Solemn Assembly is a time when the One community will come together corporately to pray for repentance and forgiveness of sin, seek direction from God in 2009, and invite the Holy Spirit to have complete control of our lives. During this time we will also fast together, giving up meals and entertainment after 3pm each day. The fast will begin Sunday, January 4th and conclude at 11:59pm on Friday, January 9th.
 
During Solemn Assembly, we invite you to join us with the following prayer schedule. Click on the link below for more details about Solemn Assembly and prayer requests for each day.
Sunday: Pray individually
Monday: Pray with your family or household
Tuesday: Pray with someone from One for our leaders
Wednesday: Pray corporately [Everyone will meet at 7pm at Preston Meadow Lutheran Church, 6801 Coit Rd., 75024]
Thursday: Pray with your ministry team
Friday: Pray with your Life Group and Break the Fast [If you are not a part of a Life Group and would like to join a group to Break the Fast, contact Erin at 469-767-4881].

SA2009_Handout.pdf (21.42 kb)

We have provided the answers to three text questions received during the Sunday Worship Services. If you have any additonal questions or commenst about today's message or other messages, please post your comments. We want to hear from you! 

Question 1: Where in the word does it designate the time/date of the birth of Christ?
There is not 100% certainty that December 25th is the correct date. However, scholars are pretty sure that it was in the winter season based on evidence in the Bible. I found an article on bible.org that provides a little more detail. I have included the pertinent section below. Here is the link to the full article. Here is the excerpt:

And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flocks by night.
The mention of the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks in verse 8 brings up the issue of the time of Christ’s birth. When did it occur? Was it in December, January, February or April? Part of the argument for the time of the year revolves around these shepherds.

The traditional date of December 25 goes back to as early as Hippolytus (A.D. 165-235). This would indicate some form of observance or remembrance. Chrysostom (A.D. 345-407) in 386 stated December 25 is the correct day.

One of the main objections has been that sheep were usually taken into enclosures from November through March and were not in the fields at night. This is not conclusive, however, for the following reasons: (1) It could have been a mild winter. (2) It is not at all certain that sheep were always brought into enclosures during the winter months. (3) It is true that during the winter months sheep were brought in from the wilderness and Luke tells us the shepherds were near Bethlehem rather than in the wilderness indicating, if anything, the nativity was in the winter months. (4) The Mishnah tells us the shepherds around Bethlehem were outside all year and those worthy of the Passover were nearby in the fields at least 30 days before the feast which could be as early as February (one of the coldest, rainiest months of the year). So December is a very reasonable date.

James Kelso also sees the winter as the best time for the birth of Christ.

The best season for the shepherds of Bethlehem is the winter when heavy rains bring up a luscious crop of new grass. After the rains the once-barren, brown desert earth is suddenly a field of brilliant green. One year when excavating at New Testament Jericho, I lived in Jerusalem and drove through this area twice every day. At one single point along the road, I could see at times as many as fine shepherds with their flocks on one hillside. One shepherd stayed with his flock at the same point for three weeks, so lush was the grass. But as soon as the rains stopped in the spring, the land quickly took on its normal desert look once again.

Since there seem to have been a number of shepherds who came to see the Christ child, December or January would be the most likely months. Though Christ was probably born in the winter months, the biggest obstacle for establishing the 25th as the exact date of Christ's birth is the fact this was observed by what some have called the mother-child cult in various parts of the world even before the birth of Christ. Today, however, these pagan mystery ideas are little known and haven’t been for centuries. The main problem with Christmas is that we have allowed Satan to take this season, which should speak of the grace of God in giving us His precious Son, to focus the minds of men on the wrong things, thus perverting the real significance of Christ’s birth.

Our family, and many other biblically concerned believers, use the Christmas season as an opportunity to properly focus on Christ’s birth and what it means to us, though not as some holy day we must keep for spirituality (Gal. 4:8-11; Col. 2:16-17). Those who argue against this and condemn celebrating with trees and presents, etc., in my opinion are being legalistic.

Question 2: Who were the Amorites?
Good question. Here is everything you would ever want to know about the Amorites. And by the way, this information comes from Torrey, R. 1995, c1897. The New Topical Textbook : A scriptural text book for the use of ministers, teachers, and all Christian workers. Logos research Systems, Inc.: Oak Harbor, WA.

1. Descent of. Ge 10:15,16; 1Ch 1:13,14.
2. One of the seven nations of Canaan. Ge 15:21; Ex 3:8,17.
3. Governed by many independent kings. Jos 5:1; 9:10.
4. Kings of, great and powerful. Ps 136:18,20.
5. Originally inhabited a mountain district in the south. Nu 13:29; De 1:7,20; Jdj 1:36.
6. Acquired an extensive territory from Moab east of Jordan. Nu 21:26,30.
7. Had many and strong cities. Nu 32:17,33.
8. Of gigantic strength and stature. Am 2:9.
9. Character of
   1. Profane and wicked. Ge 15:16.
   2. Idolatrous. Jos 24:15.
10. Defeated by Chedorlaomer, &c. Ge 14:7.
11. Joined Abraham against the kings. Ge 14:13,24.
12. Jacob took a portion from. Ge 48:22.
13. Forbearance of God towards. Ge 15:16.
14. Doomed to utter destruction. De 20:17,18.
15. Refused a passage to Israel. Nu 21:21-23; De 2:30.
16. Deprived of their eastern territory by Israel. Nu 21:24-35.
17. Land of, given to Reubenites, &c. Jos 13:15-31.
18. Western kings of, confederated against Israel. Jos 10:1-5.
19. Miraculous overthrow of. Jos 10:11-14.
20. Kings of, degraded and slain. Jos 10:24-27.
21. The Gibeonites a tribe of, deceived Israel into a league. 2Sa 21:2, Jos 9:3-16.
22. The Israelites unable to expel, but extracted tribute from. Jdj 1:34,35.
23. Had peace with Israel in the days of Samuel. 1Sa 7:14.
24. Brought into bondage by Solomon. 1Ki 9:20,21.
25. Ahab followed the abominations of. 1Ki 21:26.
26. Manasseh exceeded abominations of. 2Ki 21:11.
27. The Jews after the captivity condemned for intermarrying with. Ezr 9:1,2.
28. Descent from, illustrative of man’s natural state. Eze 16:3.

Question 3: How can God be a jealous God?
It is helpful to think about this from the viewpoint of God’s holiness. God is not jealous in the same way that we are. It may be surprising to some to know that jealousy can be both good and bad. To be jealous is to desire something that someone else has. Jealousy can be good particularly when we see Christ-like qualities in others that we desire to develop in our own lives. But as I mentioned, jealousy can denigrate into something bad. This happens when we feel frustrated and bitter when we cannot obtain what we want. When a husband see’s someone trying to alienate his wife’s affections and seduce her, he has the right to be jealous (righteous jealousy). However, when this same husband experiences anger and bitterness when someone is having a simple conversation with his wife, his jealousy has become sinful.

God is the most supreme being in the universe. He has no opposite and there is no one greater than him. For this reason, we were made to reflect back to him and others his supremacy. We do this when we savor him, and enjoy him. He created us to live our lives in a way that make him look like the greatness, beauty and infinite worth he really is. Again this is what we were created for. We belong to God and he has no desire to share our affections, in the same way that a husband has no desire to share the affections of his wife with another man. Because God is holy, he is not capable of sinful jealousy. God created us to be exclusively devoted to him. Therefore he has every right to desire the exclusive devotion of his people and act with jealous zeal towards us when we do not give him this devotion.

Well, as usual, if you have additional questions or need more clarification don't hesitate to let us know! I always enjoy researching your questions. Thanks again, and see you next time.

Questions/Comments: info@onechurchhome.org  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each month, we set aside the first full week of the month to give up something physical to gain something spiritual. Our desire at One is that each person draw closer to Christ and pursue a more intimate and personal relationship with our Savior.

During this month of celebration, we invite you to cherish your time with friends, new and old, and discover the richness of fellowship.

Each Life Group will come together once during our spiritual discipline week to eat and fellowship at the home of a Life Group member. Also during the week, we are asking you to either share at least one meal a day with someone or to share a meal with those you live with.

During Sunday's message, Pastor Conway encouraged men under cover to become men who LAUGH. But what does that mean? According to I Peter 3:7 and Ephesians 5:25-33, a man who LAUGHs:

L = Leads with love (Eph. 5:25)
A = Provides affection (Eph. 5:28-9)
U = Leads with understanding (I Peter 3:7a)
G = Pursues godliness (Eph. 5:26-7)
H = Shows honor (I Peter 3:7b)

We received several questions during service about how to become a man who LAUGHs and how to identify a man who LAUGHs. Here are a few tips:

1. He surrounds himself with other other men who LAUGH.
2. He practices each letter of the acronym.
3. He reads books on what it means to be a godly man, that often challenge his thinking.
4. He identifies areas where he is weak and seeks out guidance to grow and develop in those areas. 
5. He prays and asks God to conform him to His image. 

If you have more questions or need clarity on any of the information provided, post your comments to the blog. We want to hear from you!

(Note: There will be a brief delay between the time you post your comment and it posting to the blog.) 

At One, we dedicate the first full week of the month to grow in our relationship with Christ by practicing a Spiritual Discipline. During this week, we give up something physical, so that we may gain something spiritual.

This month we are practicing the discipline of Meditation.During meditation, each member will set aside time each day to memorize at least seven verses of Scripture for the week. Our leaders have selected the scriptures included in the attachment to give us the opportunity to draw closer to God while hiding His word in our hearts.

Meditation.pdf (208.28 kb)