People go abroad to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long cou

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People go abroad to wonder at the height of
mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the
long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass
of the ocean, at the circular motion of the
stars and they pass by themselves without
wondering.
Saint Augustine
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All questions are welcome here.
Who am I?
I dont know what to do with my life. Does
God care?
How can a loving God allow such pain in the
world?
How do I know if I have been saved?
My friend is HIV positive. Her mother told her
to pray for healing. Will that really help?
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Windows of Faith is divided into eight sessions
Come and See! Worship and Prayer Who is
God? Baptism Sacred Writings Holy
Communion Church Vocation
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Reflection
What does the image of a window suggest to you?
What are you hoping to gain from these sessions?
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Two Images of God
I know what you want, and you cant have it.
And God saw everything that he had made, and
behold, it was very good.
Courtesy of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of
America
Courtesy of Web Gallery of Art
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The Bible shows us how others have related to
God
Bless the Lord, my soul! Lord God, how great you
are, clothed in majesty and glory, wrapped
in light as in a robe!
Ps. 1041
I waited I waited for the Lord, who stooped
down to hear me
Ps. 401
Lord, you are my shepherd there is nothing I
shall want
Ps. 231
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The Bible shows us how others have related to
God
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek hide not
your face. Dismiss not your servant in anger.
You have been my help Ps. 279
How long, O Lord, will you forget me? Ps.
131
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Ps. 221
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What does the Lord require of you but to do
justice, and to love kindness, and to walk
humbly with your God?
Micah 68
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Name some examples
To do justice
To love kindness
To walk humbly with your God
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Why is the idea that Jesus is both human and
divine so important to Christians?
Courtesy of Web Gallery of Art
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The incarnation tells us
1. Humans and the rest of creation are
valuable and worth it. 2. God does not seek to
solve the problems of the world with a big
hammer.
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GOD A being conceived as the perfect,
omnipotent, omniscient originator and ruler of
the universe, the principal object of faith and
worship in monotheistic religions.
Courtesy of Web Gallery of Art
Courtesy of the Web Gallery of Art
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My power is made perfect in weakness. 2
Corinthians 129, NRSV
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You know that those who are regarded as rulers
of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their
high officials exercise authority over them.
Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to
become great among you must be your servant,
and whoever wants to be first must be slave of
all.
Mark 1042-45, NRSV
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Has God been trying to connect with you?
Where?
When?
How?
With whom?
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Reflection
Blowing through heaven and earth, and in our
hearts and the heart of every living thing, is a
gigantic breatha great Crywhich we call God.
Plant life wished to continue its motionless
sleep next to stagnant waters, but the Cry leaped
up within it and violently shook its roots
Away, let go of the earth, walk! Had the tree
been able to think and judge, it would have
cried, I dont want to. What are you urging me
to do! You are demanding the impossible! But the
Cry, without pity, kept shaking its roots and
shouting, Away, let go of the earth, walk!
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It shouted in this way for thousands of eons and
lo! as a result of desire and struggle, life
escaped the motionless tree and was
liberated. Animals appearedwormsmaking
themselves at home in water and mud. Were just
fine here, they said. We have peace and
security were not budging! But the terrible
Cry hammered itself pitilessly into their loins.
Leave the mud, stand up, give birth to your
betters! We dont want to! We cant! You
cant, but I can. Stand up!
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And lo! after thousands of eons, man emerged,
trembling on his still unsolid legs. The human
being is a centaur his equine hoofs are planted
in the ground, but his body from breast to head
is working on and tormented by the merciless Cry.
Nikos Kazantzakis, Report to Greco
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The Word of God comes to us in three different
forms
The person of Jesus
Holy Scripture
Proclaimed Word and Sacrament
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Like a library, there are many different forms of
literature in the Bible
Historical accounts
Letters
Genealogies
Stories
Visions
Songs
And many others
Prayers
Poems
Parables
Prophecies
Proverbs
Laws
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How do you interpret the Word of God?
Through the author? The act of writing? The text
itself? The act of reading? Or through the
reader? Christians locate the authority of the
Bible in different points within this
diagram. AuthorA Biblical TextB
Readers
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One of the worst sins today is bibliolatry
revering the Bible as if it were a paper Pope.
Fundamentalists or not, too many Christians
revere the Bible more than the author of it.
Charles Moore, The Two-edged Sword
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One caution our souls will never grow in God
if we read the Bible solely to get ammunition to
defend ourselves or to defeat others. No.
We read the Bible to be fed. We read it to be
converted, to be strengthened, to be taught,
to be rebuked, to be counseled, to be comforted.
As we sit under the Bible for sustained
periods, we will be formed by the experience.
Richard J. Foster, Streams of Living Water
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Holy Bible
Old Testament39 Books
New Testament27 Books
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The Pentateuch
Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers
Deuteronomy
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Major events from the Pentateuch
Gods creation of the universe
Humanitys rebellion against God Gods
loving response
The great flood and Gods promise not to
destroy the world
Gods choice of Israel to be a nation
blessed to be a blessing
Gods deliverance of Israel out of slavery into
freedom
Gods creation of a covenant relationship with
the people
Gods providing for the people in the wilderness
Gods gift of the law
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The Historical Books
Joshua Judges Ruth 1 and 2 Samuel 1 and
2 Kings 1 and 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah
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Major events from the historical books
Gods gift to the people of the land
Gods deliverance of the people from threats
and enemies
Gods guidance as the people became one nation
and then two nations
Gods covenant with David and creation of
kingship
Gods judgment and forgiveness of the nations
when the people sinned
Gods presence with the people through
destruction of kingship and the peoples exile
in Babylon
Gods restoration of the people to their land
Gods promises for a perfect, future king
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Messages spoken through the prophets
Isaiah Jeremiah Ezekiel Daniel The
Scroll of the Twelve Prophets (including
Hosea, Amos, Jonah, Micah, and more)
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The Writings the human response to God
Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes, and
more.
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Important dates from the Old Testament (all
dates BCE)
1280The Exodus
1000The Monarchy of David and Solomon
922Israel splits into two kingdoms
722The northern kingdom is destroyed by Assyria
587The southern kingdom is destroyed by
Babylon, an exile begins
539The exile ends, people return to the
promised land
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The Gospels the first four books of the New
Testament
Matthew Mark Luke John
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The other books how the Church grew after
Jesus death and resurrection
Acts Titus, Philemon Romans
Hebrews 1 and 2 Corinthians James
Galatians 1 and 2 Peter Ephesians 1, 2,
and 3 John Philippians Jude Colossians
Revelations 1 and 2 Thessalonians 1 and 2
Timothy
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These things are written so that you may come
to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son
of God, and that through believing you may
have life in his name.
John 2031
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God's Word is designed to make us Christians,
not scientists, and to lead us to eternal life
through faith in Jesus Christ. It was not
God's intention to reveal in Scripture what
human beings could discover by their own
investigations and experiments. John R. W.
Stott, Christian Basics
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Reflection
It is less important to ask a Christian what he
or she believes about the Bible than it is to
inquire what he or she does with it.
Leslie Newbigin, Proper Confidence
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Insert a photo of YOUR windows of faith
group here
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Im not religious, but I am very spiritual.
I love Jesus. But I am not a member of any
church institution. I hate organized religion.
I am not even sure if I am religious. However,
I am very spiritual! And, yes, Jesus means
much to me.
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Fromjcrelations.net
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C Catholic
O Orthodox
P Protestant
Darker colors indicate higher concentration of
Christians
From Godweb.org
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Gospel
promise of God.
Responsibilities
our free response.
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The Gospel says you get to be part of the
assembly.
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Entering the sanctuary means entering a place of
Gods love, gifts and understanding.
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Language of prayers
All concerns are worthy
Community seeks to become an instrument
through which God can answer prayers
Love for enemies
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The Church is a work in progress. Its always
reforming.
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Reflection
And if we are the Church, then the Church is a
fellowship of those who seek, journey, and lose
their way, of the helpless, the anguished, and
suffering, of sinners and pilgrims. Hans
Kung, The Church
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From stock.xchng
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Richard, a university student, was driving down
the street in a sweat. He was running late for an
important test and couldnt find a parking place.
Looking up toward heaven, he said, Lord, take
pity on me. If you find me a parking place, I
will go to church every Sunday for the rest of my
life and give up beer. Miraculously, a parking
place appeared. Richard looked up again and said
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Never mind. I found one.
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Styles of prayer and worship are shaped by
customs, culture, and experiences. Have you ever
experienced worship in a culture different from
your own?
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Prayer tells the truth about what is and
imagines what could be.
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In worship we
Remember Gods past faithfulness
Anticipate Gods glorious future
Commit ourselves to being signs of Gods
love in the present
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Prayer is our grateful response to Gods
presence in our lives.
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i thank You God for most this amazing day for
the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue
true dream of sky and for everything which is
natural which is infinite which is yes (i who
have died am alive again today, and this is the
suns birthday this is the birthday of life and
of love and wings and of the gay great happening
illimitably earth) how should tasting touching
hearing seeing breathing anylifted from the
no of all nothinghuman merely being doubt
unimaginable You? (now the ears of my ears awake
and now the eyes of my eyes are opened) e. e.
cummings, Complete Poems 1913-1962 Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich New York, p. 663. c.
1961 Marion Morehouse Cummings
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The Psalms the Churchs primary source of prayer
for 2000 years
Thanksgiving Praise Longing Lament
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Sabbath
To keep the Sabbath is to rejoice that God is
both creator and liberatorand that we are the
creatures set free.
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For all that has been, Thanks. For all that will
be, yes.
Dag Hammarskjold, Markings
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Reflection
Worship is less about specific styles, words or
rituals than it is about learning to move to
the rhythm of Gods love, a rhythm present in
creation, pulsing through human history, and
opened to us in Jesus. Susan Briel
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How is baptism related to getting saved?
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But dont we have to accept Jesus as savior to
be saved?
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Two views of the church
Community of Inclusive Grace
Community of True Believers
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Community of Inclusive Grace
The church includes all whom the Holy Spirit
gathers those who, by the Spirit, have
come to faith those who, unable to decide
for Christ infants, little children,
mentally challenged, elders with
Alzheimers are brought by parents or sponsors.
They are joined to the community of grace,
nourished by word and sacrament to love God and
neighbor, and invited to share the joy with
others.
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Community of True Believers
The church includes the true believers those who
have made a decision for Christ and accepted him
as Lord. These believers are baptized as a sign
of their conversion. Saved, the believers then
go forth to live a new life and find the lost,
leading others to decide for Christ as they
did. Children are innocent until they reach
the age of discretion, a time when they are
able to accept Christ. This decision determines
eternal destiny.
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What about heaven and hell? Will the unbaptized
or the unbelievers go to hell when they die?
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Whats so important about water? Why is it
used in baptism?
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If baptism is dying and rising and new birth,
will I be the same person after I am baptized?
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So youre saying that baptism is more than just
a ritual which happens one time and is
forgotten.
How does baptism alter how we live each day?
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I was baptized as an infant, so I dont remember
it. Should I be re-baptized as an adult?
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Reflection
The only way to drive away the Devil is
through faith in Christ by saying I have been
baptized, I am a Christian. Martin Luther
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God does not intend that we should starve.
How does God connect the extraordinary (grace
and forgiveness) with the ordinary (meal)?
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Where does the Eucharist come from?
Instituted by Jesus Comes from the Greek word
meaning to give thanks
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How does the Eucharist work?
We eat and drink, receiving bread and wine
along with a word of promise. God uses
the ordinary meal to communicate extraordinary
blessing.
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Why is the Eucharist important?
It renews our relationship to
God
The community gathered in Gods name.
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Who is invited?
All are invited to participate in the
Eucharist. The meal is the means by which God
creates unity within the community. Local
customs for admission to the table may vary.
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What do we eat?
Bread Wine Accommodations may be
made for those with dietary restrictions, but
bread and wine historically carry word of
promise.
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How do we eat?
Using a Chalice (common cup) to symbolize unity
Individual cups
Intinction (dipping the bread into the wine)
All methods call us to take and eat
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How often should we eat this meal?
No requirement regarding frequency Intended
to become ordinary No private
communionoffered to all baptized persons
according to local custom
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How does this mean? How does Holy Communion
continue to make Gods passion for all creation
known? Holy Communion is always a gift, its
meaning is constantly being revealed. Our shared
knowledge is less important than our common
reception of the sacrament in thankful praise to
God.
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Reflection
One bread, one body, one Lord of all one cup
of blessing which we bless, and we though many
throughout the earth, we are one body in this
one Lord. John Foley, SJ, One
Bread, One Body
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Is college real life? Christians believe Gods
creative work is ongoing in every moment.
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I believe that God has created me together with
all creatures. God has given me and still
preserves my body and soul
Martin Luther, Small Catechism
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How does God call us?
Miraculous and mysterious ways
Words, actions, and needs of others
Abilities, interests, and gifts
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We generally have more than one calling at a time
because we live in multiple relationships.
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How shall we live in the world?
Autonomousa law unto ourselves
Heteronomouscontrolled by the law of the other
Theonomousliving in alignment with the law
of God, as we are created to do
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Our Primary Calling
The primary mission of the Christian church is
to bear witness of Jesus Christ to all persons
and all nations.
Some are called to rostered service.
Most serve in callings no less worthy.
ALL are called to serve Christ by embodying
Gods love to the neighbor in the roles and
responsibilities of daily life.
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Reflection
The Quaker teacher Douglas Steere was fond of
saying that the ancient human question Who am
I? leads inevitably to the equally important
question Whose am I? for there is no
selfhood outside relationship. We must ask the
question of selfhood and answer as honestly as
we can, no matter where it takes us. Only as
we do can we discover the community of our
lives. Parker Palmer, Let Your Life
Speak