Friday, October 29, 2010

Reminder!

Don't forget, we will not be meeting for Gathering this Sunday, October 31st!
Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Week 6 Discussion: Justice

This week at FUSION Gathering, we discussed the virtue of JUSTICE!  We looked as Scripture passages like Isaiah 1:16-17, Micah 6:8, Matthew 7:12 and Matthew 19:16-30.  We talked about how God calls each of us to acts of justice though it may look different in each of our lives.  We looked at clips from "A Bug's Life" where Flick, the main character, seeks justice for his ant colony.  We talked about some of the similar injustices that are happening in our own world and how the churhc responds to them.  One thing (among many) mentioned was Operation Christmas Child.  So, together we spent the rest of our evening packing 50 shoeboxes for OCC and folding and preparing about 200 more boxes for others to pack!  A group of us also went out earlier that day to the Southside SPCA and volunteered with their open house.  Way to work for justice for ALL of God's creatures!  I want to know what else you have been doing this week to seek justice?  Comment on this post with your answers.





Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Week 5 Discussion: Adventure

This week we explored the virtue of adventure!  We took a look at a clip from "Up" and talked about how adventure is virtuous when we find ourselves trusting God and doing what we were called to do.  We reviewed the adventures of Moses that we talked about last week, and then looked at the adventures of Jonah!  Jonah went on his own adventure by not trusting and following God's calling to go to Ninevah and ended up being swallowed up by a big fish.  When Jonah finally decided to trust God and do what God called him to do, the people in Ninevah listened to God's word that Jonah spoke to them and were saved from destruction!  We took time to think about what adventures God may be calling us to today and in the future.  I asked everyone to continue to pray and reflect on this question throughout this week.  Comment on this post below with your reflections!

Then, we went on a little adventure of our own.  Teams of three and four looked up clues found in Bible verses to lead them to various locations around the church where they found their next clue!  Check out the pictures below of our adventures:






Monday, October 4, 2010

Week 4 Discussion: Courage

Last night we took a look at the virtue of courage.  We discussed that courage is the strength to overcome fear in order to do what is morally right.  We looked at the story of Moses and Joshua in the books of Deuteronomy and Joshua.  God told Moses that he would not be able to cross the Jordan River with the Israelites into the Promised Land.  So, God called Joshua to be the next leader of the Israelite people and Joshua would be the one to lead them into the Promised Land.  God continually told Moses, Joshua and the people to "Be strong and courageous" because God knew it would take courage to lead and face their enemies.  Joshua had courage because he knew God would never leave him nor forsake him. 

We looked at a clip from "Cars" where Lightening McQueen shows courage in sacrificing winning the race in order to help a friend.  Then we looked at a clip from "The Incredibles" where Frozone, a superhero, is looking intently for his super suit in order to help the public from the danger of an enemy machine that is destroying the city just outside of his window.  While we know we don't have superpowers, there are situations in our every day lives where we are called to be courageous.  For example, standing up for a friend, standing up for our faith and beliefs, and having the courage to share God's love with someone else.  For a fun activity, we created our own superheros and decided what their name would be, what powers they would have, how they showed courage and we created their very own super suit!  Check out the pictures below:

Discussion question for this week:  How have you been courageous this week?  Comment on this post with your answers!