So, how would you feeling if you knew someone whom you cared about was not just gone but very much ok? Mack has passed (in the school sense of course!) the judgement and the sadness is gone.. would you want such a glimpse into heaven for the sake of being comforted? What role would faith play in such a contact?
Jesus says that Missy was never alone during her abduction and murder... what connection do you thing Christ had with Missy during that time of fear and evil? Do you think Missy knew Jesus was there? What is the difference between Jesus being present and being Lord of all circumstances? How does this affect the way we pray? Is it misguided to ask Jesus and God to change our circumstances?
"Have you noticed that in your pain you assume the worst of me.." (p. 176) How does our prayer life often assume the worst of Jesus? I am thinking in the realm of sports where someone on both teams prayers to "play well" (read: win... sorry... I am a Lombardian (as in Vince!) here.. if the competition is to matter, then the measure is winning... playing is great, and one can feel good about the effort, but the measure is winning) but only one wins... does God seek a specific outcome or is God making a statement about one team over the other? Make no mistake, there are those who believe the prayers of the righteous trump the prayers of the pagan... If your prayers are not answered in the way you had hoped, do you assume the worst of God?
"What (I came to build) is a living breathing community of all those who love me, not buildings and programs" p. 179... How do we experience the love of God at GSUMC? How do we bring our hearts in love to GSUMC?
Jesus is not too big on religion... what could this statement mean for the church? What does p. 182 (definitely more universal in its approach to salvation) represent for us and our capacity to exclude others because they don't meet our standards of judgement/faith?
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