

commitment to transparency
It’s good to mention again that others centeredness is the focus. Transparency is not only for one’s self, but to show the others in the group that we all have similar struggles and similar resources to overcome or endure our struggles. We’re all tempted in like manner. This is a time of confession; that is, saying the same thing about our issues and sins that God says about them. That’s how we stay in harmony with God.

The principle to keep in the front of our minds is being quick to listen slow to speak. We listen to what God is doing in each others’ lives, and, when necessary, we remind each other what God has done or said before.

commitment to discipleship
We want to work our workout plan so that we can know Jesus in a more intimate way. We want to be like Him and do the things He did; live the life He lived. We’ll always look to God for answers relying less on our own experiences and more on faith that God will do something beyond comprehension. That’s why advice giving needs to be at a minimum and seeking God’s will through God’s Word coupled with direction of the Holy Spirit at a maximum.

Pastor Chris used Luke 13, The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree, as a launching pad into this week’s message from Mark Four.

Length: 56:09

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there are currently 46 million American children growing up without a father in the home.

fatherless children account for:

• 63% of youth suicides
  85% of school behavioral problems
  80% of youth crime including rape
  71% of school dropouts
  75% of chemical abuse patients
  85% of all youth in prison

children with mentors are 46% less likely to do drugs

• 53% less likely to skip school
  59% more likely to improve their grades
  33% less likely to resort to violence mentoring will reduce crime, teen pregnancy, abortion and divorce

This week Pastor Chris taught the Parable of the Sower in Mark 4.

Length: 58:17

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