Starting Point at Cedar Springs...Winter, 2014

Join us for Starting Point this Winter! It's safe place for you to explore faith and experience a community of honest, open people...Who probably have lots of the same questions, doubts, or wonderings that you do! We would love to have you join us. Next gathering begins January 19th, 2014.

Starting Point from CedarSpringsPresbyterianChurch on Vimeo.

Christians are Sinners...Along with everyone else; and that's great news!

“Christians are sinners. That’s who Christ died to save. That’s what the Holy Spirit convicts us about. We’re sinners throughout life, and because the Spirit is in us, we are unhappy about our sin. Instead of doubting our salvation, which is what the Devil wants us to do, we need to continue to believe the promise of God that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness for Jesus sake. We trust Christ for forgiveness of what we do wrong, but also for the gift of His righteousness so we know we are accepted by God for Christ’s sake, and not because we lived up to our intentions or promises to Him. Remember that only Christians struggle with the issue of assurance, and that is because the Holy Spirit in us constantly brings us into to the light of the Father’s love and the grace of Jesus Christ. Accept what Christ has done for you and apart from you. Meditate on the promises in the Gospel: they are yours and are always all true for you. Read about Jesus’ tender love for sinful people. Rest in the finished work and gracious righteousness of Christ. If you go through a time of being unsure, expect your assurance to return as you focus on Christ, and not on yourself.”

-Michael Spencer, from “Faith’s Crumbling"

Join us this coming Fall, 2013 and be part of our next Starting Point Groups! We would love for you to be part of something, we expect, will be different from anything you've experienced before...We look forward to the privilege of getting to know you.

The Power of Vulnerability

Do you feel like there is even a safe place for vulnerability and honesty to occur? We would like to invite you to Starting Point where we seek to create that type of space...For you to be open, honest, and uncertain with all of who you are. This talk explains a little of why that is so very vital for all of us.

Ever troubled by the fact that...

...this kind of logic is what seems to mark certain Christians?



Us too...

That's why we have Starting Point. So we can actually discuss honestly, openly, humbly and logically about issues of faith, Jesus, the Bible and life in general. Come join us...For the discussion and the laugther.

The Gift of Finding God in Everything...

“You will find the living God in the pages of the Bible. You will find him also just exactly where you are…He leads through all events, all the circumstances of your life. Nothing in your life is so insignificant, so small, that God cannot be found at its center. We think of God in the dramatic things, the glorious sunsets, the majestic mountains, the tempestuous seas; but he in is the little things too, in the smile of a passer-by or the gnarled hands of an old man, in a daisy, a tiny insect, falling leaves. God is in the music, in the laughter and in sorrow too." -Mother Francis Dominica

We'd love to hear about and explore the places you sense you've seen God in and around the things/places of your own life...Come join us!

Faith: Rational and Deeply Mysterious, Paradoxical, Supernatural

"...since the message of faith is rational, it can be understood. The revelation in the Bible throws light not only upon the purpose of God but also upon the human situation…

“At the same time the truth of faith cannot be translated into a finalized, coherent system which denies the mystery and paradox in faith. This is because the truth is supernatural as well as rational.” -Donald Bloesch

"Americans: Undecided About God?"

“It is the test of a good religion whether you can joke about it.” G.K. Chesterton (quoted in article)

http://nyti.ms/rIhiBi
(copy and paste this link...Can't seem to get the direct link to work)

Very interesting New York Times article about where many folks are in the United States when it comes to belief, faith, and God. Feeling stuck between "true believers" and "angry atheists," neither of which knows how to laugh while both know very well how to shout. Think you might find yourself stuck in the middle of those two polarities as well? Join us at a place where you can have adult discussions, ask honest questions, and laugh-even in the midst of serious wonderings about God, faith, Jesus, and life in general.

Don't you wish conversations about faith could be this honest?

I love the honesty of this commercial-not to mention the humor. I just wish conversations about faith-both the public side and the private side-were more often this type of honest. Unfortunately, most of the time and in most places, it just doesn't happen like that. We invite you to a place where it does...Starting Point at Cedar Springs. Come join us.

Classic Question : Different Type of Answer : All the Difference

A different take on the "classic" end-of-life question by Brennan Manning. Give a viewing to the whole thing (only 4 minutes long), and see if it connects with you in some way. This video is a beautiful, vital invitation to ongoing discussion if there ever was one...We'd love to be part of the conversation with you.

Questions That Deserve More Than Answers

Join us for the discussion...