Starting Friday: Men's Fellowship Through Accountability

Chapter 6 is our focus this week in our study of “How God Makes Men”.  We’re back at the Cornwell Center after last week’s “treehouse FMMF”.

This week, our author leads us with the question of “what and how do we define success?”

Is it wealth?

Is it material things?

Is it a beautiful family?

Is it job status?

Surely, King Solomon had all those things and probably more!  And most of us think about Solomon and the wisest man who ever lived.

But there’s another side of the king that some might not be aware.  And, for that part, Jason Schubert will lead us this week!  You might be astounded by the lessons we can take from Solomon’s tumble!

See you at the Cornwell Center.  Jason launched into our lesson at 7:45 am.

Peace!

Chapter 5 of “How God Makes Men” (HGMM) is upon us this week!  And this week’s Biblical character is one of the greatest…..King David!  Some might argue that David was God’s chosen one.  I mean…think about it….kill Goliath, and the rest of your life is set!

Well….not quite.

David’s life took one if not many tailspins well after the slaying of the giant.  Our theme this week is “how God rescues men when they go astray”.  Mike leads this week.

PLEASE NOTE LOCATION CHANGE.  We’ve having great morning weather this week in Charlotte so please plan on gathering at the tree house in Mike’s backyard (1609 Sterling Road).  We’ll have coffee and biscuits as well!

We’ll return to the Cornwell Center next Friday for Chapter 6.

Gather this Friday, starting at 7:30 am.  Watch out for the “killer” backyard chickens!  Lesson starts promptly at 7:45 am.

Peace!

This week’s chapter is on Gideon.  Our author titles the chapter, “The Principle of the Unexpected Leader–How God Turns a Man’s Fears and Weakness into Strength”.  I’m SO looking forward to this week’s reading!  Who among us cannot relate?

Some of you know my personal connection with Gideon.  Several years ago, when my (now) wife was in the hospital fighting for her life against a very serious infection, a friend from her church’s Bible study would come into the room as she lay asleep in a medically induced coma, and read the story of Gideon.

Days later, when she awoke from the coma, my wife recalls having dreams about a fierce battle, where she was in the streets of Athens, Georgia, defending the University of Georgia from a surging enemy!  We believe, that while she lay asleep in an unconscious state, her mind was listening to the story of Gideon, and adding her own “modern” twist!

Strange, maybe, but like my wife, the story of Gideon pits a seemingly weak individual against a formable foe.  As we’ll see, our hero, Gideon, was not necessarily on board when God called him into action.

Rob Miller leads us this week, fresh of the bench from a summer flu, but chomping at the bit to get back in the game!

See everyone beginning at 7:30 am at the Cornwell Center.  Rob kicks things into gear promptly at 7:45 am.

Peace!

We’re doubling up this week on Chapters 2 and 3, which discuss the lives of Joseph and Moses respectively.

Think about Joseph.  Poor guy didn’t sign up for any of this….but he quickly realizes, sort of, that God is shaping him for a greater good.  And then there’s Moses.  Similar to Joseph, Moses certainly tried to talk God out of the assignments given to him.  Nice try, Moses….and we’ll see in this week’s lesson how Moses goes through shaping of his character.

Interestingly, both men when confronted by the Almighty, seemed to first say….“….but God……!”

Mike will lead us this week.  Please gather starting at 7:30 am.  We’ll spend about 20 minutes on each of this week’s characters from the Bible.  Bring your own coffee and get buckled up quickly!

See everyone on Friday!

Peace!

Welcome to a new study…..!

This week, we’ll launch into our new book, “How God Makes Men” by Patrick Morley.  Check last week’s post to see how you can order the book and sign up to lead one or more of the ten planned lessons of this series.

Mike will kick off the series by covering Chapter 1:  Abraham: The Principle of Believing in God Anyway.  Your homework is to read chapter 1 ahead of time…..but, as always, if life gets in the way this week….still come on Friday!  You will always pick up a thing or two even if you didn’t read the chapter ahead of time.  (Just don’t make it a habit!)

Abraham is often called one of the founding fathers of Biblical history.  What made him so great?

Well, as we’ll see this week, Abraham is not a whole lot different than you and me.  Maybe more so to some than others…but still, he was a flawed man among flawed men.

Shocked?

God presents Abraham with three significant tests, and we’ll discuss all three this Friday.  Key your reflections ahead of time to the three questions at the end of the chapter on page 17:

• What is God calling you to trust Him for that makes you say, “Are you kidding me, God?”
• What was the operative principle in Abraham’s life according to Hebrews 11:8, 11, and 17?  And how did this principle play out in the three tests for Abraham?
• Which of these three tests are you currently facing?  How is God showing you to believe in Him anyway?

Good stuff!

See you on Friday at the Cornwell Center.  Gather at 7:30 am.  Mike kicks off the lesson at 7:45 am.

Peace!

This week, we’ll wrap-up our series on “Jesus Outside the Lines” by Rev. Scott Sauls.  It’s been a great study!  For this week’s final lesson, please read the Epilogue section of the book and come prepared to discuss.

Also note that we’re meeting at the Charlotte Cafe for breakfast this Friday, our “tradition” each time we complete a series!  Please join us at 7:30 am at the Park Road Shopping Center location.

I’ll also introduce our next series……drum roll please….!

“How God Makes Men:  Ten Epic Stories.  Ten Proven Principles.  One Huge Promise for Your Life” by Patrick Morley.  This 10 week series will run from July 20th until September 28th.  We’ll take the Friday before Labor Day “off” but otherwise will meet each week.

ORDER the book on AMAZON at this LINK.

Weekly Leader Sign Ups for our next series are NOW live on the website:  SIGN UP FOR NEXT SERIES

Please order the book ($11.99) in advance of next Friday’s kickoff lesson; Chapter 1:  Abraham: How God Makes Man’s Faith Stronger.

If you haven’t been to FMMF in a few weeks, now’s a great time to jump right back into a rhythm!  Come this week as we conclude one series, and launch our next one!

See you this week, as Mike leads our discussion and fellowship.

 

Peace!

Last week, we decided to NOT gather this week, July 6th, given that many of our men would be out of town for the holiday.  So….enjoy the time with family, friends, and fireworks!  NEXT Friday, July 13th, we’ll wrap up our current series on “Jesus Outside the Lines”.  Please read the final section of the book, the epilogue, and come prepared to discuss some summary points.

Mike will lead us next week, but all are welcome to share their thoughts.

Also, remember that we’ll meet at The Charlotte Cafe at 7:30 am next week (not the Cornwell Center).

Happy 4th of July!

Peace!

After spending a week at Boy Scout camp with 22 boys under my watch….I’m relieved to be back in the land of frozen ice cream, the Golf Channel, my backyard chickens, and (most importantly) a comfortable bed!  “Tent living” for 6 nights…made me realize that I’ve gotten very “SOFT” since leaving the military years ago!

For the most part, we’ve reached the end of our study this week.  Formally, let’s talk about Chapter 10, which I will lead.  And we can “catch up” on any of the previous chapters/topics this week….as well as next week’s wrap-up session.

Playing “catch” always reminds me of one of my favorite movies….”The Natural” about the fictional baseball character, Roy Hobbs….“the best there ever was….”.

This week, we’re at the Cornwell Center.  Next Friday, we’re at the Charlotte Cafe for the wrap up.

See you on the 29th at the Cornwell Center, beginning at 7:30 am.  I’ll start our lesson at 7:45 am.

Peace!

 

If there were a headline for this week’s lesson, it might be something like this:
“The problem of pain and suffering is one of the biggest reasons why people keep their distance from God.”

I remember the first time I traveled to El Salvador for a church mission trip.  Shocked, is the best way to describe my feelings, witnessing suffering and poverty; a community living on pennies each day.  It was easy for me to have deep questions such as “how can this be?”

This week, we’ll tackle the notion that through all the world’s suffering, are we encouraged with hope, or disheartened by the realism?  Our reading assignment is Chapter 9:  “Hope or Realism?”

Maybe, we’ll see through this week’s reading that there’s a bigger picture?  After all, God’s long-term promises continue to be infinitely more real than any present, broken realities.

Mike leads us this week.  Only one more chapter after this week.  Gather at the Cornwell Center at 7:30 am.  We’ll kick things off at 7:45 am

Peace!

 

 

How many of us are old enough to remember the “Leave It to Beaver” show?  Hopefully, I’m not aging myself too much…but I do recall watching the 50’s/60’s black & white, family-orientated program when I was a kid….in syndication, of course!

Nowadays however, the lessons taught on the show are considered obsolete, foreign, and ridiculous, especially by most millennials in our society.  Early on in this week’s lesson, “Chapter 8: Chastity or Sexual Freedom”, the author shares a story about a young woman who is visiting his church and asks:

“We don’t live in Leave It to Beaver land anymore.  I have gay and straight friends, including many who are not married, who like to have sex, and who feel fine about it.”

Yikes!  Welcome to the church, young lady.  Would you like to sit here in the front pew?

Challenging chapter this week.  Let’s all put our big-boy pants on and come ready to discuss how the church can withstand many of the sexual distractions and challenges that are overloading our minds, televisions, and computers in today’s world.  And you thought “Sex Ed” in your middle school Health & PE class was tough!

Rob Miller is stepping up this week to lead us, thank heaven!  He’s the dad of two teenage boys and will have plenty to share, I’m sure!

See you at the Cornwell Center this Friday.  Gather at 7:30 am.  Rob will start at 7:45 am.

Peace!