The FPC Fargo Ministry Page
Up-coming Courses in 2020...
When True Simplicity Is Gained
Dates: Tuesdays from 6-8 PM — April 7 & 14
This course will explore the gift of simplicity and its concomitant blessing — contentment. First we will see how simplicity & contentment form a reliable partnership in helping us to avoid the seven “deadly” sins. Then we will turn to three practical applications of simplicity & contentment in the life of a disciple:
1. Economic simplicity
2. Social simplicity
3. Temporal simplicity
Books:
†Richard J. Foster - Freedom of Simplicity
†Martin & Micah Marty - When True Simplicity Is Gained
Praxis Assignment for this course: Spend 30 days simplifying your life. Maybe "fast" from new purchases of non-essentials. Or take a break from social media. Or clear out some empty space on your calendar to stop doing and simply "be." Journal or use some other way of reflecting on the effects of simplicity in your life.
Day of Reflection for this Course — May 20
To sign up for the day of reflection fill out the form below.
This course will explore the gift of simplicity and its concomitant blessing — contentment. First we will see how simplicity & contentment form a reliable partnership in helping us to avoid the seven “deadly” sins. Then we will turn to three practical applications of simplicity & contentment in the life of a disciple:
1. Economic simplicity
2. Social simplicity
3. Temporal simplicity
Books:
†Richard J. Foster - Freedom of Simplicity
†Martin & Micah Marty - When True Simplicity Is Gained
Praxis Assignment for this course: Spend 30 days simplifying your life. Maybe "fast" from new purchases of non-essentials. Or take a break from social media. Or clear out some empty space on your calendar to stop doing and simply "be." Journal or use some other way of reflecting on the effects of simplicity in your life.
Day of Reflection for this Course — May 20
To sign up for the day of reflection fill out the form below.
The Dry Times: Faith When the Soul Is Parched
Dates: August 4 & 11 (Tuesdays) from 6:00-8:00 PM
The Psalmist writes, “As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so my soul longs for you, O God” [NRSV]. How are we to understand the dry times? What does spiritual dryness mean? What does faithfulness look like in the dry seasons of life? This program will look at biblical stories where dryness of soul shaped people of faith and will give you some ways to make the most of your own spiritually dry times.
No book for this course.
Praxis Assignment for this course: Spend 30 days reflecting on dryness of spirit. Perhaps you are not currently experiencing this - but you have the memory of a time when God seemed distant to you. Journal or use some other way of reflecting on the dry time in your journey of faith. What is God offering you or how is God meeting you in the dry times?
Day of Reflection for this Course — September 16
To sign up for the day of reflection fill out the form below.
The Psalmist writes, “As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so my soul longs for you, O God” [NRSV]. How are we to understand the dry times? What does spiritual dryness mean? What does faithfulness look like in the dry seasons of life? This program will look at biblical stories where dryness of soul shaped people of faith and will give you some ways to make the most of your own spiritually dry times.
No book for this course.
Praxis Assignment for this course: Spend 30 days reflecting on dryness of spirit. Perhaps you are not currently experiencing this - but you have the memory of a time when God seemed distant to you. Journal or use some other way of reflecting on the dry time in your journey of faith. What is God offering you or how is God meeting you in the dry times?
Day of Reflection for this Course — September 16
To sign up for the day of reflection fill out the form below.
Spirituality of Waiting
Dates: Sundays from 6-8 PM — November 15 & 22
We will use the teaching of Henri Nouwen as a leaping off point for this program but will supplement his insights with the insights of other great people of faith who have found something sacred in the practice of waiting.
In the opening and closing chapters of the Gospels (especially in Luke), we find many people waiting: Elizabeth & Zechariah, Mary & Jospeh, Anna & Simeon, et cetera. These faithful people can teach us something about what it means for us to wait in hope.
At the end of the gospel narrative we find God is the one who waits. Once again, reflection on God’s hopeful waiting can help us in our own seasons of waiting and hope. This course is meant to prepare us to fully immerse in the journey of Advent which begins November 29.
Books:
† W. H. Vanstone - The Stature of Waiting
† Simone Weil - Waiting for God
† Henri Nouwen - The Path of Waiting (out of print)
Praxis Assignment for this course: Spend 30 days intentionally living into a posture of faithful waiting. Journal or use some other way of reflecting on the effects of learning to trust in the slow work of God in your life.
Day of Reflection for this Course — January 6, 2021
To sign up for the day of reflection fill out the form below.
We will use the teaching of Henri Nouwen as a leaping off point for this program but will supplement his insights with the insights of other great people of faith who have found something sacred in the practice of waiting.
In the opening and closing chapters of the Gospels (especially in Luke), we find many people waiting: Elizabeth & Zechariah, Mary & Jospeh, Anna & Simeon, et cetera. These faithful people can teach us something about what it means for us to wait in hope.
At the end of the gospel narrative we find God is the one who waits. Once again, reflection on God’s hopeful waiting can help us in our own seasons of waiting and hope. This course is meant to prepare us to fully immerse in the journey of Advent which begins November 29.
Books:
† W. H. Vanstone - The Stature of Waiting
† Simone Weil - Waiting for God
† Henri Nouwen - The Path of Waiting (out of print)
Praxis Assignment for this course: Spend 30 days intentionally living into a posture of faithful waiting. Journal or use some other way of reflecting on the effects of learning to trust in the slow work of God in your life.
Day of Reflection for this Course — January 6, 2021
To sign up for the day of reflection fill out the form below.