Grief and Gratitude: Our Story  Colleen & Corey Gilchrist 3-27-22 Prayer: Use us as instruments of your peace and that our words would be heard with kindness and mercy. Prevent the enemy from deceiving and distracting us.  Our background: We’ve been Villagers for a long time, me since 2007, Colleen longer than I. We’ve both been on the leadership team and our experiences with grief and gratitude. We will not be talking about new content but reviewing what has been discussed and our testimony of grief and gratitude in our marriage. I work as a hospice chaplain professional. So, when I have helped people feel their grief and express this…this is normal to feel heaviness during loss. Loss of life or anything: even a miscommunication with a friend or feeling unheard or unseen by your partner; Grief all comes out no matter what. When people say “I’m fine” this is not the case: it must find its way out. I’ve been studying grief for a long time in school, etc. I found it’s not that helpful to analyze it. It is helpful to use this info to affirm my experience and to feel this in a community, helping ID what you’re feeling. Continue ReadingSupport the show (http://cash.app/$thevillagechurch)

Grief and Gratitude: The Grief and Gratitude series is based on a podcast series on the Allender podcast.Engaging Eric Cepin 3-20-22We are in this series, and this is the third week. There is a movie star named Keanu Reeves who is supposed to be a nice guy. When asked where people go when they die, he responded, “What I do know is that the people they leave behind will miss them.” Heb. 10:24,25: A sense of sadness and grief: Dr. Larry Crabb passed away last year, and I spent time with him before he died. This is his passage. And this is the Village’s passage, too. I remember moments that I had with him and I’m sad that I will not do that in this life. But I’m grateful about how he helped me understand this passage. Continue ReadingSupport the show (http://cash.app/$thevillagechurch)

The Grief and Gratitude series is based on a podcast series on the Allender podcast.Eric: Grief and Gratitude are always about loss…you are actually always losing because you are moving forward. Ie: Babies don’t stay babies: this can be a loss and maybe even grief. And more intense losses of spouses, countries, friends, etc. In the world of psychology there are many processes of grief. We've studied it to death! Aren’t grief and gratitude hard to put together? Gratitude will emerge as we move closer to the resurrection (Easter). Support the show (http://cash.app/$thevillagechurch)

The Cross Series (Lent, 2022)The Grief and Gratitude series is based on a podcast series on the Allender podcast.Grief and Gratitude3-5-22Rod HugenIn high school bible class, I was invited to pick out a life verse. I had difficulty memorizing things, so I told the teacher I was picking John 11:35, the shortest verse in the Bible, “Jesus wept.” I could memorize that! My teacher laughed and was a good sport but then he assigned me a long verse and gave me after-school detention. I do not remember the long verse but I do remember “Jesus wept, “a powerful and transformative verse.Consider this: Jesus, God-made flesh, wept. The God of the universe cried and shed tears and sobbed! The interesting meaning of the word “wept,” however, kind of messed me up. It means Jesus snorted (like a horse). That is a strange word to describe weeping. I wanted to believe Jesus was crying out because Lazarus died and along with the crowds felt helpless. But this was not why he wept. Jesus was loved and known by Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus. They believed He could have healed Lazarus if he had come on time…but because he had delayed coming, now Lazarus was dead. People were mourning and trying to minister to Mary and Martha, not knowing what to say. “Just get over it?” “Move on?” (When someone experiences loss and grieves, just go sit with them and say nothing. You give them the greatest gift of Jesus’s presence.) Read MoreSupport the show (http://cash.app/$thevillagechurch)

This is the last in the series Encounters with Jesus.  In my PG, we meditated on the feeding of the 4000 and I wondered what kind of fish they were. Ron Layman said they were Tilapia because at Christmas he wanted to have Jesus’s favorite food so he looked this up. To know this got me into the story.  My invitation is during Lent, continue to come back and read through these encounters with Jesus. We are going to talk about Christ on the cross today. We know he’s no longer on the cross and we are going to talk about him on the cross to meld grief and gratitude until Easter when we will talk about the resurrection.  Last week, Michael talked about the rich young ruler and meditated on this passage. Today we will do the same. If you feel comfortable, close your eyes. Imagine a seed in your hand and you put it in the dirt and cover up. You have some water. The seed sprouts over time and makes a plant and there is a branch coming toward you and there is a fruit. You take a bit and taste the fruit. What kind of fruit did you eat? Apple, apricot, orange, peach….The Cross ContinuedSupport the show (http://cash.app/$thevillagechurch)

Mark 10:17-31 Michael Cousineau2-20-22The Rich Young RulerIf you want to talk about this passage in the usual way, listen to the podcast from 2019 evening. I think it was a good sermon! I listened to and I said, “this guy is really on point!”However, today we will do things differently. Let’s go back to kindergarten…put on your imagination hat. Pick our someone you know well, the way the move and talk. Imagine them walking through the door right over there and wave happily and walk over to you and they sit down next to you and say hello. Could you accomplish this? Good. Encounters with Jesus. Rather than talk about an encounter with Jesus, I want to provoke one that happens to you this morning. There are two ways to read the Bible (at least two). Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster: a book about 12 disciplines (information and application). He kicks off the book with meditation. Another one is study. This not bad and it’s what I usually do. I’m not trying to bad-mouth this: you SHOUILD study scripture often! But another way of looking at the Bible is meditation. “...Whereas the study of scripture is exegesis by contrast the meditation centers on…Bonhoeffer says to spend a week on one text…taste the salt in the air…. touch the hem…rather than dissecting it, we are gathered into his peace…the self is forgotten…. we are attending to the impartation of peace within our heartsRead MoreSupport the show (http://cash.app/$thevillagechurch)

What does it mean to be with Jesus? What are the implications of Jesus’s compassion? Eric’s Story: 9th grade at Rincon HS Physical Science class. There were mostly other students who were not headed to college in this class. Sam had stolen the workbook answer key. He offered it to me, but I declined. A couple of days later, the teacher found out someone had stolen the answer key and asked who had done it. Eric (full of wisdom) raised his hand and told the whole class that Sam had taken it. Sam was smaller and couldn't beat me up. Keep in mind that Rincon HS was a violent school in the mid-80s…my senior year, I was in the locker room and my friend was buying drugs from Sam. Sam said he didn’t trust me; my friend told me “he’s with me; he’s ok.” Notice what my friend said: HE IS WITH ME: his reputation is my reputation. This is what it means to be with Jesus.  https://www.villagersonline.com/6533-2/Support the show (http://cash.app/$thevillagechurch)

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Encounters with Jesus Series #41-23-21Eric CepinEric: This is another part of a series on encounters with Jesus to anchor our thinking about putting ourselves into the place and action of Jesus. This helps us become a disciple of Jesus. In Mark 6:12-13 Jesus sends out his disciples. Mark 6:12 So the disciples went out, telling everyone they met to repent of their sins and turn to God. 13 And they cast out many demons and healed many sick people, anointing them with olive oil.They are asking people to move in a different direction and they have confidence about speaking about evil. They have the confidence to be his disciple and imitate Jesus because of their encounters with him. The imitation and disruptions of Life are the ground where we become disciples. We see in each of the encounters we’ve looked at so far that these involve interruptions. Sermon TextSupport the show (http://cash.app/$thevillagechurch)

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”25 He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”Jesus Heals on the Sabbath3 Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”4 Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.Support the show (http://cash.app/$thevillagechurch)

Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners13 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.Support the show (http://cash.app/$thevillagechurch)

The Paralytic ManMark 9:1-8Encounters with Jesus series (#1)1-2-22Rod HugenA friend of his who is a prayer warrior named Harriet contracted COVID and passed away. Her ongoing wish was that Rod would get a haircut and in her honor, he did!Let’s pray:Help us be like Harriet in that we bring others life through you. As I open your word and see your beauty, thank you for the gift of Jesus. As we see in these chapters, help us be open to beauty, dig deep, and to look closely. Speak to us, silence the voices and spirits that would disrupt us. Help us hear You and only you.Passage:We are going to spend time looking at some stories about Jesus: I hope you are excited. The more I look at the life of Jesus, it’s so powerful. I hope you can enjoy this and learn new things about Jesus as we go. Our view will be challenged and we will be invited to reconsider our assumptions about Jesus. Let these embed in us and shape us this year. May we be immersed in the story of Jesus, Emmanuel.  https//www.villagersonline.com/the-paralytic-man/Mark 2 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.Support the show (http://cash.app/$thevillagechurch)

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(NIV) 1Timotyh 6 All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered. 2 Those who have believing masters should not show them disrespect just because they are fellow believers. Instead, they should serve them even better because their masters are dear to them as fellow believers and are devoted to the welfare[a] of their slaves.False Teachers and the Love of MoneyThese are the things you are to teach and insist on. 3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4 they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5 and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.Support the show (http://cash.app/$thevillagechurch)

(NIV) 1Timotyh 6 All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered. 2 Those who have believing masters should not show them disrespect just because they are fellow believers. Instead, they should serve them even better because their masters are dear to them as fellow believers and are devoted to the welfare[a] of their slaves.False Teachers and the Love of MoneyThese are the things you are to teach and insist on. 3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4 they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5 and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.Support the show (http://cash.app/$thevillagechurch)

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