Monday, March 15, 2010

Dinner and Culture Evening April 17th

Hello Friends!

What a great time we had at our last Dinner and Culture Evening on February 20th!  Thanks again to our Filipino friends who made this evening such a wonderful time.

This Saturday, March 20, we will be having another Dinner and Culture Evening.  The evening will be focusing on the country of Cameroon, Africa.  We would love it if you could come and join us for the fun and exchanging of cultures.  We will plan to start the evening around 6pm.  If you have a friend who you think would enjoy this kind of evening, please feel free to invite them.  There is no cost to join us but we would like to know, in advance, that you are coming so we can plan for the right amount of food.

If you plan to join us for the evening, this is what we would like to ask of you:

Please let us know by Thursday, March 18th  if you can come.  If you are bringing a friend, please let us know you will bring a friend and their name. 

Thanks so much for helping us create a great evening that we can all look forward to!

Future Dinner and Culture Dates:

April 17: Columbia
May15: Czech Republic

Lani Borgman Shade
4441 Spruce St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Friday, March 5, 2010

Siblings of Christ

"and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him." (Romans 8:17)

The logic here: if God is our father, then we are his children. And if we're his children, then we inherit all he has, along with our other siblings. Jesus has a sibling relationship to us. But along with the blessings of the inheritance comes the suffering that goes with the family. Why suffering? Because the life Jesus led was one of total self-denial and devotion to building God's kingdom. Self-denial will lead to suffering. And kingdom-building will lead to suffering through opposition from others. Only when we live like this do we prove that we are truly children of God. So, God is our Father, but we also have to be his children.

1. How do you live as a family member of God's? Do you think about the inheritance you have? How does that make you feel?

2. Do your friends or co-workers recognize that you belong to God? Do they question or challenge you? If not, why not?

3. What can you do to make sure more people recognize that you are a child of God and an heir to an incredible fortune? What changes would need to happen?

-- Charlie