Allen East, Plano Central, Wylie/Murphy News

The next meeting for the Allen East, Plano Central and Wylie/Murphy small groups will be Sunday, October 5th. We will share lunch and then discuss the fall schedule. The menu will be Mexican Stack. Contact Terry for details.

If you are not in a small group and want to check it out, make plans to stay for lunch and the conversation!

Game Night Friday, September 26

The next game night will be Friday, September 26 from 7 to 9 PM. Bring your favorite game and a snack to share.

POP small group update

The POP Small group meets on Sunday evenings. The group is currently studying the Gospel of John. Each month's meetings are scheduled and hosted by a family or individual in the group. Most members do live in Plano, where the name POP comes from - "Plano People", "Plain-O People" or "Prayers Over Plano". The meetings typically run from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. Anyone interested in joining the group should contact one of the group members - Ted Beckstead, Carol Littleton, Allen & Cal McCalister, Bill & Alice Rigsby, Lori Spence, Judy & Larry Stinson, and Clay & Ruth Ann Youngblood.

Fall kickoff for small groups that meet at the building

It is time to get our Small Groups kicked off again!!

We will be meeting this Sunday after worship!!

Seems like an Italian menu is in order.

The Cartwrights will provide a the pasta . . .

We need . . .

Sauce
Garlic Bread
Salad and Dressing
Desserts
Drinks
(let everyone know what you'll be bringing)
We will be discussing future scheduling including topics for discussion.

No Game Night in July

We have lot's of regular game night participants who will be out of town, or getting ready to leave town, this Friday night, so we will NOT have a game night on July 25th. Enjoy some time with your family!

Kingdom Across Cultures

Yesterday during the sermon time we reflected on the fact that the Howells will be returning to Mozambique and will be once again communicating Christ across cultural barriers.

During our Small Group time Alan and Rachel related some of the humorous things that have happened because of cultural and language barriers. Alan mentioned that the word for rabbit and elbow are similar (actually the word for knee is similar but he confused that one too.) In a class among the Makua he mentioned that when he snored at night Rachel hit him with her rabbit.

I'm amazed that they can transcend culture to communicate Jesus . .. but what about us? Perhaps the culture we have found ourselves in has changed dramatically and we haven't tried to keep up.

Here's a summary of some of the ways I've seen culture change since my childhood . . .

A) HOW HAS OUR CULTURE CHANGED IN THE LAST 30 YEARS?
· In Education—From What to How and Why!
· In Medicine—From Conventional to Experimental and Alternative!
· In Science—From Classical to Quantum!
· In Well Being—From Practical Outcome to Emotional!
· In History—From Broad Base to Sub-Culture!
· In Religion –From Fundamental to Spiritual!
B) WE WERE A CULTURE OF RATIONAL/LOGICAL—WE ARE NOW A CULTURE OF EXPERIENCE!

Your thoughts . . . ?

We will meet Sunday, July 13, 2008

We will be discussing future plans and will be following up on our Studies of Women in the Bible and How to Study the Bible.

The Menu will be picnicish . . .

Sandwiches, chips, potato salad, watermelon, etc.

The Cartwrights will bring cold cuts. You can bring:

salads
bread
drinks
fruit (melon)
chips and dip
baked beans??
desserts.

Email Terry if you can come!

See you there!

Friday Night is Game Night

Plan to be at the building about 7:00 PM, bring your favorite snack and your favorite game. And prepare to have fun!

Summer Schedule - Groups Meeting at the Building

Here is the summer schedule for the groups meeting at the building:

June 20 - Game night 7:00 PM

July 13 - Eat together and Bible Study

July 25 - Game night 7:00 PM

August 3 - Eat together and Bible Study

August 15 - Game night 7:00 PM

Remember, everyone is invited to game night

You can tell Summer is almost here

We had a small, but dedicated group meet at the church building on May 18 for soup, cornbread, salad and fellowship. With lots of us having scheduling conflicts over the summer, we decided to keep meeting for meals on the first and third Sunday, and we will decide later whether or not to try to keep two studies going over the summer.

The menu for our next meeting on June 1 will be brisket with all the trimmings.

Rene did a great job of leading our discussion of Esther. And if you missed the discussion, ask someone who was there about our assignment this week!

Small Group Lunch and Study - May 18

Just a reminder that we will be meeting this week after worship.
The menu is soup.
Larry and Evelyn will be bringing a pot-0-soup.
We still need another pot +
Veggies
Saltines/Cornbread
Desserts
Drinks

Larry Wilson will be leading the "How to Study the Bible" group and Our newest member, Rene will be leading the study of Women in the Bible and will be discussing Esther.

How to Study the Bible # 2 - May 4, 2008

We started this week’s conversation with a recap of the last discussion. Most of us want to study the Bible for two reasons: 1) to gain knowledge and insight, and 2) connecting with a closer relationship with God.

Then we turned to the parallels between getting to know a person and getting to know God through a study of the scriptures. When you are getting to know a new friend, you tend to spend time together, talking, listening, and seeing how they react to the things that happen in their life. In a similar fashion, as we are getting to know God through the Bible, we spend time together with Him, talking, listening, and seeing how He reacts to the things that happened in the lives of the people whose stories were recorded in the text.

Just like we bring our own “filters” to a relationship with a new friend, we bring our own “filters” to our study of the Bible. Those filters may include our personal knowledge, our prior Bible study, our own culture, our past experiences, our hopes and aspirations. Just like these “filters” will influence a growing relationship with a friend, they will influence our study of the Word of God. For example, if you tend to approach the text assuming that the Bible is basically a rational set of rules for living, then you will tend to read the Bible differently than someone who sees the Bible as the story of God’s relationship with man.

An interesting sub-topic in today’s discussion was the role, if any, played by the shift that some perceive is happening in our culture today. Labeled by some as the shift from modernity to post-modernity, if you are just starting on that journey (that is you are more modern and less post-modern in your thinking) you will approach the Bible differently than if you are relatively more post-modern in your thinking. This is just one of the filters through which we see the Bible.


Terry ended this week’s discussion by explaining that there are 3 critical questions we must ask every time we study the Word:
1. What did the original readers hear and what did it mean for them?
2. What does it mean for us today?
3. What does it mean for me?

If you haven’t had the chance to join us in this study yet, plan to do so the next time we meet on Sunday, May 18th.

Check back closer to the 18th for information about the topic for discussion #3.

Sunday's Small Group Meeting!!!!!!!

Yes! We are meeting this week. Since it's supposed to be in the 80's we're thinking "picnic" food . . . sandwiches . . . fruit . . . salad . . . lite and airy . . . springtime . . . etc. etc. Check your email!!

The "Women of the Bible" will be led by Wendy Dickerson and the "How to Study the Bible" will continue to discuss "What Do We Bring to the Text!"

See you there!!!

Small Groups Meetng May 4

Sunday May 4 will be the next meeting time for the Sunday Noon combined groups. Plan now to join us!

April Game Night Blast

April's game night was a blast. Here are some photos we took with a phone - sorry they are not as sharp as they could be - blame the photographer. Apples to Apples and Uno Attack seemed to be the favorites, although Daniel was cleaning up on Scrabble.

Later on we'll post a survey about whether we should try to have a game night during the summer or start up again in September. Check back to let us know your opinions.

Best comment of the day for April 20, 2008

Kelly said to be sure to mention that if you missed the discussions today, make plans to join us on May 4th. You can join any of our discussion at any time, or switch between our studies as your interests change.

Thanks for the reminder, Kelly.

How to Study the Bible #1 - April 20, 2008

Terry's discussion group on studying the Bible talked about "What Do We Bring to the Bible?" Everyone was encouraged to think about why we want to study the Bible, and there were lots of good reasons discussed by the group. Terry suggested that we have some resources available when we study, including a study Bible, a concordance, or a good website that can handle both...

Terry's favorite study Bibles include: Harper's Study Bible, Thompson's Chain Reference Bible, The Study Bible and The Serendipity Bible. Harper's and Thompson's are based on older translations, but are free from most denominational bias. The Study Bible and The Serendipity Bible both include good questions that help you dive into the Word. You may have a different personal favorite, just know that some study Bibles' study helps push a particular view of scripture. The value of any of these study Bibles is that they include an introduction to each book that will help you put the book in it's historical context.

Strong's or Young's concordances are reference books that contain an alphabetical list all of the words that appear in the King James Version of the English Bible and
then provides a short definition and a list all of the verses in which that word appears.

The advantage of a good website, like http://www.biblegateway.com/ is that it can provide you with several translations along with the word search tools of a concordance. It also include a link to the NIV Study Bible's web of introductions to each book of the Bible: http://www.ibs.org/niv/studybible/

So, armed only with a computer you can access various translations, good introductions and word search helps without buying expensive reference books.

We closed the conversation by discussing the fact that we bring to our Bible studies our own "filters": Our experiences, our needs, our prejudices, our problems, etc. that will affect how we approach the text and how we hear God in the text.

In the weeks to come we will open the Bible and start wrestling with the text together. Next time bring a question you have about the text. What question would you ask of God?

Come join us!

Menu for Sunday April 20,2008

We decided last meeting to have spegetti and or pasta for lunch this week. DeAnne and Terry will bring a pot of pasta. We also need . . .

Meatballs,
Sauce
Salad
Garlic Bread
Desserts
Drinks

Please reply to the email Terry sent out with the menu item you will bring. . . .

Study For Sunday April 20th

How to Study the Bible begins this Sunday!!!! We will start this week in our discussion on How to Study by talking about "The Tools We Bring!" We will talk about both the "physical tools" i.e. Bible, Study Helps, etc. and the Intellectual and Emotional Tools, i.e. our personal "stuff." Come prepared for the Journey!!!!

Women of the Bible . . . We will begin this study this week by looking at "The Worthy Woman of Proverbs 31." This picture will set the stage as we begin to look at other women of faith in scripture.

April 25th will be Game Night

Our next game night is scheduled for Friday April, 25th at 7:00 PM at the building. Some of the men will be looking for a chance to win at least one round against the women, so bring your favorite game and a snack.

Next Meeting April 20

We will meet again on April 20. The menu will be spaghetti and we will have two discussions after lunch.

1. DeAnne and Wendy will coordinate a study of Women in the Bible. Watch this blog for more information about what to do to get ready to for this study. Everyone is invited, including men...

2. Terry and Josh will coordinate a study of how to study the Bible. Again, come back here to see if there is information you need to read before this conversation starts. Everyone is invited.

Everything Must Change

I have recently finished McLaren's Everything Must Change and am almost finished with Claiborne's The Irresistible Revolution. Both of these books call us to a higher, more radical, walk with Jesus. Anyone up for a conversation about taking our walk to the next level?

In the context of a small group, we could offer this as one of our Sunday noon discussions, using McLaren's book as a study guide. Or we could try having the conversation on this blog. Or we could try meeting at some other time and place.

Any takers?

Don't forget to check on someone this week

We don't have "homework", but don't forget to check up on someone in our small group this week. give them a call, send them an email, grab a cup of coffee together. Let's help each other along the journey.

Small Group Topics

This morning we chatted a bit about what topics we might like to study in our newfound small group atmosphere.
Some ideas that were kicked around included:

• Servants in the Bible
• Revisiting the Fundamentals of the Bible
• Ruth
• Church planting
  

At this point, we're looking for everyone to contribute an idea of what they'd like to study. You can be as general or as specific as you'd like. In a couple of weeks I'll post a survey in the left margin, so we can all vote. The top three topics will be the one's discussed in April.

Just leave your ideas, comments or suggestions in the comments section of this post. I'll leave the first comment - just so you can see how it goes!
-Leigh

New Heritage Small Groups

Here is some general information about the current small groups at New Heritage. Please note that we are currently looking into reorganizing the existing groups including branching out into service groups, study groups and combined group functions such as after service luncheons on Sundays and a monthly game night for families.

Wylie/Murphy Small Group - Contact Erik Stokes or Kelly Godwin with questions or for more information.

Allen East Small Group - Meets Sunday mornings after worship at the building.

POP Small Group - The POP small group is a group of Plano Families and singles that meets every Sunday evening at 5:30pm. The group is currently studying the book "The Secret Message of Jesus" be Brian McLaren. Each month's meetings are held at the home of a POP group family or member. The March meetings are being hosted by the McCalisters. Please call Allen and Cal if you have any questions.

Perry/Curry Small Group - Meets Sunday evenings at 6:00pm in various homes. Please check with the Perry's or the Curry's for the location each week.

Plano Central Small Group - Meets Sundays after church. Check with Larry Wilson or Joe Howes for more information.

Thanks for Sharing . . .

Thanks to Daniel Moulden for setting up this blog . . More to come

Welcome! About New Heritage...

Past...

In the fall of 2002, over 30 Christians from around North Texas: Allen, Frisco, McKinney, Plano, Sherman, and Wylie, began acting on their dream of being a new kind of Christian community. A Christian family dedicated to a growing faith in God and Christ, filled with the Spirit of God and committed to the truths of the Bible. A Christian community without the look and feel of institutional religion.

Present...

We are creating a community where you can pursue your faith and spiritual growth in the way we believe God intended. We are a family of God who will honor your religious heritage, but not let that heritage limit your walk with God. Your heritage, coupled with the new inheritance given by Christ to all believers, creates a new heritage in Christ. At New Heritage we are serious about becoming the very image of Jesus.

Future...

Our mission is to be a faith community where you can grow in your walk with God; allowing Him to change you daily to be more like Christ. We are a family of God dedicated to helping you discover just who God intends you to be. We can help you to identify and use your gifts, engage your passions, and build on your experiences to grow and serve the greater cause of Christ in Collin County, Texas and the World.

Experience the New Heritage family!