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| For Women...
“For Such a Time as This:
Spiritual Pioneering in a Post-Christian Era"
Seven years ago we would not have accepted as possible events such as the massacre in Columbine, the terror of September 11, or the escalating violence in the Middle East. As Dorothy so aptly put it, “Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore.” In light of our world’s landslide away from God-centered living, to what kind of pilgrimage is God calling us as Christian women in the new millennium? This teaching calls participants to partner with God in the work of spiritual pioneering: the simple but powerful process of LISTENING and OBEYING. This teaching gives women both vision and practical help from the example of Joshua’s leadership of God’s people into the land of their inheritance and the personal historical accounts of American pioneer women.
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“Get Ready : Possessing Our Full Inheritance in Christ"
(Joshua 1:1-9)
Starting with a view of the historical American pioneering movement, we see the similarities between that time and our own: that God is calling us to step out of our safe lives into new “faith frontiers” with Him. Even as He did for Joshua, Jehovah calls us, promises us a rich spiritual inheritance, and provides victory through His presence. Scripture teaches us that not only is God our inheritance, but also that we are His inheritance. As we LISTEN to and OBEY Him, we begin to take important steps out of the bondage of sin (Egypt) and the lukewarm existence we’ve settled for (wandering in the desert) into our rich inheritance in Christ (the Land of Promise), where God is able to dwell more and more in the landscape of our hearts.
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“Go Together : Possessing the Land as the Body of Christ"
(Joshua 1: 10-18; 3:1-17)
Just as the pioneers of old suffered from the effects of isolation and loneliness, so we find that many in our day similarly feel cut off from real contact with God and others. Even in the church, we often function more as “Lone Rangers” than members of the whole body of Christ. We discuss the four kinds of sin which cause us to retreat into emotional “dugouts,” not unlike the crude, dark caves inhabited by pioneers. Just as Joshua and the children of Israel crossed over Jordan into the land of Canaan together as the covenant community, so it is that we will never become the people God has created and redeemed us to be unless we come out of our caves and connect deeply with others in the household of God.
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“Pass the Baton : Leaving a Legacy of Faith"
(Joshua 4)
In a day in which we are encouraged to live for the moment, how can we begin to build truth into the lives of the rising generation -- even as Moses was careful to mentor Joshua, so that he would be ready to obey God’s particular call on his life. After the crossing of the Jordan, God instructs Joshua to have the Israelites erect a memorial to God’s power and faithfulness. We, too, can build monuments which record God’s work in our lives which will proclaim His goodness to generations to come. Then we can avoid the tragic turn of events which occurred in Israel’s history when, within one generation of Joshua’s godly leadership, a generation arose who neither knew nor followed God, but bowed down again to idols.
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