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!!

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.