Crossroads Church of God, Lima OH

Scripture Used: Luke 24:15-16, 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Quotes: Tom Rath, Vital Friends: "Friendships are among the most fundamental human needs. The fact is, we are biologically predisposed to this need for relationships and our environment accentuates this every day. Without friends it is very difficult for us to get by, let alone thrive."

Notes:

Understanding

- Lack of Recognition

  - Wrong Assumptions

  - Overwhelming Emotions

- Importance of Friendship

- Open the Scriptures

- Power of Breaking Bread

Scripture Used: 1 Samuel 1:29, 2:18, 2:22-23, 3:3, 3:19; Hebrews 4:12, 2 Timothy 3:16, John 14:26, John 16:3

Notes: 

-Who hears from God?

-How can we give God our Full Attention?

We hear God:

-Old and New Testament

-Holy Spirit

Lectio Devina, The Divine Reading.

"Why do you honor ___ more than me?"

Scripture Used:

Psalm 19:1-2, Matthew 6:22-23, Matthew 18:3

Notes:

-The word of the Lord comes to us

- Spiritual sight and physical sight

  - Make sure the "lens" is clean

  - Nurture childlike wonder

  - Awareness Walk

Scripture used: Romans 8:28 NIV, Exodus 3:4 NIV

Paula Gooder, Everyday God: the Spirit of the Ordinary, "We need to learn to be 'ordinary' people who can celebrate God in the ordinary things of life… We need to be alert to the possibility that this event or that encounter might just provide us with a glimpse of glory."

John Ortberg, The Life You've Always Wanted, "Hurry is the great enemy of the spiritual life in our day. Hurry can destroy our souls. Hurry can keep us from living well… For many of us the great danger is not that we renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it."

Notes:
- God is always at work
- A willingness to turn aside
- Hurry-sickness
- Practice: Prayer of Examen
   - Slowly become aware of God's presence
   - Review the day/week with gratitude
   - Pay attention to emotions
   - Chose one aspect to turn into a prayer
   - Look forward

Scripture Used: Matthew 22:37-40 NIV, Genesis 28:16 NIV, 

Tony Horsfall, Attentive to God: "Whatever our stage in live, whatever transition we may be going through and whatever circumstances may befall us, we remain within the sphere of divine nearness." 

Dallas Willard, Divine Conspiracy: "Jesus' good news about the kingdom can be effective guide for our lives only if we share his view of the world… To his eyes this is a God-bathed and God-permeated world. It is a world filled with a glorious reality, where every component is within the range of God's direct knowledge and control - though he obviously permits some of it, for good reasons, to be for a while otherwise than he wishes. It is a world that inconceivably beautiful and good because of God and because God is always in it… Until our thoughts of God have found every visible thing and event glorious with his presence, the word of Jesus has not yet fully seized us."

Notes:

• God wants to be known
• There is no place where God is not
• Our problem: crowded minds
• Living with an awareness
  • Breath Prayer

Scripture Used: Philippians 2:5-8 NIV, Luke 22:24-27 NIV, John 13:3-4 NIV

Notes:

Keys to Cultivating a Way of Servanthood

• Check your motives
• Spend time with Jesus
• Expect Misery

Scripture Used

Notes:

Scripture Used: Luke 22:14-16 NIV, Galatians 3:28 NLT, 1 Corinthians 12:24b-26 NIV

Notes: Hospitality: