When confronted with hard choices the easiest thing to do is to make no choice at all. Yet this choice is often the worst choice of all: in trying to keep our options open we lose out on all of them. The Lord is adamant that we make a committed choice: He sets before us life and death and urges us to choose life. Commitment to a choice is the only way to succeed spiritually.
In our last service of the Mindful Communication Challenge program we’re going to be looking at the question that underlies all the different ways of improving our communication that we’ve talked about: am I willing? Am I willing to try to improve how I communicate? Am I willing to put in the work that it will take to change the way I typically act? So… are you willing? And if the answer (honestly) is no, what do you do about that?
– Malcolm, Head Pastor
We have spent time exploring the questions “Is it true?” and “Is it kind?” This week we ask “Is it useful?” At the heart of this question is putting truth and kindness into action. Truth and kindness without use are simply airy ideas. By asking “Is it useful?” we bring our focus to the actual impact that our words will have on the people around us.
– Joel, Assistant Pastor
This Sunday we have the first topic of the Mindful Communication Challenge program: listening. As the person talking, really feeling heard by someone can mean a lot to us. As the listener, there are a lot of things that can get in the way of our being able to listen fully. Let’s learn from the Lord about how to get better at listening to Him and to other people.
This Sunday we are celebrating the founding of Kainon School and so will have the whole primary school community joining us for worship. The topic of the service is the school theme for the year: “Watching Our Words.” On Sunday we’re going to be exploring what needs to be in place for us to be able to watch or pay attention to anything.
– Malcolm Smith, Pastor
Mindful Communication Challenge offers a chance to work on how you communicate with others—to reflect on what’s true, kind, and useful in communication from the perspective of what’s taught in the Bible and the teachings of the New Church.
A number of people in Scripture had the opportunity to see God. Moses saw Him. So did some of the prophets. And of course the Lord’s own disciples saw Him when He walked on earth. This is what the Word of God is for: it is the way we come to see and know our God. How is this working out for us? Do we see and know our God from His Word? Is it making a difference in our lives? Let’s look at some of the ways the Lord is revealing Himself to us.
The Story of Joseph is the revealing of life’s purpose. This Sunday we take another look at the story which may appropriately be called the Great Parable of Genesis. It starts with Joseph, a youth, who receives a very personal and Godly message in the form of dreams which forever shape his life and the life of those around him. When we read about this young person and his extraordinary experiences, bad and good, the Lord is doing amazing things: He shapes our inner thoughts and reveals our heart’s desires.
If you have a young person in your life who is available, be sure to invite him or her along for church this Sunday.
Joseph, the son of Jacob, had amazing dreams in his youth, like the one where the sun, the moon and the eleven stars would bow down to him. Clearly his dreams were signs of a future greatness. But the envy of his brothers led to Joseph being sold into slavery in Egypt. In time, a great famine covered the earth. Joseph, recognized for his wisdom, rose to power. In a curious turn of events, the brothers of Joseph, who simply traveled to Egypt to buy grain, found themselves guests at the royal palace. They dine – unbeknownst to them – with Joseph! Yes, if you think about it, this relates to how, in Providence, we come to dine with the Lord, who is the Heavenly Joseph.
What are you carrying? Did you put down some stuff at the end of last year that you’re now picking up again, along with some new things? What about things from the past–are you carrying guilt about things you did or didn’t do in addition to guilt about things you are or aren’t doing now? The Lord says, “Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. … For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Let’s talk about what burden the Lord wants us to carry and how to let go of the rest.
