The Joy of Spiritual Caring - part 5 |
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The Joy of a Really Good Visit One of the ways we can show care is to spend quality time with someone. Is this a spiritual issue? You bet. There are a bunch of Biblical stories about visiting, including a parable the Lord taught about visiting Him.
What makes visiting so significant? Part of it has to do with seeing into each other's hearts and minds more thoughtfully and deeply, beyond the day-to-day superficial stuff. Let's explore this together!
This series, "The Joy of Spiritual Caring," is an effort to help us take a spiritual growth task and apply it in two ways - first to ourselves individually
and secondly extending it outwardly in ways to show care to others. I hope you can come and participate! There is a saying, "By ourselves, we are each a drop, but together we are an ocean." Let's enjoy showing each other care and be part of the ripple of passing it along.
Arizona Mountain Camp Planning Meeting - this Sunday, July
30 Kids of all ages! There is renewed energy for planning an Arizona Family Camp experience for next year - sometime in 2018. The big questions are who, what, when, where, why, and how? Who are we hoping to serve and who is willing to help? What is the
focus of this camp? When is the best time? Where is the most suitable and economical place?
Why is this a good thing to start up at this time? How will it be organized? Curious?! Come to a meeting this Sunday, July 30 during the luncheon to brainstorm ideas.
With love and respect, Nathan
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UPCOMING CHURCH ACTIVITIES: 11 am
Sunday Worship Service 12:00 pm Arizona Mountain Camp Luncheon - Everyone Welcome!
12:30 pm First Meeting to Consider Planning "Arizona Mountain Camp" in 2018 MONDAY
7/31/2017 No "Go For It!" Meetings in July No Tai Chi Classes in July (will resume in August)
TUESDAY 8/1/2017 6:30 pm Bereavement Support
Group
WEDNESDAY 8/2/2017 9:30 Worship Team meeting in Pastor's
office THURSDAY 8/3/2017
11:00 Tai Chi Classes resume today
6 pm Global Chant
7 pm Women's Group. Contact Elise G, Betsy G, or Kelly W for location
FRIDAY 8/4/2017 3:30 pm Private wedding in the Chapel and reception in Friendship Hall
SUNDAY
8/6/2017 11 am Sunday Worship Service 12:00 pm Luncheon - Everyone
Welcome!
Upcoming Small Group opportunities |
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Study Group of Topics from Swedenborg Hey there! Are you interested in digging a little deeper into the teachings based on Swedenborg's works? I am looking for folks who want to join with me in an open group for anyone who wants to study and discuss more about Swedenborg's theological works.
We will use different resources, depending on the interests of the group. Two online resources will be episodes of Curtis Childs' "OfftheLeftEye" broadcasts and Jonathan Rose's "Spirit and Life Bible Study" classes. Date and time to be determined by discussion with interested
participants. Contact me to tell me your interest and timing preference.
New Church Foundations Series This 7-week series of small group classes highlights the main teachings of our church, and helps give insight into what the New Church movement and the global organization is all about. This is
also highly recommended for introduction to baptism and membership in our church.
Open to anyone whether you are a recent newcomer or long-time member who wants a refresher.
One of the things I love about this course is the questions people bring!! It’s an opportunity to ask and discuss any question, no matter how basic.
My plan is to offer this series on Thursday evenings from 6:30-8:00 pm at the church starting August 10
for seven weeks. I am happy to provide a video conference option for anyone who wants to participate remotely. Contact me to express your interest or discuss timing.
~Nathan
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Readings/Lessons for this Sunday |
God Visits with Moses
Exodus 3 (parts)
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not
burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
...God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’
“Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord...appeared to me and
said: Visiting I have visited you, and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’"
Zechariah Speaks of the Lord Visiting
Luke 1:68-71
The priest, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit
and prophesied: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies."
Jesus Encourages Visiting
Matthew 25:36
"I was sick and you visited
me."
The Spiritual Meaning of Visiting Secrets of Heaven 6895
The literal sense of the words from Exodus - "visiting I have visited you" - means deliverance from slavery in Egypt and introduction into the land of Canaan. However, this is the not the
spiritual subject matter contained in the Word. The spiritual subject matter has to do with the Lord, His kingdom, and the Church, and love and faith. Consequently in the spiritual sense 'visiting' is used to mean deliverance from falsities and thus introduction into things that belong to the Church and the Lord's kingdom.
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Helping people experience heavenly joy through spiritual growth www.sunrisechapel.org
nathan@sunrisechapel.org Office 520-298-1245
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