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

Q: If your prayer life has been lacking, how do you jumpstart it without being motivated by guilt?

A. People must begin to explore and see God for who Scripture illumines Him to be. There are misconceptions about Jesus which need to be undone, replaced, and rewritten. When we look to the life of Christ as captured in the gospels, you’ll see a God who is infinitely generous and sacrificial, the Jesus who touched the leper, who healed the blind, who fed the hungry, and what he received in return was the cross. This is the God who invites you into fellowship. When you allow the Scriptures to speak on their own, God uses this word in the lives of those who dare to read it. In time, guilt is replaced with joy and love - the joy of sins forgiven and the love of a Savior, who invites me into fellowship and prayer with Him.

Overcoming Temptation and Sin through Prayer

Are there sins in your life that you just cannot seem to defeat? Are there certain trials at work, problems in a relationship, continual temptations, or even past memories in your life that you dread? I hope these truths from God’s Word will lead you to pray in a way that brings you strength and victory.Facing Temptation
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.

The Crossroads This Sunday: Hurdles to Holiness

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

It was like just yesterday that the sun was setting at 8pm, and now the sun is pretty much gone by 5pm. Daylight savings time shows no mercy. Still, hope you enjoyed that extra hour of sleep or at least laying-in-bed-and-staring-at-the-ceiling.

Great session of Depth today… we explored how to be authentic in our prayer through Scripture.

Prayer, the Reaction to Love’s Song

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

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[1] Tim Keller, “A Simple Way to Pray.”