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Food as Justice: Part 1 – Week of 6/5-11

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.

 

 

Hospitality + Neighboring Workshop Debrief – Week of 5/15-21

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.

 

 

Church Around The Table – Sermon Notes + Discussion Questions

We tend to have this idea that this thing we do on Sunday is what the church is all about and what it has always been about, but it isn’t.

The people that Jesus gathered and called His friends and commissioned weren’t gathered around a stage – they gathered around a table.

They did the things that we all do everyday in order to survive – and they did them together. Things like eating and drinking and working and so on.

But as they did it, they intentionally made space for others to be cared for, provided for, valued, and shown the great love of God.

My bet is, that for the majority of us who are Christians, if we look back over our own stories of how we have been transformed by the love of Jesus, most of our most impactful moments came through the hospitality of another.

Somebody who shared coffee with you. Somebody who took time to play a round of golf, or some other sport with you. Somebody who invited us into their home, into their circle, and made a place for us at the table.

The way we will make the real Jesus known in our community is by becoming a people who do what Jesus does by focusing less on the church around a stage and practicing becoming the church around the table.”

Questions to consider and discuss:

1. Jesus loves you and humbly laid down His life for you. How does His love free you to love others?

2. What acts of hospitality have you experienced that have revealed the love of Jesus to you? How did they impact you?

3. What are you already doing that could easily be used to love others the way Jesus loves them?

If you missed it you can watch the service here: