1. What is your own experience of journeys? Share about some that come to mind, and how they’ve shaped you. How did you know there was a journey ahead? Or did you? Have you ever felt like you weren’t “not made for perilous quests?” When things seem perilous (physically or emotionally or both), do you tend more toward avoidance or diving right in? How has that worked for you in the past?2. Marina taught today about the Coptic tradition surrounding the holy family’s flight to Egypt. One key feature is that, for Copts, the holy family’s flight is richly under twined with an understanding of journey as a path to consecration.How does this strike you? Do you have journeys that you think have consecrated you? Or someplace you know? What have they been like? How have they been different from other journeys? How have they been the same?3. Marina listed a handful of the sites that are visited and revered for their part in the story of the holy family’s flight through Egypt. And the ways in which the faithful “yes” of Joseph, and of Mary, enabled lasting and powerful change for the world. How possible does it feel that a treacherous journey on which you may be asked to go could result in positive powerful change for others? What about that idea makes you skeptical? What makes you hopeful?When it comes to journey, Marina identified two key actions: saying yes, and taking that crucial first step. Do you have journeys into which you are being beckoned? What would it be like to take those two key actions? To simply say yes? To take that crucial first step? How do you feel about that possibility?
1. In his sermon today, Tim repeatedly returned to the phrase “calamity has two faces.” He went on to describe one face that’s characterized by neighboring, open hearts, bravery in saving others, and a deep sense of belonging to one another. The other face is characterized by closed hearts, fear rising, darkness, and cruelty.Have you been in calamitous situations in which others have taken on faces of either open heartedness or close hearted fear? How did those “faces” show up? How did they impact others in the situation and/or the situation itself?Which face comes more naturally to you in the face of adversity, calamity, or distress? Are there factors in the circumstances that change what your answer might be? What kind of situations have shown you your own tendencies in this type of context?2. Discussing Isaiah 34 and 35, Tim talked about the prophetic voice when it comes to scary and uncertain times. He talked about the first move for the prophetic voice being the act of truth telling, but also talked about a second move. He said “sometimes going against the grain means speaking a word of hope in the midst of calamity.”Which prophetic move, if either, feels more natural to you? Do you see yourself as a prophetic voice or do you see yourself as having the ability to become one? How comfortable are you speaking truth in moments on which it may be unpalatable or unwelcome? How comfortable are you speaking words of hope when hope may be unfashionable or difficult to embrace? If you can think of an experience during which someone else’s prophetic word of hope impacted you, share about it with the group.3. Tim put up a slide that said “our task in this last phase of Advent is to reach out to God, each other, to reach deep inside ourselves and find a place of hope.”What does that look like? How do we do it? How could we cultivate that with and for each other?How much resistance do you feel to that idea or that intention? Why?Underneath that intention lies the statement Tim returned to again and again: “Calamity has two faces…and we do have a choice.” Do you really believe that statement? Both parts of it? Share about why you feel the way you do about this statement and what it means for you.Tim talked about finding that place of hope, and then sharing it with someone else. Do you feel capable of doing that? If it feels difficult, do you feel willing to try? Who in your orbit and life could you share hope with this season? Who needs it? What might that look like in a practical or concrete way? What could you make a plan to actually do to carry the prophetic hope of Advent into the world around you?
1. Tim started his sermon talking about Edwin Friedman & family systems theory, and the ways in which the systems and environments in which we are steeped seem “normal” to us, because we’re deep inside of them. Outsiders, on the other hand, can come in and easily see things that we have never noticed. In some instances, these outsiders can act as what Friedeman referred to as a “non-anxious presence.“ That is someone who is relationally connected to the system or environment, but is not emotionally entangled with it.Whether the system in question is your family, a workplace, a church, a neighborhood, or any other environment, what experiences do you have being someone who is a part of a system that seems “normal” to you until an outside voice starts pointing out its idiosyncrasies? Share about the context, the nature of the outside voice, and how that voice was responded to both by you and by others in the system. Was there a long-term impact on the system that resulted from the introduction of those outside perspectives? Do you have any experiences being one of those outside voices? Share about the context of any of those experiences you may have. How did it feel to be the person raising your voice? How were you responded to? What did you make of that situation? What happened long-term?2. Tim went on to draw a parallel between the Old Testament prophets and Friedeman’s concept of a non-anxious presence.Take a moment to Think about the emotional and relational experiences of both the people in the system and the outside voice in some of the situations described in the first question. Whether you’ve had that experience or not, take a moment to imagine what it would be like to act as that non-anxious presence as a prophet in Ancient Israel. Take a moment to imagine what it might have been like to be a part of the ancient Israelite communities on which the prophets commented. How does considering the prophets through this lens impact your understanding of who the prophets were, how they affected the systems they were connected to, and how their words were received by Israel & the subsequent generations of readers who’ve revered their words? How does it impact their words as you know or understand them today? What do you make of the fact that so many important writings in the Christian tradition come from these Old Testament prophets , especially during Advent? What connections do you see between the role of the prophets as “non anxious presences” and the role Jesus played in his own time and place on earth? What about the role of Jesus today in modern Christianity and in the world at large? 3. In what ways do you see yourself, as a part of the church, and/or the church as a whole acting as that non-anxious presence, reflecting the realities of systems back to themselves?Where do you see parallels in which you feel like this is happening? Where do you see parallels in which you feel like it could be happening or should be happening more?How do you feel when you consider the possibilities of stepping more into that space personally? What comes to mind? What surfaces for you when you consider the moment in which today’s church finds itself and the possibility of stepping more into the role of a non-anxious presence, reflecting the systems back to themselves - and living with the reactions and resistance? What would it look like for you to step more into that space?
1. The scripture passage today, the first of the church calendar’s year, was Isaiah 2:1-5. Here’s the version Cole read from the NLT: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&version=NLT Re-read or review this passage as a group. What does it tend to evoke in you? Prior to Cole’s teaching today, what has this passage generally communicated to you (if it’s one with which you’re familiar)?Cole talked about two common interpretations: one centered on the idea that a baby can save us all. The other generally conveys the idea that someday humans will step aside and God will fix everything. How close are these interpretations to what you have tended to think this passage is communicating? How did they differ? How do these interpretations strike you? In what ways do either or both of these interpretations appeal to you? In what ways might you feel resistance to them?2. In his message, Cole said “God is not interested in preserving hope like an artifact in a museum.” He went on to say that Christianity is not that interested in preserving things in the way that they used to be. And that, instead, Christianity‘s radical message is that hope can die - and that a new hope can be resurrected again… And again… And again. Spend a few moments, considering these ideas about the nature of God and Christianity. What are your initial responses? What thoughts and feelings are surfacing for you as you consider? Are there things that feel reassuring about these ideas? Are there things that feel frightening?Consider your responses, and reflect on the origins of your own sense of Christianity’s relationship to hope and/or how it functions. Does considering the places and ways in which you learned to understand these ideas shift anything for you? If so, how so?3. Ultimately, the message Cole identified in both the passage from Isaiah and the movie, The Children of Men, that he used to explicate these ideas is that, “Like Christ, hope sometimes dies… but it comes back.”He went on to say that if our [Christian/Biblical] stories are anything, they are a public record for the world that “hope does not stay dead. It doesn’t.”How do you respond to these statements about the inevitability of resurrected hope? How congruent are they with your sense of what hope is and how it functions? Do you have stories in your own past that make it harder or easier to believe in these statements about the inevitability of hope’s resurrection?Where in your life today is hope dead, dying, or threatening to flicker out? How do you feel about the idea of hope’s resurrection in the context of those circumstances? How difficult does it seem to believe? Whether you feel doubtful or encouraged or something else entirely, why do you think you might be feeling that way?
1. In his message about St Francesca Cabrini, Tim shared about Francesca’s vow, made very early in her life, to give her life to the service of God. Did you make any “vows” as a child or young person? Were they made to yourself or to someone else? What were they? If not, what kind of vows might you have made? For those who made some sort of vow or commitment: Did you keep them? For how long? To what extent was conscious choice involved? Considering things from this vantage point in your life, how do you feel about the vows you made or, if you didn’t, vows you might have made? What vows might you make today in your life for the years ahead? What areas of your life feel most “vow-worthy?” Why? 2. Born as a preemie, and deeply affected (both physically & psychologically) by a near-drowning experience in her youth, a significant feature in mother Francesca Cabrini’s life was her lifelong physical vulnerability & infirmity. She was also a woman and, eventually, an Italian immigrant to America, at a time in which neither of those standings offered her any privilege. While no two people share identical life or physical circumstances, we’re often tempted to compare ourselves (& others) to those who, like Cabrini, seem unfazed by significant hardship and difficulty. We can allow one’s person’s success or accomplishments to function as a judgment against or diminishment of ourselves and others whose stories & outcomes seem different. Is this something you struggle with? How a big role does comparison play in your inner (or outer) life? What does that look like for you? Is there a difference between the ways in which you compare yourself to others and the way in which you compare other people to one another? When you hear someone else praised, are there times when you feel inspired? Jealous? Chastised? Challenged? What factors seem to affect the way you respond? The context in which context praise is being delivered? Your similarity (or lack of) to the person being recognized? What else? Consider some of the variables in situations like these; what do you notice about your responses and actions? What surfaces as you reflect? 3. Despite a long list of impressive and large scale accomplishments, Mother Cabrini spent 4 to 6 hours in prayer each day. Setting aside the obvious question of “how!?,” what might you guess about the “why?” Assuming 4-6 hours of prayer isn’t a usual part of your daily life, and acknowledging the pressure some of us may feel to try to “win” at prayer-life, take a moment to consider what your current prayer life (or lack of) looks like. Try to set aside judgment of yourself and, instead, focus on Mother Cabrini’s idea of standing in for the disciples who fell asleep on Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. If this principle were to guide your own life in prayer, what impacts would that make? What would change? What might the identifying features of your prayers become? How do you think it would affect you over time?Mother Cabrini is praised for her fearless faith and fortitude, as well as her tireless work on behalf of immigrants and the marginalized. What links do you see between these aspects of her outer life and the realities of her prayer life as we know it? What, in your own practice of prayer (either now or in the past), has impacted your life? Is this conversation causing you to reflect on the nature of prayer in your life today? If so, how so?
As Redemption Church recently honored the life and ministry of Walter Brueggemann in our Saints series, we are sharing this powerful conversation with the beloved theologian. In this episode, Dr. Brueggemann discusses the profound, practical, and prophetic meaning of the Sabbath. He argues that the Sabbath is not a mere luxury but a radical, disciplined act of resistance against the modern "Pharaoh" of industrial consumerism and its "rat race" demands for more production, consumption, and acquiring. He identifies our constant electronic connections and the "endless sports activity for kids" as key signs of this anxiety-driven system, proposing that Sabbath is the revolutionary practice of creating a "community of unanxious presence" in a world that is anything but.
1. Walter Brueggemann often used the term “totalism” to mean “any system of power that claims to be absolute & self-sufficient.” It’s essentially synonymous with empire. Inherent is totalism is the idea that nothing good or necessary comes from outside of the system. For Brueggemann, the exodus was about God leading God’s people out of totalism. The place God leads them, as Tim taught, is “the wilderness…where they thought they were going to die.” But instead they were given manna and quail; they were given what they needed every day. The wilderness is, in reality, a paradigm for liberation. What experiences in your life come to mind when you think of the crumbling of or exodus from some form of totalism? Have you seen the liberation that can come from leaving totalism for the wilderness? Are you mid-process with an exodus in your own life? Share about the totalism you have left, are leaving, or are hoping to leave. What’s your sense, today, of the wildnerness in the context of the example you shared? Does it feel (right now) more like a place you might die or a place you might find liberation? What is the story/narrative you’re most likely to encounter internally when you are doubting that the wildernesses of your life leads to liberation? What narratives are prominent when you find it easier to believe in the liberation to be found in the wilderness? 2. Tim summed up Brueggemann’s Prophetic Imagination & the 19 Theses like this:Relinquish the failed script - thru lament (critique)Articulate an alternative script - with the people of God Energize the new neighborhood - toward hope.Think of a specific space/context in which this process seems to be underway - for you personally or for a community of which you’re a part. What does that process look like in this moment? What do you see coming next? What needs to come next? What might be your part in helping yourself or your neighbors to move through these steps? What resistance do you encounter? What motivates you to move forward? 3. Brueggemann taught that “lament is the breaking of numbness by the admission of pain & loss,” and the importance of staying close to our pain (so that we can stay close to our neighbor’s pain). He also underscored the importance of moving through that pain and lament into an alternative vision for the future. He said that “the difference between a whiner and the prophet is the prophet has an alternative vision for the future.” He taught that the children of Israel got stuck in lament. He said that, “when pain is brought to speech, it turns to energy. If it is not brought to speech, it turns to despair.” How much does despair feel like a part of your life these days? Do you have places in which you feel stuck in lament? In which you’re struggling to move into that space of energy? To what extent have you been able to bring your pain to speech? Who could you turn to & how could you ask for help coming up with a new imagination in a place where you’re struggling to find one? What’s stopping you from doing that? Tim taught that a big part of the church’s mission is to cultivate spaces in which we can be together and not be defined by the totalism of the world. What’s been your experience of this as a person in need of that exodus from totalism? What’s been your experience of this as someone who helps create that type of space by being a part of Redemption Church?
1. Mandy gave us important context for the story of Saint Martin of Tours as she talked about the nature of the Roman army within its historical and cultural space. The Roman army was a scary, elite, and powerful arm of Imperial Rome. She went on teach about the themes of the gospel of Mark that develop around the inherent conflict between the gospel of Jesus and the gospel of Caesar. The gospel of Caesar had, at its core a message that “domination proves divinity.” In response, Mark’s gospel seems to say, “you occupants of the realm of Caesar, you’ve heard Caesar’s gospel; you’ve experienced Caesar’s domination. Now, meet a different non-dominating king who is actually God’s son.” Mark’s thesis, Mandy taught, is essential that Jesus is the anti-Caesar. Where in our culture today can you identify the same threads of the message that domination proves divinity or, perhaps, superiority? Are there things that we, as a culture (or you as a human), cannot seem to avoid, and have, at least in some ways, chosen, instead, to worship? What do you think about any places you can identify in which that is or has been true? 2. In Mark 12:13-17, Mandy paraphrased the question that the Herodians & Pharisees ask of Jesus like this: “will you cower before the commanding empire, acquiescing to their perpetual demands? Will you standby while your people are unjustly policed and subjugated by soldiers on the streets? Or will you rebel, and risk the crackdown?” But, Mandy taught, Jesus doesn’t answer the question because they are putting the question in the framework of Caesars kingdom. They are asking, “who dominates who?”Mandy paraphrased Jesus’ response like this: “you mean the narcissist who puts his face on everything he can brand? Put Caesar back in his place. He may rule you, dominate you, tax you, steal your money through tariffs and whimsical promises; he may crucify you, but he is no god. He’s just another tin-pot tyrant.”Where can you see yourself in the Herodian and the Pharisees and the question they ask? What does Jesus‘s response speak to you? What is it? You can learn from examining this exchange in context?3. Below are several important quotes from the end of Mandy’s sermon. For this final question, please review each of them one-by-one, and then discuss them. You can ask these equations about each: What do these words bring up for you? How do they make you feel? Where do you find resistance within yourself? Where do you find hope? What else is there to find underneath the layers? What questions are you left with?“Jesus‘s point is that yes, we are all hopelessly enmeshed in the kingdoms of this world. We will be taxed, commodified, conscripted, and colonized. Cesar may have his cross, his whip, his sword, and his taxation, Cesar has no claim on me. The me that is God‘s image does not cower before these implements of war and weapons of desecration. They may hurt my flesh, but they chip and shatter on the indestructible image of God within me.” “Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do when we have no political power is to live by a set of values and principles that exposes the lie of the empire.” “There is no more countercultural value system than love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.”
1. In his closing prayer, Tim harkened back to the beginning themes of his sermon when he prayed about the “sense of failure and meaninglessness that we’re all dealing with.” Considering the framing for these ideas (and reviewing the slides below as needed), how much do you identify with this idea? What does it look like for you to be wrestling with a sense of failure & meaninglessness? What about that fits for your sense of yourself and your life right now? What doesn’t? Tim also taught that the underpinning of Jesus’ message was that the problem isn’t that we haven’t moved from “is” to “ought.” The problem is that we think we need to in order to find wholeness. What are the details of your version of “ought?” What do you think (either consciously or beneath the layers) that you have to get to/achieve/become/rectify/change in order for life to become “what it’s supposed to be?”2. Tim taught that one key part of Jesus’ guidance for the world boiled down to this idea: “Stop trying to change the realities of reality. Instead, just accept & embrace grace… and the wholeness you’re seeking will start showing up in the midst of your life in ways you’d never imagine.” Where inside yourself do you encounter resistance to this idea? What evokes hesitation or skepticism in you? What do you make of those places of resistance? Are there things that you are afraid would happen if you were to fully embrace this message? If so, what are they?Tim articulated the other key part of Jesus’ message two different ways:First, Tim said, “Grace isn’t ‘you’re fine the way you are, and you’re accepted!’ Instead, Grace is ‘you’re not fine the way you are… and you’re accepted.” Another way he said it was this: “It’s not, ‘You’re fine. You’re good.’ It’s ’You’re not fine. You’re good.” 3. In his closing prayer, Tim prayed for us all to be able to take the leap of faith that is giving up on the system & the programs. It’s accepting unfettered grace now. He prayed that we could all “learn to lose.” Where are you on this journey [of giving up on the programs and accepting that the system can never work]? What l, in your own story so far, has moved you closer to this vision of accepting wholeness? What has moved you further from it? What direction (toward or away) feels the most dominant in your life right now?Based on this understanding of the message of Christ, what are the next steps for you? What are some truths and ideas you may need to intentionally come back to & remember in order to anchor yourself in the process?
1. Tim covered a lot of ground when talking about our culture of ideology. What stood out to you the most? What resonated? Which ideas and topics prompted you to think or helped you make a connection? What areas left you with questions?2. Tim gave us a definition for ideology that describes it as a tool that masks our alienation from ourselves. He said that ideology offers fantasies of wholeness and fullness that masquerade as reality. Ideology, he said, is a comprehensive system that structures reality for us, so seamless and consistently that it seems self-evident.Spend a little time considering and discussing this definition. What does it make you think about? How much does it click for you? Do you see places in your own life where ideology has functioned this way? or might be currently?He also described the way in which, within ideological frameworks, our internal isolation from self is treated like a problem to be solved. Ideologies, he said, position themselves as a solution for our internal alienation from self. Yet, this divided paradigm of our existence is one that Genesis describes as being instituted by God at the point of creation.What do you make of this contradiction? Why do you think we are drawn to ideologies that promise to deliver us from this created state? What do you think we miss out on because of that?Tim taught that ideologies promise that a conversion from A to B (or what you have from to what you don’t have) will solve your problem of self-alienation. But they always fail to deliver on this promise.Where in your own life, have you seen that type of promise or messaging? What contexts have you been a part of (or witnessed) in which there exists a promise that a conversion from one state to another will resolve the split places inside of you, delivering you to wholeness? How has that worked out in the end? Where do you see the failures of that promise? What, if anything, have those failures been catalysts for in your life? What has been their impact?3. Tim talked about capitalism as a dominant ideology within American culture. He so said, “when we think others are self-deceived, but we are not, that is a clear signal that we’re in ideology.” Does this statement resonate for you in regards to capitalism? What about in regards to something else? How do you feel having this paradigm called out as a hallmark of being in ideology? If you can identify places in which you do sometimes think that others are self deceived, but that you are not, are you able to see or accept that space as ideology? How do you feel about it?4. Tim also talked about the way in which this split nature of self, or alienation from self, is the very essence of our humanity. It’s the thing that gives us the ability to self reflect and evaluate the way we are living our lives. He said that Christian conversion is not changing from A to B, but from A to “Not A,” and that the core confession is to acknowledge that we are not one with our ourselves. We can, he said, hold alienation as the truth about our lives without trying to “fix” it. This allows us to move through it, come out the other side, and move into something truly new.Where have you seen this type of transformation in your own life? Or what do you think it would look like for you? Do you have experience with a process that looks and sounds like, but you’d consider something different? What has the experience been like? What have been its results?
1. In his sermon, Tim shared a slide of 3 concentric circles that represented our sphere’s of relationship in life:- inner circle = Intimate (family/friends)- middle ring = Social (village/neighborhood)- outer ring = Public (tribe/affinity based)He then shared that, though smart phones have helped people connect more with the inner & outer circles in their life, they’ve had a “decimating [impact on] our village relationships, eroding the competencies we need to hold our communities together.”What do you see in the world around you that seems like evidence of this degradation of skills? What dying/lost skills & competencies do you feel most aware of? What kinds of situations have made you aware of that gap?What do you see in yourself & your own personal interactions in the world that might be evidence of this skill erosion? What dynamics or situations in your life are impacted by skill gaps or weakened social muscles that you can identify in yourself?In what ways might you grow or strengthen those skills? Does it seem worthwhile to try? Why or why not?2. Tim talked about Nicholas Epley’s research and the ways in which it shows that we think we want to be alone, but that we actually feel better when we connect with other people.How much do you think these findings describe you?In your life (prior to today), what are some reasons you might choose to do something on your own over something social, when given the choice? What are some reasons you might choose something social? What impact might learning what you did in this sermon have on your choices in the future?Tim also talked about the systemic changes and structures that have fueled and compounded these changes in our society. He talked about things like the decline in public & municipal investment into public spaces, and the impact of housing laws that make communal & community living less and less possible. What does reflecting on these realities prompt within you? What thoughts, feelings, questions, or desires rise to the surface?3. While admitting that there’s no clear solution that could fix these larger systemic issues, Tim also reminded us of the community-oriented Christian practices that emulate the practices Jesus left his followers:Sabbath keepingWeekly worshipCommunityPeacemakingSolidarity with outcastsWhich of these practices feel like important parts of your own life’s rhythms? In what ways has practicing one or more of these things impacted you?Are there any of these practices that you’d like to integrate more into your life? What barriers do you (or might you) encounter when trying to practice these things? In what ways might you creatively engage with those barriers in order to shift them?4. Bonus Question!Tim described a study in which the researcher (Epley?) had people sit with a stranger and answer four questions for each other. If you’re up for it, consider answering any or all of these questions with your whole group, an individual person in your group, or with someone else in your life. Pay attention to how you feel after doing so.- If we’re gonna be friends, what would be important for me to know about you?- What are you most anxious about in your life- Do you have crystal ball to tell your future, what would you want to know?- Can you tell me about the last time (or a time) that you cried in front of another person?
1. As Cole discussed the evolution of the ideas of individual personhood & the ways in which they became weaponized, Cole shared about how the Golden Age’s “titans of industry” became the patrons of the conversations & institutions that shaped America’s consciousness. In time, there was a shift away from “all people were created equal” toward “all people have equal opportunity.” Cole called out both the subtlety and immense significance of this shift. What do you think about the idea that all are created equal? How do you see that functioning or not functioning in society today?Similarly, what do you think about the idea that all people have equal opportunity? How do you see that functioning or not functioning in society today? Are these two ideas mutually exclusive? mutually dependent? What, if any, is the relationship that exists between them? As a group, discuss the nature and impact of the shift Cole described. Where do you see the ripple effects of that shift? In today’s culture, how prevalent is the idea that all people are created equal? How prevalent is the idea that all people have equal opportunity? Are there shifts you see occurring right now in the discourse of America that have a similar potential to derail and distort a solid start? What & where?2. Underscored throughout Cole’s sermon was the truth that we are made in the image of a triune God. He reminded us that we’re not made in the image of politicians, parties, readings of the Bible, influencers, celebrities, or anything or anyone else.How does this idea speak to you? What does it mean to be made in the image of a triune God? What does the community-nature of God mean for us as we try to live as the humans we’re meant to be? What does it look like?How often do you find that you are attempting to remake yourself in the image of other people, ideas, or concepts? What are the tell-tale signs that you’ve drifted in that direction? What does it look like for you? Conversely, what signals can you notice in yourself when you are, instead, living into your identity as a human created in the image of a triune God? What does that look like?
Toward the end of his sermon, Tim said (approximately) the following. All the questions today will refer back to this excerpt.“All it takes is one human being, who is wise and faithful, has integrity who lives in service to others, endures hardship, and forgoes vengeance who forgives and reconciles and seeks shalom…and peace can happen in the most unlikely places.“In some ways, this is a glimpse of what it means to be the church of people who are living in the midst of chaos and disorder, in the midst of injustice and violence that causes bareness and desolation for far too many. But the church comes along to carve out these little outpost of light and life and goodness and shalom, and to extend it to their world. And Eden shows up, and heaven touches earth in moments and glimpses.“The promise of Genesis is that all it takes to lead the world toward shalom is a group of people filled with a spirit of God, willing to lay down their lives for each other and the life of the world, to live in service to others, endure hardship and forgo vengeance, forgive and reconcile, and seek shalom & peace for everyone. This is how the kingdom comes. This is our story. This is the task of the church.”1. What do you think of the first part of this excerpt (the first paragraph)? Is it true? Why or why not? In what ways? What would you point to as evidence to support your perspective?2. What do you think about the section that Tim referred to as the promise of Genesis? What does this promise mean for us? As humans? As Christians? For you personally? For your people or family or closest friends? For Redemption Church? For Kansas City & Johnson County? What does it look like to live in faithfulness to this promise?3. Tim also referred to the fact the Adam & Eve’s failure to trust causes a rupture in all of their relationships, and that the same is true for us today: ruptures in our relationships within our ourselves, with each other, with the Earth, and with God.Tim also made a note of God’s response: to draw near and to teach.How do you think of the many evidences of this rupture around and within you? Do you see them through this lens? What does this lens add to your understanding of them?How does God’s response as noted here factor into the way you live life contending with these many ruptures and their consequences? How can you or do you connect your experience of this brokenness to the promise of Genesis that Tim talked about? If they’re part of the same larger story in the book, should they be so for us? How tangible is the comprehensive picture when you look at it in your life? or do you tend to see only one half of it?
1. In his sermon, analyzing and reflecting on the beginning of Joseph’s life, Tim pointed out that - in Joseph’s life, as in our own, “there are no blameless parties.” He shared a slide that read, “We are all part of the brokenness…We blame each each other to avoid facing reality that we’re all responsible for the mess. Because it’s hard to trust that God we can’t see is with us, keeping our world. Sometimes we’re totally blind to it.”Take a moment to absorb these words. Consider re-reading them several times.What does “We are all part of the brokenness” mean to you? Where do you most see this reflected in your life and in the world?In which contexts are you most tempted to blame others rather than avoid facing responsibility for your part in a mess?How often do you consider your own responsibility in brokenness you encounter? What is it like for you to explore the question of your part in different types of situations? Where does it feel easier or more natural? Where does it feel most difficult or unhelpful?What connections do your see to the patterns you’ve just described and the ideas Tim shared about blame? How difficult is it for you to face the idea you have some responsibility in much of the messiness of your life? How do you respond to that? What do you think is meant by that idea? Where is most applicable? Least?How trust in God factor in? Tim said that we blame each other because it’s hard to trust that God is with us, keeping our world. To what extent does that feel true to you? How aware are you of difficulty you may have trusting in God’s presence during your messy experiences of life’s brokenness?2. Tim talked about the ways in which we will all spend big chunks of our lives perpetuating darkness w/o even knowing it. He tied this reality to the Christian tradition of nonviolence. Of this he said, “…because what if we kill the wrong people?” He then on to say, “Besides, it might be us next time.”Can you identify times in your life when you have perpetuated darkness without even knowing it? What has that looked like in the past? How do you feel about those times now? What has been significant for you in moving through and processing those parts of your story?What’s it like to consider possible situations in the present or the future in which you might again play a similar role in perpetuating darkness?Reflect on these ideas related to violence. What do you think about the idea that we sometimes blame and kill the wrong person? Is it possible to get your head around the idea, next time, it could be you that’s unfairly blamed? And acted against violently?If you noticed particular similarities or differences in the way different people in your group responded to this question, what do you think there is to learn from what you observed? What could it teach you?3. As he wrapped his sermon, Tim said that the story of Joseph dares us to believe that God will weave even the most broken parts of our lives - even the biggest messes and the deepest pain- into a story of redemption.What’s your initial reaction to this suggestion? Does it feel difficult or easy to believe? Is it easier to believe in some circumstances than it is in others? Is it easier to believe for other people or for yourself?Have there been times in the past when you’ve seen this to be true? Have you been looking? How has it impacted you to see stories of redemption woven into your life and/or the lives of people around you? What has it taught you about places in your life today where you might have a harder time believing in a coming story of redemption?
1. Early in his sermon, Tim pointed out an idea that many see in the stories we’ve covered in Genesis: “each generation just repeats and magnifies the mistakes of the generation before.”What do you think of this idea - relative to Genesis, and relative to your experience of life in general?Where do you see evidence of the truthfulness of this statement? Where do you see evidence contradicting it?Martin Luther King, Jr famously said, “The arc is the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Is there room for both of these ideas to be true? How so? If not, why not?2. As Tim spoke about Jacob’s encounter wrestling “the man” in Gen 32, he said that - if it is in face God with whom he wrestles, “Jacob is wrestling with a God who self limits, becoming weak at the point of contact.” He also spoke about “a God whose strength ends up being constituted in weakness” and “a God strong enough to lose - on purpose.”How does this idea of an intentionally self-limiting God sit for you? How familiar is this conception of God for you?What does it mean to love and be loved by a God is who is strong and, when needed, weak? What does it look like?Why do you think Christian culture has often been very attached to the idea of a “fixer” God, despite abundant evidence to the contrary?What do you think it brings to our understanding of God and of the gospel to know God as a “God whose strength ends up being constituted in weakness?” Without incorporating this truth into our conception of God, what might we miss?3. One of Tim’s slides read, “when you wrestle with God the object is not to win, but to be defeated…” He spoke of Beuchner’s characterization of “the Magnificent Defeat,“ and also quoted Rilke saying, “the purpose of life is to be defeated by greater and greater things.”What do you think about these ideas? What surfaces for you as you ponder a life in which defeat is so crucial? How much does this align or clash with the ways in which you show up to your everyday life?Why might being defeated by God be so important? What does it bring into the world/our worlds? What does it shape in us?To what extent does wrestling with and being defeated by God feel familiar to you? Have you had experiences you might characterize that way? What has it looked like? Or, what do you think it might look like?Do you have ways in which you recognize your own resulting metaphorical limps? If so, are you more inclined to think of your limp as a punishment or a signifier? How so? Why?
1. Tim pointed out that after God promises to be with Jacob and keep him, Jacob almost immediate responds with his own caveat-filled transactional vow. Of this, Tim said that bargaining with God is part of living in a world we can’t control.Think back to some of the times and so situations in which you have bargained with God, added caveats to God’s presence, or tried to negotiate that be God on your own terms. Do you see those times differently now than you did then? How so?Share about some of the circumstances and experiences in which bargaining, adding caveats, and etc has felt most prevalent. Do you see any similarities or themes that are consistent from one instance or context to another?Are there commonalities between your experiences and those of others? Common threads?2. In considering the staircase in Jacob’s dream and the moment in his life at which Jacob has this dream, Tim said, “this dream is daring us to believe that there are no forsaken places.”Does that seem difficult to believe? What types of places or circumstances might make it hardest for you to really believe this idea of no forsaken places?Are there areas in your life or in yourself that you once feared might be forsaken, but now you see differently? How do you explain your shifted perception? What happened?Are there areas within your self or your life that you fear are forsaken? What would it look like to believe - in light of those places - that there truly are no forsaken places? What would believing that change?3. As Tim neared the closing of his sermon, he said, “if you want to make a vow, let it be this: no more transactions.”What do you think this means? What would it mean for you?Why do you think humans seem to naturally fall into this transactional mindset with God? How do you understand the role of control in that dynamic?What would this look like in the rhythms of daily life? Would it change the practices and dynamics of your relationship with God? If so, how so?Why do you think it is important to shift away from a transactional view of the relationship between ourselves and God? (If you don’t think it is, share about why.)What could be impacted if we fully were able to step out of that transactional mindset in our faith? What might happen as a result?
1. One of Tim’s slides read: “the Israelites decided their God must be in conflict with the way the world is typically organized. [& that] God‘s blessing is not distributed according to birth order strength, or fertility, but is for all people who are willing to be vulnerable and to love…”What does this revelation mean for us today as Christians? Where do you see overlap or a through-line between this understanding of the ancient Jews, & our understanding of God today (as Christians)?Re-read the entirely of the slide again as a group. What’s the significance of vulnerability in this paradigm? Do you think of vulnerability as a component of your faith? How might you explain its relevance (or irrelevance) according to how you see it?To what degree do you see this revelation or idea as important or meaningful in our modern day engagement in our faith? Share about why. 2. Tim also talked about the ways in which the Israelites understood God as being‘ meaningfully connected to or aligned with those who are marginalized and disempowered (e.g. the many barren women, & second-sons whose stories are told in the Hebrew Bible). He shared that the Israelites believed that God wasn’t using them in spite of their flaws, but because of them.If we hope to embody the same relationship to God and be useful to him in ways that mirror our ancient faith-ancestors, how do you conceive of doing so as people of great privilege living in Johnson County Kansas in 2025?What makes that difficult for us? In what areas might we have blinders? Are there areas in which we might have unique clarity?In what ways do you think you might be especially useful to God because of your flaws rather than in spite of them? Are there ways that you think the Christian Church as a whole can be especially useful because of its flaws rather than in spite of them?3. Tim asked, “who do you identify with most in this story?” Take a moment to reflect on each of the 4 main characters: Jacob, Esau Isaac, and Rebecca. Then answer his question: Who do you identify with most? why?Is there anyone that you feel like you can’t identify with at all? Share about why.
1. In framing the story of God testing Abraham by asking him to sacrifice Isaac, Tim positioned God & Abraham as the parent & child to consider. As he did so, Tim said, “every good thing we want for our kids will come through struggle.” Think about this idea relative to yourself as the “kid” in question. What good things have come to you through struggle? What wisdom has been grown in you as a result of struggle? Do you think you could have received those same things in another way that didn’t involve struggle? Are there things you want or have wanted for yourself that you’ve gotten, but have NOT required struggle? if so, what kind of things were they?What has come your way as the result of struggle that is different than what you’d expected or wanted? Has any of it been something you were glad for in the end? 2. Tim said that this story invites us to consider where we are being tested…or even tempted, as well as how we think about struggle and pain. Below are some questions he asked in his sermon. It’s a heavy duty list. Consider them for yourself personally, and discuss with the group what you are comfortable sharing. Where are you being tested or maybe even tempted?Does God play any significant role in how you go about living your life? How much are you collaborating with God? Partnering? What does God have access to in your life? What does God NOT have access to? Where are you grasping for your own solutions/your own choices? What are you pursuing? How are you pursuing it? What kind of damage are you causing trying to win and get what you want? 3. Toward the end of his sermon, Tim said, “at some point, we gotta choose to live in partnership & collaboration with God, & there’s a lot riding on that decision.” It might be easy to hear this as “just do what God says,” or “everything will be fine. Just trust God,” but do you think there’s more to what is being communicated here? What are the nuances that bring more meaning to this story than a simple “just trust God?” Are there any? Is partnership & collaboration with God different? If so, how so? If not, why don’t you think so?What does it look like - maybe particularly in reference to some of what arose for you in response to the last question - to live in active partnership & collaboration with God? Are there concrete actions or intentions that might be a part of that? what would it look like for you? What does it look like in other areas of your life?