background img

November Illuminate

To download the PDF for the November Illuminate, click here.

Openers

Finding Worth and Valuing Everyone:

To read the article, click fmchr.ch/Finding-Worth

Summary: Light + Life Executive Editor Jeff Finley introduces this issue with a discussion of a popular song that acknowledges how God’s Word can affect our self-worth, and he shares what B.T. Roberts had to say about the worth of our neighbors regardless of their differences.

  1. Are you familiar with the song “You Say”? If so, why do you think it has resonated with so many people?

2. How welcoming is your church to people of different appearances and     backgrounds?

Further reading: Galatians 5:13–26

To read the article, click here.

Action –

Dignity and Worth of Persons:

To read the article, click fmchr.ch/Dignity-Worth

Summary:  General Conference 2019 delegates approved the following update to ¶3221 of the Free Methodist Church – USA Book of Discipline. As first reported on the Free Methodist Conversations website (fmchr.ch/dignityworth), the FMCUSA Board of Administration modified the section — previously titled “Worth of Persons” — at a spring meeting to incorporate the work of Wellspring FMC Lead Pastor Kate Wallace Nunneley and Free Methodist scholars Ed Song and Helen Rhee, and GC19 delegates made additional revisions in July.

  1. Name an “activity that oppresses or defrauds the poor.” How can you avoid participating in it and encourage others to do the same?

2. What are some ways to “model the racial redemption and reconciliation we hope to see in the world”?

3.  Are you comfortable with the commitment to care for “the foreigners among us regardless of racial or ethnic background, country of origin, or legal status”? Why or why not?

Further reading:  Exodus 22:21–27

To read the article, click here.

Bishops

Jesus Loves the Little Children…

To read the article, click fmchr.ch/Jesus-Loves

Summary: Before retiring as a bishop, David Kendall wrote this final Bishops section article with a look at the implications of a familiar children’s song.

  1. Why have many of God’s children abandoned the calling to “to show the world God’s better way”?

2. Do we sometimes act as if God loves one group of children more than others? If so, how do you see this happening?

3.  What would it mean for the church and the world if we lived like everyone is precious in God’s sight?

Further reading: Matthew 19:13–15

To read the article, click here.

Perspective —

Reaping a Harvest of Health and Freedom

To read the article, click fmchr.ch/Harvest

Summary: Daria Roesch, the care and communication pastor at Edgewood Free Methodist Church, reveals how the church’s Healthy Harvest Ministries and Edgewood Abolitionists serve the residents of Rochester, New York.

  1. Is your church reaching and serving your area like Edgewood is, and, if not, what are some things you could do?

2. Do you know and support any foster parents?

3. What did B.T. Roberts mean when he wrote that it takes “peculiar pains” to preach to the poor?

Further reading:  Isaiah 61:1–2, Luke 4:18–19

To read the article, click here.

Perspective –

Organ Donor?

To read the article, click fmchr.ch/Donor

Summary: Elliott Renfroe — a Free Methodist elder serving as a chaplain — became concerned that health care institutions may be targeting African American patients for organ donations. He researched the matter and gained a positive perspective on the effort to sign up organ donors.

  1. Do you think a discussion of organ donation fits in a magazine issue focusing on “the worth of all humans”?

2. What keeps people from checking the driver’s license box to become an organ donor?

Further reading:  Ezekiel 36:25–27

To read the article, click here.

Perspective –

No Longer a Nameless Woman

To read the article, click https://fmchr.ch/Woman

Summary: Greenville University student Victoria Fisher discusses biblical women — both named and unnamed — who are examples of the Lord using their strengths and weaknesses for His glory. She encourages women to know that despite moments of self-doubt, we can be confident that Jesus “uses the weak, the hurt and the ‘nothing special’ to write His story.”

  1. Were there unfamiliar names in the list at the top of the article? Take time to explore women in the Bible whose names you didn’t recognize.

2. Why is it sometimes hard to feel like “Jesus sees you, listens to you, pursues you and chooses you”?

3. Do you agree with the author that negative thoughts about ourselves are “lies Satan has put in our minds”?

Further reading:  Psalms 19, 96 and 119

To read the article, click here.

Feature –

Galatians: Grace and the Gospel

To read the article, click fmchr.ch/Grace

Summary: In this month’s installment of the #MyBibleJourney series, Free Methodist Elder Dave Mann explores the book of Galatians. He sets the scene, reveals the thesis and the basics, and cautions the reader about potential distractions.

  1. What are your experiences with groups that are legalistic or have unusual beliefs?

2. Do we feel that we can earn God’s grace? Why isn’t it possible to do that?

3.  Instead of circumcision and the Law, what things are creating divisions between people in the church today?

4. Is it possible to be “one in Christ Jesus” despite the divisions mentioned in your answer to the last question?

Further reading: Galatians 2–3

To read the article, click here.