If you missed the training for 1 John short-term community groups, you can listen to the audio and download materials.

Audio

• Session 1
• Session 2

Materials

• Facilitator’s Guide
• 1 John Outline (intro)
• 1 John Outline
• Participant’s Guide
• Participant’s Lesson 1
• Participant’s Lesson 2
• Participant’s Lesson 3
• Participant’s Lesson 4
• Participant’s Lesson 5

To register for this event, click here. 

Contact Joe at 330.315.5909 with questions.

“So, what did you give up for Lent?” That was a common question I heard during this time of year. I went to a parochial school and grew up in a nominally Catholic home so the practices of Lent and the general church calendar were not foreign.

“So, what is Lent?” Since the fourth century, the Christian church has observed the season before Easter as an important spiritual “journey.” Lent can be a season of preparation for Easter as Christians individually and collectively remember the death and resurrection of Christ. In some ways it’s not unlike the season of Advent where the church prepares to celebrate the birth of Christ a month before Christmas. Lent is an invitation to observe and “experience” the sacrifice of Christ through chosen practices.

Hasn’t the evangelical or Protestant church historically shied away from Lent? Sort of. “Mixed reviews” for the practice of Lent, and church calendar observance in general, would be the best way to understand the evangelical response. There is the fear that this can lead to legalism and empty ritualism and superstition. Others remind us that God ordained for his covenant people (the Jews) to observe particular days and celebrate certain religious holidays.

What do I suggest? I love our freedom in Christ in that we are not bound by law “to observe that or practice this” tradition. And yet, for many, Lent has been a valuable season of the church.

I would encourage:

• a season of reading (click here).
• perhaps a time of fasting (give up one meal per week so as to remind us of our dependence on Christ and involve us in communal prayer).
• remembering the needs of others (perhaps giving to our Benevolence fund by choosing it on your offering envelope or serving the needy in other meaningful ways).

Check out our Lenten webpage for other ideas. May this be a season where The Chapel’s family is deepened in this journey with Christ.  

Everybody has conflict in his or her family. The question is not “if?” conflict will happen, the question is “when?” Adam and Eve had conflict over some forbidden fruit. After they left Eden, one son killed the other. Yes, there was conflict in that family!

Most problems in family life are pretty mundane. They are not major issues but can grow into significant problems in time:

• “You didn’t take out the trash today” can grow into “You never take out the trash.”
• “You forgot my birthday” can escalate into “You never remember me.”
• “We didn’t talk much today” can become “We don’t talk anymore.”

What are the issues in your life? If I give three empty bullet points, what might you fill in? I’m sure you have some “everyday” issues that can lead to conflict. List two or three issues in your life that can become major conflicts with family:

• _____________________________________________________
• _____________________________________________________
• _____________________________________________________

If you took a pencil to your computer screen, then you have failed the test (humor, trace).  What did you fill in the blanks with? Are you content to “live” with these issues or do you want solutions?

We all can use some help in learning how to resolve conflict in our family. There are some great tools in the Bible on how to resolve conflict. Paul says, “don’t go to bed angry.” That is perhaps the simplest of statements and can be a hard one to practice.

The Bible would call you to find solutions! Learn how to live at peace with others. Get some new tools to solve these everyday issues. Don’t be a doormat for others to walk on. Learn how to raise difficult issues in a godly fashion.

The Chapel is offering a series called “Coaching Families Through Conflict.” Here is a description of the series:

This three-week workshop is designed to teach the principles of peacemaking related to marriage and family conflicts that we deal with day to day. The tools you’ll learn will not only strengthen your own families, but will be helpful in coaching others around you to deal with conflict and come out stronger and healthier than ever.

Wednesdays, February 15, 22, and 29, 6:30pm

Fellowship Hall, Akron

Contact Julie at 330.315.5517

This group just got started last night, but you can come next week!

Historically the Christian church has observed the passion and resurrection of her Lord during the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter. Lent is the season Christians are encouraged to prepare for the observance and celebration of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection through various means and disciplines that can include prayer, fasting of one kind or another, repentance, and reflection.

We invite you to prepare for the Easter season, and pray that you will be drawn near to Christ as we go through this Lenten journey together. We also suggest reading a series of Scripture that walks through eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ life.

Click here to begin your Lenten journey.

Somebody said, “Often the loneliest place in the world is in a crowd.”

Alluding to the perceived irrelevance of the church, the Beatles in “Eleanor Rigby” sang, “All the lonely people, where do they all belong?” Obviously not in church for “Father McKenzie is writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear. No one comes near.”

Though it could be true here, may it not be so at The Chapel. We are indeed a large church, with multiple campuses and venues and crowded hallways. How easy it could be for you to get lost or be very lonely here. Not if we can help it.

“Community.” That is either a well-thought-through concept representing one of The Chapel’s core values, or it is a reality for the Chapel family in all locations for all ages. The opportunity to meet others, forge meaningful relationships, and wrestle with real life issues—that is what Chapel Community aims to provide. And that is what the biblical term “fellowship” truly represents.

Starting on February 26, in our three main campus pulpits and in many of our Community Groups (campus and home ABFs), we will immerse ourselves in the concepts of community and fellowship. In a sermon series entitled “We Need Each Other,” we will be studying the First Letter of John together. And I mean together, for coming right alongside the pulpit, many of our groups will be actively engaged in lively discussion based on the sermons’ content.

If you are not a part of a Community Group (and many folks are not), this is a great chance to get to know others. We are even offering 5-week groups for those who simply want to “dip their toe in the water.” If that’s you, take the step. Go here to Community page, stop at a kiosk, or contact Debbie at 330.315.5910, and take the plunge into community! Goodbye loneliness, hello fellowship. Because we really do need each other.

I am so looking forward to us examining this theme together. The message John’s letter presents to us is how the Lord’s light, life, and love fill our lives and fellowship as we live life together as a community of believers. We will more deeply appreciate and experience both vertical fellowship (with Christ) and horizontal fellowship (with each other). May we learn that in Christ we truly belong together and need each other.