we used some stations on sunday evening. here are the texts . you will have to provide your own apples, leaves, pumpkins, and tea lights though!
apples
these invitations to “taste and see”, have started life, as blossoms on a branch, been fertilized by a passing, unsuspecting insect, been watered by rain, and ripened by sun. their promise is only released by sinking our teeth into its yielding skin. they lay there awaiting our decision.
God waits for us. taste and see that the Lord is good!
“God of patience. sorry for my reluctance to “sink my teeth” into you. thank you for your invitation to come to you. help me lift my leaden limbs to praise you, help me discover all the infinite varieties of your goodness….
amen”
pumpkins
outrageous, ridiculous, in their bulbous orangeyness! designed for our delight by the God who is always communicating through his creation. waiting to be appreciated, hollowed out, turned into pumpkin pie or jack o’lanterns. what do I want to “make” of God? hollow him out? turn God into something else? something more convienient or manageable? or, am I OK with the outrageous God who comes to us, as one of us, ridiculous, despised, rejected?
“God of outrageous creation. sorry for my tendency to see you as some kind of commodity, to make use of you on my own terms. sorry for my refusal to let you be fully God, for my attempts to make you in my image, instead of being content to be made, and to be being made, in yours. thank you for the exuberance of your creation, the variety, and the strangeness. help me to allow you to grab my attention and remind me of your presence in myriad ways….
amen”
leaves
once adorning the branches of a hundred trees, once the lungs of a city, now lie scattered, sometimes tar-spotted, their task fulfilled. basking in the glory of a job well done. only to be replaced next year by their younger greener thrusting cousins.
attitudes and behaviours which felt as comfortable as a pair of old jeans, may now be inappropriate in the light of who and whose we are. listen to Paul,
“everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It's rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.”
things that once served us well in our relationship with God; which of them are no longer needed? which of them need to be retained? which revitalized?
“God of the new creation. help me to allow the things I no longer need to fall to the ground like spent leaves. help me to see what those things are, and to be willing to let them go. help me to take up those things that are of you, that initially may feel strange and awkward, like a new, unfamiliar piece of clothing…
amen”
lights
in the time of shortening days, of lengthening darkness, we are called to live as children of light.
take a tea light.
Jesus doesn’t force us to walk in his light. he invites us. how do I respond to him when he claims, "I am the world's Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in."?
lighting the tea light is a choice.
“God of light, whose son is the light of the world. help me to always walk in his light and to allow his light to shine into and through me, that others may be drawn to you the source of true light….
amen”
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
wordXchange old dublin: our father
ever read the lord's prayer in the message? same thoughts, different english than we're used to. we found it thought provoking to read it in language that makes you notice what you're saying, as opposed to language that melts into the meaninglessness of repetition.
matthew 6 : 7-13 the message
7-13"The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what's best— as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You're in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You're ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.
matthew 6 : 7-13 the message
7-13"The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what's best— as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You're in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You're ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
wordXchange old dublin
the new wordXchange old dublin got underway this past sunday night after the emerge gathering. it was very interesting to settle, the five of us, into a back booth, while ryan read psalm 103 over the low hum of the pub conversations and big screen tv.
Psalm 103
O my soul, bless God,
don't forget a single blessing!
3-5 He forgives your sins—every one.
He heals your diseases—every one.
He redeems you from hell—saves your life!
He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.
He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
He renews your youth—you're always young in his presence.
6-18 God makes everything come out right;
he puts victims back on their feet.
He showed Moses how he went about his work,
opened up his plans to all Israel.
God is sheer mercy and grace;
not easily angered, he's rich in love.
He doesn't endlessly nag and scold,
nor hold grudges forever.
He doesn't treat us as our sins deserve,
nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.
As high as heaven is over the earth,
so strong is his love to those who fear him.
And as far as sunrise is from sunset,
he has separated us from our sins.
As parents feel for their children,
God feels for those who fear him.
He knows us inside and out,
keeps in mind that we're made of mud.
Men and women don't live very long;
like wildflowers they spring up and blossom,
But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly,
leaving nothing to show they were here.
God's love, though, is ever and always,
eternally present to all who fear him,
Making everything right for them and their children
as they follow his Covenant ways
and remember to do whatever he said.
19-22 God has set his throne in heaven;
he rules over us all. He's the King!
So bless God, you angels,
ready and able to fly at his bidding,
quick to hear and do what he says.
Bless God, all you armies of angels,
alert to respond to whatever he wills.
Bless God, all creatures, wherever you are—
everything and everyone made by God.
there was an appreciation for the poetic phrases "as far as the sunrise is from the sunset", (in the n.i.v. "as far as east is from west") and "as high as heaven is above the earth"...
Psalm 103
A David Psalm
1-2 O my soul, bless God. From head to toe, I'll bless his holy name!O my soul, bless God,
don't forget a single blessing!
3-5 He forgives your sins—every one.
He heals your diseases—every one.
He redeems you from hell—saves your life!
He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.
He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
He renews your youth—you're always young in his presence.
6-18 God makes everything come out right;
he puts victims back on their feet.
He showed Moses how he went about his work,
opened up his plans to all Israel.
God is sheer mercy and grace;
not easily angered, he's rich in love.
He doesn't endlessly nag and scold,
nor hold grudges forever.
He doesn't treat us as our sins deserve,
nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.
As high as heaven is over the earth,
so strong is his love to those who fear him.
And as far as sunrise is from sunset,
he has separated us from our sins.
As parents feel for their children,
God feels for those who fear him.
He knows us inside and out,
keeps in mind that we're made of mud.
Men and women don't live very long;
like wildflowers they spring up and blossom,
But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly,
leaving nothing to show they were here.
God's love, though, is ever and always,
eternally present to all who fear him,
Making everything right for them and their children
as they follow his Covenant ways
and remember to do whatever he said.
19-22 God has set his throne in heaven;
he rules over us all. He's the King!
So bless God, you angels,
ready and able to fly at his bidding,
quick to hear and do what he says.
Bless God, all you armies of angels,
alert to respond to whatever he wills.
Bless God, all creatures, wherever you are—
everything and everyone made by God.
And you, O my soul, bless God!
one comment was, it's interesting how the psalmist digresses halfway through into a bit of a declaration of our own mortality, and the frailty of our existence, then jumps right back into the effusive praise...
there was an appreciation for the poetic phrases "as far as the sunrise is from the sunset", (in the n.i.v. "as far as east is from west") and "as high as heaven is above the earth"...
new blog for emerge
Hi, below I have re-posted the entries that had been posted on emergecommunity1.blogspot.com, which has now given way for technical reasons, to emergemtl.blogspot.com.
Paul
Paul
Bono speaks at a prayer breakfast
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Listen to Bono's Speech
I found this speech extremely interesting and moving . Bono speaks with such a bold heart for justice, especially for the poor in Africa, and it resonates with what emergers, and thousands of people all over the world are feeling. This is a 20 min clip, but it's definately worth a listen, and i'd be very interested to hear people's comments. For me, after listening, i felt my dreams expanding to use my gifts as an artist, to do whatever i can to alter the way people see each other, to fight against poverty, with whatever tools are in my hand and heart.
-Leah
wordXchange Isaiah
Yesterday the NDG wordXchange looked at Isaiah 1:5-17. God's impatience with the people's misemphasis on religious undertakings, sacrifices, rituals and the like is strongly worded. Most strikingly God "hates" our religious meetings and "will turn his head" and ignore our prayers if we don't add substance to our worship. At the end of the passage, in increasingly short and simple sentences, He states why this misemphasis is destructive: it does nothing to enhance our ability to take care of the needy, orphans and widows.
We found this passage incredibly poignant to our times, with many church experiences revolving around meetings about buildings and policys, and rituals of our own design, instead of working for justice.
We found this passage incredibly poignant to our times, with many church experiences revolving around meetings about buildings and policys, and rituals of our own design, instead of working for justice.
wordXchange: Amos
Each of our four weeks at the NDG wordXchange we will be posting /commenting about what we read and the kinds of things that came up in our conversations. In our first session last night we read Amos 5: 7-17. After opening with an eloquent passsage reminding us how small we are in God's greatness, he proceeds with a scathing indictment of the selfish, wealthy Isrealites, reminding them that all these material concerns will ultimately not be enjoyed, in eternity. Ouch. The language is heavy and brash: worth a read!
P
P
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
