July 21st, 2008
Welcome! If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed or subscribe via e-mail and stay up to date with new posts. Thanks for visiting!
The other night at Quest, part of our discussion was about communion. I asked the question, “Can we have a sense of joy when we take communion or must it be a somber event?” I’ve wondered this to myself at times. It often seems that communion is a somber occasion. I understand that, we are after all remembering a death. However, is joy also an emotion to be experienced when we take the Lord’s Supper?
Now, when I say joy I don’t mean a surface level joy that is all giddy, but a deeper joy. The kind of joy that is expressed in Hebrews 12:2
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Obviously, Jesus faced a great deal of stress and turmoil as he approached the cross, however we see here that it was ultimately joy that moved him forward. The joy of knowing that by his sacrifice we could have a restored relationship with the Trinity was enough to carry him through the pain. Joy gives us strength.
So if joy was at the core of Jesus sacrifice, should it also be a part of our remembrance? As we take the bread and cup perhaps we can experience God’s joy - the Joy that comes from His heart in the hope of having relationship with us. The joy of knowing that it was only by the cross that we can experience forgiveness and renewal. Through death comes life.
What do you think? What are the emotions that you feel when you take communion? Have you ever been overwhelmed with joy as you participate in the Lord’s Supper?
Tags: communion
July 15th, 2008
Thanks to a handy little program, Facebook users can join the Faith Journey blog network and keep up with us from right inside Facebook. Simply click here to join the network. While you are there, click here to become my friend 
Tags: facebook
July 5th, 2008
Starting tomorrow at Calvary Assembly of God , I’ll be facilitating a 9 week summer class based on the Bill Hull book Choose the Life .
We’ll be meeting @ 9:45 am so come join us if you’d like to "explore a faith that embraces discipleship ."
Tags: Bill Hull, choose the life, discipleship
July 2nd, 2008
Do you like to read?
Want to read and discuss different books on spiritual formation & discipleship?
Starting this month (July) we are going to launch the "faith journey book club". Every other month, we’ll read and discuss a selected book. Discussions will be a mix of on-line and in-person. If you’d like to participate all you’ve got to do is purchase the book, read it, and discuss!
Our book for July / August is Metamorpha: Jesus as a Way of Life
You can also find a discussion guide at the book’s website
Discussions will begin soon, so stay tuned!
Tags: metamorpha, spiritual formation
June 30th, 2008
Hey want to join the Calvary Assembly of God "twitter prayer team"?
What’s it all about?
This is an experiment in using technology (in this case text messaging) to help us become people who "pray continuously".
The idea is that you sign up for a twitter account (we’ll explain that in a minute) and follow the cagprayer twitter account . Every time a prayer request is posted to "cagprayer" you will receive the request via text message - then all you do is pray! A simple way to pray for the needs of others throughout the day.
Continue Reading »
Tags: prayer, twitter
June 20th, 2008
Last Sunday, Calvary had Lloyd Vandenburg of New Generations Ministry as a guest speaker. He spoke about breaking free from sin and addiction. You can listen here.
At the close of his sermon, he asked the congregation to do something a little bit out of the normal persons comfort zone. First he asked for those that were struggling to raise their hand, then for them to come forward. Then he asked for the rest of the congregation to come up and stand behind one of the people already up front. After giving the person a hug, they were to share their struggle and then the two were to pray with each other. It was a powerful time!
The sermon and the prayer time made me think about the Spiritual Discipline of Confession.
Continue Reading »
Tags: confession, Spiritual Disciplines
June 17th, 2008
This Thursday night Calvary Assembly of God will be hosting the free ."pre-simulcast" simulcast from 730pm to 900pm in the Multi Purpose Room. This event is designed to give you a glimpse into the Truth Project and a taste of what the simulcast will be like. It will also be re-aired on July 24.
For more info on this event click here
To purchase tickets for the simulcast in September click here
If you have questions, you can email truthproject@calvarydover.org
Tags: truth project
June 11th, 2008
Vacation season is upon us! This of course means day trips, house projects, sleeping in late, staying up late, and a variety of other activities designed to get our minds off of work and everyday life. Unfortunately for some it also means taking a break from our relationship with God. Sometimes when on vacation we can be tempting to get lax when it comes spiritual disciplines such as prayer and Bible reading.
But, rather than taking a break from God, your summer vacation is an excellent opportunity to connect with Him in brand new ways. Here are 7 things to try this vacation:
Continue Reading »
June 5th, 2008
In an effort to make things a little more exciting here and to share what’s on mind at the moment without writing a full post, I’ve added a new little feature that you’ll find over on the right called "On My Mind". This will be a place we’re I’ll share little nuggets, thoughts, prayers and prayer requests, and even personal updates that may be of interest (such as "I’m going to Starbucks, anyone want to join me?"). To do this, I’m utilizing a service called Twitter . This allows for some interaction and not just me talking and you listening. You can check me out at twitter.com/paulbowman where you can learn how to connect with your cell phone.
We’ll see how it works out!
Tags: twitter
May 30th, 2008
Perhaps you’ve seen the news about an Amazon tribe that is believed to have never had contact with the outside world. If not, click here to read the story
This amazing discovery got me thinking about all of the people that are in this world that have not only never been touched by the outside, but have also never been told the Gospel story of God’s love. According to the Joshua Project there are currently 2.68 billion unreached (people who haven’t been told the Gospel) people in the world!
Those that have never heard of God’s redeeming love and grace are all around us. They live in remote villages as well as across the street.
Continue Reading »
Tags: amazon tribe, evangelism, unreached
Loading ...