A Different Kind of Christmas

This Sunday we are beginning a five-week Advent study called "A Different Kind of Christmas" in Just Coffee.  This will coincide with Pastor Beth's sermon series by the same name.  The study plan includes a 10-15 minute video followed by a discussion.  Everyone is welcome to attend during Sunday School in the Fellowship Hall.

The United Methodist Communications website describes the study as follows:

Every year, we say we're going to cut back, simplify, and have a family Christmas that focuses on the real reason for the season - Jesus.  But every year, advertisements beckon, the children plead, and it seems easier just to indulge our wants and whims.  Overspending, overeating, materialism, and busyness rob us of our peace and joy and rob Jesus of his rightful role as the center of our celebration.

This Christmas, cut through the hype that leaves you exhausted and broke at the end of the year.  Instead, experience the peace of knowing that God is truly with us, the joy of giving sacrificially, and the love of a Savior who gave everything he had for us.  

The study is based on the book Christmas is Not Your Birthday by Mike Slaughter.  Copies of the book are available from Wendy Brown or Tabitha Strickler.

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!!