Gentleness

Today at Agape we continued our series on the fruits of the spirit, this time focusing on gentleness (Prautes in Greek). We began by discussing conceptions of the idea of gentleness. Then we examined a couple scriptures from the Gospel to examine the biblical meaning of Prautes, and how Jesus exhibits this fruit. In the study we found connections between meekness and compassion, between an ability to bear with others in love and the ability to see through God's perspective. We realized that it is not out of a quashing of our true emotions but out of a release to the spirit of God that we will become gentle. We prayed for more patience to wait upon God (more space in our lives to allow God's spirit to work in us) and for God's compassion to live in us and bring us to see and act from God's perspective.

Our congregation is growing as a supportive family of believers each week! Please pray for the mutual love and bearing with each other to continue to grow!

The Gift of Peace

Every Sunday morning at Agape, we go around the circle introducing ourselves by saying our names an answering a question. This past Sunday, the question was: "What is one of your favorite gifts that you've received from someone"? The answers varied: my family, my children, my life, my God, my guitar, my peace. Can peace be a gift? Agape congregants sure think so. As they live lives rife with addiction, unemployment, and homelessness, peace is hard to come by; therefore, when peace is found and received, it is indeed a gift. In John 14:23-27, Jesus offers his followers peace: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." According to Jesus, peace is available. We just need to come to him and ask. Paul writes in Phillipians that this peace "transcends understanding," and it will "guard our hearts and minds." After the Bible Study, some prayed to receive this wonderful peace. May the Lord provide. May the Lord fulfill his promise to grant us this great gift.

Easter Joy!

Today @ Agape we studied the Spiritual fruit of Joy. We began by discussing our ideas of Joy and then delved into the Bible, specifically Hebrews 12 verses 1-3. Seeing that Jesus had Joy set before him on the cross we talked about how such a crazy form of Joy was possible for us. We wondered how security in God's plan and our mission as well as increasing union with God could allow us to live in Joy amidst suffering. We also saw how the hope of the resurrection was not just Jesus's hope but ours as well, and not just at the end of the world. We concluded by discussing this possibility of new life, of resurrection now!

Lord we ask that you help the whole Body of Christ to live into the resurrection of Jesus, to find the joy set before him set before us as we come into the promises God has made over us and are born into new life. Help us to find Joy in Christ even at the worst of moments, knowing that God is working always for our good.

Fruit of the Spirit Series

This week we'll be starting a series at Agape on the fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-24 reads, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires."

Notice that fruit is singular, suggesting that one Spirit brings one collection of good fruit. When we accept one Spirit, one Son, and one Father, we gain one collection of fruit against which there is no law. For us, there is freedom in this exchange. We are freed from our sinful nature and our lusts. The Lord crucifies these, and we are left holding and cultivating the Spirit's fruit.

As we talk through this fruit, enjoy the sweetness. Hope to see you there at 8am on Sunday.

Ninth Anniversary Celebration of Agape Church for the Homeless

Agape's 9th Anniversary Celebration
Trinity Lutheran Church (292 Orange St.)
Corner of Orange and Wall
5pm

This Sunday, Agape Church for the Homeless is celebrating its 9th anniversary! In our time with Agape, we have seen God do lots of cool stuff in our lives and in theirs. We have seen people receive jobs, enter recovery programs, get housing, experience physical healing, and form friendships across lines of race, class, and language. God is at work in this place, and it's been fun to join him in this adventure.

The 9th anniversary celebration starts at 5pm at Trinity Lutheran Church on the corner of Orange and Wall (292 Orange St; same place Agape meets). There will be presentations by different volunteers, partners, and a performance by PIVOT Ministries. It will conclude with an informal time of fellowship accompanied by a HUGE AMOUNT of delicious food. Last year, people feasted on a variety of Korean dishes and desserts. Anyway, the anniversary is a great way to hear about what Agape is doing, see its supporters and attenders, and grab some great dinner. Hope to see you there.

As always, you are also invited to Agape @ 8am on Sunday. There will be a joint teaching by my friend Will and me on Love that marks the official start of our series on the fruit of the Spirit.

The Resurrection!

This week at Agape we finished our series on the book of Mark with Mark 16, Jesus's resurrection. Our conversation focused on the end of the chapter, where Mark connects a number of miraculous signs to the actions of believers. We prayed that we would have boldness to ask Jesus for these signs, for his participation in our actions.

Please be praying that our congregation would grow in boldness, prayer and unity.

Implication and Forgiveness: Crucify him!

And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!" -Mark 15:39

"Crucify him!" Today in Agape, we repeated these words aloud: Our voices reminded us of the ancient crowd, one voice rising to the Roman authorities: "Crucify him!" As we joined that voice, we found ourselves implicated in the plot. We participated in the sentencing of an innocent man. Where was the justice? Where was his power? The soldiers mocked him, and they flogged him. They put his cross on another, Simon from Cyrene, and they nailed Jesus to that tree. The centurion watched him hang there. And after Jesus breathed his last, only then, did the centurion realize a great mystery: even though the centurion has committed such a heinous act, even though he and we were sinners, Jesus had already offered forgiveness. He had already forgiven during the flogging, the mocking, the dying. The solider finally spoke the truth; Jesus patiently waits for us to do the same.