afterhours 2/15

As we continued in James, specifically James 2:14-22,  Pastor Josh Galgan challenged us further in what it means to live as a Christ follower.

He gave the scenario we have all encountered, the non-believer who has a disdain for the church and God because of things they see as not “right” in our Christian culture.  The hypocrisy, the judgment, the hurt they’ve experienced all instead of the love they should have received.  We are faced with their question of “why do I want to enter this faith if I don’t want to be like you, a Christ follower?”

James wants us to live the reality of our faith through a changed life.  Josh went took it a step further to explain that works justify our faith to man.  How we act demonstrates that we are different.   His hope for us is that we live out James 2:22 in our lives.

As you continue through this week think of ways you demonstrate your faith.  Leave us some of your experiences.

Also, don’t forget to join us Sunday for our Homeless Outreach, (we meet at 4 to prepare sack lunches and head downtown around 6:30) and continuation of our journey through James with Pastor Jonathan Stroud.

After Hours 2/8

We were blessed to have guest speaker Justin Powell give his insight on the book of James this last week.   Honing in on James 2:1-13, Justin challenged us to find Jesus in the “least of these” and to check our prejudices, even when it comes to new believers.

He also shared this video with us:

Looking for a way to apply this to your life?

• Justin prepared follow up questions.  Leave a comment and we’ll email them to you.
• Love, feed, and clothe “the least of these” at our monthly homeless outreach on 22 February.

Also, don’t forget to join us next week as we continue in the book of James.

Uprising Bowl-A-Rama!

Saturday, January 3rd is the day of Uprising’s first ever Bowl-A-Rama! It is at the Milwaukie Bowl (map) from 7-10PM. Bring your $7 and enjoy three hours of bolwing plus shoe rental!

We’re accepting late registration. Leave a comment here if you’re going to join the fun so we can make sure there’s a lane and team for you.

What are you looking for?

Last night, we continued our study of the questions Jesus asks us in Matthew 11:1-19. We talked about the things for, what John’s disciples were searching for, and what Jesus says we should seek (Matthew 6:33). Let us know what you think about the passage and about your searching in a comment.

What makes you different?

Tonight we began a series about questions that Jesus asks us, beginning with, “What makes you different?” We read from the opening chapter of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:43-48). If you have any thought on this questions or passage, let us know by writing a comment.

Serving those we love. And loving those we serve.

Well, if you weren’t one of the 11 uprisers that ventured downtown this last weekend, we definitely missed you and we would all cheer in joyous jubilation if you decided to join us on the next adventure.

So, as you know, once a month, we make pb&j sandwhiches. Once every month we bag those lovingly made sandwiches in with other nutritious (and non-nutritious) goodies. Once a month we pull together donated clothing, soaps, shampoos, lotions. We fill large containers with coffee and hot chocolate (soon to be water). And we jam-pack everything (including ourselves) in the Long Van and head downtown. We do this once a month, every month. And we’re getting quite good at this routine, if you ask me.

So, I my question is how can we take what we’re already doing a step further? How can we really show those we meet that we genuinely care for them and love them? and what would it mean to do that more than once a month?

On Saturday after our trek, Steve Long did a wonderful job of challenging us to engage in prayer with others. He talked to us about people’s hearts: How we are crippled in the fact that we cannot know the state of another’s heart. But the great thing is that God does. God knew the heart of His people Israel. Despite their actions of idolatry, despite their circumstance, He knew their hearts and He heard their cries for change. When we engage in prayer with others, we have the priveledge to ask God to hear the cry of His people. And we have the opportunity to tell that person, who truly wants change, to cry out to their God and if their heart is genuine, He will hear them.

If any of you eleven uprisers have stories to tell from Saturday, we would love to hear them. And if any of you have any thoughts at all on this post, we would love to hear them too.

September 15th AfterHours Reflection (Acts 6)

On Sunday night, we started out by looking at John’s account of when Jesus washed the disciples feet. Randy pointed out that Jesus demonstrated his love in action, not in words, and then goes on to call his disciples to do the same. We continued with the theme of serving others as we studied Acts 6.

The chapter began with a familiar statement: “the number of disciples was increasing” (vs. 1). We see that there was dissension between two groups of (culturally) Jewish Christians about the way that donated money was being distributed (vs. 1). We see that the disciples knew it was best for them to continue teaching and appoint others to oversee the organizational details (vs. 2-3). Randy told emphasized that sometimes we just need to get rid of the distractions in our lives in order to complete the work God has placed before us.

Among the seven men who were deemed to be full of the Spirit and wisdom, Stephen was the first selected (vs. 5). We know that Stephen began by serving faithfully with these lesser tasks, but we see that he eventually began to do wonders and miracles (vs. 8). Opposition quickly followed (vs. 8-9). Randy pointed out that our enemy often stirs up trouble when we are serving God. The Jewish leaders gathered witnesses to give false testimony, saying that Stephen was guilty of blasphemy (vs. 11), just as they had with Jesus. When Stephen was brought before the Sanhedrin, his face glowed “like an angel.” Tune back in this Sunday for more about Stephen’s story.

If you have any thoughts, leave a comment.

July 29nd AfterHours Reflection (Acts 3:1-10)

Last night, Alan Baird was kind enough to sub for Randy and take us through the first 10 verses of Acts chapter 3. The scene of the passage begins with Peter and John going to the temple to pray (vs. 1). Alan pointed out that Peter and John were last seen at the temple during Jesus’ trial (they were the only two disciples who attended), saying that it must have been difficult for them to return. When they arrived at the temple, a crippled man asked for money (vs. 2-3). Alan pointed out that Peter made a point of looking straight at the man (vs. 4), which showed that he respected him. Alan related this to our experiences with homeless people or just people who are different from us (ethnically or physically).

Peter gets the man’s attention and tells him, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you,” and heals the man of his disability. Alan challenged us to be willing to share what we have with people; food for their hunger, water for their thirst and the Good News of Christ for their souls. He challenged us to shake free of our obsession with (material) stuff and “have everything in common” (2:44) like the early church.

People in the temple were in awe and worshiped God when they saw that the crippled man had been healed in the name of Jesus. Alan noted the transformation that was represented; the temple had gone from the place of Jesus’ condemnation to a place where He was honored. Finally, Alan left us with three take-aways from this story:

1. Be bold.
2. Be compassionate.
3. Show respect.
4. Make everything all about Jesus.

Please feel free to share your thoughts on this passage and/or last night’s talk in a comment here.

A Gift from a Friend of Uprising

As Cori posted in her comment on the October 22nd response blog:
“Art work by an eleven-year old named Elizabeth Baker. She was bored at the church office, so she drew this picture to share with Uprisers. Jesus is teaching the Disciples a parable. Matthew 13:3-9″

Matthew 13:3-9: (link)
Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear.”