by Doug Hammack | Aug 18, 2013 | Message Audio, The Virtue Curriculum
Some folks in our community grew up in the Christian Church. Others didn’t but their view of God, sin, and salvation, have been profoundly influenced by common church instincts. Either way, we pick up some toxic ideas as the centuries roll past and from time to...
by Doug Hammack | Aug 11, 2013 | Message Audio, The Virtue Curriculum
We pick up where we left off last week, looking at the ancient spiritual virtue of self-control through the lens of how our brains work – our upper and lower brains. Have a listen, I think these last two lessons are very helpful for helping us move forward. Doug...
by Doug Hammack | Aug 4, 2013 | Message Audio, The Virtue Curriculum
We can’t really talk about self-control until we talk about self-awareness. So much of our lives we live by instinct. The lower brain is all about rote, but when we make the higher brain about rote as well… we haven’t got a chance! Let’s...
by Doug Hammack | Jul 28, 2013 | Message Audio, The Virtue Curriculum
Today is part 2 of a lesson on self-control because I (Doug) need more of it! A man (or a woman) without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls (Proverbs 25:28) The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace patience, kindness, goodness...
by Doug Hammack | Jul 21, 2013 | Guest Speaker, Message Audio
by Tim Conder (guest speaker from Emmaus Way, Durham, http://emmausway.net/) How does our language and our culture impact what we think it means to follow God? In churches and faith communities, we tend to privilege “our beliefs” as part of the community...
by Doug Hammack | Jul 14, 2013 | Message Audio, The Virtue Curriculum
Today we begin a lesson on self-control because I (Doug) need more of it! When we teach something, we internalize it in a way we don’t when we just read about it. So, I hope this lesson helps you. However, that’s not the point. The point is to help me...
by Doug Hammack | Jul 7, 2013 | Individual Lesson, Message Audio
It’s our annual 4th of July-ish hot-dog picnic Sunday. Today’s lesson we have our kids in with us before we celebrate. We are teaching them about the beauty of diversity within a spiritual community. Have a listen, Doug ...
by Doug Hammack | Jun 30, 2013 | Message Audio, The Virtue Curriculum
As we saw last week, most of us believe honesty is a good thing… and most of us believe we are honest. But statistics tell us we’re overly optimistic. What’s up with that? If we knew that, we’d be forearmed to live more integrously. Have a...
by Doug Hammack | Jun 23, 2013 | Message Audio, The Virtue Curriculum
Everybody thinks honesty is a good thing. Most believe they are honest. The numbers, however, don’t really bear that out. What’s up with that? Answer that question well, and we might live more virtuously. Have a listen, Doug ...
by Doug Hammack | Jun 20, 2013 | Message Audio, The Journey to Oneness
We just finished a lengthy lesson; The Journey to Oneness. We’ve been looking at the three stages on the spiritual journey since the early part of the year. We’re finished now. Sort of. One quick appendix to the lesson. Should finish in 2-3 weeks....
by Doug Hammack | Jun 9, 2013 | Guest Speaker, Message Audio
by Chris Marlow, the ceo and founder of the non-profit Help One Now (click to read up on them). Help One Now operates in Africa, Haiti and other parts of the world serving the most oppressed there (orphans and vulnerable children). This is not a cause but a...
by Doug Hammack | Jun 2, 2013 | Message Audio, The Journey to Oneness
Putting in a lifetime of religious energy and focus… only to find we completely missed the point. I can’t imagine many regrets more painful. Let’s not do that, shall we? Have a listen. If we don’t get the starting point right (which I suggest...
by Doug Hammack | May 26, 2013 | Message Audio, The Journey to Oneness
We become like the God we worship. That’s a good thing… if our Story about God is healthy. But from time to time, it becomes quite toxic. When that happens, we need to do some rethinking. So lets… Abraham is the father of all Jews, Christians, and...
by Doug Hammack | May 19, 2013 | Message Audio, The Journey to Oneness
I get distracted. I bet you do too. Emails, car repair, conflicts that need to be resolved, books that need to be read. And sometimes when we get distracted, the things we deem most important can get away from us. And that’s true for you and me. And it’s...
by Doug Hammack | May 12, 2013 | Message Audio, The Journey to Oneness
If we don’t think about the end of a thing, we rarely get the beginning or middle right. If we don’t think about where a journey is going, we rarely point ourselves in the right direction. A lot of words are said in our religion. A lot of energies are...
by Doug Hammack | May 5, 2013 | Message Audio, The Journey to Oneness
History is a funny thing. People tend to remain the same, but cultures don’t. As Christians, we have missed an important part of our history. We started in a Middle-Eastern, Hebrew worldview, but around 325 AD, we migrated into a Greco-Roman one. And scriptures...
by Doug Hammack | Apr 28, 2013 | Message Audio, The Journey to Oneness
We long for a world (albeit an impractical one) where everyone gets along and there are no wars or suffering. We comfort ourselves about not having this as our reality by turning Jesus into a “poet”. His words are often interpreted almost as if they were...
by Doug Hammack | Apr 28, 2013 | Individual Lesson, Message Audio
I have been on a 16-day long walk along the MST. The purpose was solitude, quiet and prayer. I tell my story of my walk and the few people I met along the way to the kids at NRCC. by Doug Hammack ...
by Scott Shackleton | Apr 21, 2013 | Guest Speaker, Message Audio
NRCC Sermon for April 21 by Scott Shackleton https://media.blubrry.com/north_raleigh_community_church/s3.amazonaws.com/nrccaudio/2013/04-21-13_Sermon.mp3Podcast: Play in new window |...
by Doug Hammack | Apr 7, 2013 | Message Audio, The Journey to Oneness
I’m going on a walk. (details). The purpose of the walk is the ancient practice of solitude. It is one of the contemplative practices we talk about that works with the deconstructive process that is part of the Journey to Oneness. Have a listen, Doug ...
