Hey everyone:

Here is the discusssion for this week…and welcome to the first week of this series, “God’s Politics” Here is a little disclaimer for this series:

Politics for some reason brings out the best and worst in us. And sadly some people are more passionate about politics than they are their faith. But, it is important to attempt to think higher than just the presidential political race that we find ourselves in currently. The purpose of this series hopes to inform all of our decisions in all the areas of our lives and that includes our choice of voting, but the high goal of this series is to challenge every person in the gathering to compare how Christ and Christians should understand how he interacted and lived in a political empire with a Caesar, and then to challenge us to see how we are to live and interact in a political democracy with a president, but all the while knowing that Christians have chosen to ultimately pledge all of who they are to a King and a Kingdom that is above any government found in this world.

Please refrain from any discussion about political parties, presidential, or vice presidential candidates.

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OK here is the text:

Matthew 22:15-22

Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might trap him into saying the wrong thing. They sent their followers to him with the Herodians.
‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘we know that you are truthful and that you teach God’s way truthfully. You don’t care what anyone thinks about you, because you don’t try to flatter people or favor them. So tell us what you think. Is it lawful to pay tribute to Caesar, or not?’
Jesus knew their evil intentions.
‘Why are you trying to trick me, you hypocrites?’ he said.
‘Show me the tribute coin.’ They brought him a dinar.
‘This…image,’ said Jesus, ‘and this…inscription. Who do they belong to?’
‘Caesar,’ they said.
‘Well then,’ said Jesus, ‘you’d better give Caesar what belongs to Caesar! And away– give God what belongs to God!’
When they heard that they were astonished. They left him and went away.

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Have fun, and remember you can dissect a topic as much as you like in the discussion, but you may not cut on any one person in the gathering.

Hey everyone:

I hpe you all have a great week this week to invite friends, fmaily, and co-workers to enjoy a fun party together. We will start back next week with our new Discussion series, “God’s Politics”! It should be a blast!

Hey everyone here is the discussion fort his week.. have some fun, and I hope everyone eventually gets powere in the Northern KY / cincinnati area so you can read this blog post, heh:

BTW; This s a long one, but a good story…and sometime good stories just need to be longer:

Text for this week:

Daniel 5

1 King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them. 2 While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father [a] had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. 3 So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. 4 As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.

5 Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. 6 His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way.

7 The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers [b] and diviners to be brought and said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant. 9 So King Belshazzar became even more terrified and his face grew more pale. His nobles were baffled.

10 The queen, [c] hearing the voices of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet hall. “O king, live forever!” she said. “Don’t be alarmed! Don’t look so pale! 11 There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the time of your father he was found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods. King Nebuchadnezzar your father—your father the king, I say—appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners. 12 This man Daniel, whom the king called Belteshazzar, was found to have a keen mind and knowledge and understanding, and also the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means.”

13 So Daniel was brought before the king, and the king said to him, “Are you Daniel, one of the exiles my father the king brought from Judah? 14 I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you and that you have insight, intelligence and outstanding wisdom. 15 The wise men and enchanters were brought before me to read this writing and tell me what it means, but they could not explain it. 16 Now I have heard that you are able to give interpretations and to solve difficult problems. If you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

17 Then Daniel answered the king, “You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means.

18 “O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. 19 Because of the high position he gave him, all the peoples and nations and men of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled. 20 But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. 21 He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like cattle; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes.

22 “But you his son, [d] O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. 23 Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways. 24 Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription.

25 “This is the inscription that was written:
Mene , Mene , Tekel , Parsin [e]

26 “This is what these words mean:
Mene [f] : God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.

27 Tekel [g] : You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.

28 Peres [h] : Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

29 Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.

30 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, [i] was slain, 31 and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.

Footnotes:

1. Daniel 5:2 Or ancestor ; or predecessor ; also in verses 11, 13 and 18
2. Daniel 5:7 Or Chaldeans ; also in verse 11
3. Daniel 5:10 Or queen mother
4. Daniel 5:22 Or descendant ; or successor
5. Daniel 5:25 Aramaic UPARSIN (that is, AND PARSIN )
6. Daniel 5:26 Mene can mean numbered or mina (a unit of money).

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Have a wwonderful and blessed week!

Hey everyone here is the discussion for this week:

1 Samuel 8:1-21

1 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.

4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead [a] us, such as all the other nations have.”

6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do.”

10 Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle [b] and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day.”

19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.”
Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Everyone go back to his town.”

Footnotes:

1. 1 Samuel 8:5 Traditionally judge ; also in verses 6 and 20
2. 1 Samuel 8:16 Septuagint; Hebrew young men

Hey everyone and welcome to another Forgotten Family Story, “The Sword”. I hope everyone is enjoying this new discussion series and retelling these stories that so many Christians have either never read or only read once or twice. Also, please feel free to read before and after the selected text to get a better context understanding.

Here is this week’s text to “The Sword”:

Judges 3: 12-30

12 Once again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and because they did this evil the LORD gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel. 13 Getting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join him, Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms. ^[a] 14 The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years.

15 Again the Israelites cried out to the LORD, and he gave them a deliverer—Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab. 16 Now Ehud had made a double-edged sword about a foot and a half ^[b] long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. 17 He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man. 18 After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way the men who had carried it. 19 At the idols ^[c] near Gilgal he himself turned back and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.”
The king said, “Quiet!” And all his attendants left him.

20 Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his summer palace ^[d] and said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king rose from his seat, 21 Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s belly. 22 Even the handle sank in after the blade, which came out his back. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it. 23 Then Ehud went out to the porch ^[e] ; he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

24 After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors of the upper room locked. They said, “He must be relieving himself in the inner room of the house.” 25 They waited to the point of embarrassment, but when he did not open the doors of the room, they took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their lord fallen to the floor, dead.

26 While they waited, Ehud got away. He passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived there, he blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down with him from the hills, with him leading them.

28 “Follow me,” he ordered, “for the LORD has given Moab, your enemy, into your hands.” So they followed him down and, taking possession of the fords of the Jordan that led to Moab, they allowed no one to cross over. 29 At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all vigorous and strong; not a man escaped. 30 That day Moab was made subject to Israel, and the land had peace for eighty years.

Footnotes:

1. Judges 3:13 That is, Jericho
2. Judges 3:16 Hebrew a cubit (about 0.5 meter)
3. Judges 3:19 Or the stone quarries ; also in verse 26
4. Judges 3:20 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
5. Judges 3:23 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

Hey everyone I just realized I did not post the text from last week…sorry about that, hopefully everyoe found the text on Th3 Servants Blog. Anyway here it was for last week and the overviw for the entire next series:

Overview:
Week 1: Ezekiel 37: 1-14 Them Bones, Them Bones, Them Dry Bones
Week 2: Judges 3: 12-30 The Sword
Week 3: Hosea 1 You Want Me to Marry Who?
Week 4: 1Samuel 8 But We Want one of Those!
Week 5: Daniel 5 Purple shirts and gold Chains

Here is the text from last week:

Ezekiel 37:1-14

1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.”

4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath ^[a] enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’ ”

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ ” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.’ ”

Footnotes:

1. Ezekiel 37:5 The Hebrew for this word can also mean wind or spirit (see verses 6-14).

Hey yall! Here is the text for this week! After you read it feel free to give out your shimmer points here on the blog.

Hey yall! Here is the text for this week! I decided to send out a basic understanding on how to read the text if your not in a community to join the discussion in person. Try to read it and then throw out your shimmer points here on the blog.

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1 John 3:7 – 24

7Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
Love one another
11This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. 13Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. 14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.

16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

21Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. 23And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
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here is the basics to Lectio Divina (at least the basic way Th3 Waters does it:

Basic Guide to Lectio Divina

5 Step process:

1st Read Scripture out loud (looking/listening for shimmer points) (Remember first time through the shimmer point can be for information)

2nd take 2-5 mins. For silence/prayer/meditation of the shimmer points.. your encouraged to have a discussion with the text. Ask it questions, challenge it.

3rd Read the scripture out loud a second time with a different mindset read it like a Dr. would read it or a lawyer, or even a child, and it would be great to have a different translation to read, as well.

4th Take a second time of silence but this time though be encouraged to not look for information, but transformation (How could this text actually change the way you live your life, or think about life, or treat others?)

5th Then type out your discussion as a comment on this blog post…and please remember that differening opinions are Ok and be respectful of others who read the text and ask different questions than you.

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OK go discuss…..

Hey everyone, sorry here is the correct text for this week. I got a week ahead. Sorry.

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2 Corinthians 4:1-18

1Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”[a]made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

13It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”[b]With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
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here is the basics to Lectio Divina (at least the basic way Th3 Waters does it:

Basic Guide to Lectio Divina

5 Step process:

1st Read Scripture out loud (looking/listening for shimmer points) (Remember first time through the shimmer point can be for information)

2nd take 2-5 mins. For silence/prayer/meditation of the shimmer points.. your encouraged to have a discussion with the text. Ask it questions, challenge it.

3rd Read the scripture out loud a second time with a different mindset read it like a Dr. would read it or a lawyer, or even a child, and it would be great to have a different translation to read, as well.

4th Take a second time of silence but this time though be encouraged to not look for information, but transformation (How could this text actually change the way you live your life, or think about life, or treat others?)

5th Then type out your discussion as a comment on this blog post…and please remember that differening opinions are Ok and be respectful of others who read the text and ask different questions than you.

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OK go discuss…..