Join us April 15 – May 6 as we study the book of Jonah on Sunday mornings. Jonah was a prophet who ran away from God. Eventually he gets back on track, but his heart really isn’t in it.
Chapter 1
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Jonah
Palm Sunday & Easter Teaching Audio
Belief is more than a blind jump into the unknown. In the heart of the word is the idea of persuasion. When I say, “I believe,” I am also saying, “I am persuaded this is true.” We spent time talking about belief and persuasion on Palm Sunday and Easter…
Palm Sunday
Easter
Margins
We live marginless lives. No time. No space. No room for God or anyone else. This month we are talking about finding margins in our time, finances, relationships and health.
January 8 Time
January 15 Finances (with guest Chris Cook)
January 22 Relationships (with guests David & Christina Smith)
January 29 Health
The audio from January 29 was recorded improperly. If you would like a copy, please email us at info@thegatheringmuncie.org.
Welcome
Please take some time to read through our site. Below you will find thoughts and ramblings from the staff and guests. Occasionally we add important announcements to the front page. Find our more about us in our User’s Guide.
Worship is Sunday mornings at 9 & 11 a.m.
Contact us:
765.287.9745
info@thegatheringmuncie.org
9512 North Walnut Street
Muncie, Indiana 47303
More than Words
On Sunday, December 4 we continued our Advent Series -Generous Living- by asking ourselves if our love for God and others is more than words. We looked at 2 Corinthians 8:16-9:5.
If you missed it, you can listen here…
Things that go bump in the day…
I am learning I need things in my life that slow me down. It is so easy for me to fall in the trap of thinking I am accomplishing just because I am moving at a frenetic pace. Some of the rings that slow me down:
- Frank Sinatra
- Foreign Films (Maybe because you have to read them?)
- Long lunches with friends.
- Time away with my girls.
- Time with my friend, Jerry Shinn.
Some people think that Jerry and I are an unlikely pair -or so I have been told… by Jerry. He is more than twice my age. He moves slower than I do (and than he used to). And most people think he is a bit cranky. The thing is I think “most people” are wrong.
Every time I get together with Jerry there is a moment. A turn in the conversation for me. An idea or a sentence that I will be chewing on for quite a while.
A few months back he said something that has changed the way I view things. Jerry said, “Most people worry about things that go bump in the night. The real problem is things that go bump in the day.”
Everywhere we go we are surrounded by reminders. The place we first met. The school we attended. The restaurant where that argument got heated. Some reminders are great. Others cause a “bump” in our soul.
I am praying for all of us today. Praying that we will face the hurts and losses we are reminded of today. Hoping we will take a step toward healing.
Stillness
I wonder… must stillness be learned? or rather, relearned?
I am not sure. Our whole lives are marked by accomplishments (or losses) in movement:
- Lifting our heads
- Pulling up on the coffee table
- Crawling
- Walking
- Running (or even better, skipping!)
- Riding a bike
- Driving
- Going away to college
- Moving away from home
- The day we stop driving
- Using a walker or a cane
- Being confined to a wheelchair
Yet, our God says, “Be still.” (Psalm 46:10) And elsewhere, “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.” (Isaiah 30:15)
So how de we learn to be still, to accomplish nothing on our own, to cease moving?
It feels like my life is a perpetual motion machine. And my misinformed fear is if it stops moving it will never start again.
Father,
Teach me to be still. I want to know you. I want to see the world like you do. I want to know more of your thoughts. I fear my movement is getting in the way.
The Dog Whisperer
I cried while watching The Dog Whisperer the other day. Someone brought their dog all the way from Boston to California. The dog was scheduled to be euthanized up until this trip was planned. His owner was a single woman who had tried everything else available to her, but every effort had failed.
Her dog was overly aggressive. Images of his reaction to other dogs was shown. Despite the best efforts at holding onto the leash she was pulled toward a fight at every turn.
“There is no hope,” every dog trainer said. ”You should put him to sleep or keep him locked up in a crate.”
Yet, there was hope.
Arriving at the Dog Psychology Center in California changed everything. This dog who was aggressive to other Dogs was playing- yes, playing with other dogs within 5 minutes.
Oh, to be that good at what we do. When all other means fail- they come to us because we deliver.
Do we deliver? Do I? What would that look like?
We are the work of his hands
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 (NIV 2011)
We are the works of his hands…
I am not a carpenter. Or an artisan. Or any of the amazing vocations who create beauty with their hands.
However, I have made some simple projects:
I made a headboard for our bed.
I am the designated painter in our family.
I am the best guy to have in your corner when you are working on a science project.
What happens when someone does not appreciate my handiwork? I take it personally. I know the hard work that went in to the project. I understand the care and thought I gave. Am I unique? Do you understand what I am saying?
I wonder… does God take it personally when we deny that we are his handiwork?
We need to accept
acknowledge
understand
who we are.
Let us go deeper together
Let us go
Let us grow
Let us move
Deeper together.
We talk about going deeper. Deeper in our faith. Deeper in my relationships. Deeper as a church. I have realized there is a problem though. Although I have said this over and over, this has only hit me just recently: Deep is scary.
For me, as a kid, the deep end of the pool was a scary place made more terrifying by the prospect of jumping off the diving board…
into the deep
alone.
Sure as moms and dads and lifeguards we promise children we will be right there. The truth is -for the safety of all involved- we can’t be.
As a community we are not talking about the deep end of the pool. We are not even talking about a depth comparable to the deepest, darkest parts of the ocean.
No. Much deeper.
But you are not alone.
Do not fear.
We are in this together.
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This work by The Gathering is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.thegatheringmuncie.org.
