Vanishing Grace Together Groups
Meeting together to talk about Grace
New Together Group Weeks Released Sunday at 11am
We are stronger together and any challenge is better when helped.
I encourage you to meeting with other people to watch each week’s video and go through the discussion questions.
![Philip Yancey on Facing the Canon [Good]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1673053717655-PHP9GW9J76M01Y1EHD6X/maxresdefault%5B1%5D.jpg)
Philip Yancey on Facing the Canon [Good]
Philip Yancey, author of Vanishing Grace is a great interview about his love of Grace.
Philip Yancey, author of Vanishing Grace is a great interview about his love of Grace.
![[Sunday] Following Light - The Book of Advents](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1672969335403-APA5I5N562IPH71T9X0Q/BOA+7a.jpg)
[Sunday] Following Light - The Book of Advents
The Magi followed God’s light of a star. Wait, those foreigners were following God’s light? Surely God’s people will follow the light rather than going back to darkness.
The Magi followed God’s light of a star. Wait, those foreigners were following God’s light? Surely God’s people will follow the light rather than going back to darkness.
Questions for this week.
In your own words, before rereading in the Bible, tell the story of the wise men.
Read Matthew 2:1-12. Now retell the story of the Magi.
How does Herod and all Jerusalem respond to the news that the Magi bring?
Why do you think they respond that way?
Read Isaiah 60:1-6. How can we follow the light of Jesus, as he brings the nations and Magi of the world to him?
What Had happened at Grace this week.
![[Sunday] Song of the Gardener - Resurrected Way](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1746820023029-M49V8PRFENX18UQFJSTO/2.jpg)
![[Sunday] Amazed - Kingdom Way - Mark 16](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1746065673689-DFOUX7U71BCXL4N2XOAH/RW+1a.jpg)
![[Sunday] Backwards Beautiful - Kingdom Way - Matthew 28](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1745552165848-WAAACA58WKWYMWY08VZZ/KW+25a.jpg)
Ringing in the New Me
Life has changed, but have I really changed?
Read whole article at Ringing in the New Me - Mockingbird (mbird.com)
t’s the time of year when our New Year’s resolutions slowly begin to unravel. It doesn’t usually happen all at once, of course. A cheat day here, a provoked outburst there, compounded by the multiplication of days and weeks, and what once felt possible eventually becomes fanciful. Even my best intentions can’t always hold up to the temptation of a Chick-fil-A milkshake.
Every new year is filled with hopeless optimism that I can truly change. At the beginning of this year, I took time to look back and reflect on all the ways that my life is different than it was just 365 days ago. I moved to a new state, I got a new job, I got engaged. Life has changed in some sizab………………………
![[Sunday] Simeon - The Book of Advents](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1671683973557-KHIHT6N1G4G8TVFXZEGE/BOA+6a.jpg)
[Sunday] Simeon - The Book of Advents
Simeon waited his entire life to see the Christ.
Simeon waited his entire life to see the Christ.
What Had happened at Grace this week.
![[Sunday] Prince of Peace Christmas - The Book of Advents](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1671683129733-WENISFPSXKWH4SV3FA3E/BOA+Christmas+Dayjpg.jpg)
[Sunday] Prince of Peace Christmas - The Book of Advents
Joseph is a righteous man, yet he is having to deal with the surprise pregnancy of his bride to be. But here we see the Prince of Peace Shining though Joseph.
Joseph is a righteous man, yet he is having to deal with the surprise pregnancy of his bride to be. But here we see the Prince of Peace Shining though Joseph.
Questions for this week.
When you think someone has sinned grievously against you, how do you respond?
Read Matthew 1:18-25. Based on Mary being pregnant, what would Joseph have logically thought happened?
How does Joseph respond to this? How is that just or righteous?
How does this foreshadow Jesus and his righteousness?
What Had happened at Grace this week.
Christmas Eve- Advent of Emmanuel
Throughout history God has come to be with us which culminates with Jesus at Christmas.
Christmas Eve 4pm Service
7PM Service, Starts where the two different services differ.
Throughout history God has come to be with us, which culminates with Jesus at Christmas.
Christmas Eve 4PM and 7PM
Countdown to Christmas Eve at 4 PM
What Had happened at Grace this week.
![[Sunday] The Promised Christmas - The Book of Advents](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1671156329189-FUDG78ZOCCZNTCXZ33HT/BOA+4a.jpg)
[Sunday] The Promised Christmas - The Book of Advents
Joshua stands on the edge staring into the land filled with such promises for a perfect future. But what if you get your dream and desire and just shoot your eye out? Perhaps, then it will be a beautiful Christmas
Joshua stands on the edge staring into the land filled with such promises for a perfect future. But what if you get your dream and desire and just shoot your eye out? Perhaps, then it will be a beautiful Christmas
Countdown to Christmas Eve at 4 PM
Questions for this week.
What is the greatest gift you ever dreamed of receiving at Christmas?
Read Joshua 1:1-9. What is going wrong for Joshua at this time?
What do you think he was thinking as he looked into the promised land? What was he hoping for?
What does God promise He will do for Joshua? How do we see Jesus in this promise?
How has God brought beauty in the imperfections in your life?
What Had happened at Grace this week.
Jesus in a Tuxedo T-shirt
In the place you least expect, Jesus finds you.
Read the whole article at Jesus in a Tuxedo T-Shirt - Mockingbird (mbird.com)
In the place you least expect, Jesus finds you.
One of my all-time favorite movie scenes comes from the 2006 Will Ferrell movie “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.” You probably know the one. The scene is at a dinner table and Ricky Bobby, a successful if aloof, NASCAR driver, says the prayer before everyone eats. A disagreement breaks out between Ricky and his wife because Ricky repeatedly prays to “Sweet Baby Jesus.” She doesn’t think he always has to pray to a baby; “it’s a bit odd and off-putting to pray to a baby” she tells him.
He responds, “Well look, I like the Christmas Jesus best and I’m saying grace. When you say grace, you can say it to grown-up Jesus or teenage Jesus or bearded Jesus or whoever you want.” Later, Ricky’s friend and teammate, Cal, chimes in, “I like to picture Jesus in a tuxedo t-shirt because it says like, I want to be formal, but I’m here to party too. Cause I like to party, so I like my Jesus to party too.”…………………………
![[Wednesday] Advent at Grace 3](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1670950500592-E7Z36Q2O7GGP5RZ1WPNK/Green+Red+Funny+Simple+Illustrated+Christmas+Party+Invitation+Flyer+%281920+%C3%97+1080+px%29+%281%29.jpg)
[Wednesday] Advent at Grace 3
Bring your Christmas Stories. Stories from your past, Your favorite story. Really anything to put us in the Christmas spirit.
Pot Luck Dinner 5:30PM
December 14th - Popular Christmas Carols and your Favorite Christmas Stories.
Wear your Christmas Sweaters!
What Had happened at Grace this week.
![[Sunday] Christmas Cheer for All to Hear - The Book of Advents](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1670595258960-1JWIS954GJWDOSJTIZA2/BOA+3a.jpg)
[Sunday] Christmas Cheer for All to Hear - The Book of Advents
They knew the script, it had been written for them for years and years. Yet one day they heard a voice singing a song of fire, and that song changed everything.
Jesus saw him not in the grandness of his spirituality but in the shade of a tree, and God saw Jacob not in his pursuit of grandness but in the lowness of a stone pillow. The advent of God comes not in the grand things but in the shady stones.
Countdown to Christmas Eve at 4 PM
Questions for this week.
Describe a life changing event you’ve been through?
Read Exodus 3:1-14. How does Moses’ life change as God comes to him in the burning bush?
Read Matthew 1:18-25. How does Joseph's life story change when the angel appears to him?
Think about how Jesus comes for you. What does he do to change the story of your life?
What Had happened at Grace this week.
Love's Pure Light: Christmas With The Herdmans
I thought adults wanted perfect kids, I wondered if God wanted the same.
Read the full article at Love's Pure Light: Christmas with the Herdmans - Mockingbird (mbird.com)
In the nights leading up to last Christmas, I read Barbara Robinson’s The Best Christmas Pageant Ever to my daughter. She was in third grade, and I had fond memories of my third-grade teacher, Mrs. Koenigs, reading it to our class almost thirty years prior. Though I remember being skeptical when she announced the title. I’d been in Christmas pageants. What could possibly be worth writing a book about? Harried parents herding miniature bathrobe-clad shepherds and sobbing tinsel-haloed angels to the front of the church to sing “Away in a Manger” before returning to the pews for a droning, by-the-numbers message followed by more Christmas music? In my mind, a book called The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, written by an adult, was going to be a slog. I had it in my head that “best” in the eyes of an adult meant perfect, as “being good” seemed to elicit praise from adults,…………………..
![[Wednesday] Advent at Grace 2](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1670423381996-DHN22Z6K0GHQMXBHK7D5/1.jpg)
[Wednesday] Advent at Grace 2
Best Christmas Pageant Ever Tonight!
Pot Luck Dinner 5:30PM
December 7th - Coli Leads discussion of the Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
December 14th - Popular Christmas Carols and your Favorite Christmas Stories.
Wear your Christmas Sweaters!
What Had happened at Grace this week.
Holy Subversives