Coming in June to the First Circle Discussion Group:

Ethan’s Riddle

details to come

First Circle minicast

Here’s the “Advent Conspiracy” that I’ve been talking about in our discussion group and @ Christmas devotion.

First Circle minicast

This year’s annual Speed the Light Chili Cookoff was a lot of fun. It was great that we actually had a missionary at this one.

During our last discussion we were talking about different resources for staying encouraged (maintaining our hope) and staying in the Word. Youversion is my favorite modern resource.

A few weeks ago we began our new discussion that will take us all the way through the rest of this year into mid-January. HELL’S KITCHEN: Why Am I Going Through This? is about all that we go through on our life journey. During the first few weeks of our discussion we’ve been trying to answer the question,  “Is the journey actually worth the trip?” What’s with all of these trials and hardships? If we’re living for God and He’s got our back, why all the trouble? And are we learning anything as we work through some of the trouble?

For the next 17 weeks we’ll be continuing this informed discussion combining the New Testament teachings of Peter with insights from other popular authors and of course our own insights as we go. Hopefully this will be an encouraging look at why we can dare to hope no matter what our situation. Feel free to join in the discussion on Sunday mornings during Good Shepherd’s Sunday Bible Fellowship hour or online here on our (hopefully) weekly posts. It would be great to get an online discussion going first before we discuss the posted topic on Sunday.

Note: If you have never posted on this blog before, I will have to review and approve your post before it will show up in the discussion thread. Then after I have approved you once, your posts after that will show up immediately.

First Circle minicast

First Circle minicast

First Circle minicast

1cminicast100109

We’ve already been up and running for a couple of weeks with our Miracle series. This teaching/discussion series will highlight the 7 signs in John’s gospel. So far we’ve discussed the wedding miracle (water into wine) and the healing of the nobleman’s son. A lot of great discussion has been generated that tells us a lot about ourselves and a lot about God. This series is going to end up being a real faith builder.

You may be wondering what happened to the weekly minicasts. I still plan to do minicasts, but they won’t be week-to-week anymore. I want them to stay interesting but the main reason for spacing them out is just me being lazy. Sorry – I have 3 kids, a job, a new dog, and it may get even worse if we end up getting Dish Network. But I promise that the occasional minicast will be insightful and chock full of information about what we’re discussing in the group and where it’s taking us.

Of course, the best thing would be for you to swing by Good Shepherd Church on a Sunday morning at 9:30 and join in the discussion. We’re a friendly bunch. The coffee keeps things from lagging too (at least for me – ha). We still have about half a pot left over after class, so there’s still plenty if you like your morning java.

First Circle minicast