Nooma Revisited: Flame

This coming Sunday - August 25, 2013 - Traci will be taking Just Coffee back to one of our favorite NOOMA studies - "Flame."  She will lead us in a casual discussion of the topic.

Follow this link for a preview to the video and some information about the topic:
http://bhumcjustcoffee.blogspot.com/2012/07/week-two-flame.html

Nooma Revisited: Kickball

This coming Sunday - August 18, 2013 - Marcie will be taking Just Coffee back to one of our favorite NOOMA studies - "Kickball."  She will lead us in a casual discussion of the topic.

Remember that due to the Welcome Reception setup for the District Superintendent, the 8:30 Contemporary Service will be held in the Sanctuary and Just Coffee will meet in the Grundy Parlor upstairs on August 18th.

Follow this link for a preview to the video and some information about the topic:
http://bhumcjustcoffee.blogspot.com/2012/08/week-six-kickball.html

Nooma Revisited: Luggage

This coming Sunday - August 11, 2013 - Wendy will be taking Just Coffee back to one of our favorite NOOMA studies - "Luggage."  She will lead us in a casual discussion of the topic.

Follow this link for a preview to the video and some information about the topic:
http://bhumcjustcoffee.blogspot.com/2012/09/week-seven-luggage.html

Nooma Revisited: Noise

This coming Sunday - August 4, 2013 - Marcie will be taking Just Coffee back to one of our favorite NOOMA studies - "Noise."  She will lead us in a casual discussion of the topic.

Follow this link for a preview to the video and some information about the topic: http://bhumcjustcoffee.blogspot.com/2012/08/week-five-noise.html

Nooma Revisited: Rain

This coming Sunday - July 28, 2013 - Tabitha Strickler will be taking Just Coffee back to one of our favorite NOOMA studies - "Rain."  She will lead us in a casual discussion of the topic.

Follow this link for a preview to the video and some information about the topic: http://bhumcjustcoffee.blogspot.com/2012/07/first-meeting.htmlhttp://bhumcjustcoffee.blogspot.com/2012/07/first-meeting.html

Summer Studies :-)

Starting this Sunday, we'll begin a study of the book of Acts through the book recommended by Pastor Beth - Becoming the Church by Dalton Troy Rushing.  Each chapter parallels the chapter from Acts.  There's no pressure to read the book along with the leader for the week, but if you'd like to do some preparation, reading those chapters from Acts would be very helpful!

May 26 - Chapters 1-3 - Tabitha
June 2 - Chapters 4-6 - Helen
June 9 - Chapters 7-9 - Wendy
June 16 - Chapters 10-12 - Kelly
June 23 - Chapters 13-15 - Amy
June 30 - Chapters 16-18 - Marcie
July 7 - Chapters 19-21 - Tabitha
July 14 - Chapters 22-24 - Traci
July 21 - Chapters 25-28 - Marcie

And for more Nooma love to finish out the summer...

July 28 - Nooma: RAIN - Tabitha
Aug 4 - Nooma: NOISE - Marcie
Aug 11 - Nooma: LUGGAGE - Wendy
Aug 18 - Nooma: KICKBALL - ??????
Aug 25 - Nooma: FLAME - Traci

Week Twenty-Four - Whirlwind

This week our focus will be on the last and twenty-fourth film in Rob Bell's Nooma series - "Whirlwind."  Traci will lead us in this casual discussion.

What do we do when there aren't nice, neat answers?

A lot of us have gone through times in our lives that are difficult.Some have been small and hard to understand and some have been big andoverwhelming. During these times we want answers, don't we? We want to knowwhy. Why do we have to suffer? Why do bad things happen to good people? We justwant someone to make sense of it all. But we don't always get the answers, dowe? Sometimes we are left wondering. And those can be some of the mostdifficult times. Maybe there are times we need to be released from having tohave all the answers. And maybe it's when we're released that we are able tosee there may be more going on here than we realize.

Click this link to watch the trailer for the film we'll watch on February 10th:

http://nooma.com/films/024-whirlwind

Remember, we meet in the Fellowship Hall during Sunday School (9:45-10:45).  Everyone is welcome!!

Week Twenty-Three - Corner

 

Next week our focus will be on the twenty-third film in Rob Bell's Nooma series - "Corner."  Amy will lead us in this casual discussion.

Why do we often feel empty even when we get what we want?

Why is it that often when we get what we want, we still feel empty? We work so hard to succeed, but our lives just end up becoming more about us. Can success turn on us? Can we get caught up in a smaller world where our lives are all about the things that we want? Or is there another way to live? Where life is about more than just us. Where we see people in need and we do something about it. Where our world is expanding because we are sharing our success. And maybe in attempting to save someone else from their suffering, we find out that we are actually the ones being saved.

Click this link to watch the trailer for the film we'll watch on February 3rd:

http://nooma.com/films/023-corner

Remember, we meet in the Fellowship Hall during Sunday School (9:45-10:45).  Everyone is welcome!!

Week Twenty-Two - Tomato

 

Next week our focus will be on the twenty-second film in Rob Bell's Nooma series - "Tomato."  Tabitha will lead us in this casual discussion.

Do we try so hard to be something we are not, that we miss out on how to truly live?We all get consumed with ourselves; sometimes we're not even aware of it. We learn from a young age that life is about winning and impressing. We pick up that our worth and value come from how good, how smart, and how skilled we are. So, we twist things in our favor, making us look like we have it all together. Every day we have the choice to prop up these false ideas about ourselves or to let go of them. Jesus invites these parts of us to die, the parts of us that tell us our worth comes from the things we say and do. Maybe it's only when we let these things die, that we truly begin to live.

Click this link to watch the trailer for the film we'll watch on January 27th:

http://nooma.com/films/022-tomato

Remember, we meet in the Fellowship Hall during Sunday School (9:45-10:45).  Everyone is welcome!!

Week Twenty-One - She

 

Next week our focus will be on the twenty-first film in Rob Bell's Nooma series - "She."  Wendy will lead us in this casual discussion.

Why do we overlook the feminine characteristics of God?

We didn't have anything to do with our birth. We are all here because some woman somewhere gave us life. Her pain, her effort, for our life. And when a mother gives like that to a child, she is showing us what God is like. But sometimes this part of God's nature is overlooked. A lot of us are comfortable with male imagery for God. But what about female imagery for God? Is God limited to a gender? Or does God transcend and yet include what we know as male and female? Maybe if we were more aware of the feminine imagery for God we would have a better understanding of who God is and what God is like.

Click this link to watch the trailer for the film we'll watch on January 20th:

http://nooma.com/films/021-she

Remember, we meet in the Fellowship Hall during Sunday School (9:45-10:45).  Everyone is welcome!!

Week Twenty - Shells

 

Next week our focus will be on the twentieth film in Rob Bell's Nooma series - "Shells."  Helen will lead us in this casual discussion.

Are we so busy that we miss out on what we're supposed to be doing?
Do you often find yourself saying, "I'm so busy" or "I just have so much to do"?  It's easy to get overwhelmed with appointments, gatherings, to-do lists.  But what are we really doing with our time?  Many of us are running from place to place and it seems like life is just passing us by.  We're doing so many things, a little bit of everything, and yet it doesn't feel like much of a life.  But most of us find it hard to say no.  We feel obligated.  There are so many good things to do.  So many good causes to join.  But while we're busy doing all these good things, are we missing out on something great?  Maybe saying no would be easier if we knew what it meant to say yes.

Click this link to watch the trailer for the film we'll watch on January 13th:

http://nooma.com/films/020-shells

Remember, we meet in the Fellowship Hall during Sunday School (9:45-10:45).  Everyone is welcome!!

Week Nineteen - Open

 

Next week our focus will be on the nineteenth film in Rob Bell's Nooma series - "Open."  Helen will lead us in this casual discussion.

Does prayer really help?
Many of us have experienced situations where we've prayed and it felt like God wasn't listening. And yet other times we've prayed or known someone that prayed and the situation changed. Does God answer prayer? Sometimes, but not all the time? Or does God always answer prayer and it's just that sometimes God says no? Some of us are angry with God for not answering the prayers we've prayed for years. Why did he answer their prayer but not ours? What if there's more to prayer than just God listening and answering? Maybe if we understood how Jesus prayed, our concepts and expectations of prayer would change.

Click this link to watch the trailer for the film we'll watch on January 6th:

http://nooma.com/films/019-open

Remember, we meet in the Fellowship Hall during Sunday School (9:45-10:45).  Everyone is welcome!!

Week Eighteen - Name

 

Next week our focus will be on the eighteenth film in Rob Bell's Nooma series - "Name."  Helen will lead us in this casual discussion.

Are we so concerned with what others think that we miss out on being who God created us to be? 
We all compare ourselves to others. We spend our lives wondering what others think and say about us. Some of us even wish we were someone else. We question why we are the way we are and not the way we wish we could be. Some of us have let the expectations of others dictated who we've become. We act a certain way to be accepted but know that we're being untrue. But why are we so concerned with what other people think, say, or look like? What does it say about us if we are unable to accept who we are? Maybe if we really knew our true selves, we wouldn't give so much attention to other peoples' lives and live more in tune with the life God wants for us.

Click this link to watch the trailer for the film we'll watch on December 30th:

http://nooma.com/films/018-name

Remember, we meet in the Fellowship Hall during Sunday School (9:45-10:45).  Everyone is welcome!!

Week Seventeen - Today

Next week our focus will be on the seventeenth film in Rob Bell's Nooma series - "Today."  Helen will lead us in this casual discussion.

How much time and energy do we spend wishing things were how they used to be? We often think about times in our past when things were different and want our lives to be like that again. Some of us have even come to believe that our best days may actually be behind us. But if we're in some way hung up on the past, what does that mean for our lives now? How are we and those around us affected if we're not fully present? If we're longing for the way things used to be, what does that really say about our understanding and appreciation of our lives today? Maybe we need to learn to embrace our past for what it is, in order to live our lives to the fullest, right here, right now.

Click this link to watch the trailer for the film we'll watch on November 18th:

http://nooma.com/films/017-today

Remember, we meet in the Fellowship Hall during Sunday School (9:45-10:45).  Everyone is welcome!!

Week Sixteen - Store

Next week our focus will be on the sixteenth film in Rob Bell's Nooma series - "Store."  Brian and Melinda will lead us in this casual discussion.

But what is really the root of our anger? Maybe if we learn where our anger comes from, we can channel it towards something constructive - something that's bigger than ourselves. How much energy do we spend on wishing things were how they used to be, thinking that our best days may be behind us? Maybe if we're too hung up on the past we fail to live our lives to the fullest, right here, right now.

Watch the trailer for the film we'll watch on November 11th:

Remember, we meet in the Fellowship Hall during Sunday School (9:45-10:45).  Everyone is welcome!!

Week Fifteen - You

Next week our focus will be on the fifteenth film in Rob Bell's Nooma series - "You."  Wendy will lead us in this casual discussion.  (Thank you, Wendy, for helping out Brian and Melinda!!)

Are we always debating the right things? Maybe some of our discussions would change significantly if we had more insight into the actual circumstances that surrounded the first people of the Christian movement if we had a better understanding of the things they did in the context of the world they lived in. Maybe some of the claims of the Christian faith that we typically perceive to be unique aren't really that special at all. And at the same time maybe we don't always put enough emphasis on the things that truly should matter in our lives.

Watch the trailer for the film we'll watch on November 4th:

Remember, we meet in the Fellowship Hall during Sunday School (9:45-10:45).  Everyone is welcome!!

Week Fourteen - Breathe

Next week our focus will be on the fourteenth film in Rob Bell's Nooma series - "Breathe."  Brian and Melinda will lead us in this casual discussion.

How many of us ever think about our breathing, about the meaning of breathing? In the Bible, the word for "breath" is the same as the word for "spirit." We've all been created in the image of God, but our lives are incredibly vulnerable and fragile. Maybe if we had more insight into the meaning of breathing, we would better understand how God created us as human beings. 

Watch the trailer for the film we'll watch on October 28th:

Remember, we meet in the Fellowship Hall during Sunday School (9:45-10:45).  Everyone is welcome!!

Week Thirteen - Rich

Next week our focus will be on the thirteenth film in Rob Bell's Nooma series - "Rich."  Brian and Melinda will lead us in this casual discussion.

There's a popular bumper sticker that reads "God Bless America," but hasn't America already been blessed? It's easy for us to fall into a mindset of viewing "our" world as "the" world, because it's all we generally see. We're constantly bombarded with images of the latest styles and models of everything, and it can easily leave us feeling like what we have isn't enough because we see people that have even more than us. But how does what we have compare to what most people in the world have? Maybe what we have is enough; maybe it's more than enough. Maybe God has blessed us with everything we have so we can bless and give to others.

Watch the trailer for the film we'll watch on October 21st:

Remember, we meet in the Fellowship Hall during Sunday School (9:45-10:45).  Everyone is welcome!!

Week Twelve - Matthew

Next week our focus will be on the twelfth film in Rob Bell's Nooma series - "Matthew."  Sheila will lead us in this casual discussion.

Suffering the loss of someone we love can be the most difficult thing in life to deal with.  One moment we have them and the next they're gone.  What are we supposed to do?  How are we supposed to feel?  The truth is, there's no certain way that we're "supposed" to feel.  Whatever we're feeling, it's okay.  It's okay to feel shock, anger, denial, or whatever we may feel.  It's okay.  And if we don't feel anything at all, that's okay too.  It's okay to have no answers and no explanations.  Because sometimes all the reasoning and comforting words in the world don't really help and everything can seem hopeless. What might help us, however, is to understand how Jesus dealt with this kind of loss.

Watch the trailer for the film we'll watch on October 14th:

 

Remember, we meet in the Fellowship Hall during Sunday School (9:45-10:45).  Everyone is welcome!!

Week Eleven - Rhythm

Next week our focus will be on the eleventh film in Rob Bell's Nooma series - "Rhythm."  Marcie will lead us in this casual discussion.

Is how we live connected to something that has been in place since the beginning of time? Maybe Jesus didn't come to start a new religion, but to show us how to live in tune with the life God has always planned for us.

Watch the trailer for the film we'll watch on October 7th:

Remember, we meet in the Fellowship Hall during Sunday School (9:45-10:45).  Everyone is welcome!!