Thwarted By A Donkey | Sordid Tales of Faith

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Amen.

Message | When Hopes Collide

This week Kurt leads us through exploring the story of Balaam. It is a wild story full of angel assassins and talking donkeys. But under all of the fantasy literature level weirdness, some deeper themes are being explored that force us to look at how we create villains in the stories around us.

Formational Learning:

As we explored the two stories of Balaam, his talking donkey, and heaven’s worst assassin, what stood out to you?

Were there any points of curiosity, clarity, confusion, or conflict that emerged as you walked through these stories?

(Head)

In this story, God's mind seems to change a couple of times. God sends an assassin angel to take care of Balaam. God also speaks directly to Balaam, who was not part of God's chosen people. How does this story challenge your image of God or your expectations of how God operates.

(Heart)

When was a time you made somebody out as a villain in order to suit the narrative you needed to present? How do the stories we tell paint people in our lives, especially those different from us?

Have you ever had an experience that expanded your vision of God? How do you let God out of the boxes that are so easy to create?

(Hands)

The story of Balaam and heaven's worst assassin shows us that God can and will speak to and through people outside of our comfort zone. How can we posture ourselves to be open to listening for God in those unexpected places?

Announcements

• We have a SOAP group that meets online at 10am PST every Thursday. Also if you want to follow along with SOAP you can find the daily reading plan, an explanation of SOAP, and a link to our Thursday Morning online group (here)

• You can also follow SOAP daily on Instagram stories.

• Every week we try to get to know our community better, and others who are connected to FōS, through our Shared Story segment in our liturgy. If you have creative gift, or something that you found meaningful to you that you would like to share with the community please send us a email hello@fos.church

• We will be hosting a Zoom Games Night in the near future, possibly November 27th. Let us know if you have any game suggestion. hello@fos.church

• Last, one of the ways we invest into the future of FōS is through tithes and offering, generous giving. You are able to give online at www.fos.church/partner. Make sure to follow the instructions.

Our Benediction

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you;

may he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm;

may he bring you home rejoicing: at the wonders he has shown you;

may he bring you home rejoicing: once again into our doors.*

*Claiborne, Shane. Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals (p. 52). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

When Hopes Collide | Sordid Tales of Faith

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Amen.

Message | When Hopes Collide

This week Glenn continues our conversation series, “Sordid Tales of Faith: Yep … That’s in the Bible.” We will explore how there are different and competing narratives in the Bible. How do we read both stories faithfully? How do we navigate our sacred writings when they conflict?

Formational Learning:

As we explored the two stories of Zachariah and Nehemiah, what stood out to you?

Were there any points of curiosity, clarity, confusion, or conflict that emerged as you walked through these stories?

(Head)

We’ve often approached sacred stories as a single story with one meaning; how do Nehemiah and Zechariah affect the way we see scripture?

(Heart)

When have you come into conflict over or with competing stories within scripture? How did you respond?

(Hands)

How do we create space to hold onto both readings, rather than pick our favorite and forget the other?

Announcements

• We have a SOAP group that meets online at 10am PST every Thursday. Also if you want to follow along with SOAP you can find the daily reading plan, an explanation of SOAP, and a link to our Thursday Morning online group (here)

• You can also follow SOAP daily on Instagram stories.

• Every week we try to get to know our community better, and others who are connected to FōS, through our Shared Story segment in our liturgy. If you have creative gift, or something that you found meaningful to you that you would like to share with the community please send us a email hello@fos.church

• This Friday we will be hosting a movie night in Zoom at 7pm PST. We are still nailing down what movie we will watch so feel free to send in a suggestion to hello@fos.church

• Last, one of the ways we invest into the future of FōS is through tithes and offering, generous giving. You are able to give online at www.fos.church/partner. Make sure to follow the instructions.

Our Benediction

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you;

may he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm;

may he bring you home rejoicing: at the wonders he has shown you;

may he bring you home rejoicing: once again into our doors.*

*Claiborne, Shane. Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals (p. 52). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

The Story of Hosea and Gomer | Sordid Tales of Faith

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Amen.

Message | The Story of Hosea & Gomer

This week Glenn and Carl sit-down for a table talk to introduce our new conversation series, “Sordid Tales of Faith: Yep … That’s in the Bible.” We look at the story of Hosea and Gomer as an introduction into some of the harder tales we find in the pages of the Bible. How do we sit with the story and critique at the same time?

Formational Learning:

As we explored the story of Hosea and Gomer, what stood out to you?

Were there any points of curiosity, clarity, confusion, or conflict that emerged as you walked through these stories?

(Head)

We all have parts of the bible that we would rather gloss over or edit out. For example when we read the story of Abraham, we conclude he was a great guy, because we gloss over and edit how we hear that story. But the story of Hosea from start to finish is a story we would rather not read, but because of its brokenness we are able to see beauty. What happens when we allow the broken parts of the bible to read us as we read them?

How do we learn to listen to the story without reading our moral assumptions and expectations into it?

(Heart)

What was the first story in the Bible that you read and realized it was different from the version of the story you thought you knew? How did feel about it or process it? 

(Hands)

How do we ensure that we engage the parts of the bible that trouble us and not just our favorites?

Announcements

• We have a SOAP group that meets online at 10am PST every Thursday. Also if you want to follow along with SOAP you can find the daily reading plan, an explanation of SOAP, and a link to our Thursday Morning online group (here)

• You can also follow SOAP daily on Instagram stories.

• Every week we try to get to know our community better, and others who are connected to FōS, through our Shared Story segment in our liturgy. If you have creative gift, or something that you found meaningful to you that you would like to share with the community please send us a email hello@fos.church

• Last, one of the ways we invest into the future of FōS is through tithes and offering, generous giving. You are able to give online at www.fos.church/partner. Make sure to follow the instructions.

Our Benediction

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you;

may he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm;

may he bring you home rejoicing: at the wonders he has shown you;

may he bring you home rejoicing: once again into our doors.*

*Claiborne, Shane. Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals (p. 52). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.