Womens Bible Cafe™

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Experiencing God Online Bible Study | Week 11 Posted: 07 Jun 2015 10:03 PM PDT Welcome back to online Bible study at Women's Bible Café! This week we are discussing Unit 11 of Experiencing God by Henry and Richard Blackaby – "Kingdom People." In this lesson we look at the big picture – our role, and that of our local church, in the body of Christ. How do we spread our love of Christ to others outside of our home and our church? How do we become Kingdom People who practice Kingdom Living? How do we experience Koinonia with God, other believers, and the Kingdom? Our daily lessons this week included the following topics: – On Mission to the World – Koinonia – Koinonia in the Kingdom – Essentials of Koinonia, Part I – Essentials of Koinonia, Part II Last week we spoke about what it means to be part of the Body of Christ. We talked about our relationship with other believers, primarily within our local church and our local communities. God brought you into a relationship with Himself. He then added you to a local body of believers – your local church. That church is hopefully an active member of the body of Christ in your local community. This week we expand that thought to talk about our relationship to believers, and not-yet-believers, around the world. Blackaby says "The Spirit who bonds you to other believers in a local church also connects you to all believers around the world. God's people from every local body of Christ are part of God's kingdom. Christians are kingdom people, and Christ Himself is the eternal King over His Kingdom" (p. 226). As Christ followers we are to be missionaries to the world. We become involved in God's mission to reconcile a lost world to Himself. To be in relationship with Jesus Christ means we are on a mission with Him and for Him. As John 20:21 says "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." Our memory verse for this week is 1 John 1:7 – "If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His son, purifies us from all sin." Here God tells us that as Christians in fellowship with Him, we walk in the light and are can no longer walk in darkness. Furthermore, as Christians who profess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are purified from our sins by the atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross. So what does that have to do with Kingdom living? It means that all of us who have received this gift are in this together! By accepting this gift from God, we become part of the kingdom and have been entrusted with the responsibility to share the message of Jesus Christ with the world. Pretty cool, huh? Of course, as you have learned, accepting this assignment will require some adjustments on your part! God will involve you in His work – wherever that may be. The first adjustment we are all called to make is to be in fellowship with other believers. As Blackaby says "You cannot be in true fellowship with God and out of fellowship with other believers" (p. 229). He uses the word koinonia to describe the "fullest possible partnership and fellowship with God and with other believers." In order to experience koinonia within the kingdom of God we must first experience it with God and with other individual believers. This is the essence of Kingdom Living. Taking this a step further, our local churches are called to be in koinonia with other churches across denominations, both locally and worldwide. It is all about stepping outside our boundaries to live for our God. This week's lesson takes us through the Essentials of Koinonia in Days 4 and 5. First we are asked to look at our personal relationship with God because that is the "basic element of salvation and eternal life" (p. 239). As Blackaby says "Koinonia with God is an experience of His presence." Without that, there just isn't much else! Second, we are challenged to make our koinonia with God real and personal. Blackaby says "Koinonia is threatened when you allow anyone or anything to make you a spectator rather than an active participant in relationship to God. You must encounter God firsthand or you will become passive and apathetic. If you do not continually encounter God firsthand, your fellowship with God will grow cold. You will quit caring about God's concern for His church, His Kingdom, and the lost world" (p. 243). Conversely, when you are an active participant you cannot help but care deeply about His Kingdom and the lost world. You cannot help but want to take action. Christianity is not a spectator sport, ladies. Are you ready to get off the bench and in the game? Are you ready to be a team player for the Kingdom of God? YOUR ASSIGNMENT FOR THE WEEK: 1) Join a small group for study and fellowship. 2) Complete Week 12 in your Experiencing God workbook. 3) Optional: Watch the Session 12 video or listen to the audio. 4) Record your thoughts in your spiritual journal. 5) Think about what is next for you as this study comes to an end. Turning the last page is just the beginning – where will you let God take you from here? BIBLE STUDY TIP FOR THE WEEK: This week let's take a close look at our roles as Kingdom People. Think about where you experience koinonia and where you don't. First, revisit one of the questions you were asked last week – what does your relationship with your local church look like? Is it a place where you experience koinonia with other believers? Does your local church promote the koinonia you are called to have with God? Yes, this is a personal relationship between us and God. That relationship is not the responsibility of our local church; per se. Yet the right local church can have such a tremendous impact on our personal relationship with God! And the wrong local church can be detrimental. So think about that and whether or not you have a local church that is the right fit for you and your family. If you do, what can you do to grow that koinonia? If you don't, what are you going to do about that? What sort of relationship does your church have with other local churches? With other churches of the same denomination? With churches of different denominations? Challenge yourself to be part of promoting koinonia between your church and others. How can you do that? What does it look like? When someone asks you what church you belong to, how do you answer? Is your reply an open and inviting response that says "come join me"? Or does it present a closed and exclusive view of Christianity that says "I'm part of an exclusive private club where you may not feel welcome"? Think about that a lot this week because it is important when we are talking about koinonia within the body of Christ and within the Kingdom of God. How can we as Christians and Kingdom People present ourselves as unified and welcoming? Practice focusing on what unites us rather than what divides. That is the essence of Kingdom living. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR THIS WEEK (answer in your small group or post your answers here) How is your koinonia relationship with God reflected in your relationship with other Christians? (p. 231) Based on the relationship your local church has with other churches and denominations in your local area and worldwide, what kind of koinonia would a watching world see? (p. 235). Describe one way your church has experienced koinonia because of a cooperative relationship with another church or Christian group? (p. 238) What are some things that can happen in churches that can tempt a person to become more of a spectator than an active participant? (p. 243) What is one thing in your past that you allowed to take the place of a personal experience with God? (p. 244) BONUS QUESTION: Is God impressing you to demonstrate your love to a specific individual, a particular group of people, or perhaps people who are different from you? If so, how will you respond? (p. 236) See you next week – for the last time! What a wonderful ride this has been… Blessings,

Conversation Peace Online Bible Study | Introduction Week Posted: 07 Jun 2015 08:18 PM PDT Welcome to our Summer Bible Study, Conversation Peace we’re glad that you are here with us today! Have you ever gossiped, lied, nagged, or felt like you talk too much? Don’t get quiet now, we have all done a few of those once. Mary Kassian says "At their deepest root, communication problems are spiritual problems. As such, they require spiritual solutions and, for that we must turn to God." Get ready to transform your speech using the Word of God.  We are excited to go on this journey with you- a journey where we will come out with new Godly communication skills.  Let's get ready to sail away! It’s not too late to register and join us in the Conversation Peace online Bible study! Click to join: Conversation Peace Sign Up Over the next six weeks we’ll discover how to use the word of God to transform our speech from the inside out.  We will identify areas that our speech needs transformed and actively engage in the steps to make the change.  God has a purpose and a use for our speech, and with His help we will began using our words to uplift, encourage, speak love and life to others every time we open our mouths. Are you as excited as I am? Since I have the gift of gab naturally, I am of course always ready to start or engage in conversation. It doesn’t matter whom I’m with or where we meet, I love talking with others. But can you imagine with me just for a moment how wonderful our speech can be when we use it for God’s glory? I can imagine each of us speaking life into a person who has given up hope, encouraging our children to accomplish their dreams, supporting our spouses with loving words, uplifting co workers who are struggling with life issues. The list is endless and God is ready for us to get started! I cannot wait to journey through this study with you! I know that God is going to bless us in a mighty way.  Hold on tight! YOUR ASSIGNMENT FOR THE WEEK: Join a small group for study and fellowship Pray and ask God to reveal to you areas where your speech needs transformed Choose a time and special place you will complete your study each day Read Week 1 in your workbook DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR THE WEEK: (You can answer in your small group or post a comment here on the website if you do not have a Facebook account) What scares or excites you about having a “conversation” with someone? Each week we will “freshen our breath” by memorizing a scripture verse for the week. What method or technique will you use to memorize each scripture? What words bring you comfort OR what words make you feel loved and appreciated? This final question is a question for you to answer in the inside cover of your workbook or in your journal. Think about how healthy your speech is, do you gossip, do you slander, do you lie, do you meddle, do you nag, do your encourage or tear down, do you tell secrets, do you complain, do you have a filthy mouth? Think about your answers and identify three areas your speech needs transformed and write them in your workbook or journal. (We will revisit this later in the study) Praying for you,

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ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Men are 50 per cent more likely to get esophageal cancer than 30 years ago
• Current mobile contracts damaging the environment
• Research reveals key interaction that opens the channel into the cell's nucleus
• New strategies for stopping the spread of Staph and MRSA
• Diverse coral communities persist, but bioerosion escalates in Palau's low-pH waters
• As baby boomers age, do their decisions get better or worse?
• New data on botulinum toxin as treatment for nerve pain
• Fruit fly genetics reveal pesticide resistance, insight into cancer
• Precise transplant of a biomolecule to a synthesized molecule

Men are 50 per cent more likely to get esophageal cancer than 30 years ago Posted: 06 Jun 2015 05:41 PM PDT Esophageal cancer rates in men have increased by 50 per cent since the early 1980s. In women, the increase is much smaller with around 10 per cent more now developing the disease compared to the 80s, research shows.

Current mobile contracts damaging the environment Posted: 06 Jun 2015 05:40 PM PDT Researchers analyzed studies on the lifespan of mobile devices, from manufacture, use and disposal to see what impact each stage had on the environment. Through their investigation, they concluded that the current mobile business model, driven by frequent upgrades, is costing both the manufacturer and the environment. The study argues that where frequent upgrades are encouraged and recycling schemes not actively pursued, valuable materials integral to phone manufacture are lost, causing damage to the environment by additional waste to landfill as well as from the impact of extracting additional finite resources.

Research reveals key interaction that opens the channel into the cell's nucleus Posted: 05 Jun 2015 03:29 PM PDT Scientists have uncovered crucial steps in the dynamic dance that dilates and constricts the nuclear pore complex -- the latest advance in their ongoing efforts to tease apart the mechanism by which its central channel admits specific molecules. Their work has shown that the nuclear pore complex is much more than the inert structure it was once thought to be.

New strategies for stopping the spread of Staph and MRSA Posted: 05 Jun 2015 03:29 PM PDT Staphylococcus aureus -- better known as Staph -- is a common inhabitant of the human nose, and people who carry it are at increased risk for dangerous Staph infections. However, it may be possible to exclude these unwelcome guests using other more benign bacteria, according to a new study.

Diverse coral communities persist, but bioerosion escalates in Palau's low-pH waters Posted: 05 Jun 2015 03:28 PM PDT The coral reefs in Palau seem to be defying the odds, showing none of the predicted responses to low pH except for an increase in bioerosion -- the physical breakdown of coral skeletons by boring organisms such as mollusks and worms.

As baby boomers age, do their decisions get better or worse? Posted: 05 Jun 2015 03:23 PM PDT As an economic and political force, researchers say that older adults hold a tremendous amount of social power in the United States. A new study is examining what factors contribute to older adults' decisions.

New data on botulinum toxin as treatment for nerve pain Posted: 05 Jun 2015 03:23 PM PDT Botulinum toxin could offer an effective new treatment for two forms of neuropathy—pain caused by different types of nerve injury, according to an experimental study.

Fruit fly genetics reveal pesticide resistance, insight into cancer Posted: 05 Jun 2015 03:19 PM PDT The miniscule and the massive have been bridged in an effort to better understand the mechanisms behind several unique features of fruit fly genes. Some of these genes also shed light on the evolution of pesticide resistance.

Precise transplant of a biomolecule to a synthesized molecule Posted: 05 Jun 2015 05:24 AM PDT The self-assembly of organic molecules and transition-metal ions afforded a well-defined, world's largest spherical molecule just by mixing the starting materials. Now researchers explain in a new article how cyborg supramolecule reveals the origin of pathogenic materials.

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