Fellowship Guidelines for June

Softball fellowship guidelines for the month of June are now online. They will be posted both on this site and the CCU blog site. Guidelines will be in text form. If anyone knows how to post a pdf online, please post a comment here, or send an e-mail to ccu_softball @ yahoo.com
CCU Softball Fellowship Devotions 2007

Theme: "Grace Like Rain

Theme verse: 2 Corinthians 12:9

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

As we prepare for another year of softball and fellowship we have decided on the theme of "Grace Like Rain." Together I hope that we can teach each other about God's Grace and how the Lord has touched each one of our lives with His Grace (1 Peter 4:10). May our desire be to show others Gods Glorious Grace, which is available to everyone of every nation who calls on the name of Jesus? All the weekly subtopics point to and stem from God's grace. It is beyond us and above us, and mere human understanding is not enough to grasp the riches of God's Grace. So let us pray that God will give us and those who hear of his Grace the wisdom to understand and accept the gift of Grace that can only be obtained from God as we place our faith in Jesus Christ.

Topic for June: God's Glorious Grace

Topic for July: God's Glorious Grace

Topic for August: God's Glorious Grace

The week before your team is to lead the fellowship/devotion time, a leader should be designated by the coordinator of each team to be in charge of next week's fellowship/devotion time. The leader should see leading as a privilege, as an opportunity to potentially be used by God to lead someone either to Christ or closer to Him. So advance preparation will help the leader to be more effective in that task. The devotion is set up to not require a biblical scholar to do, but rather for anyone that is a Christian and has a Bible to use as a reference.

What would make the devotion time effective is for the leader to come up with a specific example in his/her life as it relates to the topic of the week and share that to the audience. Being open and transparent will help your audience to relate to you the most. Begin each devotion time with prayer, thanking God for the game that has just been played, and asking God for wisdom and guidance for the devotion time. Break the two teams up into groups of 4-5 people and work through the two sharing questions per session. Spend about 5-10 minutes on this. Next, ask each group to share the most interesting thing that came up in their group as they went through the two questions. Then read the weekly scripture in a clear and understandable manner (you may ask someone else to do this, but ask in advance if possible). Next, paraphrase in your own words what the scripture was about. Finally, the most important part, to tie everything together, share your own personal experience as it relates to that particular passage. Try not to use too much Christian "jarong" as you should assume there might be some in the audience who are either pre-Christian or young Christians who don't understand all the Christian lingo (such as will of God, etc.). Close the devotion time with prayer, asking God for boldness and strength to achieve the topic for the month in each person's daily walk.

General: For the sake of time during fellowship, the scripture passages have been reduced. In order to properly lead the devotion, although it's best for the leader to read the surrounding passages during the week to get the full context of the story mentioned. Once the leader has the full context in mind, it's much easier to paraphrase the story to the audience on the day of the fellowship. Thanks for your leadership and may God bless you with a wonderful experience as you allow yourself to be used to further His kingdom!

June: God's Glorious Grace

June 3rd - Mercy (Nehemiah 9:28-31; Psalms 51:1; Romans 9:16; Hebrews 4:16)

NE 9:28 "But as soon as they were at rest, they again did what was evil in your sight. Then you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies so that they ruled over them. And when they cried out to you again, you heard from heaven, and in your compassion you delivered them time after time.

NE 9:29 "You warned them to return to your law, but they became arrogant and disobeyed your commands. They sinned against your ordinances, by which a man will live if he obeys them. Stubbornly they turned their backs on you, became stiff-necked and refused to listen. 30 For many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you admonished them through your prophets. Yet they paid no attention, so you handed them over to the neighboring peoples. 31 But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.

PS 51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

RO 9:16 It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy.

HEB 4:16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

a. What does God's mercy do for us?

b. How have you responded to God's mercy?

c. Who in your life do you need to have mercy on?