Question Jar

We asked:

What are your questions regarding the Holy Spirit?
&
How do you think we experience the Holy Spirit?

You answered:

"I want to know the voice of the Holy Spirit better. I feel like I am always rushing so much and that makes it hard to hear clearly."

"When someone says, 'the Lord told me, or the Holy Spirit said' what happened or how does that happen? Is it a voice like mine?"

"How do I know hear your voice more clearly? What is getting the way?"

"Peace in decisions, peace in instability/turmoil. Hope, wonder, and resolve."

"How do we know that the Holy Spirit is there?"

"How does the Holy Spirit intercede for us?"

"When do we know the Holy Spirit is working throught us? Is it by faith? A special feeling?"

"How can I be so distracted with the paltry trinkets of this world when the only true peace, true passion, true conviction, true purpose--only these things can be experienced in communion with God, knowing that despite trying to be completely self-sustaining only God can give me a clean heart, no amount of organization exercise, self promotion--it's never enough postioned for listening to the Holy Spirit comforter..."

"Why are you so close but sometimes feel so far away?"

"Why do I think you are silent when you are really speaking? Why can't I listen?"

Our next Soulwell: THURSDAY, 12/13, 7:00pm

What does it mean to experience God's joy in our lives? We are going to explore this somewhat at our next Soulwell. We will be meeting on a Thursday night this time (the 13th) at 7:00 pm at Hope Community Church. Most of our evening will be spent in worship through singing together; we will also have some other ways to explore and hopefully better understand the Joy of the Lord. We hope to see you there!

The Wonder of Confession

•

...confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed...
James 5:16

I got to experience this at Soulwell last night: I had been weighed down by an area of sin in my life for some time now, and last night I had the opportunity to confess this sin to a friend and to God.

We prayed together, opening our hearts to the Lord, grieving for the ways we have strayed from Him, asking for and accepting His forgiveness, and basking in the freedom of leaving our sin behind us. I truly felt healed after this, as if a wound or a subtle, nagging ache was simply taken away.


Here are some thoughts from others at Soulwell regarding the healing that comes from confession:

"I could see the end of the tunnel; life was not over; it was a good thing to confess."

"Bringing sin out of the darkness, into the light broke its power over me."

"I felt free from the terror of guilt and fear; I didn't have to pretend any more about my spiritual maturity."


Confession leads us to a wonderful place, both before God and others. May we not readily forget this.
...if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us...
1 John 1:9

Our Next Soulwell: Friday, Nov. 16th @ 7:00pm

Is this what we think of when we hear the word "confession?" I must admit, I don't get extremely excited when I think about confessing my sins. And what's so important about confessing our sins anyways?

Psalm 32:3-5 says the following:

When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.

For day and night
your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity
I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD "—
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

At Soulwell this Friday we'll take a closer look at confession, examining how this often misunderstood practice actually brings forgiveness, healing, and restored relationship both with God and with others. We hope to see you there!

a vessel

We will always fill ourselves with something, so what are we filling ourselves with?

Here are some questions we asked during our last Soulwell:

Do I find my worth in what I consume?

Do I continually need food, coffee, drugs, or alcohol to feel “alive?”
Do I become preoccupied with owning the latest fashion in clothes, the best electronics money can buy, or the latest iPod, cell phone, or other “gadget?”

Do I find my worth in what I work for?

Do I work hard for money, just so that I can have more?
Do I strive to achieve my “place” in society by owning the “right” car, buying the “right” house, or living in luxury?

Do I find my worth in the people around me?

Do my friends, family, boyfriend/girlfriend, spouse, children, or parents define who I am, and who I’m supposed to be?
Do I feel better about myself because I’m popular, I’m the “best” at what I do, or I have the right “look,” the right body?

Do I find my worth in what I do?

Do I feel the need to be constantly doing something, talking with someone else, or surrounding myself with music, television, or other “noise?”
Do I constantly check for emails, text messages, or Facebook/MySpace messages, basing my value as a person on how many I get each day?

Do I find my worth in serving God?

Do I define myself by my ministries at church, by serving others, or by being the “model” Christian?
Do I rely on myself to minister to others, not trusting God to do His work with or without me?

In, yet not of, this world

Hello, friends. Most likely, at some point in your life, you've heard the phrase, "in, yet not of, this world." During the course of this year at Soulwell we'll be trying to discover what this actually means for us as followers of Christ.

To get the ball rolling, here are some of our thoughts:

First off, we do not think it means: creating our own Christian sub-culture to make us feel safe, living in a Christian "bubble," substituting Christian materialism for "worldly" materialism, or living a contrived, meticulously crafted life.

Secondly, we do think it means: living a life that exudes the light of God, an honest, real, and raw way of living that seeks to find rest in God, an unending fascination with who God is, and allowing God to "break in" to our everyday lives.

These are just our initial thoughts; we are looking forward to growing deeper in the knowledge and experience of this during the coming year. And we'd love to hear from you as well. The Aftermath is a place for us all to work through this together. So with all that said, what do you think?

Soulwell this Friday--September 29th!

Well friends, the time has arrived. Soulwell is officially set to kick off this Friday, September 27th at 7:30 PM. We will be focusing on the theme of God's family history. This will include both Biblical figures and those who have preceeded us in the faith. Some of the questions we hope to explore/wrestle with are as follows:

• How did those who have gone before us take their places in God's ongoing story?
• Why are the scriptures so brutally honest when telling stories?
  
• Why is it so important to tell the WHOLE story--including the highs and lows?
• How does reflection on our own (individual and corporate) journeys help us to take our place in the present work of Jesus' kingdom on earth

These are just a few things to get the conversation going. If you can, please join us for a time of scripture, music, reflection and interaction as seek after the heart of God.