Walter read Colossians 3.12-16 and emphasized the physiological side of compassion and our call as a community to help each other to enter a “compassionate space” by a compassionate presence for each other – especially those of us who for a time are anxious, defensive, angry or afraid. He also touched a bit on the issues of shame that Pete introduced (using Ray’s poem and song as a helpful example) and strongly recommending Brene Brown’s podcast on Shame and Accountability.
Peter Fitch continues the study on 1 John. In this section he speaks about two new principles of a healthy spiritual perspective: a) God is for us and it makes a difference and, b) we can be transformed to be more like God. Once again, he sees two ditches to avoid: 1) missing out on the help God is willing to give and, 2) thinking that this grace is only for people who say they believe a certain thing or have prayed a certain way.
Peter Fitch continues his series on 1 John. He believes that this letter contains a treasury of wise principles for healthy spirituality. Last week, looking at the end of the first chapter, he began to speak about confession. This week, before moving on, he decided to say a little more about this wonderful gift. In the talk he shares some of Brené Brown’s ideas about shame and guilt, and he tries to sketch a middle way between, on the one hand, the pretense that we never make mistakes and, on the other, living in a state of shame.
Peter Fitch looks at 1 John 1:5-10 in the first indoor service since mid-March. It was raining this morning so we decided to meet indoors. It was good to be together and to be able to have more interaction during the talk than we were able to do in the parking lot services. Peter thinks that 1 John is full of wisdom about healthy spirituality and he plans to teach through the entire letter over the next period of time. This talk focuses on the second half of chapter one.
