Stephanie Page Headers iron sharpening iron.png

Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron; so one man sharpens another. (NIV)

Our purpose is to learn new information and apply it in our lives with support from each other. Just as in the proverb, we are here to sharpen each other.

Expectations:

Prepare for each session. The point here is to be purposeful in learning from the material and each other, and follow through with application in our lives. What we are learning will need to be customized to what is needed in your life. We are all coming from different places.

Participate in each session. We are here to learn and learning requires participation. You need to engage. It doesn’t have to have a measure of ‘success’ of any kind. This is a place to express and to practice. We hope for growth in our ability to relate lovingly and joyfully to those closest to us. To achieve this we will need to seek out and accept feedback from trusted sources because we believe they want what is best for us. This is iron sharpening iron.

Practice between sessions. There isn’t an expectation of getting it right every time but there is an expectation to understand what happened and what could have happened. How could I have thought differently and therefore behaved differently? We are ultimately trying to embrace who we are and embrace that in a new way . We are not trying to become someone we are not.

Materials

Meeting Time: 9p Eastern Time US. The dates are associated with the sessions below.

What to expect each time

Welcome
Day by day review. What was impactful in the last 2 weeks?
Conversation based on the materials
Short recap

Session 1

THE MINISTRY OF PRESENCE

Who knows what "Immanuel" means? That's right = GOD WITH US. This is one of God's greatest "desires"... to be with and close to His people; and for His people to be with and close to Him.

THE GARDEN- The Garden is best understood as a cosmic temple of God... where heaven and earth overlap...where God and humanity were meant to dwell together. Sin, of course, broke that "overlap" so-to-speak so God made another way to dwell with His people...

THE TABERNACLE - a portable dwelling place for God to meet with His people...the OG set up tear down church-haha. This was a temporary means of God's dwelling with His people....where heaven and earth overlap

THE TEMPLE-a permanent structure and dwelling place for God to meet with His people...where heaven and earth overlap...although the building was more permanent than the tabernacle... this was only a foretaste and foreshadowing of what was to come! JESUS - God sent Jesus to "tabernacle" or dwell among us...God was literally and physically with us!! The human embodiment of heaven and earth overlapping!

THE HOLY SPIRIT - Just before Jesus ascended into heaven, He said that He would send the comforter...God's Spirit to dwell with WITHIN US...that we would be a little bit of heaven on earth to those around us.

A quote from “The Coaching Habit”

https://city-skills.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/The-Coaching-Habit_-Say-Less-Ask-More-Change-the-Way-You-Lead-Forever-PDFDrive-.pdf

I’ve heard him frame the work he does as “giving people the responsibility for their own freedom.” That’s a big statement that raises as many questions as it answers. One of those questions might be “What’s freedom?” and Block would probably respond by saying that it is being able to show up as an adult in our work and being able to deal with those around us as adults, too.

THIS IS THE MINISTRY OF PRESENCE - that as believers....followers of Jesus...apprentices

committed to BEING WITH JESUS... BECOMING LIKE JESUS...AND DOING JESUS-Y THINGS... we are called to participate in the lives of others. But we all know that is easier said than done, right?? There are all sorts of ways that our presence gets distorted or watered down....

ABSENCE - never available...not reliable...rarely around...too busy to be with
PRESENT BUT ABSENT - Probably the most common....here in body...but somewhere else in thought or feeling.
PRESENT BUT ANXIOUS - here, but on edge...frenetic...distracted...scatterbrained... worked up

But the ministry of presence that is showcased in the Bible (OT & NT) and ultimately exemplified in Jesus is a NON-ANXIOUS PRESENCE

Here are some characteristics of a "non-anxious presence":