Month: December 2019

A Child is Born!

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Blessings to you and yours!  FMMF Charlotte will gather again in the new year, beginning on Friday, January 10th.

In the interim, enjoy the time with family and friends.

Merry Christmas!

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

Luke 2:8-15

 

It’s a Wrap…..Time for Fellowship!

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This week marks the end of several things….FMMF Charlotte, related:

Hopefully you’ve read the final chapter in our current study, Hidden Christmas by Rev. Tim Keller.  In this last chapter you’ll find Keller’s summary of the book, through the eyes of God’s grace, the promise of salvation, the endless possibilities of fellowship with the Father, and the lesson of Jesus’ impact through ordinary means.  Hopefully, your study of this book has put you into a unique Christmas “spirit” like never before!  Thanks again to Jon Paschal for recommending this study.

This week also brings the end of another calendar year….and a wonderful year of study for FMMF Charlotte.  Whether you’ve come for just a couple weeks, or have been a weekly attendee, FMMF welcomes your contributions, your questions, your commitments.  So, let’s take time this week in simple “fellowship” to honor each other and honor what we’ve learned this year.  As a reminder, this Friday’s FMMF will be in Uptown at The Community Matters Cafe, 821 W. 1st Street, Charlotte, NC 28202

Welcome

We have a table reserved for 10 people at 7:45 am under “Lenhart”.  

I look forward to seeing you Friday morning, gathering in fellowship!

Peace!

Hard Work…and Often Times Painful!

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We’re on the final stretch this week in our book, “Hidden Christmas” by Tim Keller.  This week’s homework is to read chapters 7 and 8.

We discovered last week that there’s a lot of meat in the chapters so if you’re running short on time, at least get chapter 7 done.  Very likely that we’ll use next week to wrap up the book with a discussion on chapter 8.

The “plot” this week involves Joseph and Mary taking Jesus to the temple for circumcision.  An old man, who had been waiting on the Messiah, says to Mary:

“This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.  And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Luke 2:33-35

As you’ll dig into the text, you’ll see how God’s plan is that there will be some hard times, painful ones in fact, which lead to eventual peace.  Pay close attention to the analogies about the surgeon and the counselor.

Time permitting, we’ll wrap up the book with a discussion on chapter 8, where the author explains “So what’s Christmas all about anyway?”

Mike will be leading this week.

Meet at the Cornwell Center ready to go by 7:45 am.

Peace!

 

(There’s) Something About Mary…..

Mike Lenhart1 Comment

Truthfully, the movie, “There’s Something About Mary“, starring Cameron Diaz and Ben Stiller, is probably not one that fully aligns with our topic this week….with the focus on Mary, mother of Jesus.  But there really is “something” about (that) Mary that we’ll discuss this week.

Our author shares some great dialog about Mary’s faith.  She had so much to lose, it seems.  But blindly or not, she does not question God’s calling to her to be the mother of our Savior.

Homework this week is Chapters 5 and 6 from “Hidden Christmas”.  Rob Miller leads us this week.  Can’t wait to hear what he has cooked up!

Chapter 5 will discuss Mary.  Chapter 6 discusses the shepherds perspective.  What’s the common thread between these two chapters? ….. “How they responded to God’s calling….”

As we storm ahead towards our own “hidden Christmas”, ask yourself “how and I responding…..?”

Gather normal time at the Cornwell Center.  Rob will kick things off at 7:45 am.

Peace!