We hope you'll invite your family and neighbors to join us for an Easter service on Sunday, March 23. Easter service at our West location at 6905 W. 46th Street is at 10 am. 

 

Services will be held at our Midtown location at 4550 N. Illinois Street at 8 am, 9:30 am & 11am (there will not be a 7 pm service at Midtown on Easter).

 

We look forward to celebrating with you! 

Men's Secret Wars is a class that starts the journey into reviewing our own life story with the guidance of a structured class using the book “Men's Secret Wars” as the text. In today's church, there are many secrets that we have and we tend to hold onto them because they are "our" secrets. Secrets we would prefer to remain hidden due to our shame or embarrassment and to reveal them would be allowing a part of us to die - on purpose.

 

The truth though is that we sit on the sidelines of church activity or act as a bit player in the lives of our family because of these secrets. At some point we arrive at the decision to face these secrets and the hold they have on us. Men's Secret Wars is the beginning of that journey and the beginning of the healing that will allow us to participate in the light of life without fear of "our secrets" bringing clouds upon us and our families.

 

The book itself requires work on a weekly basis and addresses sexual sin, pride, pretending and a multiple of other secrets that we have been hiding. This is an interactive class where you will be required to write and participate in class discussion. The class is 10 weeks long and began on Monday, March 10. However, we are continuing registration and will extend the class to accommodate additional participants.

 

The class meets from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm on Monday nights at our Midtown location at 4550 N. Illinois Street. For more information, or to register, please contact Lin Coleson at coleson@mail.com.

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3)

 

Understanding the Gospel means that we are beginning to understand the way in which the world works from the perspective of the resurrection. In the resurrection, God has inaugurated a “new creation” and within this new creation comes a new humanity. Not the old humanity with religion added, but a completely renewed sense of who we are. One of the many profound aspects of the resurrection family is just that, we are family. We are adopted sons and daughters of the King and we live together, working toward the new vision of God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven together. This is both an individual and communal pursuit. It is communal in that we are united together through the Holy Spirit and yet it also depends upon individual choice.

 

The Gospel is not just a means to personal holiness, but rather the way of the new humanity, the new family of people who have trusted in Christ. What we do or do not do has an affect on the people around us. We have been taught that it doesn’t. “You do what you want and I will do what I want and the two shall not affect each other” is the common thought pattern in our world. Yet in resurrection, we recognize that we are linked to the global humanity as well as our neighbor next door and what we do or do not do has a communal affect. In other words, poverty is not just a problem that some people have because of where they are born or because of their lack of desire to get a job. Poverty is my problem in that when I have more than I need, someone else must suffer. Especially within the church, we must see that how we live and act has a powerful ripple affect within this new humanity. I do not make decisions on my own anymore, but rather I must “discern the body” or take note of how my actions and thoughts affect others.

 

This is where the rubber meets the road for us as a church. All appeals to right living within the New Testament are given within the framework of family. It reminds us again that placing our faith in Jesus means that we have been adopted into a family of which we now have responsibility to respect and protect. My decisions affect you and yours affect me and we must all be willing and eager to live together. It would be like Peyton Manning calling a play in the huddle and then everyone going to the line with their own play in mind. Chaos would be the result. In some ways, this is what has become of the modern church. We all huddle up on Sunday and then go out to execute whatever play it is that we see fit to help us. I belabor this point because it is exactly the hurdle that we have not been able to jump in the individualized culture that we live. Pastors have not fully grasped this fundamental of the church and therefore much of their instruction to people is filtered through a “how to make their life better” filter with little or no regard for the family as a whole. We try and give you helpful tips to managing your life rather than calling you into a protective and respectful discernment of the family.

 

One more point. You do have individual choice. We are not a cult, though the church has certainly been accused of such. We are willful in our submission to the body which is why we also experience so much pain when people choose for themselves. It is love that covers these bad choices and forgiveness that allows us to journey through the selfishness and repair the hurt. One of the beautiful and sometimes painful gifts of the resurrection and the Gospel life is that we have power to destroy the family and power to build it up and it is up to us to determine which we will choose.

 

It is only when we understand the Gospel that passages like Ephesians 4:1-3 begin to make sense and carry weight.

 

Blessings,

Jeff

On Sunday, March 2, Common Ground joined St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, our new Midtown neighbor, for their annual Blood Drive. Volunteers from both congregations worked to prepare the St. Thomas gym for the drive on Saturday night by setting up tables, chairs and the refreshment area.

 

On Sunday, the Indiana Blood Center arrived shortly after 7 am to finalize the room set and begin preparing donation materials for participants. Volunteers from both our Midtown and West sites served in all areas of the drive from registration, hospitality and childcare to donating a pint of blood. During the five hour event, 121 units of blood were collected. More than 30 units came from Common Ground, with a large percentage of those coming from walk-in donors. According to the Indiana Blood Center, this was one of the most successful church blood drives in a long time.

 

Thank you to all of our volunteers who donated their time, talent and blood on March 2.

The largest Irish holiday is actually the celebration of a British missionary. At only 16 years old, Patrick was taken to Ireland and sold as a slave. He tended sheep, and began to pray to pass the time. Patrick discovered hope, and would pray over a hundred prayers a day as he took care of the flocks.

 

After 6 years, he escaped captivity and traveled back to England with a desire to serve God with his life. Patrick studied under Bishop St. Germain, and God called him to return to Ireland with a vision to see spiritual freedom break forth in the land in which he had once been held captive.

 

His first stop was to his former master - to pay the price for his ransom. In exchange for the cruelty of slavery, he offered the blessing and freedom found in Christ. His knowledge of the language and culture of Ireland proved instrumental in his mission, and his love for the people and for God drove him from village to village for years. Patrick was a man of prayer, action, forgiveness and love.

 

In a time of national spiritual darkness, Patrick relentlessly shone the brightness of Christ’s love. He stands as an example for us today. We, the church, need to continue to shine God’s love brightly in dark places.

 

So this St. Patrick’s Day, as you pin on the clover and dress in green, remember what it is we are celebrating and the sacrificial life to which we are called.

 

 

 

Join the women of Common Ground for a time of rest and reflection on the story of Jesus in your life. This retreat will give you an opportunity to reflect on God’s work in you and through you. Our goal is for you to see more clearly what God is doing in your life and what your Kingdom purpose is in daily life. Due to sleeping arrangements and the nature of the retreat, we are unable to accommodate infants or children.

 

When: 6 pm Friday, April 11 to 4 pm Saturday, April 12

Where: Camp Allendale in Trafalgar, IN

Cost: $50 (includes lodging on Friday and breakfast and lunch on Saturday)

 

Space is limited and registration closes April 1. To register, please complete the online registration form. Your registration will be considered complete once the $50 registration fee has been received in the church office at 4550 N. Illinois Street, Indianapolis, IN 46208. You will receive a confirmation email from the planning team once your payment has been received and your registration completed. If you have questions, please contact Christin Nevins at christin.nevins@gmail.com.

 

Music Worship Team Try Outs - Saturday, April 5
Interested in joining the Music Worship Team? Information and sign ups are in the Welcome Center at Midtown and at the Information Table at CGCC-West.  Vocalists are scheduled from 10 am until 11 am and musicians from 11 am until Noon at our Midtown location at 4550 N. Illinois Street.

 

 

Join ServLife for an evening to worship God - to pray - to celebrate - to reflect - to learn on Wednesday, March 19 from 7 to 8:30 pm at our Midtown location. The event is hosted by Joel Vestal and will feature reflections by Jeff Krajewski. The muscial guest is Ashworth. Childcare is available for those who RSVP by March 14. You can register online for childcare. 

 

Does everyone in your house church receive the e-news? If not, encourage them to signup today! You can forward them this issue (see the "Email this page to a friend" link below) or have them click the big blue box at www.cground.org.