Love one another (I John 4:7-12)

This week’s challenge:

We talked about the command to love one another. Mt 22:37-40 says the greatest command is to love the Lord your God and your neighbor as yourself. I John 4:7-12 commands us to love one another. This is not a love out of our excess but was modeled by Christ at Calvary as a sacrificial love.

* Look specifically for one opportunity this week to show God’s love to someone you wouldn’t normally interact with or to show love in a truly sacrificial way.

On Sunday, let’s see how God’s light shined through HOF this week!

A word on Spiritual Leadership, from J. Oswald Sanders

Good words on Spiritual Leadership!

“Spiritual leadership can be exercised only by Spirit filled people. It is of more than passing significance the central qualification of those who are to occupy even subordinate positions of responsibility in the early church was that they be people “full of the Holy Spirit.” They must be known primarily for their spirituality.

Why is this so important? People who are sensitive to the overriding leading of the Holy Spirit willingly submitted to His control, they are delighted to obey His prompting and leading.

What is it to be filled with the Spirit? Reduced to its simplest term, to be filled with the Spirit means, through voluntary surrender and in response to the Holy Spirit taking control, the human personality is filled, mastered, by the Holy Spirit. To be filled with the Spirit, is to be controlled by the Spirit. Intellect and emotions and volition as well as physical powers all become available to Him for achieving the purposes of God. Under His control, natural gifts of leadership are sanctified and lifted to their highest power. The now ungrieved and unhindered Spirit is able to produce the fruit of the Spirit in the life of the leader, with added winsomeness and attractiveness in their service and with power in their witness to Christ. All service is but the outflow of the Holy Spirit through yielded and filled lives (John 7:37-39).”

From “Spiritual Leadership” by J. Oswald Sanders (Chapter 10)

Update on Kayla’s surgery

Edwin & Zair called to thank everyone for their prayers.  They were unable to repair the kidney, so ended up removing the top third of her kidney.  The surgery went well, and they only had to make a few small incisions to do this.  If things continue to clear up as they have, they expect to go home on Monday.

Challenge from 1 John 3:10-24

HOF Challenge for the week:

1 John 3:10-24 tells us that the love that is visible in our actions toward fellow Christians is evidence of our salvation. Your challenge this week is to love your neighbor in a tangible way. Your neighbor is any believer that God has put in your path. Instead of using excuses to avoid the direction the Holy Spirit is pushing you, acknowledge that it is Him and act. Actions include prayer for specific requests made to you (not just saying you will pray for that person).

Challenge from 1 John 3:4-9

Pray for God to reveal sin in your life, especially the ones that we easily rationalize away.

Does your life reflect what you believe?

HOF Upcoming Events

October 2-4 Camping at El Capitan State Beach*

(HOF will not meet on the 4^th due to so many families being gone)

October 17 Fellowship Dinner

November 6 Bunko Night

December 5 Christmas Progressive Dinner

*If you have not already paid for the camping trip, please do so by the end of the month.  At that point, all unpaid spots will be given to the new marrieds class for their use.

You can either give Rich or Liz a check made out to Rich Procter, or pay Rich directly through PayPal (using his e-mail, rlc_04@roadrunner.com).  If you won’t be at church, or if it’s easier, feel free to send the checks to Liz’s house, 5524 Gregory Ave., Whittier, CA 90601.

Cost is $10 per person (including babies), max of $40 per family.

The Righteous and the Wicked

Homework for this week:

1. Try to be mindful of who you are in Christ. Pray that God will remind you during any trial throughout the week that you are righteous and thank Him in the midst of that trial.

2. In the good circumstances and as things go well, credit the Holy Spirit and know that however good, it will pale in comparison to the treasures we have in store for us in heaven.

3. As God brings to mind people that you think of as wicked, pray that He will soften their heart and give you an opportunity to show His righteousness by loving them in a way that can only be credited to the Holy Spirit.

Do you lie or gossip?

Ask the Holy Spirit to point out to you times during this week that you
either lie, stretch the truth, or gossip about other people’s problems,
sins, flaws.  When the Spirit directs your attention to these instances,
ask Him: “why am I doing this?  Show me what is causing me to do these
things that You hate.”

Come prepared to share your experiences next Sunday.

The Schemer

Schemers

As you go through this week take note of the the subtle and ethically questionable attempts you may make to get something that you want or to avoid a responsibility that is rightly yours.

While we don’t often seek to cause trouble by doing so, such attempts reveal how we often try to get out from under the responsibilities that have been given to us by both society and God. This is scheming at its best; trying to get the most for the least.

As you become aware of these fleeting schemes, make a mental note and then write them down so we can discuss them on Sunday to see if there are some common denominators.

The Greedy

What is the cure for a greedy, self-trusting, ungenerous heart?

Proverbs 11:24-25

24 One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. 25 Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,
and one who waters will himself be watered.

Proverbs 11:24-25 gives us an important application: The more generously one gives the richer he or she becomes. The more tightly one holds onto what he or she has the more it runs through his or her fingers.

This principle of generosity is echoed in the New Testament.

• 2 Corinthians 9:6 – Paul instructs us, “6 Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”
• Jesus stated in striking terms in Luke 6:38, “give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”.”
• A tight-fisted, stingy Christian is really a contradiction in terms.
• God has been so generous with us that generosity toward others is the natural response of the grateful heart.

One of the New Testament words translated “forgive” literally means to be gracious. It is the word used in Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind, tender-hearted toward one another, being gracious as God has been gracious to you.” God has been good to us so we can be good to others.

(Adapted from The Voice Bible Studies)

HOF Application For This Week:

• CHALLENGE PART A: Pray for the Holy Spirit to point out a “greedy/self-trusting/ungenerous area in your life.
• It will certainly look different in all of our lives. It could be in regards to $$$, but that’s the obvious one. What about others?
  • Food (gluttony)
  • Best house / newest car (“keeping up with the Joneses’’ mentality)
  • latest technology / latest iphone / biggest TV / fastest internet
  • Time?
  • Acceptance?
  • Friendships?

• CHALLENGE PART B: Give something away! Intentionally deprive yourself of that thing or something that represents that thing, for the purpose of blessing someone else with generosity, welcoming God’s blessing and putting yourself in a posture of gratitude towards Him who has given us everything we have!
  • Give away money, praising God that He’s given you enough that you can give some away!
  • Fast for a meal and give/buy that meal for someone else, thanking God that you don’t struggle to find your next one.
  • Give up a meeting/lunch break/office or classroom organization time/date night out/etc. in order to give that precious time to someone else who might need your help or just a listening ear.
  • Be open to the Spirit’s leading here! Be on the lookout this week for ways to give some “thing” away!

Got a creative idea re: something you did this week and you want to share it with everyone else? Email it to whbc.hof@gmail.com, or post it here on the HOF blog.