On previous weeks the topic of time management has been treated in different contexts, so I'd like to bring it to the forefront.
- How do we use our time every day?
- How can we be able to schedule things better to take care of both our obligations as students/workers and our spiritual life?
- How do we handle distractions or unexpected events?
- How do we find time to pray or attend mass with our often busy schedules? Do you have good strategies?
Join us and share your thoughts on this.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Saturday Meeting (2008/08/02)
From our session leader Jonathan:
This is a followup to last Saturday's discussion on the
"peace that passes all understanding".
I did a keyword search for "peace" at Biblegateway.com
and got 247 hits. Peace features consistently across the Bible
starting with Genesis and right on through Revelation.
In the New Testament, Jesus uses the word peace both
as a greeting "Peace be with you" and as a a dismissal
"... your faith has healed you. Go in peace!".
And St. Paul refers to God as the "God of peace" in (Heb 13: 20; Phil 4:9).
The 2 passages that we will discuss are:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world
gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27).
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:7).
Questions:
1. What is the nature of the peace that Christ gives us?
2. How is different from the peace that the world gives us?
3. Why does this peace transcend all understanding?
4. How do we recognize Christ's peace (a) in the world in general,
(b) in others, (c) in ourselves?
This is a followup to last Saturday's discussion on the
"peace that passes all understanding".
I did a keyword search for "peace" at Biblegateway.com
and got 247 hits. Peace features consistently across the Bible
starting with Genesis and right on through Revelation.
In the New Testament, Jesus uses the word peace both
as a greeting "Peace be with you" and as a a dismissal
"... your faith has healed you. Go in peace!".
And St. Paul refers to God as the "God of peace" in (Heb 13: 20; Phil 4:9).
The 2 passages that we will discuss are:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world
gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27).
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:7).
Questions:
1. What is the nature of the peace that Christ gives us?
2. How is different from the peace that the world gives us?
3. Why does this peace transcend all understanding?
4. How do we recognize Christ's peace (a) in the world in general,
(b) in others, (c) in ourselves?
August Schedule
This is our schedule for August, send Jose an email to volunteer for leading.
| 2008 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| August | 2nd | Jonathan | Peace |
| 9th | José | Time Management | |
| 16th | TBD | TBD | |
| 23rd | Chad | TBD | |
| 30th | José | TBD | |
Farewell Party for Jon and Jeff
Some pictures from the farewell party we had for our good friends (and Fellowship founders) Jonathan and Jeff, who had now completed their Doctoral Degrees and have taken jobs out of Pittsburgh.
Thanks Alroy for hosting the party and for the pictures!
Saturday Meeting (2008/07/26)
Alroy served as our session leader. The discussion was based on letter 27 of
C.S.Lewis' The Screwtape Letters.
A summary of the letter:
Wormwood is failing, Screwtape feels, because even though the young man's love is distracting him from God, the young man knows it and is beseeching God in prayer to help him deal with the distraction. This is not good. Screwtape suggests Wormwood try to lure the man away from simple, God-directed prayers by making the man doubt whether asking God for things is appropriate at all. Perhaps he can be made to stop praying.
C.S.Lewis' The Screwtape Letters.
A summary of the letter:
Wormwood is failing, Screwtape feels, because even though the young man's love is distracting him from God, the young man knows it and is beseeching God in prayer to help him deal with the distraction. This is not good. Screwtape suggests Wormwood try to lure the man away from simple, God-directed prayers by making the man doubt whether asking God for things is appropriate at all. Perhaps he can be made to stop praying.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Saturday Meeting 2008/07/19
From our session leader Chad:
We will be continuing the discussion that Andy started last
week. We did not have time to finish the entire discussion.
The notes from Andy's talk last week are below.
We will be continuing the discussion that Andy started last
week. We did not have time to finish the entire discussion.
The notes from Andy's talk last week are below.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Saturday Meeting 2008/07/12
From our session leader Andy:
Everyone has heard about John 3:16 at some point - "For God so loved the world..." ...you know the rest. However, there are quite a few interesting verses that follow it immediately that aren't discussed nearly as often: Jn 3:17-21. This paragraph immediately and abruptly following the discourse between Jesus and the Pharisee named Nicodemus is an excellent summary of the story of the Christian faith - not just from God's point of view but also from humanity's. The promise of verse 16 is accompanied by a very stark choice offered to humanity in verse 18: "Whoever believes in Him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."
The rationale for this choice is presented in the light of God's recognition of our human weakness: "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him (17)." This is a very crucial point as people shrink back in fear from God's message, and this fear manifests itself in many ways: doubt, hatred, indifference: "And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light so that his works might not be exposed" (19-20). However, the encouragement remains: "But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God" (21).
Some warm-up questions:
"Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried." (G.K. Chesterton). Yet these verses indicate how God proposes to reach over that chasm of difficulty. Why do people not believe the promise of 3:17? How and why do they fear this?
"Blessed is he who takes no offense at Me" (Lk 7:23): I imagine everyone at some point has run into someone who just can't accept the Good News because they want to see proof: some sign, some miracle. This demand is especially high in this modern age where technology can seemingly make
anything happen and science often endeavors to meet any and every phenomenon with self-contained explanations. What strikes you about people who think this way? What kind of answer would you propose for them?
There was a mantra I recall hearing with regard to the Catholic faith: "I have been saved, I am being saved, I will be saved." In other words, while we believe and have been baptized into the fold, our goal is to keep growing towards the Lord and not turn back, and one day we will be with
our eternal Father. As a believer, what meaning would you draw from these verses that would help you grow in faith?
Everyone has heard about John 3:16 at some point - "For God so loved the world..." ...you know the rest. However, there are quite a few interesting verses that follow it immediately that aren't discussed nearly as often: Jn 3:17-21. This paragraph immediately and abruptly following the discourse between Jesus and the Pharisee named Nicodemus is an excellent summary of the story of the Christian faith - not just from God's point of view but also from humanity's. The promise of verse 16 is accompanied by a very stark choice offered to humanity in verse 18: "Whoever believes in Him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."
The rationale for this choice is presented in the light of God's recognition of our human weakness: "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him (17)." This is a very crucial point as people shrink back in fear from God's message, and this fear manifests itself in many ways: doubt, hatred, indifference: "And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light so that his works might not be exposed" (19-20). However, the encouragement remains: "But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God" (21).
Some warm-up questions:
"Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried." (G.K. Chesterton). Yet these verses indicate how God proposes to reach over that chasm of difficulty. Why do people not believe the promise of 3:17? How and why do they fear this?
"Blessed is he who takes no offense at Me" (Lk 7:23): I imagine everyone at some point has run into someone who just can't accept the Good News because they want to see proof: some sign, some miracle. This demand is especially high in this modern age where technology can seemingly make
anything happen and science often endeavors to meet any and every phenomenon with self-contained explanations. What strikes you about people who think this way? What kind of answer would you propose for them?
There was a mantra I recall hearing with regard to the Catholic faith: "I have been saved, I am being saved, I will be saved." In other words, while we believe and have been baptized into the fold, our goal is to keep growing towards the Lord and not turn back, and one day we will be with
our eternal Father. As a believer, what meaning would you draw from these verses that would help you grow in faith?
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