This week we’re exploring how to become a church community united by common learning goals, even when we are busy!

We’ve seen that the church is made up of many different complementary gifts and passions, but all put to use pursuing the same goal.  The Bible described this as “maturity, the full stature of Christ”.  The learning goal is learning and emulating Jesus’ character in everything life throws our way.

How?

Well, most topics are learned through a mixture of learning styles, like a textbook, lectures, discussion and homework, and experience.

These are many different learning styles, but the same content is meant to be communicated through them all.

Textbook: We’re going to start to read Bible together.  We study it in in our challenges, but only a little snippet at a time.  Now we’re going to start reading longer portions in sync together.

Lectures: These challenges are obviously one form of teaching, and our live Christianity 101 course that just concluded in Whitby.  Take advantage of whatever future learning opportunities you can!

Discussion: This is critical, so I encourage you almost every day to start a discussion group based on our challenges.  Have you?  This means you’ll be getting encouraged and challenged by those you know, and can see and learn from others trying to follow Jesus.  Make sure to contact Ryan with the good news, and to enjoy some leadership coaching and encouragement.

Lab Experience: Every Thursday we give a challenge, and although they are easy to ignore, this learning process depends on you actually trying to live out Jesus’ teachings in your life, where they will transform you!

In our case, Jesus’ character, lifestyle, spiritual maturity that comes from God alone, is learned through many forms.

Challenge: Start with the textbook learning.  We are going to start to read the Bible in sync as a community every day.  We will add a Bible reading plan to our web site and app, where you’ll find a daily Bible reading starting next Monday!

Ryan Sim - July 9, 2013

Tuesday - Study It - Foundations

This week, we're looking at foundatinos in life. Jesus spoke to this in his conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount which we've been exploring. This is our second last week on this theme! “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24-27 ESV) Truth 1: We all build on something in life, and that makes all the difference. Both guys in this story want the same thing – a house. And they build one. What’s different is location, location, location. Just for fun, I recently toured an open house that’s double the price of my own. The house has some premium finishes, sure, but not enough marble and granite to double the price. The price difference was because of the location…the land is what’s most valuable. Are you happy with where you're building life? We build on all kinds of things: Career, Kids, Sexuality, Power, Control, etc. We can build some beautiful homes on those foundations, but it's all for nothing if the foundation crumbles and all that beauty falls down. The foundation in life is the number one decision, upon which all other decisions are dependent. If your foundation decision is about debt reduction, then you'll sacrifice other things to pay down a loan. If it's your kids, then you'll sacrifice travel and independence. These are just examples, of how the foundation impacts other areas of life. Question: What do you think is the difference between a sand and rock foundation in life? Give some examples.

From Series: "Sermon on the Mount"

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