Sky Links, 4-7-18

Photo: Spacebridge by longobord CC 2.0
Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know it was Jesus.
-John 20:14

"We have been very proud of the fact that we have not subscribed to a prosperity gospel. But what we have subscribed to is a pampered gospel where we are so afraid of suffering and we are so afraid someone is going to criticize us and hurt our feelings," Moore asserted. "This is the Gospel work of Jesus Christ and we are going with Him. Whatever it takes, no matter how unpopular it is. He was hated. We have to have thicker skin than that."

As there has been increased racial tensions in the U.S. in the last few years, panelists were asked how Christians should be the "type of people that are champions for healing in the midst of this racial tension."

Moore weighed in by asserting that a "role reversal" is required in which white evangelicals and white evangelical leaders "have to become intentional students."

"I think one of the strong suits of the streams that we represent up here today and this week is that so much teaching has come from this stream of Christianity. It is a beautiful thing, but we are very accustomed to that," Moore said. "We are very accustomed to being the ones that have the seminaries and the commentaries and all the things that we learn from."

"But in the situation we are in right now, what it's going to demand is that there is also a reversal of roles, that we become listeners and students and that we learn from these voices, that we intentionally lean in," she continued.

Moore said that she has done this in her own life by being intentional about listening to other people of color that she doesn't like and agree with.

"One of the things that I hear leaders of color telling us is that we don't just want to come to you on your terms," Moore said. "When you say, 'We want unity and we want to all be together, now come over here and come be unified with us in what we do in all the ways we do it.' We can't do it that way. It's not going to work."



Seeking Truth: Kathryn Scott — Still “Hungry” for God & Excited About Spiritual Awakening in Ireland
-Julie Roys

Singer Kathryn Scott may not be a household name in the U.S., but she’s one of my all-time favorite worship leaders. Her well-known worship song, “Hungry,” ministered to me powerfully when I was going through a difficult time. And there’s no doubt that when this Irish-born woman sings, she leads people to the feet of Jesus. I was privileged to hear Kathryn lead worship in person for the first time this Monday at the Vertical Church Conference. Then I was able to record an interview with her and discuss our common experience in the Vineyard, our mutual love for the church, and the spiritual awakening happening in Ireland. I absolutely loved this interview with Kathryn and I think you will too!

   "I love the Unity Message near the end of this interview."-Lawrie Paul Given





You Can Ski-Up To The Order Window at This Mountaintop McDonald's
-Audrey Bruno

In case you're curious, Sweden's McSki — a McDonald's with an ordering window you can ski up to — is still thriving. You might be tempted to think it's all a hoax; just part of an ad the brand dreamed up in 2014, but YouTuber Johns Garage can attest it's real. Check it out:






-Steve Simms

(8 Steps)

1) Pray and surrender: Give up your expectations and turn it over to Jesus. Let it be His meeting, not yours. That takes a lot of pressure off. (No need to worry about numbers or agendas.) You don’t have to lead it. Just create an open, loving atmosphere and watch what the risen Jesus can do in your home.

2) Invite a few friends over to your house. You don’t need a big crowd. Jesus promised to be with us, even in “groups” of two or three. So don’t try to get dozens of people over. Start small with twelve or less.

3) If you want to, have food. However, for me, if I’m hosting, organizing food can be a distraction and make it hard to focus on hearing the Spirit. So food is fine, if you want to have it, but it isn’t a requirement. If you do have food, it is good to serve it either before or after the meeting time and not during the meeting.

4) Be prayed up and in the Spirit. Then warmly welcome everyone who comes and create a loving atmosphere as people arrive.

5) When you’re ready, pull everyone together. I’ve found that it is helpful to begin with someone leading heart-felt worship songs. (I ask them to be the “lead worshiper” and not the worship leader.) Let the worship go as long as the Spirit is moving and working.

6) As worship tapers off, tell the group that this is an open meeting and that anyone can share as they feel prompted by the Holy Spirit. Encourage them to consider others and to make their sharing short so that others will have time to share. Then say a prayer with the group and watch what the risen Jesus does next.

7) In most cases the Holy Spirit will run the meeting all by Himself. As the host all you have to do is to be what the New Testament calls an “overseer.” (Other mature believers who are present may also help oversee the meeting.) An overseer is like an official in basket ball. She or he, just stays out of the way and observes what is going.

Should anything be said or done that is off base or unbiblical, an overseer kindly interrupts the person and says something like, “Thank you for sharing. Who else has something from the Spirit?” If something biblically way off base is shared, an overseer can take 30 seconds to gently correct it and then turn the meeting back over to Jesus. Also it is good to not let the meeting turn into a counseling session where everybody begins to instruct one person. Sometimes it is good to kindly remind people not to share unless they know the Holy Spirit is telling them to do so.

Note by Henry Hon: I would recommend not openly correcting anyone as an authority figure. It is much more profitable to have personal fellowship in private if correction is needed. If an authoritative correction is done openly, it could well discourage others from speaking up since they would be afraid to say anything wrong. If no one is dominating the fellowship time, then even if something is spoken that is unscriptural, it will be covered over by others speaking concerning Jesus. So, in my experience, the typical “referee” job is just to make sure no one dominates and everyone has opportunity and time to share what is in them.

8) Let Jesus, Himself, end the meeting. People will know when the meeting is winding down and it is time to go.

So what can you expect from this 8-step process? Every meeting will be different....




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