Up @ BIGhouse this week...

Be honest.  You fellas out there just got done sunbathing with your speedos today.  Really-what else would you do on a 60 plus degree day in March?  Whatever you chose to do today, we hope it was refreshing; whether it was getting outside to run with the dog, or even if it was just admiring the sunshine through your office window today, we hope you're refreshed with God grace in giving your lungs another day of breath!

This week a guest speaker will be at BIGhouse-Laura Hoy, who has lead Love Cedar Valley in the past, along with a lot of local serving outside the walls of the church.  She's talking about "New Eyes".  God wants us to look at people thorugh his lense, not our own.  We tend to place a hiearchy on worth in people- people who have higher prestige jobs or titles get more of our attention and respect, peers who seem to have nice things get befriended quicker, and people who don't look like us tend to get shoved to the side without much thought.  That's not how God wants us to treat each other.  In fact, in Romans 12 Paul encourages believers to do this very thing; to "get along with each other, don't be stuck up. Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody" (Romans 12:16 The Message).

Let's try to be honest with one another how we tend to look at people, and let's step up to God's call to live a new way, with new eyes!

Small Group ?'s

1.  1. Think about a ladder.  Who does our society put on the top rungs?  The bottom rungs?  What standards do we use in determining a person’s place (their worth) on the ladder?  How does this ladder system help or damage our world? 

1. 2.   Think about your own life.  How has this value system affected you?  Do you find that you’re judgmental?  Do you tear others down to try to achieve a higher place on the ladder?  Do you suffer from low self-worth because you’ve been pushed down on the ladder from others?   Talk about comparing and competing with others at school and at home. 

1. 3.  Think about the sideways ladder and the way Jesus sees people.  Equally, all made in the image of God and valuable.  Equally, all sinners in need of rescue.  Equally, all saved by grace through faith in Christ.  Equally, all made with gifts to share in the world.  Equally, all reconciled with God in Christ and connected as a human family to work with Christ to restore the world.  Christ’s love and sacrifice allows us to find our identity, status, success, and power in Him, not in the world.

What in the world would be different if we really believed this?  How might your daily life be different if you no longer see people from a worldly point of view?  

1. 4.  (new eyes on our knees)  What do you need to confess to Christ and others?

1. 5.  (new eyes on our feet) What might taking one step out of your comfort and familiar circle look like for you? 

1. 6.  (new eyes with open hands)  What are some of the blessings and gifts you’ve received from someone you’ve considered “other”?  How has Christ worked to open your eyes and teach you through people different than yourself? 

1. 7.  Pray for Spring Break missions and for Christ to open our eyes and give us his eyes for people.  

2. ---

Your BIGhouse CREW,

Brett, Brad, Nikki, Leanne, Kristina

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