Large group #8 - Forgiveness and Reconciliation

This week we will be talking about forgiveness and reconciliation:  Why are we called to forgive and to reconcile?  Do we need to be careful when we reconcile and forgive with people who do not hold themselves a biblical standard? What gives us the power to reconcile and forgive? What is God’s nature regarding sin, forgiveness, and reconciliation?

Large Group #7 - Supporting each other

This week we will be talking about encouragement and have a quick recap about what we learned from studying Micah on Saturday.  I have been greatly encouraged over the past few weeks as I have gotten to know many new faces and seen strong commitment to Christ and to each other at Turtle Prayer, this weekend’s Dig-In, at church, and around campus.  I pray that we will continue to love and serve each other wholeheartedly. I exhort those of us who have found a firm community here at Caltech to reach out to those who have not yet found Christian community.  Consider the wonderful blessing it is to be with fellow believers and how encouraging it is to spend time with each other; share that gift and blessing with your friends because you care about them and love them.

Encouragement and hope come ultimately from God, through His Spirit (consider Ephesians 5:15-21 and Hebrews 13:9) and in the work Jesus accomplished on the cross. Hence we can encourage each other simply by living out scripture in our lives (1 Thessalonians 3:6-10). Encouragement is not a passive process, nor is it simply our words: we encourage through our actions (1 John 3:18) and our involvement in each other’s lives.

We will consider how we can encourage each other by reading Job 2:11-13, Romans 12:15, and Psalm 88.  We encourage by understanding each other well enough that we can encourage according to our brother’s a sister’s needs (Ephesians 4:29).  Therefore we will discuss how we encourage with the freedom that Christ gave us and not in compulsion (Galatians 5:1, Romans 14:13-23, Philemon 14) and see how rebuke relates to encouragement (Galatians 6:1, 1 Timothy 5:1-2, Proverbs 27:5).  We will also identify some pitfalls to avoid as we encourage each other by examining Proverbs 27:14 and Job 42:7-9. Finally, we will also look at some of the specific ways to encourage our leaders and teachers in Galatians 6:6 and Hebrews 13:17.

This week we will also begin to tie together all the topics we have been talking about this term—living life as a Body (1 Corinthians 12), building honesty and openness (James 5:13-16), dealing with conflict (Matthew 5:21-26,Matthew 18:15-20, Ephesians 4:25-28)—and relating these topics to how we encourage each other.

I exhort you all to put into practice what we have been covering in Large Group (so that we may love through actions and not simply through words), to spend time with each other so that we may encourage each other and grow in love together, to check up on your friends to support them (especially in the wake of midterms!), and to invite friends to have community with other believers.

Large Group #5 - Dealing with Conflict

This week we will be talking about dealing with conflict in the Body of Christ because we are all sinners with rough edges, and conflict of one sort or another will inevitably arise.  The bible has several passages that give specific instruction on conflict, the most explicit are Matthew 5:21-26, Matthew 18:15-20, and Ephesians 4:25-28. We will talk about why God gives us these instructions on conflict resolution and what happens when we don’t follow these instructions.  We will also talk about behaviors that lead to more conflict (such as gossip,Proverbs 16:28 or love of money, 1 Timothy 6:3-5), discuss some practices that help minimize conflict (e.g. 1 Timothy 5:1-2, Ephesians 4:29), and look at some cautions while trying to help others diffuse their conflict (e.g. Matthew 18:15-17, Proverbs 27:17). We will also touch briefly on reconciliation and forgiveness because it is so closely related to conflict in the Christian life, but we will talk about it in more detail at a later Large Group.

I pray that we will all continue to grow in wisdom and maturity with each other.  I exhort us to spend time with each other so that we may grow in friendship and love for one another.  I am encouraged by the love and commitment to each other that I have seen and heard about so far this year and I call us all to continue steadfastly along that path.

Please also remember your ‘homework’: a) to live out what we are talking about in Large Group, b) to spend time together growing in friendship and encouragement, and c) to invite a friend (or 2 or 3…) to Large Group!

Large Group #4 - Honesty and Openness

This week we will be talking about honesty and openness, especially with regards to making our community a safe and supportive one for everyone. In the context of being part of the body, which we talked about last week, living in the truth gives us freedom (John 8:32) to support each other and become closer, as one body (Ephesians 4:25) and stand together as followers of the truth (Mark 3:25, John 14:6).  This allows us to trust each other and be in community with each other in truth and love (Ephesians 4:15) so that we may grow in maturity and be faithful to one another (James 5:13-16, James 3:14). Being truthful and obedient to God also gives us encouragement (3 John 1:4) and builds us up (Proverbs 14:25).

By walking in the truth we invite the Holy Spirit (a.k.a. Spirit of Truth) to work in us and bear fruit (John 14:16-17, Galatians 5:22-23). The truth and love that we are speaking of is not just spoken with words, but carried out in action (1 John 3:18).  I pray that we will be an encouragement to each other and a light to campus as we live in honesty and openness with each other.  May we take steps to build trust and friendship with each other!

Love in Christ,

Peter

Large Group # 3 - Everyone is different!

This week we will be discussing what it means to be a Body of Christ.  The Christian walk is not a solitary one and many of the commands and exhortations we have received through the bible are corporate (for example, most of the “you”s translated into English in the New Testament are really “you all”s). We are called to live together as a body in preparation for becoming the bride of Christ, made perfect through the sacrifice of Jesus.

So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. (Romans 7:4)

One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. (Revelation 21:9-10)

As a Body of Christ we are called to live close with one another and, as sinners with lots of rough edges, we are likely to irritate each other (a lot). This leads to conflicts, misunderstandings, and general discord because we are different and we do not understand each other or each other’s perspectives, and our roles in the Body of Christ are all distinct.  Therefore I encourage us all to grow in understanding of ourselves (so that we may understand our own part in the Body of Christ) and of others (so we can better understand the complete picture of the Body of Christ and increase our appreciation of each other). Let us encourage each other to greater unity.

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

My hope is that this week we can discuss and appreciate what makes each one of us unique in the Body of Christ, how we can better understand each other, and how we can take ownership of loving others for who they are as we are grown by the Holy Spirit.  One of the tools we have at our disposal is personality tests, like the Myers-Briggs test you can find at this link: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp. When you’re done you can read about your personality type here: http://www.typelogic.com (I recommend this site over others). Although personality tests are limited tools, they are good at helping to diagnose broad patterns that you might encounter in your life and for helping to understand the pitfalls that your fellow workers in Christ might face based on their personality types.  I have found the Myers-Briggs test and the descriptions to which I linked to be quite accurate and helpful. I hope that they are also helpful for you!

Loving each other for who we are is time consuming and takes much effort, but it is most highly commendable. Let us continue to grow in love, understanding, and maturity because we have received good news.

Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:1-2)

Love in Christ,

Peter

P.S. I have attached the discussion questions for this week below.  If you would like to answer or discuss any of the questions, please feel free to reply all and start a conversation!

Large Group #2 - What does it mean to live as a believer in the Body of Christ?

During the course of the year we will be exploring many of the practical aspects of living as the Body of Christ. To do this we will usually be breaking into small discussion groups during Large Group so that we can each grow in our maturity as Christians by taking ownership of our faith, our understanding of scripture, and how we live our lives as a testimony to the good news we have received.  I see my role in leading Large Group as that of a guide who will prepare some structure for scriptural study and the facilitation of fellowship, but we are all old enough now that it is up to each and every one of us to choose how we will live as followers of Christ. That is, I will not be telling you how to live because, although I am a tad bit older, I have my own sins and prejudices—instead, we will be led by the Spirit as we study scripture together.

The Caltech Christian Fellowship is far more than a club; it is a community of believers, with all of the privileges and responsibilities that entails. The CCF is also unique in that it is entirely led and governed by undergraduates, under the mentorship of some older folks, particularly Mr. John Skidmore, who has been with the CCF for nearly 40 years now.  This gives us a freedom to be grown by God through our works as a group, a privilege not afforded to many college Christian groups, where curricula are decided by youth ministers and pastors. This is exciting(!), and I look forward to living, learning, and loving with you all as we strive toward maturity and our mutual sanctification in preparation for becoming the bride of Christ.

As it says in Ephesians 4:11-16, “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

I have been quite impressed already by the Christians in the incoming freshman class, even from the limited interaction we have had, and I look forward to getting to know you all better as we share our time here at Caltech.  I am pleased to welcome you into a community with upperclassmen who care about you and are here to help you as older brothers and sisters in Christ.  I have been away for a year and truly I can say of these upperclassmen, “In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:4-6). I exhort us all to continue to grow in love for one another, being confident in the security and promise that Christ has furnished for us.

This week in Large Group we will begin our year with a broad overview of what it means to be a Christian living in the Body of Christ, and touch on a number of topics pertinent to this life.  The week-by-week outline of what we will cover in Large Group this year is given below.  Obviously this list is not exhaustive and all of the themes are tied together.  Please email me or let me know at Large Group if there are any topics not explicitly mentioned that you would like to talk about over the year and I will be happy to fit things in and reorganize the schedule a bit!

Love in Christ,

Peter

Terms 1 & 2 (Life as a believer in the Body of Christ)

1. Welcome
2. Introduction – What does it mean to live as a believer in the Body of Christ?
3. Everyone is different! (take a personality test and interact/discuss)
4. Honesty and Openness (creating a safe, supportive environment)
5. Dealing with conflict
6. Specific challenges at Caltech
7. Supporting each other
8. Discipleship
9. Church and the larger community
10. Prayer and faith

1. What does it mean to run after God?
2. Balance (the well-rounded life)
3. Stewardship
4. Group resources
5. Corruption (and pitfalls to avoid!)
6. Marriage and sexuality (Valentine’s day panel)
7. Non-romantic relationships
8. Sabbath and humility
9. Charismatic things (panel)
10. Leadership (incl. Family Business Meetings--the way we )

Term 3 (Life in Babylon, USA)

1. LIVING a testimony
2. Tackling challenging personal questions (for your own benefit and for your testimony)
3. Easter and Holy Week
4. Supporting and counseling non-Christians
5. Theological Apologetics 101
6. Apologetics concerning believers in other faiths
7. Ask a scientist! How does one live a testimony as a scientist? (Invited Christian faculty speaker)
8. Veritas Forum recap (whichever week Caltech’s Veritas Forum takes place)
9. Historical Apologetics
10. Senior Send-off

Large Group #7: Senior Send-Off

On June 3, we had our final large group where multiple CCF seniors were invited to talk about what CCF meant to them, what they learned, and so forth. There was also a Q&A session afterwards. (By the way, I've kept the names anonymous, so that people would hopefully be more comfortable sharing honest opinions.) If you'd like to see what they had to say, read on!