Hosted by the Faith To Go team in the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, David Tremaine and Charlette Preslar, and joined the each week by a special guest, the Faith To Go Podcast highlights themes from the Sunday Gospel reading for you to take into your faith discussions and reflections throughout the week.
from NPR
Questions:
1) Where do you see win-lose or even lose-lose arguments in the world today?
2) What are some conversations you've had recently that you've never had to have before?
3) Have you had any challenging conversations lately? What made them so hard?
4) How might things be different in your life or the life of the US if we shifted to this kind of approach to dialogue?
5) What ideas are you going to take from this article into your every day interactions?
Views and Qs: Getting Stuck In The Negative
Watch this video together and then use the discussion questions below to reflect as a family.
Discussion Questions:
1) Do you feel like you get stuck in the negative sometimes? If so, why? If not, why not? 2) When was a recent time you got stuck in the negative? What triggered it? Did anything help you work through that negativity?
3) What techniques does Alison Ledgerwood suggest for re-framing our negative talk? 4) Are there people in our life that help you feel more positive? What characteristics do they share 5) What are the things that trigger negative self-talk or thinking for you? What about the positive?
Feast and Faith: Having God Thoughts
For this week's dinner discussion we will focus on Jesus' command to focus on "God thoughts" rather than "human thoughts."
Prayer -
O God, you have bound us together in a common life. Help us,
in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth, to confront
one another without hatred or bitterness, and to work
together with mutual forbearance and respect; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
Discussion -
This week we are reflecting on the story of Jesus rebuking Peter for telling him that he must not go to Jerusalem, suffer and die. Jesus implores the disciples to keep their minds of "divine things" rather than "human things":
Questions -
1) Another translation of "diving things" would be "God thoughts" or "the thoughts of God. What do you think it would mean to think with the "thoughts of God?"
2) How might your view of yourself, other people, and the world change if you perceived things with the "thoughts of God?"
3) What do you think Jesus means by "Human thoughts" as opposed to "God thoughts?"
4) Where do you see a limited world view causing conflict or suffering in the world today?
5) How might thinking with "God thoughts" help with this situation? What do you think would change?
Final Nugget -
Jesus is inviting us in this time to have a change of mind, and perceive things with a new sense of interconnectedness and wholeness. How might you bring this kind of attitude to your view of the world and your interactions each day?
Stay and Pray: A Devotion for Families at the Close of the Day Each week we feature a way for your family to reflect and pray together. For families with older children this is an at home liturgy for your family to participate in together. It is a daily devotion for families adapted from The Book of Common Prayer.
Before you begin, take a few moments to decide who will read the scripture reading and who will read the collect and closing.
Read the Psalm and Lord's Prayer in unison.
After a moment of silence, begin with the Psalm.
Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c
(read in unison)
1 Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name; *
make known his deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him, *
and speak of all his marvelous works.
3 Glory in his holy Name; *
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Search for the Lord and his strength; *
continually seek his face.
5 Remember the marvels he has done, *
his wonders and the judgments of his mouth,
6 O offspring of Abraham his servant, *
O children of Jacob his chosen.
23 Israel came into Egypt, *
and Jacob became a sojourner in the land of Ham.
24 The Lord made his people exceedingly fruitful; *
he made them stronger than their enemies;
25 Whose heart he turned, so that they hated his people, *
and dealt unjustly with his servants.
26 He sent Moses his servant, *
and Aaron whom he had chosen.
45 Hallelujah!
Reading
(read by assigned person)
Matthew 16:21-28
Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?
“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Prayers for Ourselves and For Others (take this time to each offer one person/event that you would like to hold in prayer as well as one thing you are thankful for)
Dear God, tonight I ask your prayers for.......
and I give you thanks for ..........
Amen
The Lord’s Prayer
(read in unison)
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen
The Collect
(read by assigned person)
Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.
Share some of your conversations in the comments below: