Month: May 2022

DOING THE THINGS JESUS DID: FOOD AS JUSTICE PART 1

1. Have you been able to listen to the past two sermons on the Kingdom and our resources? What did you think?

2. How often do you think about the story behind your resources and food and how it affects the world around you?

OVERVIEW

The entire Bible showcases God’s great concern for the poor and the hungry. In God’s economy, those with much are to sacrifice for those with little. This includes feeding the hungry. Because our relationship with food and how/what we choose to buy and to eat impacts the world in real ways, we want to talk together about creative ways to recapture God’s heart for food as an instrument of kindness, compassion and justice.

When we talk about the way food choices impact the Kingdom, it is easy for things to devolve into new law or self-righteousness. Today instead of making legalistic lists of what foods we should or shouldn’t buy, what grocery stores we utilize, and what restaurants we visit we want to simply have some conversation about food. The discussion is meant to prompt thinking about what it means to live in God’s kingdom, and how food is a part of Kingdom life.

This practice has two parts.The first part is this week. It is a discussion about things to consider when purchasing and consuming food. The second part is next week. As a whole church we will be serving a meal next Sunday (June 12) night at Gap Ministries. We want this to be an extension of the Food as Justice conversation as we experience using food as a tool of mercy, compassion, and kindness.

PART 1

What does it mean/what is the value in considering these things in light of the Kingdom of God?

● Do you regularly give thought where your food comes from before you buy/eat it?

● Have you ever considered the impact or value of buying from local/family farms or farmers markets?

● Have you ever considered the impact of plastics and packaging on the environment?

PART 2

Sign up HERE to serve with us at GAP Ministries this coming Sunday, June 12th.

 

 

DEBRIEF OF PRACTICE ONE

This week we are continuing the conversation from a few weeks back on hospitality and talking about take-aways from Sunday’s workshop on neighboring.

1. Have you had the chance to eat and drink with somebody who doesn’t follow Jesus since we met a few weeks back?

2. If so, how did it go? If not, is there someone you’ve planned on connecting with?

3. What is one step you can take to realistically integrate hospitality like this into the rhythm of your life? How can our community help with this?

 

DEBRIEF OF NEIGHBORING WORKSHOP (PRACTICE 2)

This past Sunday we hosted a workshop about neighboring as a church:

1. What excites you about being a part of a church that wants to be an outpost of the Kingdom as opposed to a castle?

2. What kinds of things did your table talk about at the workshop?

3. What does it look like to take one step towards better neighboring personally?

4. What does it look like to take one step towards better neighboring as a church?

Note: Our goal isn’t to start new things as a church. Rather, it is to consider how we can utilize the spaces that exist to take a single step toward following Jesus in the way he demonstrated hospitality and good neighboring. We want to be increasingly doing the things Jesus did.