Guidance

Great discussions on guidance.  Don't forget, we will be meeting for dinner this coming week in place of going to Ebz.  This will be a great time for us to just connect, hang out, and eat some Good Stuff.  Have a great week.  Look for time and place on your FB.  

Also, mark your calendars for Alpha Getaway on Nov 21-22.  We will be taking Alpha on the road to Falling Waters, WV Campground.  Hope to see you there.  Registration to come in our next meeting.

Great Week

Hope everyone has a great week this week. Awesome connecting with everyone again on Monday. Sorry we had the mix up again but it looks like it turned out for the best again, right Elise:) This week will be discussing the Bible and all the goodies that go along with it. Make sure you bring your Bible and questions with you to the next Alpha!!

Hope the Galludet Girls beat Salisbury!!!

Also, the Alpha Getaway is coming up, Nov. 21st &22nd. This will be a great time to getaway from the norm and/or the busyness of our lives and kinda put a thumbprint on everything we have been discussing over the past weeks. You definitely will not want to miss this!! More information to come at Alpha next week.

What does Christianity Look Like?

What a great week we had discussing Christianity and what is is and what it isn't. Great thoughts from everyone. I loved the door painting that goes with the scripture about God knocking on the door to our hearts and us having the control of the door handle. What a great image of how Christianity is not deistic in its way, but on the contrary, God is very present in our lives and very relational. He desires a relationship with us and loves us so much that He gives is the control as to whether or not we "jump into the wheel barrel". Great times and great discussion.

Next week we will be discussing the Bible and it's purpose and how to read it. If you have a Bible, bring it and we can walk through it as we discuss the video. Hope everyone has a great week!!

Thought for the week: What is your biggest obstacle in reading the Bible? Explain your thoughts. All honesty is welcome.

Week #2

We had a great meeting last night.  Food was good and so was the conversation.  I really appreciate all the great conversation going around.  Hope you all have a great week and we look forward to seeing you on Monday.

Thought for the Week:  Do you associate love or fear with God? Please feel free to comment and explain your thoughts.

Rahab and the Spies- Joshua 2

Joshua 2-Rahab and the Spies

 1 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. "Go, look over the land," he said, "especially Jericho." So they went and entered the house of a prostitute ^[a] named Rahab and stayed there.

 2 The king of Jericho was told, "Look! Some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land." 3 So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: "Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land."

 4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. 5 At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don't know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them." 6 (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) 7 So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.

 8 Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, "I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea ^[b]for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. ^[c] 11When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. 12Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will save us from death."

 14 "Our lives for your lives!" the men assured her. "If you don't tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the LORD gives us the land."

Thoughts about the passage:

It is first great to know that the Bible is a very honest record of history.  It records the good with the bad in people revealing to us that no one is perfect.  It's also good to note that everything in the Bible points towards Jesus.  The Old Testament all pointed toward the New Testament, the redemption of mankind through Jesus Christ.  In this story we have Rahab, a prostitute, who acknowledges the work of God and in her zeal to do her part to see the LORD glorified, she chooses to divert the truth in order to "save" the spies.  I put save in quotations revealing the obvious that God did not necessarily need Rahab to save the spies.  He is a Big God and able to do more than we could ask or imagine.  However, this is the beauty of the story.  God recognizes Rahabs heart to do right and acknowledge God's plan.  And even though she does not choose the best option (to lie), God uses the situation to affirm her faith in Him.  That is why we see her again in scripture as one who had great faith.  What a story of redemption and hope for us.  Even at times when we dont choose the best option, God still love us and cares for us and see the depths of our hearts.  That is good news!!! What do you think about this? Does this make sense? Agree or disagree? All thoughts are welcome.

ALPHA Course #2

Greetings...It was so great to meet everyone and get to know each other a bit.  This site will help us create a bit of a community even further than just Monday nights.  Please use this Blog to post any follow-up discussion questions, random questions, thoughts, news, hang-out invites, and any else that is appropriate to share as a group. I will also use this site to make any announcements that you need to know throughout the semester. We hope you'll take advantage of the site and find it useful.  We are so excited about this semester, it is going to be a great time and fun and especially FOOD:)

Well, we hope you had a good time tonight at ALPHA and we look forward to next week!

Thought for the Day:  Don't eat yellow snow!