The Weekly Huddle

First of all, Jesus Christ was a caring man to ungrateful, difficult people, and this unvarying conflict is endured in Metamorphosis. God, his father, brought down Jesus to care and cure diseases of these unbelieving and malicious people. Yet, above everything else Jesus Christ loved and cared for the people on earth; despite this fact, Jesus Christ felt persecuted, “ He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent

When we receive Christ we turn to God from self (repentance) and trust Christ to come into our lives to forgive our sins and make us what He wants us to be. God’s forgiveness implies that our sins deserve judgment, but in His love God has shown us grace, giving us freedom from sin and reconciliation in our relationship with God. If we accept this gift of Jesus who died in our place and bore the punishment of our sin, we receive a new life free from the judgment and rule of sin. Nothing we can do ourselves can take away our own sin or its consequences. We simply and only must believe what God says and receive new life in Him as a gift by trusting

Christ’s Gospel should mold the way I live because He gave everything to me. He died in excruciating pain. He felt every

Small group communication is basically the most imperative skill that any individual will ever have to learn. On that cold night of December, it seemed as if I had a more difficult time getting everyone’s attention. I had large number of small group who turn up that day. I had a bit more of a challenge that night. Because people learn from one other, it important to me to provide them with volumes of information s and many experience illustrations to made them to understand the Bible and to live with its principles. The small group teaching was different from Sunday morning, so I felt a little bit like unprepared in my mind. Since this first lesson, I learn my lesson how to prepare for small group setting. My second week I have started off with a prayer in the same way that Pastor Joe usually does. Overall, these two weeks of teaching turned out to be a blessing evening for us all. I felt that everyone beneficial to some degree, including myself.

In verses 5 to 8 we read of the tragedies that will take place on a global level now Jesus points out the trials and persecutions that will take place on a personal level but Jesus again encourages the disciples to be on their guard. The message here is simple, difficult times are to be expected for those who are faithful in following Jesus. Christianity is not a comfortable religion. This is extremely important to understand. If you are looking to be comfortable you are in the wrong place. The disciples would experience personal persecution for the sake of Christ and the Christian today is no exception. What can the disciples expect?

Ephesians 2:1-7: Paul prays Being Alive in God. Form a chiasm stressing the point of man’s total depravity. He is “dead” in sin and can and will never chose Christ unless and until he is “alive”. A person is saved by grace through faith “unto” good works, not “by” them.

With that because of the fall and of mankind’s sin, we need to be reborn. Jesus said in John 3:7, “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” This is because we all have been born in sin, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.”(Psalms 51:5) How to be born again is to accept Jesus and surrender to him. “Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.’” (Matt. 16:24-27) I believe life after death. We all will be judged when we leave tis world. “But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and

Teams take on all shapes and sizes. It seems as if you don’t have to look very far to see both the importance and impact that teams have on almost every aspect of life as we know it. Those who learn how to properly harness the power of teamwork understand how it can create an incredible opportunity and potential for progress and accomplishment. Teams that find the ability to work together with a sense of unity and common vision seem to produce at high levels of effectiveness. Teamwork also, however, can create environments where conflict and challenge can easily arise and hinder the ability to work together with effectiveness. Patrick Lencioni states, “As difficult as it is to build a cohesive team, it is not complicated.” As simple as it may be, for many leaders the ability to build, develop and properly utilize teams is a challenge. For church ministry leaders, the ability to build and develop teams and manage conflict are vital skill sets that must be invested in to understand and develop. In the pages ahead I plan to explore from a biblical perspective of why the building and development of teams is so important, and some of the challenges that

Working with other individuals in a group or a team comes very naturally to most people. In Genesis 1:26 God said, “…Let us make mankind in our image and our likeness…” We were created to be relational people as a reflection of the relationship God has within the trinity, as well as the relationship He desires with each and every one of us. According to Fischer, there are many benefits from working together. These benefits include, but are not limited to, having more voices or perspectives when making decisions along with an increased capability for division of labor and responsibilities. Unfortunately, as a result of The Fall and our sinful nature we often do not reflect The Lord in our relationships or teams. With this in mind, Fischer highlights that teams have a list of negatives also associated with them. A few examples are general dysfunction and disagreement, longer decision-making processes, and social loafing (Fischer, 2012). This paper will address the presence of social loafing and conformity within teams.

Jesus knelt to pray. He was facing the most momentous event in all history. The Righteous Father was about to mete out on Him the most awful punishment. So what does this Jesus do? Cry for help for Himself? No. He prays for His twelve brave, but vulnerable, followers. In a display of sacrifice, love, and selflessness, He asks His Father to protect them, unify them, overflow their joy, sanctify them. Jesus reminded His Father He was leaving them in the world for a mission. Rather than take them straight to glory, He

Bible (Christian and Catholic) “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Bible, Romans 6.23) That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the

Everyone in the United States has had some sort of interaction with a person from the church, at a church, in a church and has seen countless images of Jesus in various states of crucifixion to constantly remind you of his sacrifice, a promise to you that you are forgiven and you have a place in heaven. Now, this essay is not for everyone, some people cannot function without a crutch, or life is so bad this is the only escape from reality that is possible, this essay is for those who like me as a child was so confused about the Christian religion, but could never isolate those reasons until entering an age of wisdom and clarity.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.” - 1

If Jesus is who he says he is, man is not living for himself, but a greater purpose. In order to validate this, one must examine the validity of the resurrection. From a Biblical perspective, Jesus predicted his resurrection, and after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to hundreds of his followers (Bright, n.d.). Additionally, the impact Jesus’ life and resurrection had on the lives of others created a chain reaction that can only be explained by the historicity of the resurrection. Starting with the disciples who were willing to die for their faith, to the growth of the Christian church throughout in the era after Christ’s death, and the continual growth of Christianity and the testimony of millions of lives transformed by the saving work of Christ, it is evident the resurrection of Jesus was a real event that really has impact on the trajectory of humankind (Bright, n.d.). Since the resurrection is indeed a historically proven fact, it has repercussions for all of humanity. The resurrection proved the Christ was indeed divine, that Christ holds the power to forgive sin, the power Christ held over death, and the ultimately, defeated God’s enemy (Bright, n.d.). Additionally, no other religion has a leader that has broken the power of death and overcome sin once and for all (Bright, n.d.). In light of this, when Christians place their hope in Jesus Christ, they are placing their hope in God, which places them in subjection to a power that is above themselves. In conjunction, however, is a relationship between a Father and a child of God centered in love and motivated by relationships. When a man understands the great love that has been gifted to him through Jesus’ death, resurrection, defeat of sin, and promise to return, he cannot help but reciprocate this love and extend this love to others. If Jesus is in fact God in the flesh, man should understand himself to be created in God’s image, and therefore, a reflection of his character. Through the sacrifice of his only Son, God exemplified his nature of love and mercy, so when Christians are sanctified by Christ, they should exemplify these characteristics in their interactions with others. In conclusion, a person

tongues and be sensitive with the leading of the Holy Spirit. As leaders, they should