Here a recap from the last Catalyst session we had a couple of weeks ago. This past Sunday was a special Remembrance Day service and we did not have a session.

This was part 4 of 4 in the Social Justice series, titled “We Can Do Something”. 

There is a always a question that people ask themselves when they encounter the issues of social justice.  They see the issues, the needs, the hurts etc  and wonder what could I, one person do?  God uses some ordinary people to accomplish some great things….just open the Bible read a few narratives, see where these people came from, were called out from.  Then read the beginning of the Book of Acts, specifically Acts 1:8.

These were the scriptures we used in the session:

Ephesians 2:10, Micah 6:8, Isaiah 1:17, I Peter 3:15, I John 3:17, Matthew 23:23, John 10:10

• Seeking justice is the task of bringing the truth and power to bear on behalf of those who are oppressed.
• There are roles for everyone to engage in Social Justice
• Pastors, Teachers etc…need to be teaching about the God of Justice. Teaching about the authority of the Word of God, to know God’s passion for justice.  They can show us how God can use everyone to meet the needs of social justice.
• Frontline workers…live in the communities where the victims of abuse live. Living and working among the poor.
• There are so many gifted, talents of people that can help meet the needs of the oppressed, Christians that are trained as police officers, nurses, doctors, lawyers, business, politicians, cooks etc.  These talents and skills can be used to help meet the needs of these people in situations not just in places around the globe, but in the neighbourhoods and communities that they travel to work in everyday.
• Poetry, art, music, video, these are creative talents that can be used to help capture and tell the story to others to show what is happening.  To help bring awareness and attention.
• No matter what talent a person has, God can use it to help someone in need.

We ended the session and the series with the following two scriptures:

Luke 10:25-37, Matthew 25:31-46

The next series starting next week is based on the book by Francis Chan, called “Crazy Love”.

Getting this post out late.  Been meaning to get to it all week.

This past Sunday we completed session 3 of 4 that we are doing in Catalyst on Social Justice.

We talked about hope. 

With everything that we have talked about in regards to Social Justice and all the issues and problems ongoing in the world. There are 4 aspects of God character that we can trust in: (I am listing the scriptures we used for each aspect/trait)

1. Justice – Isaiah 30:19, Isaiah 61:8, Ecclesiastes 4:1, Psalm 10:13-14, Psalm 11:5-7, Jeremiah 9:23-24, Psalm 146:5-20
2. Compassion – Psalm 145:9, Exodus 3:7, Exodus 22:26-27, Psalm 9:9-12, Psalm 12:5, Lamentations 3:36, James 5:4, Isaiah 53:3, John 11:33-35, Acts 1:8
3. Morals – Isaiah 59:2+16, Jeremiah 5:28-29, Jeremiah 21:12, Amos 2:6-7, Zechariah 7:8-12, Luke 11:42
4. Rescue – Psalm 10:13-18, Psalm 35:10, Psalm 140:12, Jeremiah 20:13, Luke 4:18

Stayed tuned for the Facebook Event announcements for the Catalyst Meet-Ups. 

This Sunday we close out the series….next series on the horizon, Crazy Love, based on the book by Francis Chan.

This past weekend we continued our series on Social Justice.

We dove into some scripture that talks about how we should not be surprised that we live in a world that has so many injustices.

Job 24:2-4, 9-10

Psalm 37:14

Isaiah 3:14

Lamentations 5:11-13

Ezekiel 22:29

Joel 3:3

Amos 1:13

We got into a good discussion when I mentioned that Jesus was born into a situation that can be classified as one of the most brutal acts of injustice ever, Matthew 2:16.  Can you imagine if you went to a Christmas production and they had their drama take on that angle. 

Read: Matthew 5:14-16, Matthew 28:18-20, Ephesians 6:14-15, Acts 1:8 as you engage into Social Justice issues.

I closed with a quote from Ed Stetzer tweeted on Twitter Saturday night…”When James speaks of ‘faith without works,’ the example he uses is social justice. Faith caring is dead faith.”

Matthew 14:27 “Take courage, It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

I also continued to stress the fact that being Apostolic, means social justice is at the core of who we are…read scripture and it is without a doubt, Jesus calls us to engage.

This past Sunday AM we had our first meeting of Catalyst.  We are rewinding the Social Justice series from 2008, as we never completed that series.  I spoke the first message again, this time however, I added more ideas on how being Apostolic means social justice takes on quite a significance.  If you examine scripture from the Psalms, to the words Jesus spoke, actions that Jesus did, actions and behaviours of the Apostles…social justice is important; very important.  In fact, I would say that when you are engaged in acts and needs of others, the “least of these”…it allows for you as an individual to connect with what the spirit of Christ is already doing in that situation.  We dove into more of this, and will continue to explore the subject of Social Justice…the goal is not just to be studying, talking…..but to take it to a new dynamic.

This week, we will be speaking in the AM again, and plan for the first meet-up of Catalyst the following week.

I also announced that every 2 months to 1.5 months, we will be having Catalyst At Night gathering in the main sanctuary on Sunday evenings.  This is not a break out session or service, but rather we are going to brand the evening service as Catalyst At Night.  I will be speaking, and we will be adding some additional elements from Catalyst.  Should be good. 

Here is the recap from a couple of weeks ago at Faith Apostolic Church.

We continued the series in the AM called “Unstoppable.” I talked about how we need to be a church that is focused and committed on leading people to be fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. We jumped into the Books of Acts (2:44), where we read about a powerful church, a small church with a large impact. The early church that we today say we want to be like, it was a church that was together. They believed scripture was important so they studied together. They believed in relationships, so they lived life together. They were also generous people.

They had unity. They were in agreement. They were together.

Instead of thinking of ourselves as members of a local church, we need to be partners together.  We need to bring what Jesus Christ has put inside of us to the table. You bring you. Others bring themselves. Everyone partnering together in agreement and the local church becomes unstoppable in the local community. Making a difference.

In the PM, I spoke on “Social Justice”.

I talked about a couple of steps to take

1. Cultivate Compassionate Awareness.  We need to go from hearing and reading about injustices around the world to action.

2. Prepare Our Mind for Action. The Bible declares the world’s need for salvation and justice. Preparing our minds for action means coming to grips that we were sent into a world as salt and light because the world is full of corruption and injustice.  Scripture speaks of the world into which Jesus sent us.  Job 24:2-4, 9-10; Psalm 37:14; Isaiah 3:14; Lamentations 5:11-13; Ezekiel 22:29; Joel 3:3; Amos 1:13.  So the last people that should be caught surprised that injustice is happening in the world are Christians.

Even Christ was born into a world where a ruler gave a order to commit injustice, something that if it was broadcast on CNN would be shocking to most people today. Matthew 2:16.

I will be posting the recap from this past weekend soon as well.  I have been recovering some major laptop failures last week, and am now just getting everything reinstalled.