Blog (Page 9)
Toward Sunday
We are in the fourth week of On Ramp. This is our five-week worship series imaginatively exploring central topics in Christian faith. We turn from God to Jesus this week in worship. We are drawing upon and adapting some of the framework of a series called Animate (Faith) by SparkHouse Publications as we prepare this worship series for our particular context. Outline for On Ramp ▪July 12: Religion (Mark 6.14-29) ▪July 19: Bible (Acts 17.10-12) ▪July 26: God (1 Timothy 6.16, John…
The word God.
In her book On The Mystery, Discerning Divinity in Process, Catherine Keller writes: “But what is the link between the truth question and the God question? There are, of course, truths about anything and everything. But in the vicinity of religion, and in particular of Christianity, truth has also served as code for “God” and whatever God reveals. But even if we understand God to be “absolute” – non biblical but conventional language — that understanding does not make,…
Source of Life
“Nothing is real without deriving its reality from God. This was the great discovery of St. Francis when he suddenly saw the whole world in God’s hands and wondered why God didn’t drop it. St. Augustine, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John Vianney, and all the saints are saints precisely because for them the order of being was turned around and they saw, felt, and -above all- knew with their heart that outside God nothing is, nothing breathes, nothing moves, and…
Toward Sunday
On Ramp is our five-week worship series imaginatively exploring central topics in Christian faith. We turn from Bible to God this week in worship. We are drawing upon and adapting some of the framework of a series called Animate (Faith) by SparkHouse Publications as we prepare this worship series for our particular context. Outline for On Ramp ▪July 12: Religion (Mark 6.14-29) ▪July 19: Bible (Acts 17.10-12) ▪July 26: God (1 Timothy 6.16, John 1.18, Matthew 6.9, Revelation 4.1-11, Luke 13.34) ▪August…
Bible Hints
“It seems to me that part of what the Bible is suggesting to us is that we can look around our everyday lives and say, “Here I am looking out my window at this magnolia tree. That’s not just a beautiful tree, and it’s not just something that was created by God. It actually is telling me something about who God is, because God describes God’s self as a tree in Hosea.” We have this powerful invitation from Scripture that…
Bible
This may sound strange, but when I think about the bible my first image is the photo above. This “painting” hung on the wall in my house when I was a child. The original is a photograph entitled “Grace” by Eric Enstrom. (You can learn more about this famous photo by clicking above.) I think that I memorized every part of the picture. The bowl, the “bible” and the glasses captured my imagination the most. They looked so real. I…
Toward Sunday
On Ramp is our five-week worship series imaginatively exploring central topics in Christian faith. We turn from Religion to Bible this week in worship. We are drawing upon and adapting some of the framework of a series called Animate (Faith) by SparkHouse Publications as we prepare this worship series for our particular context. Outline for On Ramp ▪July 12: Religion (Mark 6.14-29) ▪July 19: Bible (Acts 17.10-12) ▪July 26: God (1 Timothy 6.16, John 1.18, Matthew 6.9, Revelation 4.1-11, Luke 13.34) ▪August…
Toward Sunday
We begin a new worship series this week called On Ramp. On Ramp will be a five-week worship series imaginatively exploring central topics in Christian faith. We are drawing upon and adapting some of the framework of a series called Animate (Faith) by SparkHouse Publications as we prepare this worship series for our particular context. Outline for On Ramp ▪July 12: Religion (Mark 6.14-29) ▪July 19: Bible (Acts 17.10-12) ▪July 26: God (1 Timothy 6.16, John 1.18, Matthew 6.9, Revelation 4.1-11, Luke 13.34) ▪August 2: Jesus (John 6.24-35)…
Wow
The discipline of exclaiming “Wow” comes to us through the ages. This photo of “The Embrace” is from Burning Man 2014. I say “Wow” every time I come across it. When I stood, feeling so small, next to it the “Wow” was overwhelming. Whether it is art or the great Booker T. Washington or the stream of conscious writer Anne Lamott – the message is the same. “Wow” says it all. “My whole life has largely been one of…
Toward Sunday
We are so grateful for our worship yesterday and celebration of the historic Supreme Court decision to support marriage equality. All means all. Amen. We conclude our three-week worship series this week on Prayer. It is based on two books: Help, Thanks, Wow The Three Essential Prayers by Anne Lamott and Prayer Finding the Heart’s True Home by Richard J. Foster. This series comes from the desires expressed in so many of our Deep Commitments regarding prayer. While we may…
Thanks
Flora Slosson Wuellner has studied and written a great deal on prayer. In her book Prayer, Stress and Our Inner Wounds she suggests giving thanks for our bodies, often neglected and unappreciated: “Occasionally through the day, give a loving thought to your bodily parts which are being used: your eyes, hands, feet, arms, legs, brain. They are your good friends who work with you…Listen to any signals your body sends you of stress or tension. At these times,….relax your breathing, picture…
Toward Sunday
We continue our three-week worship series this week on Prayer based on two books: Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers by Anne Lamott and Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home by Richard J. Foster. This series comes from the desires expressed in so many of our Deep Commitments last fall. While we may not answer all the questions raised by our Deep Commitments regarding prayer, we do hope to focus on 3 areas: the history of prayer, praying in…