The Sunday Gathering @ FCBC

Rodney Tom Leads our discussion  today  and  encourages us to be mindful! Key Points about how to create and incorporate mindfulness in your life: 1. Live now, don't worry about the past or the future 2. Meditation can help to lessen your daily worries, reduce anxiety 3. Trust in the Lord 4. Think about what you are doing now; eating, breathing - pay attention every moment 5. Being mindful by being thankful Rodney leads everyone in a 1 minute breathing exercise to lead us to a moment of meditation. He reminds us to NOT think of anything. Maximum benefits happen when you can remove your 'to do' thoughts or check list and stay quiet and focus on your breathing. 1. Stop 2. Breathe 3. Pray 4. Repeat Take a moment to recite the Jesus Prayer: "Lord son of God, have mercy on me". Prayer rope - a reminder to count how many times one has prayed Stay focused on what you are praying about, do not let your mind wand...

Steve Lessler concludes his discussion about the Palestinian - Israeli conflict today.  As Steve files through his presentation notes he closes with a large group discussion weighing both sides of the conflict. Shirlene Tong recommended a non fiction book by Sandy Tolan , The Lemon Tree, "An Arab, a Jew and the Heart of the Middle East" Click to buy from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lemon-Tree-Arab-Heart-Middle/dp/1596913436/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1531617963&sr=8-1&keywords=sandy+tolan Steve asks the group to ask themselves these questions:   How should we as Christians watching this conflict unfold, seeing people kill each other in the name of Religion, how should we react, how should we feel? Do we have a right to take a position? if so, what should that be? Why have some Christian groups acted on behalf of Israel in a hostile manner toward Palestinians? Resource: Maps:  https://israelipalestinian.procon.org/view.resource.php?re...

Steve Lessler provides The Sunday Gathering with a excellent detailed count of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a struggle that began in the mid 20th Century. Steve claims his double sided 7 page handout is only a brief summary of what's really been going on and plans to follow up with an opportunity to break into small group discussions this coming Sunday, July 8th. This session is broken into 3 video clips - attached: https://photos.app.goo.gl/QeQrBmzBYKKvd5R77 https://photos.app.goo.gl/a26f4fpsPiUfB1ei9 https://photos.app.goo.gl/X8txfrzsFQmjoKto9 Please join us this Sunday to continue with Part 2 and share some of your thoughts about this unfortunate struggle. ---------------------------------------------------------- "5 minutes with George" George Lai reminds us of the scripture we first learned when The Sunday Gathering began.  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice Always Pray without ceasing and  Give thanks in all circumstances; for this i...