by Robin Camu | Jan 17, 2010 | Guest Speaker, Individual Lesson, Message Audio
by Robin Camu Scientists are finding out that our minds are more “plastic” than we ever dreamed. They are finding that neural pathways can be changed resulting in minds being changed. Likewise, when Jesus commanded us to repent (literally, to change one’s mind), He...
by Doug Hammack | Jan 10, 2010 | Message Audio, New Year
by Doug Hammack The New Year marks an annual invitation to personal renewal. Last week, we looked at how human beings best change. In this second lesson about personal renewal, we look at the unconscious resistance to renewal and change we often put up. We all have...
by Doug Hammack | Jan 7, 2010 | Christian Meditation, Message Audio
by Doug Hammack Centering Prayer is an updated form of the ancient meditative practice, lectio divina. Because many Christians are frightened by anything Eastern, in this lesson we put those fears to rest, talking about what meditation is, and then four practical...
by Doug Hammack | Jan 3, 2010 | Message Audio, New Year
by Doug Hammack As we come to another New Year, we look again at how human beings best change. We all have areas of growth before us in the coming year, areas originating in the heart of God. Today’s lesson talks about discerning the purposes of the Divine, and...
by Doug Hammack | Dec 27, 2009 | Good Power vs. Bad, Message Audio
by Doug Hammack Continuing our look at good and bad power, we turn to how one comes to be a user of the former. How do we become good-power people? Jesus had a lot to say about power, and critical to his teaching was an understanding that successful people, in-group...
by Doug Hammack | Dec 20, 2009 | Good Power vs. Bad, Message Audio
by Doug Hammack In this second installment of our lesson on Good Power, we look first at how necessary humility is to exercising good power, and second, how we develop humility in our souls. (Sorry, no nifty picture this week.) ...
by Doug Hammack | Dec 13, 2009 | Good Power vs. Bad, Message Audio
by Doug Hammack As we’ve been looking at the ancient pathways that tend the soul’s well-being, we’ve seen that many of those practices involve interacting with other people. Consequently, the issue of power comes into play. In these Advent lessons,...
by Doug Hammack | Dec 6, 2009 | Message Audio, Tending Our Souls
by Doug Hammack We’ve been talking about a series of soul-training practices all Fall. In this lesson we pause from these content-dense lessons, to reflect on why we want to train our souls in the first place. I determined to teach this lesson to myself as I...
by Doug Hammack | Nov 29, 2009 | Message Audio, Thanksgiving
by Doug Hammack Each year around the Thanksgiving holiday, we revisit the theme of gratitude and thankfulness. This ancient path, like the others we’re examining this fall, has power to transform, strengthen, and awaken our souls. ...
by Doug Hammack | Nov 22, 2009 | Message Audio, Tending Our Souls
by Doug Hammack We continue looking at the Divine Call to be a hospitable people to strangers and outsiders, 1200 years after the Calling of Abraham was issued. This soul-training tool is again, a powerful means to both better the earth and transform our souls...
by Doug Hammack | Nov 15, 2009 | Message Audio, Tending Our Souls
by Doug Hammack We continue looking at hospitality as a soul-training tool, a way to both better the earth and transform our souls. https://media.blubrry.com/north_raleigh_community_church/s3.amazonaws.com/nrccaudio/2009/11-15-09_Sermon.mp3Podcast: Play in new...
by Doug Hammack | Nov 8, 2009 | Message Audio, Tending Our Souls
by Doug Hammack We continue looking at hospitality as a soul-training tool, a way to both better the earth and transform our souls. https://media.blubrry.com/north_raleigh_community_church/s3.amazonaws.com/nrccaudio/2009/11-08-09_Sermon.mp3Podcast: Play...
by Doug Hammack | Nov 1, 2009 | Message Audio, Tending Our Souls
by Doug Hammack As we’re talking about the ancient paths that tend to the well-being of the soul, we turn to the early practice of hospitality. From the time of Abraham, this has been a central theme of spiritual people. ...
by Doug Hammack | Oct 25, 2009 | Message Audio, Tending Our Souls
by Doug Hammack In this lesson we look at a very practical way to turn our prayer less into words, and more into awakening to the awareness of what God is already up to. It’s a contemplative practice for daily use called The Welcoming Prayer. ...
by Doug Hammack | Oct 18, 2009 | Message Audio, Tending Our Souls
by Doug Hammack Many have abandoned prayer as irrelevant, incomprehensible, or useless. Sadly, there is good reason why they have done so. In this lesson we talk about how prayer has devolved into talking, talking, talking, and the underlying unspoken assumption...
by Doug Hammack | Oct 11, 2009 | Message Audio, Tending Our Souls
by Doug Hammack At first glance, making peace doesn’t appear to be a discipline for training one’s soul… Have a listen! https://media.blubrry.com/north_raleigh_community_church/s3.amazonaws.com/nrccaudio/2009/10-11-09_Sermon.mp3Podcast: Play...
by Doug Hammack | Oct 4, 2009 | Message Audio, Tending Our Souls
by Doug Hammack Today we lay a foundation for a series of lessons about tending the gardens of our souls. To become the kind of people other people want to be around, indeed the kind of people we ourselves want to be around, requires attentiveness to spiritual growth....
by Doug Hammack | Sep 27, 2009 | Message Audio, Tending Our Souls
by Doug Hammack Today we listen to the wisdom of one of the wise men of our Christian heritage. His name was Francois Fenelon. He lived about 400 years ago, and wrote spiritual letters, many of which have survived. In the letter we look at today, he writes about...
by Doug Hammack | Sep 20, 2009 | Individual Lesson, Message Audio
by Doug Hammack This week I (Doug) had an appointment with one of the 12 year old girls in our community. Her mom brought her by to talk about question she has about God. She’d just been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and was asking a variation of an...
by Doug Hammack | Sep 13, 2009 | Community Meeting, Message Audio
by Doug Hammack Today we look at the pragmatics of our spiritual community; why we’re here, where we’re going, our future, our finances, and practical things we can all do to keep NRCC thriving. ...
