Making poverty personal

Wow! What an amazing book this is. I am loving reading and studying this book with you guys.

To re-cap, for this week we should have read the Introduction and Chapters 1 & 2. Jen will be doing the summary and leading discussion.

Leanne, you did a great job last week!

How are you guys finding the book and study? Let us know your thoughts...

Make Poverty Personal

Hi Guys,

The books have arrived, so we will be beginning this week our delve into the global issue of poverty. Please bring $20 for the book. Dinner will be at 7pm.

:) Jen

Maundy Thursday

Next week is Maundy Thursday, so David will be leading us through the events and symbolism of the Last Supper. Feel free to invite family or friends you think will be interested, and let Jen and David know for numbers when they cater.

Slowing Down to Pray

Last night, after a yummy meal of tacos, we continued our study on prayer looking at Psalm 131:

LORD, my heart is not haughty,
Nor my eyes lofty.
Neither do I concern myself with great matters,
Nor with things too profound for me.

Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,
Like a weaned child with his mother;
Like a weaned child is my soul within me.

O Israel, hope in the LORD
From this time forth and forever. (NKJV)

Using study four in Too Busy Not to Pray: 6 studies for individuals or groups, we first considered busyness - "the archenemy of spiritual authenticity" and the truth of this statement in both our lives and the lives of people we know.

We then worked our way through the questions:

1. What is the mood of the writer of this psalm?

2. How could pride (v.1) produce extreme busyness?

3. What is meant by the phrase "haughty eyes"?

4. What is the connection between hautiness and being overly concerned with things that are beyond us (v.1)?

5. What definite decision(s) has the psalm writer made?

6. From your own experience or from watching mothers with their children, how does a mother quiet a trouble child? How does this compare to the ways God comforts us?

7. What reasons do you have to put your hope in the Lord?

Grabbing a piece of paper and a pen and then spent ten minutes:

a) considering what "great matters" are concerning us so much that we aren't letting God quiet and comfort us; and

b) bringing our worries to God in prayer and trusting him with these worries and with ourselves.

We then pulled out the chocolatiere and had hot chocolate... yum!

The prayers of Hannah

On Thursday night we looked at the prayers of Hannah in 1 Samuel.

First, we read 1 Samuel 1:1-18:

We discussed our initial thoughts or questions, and then considered in v.11:

• "maid-servant"/"hand-maiden" x 3, significance?
• "LORD" meaning "Yahweh" x 2, significance?
• what "affliction"?
• "look upon"/"remember" - significance?

in v.10:

• "bitterness" and "weeping" - significance?

And how does this prayer speak to you?

Some of the things we spoke about were the honesty of her prayer - to God, and in front of others; her confidence in God and following through of her vow; God's faithfulness; praying with a genuine heart; etc.

We then read 1 Samuel 1:19-2:11. After sharing our intial thoughts and questions we focussed on vv.1-10:

• What strikes you?
• What speaks to you?

We spoke about remembering to praise God when he answers prayers; remembering to pray in the good times and not just in the bad; God is in control, we don't achieve by our own might; it is God who builds up the humble and breaks down the mighty, etc.

Did I miss anything? Has anyone had any thoughts on Hannah's prayers or your own prayer life since then?

Last night

We met together for the first time last night, over hamburgers and pancakes, and brainstormed some topics for the year:

• poverty


• money and stewardship


• spiritual disciplines, eg. fasting, prayer, meditation, worship, etc.


• trials


• Revelation


• Leviticus


• women of the Bible


• role of women in the church and ministry


• preaching and testimonies - a "how to"


• prayer


• spiritual gifts, eg. mercy, hospitality, teaching, intercession, etc.


• Baptist distinctives and other denominations, eg. A Baptist belief of baptism, and how this compares to the Anglicans, etc.

If there are any topics you are interested in that are not on the list, let us know! :)

We decided to look at prayer and poverty first. For the study on poverty, we will use the book Make Poverty Personal (see sidebar, or see here). The books are $20 and I have ordered one book per household (ie. couples or sisters can share a book).

Yeah! Can't wait to get started on the studies next week! See you at 7pm Thursday, dinner included. Let Jen know if you have a dietary requirement.

Starting soon...

The Thursday night homegroup shall start on Thursday night, 15th February. There will be a meal to begin the night. We will meet at 7pm and Jen & David Waddell's place. See you then!!