Blog (Page 18)
Rough ride
“In his book Jewish Renewal, Rabbi Michael Lerner says that anyone engaging the practice of Shabbat can expect a rough ride for a couple of years at least. This is because Sabbath involves pleasure, rest, freedom and slowness, none of which comes naturally to North Americans. Most of us are so sold on speed, so invested in productivity, so convinced that multitasking is the way of life that stopping for one whole day can feel at first like a kind…
Toward Sunday
We begin a three-week worship series this week on Sabbath as Resistance. We hope this worship series will help us to reclaim the significance of Sabbath. Each week will focus upon a particular expression of Sabbath from scripture. Our worship series is based on a book called Sabbath as Resistance: Saying NO to the CULTURE OF NOW by Walter Brueggemann who is a professor emeritus of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary. Outline of Sabbath as Resistance August…
Unity or Isolation?
In Psalm 133 we read. “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity” (verse 1). According to the New Interpreter’s Bible, the word “kindred” …does not mean blood relatives, but a people joined by God’s grace. The Psalm, though short, is “highly” ambitious: it calls all people into unity. Every day we make choices. Some choices create unity. Some choices divide. Sometimes our anxiety guides us. Sometimes we are guided by generosity and trust. What…
Prayer
Before you go to sleep tonight take time to think back over the day. Silently offer to God whatever words you have spoken that have not been wise, true or kind. Allow yourself few moments of quiet. Close your silence with this simple prayer: Loving God, we offer these words to you in our hearts knowing that they may have caused harm. Forgive us. Help us to use words that reflect your love. Amen. What would it be like for you…
Toward Sunday
We continue our four-week worship series this week called Talking Ourselves into Being Christian. We hope this worship series will help us to talk about following Jesus in our everyday lives. We will focus on talking about faith in the real world today…in our work lives and our volunteer commitments and our families. Our worship series is based on a book called Testimony: Talking Ourselves into Being Christian by Thomas G. Long, a professor of theology and preaching at Candler School of Theology. Outline of Talking Ourselves into Being Christian July…
Brave
Singer songwriter Sara Bareilles inspires me to be brave with my words. Maybe she will do the same for you today? Brave
Speaking of God
“Some people spend years trying to overcome the bad messages delivered to them in the name of the faith, which makes it all the more urgent to learn how to speak of God so that the love of God and neighbor (even the ‘neighbor’ who is yourself) is built up and not torn down.” Consider messages that folks have delivered to you about God that fell short. How might you speak of God in a different and more effective way…
Toward Sunday
We continue our four-week worship series this week called Talking Ourselves into Being Christian. We hope this worship series will help us to talk about following Jesus in our everyday lives. We will focus on talking about faith in the real world today…in our work lives and our volunteer commitments and our families. Our worship series is based on a book called Testimony: Talking Ourselves into Being Christian by Thomas G. Long, a professor of theology and preaching at Candler School…
You are accepted
Sometimes the most faithful testimony doesn’t sound very religious. Sometimes a teacher’s whisper of encouragement, a word of greeting spoken over the screen of your laptop, a cup of tea delivered without request and an accompanying “this is for you my friend”…communicates that, as Paul Tillich wrote “you are accepted, accepted by that which is greater than you, and the name of which you do not know.” Whenever we use our words to join in the activity of God in…
Talk to God.
“At the first light of day, we begin to talk. We talk to God because God has first spoken to us. And we talk to other people. We talk to others because the way God made us, it is not good for us to be alone. We try to shape our words so that they will invite others to be our companions, so that they will be full of Christ’s peace.” How might God shape your words with someone today?
Begin the day this way.
Thomas Long invites us to ask the following question when we awaken in the morning: “God what are you doing out there in the world today, and how can I be part of it?” Try to ask yourself this question each day for the rest of the week.
Toward Sunday
We continue our four-week worship series this week called Talking Ourselves into Being Christian. Our worship series is based on a book called Testimony: Talking Ourselves into Being Christian by Thomas G. Long, a professor of theology and preaching at Candler School of Theology. We hope this worship series will help us to talk about following Jesus in our everyday lives. Outline of Talking Ourselves into Being Christian July 20: Overview. Living and Talking about Faith. Psalm 139.1-12,23-24 July 27: This is the Day: Waking Up to the Joy God is…