Strength to Strength welcomed Bill Shiley to discuss what church life should and can be, and how to get there.

Often, when we think about culture, our discussions center around dress, vehicles, technology, etc. The problem is that Jesus and the apostles don’t really spell out a lot of details on many of the specifics we deliberate over. But what DO Jesus and his apostles teach us about culture and how to create change in people? Is there a third way besides love and hope things get better, or lay down the law and drive people away?

While I don’t have the answer to it all, I will be sharing some culture foundations Jesus teaches that are often ignored in efforts to create culture causing us to be unsuccessful, as well as some lessons we have been learning as a brotherhood at Chambersburg Christian Fellowship that have helped us build unity in our diversity and accomplish intrinsic change as individuals and as a group.

An interactive question-and-answer period follows.

Strength to Strength Sisters welcomed Lynelle Martin to share how we can “cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days,” and how this can relate to our finances.

Let’s look at some resources that God has entrusted us with and also at why He has done this. How should we use them? What should we spend our time, and money on? What about the Old Testament concept of tithing?

Do we look at money as a necessary evil that we need to have to live, or is it a tool that is to be used in advancing the kingdom of God? What are some ways to use our resources with eternity in focus? What is our place as sisters and what role do we fill with finances? How does our vision and values affect what we spend money on? Join us as we explore this subject together.

An interactive question-and-answer period follows.

Strength to Strength welcomed Stephen Russell to discuss radical peacemaking.

The early church and the first Anabaptists heard not only that God loves us and wants to save us, but they also heard, more clearly than many other Christians, that turning to Jesus has definite and clear implications, namely, that God’s people are to cooperate with Him so that His grace will change us on the inside, thus enabling us more fully and effectively to be His ambassadors to a lost, hurting world.

Today we will look at the biblical, historical, and theological foundations of nonresistance and perhaps consider some practical ideas for living as peacemakers (the literal word used in the Sermon on the Mount) in a very violent, hate-wracked world.

An interactive question-and-answer period follows.

Strength to Strength welcomed Anan Twijjukye to share his testimony of coming to Jesus.

Anan lived a very chaotic life as young teenager, trapped in addictions, particularly pornography, which is a habit he caught when he was still a dancer and entertainer in clubs. Having grown up in nominal Christian family, he considered himself a Christian, and went to church. But his life took a turn when a Christian challenged his walk and introduced the Scriptures.

An interactive question-and-answer period follows.

Resource: Antioch Resource Center

Strength to Strength Sisters welcomed Irene Bontrager to share helpful tools to strengthen your Bible study.

This talk begins by discussing how intentional Bible study can reflect God’s love to those around us. The Bible is the story how God made a covenant with Abraham to bless His people. The overarching theme is about God’s creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. This theme is found throughout the Bible and is still true today.

A book from the Old Testament will be used to learn how to study a book and what to do with difficult passages and stories. The study will conclude with ways to become good stewards of God’s Word by studying about who God is. He is the “I AM.”

An interactive question-and-answer period follows.

Strength to Strength welcomed David Bercot to discuss his book on the 20th anniversary of the first edition.

Join us for an interview/discussion of what led to the writing of this book, some of the concepts shared in this book, as well as David’s journey into his understanding of the centrality of this message.

If you’re a skeptic that Jesus’ message of the “Kingdom of God” is central to understanding God’s work in the world today, this Talk is for you.

Resources:

• Book by David Bercot: “The Kingdom That Turned the World Upside Down” available on Scroll Publishing and on Amazon
• Audio message by David Bercot: “The Kingdom of God” available on Scroll Publishing and on YouTube

Strength to Strength welcomed Zack Johnson to discuss how the early Christians viewed the governments of men.

In August of 2019 a well known American actor named Rain Wilson wrote on Twitter, “The metamorphosis of Jesus Christ from a humble servant of the abject poor to a symbol that stands for gun rights, prosperity theology, anti-science, limited government (that neglects the destitute) and fierce nationalism is truly the strangest transformation in human history.”

Has the Christian understanding of Jesus and empire undergone a metamorphosis?

In this talk, Zack Johnson explores some of the behaviors and thoughts associated with Christian nationalism and compares them with the early Christian understanding of the empire and its implications.

He urges Christ followers to return to sacrificialism instead of embracing Christian nationalism. He concludes that Jesus has imperium, not empire, and that the two are often incompatible.

Resources:

• “No Blood but Our Own” by Zack Johnson
• “Four Quadrants of Peace” by Zack Johnson

Strength to Strength welcomed Darvin Martin to explore how we can shed light on obscure Biblical passages.

In this Talk, Darvin first establishes a basic framework for sound interpretation. Then through examples of commonly misunderstood passages, he examines how context and author’s intent uncovers a more faithful interpretation.

If you think Biblical hermeneutics is an exercise for the experts, this Talk is for you.

An interactive question-and-answer period follows.

Strength to Strength Sisters welcomed Kayla Rogers to share her testimony.

Kayla comes from a worldly, broken upbringing. While on her own in college at the young age of 17, God showed her the truth that she will share in this Talk: life is only worth living when you devote yourself to God.

An interactive question-and-answer period follows.

Strength to Strength welcomed Delbert Weaver to discuss how our words precede our destiny.

No one disputes that our words are a window to our heart. Yet few recognize how our words steer our lives and ultimately our destiny. With amazing accuracy, the measure we use will be measured back to us (Matthew 7:1-2). In this Talk, Delbert encourages care in our critiques of those around us, and ponders what impact that could have on the fragmentation of our fellowships.

An interactive question-and-answer period follows.

Recommended: “The Patient Ferment of the Early Church” by Alan Kreider