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Entries for 'Nathan Oates'
Nathan Oates posted on May 10, 2012 11:28
Other than identity - who you are - the most important factor in effectively passing on the faith to the next generation is message: What you say – specifically, what you say about having a relationship with God.
Almost every week I’m in a conversation with a coach or a parent or a friend who is trying to figure out how to talk to someone about having a relationship with God.
Here are 10 ideas, specifically focused on talking to kids:
· Read the Bible with Your Kids
· Read Christian Allegories (Pilgrims Progress, Narnia Chron...
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Nathan Oates posted on April 26, 2012 07:07
Our community received 24 new people into membership in April: 24 people who simply said, “I will share life and discover Jesus in this community. I will live a life marked by transformation, community, and compassion.”
While we don’t make a big public display of this experience, I value this expression of commitment so deeply. In joining a local church community, a person is making one of the most significant statements: I am with you.
Life is easier - and better - when you know you are not alone. ...
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Nathan Oates posted on April 18, 2012 11:54
There's another shift that needs to take place if we're going to pass-on the faith to the next generation:
We must truly believe that love is stronger than fear.
I think this is always true.
But it is especially true in terms of Biblical character development. In the Christian story, love is the starting point, not fear of punishment.
Some of us would probably say that our faith development was very much motivated by a fear of punishment – as in eternal punishment. And I realize some fearful threats exist in scripture, that there are Bibl...
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Nathan Oates posted on April 17, 2012 21:28
We need to believe and embrace that intuition beats intellection. When it comes to religious formation:
meaning our character, our ethics, our beliefs,
the things that ultimately form the way we live,
Intuitive Development matters
far more than intellectual development.
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Nathan Oates posted on April 04, 2012 15:17
"Israel ate the meat of a dumb lamb to complete the Passover. Having done so, they smeared their doorposts with blood and laughed at the destroyer." - Athanasius 4th Century
Amidst the pain
Of suffering
Of deceit
Of injustice
Of sorrow
I Stand
Behind the Blood
And proclaim:
"You can kill my body but you cannot have my soul.
I am purchased by the Redeemer who Rose Again.
And when sin's tantrum is finally exhausted I will stand with my King,
Fully alive.
Nathan Oates posted on March 29, 2012 12:26
Why are Christians failing to pass-on the Faith even to our own children?
The value of one generation sharing the story of God with the next is one of the highest in scripture. But we don’t do this well.
I think one of the reasons we often strike out here is that we fail to appreciate our children’s capacity for spiritual insight. We dumb down spiritual mystery so dramatically that our stories lose their capacity to captivate.
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Nathan Oates posted on February 08, 2012 12:00
Sunday I asked our community why, even though we believe in living a life of compassion, we seldom actually engage in helping others in practical ways.
And the one reason on which I focused was the misunderstanding that in order to help others, you, yourself, need to be all healed up.
While I think that specific misunderstanding is common, it’s not the reason that most-often holds me back. No, what usually keeps me from helping my neighbor is the nearly exhausting list of needs represented in my own home.
I got lost in this daydream a few d...
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Nathan Oates posted on February 07, 2012 06:54
Last Sunday I asked our community why compassion so often slips off our priority lists.
It’s an interesting question, especially to a church community like ours, because there’s already such a deep level of buy-in on helping others. We already believe we should serve this city. We already want to change the world.
But, even we – who are already convinced – rarely do anything.
Why is that?
The reason I focused on Sunday is the misunderstanding that we need to first reach a point of health before helping others. While in extreme cases this...
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Nathan Oates posted on January 31, 2012 19:38
All are welcome to attend these classes at the HUB. Nate will teach on Christianity and Christians at the next class. Bring a little food to share, we will start at 5pm.
January 29th: The Bible in 5 Words - intro to the Biblical story
February 19th: Christianity and Christians-intro to the Historic Christian Faith and the Christian Identity
How to Read the Bible-intro to Biblical genre and practical Bible study methods
Tools of Spiritual Healing and Growth-intro to historic Christian disciplines
Make Your Life Coun...
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Nathan Oates posted on January 19, 2012 12:38
This week, as part of our 35 Days of Prayer, we’re focusing on personal transformation. Here are three warnings to heed as we engage this common journey toward spiritual wholeness:
Don’t get side-tracked by counterfeit lovers!
(This is biblical language that sometimes refers to people but usually refers to other things that try to seduce us off the trail):
the allure of power,
the promise of wealth,
the false god of comfort.
Don’t get defeated by pain!
Pain can wear a person out....
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