'growing in faith' Tagged Posts (Page 11)
Prayer
“I thank you, O God, for grace that did not uproot me when I showed more of my expertise at doing harm than my longing to do good. Teach me to practice such patience so that I might see the beautiful potential of myself, others, even my enemies. Amen.
Weeds
How does one live in a world where weeds do infest the ground, and evil does rear its head in powerful ways that defy certainty and simple answers? The Parable of the Weeds. Matthew 13.24-30
Location, location, location.
“Where are we to look? What are we to go after? Barbara Brown Taylor suggests that “God decided to hide the kingdom of heaven not in any of the extraordinary places that treasure hunters would be sure to check but in the last place that any of us would think to look, namely, in the ordinary circumstances of our everyday lives.” Not too high up, not too far away. ” ~Barbara Brown Taylor Where do you find God on a…
Ash Wednesday
“In these bodies we will live, In these bodies we will die. Where you invest your love, you invest your life.” ~Mumford & Sons
Toward Sunday
We begin a new worship series this week. We are inviting our community to Give Up Certainty for Lent as we root ourselves in the parables of Jesus. What is a parable? Exact definitions vary from “stories of life with religious or spiritual lessons” to “metaphors or similes that take narrative form.” We will be operating on an understanding of parables as “thin places” where the usual boundaries between heaven and earth, holy and ordinary, known and mysterious, come together. Those are…
Toward Sunday
This week our worship will focus on remembering our story and setting The Table for God’s unfolding future. Worship will be grounded in Isaiah 44.1-8. Dr. Juliana Claassens writes, “Isaiah 44:6-8 as part of the larger context of Isaiah 44 seeks to reestablish a new identity for the broken exiles by reminding the exilic community that their own identity should be understood in relation to the character of God. Having received a new name in vv. 1-5, the exiles are reminded…
Prison Prayer
Lord, you offer freedom to all people. We pray for all who are captive in prison and for those who are affected by or involved in their imprisonment. Break the bonds of fear and isolation that exist. Support with your love, prisoners, their families, friends, prison staff and all who care. Heal those who have been wounded by the activities of others, especially the victims of crime. Help us to forgive one another, to act justly, love mercy and walk…
Justice
some words on Justice by Frederick Buechner from Whistling in the Dark. If you break a good law, justice must be involved not only for goodness’ sake but for the good of your own soul. Justice may consist of paying a price for what you’ve done or simply of the painful knowledge that you deserve to pay a price, which is payment enough. Without one form of justice or the other, the result is ultimately disorder and grief for you…
Incarcerated youth
This is a poem by an incarcerated youth named Keith describing his experience of coming to faith while in prison. Escape I want to escape, I want to get out I can’t take it, I say. “Help me”, I shout I’m afraid to live, I’m afraid to die. Afraid to believe and I just don’t know why The truth, I’ve found is so real. Even more genuine than the pain that I feel/ For so long I lived free, answering…
In jail with Jesus
Alone one night In shame and despair I looked for my help But no one was there, No future…but prison No past…but pain I looked in the mirror My tears…the rain By justice condemned In time to die My only hope God’s Mercy For his grace I cry… Then a seed planted Somewhere long ago In the midst of my sorrows Began to grow… This seed was Christ Who died for me In jail with Jesus I am set free……
Toward Sunday
We conclude our worship series, Don’t Talk About That at The Table; with reflection this coming week on prisons. Outline January 12: United Methodist Social Principles (Acts 10.34-43) January 19: Race (Matthew 5.38-48) January 26: Immigration (1 Corinthians 1.10-18) February 2: Abortion (Micah 6.1-8) February 9: Gender (Ephesians 5.22-24 & Galatians 3.28) February 16: Sexuality (Romans 1.26-27 & Ruth 1.16-17) February 23: Prisons (Hebrews 13.3) This Sunday will invite deeper reflection on prisons. We welcome Rev. Gary McAnally to the…
Brainwashed?
What do you think Dustin Hoffman means when he says he has been “brainwashed”?