{"id":1001,"date":"2024-01-01T05:30:01","date_gmt":"2024-01-01T11:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/?p=1001"},"modified":"2024-07-29T22:31:56","modified_gmt":"2024-07-30T03:31:56","slug":"the-miracle-and-ministry-of-listening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/the-miracle-and-ministry-of-listening\/","title":{"rendered":"The Miracle and Ministry of Listening"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"--awb-border-radius-top-left:0px;--awb-border-radius-top-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-left:0px;--awb-flex-wrap:wrap;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last\" style=\"--awb-bg-size:cover;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-column-has-shadow fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy\"><div class=\"fusion-aligncenter\"><a class=\"fusion-button button-flat fusion-button-default-size button-custom fusion-button-default button-1 fusion-button-default-span fusion-button-default-type fusion-has-button-gradient\" style=\"--button_accent_color:#000000;--button_accent_hover_color:#000000;--button_border_hover_color:#000000;--button_gradient_top_color:#dead36;--button_gradient_bottom_color:rgba(222,173,54,0.85);--button_gradient_top_color_hover:rgba(222,173,54,0.85);--button_gradient_bottom_color_hover:#dead36;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/12\/Flourish_Janvier-2024_French.pdf\"><span class=\"fusion-button-text\">\u2022\u2022T\u00e9l\u00e9chargez les documents en fran\u00e7ais\u2022\u2022<\/span><\/a><\/div><div class=\"fusion-sep-clear\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-separator fusion-full-width-sep\" style=\"margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;margin-top:5px;margin-bottom:5px;width:100%;\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-sep-clear\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-1 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last\" style=\"--awb-bg-size:cover;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-column-has-shadow fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1\"><h2><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This year our focus is on listening\u2014on learning to listen to God and to each other. We believe that God invites us to listen to Him and, as we do, we experience His goodness. We also believe that we are called to extend the gift of listening well to each other. Helping one another feel heard and understood, valued and appreciated. We recognize that listening is a way that we love each other well but also gain understanding to strengthen our work. Today, as we begin our new theme we are going to look at a few foundational ideas.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>God listens to us:<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1 Peter 3:12, Psalm 34:17, 1 John 5:14-15, Isaiah 65:24<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take time to ponder the reality that God, who made the heavens and the earth LISTENS to you. How does the idea that God is listening to you change the way we think of prayer? What are some of the characteristics of God? As you pray, imagine approaching a God who is loving, powerful, faithful, kind, patient, etc.)\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>We are invited to listen to God:<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Read Isaiah 55:2-3, Jeremiah 33:3<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What do you think it means that our soul will live? That we will delight in rich food?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What are some things that you hope we learn this year that will help you grow in your ability to listen?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>The ministry of listening<\/h4>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first way we serve others in the church is by listening to them. Just as our love for God grows as we listen to His word, we will begin to really love other believers as we learn to listen to them. God also shows His love for us by listening to us. So we are doing God\u2019s work when we learn to listen to people. Christians, especially pastors and leaders, so often think they need to say something\u2013that this\u00a0 [preaching and teaching] is how they serve the body of Christ. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2026There is a kind of \u2018half-listening\u2019 we do when we think we already know what the other person has to say. We listen impatiently, waiting for our chance to speak. It isn\u2019t truly loving, because we want to get rid of the other person\u2026Christians have forgotten that the ministry of listening has been given to them by God, who is the Great Listener. He calls us to share in His work. We should listen like God does so that we can speak the Word of God.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Living Together.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: right;\"><i>Full quote <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1tQ23GTLcwz7uTsY9e3xnUTMqo6VVYcVQCtk9jT4nZiA\/edit?usp=sharing\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>here<\/i><\/span><\/a><i>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What stands out to you in this quote?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do you think that listening can be a way to serve others?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What are some of the barriers that you find to listening well?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have you ever had someone listen to you well? How did that feel? What did they do that made you feel heard?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What excites you about the topic of listening this year? What are some of the areas that you hope we explore when it comes to listening to each other?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-aligncenter\"><a class=\"fusion-button button-flat fusion-button-default-size button-custom fusion-button-default button-2 fusion-button-default-span fusion-button-default-type fusion-has-button-gradient\" style=\"--button_accent_color:#000000;--button_accent_hover_color:#000000;--button_border_hover_color:#000000;--button_gradient_top_color:#dead36;--button_gradient_bottom_color:rgba(222,173,54,0.85);--button_gradient_top_color_hover:rgba(222,173,54,0.85);--button_gradient_bottom_color_hover:#dead36;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/12\/Flourish_January-2024_English.pdf\"><span class=\"fusion-button-text\">\u2022\u2022Download the Devotions\u2022\u2022<\/span><\/a><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":929,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spiritual-growth","category-listening-skills"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1001"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1001\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1009,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1001\/revisions\/1009"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}