Notes from Week One - Hypocrisy

WOW!  What a great start to "When Christians Get it Wrong" today!  What follows are a few items from the video, the Leader's Guide, or the Participant Guide that moved me:

Jesus warned us about four different expressions of hypocrisy: 
- Wrong motives
- Pointing out the sin of others with out seeing our own
- Majoring in minors - Hamilton said, "When you focus on the minutia, you forget the really important stuff."
- Being two-faced




We are ALL recovering Pharisees
One young adult said, "I don't mind that you Christians don't live up to all of your ideals.  I don't live up to all of my ideals, either.  In the end, I guess we're all hypocrites, it's just that my friends and I recognize that we're hypocrites.  It seems that many Christians haven't figured this out yet."

"When Christians get it right, we love and give, work for justice, and demonstrate kindness.  When we Christians get it right, we, like Jesus, befriend those who are outside the church rather than condemning them.  And when we Christians get it right, people are drawn to, rather than repelled by our faith."

Closing Prayer:

Dear God, we want to be filled with your heart and goodness all the time.  But we're not there yet, so sometimes we're tempted to fake it - and that can get ugly.  Help us to live authentically in your love and grace, letting go of our need to look good even when we aren't.  Teach us to own our struggles and claim your power to transform us.  Amen.

Week Four - Sunday

Do we get so wrapped up in religion that we miss out on what's important to God?

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

Why do we go to church or give money away? Because we're supposed to or because we think that God needs it? Do we honestly put on our best clothes for an hour once a week, stand and sit at all the right times, and sing all the appropriate songs for God's sake, or because it'll make us look better to the world around us. We're tired of all the empty rituals and routines. And so is God. God hates it when we call ourselves Christians but ignore all the things he really cares about. He hates it when we go through hollow religious routines out of some feelings of duty or obligation. God doesn't want the meaningless rituals. God wants our hearts.

Watch the trailer for the film we'll watch on August 19th:

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