"Jesus For All" by Dusty Johnson

Listen along as Pastor Dusty shares this message touching on God’s vision for every nation, tribe, people and tongue from Revelation 7:9. He discusses his recent journey and discovery of racial tension and the polarizing impact of our American Christian culture that can feel in opposition to the life of faith for many Christ-followers.

In this message Dusty references two resources during his talk…

  1. A video clip from Intervarsity Press that highlights the book, White Awake by Daniel Hill

  2. Reads from an essay by Michael Frost called Colin Kaepernick vs. Tim Tebow: Christianity on its knees that was published in The Washington Post.

"Contemplative Reading" by John Rice

Listen along as Pastor John and Margaret Fairchild teach and facilitate a group contemplative reading (aka - Lectio Divina) from Matthew 18:11-14. This message is part of a 2020 Gospel Reading focus and this is meant to be considered part of our “Tools of Engagement” to help people better interact with God through the scriptures.

“Tools of Engagement”
Contemplative Reading
Aka - “Lectio divina”

 

1. Silence. Quiet yourselves physically and mentally.

-       Find a quiet place to get comfortable.

-       Start with a prayer for God’s help in quieting.

-       Quiet body and soul.

-       Focus on breath, breathing in Holy Spirit’s Presence, breathing out tension and stress.

 

2. Read. Reread. Reread…

-       Choose a Scripture to focus on.

-       Look for a word, phrase, verse or idea that stands out to you.

-       Rereading several times, confirm that this is what you are to focus on.

 

3.Meditate. Observe. Imagine.

-       Begin questioning why God may have stopped you at this place.

-       Start thinking about it. Consider what you know about it.

-       Observe how you’re feeling about this.

-       Do you have questions?

-       Use your imagination to put yourself into the story, parable, etc.

 

4. Pray. Speak to God. Listen to God.

-       Respond to God.

-       Dialog with God.

-       Ask questions.

-       Listen.

 

5. Contemplate. Be still.

-       Finally, let your thoughts, questions and feelings subside.

-       Rest in God’s presence.

-       Be still and know that I am God.          Ps 46:10 

-       The Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth fall silent before Him. Habakkuk 2:20

A Parable of the Lost Lamb
11 “The Son of Man has come to give life to anyone who is lost. 12 Think of it this way: If a man owns a hundred sheep and one lamb wanders away and is lost, won’t he leave the ninety-nine grazing on the hillside and go out and thoroughly search for the one lost lamb? 13 And if he finds his lost lamb, he rejoices over it, more than over the ninety-nine who are safe. 14 Now you should understand that it is never the desire of your heavenly Father that a single one of these humble believers should be lost.” - Matthew 18:11-14 The Passion Translation

"Tools of Engagement" by Dusty Johnson

Listen along as Pastor Dusty shares and gives the group a chance to experience a couple of tools that can promote personal engagement with scripture. The goal is that these tools can help raise our spiritual awareness and maturity as we listen and respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

This message introduces SOAP Journaling (Acronym: Scripture/Observation/Application/Prayer) and another tool adapted from Dr. Tod Bolsinger’s Tool for Discussion, Response and Reading the Bible referred to as I-I-I-R.

I-I-I-R can be used alone or paired with the OBSERVATION section of the SOAP journaling method. This can help further engagement by paying attention to what impacts you while reading scripture.


IIIR stands for the following:

  • INSPIRE (!) What stands out positively so far and why?

  • INQUIRE (?) What questions have been raised that may need further exploration?

  • IRK (*) What might be triggering you or creating dissonance?

  • REQUIRE (>) What changes seem to be demanded of you?

Big Table Sunday Interviews | November 2019

Listen along to the following special guests as part of our Big Table Sunday Interviews:

15th Night/Youth Action Council (YAC) - Julia Johnson interviewed Tauna Nelson and representatives from the Eugene Youth Action Council the 15th Night Initiative that works to address issues relating to youth homelessness in Eugene.

Caring the vulnerable through the Holidays - Dusty Johnson interviews Aaron Porter, who is a mental health professional and part of CitySalt. We discussed discussing issues of "Seasonal Awareness," and how we can be better equipped to care for friends, neighbors and loved ones during the holidays.

"The Power of Listening" by Dusty Johnson

Listen along as Pastor Dusty shares this message from James 1:19 that challenges us to “be quick to listen and slow to speak.” This is part of an ongoing series titled, WISDOM | Lessons from the book of James, and keys in on ways we pay attention to God, others and ourselves when pressed by challenging circumstances.

"To-Do or Not-To-Do" by John Rice

Listen along as Pastor John shares this message relating to the topic of Faith and Works from James 2:14-19. He challenges us with letting our works be an expression of faith that grows and matures through process and time. John shared the following time-lapse video of a pumpkin seed that was planted by a child and matures to a full-grown pumpkin under five minutes.

"Godly Wisdom" by Dusty Johnson

Listen along as Pastor Dusty begins a new teaching series titled WISDOM | Lessons from the Book of James. This message focuses on the text Jame 1:1-12 and seeks to explore and better understand the difference between Godly Wisdom and Worldly Wisdom.

This message concludes with an emotional and inspiring video clip straight from this week’s headlines and the playing of the song “Higher Love” recorded by James Vincent McMorrow.

"Salty and Bright | EQ and Communication" by John Rice

Listen along as Pastor John follows up last week’s message with this further exploration of how we can be salt and light (Matthew 5) in our influence and relationships. John explains the importance of emotional intelligence (EQ) as it relates to being a learning, growing, maturing Christ-follower and shares a TEDx video clip by Poet Ali that is sure to inspire and challenge all as it relates to communication.