GretnaLife’s Sunday Gatherings

This week, our guest speaker is Lawrence Matthews. He is the Volunteer Development Coordinator for Region 2 of Mennonite Disaster Services (MDS). The Brethren Church works in partnership with MDS to reach those in need. 
MDS's goal is to restore hope for survivors of disasters. They do this by recruiting, organizing and empowering volunteers to repair and rebuild the homes of those impacted by disasters in Canada and the U.S. They strive to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those affected by disasters.
Today, Lawrence will give us incite into how MDS is working in the aftermath of Helene & Milton, and how we can get involved.
 
 

Week 3
Text: Esther 4
Topic: Risk, Courage, The Lost, Worth It, Gospel
Big Idea of the Message: Mordecai, and Esther all placed themselves in harm's way to do the right thing. We are called to do the same for the sake of the lost.

Text: Esther 3:8-9; Matthew 5:10-12,14-16; Micah 6:8Topic: Babylon, Esther, Living in Hostility, Witness, Shine Your LightBig Idea of the Message: The characters in Esther are Jews living in a hostile empire.Their example can teach Christians how to serve even when we are different from theworld around us.Application Point: We will learn how to serve God and others, even in a post-Christianworld.

Big Idea of the Series: This four-week series explores the story of Esther. Through understanding the book’s backstory and context, we can see that the story is not a fairy tale but an understanding of how God can work behind the scenes with imperfect people in a hostile environment.
 
Week 1
Text: Esther 1:1–3; 2:5–8
Topic: Esther, Sovereignty, Providence
Big Idea of the Message: Esther tells the story of God working behind the scenes to raise a Jewish girl to be queen in ancient Persia.
Application Point: We will let God work behind the scenes in our lives.

Text: Deuteronomy 6:1–9Topics: Shema, Love, CovenantBig Idea of the Message: Love for God is the central command of the Christian faith.Application Point: We must learn what it means to love God because it is the foundation of ourfaith and the key to building healthy relationships with those around us.

Text: 1 John 2:7–11
Topics: Love, Friendship, Community
Big Idea of the Message: Our love for one another is the test of our relationship with God. If we do not forgive one another as God forgives us, then our love for God is in question.
Application Point: As Christians, we must evaluate our love for one another based on our actions - including our capacity to forgive.

Text: John 15:9–17
Topics: Love, Relationship with God, Friendship
Big Idea of the Message: Jesus commands us to love one another, and he shows us how to do this by giving up his life for us.
Application Point: As Christians, we must model our love for one another on Christ’s self-sacrificial love.

Text: 1 Corinthians 13:1–13
Topics: Love, Virtue
Big Idea of the Message: Love is the supreme virtue in the Christian faith. It is the basis of our relationship with God and others.
Application Point: If we want to develop healthy relationships with God and others, we must learn what it looks like to love the way God intends us to love.