Community Life Seminars begin this Sunday. This is the first program of the Chinese Ministry, aiming to reach out to the Chinese community and other people of international backgrounds living in the area. Speakers from various professions and disciplines will provide information on American life and culture and talk about their work, life, and faith. It'll help people who are new to this country understand the community better and have better access to resources. Although informational, these seminars are mission-focused, creating a platform to attract international gospel friends to participate in our church. We will have an opportunity to share our love of God and love to our neighbors by being a good host.

        I remember when I first got here six years ago to begin my study at Duke Divinity School, my American classmates shared their class notes with me, my professors allowed me to record their lectures, church families invited me to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas at their homes, and I got to see the NC State Fair, and the July 4th fire works at Cameron Stadium. All these wonderful American experiences showed me the great spirit of hospitality that this country has always had and made my transition to American life so much easier. I was a stranger, but you received me. Your "southern hospitality" has concrete embodiment in my every day life.

        The Bible teaches that "The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God." (Leviticus 19:34) I want to pass on the blessings I've received from the Lord and from my brothers and sisters in Christ to the new friends who need assistance in community life too. This seminar series is only a beginning. As the new semester starts at UNC, the energy is back to campus. In August, we are particularly welcoming new international students to the seminars.

        HillSong Family, would you come and meet with our new friends and show your hospitality to them? Would you spread the word and invite your international friends to join us? Please keep us in your prayers and may the Lord use us for His Kingdom!

        For seminar schedules and more information, please visit the HillSong website.

        A couple returned to the home in which they raised their children after being gone for several years. Wasn't there a light in the foyer? Weren't the counters lower? A home they could once navigate with their eyes closed seemed so different, though nothing had changed.

        What causes us to think differently about the familiar?

        While unsettling at times, a renewed perspective is helpful when trying to understand the familiar through the eyes of an outsider. This is the task set before us, HillSong Church, during the season of renewal.

        Just like living in a house for decades only to discover details long overlooked, a change in perspective can bring important attributes of our Church into better focus - not the building but the people. Renewal brings new life into longstanding relationships within our familiar community, and makes room for new relationships to form.

        Without moving, how can we gain a new perspective?

Jesus Christ invites us to do that with every story he tells. Through his parables we are invited to take on the perspective of each character and learn about ourselves, those around us, and the Kingdom of God anew. Reading the parables throughout the stages of our lives we see the familiar characters differently. By reading the parables we see ourselves differently- we understand our friends more deeply - we welcome the new as the familiar.

        Come hear the parables anew in worship Sunday mornings in August!