It was great to be back again on Sunday morning with friends and getting into God's word with friends.

Tony started the hour referring to a conversation with Jim Colledge that had recently taken place in which Pastor College cited a particular Barna study that described American Christians as becoming more and more theologically illiterate. I highly recommend that you read the findings from the study entitle Six Megathemes Emerge from Barna Group Research in 2010. It's not terribly long, it is very eye-opening, and it will help to appropriately set our expecations about how we as individuals interact with those around us, as well as how we as a community interact with society at large.

What are your initial reactions to these findings? Do they fit with your experiences and interactions with society around you? How can we as individuals and as a group be a part of reversing these apparent trends?

Tony's answer is this: Be grounded in the Word. The more familiar with are with the Word of God, the more theologically literate we will be.

Changing gears, Ladies Night is scheduled for Wednesday, January 19 at Robin's place. Mary Agbovi will be sharing what's on her heart. RSVP to this event by visiting the Facebook page.

Last Sunday's ABF Recap - Service
rg

But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, [serve] for the purpose of godliness.
1 Timothy 4:7 (New American Standard Bible)

To begin our discussion of the discipline of Service, we broke into smaller groups and answered the following questions and thoughts:

1. What in your mind is a servant?
2. Describe the feelings you have about being a servant of Christ.
3. Would you agree that most servants receive little appreciation for their efforts? If so, why? If not, what type of recognition do they receive?
4. If Jesus were to come back today, what type of ministry service would you wish you had done?

Tony pointed out the idea that everyone is gifted to serve (talk of Spiritual Gifts will come toward the end of the month!), and that none of us are ever unemployed or retired in the Kingdom. In fact, we're commanded to serve the LORD with gladness. And we're told that we were saved to serve:

How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
Hebrews 9:14 (NIV)

Paul, when writing to the Epesians (2:8-10), said, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

David also told us how he felt about serving God when he said, Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

The homework assignment this week is to think about an area of service that we can plug into. Tony described how years ago the LORD was calling him for 9 months to mentor high school guys. He concluded (as many of us would in analogous circumstances) that the voice in his head clearly could not be that of God because he (Tony) didn't feel gifted in working with high school guys. But the LORD persisted, Tony heeded the calling, and many guys today have had a positive male influence in their lives because of Tony's service. Is there something that God is calling you to do?

Send an encouraging note to a friend.

RG