I found this beautiful prayer at www.mustardseedjourney.wordpress.com
I was following a thread regarding the "new monasticism" that began with an e-newsletter I get from "RestoringEden.org" a Christian Creation Care ministry...
Anyway, with recent posts about the Kingdom of God being planted "in" the world, Church of the Apostles' beautiful commitment to "Caring for Creation", and our recent growing recognition of / desire for / need of a band of disciples to join with to live out our discipleship (eg. just to be able to make positive steps in living out the Sermon on the Mount)... I thought the following prayer was great. I commend for at least a season of use in your small group...
Community liturgy
(http://www.boiler-rooms.com/cm/rhythm/81)
God we pray for our community,
Our cymbrogi, our ‘companions of the heart’.
We ask you to be the centre of who we are
Be the God who guides our steps
May we be a Christ-like community,
Humble, loving and available to your leading.
Lord, we pray for [name of your community].
We pray that you would build us as you built the early church.
After Pentecost, the church of Christ formed.
They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles.
Lord, anchor us to your word. May we hear your voice.
They ate together, sharing life and rejoicing at what God was doing in their midst.
Lord, fill us with joy. May we see your glory.
All the believers lived in wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met.
Lord, give us your generosity. May we share our lives
They followed the daily discipline of worship in the Temple.
Lord, teach us to worship. May we walk humbly with you.
People liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were being saved.
Lord, help us to be a light to others. May we see salvation in our midst.
(Dedication prayer)
Lord Jesus Christ,
Holy Spirit, our life-giver,
God our loving Father,
Three-in-one Savior, God in relationship.
Would you bless and keep us as a community.
Help us, guide us, lead us Lord.
Amen.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
the kingdom, E. Stanley Jones
Last week after an initial discussion our Tuesday night group had on the Sermon on the Mount, Lisa Yearwood shared this quote with me:
By the time the creeds were written in the third century, what had happened to the conception of the Kingdom of God? The Nicene Creed mentions it once, beyond the borders of this
life, in heaven "Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom". The Apostles Creed and the Athanasian Creed don't mention it. The three great historic creeds summing up Christian doctrine, mention once what Jesus mentioned a hundred times. Something had dropped out. A vital, vital thing had dropped out. A crippled Christianity went across Europe, leaving a crippled result. The kingdom of God was pressed into the inner recesses of the heart, as a mystical experience now, and then pushed out beyond the borders of this life, in heaven as a future kingdom. So there were vast areas of life left out, unredeemed: the economic, the social, the political. A vacuum was left in the soul of Western Civilization.
(E. Stanley Jones)
As I've been working carefully through Matthew, Jesus' talk of the kingdom is getting to me. It's true that we've relegated it now to the "inner recesses of the heart" and pushed it "out beyond the borders of this life" as a future kingdom. If it is sown in the world, as Jesus says in the parable of the weeds, and if we're the salt of the earth and the light of the world, and if we are to inherit the earth, then it does seem that there are vast areas of life that have been left out of being intentionally impacted or influenced by the kingdom or the children of the kingdom.
I have heard and appreciated the following conviction several times over the last year or two:
We exist as a group of believers in a given city/culture/region for the common good and welfare of that city/culture/region (eg. Jeremiah 29). If we were not here would people lament our absence? Or, how much would it cost to re-establish services in the community that are no longer being offered?
In other words, are we really in the world but not of the world (John 15:19;16:33)? Or are we trying to so hard to get out of the world and it's pains and troubles that we're really not even in the world?
Here's another quote from E. Stanley Jones:
"An individual gospel without a social gospel is a soul without a body, and a social gospel without an individual gospel is a body without a soul. One is a ghost and the other a corpse…" (from The Unshakable Kingdom and the Unchanging Person. Abingdon Press, 1972. p. 40.)
Another way to say all this is that we are God's plan to heal the world. And I think it probably proceeds along the lines of how Jesus did it. Basically proclaiming the kingdom and doing good. Sort of sounds like:
By the time the creeds were written in the third century, what had happened to the conception of the Kingdom of God? The Nicene Creed mentions it once, beyond the borders of this
life, in heaven "Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom". The Apostles Creed and the Athanasian Creed don't mention it. The three great historic creeds summing up Christian doctrine, mention once what Jesus mentioned a hundred times. Something had dropped out. A vital, vital thing had dropped out. A crippled Christianity went across Europe, leaving a crippled result. The kingdom of God was pressed into the inner recesses of the heart, as a mystical experience now, and then pushed out beyond the borders of this life, in heaven as a future kingdom. So there were vast areas of life left out, unredeemed: the economic, the social, the political. A vacuum was left in the soul of Western Civilization.
(E. Stanley Jones)
As I've been working carefully through Matthew, Jesus' talk of the kingdom is getting to me. It's true that we've relegated it now to the "inner recesses of the heart" and pushed it "out beyond the borders of this life" as a future kingdom. If it is sown in the world, as Jesus says in the parable of the weeds, and if we're the salt of the earth and the light of the world, and if we are to inherit the earth, then it does seem that there are vast areas of life that have been left out of being intentionally impacted or influenced by the kingdom or the children of the kingdom.
I have heard and appreciated the following conviction several times over the last year or two:
We exist as a group of believers in a given city/culture/region for the common good and welfare of that city/culture/region (eg. Jeremiah 29). If we were not here would people lament our absence? Or, how much would it cost to re-establish services in the community that are no longer being offered?
In other words, are we really in the world but not of the world (John 15:19;16:33)? Or are we trying to so hard to get out of the world and it's pains and troubles that we're really not even in the world?
Here's another quote from E. Stanley Jones:
"An individual gospel without a social gospel is a soul without a body, and a social gospel without an individual gospel is a body without a soul. One is a ghost and the other a corpse…" (from The Unshakable Kingdom and the Unchanging Person. Abingdon Press, 1972. p. 40.)
Another way to say all this is that we are God's plan to heal the world. And I think it probably proceeds along the lines of how Jesus did it. Basically proclaiming the kingdom and doing good. Sort of sounds like:
"Restoring lives, forming disciples, caring for creation."
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Patriots
(Patriots old logo)
One of my friends has predicted that the Patriots will lose in the playoffs... It is possible, we've had three very close calls on the road to "perfection," but I doubt it. The Celtics lost a shocker last night (just their fourth of the season bringing them to 29-4), so anything is possible. :)
Saturday night we play Jacksonville, a very strong team.
Just for some grins, check out:
Patriots on YouTube
do we love his church?
Twice now I have read the words to Derek Webb's song "The Church" - the last song on his album on the church entitled "She Must and Shall Go Free" - as a part of a teaching at Church of the Apostles:
I have come with one purpose
to capture for myself a bride
by my life she is lovely
by my death she’s justified
i have always been her husband
though many lovers she has known
so with water i will wash her
and by my word alone
so when you hear the sound of the water
you will know you’re not alone
(chorus)
‘cause i haven’t come for only you
but for my people to pursue
you cannot care for me with no regard for her
if you love me you will love the church
i have long pursued her
as a harlot and a whore
but she will feast upon me
she will drink and thirst no more
so when you taste my flesh and my blood
you will know you’re not alone
(chorus)
there is none that can replace her
though there are many who will try
and though some may be her bridesmaids
they can never be my bride
(chorus)
Last night (Wednesday) we looked at "Being the Church." The big idea was the communal aspect of it, mostly from Ephesians:
> God's mystery, the plan for the fullness of time - to unite all things in him. We, therefore, ought to "make every effort" to maintain the unity (1:10; 4:3)
> the church is Christ's body, which is joined together by every joint (a "joint" is where members of the body come together, so that it can function effectively - like a small group) (1:23; 4:16)
> those alienated from each other built as a temple (living stones) into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit (2:11-23)
> we noted all the "one another" commands in Paul's letters - love one another, pray for one another, forgive one another, bear one another's burdens, instruct one another, agree with one another, accept one another...
> small group involvement is a practical application
> bottom line, we're talking about intentionality. And warning about privatized, self-guarded religion. We have been baptized into the name of the Father, Son and Spirit - an eternal community, and this is the model for life in the church. Are we immersed in the life of God, the holy Trinity? Or have we protected some areas from that immersion, that saturation, that transformation? (such as private areas of our lives we don't want others to see...)
I guess the reason I wanted to post the lyrics to "The Church" is that I meant to point out the sacramental inferences - to water, and flesh and blood - and that Webb is reminding us that even the sacraments tell us that not only is God with us, but we have a people, a family, and when we hear the water splashing in the sacrament of new birth we know we have another sister or brother, and when we eat of the broken bread or cup of salvation we know we are one body (1 Corinthians 10:17). The commitment he showed in what he endured for us and our salvation, and the steadfast love he shows in redeeming his lover, his bride, he indeed calls us to embrace and express toward the same.
"You cannot care for me with no regard for her
if you love me you will love the church."
I have come with one purpose
to capture for myself a bride
by my life she is lovely
by my death she’s justified
i have always been her husband
though many lovers she has known
so with water i will wash her
and by my word alone
so when you hear the sound of the water
you will know you’re not alone
(chorus)
‘cause i haven’t come for only you
but for my people to pursue
you cannot care for me with no regard for her
if you love me you will love the church
i have long pursued her
as a harlot and a whore
but she will feast upon me
she will drink and thirst no more
so when you taste my flesh and my blood
you will know you’re not alone
(chorus)
there is none that can replace her
though there are many who will try
and though some may be her bridesmaids
they can never be my bride
(chorus)
Last night (Wednesday) we looked at "Being the Church." The big idea was the communal aspect of it, mostly from Ephesians:
> God's mystery, the plan for the fullness of time - to unite all things in him. We, therefore, ought to "make every effort" to maintain the unity (1:10; 4:3)
> the church is Christ's body, which is joined together by every joint (a "joint" is where members of the body come together, so that it can function effectively - like a small group) (1:23; 4:16)
> those alienated from each other built as a temple (living stones) into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit (2:11-23)
> we noted all the "one another" commands in Paul's letters - love one another, pray for one another, forgive one another, bear one another's burdens, instruct one another, agree with one another, accept one another...
> small group involvement is a practical application
> bottom line, we're talking about intentionality. And warning about privatized, self-guarded religion. We have been baptized into the name of the Father, Son and Spirit - an eternal community, and this is the model for life in the church. Are we immersed in the life of God, the holy Trinity? Or have we protected some areas from that immersion, that saturation, that transformation? (such as private areas of our lives we don't want others to see...)
I guess the reason I wanted to post the lyrics to "The Church" is that I meant to point out the sacramental inferences - to water, and flesh and blood - and that Webb is reminding us that even the sacraments tell us that not only is God with us, but we have a people, a family, and when we hear the water splashing in the sacrament of new birth we know we have another sister or brother, and when we eat of the broken bread or cup of salvation we know we are one body (1 Corinthians 10:17). The commitment he showed in what he endured for us and our salvation, and the steadfast love he shows in redeeming his lover, his bride, he indeed calls us to embrace and express toward the same.
"You cannot care for me with no regard for her
if you love me you will love the church."
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Risen
Risen Magazine - the spiritual edge of pop culture
link
"Risen Magazine talks straight up with the people who shape culture in the worlds of action sports, fashion, film and music. We talk about life, death, truth, deception, fear, courage, God and the afterlife with some of the most interesting minds on the planet. Risen is committed to exploring culture through the prism of faith, transformation and truth."
I heard about Risen on a Catalyst podcast. One of the leaders of the magazine also helped start Paste, where our son Mark works. You can get two free issues if you go to
www.risenmagazine.com/free
Friday, January 04, 2008
Divorce and Environmentalism
The following is from an article in City Journal sent from a neighbor friend of mine... Interesting, a bit tongue in cheek...
by Theodore Dalrymple
"A small item in the British Medical Journal recently caught my eye. It was a brief digest of a recent paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on the environmental impact of divorce. Researchers from Michigan found that people in divorced households spent 46 and 56 percent more on electricity and water, respectively, than did people in married households. This outcome is not all that surprising: marriage involves (among many other things, of course) economies of scale.
"One of the interesting questions that this little piece of research poses is whether the environmentalist lobby will now throw itself behind the cause of family values. Will it, for example, push for the tightening of divorce laws, and for financial penalties—in the form, say, of higher taxes—to be imposed on those who insist upon divorcing, and therefore upon using 46 percent more electricity and 52 percent more water per person than married couples who stay together? Will environmentalists march down the streets with banners reading SAVE THE PLANET: STAY WITH THE HUSBAND YOU HATE?...
link to City Journal
by Theodore Dalrymple
Separation Anxiety
Divorcees are bad for the environment. Do environmentalists care?
27 December 2007
"A small item in the British Medical Journal recently caught my eye. It was a brief digest of a recent paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on the environmental impact of divorce. Researchers from Michigan found that people in divorced households spent 46 and 56 percent more on electricity and water, respectively, than did people in married households. This outcome is not all that surprising: marriage involves (among many other things, of course) economies of scale.
"One of the interesting questions that this little piece of research poses is whether the environmentalist lobby will now throw itself behind the cause of family values. Will it, for example, push for the tightening of divorce laws, and for financial penalties—in the form, say, of higher taxes—to be imposed on those who insist upon divorcing, and therefore upon using 46 percent more electricity and 52 percent more water per person than married couples who stay together? Will environmentalists march down the streets with banners reading SAVE THE PLANET: STAY WITH THE HUSBAND YOU HATE?...
link to City Journal
Thursday, January 03, 2008
a perfect season
Go Patriots! Wow - what a game last Saturday evening! New York played so well, and scored the most points against us of any team all season. I was trying to psych myself, again, into thinking it would be okay if we just won the Super Bowl.
It was so fun watching it with my brother and our children. John has a really nice LCD TV but does not have cable or satellite. He has a special antenna (that just sits in the living room that he bought for $50) that receives over the air about 14 channels; most of them also transmit in HD. It was so clear. It was great.
The Patriots won it in the fourth quarter with a bunch of unanswered points. There was an awesome "long bomb" to Randy Moss, right after Moss dropped a long one that was a little short. Anyway, what a great game. Next weekend (Jan 12-13), we will play the winner of the Jacksonville - Pittsburgh game (which is Saturday night). More to come!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)