Turkey Bowl + Thanksgiving Dinner = Reason to Come Out!
5th Annual Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl
Join us in a classic Citylife tradition as we embark upon our 5th Annual Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl! What’s a turkey bowl you might ask? Well, it has little to do with turkeys inside of bowls even or bowls shaped like turkeys. The real origin of the phrase “turkey bowl” came about in 1907 when a group of Amish farmers decided they were tired of milking cows by hand early in the morning and late at night, day after day. Their solution was the turkey bowl, of which we are all indebted, and so we celebrate their innovation and quick thinking by hosting our own “Turkey Bowl” from year-to-year! (If you believe that story you might be the Turkey!)
What: 5th Annual Turkey Bowl (flag-football game!)
When: Sat, 11/21 (1-4PM)
Who: Anyone who wants to play, both men and women are encouraged to participate!
Where: Joe Moakley Park, South Boston. (3 min walk from the JFK/Umass T-Station, Redline)
Plenty of street parking is available!
Email college@citylifeboston.org
Citylife Thanksgiving Dinner
This year our entire congregation is gathering to commemorate the Thanksgiving season. In classic pot-luck style, community groups from acrossthe church are baking and basting away! While we celebrate God’s faithfulness to us and express our Thanksgiving for his provision, you are invited to gather others for a great evening of food and fellowship. There is no cost, just come ready to meet, greet, and eat!
When: November 21, 2009
Time: 5-8 PM
Where: Raytheon Amphitheater, Room #240
THE EGAN RESEARCH CENTER
AT NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
120 FORSYTH STREET
BOSTON, MA 02115
Q&A w/ JK: On Prayer | Part 2
Jesus taught that prayer effectually helps one to resist temptation. He instructed his disciples to pray by asking God to “lead us not into temptation” (Luke 11:4). In Augustine’s commentary on the Sermon on the Mount, he writes that “lead us not into tempta-tion” does not mean that we will never face tempta-tions but that God will help us to resist them rather than walk into them. In fact, Hebrews 2:18 and 4:16 promise us that Jesus can and will help us as we are being tempted when we look to him in prayer.
Facing Sin
In addition, on two occasions in Luke 22, Jesus ex-horted the disciples to “pray that you may not enter into temptation.” Jesus also prayed before and after Luke 9:21-27 where he predicted his suffering and death as well as charged his disciples to take up their cross daily to follow him. This suggests that prayer is one means to overcome suffering as well as an ave-nue to crucify one’s fleshly desires and follow Christ. In Luke 21:34-38, Jesus taught that when facing temptations such as drunkenness, cares of this world, and trials prior to his second coming, his disciples should “stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Again he teaches that prayer is a way for us to have strength to live for him and to resist sin.
Q&A with JK: On the Role of Prayer in His Life | Part 1
Q: In what ways has God used prayer to change your life?
A. That is a great question. For the Christian, there may be no bigger boost to your faith than answered prayers. At the same time, many people have walked away from Chris-tianity because of what appears to be “unanswered prayers”. Yet when we trust God as God, even when he seems silent, we’re confident God hears us and is concerned for our good. But to answer the question, inside the larger umbrella of kingdom-centered prayers, I’ve been con-victed to pray specifically for the smaller things in life, realizing that God genuinely cares about those things. Most Christians feel like God doesn’t have time for the details, and that we can only come to him when we have a big problem or need. But that’s not the way I cultivate a rela-tionship with my friends. Why would I assume it would be different with God? Lately I’ve been praying about loving my wife well, about being a good father, for caring about my co-workers who might be hard to love! Ha! It’s humbling to reflect on how God has been active in these areas, and has been answering these prayers according to his will, not mine. I’ve also been praying for the fruit of the Spirit in my life, and noticing the areas where they show up. In those areas where I want to get angry, what I’m finding is more self-control; in those areas where I tend to be anxious, I’m finding peace of mind. It’s not because I’m loving or peaceful, but because I pray for God to produce these things in me. I believe these are transformative kingdom-centered prayers. These are prayers that God delights to answer because they produce his character in our lives.
Q: What has God been teaching you about prayer lately that is changing your life?
A. The big thing is that my prayers are naturally so far away from His will that I need to re-learn how to pray. If we’re willing to learn, God delights in reprogramming us to pray. Usually He teaches through those who have come before us and, pri-marily, through the honesty of the Scriptures themselves. Instead of separating the two practices of Scrip-ture reading and prayer, God has been showing me that they are intricately connected. If I want to learn how to pray well, then I need to see that the words of Scripture, even when they don’t directly teach us about prayer, are the ingredients for sculpting a heart bent upon effective God-centered prayer. We’re invited to pray, not only the Psalms, but all of Scripture, because it is in the Word that we learn who God is – and it’s in prayer that we commune with this God. I have found a new focus, vocabulary, and vigor in learning to pray the Scriptures.
ESV Bible Reading
I’ve managed to figure out how to use RSS feeds! Now you can navigate on the sidebar for your easy link to the ESV Study Bible Daily Devotional. Enjoy!
Autumn, Daylight Savings, and Praying Through Scripture
Once the gospel becomes fiery and real for you, the soul desires to articulate praise in response to our God, and the result is authentic worship! Because we have seen and tasted the love song of the Savior, our hearts erupt in thankfulness for the gospel. But the gospel does not heal and grow you simply by knowing the doctrine. It is not less than that – but it takes more. The gospel must be ‘prayed in’ to the heart and experienced if it is to shape our whole lives.[1]
So how are we to pray? Many of you are wary of prayer because it seems repetitive, boring, and ineffective. The truth is we are poor “pray-ers” because we disregard the guidance of scripture in shaping and guiding the words we use to pray. Further, we overlook the power of scripture in training us how to listen for the voice of God. Prayer is both words spoken and words received. It is a conversation. How can we hear the voice of God in prayer? By listening intently to his Word.
Learning to pray the scriptures
Before you begin, ask God to shed light upon His word. While you read, you are looking for points of personal connection with the text. Underline or circle words, phrases, and/or themes which register with you. These, then, are the words and phrases you’ll use to guide your prayers. What comes to mind may be positive or negative-it’s ok! Remember that time in prayer ought to be personal and real.
The Practices of Grace
Spiritual renewal can be motivated and encouraged corporately. But for it to take deep root, it must always be experienced personally. Depth is designed to enable you to make use of the “practices of grace” with greater intensity and devotion while on your own.
But we’re pushing forward together. The following steps will get everyone on the same page as we commit ourselves to a gospel-centered encounter with the living God.
Making use of ESV Online: Daily Bible Reading Plan
Step One: Go to www.esv.org
Step Two: Under the title Read it Online, click “Reading Plans.”
Step Three: Scroll down to “ESV Study Bible” and click “Email” as your format.
(There are other options, but minimally subscribe to email updates.)
Step Four: Enter your email address.
Step Five: Begin following the daily reading plan. (NOTE: You don’t have to read on-line. It might be preferable for you to use a standard bible.)
Step Six: Allow what you read to guide how you pray.
Supplemental Reading
Living the Cross-Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney
[1] Tim Keller, “A Simple Way to Pray.”
Depth this Sunday!
Depth is Citylife University Ministry’s contribution toward a church-wide emphasis in building-up mature believers. We are convinced this is a season for digging deep, for challenging students toward authentic Christian discipleship, and for establishing and enabling patterns of spiritual growth that will be the foundation for future progress.
Over the course of the semester, students will be encouraged to participate in a 5 week discipleship curriculum designed to engender spiritual maturity and gospel sensibilities. These 5 weeks are built around and supported by the church-wide School of Christian Formation classes, hosted twice a semester.
When: Depth will be hosted on Sundays in the hour just after Crossroads.
Dates: October 4, 18, November 1, 15, December 6.
We want you to participate! Register HERE.
Spots are limited, so please act soon.
Eustace the Dragon Meets Aslan
“The water was as clear as anything and I thought if I could get in there and bathe it would ease the pain in my leg. but the lion told me I must undress first. Mind you, I don’t know if he said any words out loud or not.
I was just going to say that I couldn’t undress because I hadn’t any clothes on when I suddenly thought that dragons are snaky sort of things and snakes can cast their skins. Oh, of course, thought I, that’s what the lion means. So I started scratching myself and my scales began coming off all over the place. And then I scratched a little deeper and , instead of just scales coming off here and there, my whole skin started peeling off beautifully, like it does after an illness, or as if I was a banana. In a minute or two I just stepped out of it. I could see it lying there beside me, looking rather nasty. It was a most lovely feeling. So I started to go down into the well for my bathe.
But just as I was going to put my feet into the water I looked down and saw that they were all hard and rough and wrinkled and scaly just as they had been before. Oh, that’s all right, said I, it only means I had another smaller suit on underneath the first one, and I’ll have to get out of it too. So I scratched and tore again and this underskin peeled off beautifully and out I stepped and left it lying beside the other one and went down to the well for my bathe.
Well, exactly the same thing happened again. And I thought to myself, oh dear, how ever many skins have I got to take off? For I was longing to bathe my leg. So I scratched away for the third time and got off a third skin, just like the two others, and stepped out of it. But as soon as I looked at myself in the water I knew it had been no good.
Then the lion said – but I don’t know if it spoke – ‘You will have to let me undress you.’ I was afraid of his claws, I can tell you, but I was pretty nearly desperate now. So I just lay flat down on my back to let him do it.
The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I’ve ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off. You know – if you’ve ever picked the scab of a sore place. It hurts like billy-oh but it is such fun to see it coming away.
Well, he peeled the beastly stuff right off – just as I thought I’d done it myself the other three times, only they hadn’t hurt – and there it was lying on the grass: only ever so much thicker, and darker, and more knobbly-looking than the others had been. And there was I was smooth and soft as a peeled switch and smaller than I had been. Then he caught hold of me – I didn’t like that much for I was very tender underneath now that I’d no skin on – and threw me into the water. It smarted like anything but only for a moment. After that it became perfectly delicious and as soon as I started swimming and splashing I found that all the pain had gone from my arm. And then I saw why. I’d turned into a boy again.”
-C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
How Not to Study
With a wife going to grad school now and myself having already been through that particular wringer, often our evening discussions held in our study (which I endearingly call “the war room”) eventually revolve around the subject of studying. What to study. When to study. Where to study. How to study. Why study? Often these questions revisit us like an unwelcome teenage pop song on the radio. Rarely do I have any useful advice. By God’s good grace to you, however, U.S. News and World Reports kindly asked two profs on their tips to effective studying. Glean what you can. Enjoy. And a happy fall break to those of you on vaca!
For many students, the biggest difference between college and high school is studying: In college, you’re really supposed to be doing it. But many beginning college students have habits and strategies that not only don’t help their studying but actually thwart it. For them, we offer our best ideas for what not to do if you’re going to ace your college studying.
