Here are some discussion questions and scripture for Sunday. Link to the blog entry below. 1. Micha Boyett muses, “I wonder if she’s made it too complex, that artist. I wonder if God isn’t simply pleased by a woman who paints beautiful things just because God loves beautiful things. I wonder why we feel the need to prove that we glorify God. Do we need to say all these words to one another so we can insist on our personal commitment, our worth in God’s kingdom?” Answer Boyett’s question. Why do so many of us gravitate towards religious language, perhaps even cliché, of the Lifeway variety? How can we speak a language of faith without it becoming cliché or superficial? 2. The writer longs for a simpler time, a simpler faith, and praises her grandfather for his simple approach to life. Do you think she’s romanticizing her grandfather’s simplicity, or have we indeed made life–and faith–all too complicated? If so, what is one thing we can do to inject some simplicity back into our lives? 3. Do you have a favorite memory of a relative who, like Boyett’s grandfather, seemed to have a peaceful and faith-infused approach to life? What characteristic of this relative would you like to emulate most? 4. TRUE or FALSE: A simpler faith is a better faith. SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK: Psalm 46 1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.[c] 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. 6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. 8 Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields[d] with fire. 10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 11 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. deeperstory/simplicity-complexity-faith/
Posted on: Thu, 26 Sep 2013 20:48:28 +0000
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