Three Radical Ideas to Make Thanksgiving More Meaningful

Yes, it's that time of year.  For a brief respite before the Christmas rush, we pause, take a day or two off work, stuff ourselves and watch parades and football.

And it's a great time to take a few minutes and count our blessings: Family, friends, job, house, etc.

But let me suggest to you a few things to make this Thanksgiving more memorable.

1.  Invite someone who might otherwise be alone this Thanksgiving.  If you're like us, there's more than enough food, and it will make someone's holiday.  You might work with or go to church with someone who is away from family, lost a loved one recently or for any other reason might be alone.  They probably won't seek you out - but they might be wondering if anyone cares.  Make them part of your family tradition.

2.  Call someone with whom you have had a split or misunderstanding.  Maybe this is a family member that you have struggled with, a neighbor whose tree grew over the fence.  Call just to say you are grateful for what our relationship means, and that you want to take steps to make amends.  Make the first move to mending a broken relationship.

3.  Give someone in your family the gift of tradition.  In other words, find a younger person - maybe your own child, a niece or nephew - and impress on them the value of pausing and being thankful.  Draw a picture, make a list or shoot a video talking about what you all are grateful for.

I hope you have a fantastic Thanksgiving this year.  Let me know what comes of these challenges in your Thanksgiving this year.

One for the Other and Baptism - 1 Peter 3:18-22

Who did you look up to growing up?  What qualities did that person have that you wanted to live out yourself?  How did that person help you?  How did your perception of that person change over time?

One for the Other:
Read 1 Peter 3:18-22
What was Jesus’ purpose in dying (v 18)?  What was his purpose in preaching to the spirits in prison (v 19)?

Read Genesis 6:1-13.  What did God have against men?  Who were the eight people saved from the flood (Gen 7:13)?

Baptism that Saves:
Were you ever baptized?  Do you remember it?  What was it supposed to do for you? For your parents? 

What kind of baptism was Peter talking about?  What result was promised from it? For us? For Jesus?

Read Colossians 2:9-15.  What else does baptism remind us of?

In what ways do we go through the burial and resurrection process with Jesus?

In what way did you go through a tough time only to come out stronger on the other side?

Application:
In what ways do you need to have God’s baptism in your life? Does the baptism process change how you look at difficult times in your life?

Homework:
Read 1 Peter 4:1-11.

These are the discussion questions for tonight's Men's Bible Study.  Join us at the corps at 6:00 p.m. or participate on your own.  Please join the discussion in Facebook!

Tim McGraw - Right Motive, Wrong Method

Tim McGraw, Country/Western music star, has found a lot of support and well-deserved recognition for his efforts to stand up for abused women. This is an important issue that needs more public visibility in order to navigate closer to a solution.  Women should not live in fear in their own homes, least of all at the hands of their own husbands.

But Mr. McGraw proposes a solution that he uses with his friends.  His solution is that when he finds out a friend has been abusing his wife, he tells the friend that he just can't be his friend any more.  He also makes it clear to his friends that the moment he hears about domestic violence, they will be cut off from his friendship.

The problem with that approach is that someone who is having that kind of difficulty needs friends more than anything else.  The need a friend who will lovingly confront them rather than merely abandon them at the hour of deepest need.

Now I am not pretending that I am an expert in the mind of the abuser, although I have met a few over the years.  The sense I get is that an abusive husband is striving for isolation, perhaps out of shame or insecurity.  Leaving such a man without friends only compounds the difficulty, and perhaps presents more danger to his wife and children, once the "secret" is out.

One man in a Bible study I lead recently suggested that since Mr. McGraw is a celebrity, perhaps losing his friendship would be a big blow to someone.  Although if what I am looking for out of a friendship is to rub elbows with a star or to ride along on his wealth, perhaps what I had with the famous person wasn't really friendship to begin with.

Jesus carried the label, "Friend of Sinners."  The people Jesus hung around with were people who didn't earn or deserve the friendship of the celebrities of that day.  Among Jesus' friends were tax collectors, harlots, the lame and adulterous.  Perhaps they weren't rich, or weren't popular, or maybe they were known to beat their wives.   If I follow Jesus' example, maybe I need to seek these people out.  After all, in the words of Jesus, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:12)

I hope and pray that I have such friends, that when trouble finds me, even at my own hand, they will love me enough to help me through it.

Top Ten Books I've read in 2010

This is a list of books I've read in 2010 that I would recommend to my friends.  I have added one or two of my perennial favorites.  Granted, I read a few more than this, but these are the titles that make my list.


Let me know what you think of this list and of these books when you get a chance to explore.

I was a little disheartened when I told a group at my church about Prodigal God and offered to loan it to anyone who wanted to read it.  No one took me up on the offer.  Maybe they were waiting for me to give it away?


I tend to read what is given to me or recommended to me by others.  If you end up writing your own "Top Ten," put a link to it as a comment below.  I'd love to hear what moves you.

Thanks for taking a look!

1. The Town Cats and Other Tales by Lloyd Alexander (This is probably my favorite bedtime story book)
   
2. The Rabbit and the Elephant: Why Small Is the New Big for Today's Church by Tony Dale, Felicity Dale and George Barna
3. The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives by Dallas Willard
4. Softly and Tenderly: The Altar - A Place to Encounter God by Leslie Parrott
5. Prodigal God by Timothy Keller
6. The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity by William Paul Young
7. The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In God by Dallas Willard
8. Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God by Dallas Willard
9. Samuel Logan Brengle: Portrait of a Prophet by Clarence W. Hall
10. How Your Corps Can Grow by John Larsson

1 Peter 3:1-8 - Win Your Spouse - Study Notes

 To what sport would you compare your marriage?  Why?

Who was a role model for you as a married couple?  What qualities made set that couple apart?

Win Your Spouse:
Read 1 Peter 3:1-7
We have been asked to submit to authorities and our bosses.  Now, who are we being asked to submit to?  Why?

What makes a person beautiful to their spouse?  What is the hardest part for you?  Do you respond more to outward beauty or inward beauty?  Why?  What does that communicate to your wife?

In what ways does your wife make you a better man?  How are you helping her become a better woman?

The Weaker Partner:
Tim McGraw promotes a plan to discourage domestic abuse by refusing to be a friend to men who abuse their wives.  What do you think about that plan?

What can we do to discourage or eliminate spousal abuse?  As individuals?  As a Bible Study?  As a church?

What does Peter mean, “nothing will hinder your prayers?”

ApplicationWhat will you do to encourage your wife in her faith this week?

Homework:
Read 1 Peter 3:8-12.