“Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops”
-Proverbs 3:9

Jesus taught that our money is an indicator of our hearts and Paul taught that if we are loved by God and love Him in return we would give cheerfully, sacrificially, and regularly to our local faith community. In our digital age when people are increasingly paying bills and conducting commerce online, we have chosen to make online giving available to those who are interested. Some may protest that in the Bible God’s people never used credit to tithe, which is true. They also did not use checks or get a tax write off like we do. Nonetheless, the principle is that God’s people should give and the methods vary from culture to culture. A pastor in a cashless bartering society may receive animals or their milk as part of a tithe. In a suburban American church the plate may pass and be filled with checks. Those who have stocks, bonds and the like also tithe them to their church. Still other Christians may give property or other goods as part of their tithe. The point is simply that God be honored with the first of all our wealth and in a digital economy that would include a digital tithe. You are free to give via the weekly offering in the service, by mailing your contribution in to the office, or now by the internet and we welcome you to give whatever God has called you to, however God has called you to. The technology that permits online transactions via debit cards also permits giving via credit cards and makes no distinction between the two. We strongly urge no one to put their tithe on their credit card unless they are able to pay it off each month because we do not want God’s people going into debt. But, if you intend to pay off your balance each month we believe that is an issue of conscience and leave that between you, God, and your frequent flier miles. If you have further questions about tithes and offerings theologically please contact us.

Go here for the Daily Bible Guide.

Whether you’ve never opened a Bible before in your life or you’ve been reading the Bible ever since you did memory verses as a kid, I’ve written this guide with you in mind. People of both varieties have told me that previous guides have been surprisingly helpful and interesting, occasionally thought-provoking, and not-too-infrequently relevant to their lives. I aim for at least the same this time around; you, of course, will have to be the judge as to whether I succeed.

Each day’s guide is broken into three sections:

1. The story for the day. This year, we’ll be studying the book of Luke, one of the Bible’s four biographies of Jesus (called ‘the gospels’). I’ve divided the book into 42 bite-size portions, meant to be short enough that you can comfortably read them in a single day, but long enough that each day is a satisfying stand-alone experience—the passages tend to be between about half a page and about a page long, as logic break points allow. For your convenience, I’ve included the Bible text of each day’s story in Today’s New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005). I hope you’ll find it to be a very readable translation, with current vocabulary and a modern sensibility. As you read the story, try to read it from the perspectives of the participants in it. Really get inside the story. What’s it like to go through this experience with these people?

2. Points of Interest. This section briefly explores aspects of the day’s story that might be especially interesting or potentially confusing. It offers some historical notes and references that might help to interpret the story, frames some of the issues or questions, and gives suggestions of ways to understand the story and its meaning.

3. Taking it home. In this section, I offer some suggestions for how the day’s reading might apply practically to our lives and the lives of the people around us. Much of the time, I’ll propose a way we might want to respond to the passage through prayer; other times, I might propose a little experiment, or a conversation. Each day, we’ll look at the passage from the perspective of three groups of people:
a. For you and your family—we’ll explore how we and the people closest to us might identify with the story. We’ll discuss implications that it has for how we look at ourselves, how we approach our lives, and how our family relates with God;
b. For ‘your six’—think of six people in your life who live locally, who aren’t currently followers of God (but who may be interested in God or exploring issues of faith), and for whom you’d like to see God do good things. What does this passage have to offer to those six friends? (For more about your six, see Dave Schmelzer’s Leap of Faith User’s Manual.)
c. For our city—we’ll spend some time each day particularly focusing on what the day’s story might mean for the cities of Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham, etc. and their surroundings. We’ll take the opportunity to pray for Chapel Hill, and to think about our relationships to our city.
 
Introducing the book of Luke
As I’ve mentioned, we’ll be studying the book of Luke. The book of Luke is one of the four biblical gospels. Gospel is a word from Old English which simply means ‘good news.’ The gospel writers told their stories in order to share the good news about Jesus’ coming, his life, his teaching, his death, and his resurrection.
The book of Luke is part of a two-volume set with another biblical book, the book of Acts, which goes on to tell the story of the early church after Jesus’ death. The author never gives his own name, but from very early in church history the book of Luke and Acts have been ascribed to (no big surprise here) Luke, a traveling companion of Paul, a famous early follower of Jesus who was largely responsible for spreading the good news of Jesus to Europe. Luke was part of a small company who worked with Paul, sharing the good news and starting churches throughout the Mediterranean world. Luke was a medical doctor by profession, and he was almost certainly the only non-Jewish author of the New Testament (and quite possibly of the entire Bible). The audience for Luke may have been cultured, highly-educated Greeks (Greek was the dominant culture of the eastern Roman empire): he writes in the same formal historical style that was fashionable in Greek society at the time. There is some evidence that Luke intended his writings for wide publication: the Gospel of Luke and Acts are almost exactly the same length, which happens to be the length that was common in scrolls used for publication (IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament 187: InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 1993).

Luke’s gospel was probably written after Mark’s gospel, another of the four biblical gospels, and is apparently based upon it. Luke follows the same basic storyline as Mark, and about 40 percent of the material is drawn directly from Mark. But Luke also has much material that isn’t found in any of the other gospels. Luke’s unique contributions show up particularly in his stories about Jesus’ birth and the teachings of Jesus he shares with us. Perhaps because he is outside of Jewish society himself, he also shows a particular concern for Jesus’ interaction with people who would be outsiders in ancient Jewish society: non-Jews, women, and the poor.

Greenleaf’s Kids Church also has a very special month planned for Advent! Our Kids Church pastor has written four special lessons for the weeks of Nov. 27th, Dec. 4th, 11th, and 18th. They include all of the usual elements of Kids Church, but each week takes a kid-sized look at part of the Christmas story. By the end of Advent, the kids will have heard, seen, tasted, smelled, and touched the whole story of Jesus’ birth through story telling, crafts, special themed snacks, play, and more!

We know that Christmas is a very busy season, but we encourage you to be at church as much as possible, since each week’s story builds on the week before through Sunday, Dec. 18th. We want to support you, parents, as you teach your children the true meaning of Christmas, and we hope that these lessons will have impact on their little hearts and have a take-home that can spur your own conversations about Jesus, the wonderful & mysterious & loving Jesus, who we follow.

Come join us!

Same great church. An even greater new location! It’s a good time to pay us a visit.

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Chapel Hill Home Group
Wednesdays at 7:30pm
Jamie & Jo Garrett’s House
For more info contact Jo at
skunkflyer@gmail.com
(919) 265-4474

Durham Home Group — childcare provided
Tuesdays at 7:00pm
Alain & Jenn Aguilar’s House
For more info contact them at
aandjaguilar@gmail.com Jenn (919) 475-9784

See you in someone’s living room!

Untitled from Rodger Otero on Vimeo.

What is Seek?
Seek is a 10-week class about faith and Jesus.
The class is designed to help you if you are:

Seek includes an emphasis on the practical aspects of faith, ample opportunities to ask questions, and informal discussions with a consistent group of people.

When and Where?

Each evening includes some light snacks and desserts, a short talk or presentation, and a group discussion. There is no cost for Seek.

Our next group will beginning Thursday, January 19th, meeting each Thursday at 7:30pm in Chapel Hill. You’re welcome to check Seek out during the first three weeks of any series, but after that, we ask you to wait until the next time it’s offered.

If you have questions, or are wondering if Seek is right for you, please send an email to seek@greenleafvineyard.org or call (919)360-4320.

The first Urban Egg Hunt in 2010 was a bigger success than we even imagined, so Greenleaf is excited to give it a second go! The town and rec. department throws a fantastic egg hunt each year at a local park, but we’re excited to a hunt on Easter Sunday and in the heart of the town. Situated on Wallace Plaza, children will not only hunt for eggs among trees and grass, but they will also find eggs tucked in the corners of brick columns and concrete footpaths. They’ll hunt against the backdrop of an early-spring sky juxtaposed against restaurants, six-story buildings, and parking decks right next door.

The egg hunt is open to anyone who would like to come, but is generally geared toward elementary age children and their families. Since the hunt is located in the bustling downtown area, we ask that at least one parent accompany and stay with child(ren) at the event. Parents are encouraged to participate with the smallest kids who will be given a special head-start.

Ready…set…GO!

CHAPEL HILL’S 2nd ANNUAL URBAN EGG HUNT

We’re inviting the children of Chapel Hill to celebrate Easter with a traditional egg hunt that’s been given an urban twist. On April 24th, 2011 at 12:00pm, Easter Sunday, Greenleaf will host an egg hunt on top of Wallace Parking deck in the heart of downtown Chapel Hill.

The first Urban Egg Hunt in 2010 was a bigger success than we even imagined, so Greenleaf is excited to give it a second go! The town and rec. department throws a fantastic egg hunt each year at a local park, but we’re excited to a hunt on Easter Sunday and in the heart of the town. Situated on Wallace Plaza, children will not only hunt for eggs among trees and grass, but they will also find eggs tucked in the corners of brick columns and concrete footpaths. They’ll hunt against the backdrop of an early-spring sky juxtaposed against restaurants, six-story buildings, and parking decks right next door.

The egg hunt is open to anyone who would like to come, but is generally geared toward elementary age children and their families. Since the hunt is located in the bustling downtown area, we ask that at least one parent accompany and stay with child(ren) at the event. Parents are encouraged to participate with the smallest kids who will be given a special head-start.

Ready…set…GO!