by Doug Hammack | Sep 25, 2010 | Message Audio, The Suffocating Power of Stuff
Dumbing down grownups, capturing children early and indenturing them into the obligations of consumerism, and misrepresenting the utility of stuff… these are the lengths our economic system goes to sell us stuff. And in the face of that, Jesus tells us that...
by Doug Hammack | Sep 19, 2010 | Message Audio, The Suffocating Power of Stuff
Jesus taught us a lot about how stuff, and our relationship to stuff can steal from us the freedom, vitality, and life that the spiritual journey affords us. However, we live in a society that is founded on consumerism. The powers at work to keep us spending and...
by Doug Hammack | Sep 13, 2010 | Message Audio, Revenge and Forgiveness
Revenge and forgiveness, both natural parts of being human, both wired into our brain chemistry. However, ancient wisdom has taught us that we tend to over-exaggerate the former, and underestimate the power of the latter. So, how do we actually get our brains to move...
by Doug Hammack | Sep 5, 2010 | Message Audio, Revenge and Forgiveness
So how’s this for crazy? I’m standing up in church to say that revenge is a natural part of being human and shouldn’t always be avoided! In fact, only when we recognize the natural part that it plays in the human experience, can we fully embrace...
by Doug Hammack | Aug 29, 2010 | Community Meeting, Message Audio
Listen in to our 2010 community meeting and found out the vision I have for the future of NRCC. Have a listen Doug https://media.blubrry.com/north_raleigh_community_church/s3.amazonaws.com/nrccaudio/2010/08-29-10_Meeting.mp3Podcast: Play in new window |...
by Doug Hammack | Aug 22, 2010 | Message Audio, Reconsidering Prayer
We conclude this lesson on prayer today. We’ve been looking at prayer from a different starting point. Instead of beseeching God to do things for us (even good, noble, selfless things), our starting point has been Jesus’ teaching about Truth setting us...
by Robin Camu | Aug 8, 2010 | Guest Speaker, Message Audio
As co-creators, we can access the Agape Love of the indwelling Trinity by clinging, by patting blindfolded into the future and by backing into truth. When we do access this Agape Love, this indwelling Trinity, we sometimes experience energy, sometimes strength, and...
by Doug Hammack | Aug 1, 2010 | Message Audio, Reconsidering Prayer
In this second-to-last week of this lesson reconsidered prayer we talk about what happens to us when we take on the soul-quieting, truth-seeking, freedom-finding, prayer practices we’ve been talking about. And sure enough… our souls find increased...
by Doug Hammack | Jul 25, 2010 | Message Audio, Reconsidering Prayer
“The discipline of casualness…” That sounds contradictory doesn’t it? But it’s the very foundation of this different kind of prayer we’ve been talking about. Have a listen. Doug ...
by Doug Hammack | Jul 18, 2010 | Message Audio, Reconsidering Prayer
Today, as we continue our lesson rethinking prayer, we come to the mindset necessary for this “seeking-Truth” way of praying. Self-discipline is necessary to this new way, but that term falls on hard times for many Christians. We’ve tried and tried...
by Doug Hammack | Jul 11, 2010 | Message Audio, Reconsidering Prayer
As we’re rethinking prayer as opening ourselves to truth and freedom, we turn now to some of the foundations of the practice. We are easily distracted by small truths and by lesser concerns, to the point that we suffocate out the big thoughts, the life-making...
by Doug Hammack | Jul 4, 2010 | Individual Lesson, Message Audio
Yes, we’re in the middle of a lesson on rethinking prayer, but the 4th of July calls for some appropriate remarks. We’re staying on the theme that will expand our understanding of prayer, but doing it in a 4th-of-July kind of way. God bless you. I pray...
by Doug Hammack | Jun 27, 2010 | Message Audio, Reconsidering Prayer
We think of prayer as asking God to do something. That’s not the kind of prayer we’re going to be discussing. We’re talking about prayer in light of Jesus’ teaching that “we will know the Truth, and the Truth will set us free.” It...
by Doug Hammack | Jun 20, 2010 | Message Audio, Reconsidering Prayer
I thought about titling this message “Don’t Waste Your Time Praying” (since I just did a lesson titled “Don’t Waste Your Time Going To Church”), but that’s not exactly what this lesson is about. When our images of God change...
by Doug Hammack | Jun 13, 2010 | Individual Lesson, Message Audio
Jesus gave two central commands on which to build the spiritual life. Love the Divine, pursue the Divine, prioritize the Divine with all your heart, and second, love people with the same passion you love yourself. In this lesson, we think together about what this...
by Doug Hammack | May 23, 2010 | Individual Lesson, Message Audio
Listen to this prayer from Francis of Assisi. It sums up today’s lesson. Have a listen. Doug. — Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, Where there is hatred, let me sow love; …where there is injury, pardon; …where there is doubt, faith;...
by Robin Camu | Apr 25, 2010 | Guest Speaker, Message Audio
by Robin Camu What Do We Really Want? The deepest longing of the human heart is to connect with God. Yet, many of us go through lives unconscious of this fact. When we feel the yearning for Divine companionship, we often misidentify the sensation and grab for our...
by Doug Hammack | Apr 15, 2010 | Don't Waste Your Time Going to Church, Message Audio
Notice, I did not title this lesson; “Don’t go to church. It’s a waste of time.” No, a better title would have been, “When you go to church, don’t waste your time.” (But it’s not nearly as catchy, is it?) The exercises...
by Doug Hammack | Apr 14, 2010 | Don't Waste Your Time Going to Church, Message Audio
Today, we begin looking at the exercises that in aggregate, constitute the Sunday morning Christian experience. Looking at the word “liturgy,” we realize that what we’re doing is closer to going to a gym-for-the-soul, than it is to many of our...
by Doug Hammack | Apr 13, 2010 | Don't Waste Your Time Going to Church, Message Audio
We’re looking at the exercises we’ve been doing together on Sundays for centuries and centuries. As anything we do for an extend period, they can become rote, and we can begin to practice them without understanding or without a vested interest. So...
