What does God sound like when/if God speaks? How can we be sure it is God at all? What difference does it make whether God speaks to us or not? These are all important questions and ones that we will try to address in this discussion.

There are so many voices in the world, we must choose carefully which ones we will listen too.God speaks in many different ways. Some individuals and groups tend to focus on the more "subjective" methods, while others discount anything but the Bible and "closed/open" doors.In my experience, it is important to learn that God speaks to us in different ways at different times. It's not always the same, nor should it all carry the same weight. In some seasons and/or areas of life, we need to be very careful what we listen to and who we list to.

This week we took a little survey about whether or not God speaks and if so, how? Our results show that as a community, we are pretty confident God still speaks, and does so in numerous ways. Here's a look at the results (numbers represent people choosing this option as one of the three they could choose):Dreams, Visions, Impressions & Voices - 40The Bible - 59Closed/Open Doors - 29Counsel of Others - 55Natural Wonders/Signs - 29Specially gifted people - 4Teaching/Preaching - 4 (no offense taken here :)God no longer speaks - 1This week will continue our discussion and begin to look at how to develop the ability to hear God's voice.

Have you ever asked the question, "What was the joy set before Jesus that was so powerful, that He endured the cross?" There are many answers out there, but one answer may shock you!

The triumphall entry, temple cleansing and cursing of the fig tree mark the apex of Jesus' acceptance and rejection by the Jewish leadership. From the rallying cry of "Hosanna" to the condemnation of "crucify him", passion week and the passover, remind us that we must go to the cross, if we are to experience resurrection. Possibly one of the hardest things to bring to the cross, is the same hope and expectation that was crucified 2000 years ago; the hope that Jesus would change the circumstances of the Jewish people, rather than change their lives!

This weeks discussion comes in two parts as we did a table discussion that took quite a bit of time. This part is the introduction and sets the stage for the remainder of our conversation. Listen and you will get a good picture of what we're talking about.

Jewish anticipation of the "Messiah" was marked by a clear correlation between the promises of old and circumstances of today. Their belief, and one of the main contentions against all those that had come as "messiahs", was that the "physical achievements" were not present, therefore, this can't be the real messiah.This was, and is, their contention with Jesus. Like the others that preceded him, Jesus' claim of being the messiah would have to be followed up with physical achievement; namely, the deliverance of Israel from captivity and the restoration of the throne of David accompanied with the Ark of the Covenant. In other words, the Messiah would free them from their circumstances.Isn't that our hope and expectation? When we pray, don't we pray for "physical achievement" of what we are asking? So, what happens in our lives when the circumstances don't change? How do we hold on to hope, when the physical realities around us stay the same? How do we live a "resurrected" life, when the things that are killing us remain alive and well?

After going through a very difficult year in 2013, Lynn shares how God met her and what she learned during her struggle with bladder cancer.

For every season, there is a Psalm. Why is that? Why did they include the imprecatory Psalms in the canon? Some are so raw and full of emotion, that they are painful to read. I think one of the reasons they are in the Bible for us to read, is so that we know we can approach God in every season of our own life. As David went through wonderful and terrible seasons, so do we. In the Psalms we find prayer language to express the depths of emotion, struggle and triumph. They become the cry of our own heart and song that we shout in worship!

Periodically, I get the nudge to suggest a little mid-course check up for our community. This one took the form of a series of proverbs around the theme of nurturing our faith, so fell right in line with our series on Psalm & Sage.Here's the deal, our faith is something that needs to be nurtured and exercised. If we don't open our eyes, we can't see what God is doing. The more we close our eyes, the less we can see.OPEN OUR EYES, LORD!