Waking Up to the Gift

Listen to Jonathan Woolner speak on Sunday, May 15th, 2016 about the alternate meanings of the word Rejoice in Philippians 4:4. Rejoice, Gift & Wake Up. “Joy and sorrow coexist, and are excellent dance partners”. Be at Edgewater next week for part 2 of this message.

Read along in Philippians 4:4-7, Philippians 3:10, Matthew 5:1-12, and meditate on Philippians 4:4.

Review this week’s growth group questions.

Leaning Into Practice

Listen to Jonathan Woolner dedicate five  children and then speak on Sunday, May 8th, 2016 about the practice of savoring the good things that God gives us, because we tend to gravitate toward thinking about negative things if we continue without intention as our fears might otherwise lead us.

Read Philippians 4:1-9, Exodus 33:12-22, 1 John 4:8

Read the Growth Group Letter, and share the outcome of the scripture reading and reflecting assignment below.

Assignment: Read Philippians 4:8, then free write for 30 minutes about all that it means to you, all that you can glean from it, and pray and write all that God impresses on your heart as He speaks to you about what He wants to say to you in this passage. Be still and silent before Him, listening to His living word.

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Pressing On

Listen to Jonathan Woolner speak on April 24th, 2016 about the way Paul doesn’t let his past keep him from who he is becoming in Christ. Sometimes sharing about our failures can help us to connect with others. Forgetting the past doesn’t mean we don’t remember what happened, it means we can look at it objectively and allow our experiences to be used for Christ’s purposes. You are not the worst thing you’ve ever done. You are not the best thing you’ve ever done. The Gospel changes how we see people that are different than us.

Read the passage in Philippians 3:12-17

Read the Growth Group Discussion Questions for this week.

Radical Inclusion

Listen to Jonathan Woolner speak on April 17th, 2016 about the cultural exclusion that Timothy would have suffered, and how the Christ Pattern of living flipped his narrative to be inclusive and to consider others better than himself.

Read along in Philippians 2:19-30, Acts 16:1-5, Deuteronomy 23:2, 2 Timothy 1:5, Galatians 6:15

Read this week’s Growth Group Questions

Revealing Core Beliefs

Listen to Jonathan Woolner speak on Sunday, April 10th about identifying our core beliefs. We often may think we believe a certain way until that private belief gets tested. If we don’t like what we discover, we can allow Christ to change our core beliefs to align with his.

Read along in Philippians 2:17-18, and Philippians 2:5-11

Review this week’s Growth Group Questions.

Resurrection Happens

Listen to Jonathan Woolner speak on Sunday, March 27th, 2016 about resurrection’s role in nature, in life, and in the plan of God in Jesus. Death is not the end, and we welcome all to journey with us together to see new life built in situations and circumstances where we may have previously thought all hope was gone.

Read along in Philippians 2:5-8 (The Message)

Read the Growth Group Discussion questions.