Tag Archive for: church
ODJ: experiencing community
Respondents to a recent survey listed the following as key elements of their church life: connecting with God, experiencing transformation, gaining new insights and feeling cared for. All of those things happen as individual believers come together and use their gifts to bless and edify one another.
So often the idea of a ‘personal relationship with God’ is emphasised in our experience wit
ODJ: lawn libraries
Nancy Johnson went for a walk and discovered a little library in a neighbour’s garden. It’s estimated that there are now between 300 to 400 small libraries lodged in people’s lawns around the world. Each has a take a book/leave a book policy. Nancy commented, “What a nifty idea . . . I like the sense of community.”
Many of us are looking for a way to connect with people who share our i
ODJ: expecting fruit
My neighbour planted some apple tree seedlings. Several years later the mature trees bore fruit. But there was a problem. The first bushel of apples my neighbour picked contained some unwanted guests. Worms were found, leading his wife to conclude that a few bad apples do indeed spoil the whole bunch! Since that fateful day the only things that have munched on my neighbour’s apples are wild de
ODJ: rebuilding the altar
I love knowledge. As a child, after stumbling across a picture Bible in the library, I wanted to read the real Bible. I had the impression that it was simply a thick book with tiny words, full of information like an encyclopedia. But as I read the real Bible I realised that knowledge is good but wisdom is much, much better.
Their first step was not to rebuild the temple. Instead they chose to r