When are we going to let them know?

From David Hayward (www.nakedpastor.com)

http://wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com/blogs/nakedpastor/files/2013/05/god-as-a-woman-550x550.jpg

10w for May 31st, the visit of Mary to Elizabeth.

The following is a 10 minute worship for May 31st, the visit of Mary to Elizabeth. You can listen on the flash player below. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "Magnificat" by Todd Agnew from the CD "Do You See What I See" which can be purchased HERE

10w for May26th, The Holy Trinity

The following is a 10 minute worship for May26th, The Holy Trinity. You can listen on the flash player below. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "Holy, Holy, Holy" by The Rarely Herd from the CD "Bluegrass Gospel" which can be purchased HERE

a little Holy Trinity conversation with Sharon

Poem based on The Holy Trinity John 16:12-15

The Spirit comes silently into our hearts

bringing love

bringing life

and pointing to the one who brought us life

Jesus the Christ

The Living God

In our desires to be the center

and our desires to turn inward

wrapping ourselves up in ever smaller packages

fearing that if we are not the center

there will be no center

in our emptiness

longing to find that to which we can cling

The Spirit comes

and points to the Christ

the one who walked with us

the one who lived with us

the one who was us

and died like us

only to live and bring life

This is the one to whom the Spirit points

simply

quietly

that we may know God’s love for us

and burst forth in new life

new creation

Opening litany based on Psalm 8

Praise - Psalm 8 Starts with " How Majestic is YourName":

Pastor: You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have brought forth praise which silences the foe and the avenger and calls us to live as one.

Congregation: When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what are we that you are mindful of us, who are we that you care for us? 

Pastor: You made humanity a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned us with glory and honor. You call us to lovingly care for the works of your hands and lay all that we have at Your feet O Lord.

Congregation: You call us to care for all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, and all that swims the paths of the seas. We will therefore lovingly care for this world you have created for us.
 
The Psalm continues with singing "How Majestic is Your Name" one more time.

Live Life

Sunday May 26^th Proverbs 8: Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice? ² On the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; ³ beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries out: ⁴ “To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that live. Not hidden on the side of the road, not hidden in the far reaches of the mind, Wisdom, God, stands at the cross roads and in the major intersections of life and confronts us with the power of God. Wisdom confronts us to live life, the gift given to us by God.  Live life, in the fullness of what God has called us to do and to be.  Live your life in a way that ennobles the whole vast drama of life for all humanity and all life. Live your life in a way that brings life to all you come in contact with in this world, whether directly or in spirit.  Live Life out in the open as God has called you to Live Life, in capital letters.  Live Life.   

created to love

Monday May 27^th, Proverbs 8:  ²² The Lord created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of long ago. ²³ Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. We were created in the image of God, with the breath of life within us. In the image of God in our ability to show love.  In the image of God in our ability to show caring.  In the image of God in our ability to create and co-create with the God who created us.  In the image of God in our ability to be the presence of the Living Lord in this world.  But that is not all, we are also given free will which means we can hate, be cruel, self-centered, and violent.  But we were not created for those things, but only to love.  Your turn to choose. 

in Christ

Tuesday May 28^th, Romans 5:1  Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.  Justified, made right, put in a right relationship, recreated, born again, all this and more through the work of faith.  It is not our faith however that brings this about, but the faith of Christ, the actor, not you and I, the acted upon.  Through Christ we are a New Creation.  Through Christ, God looks upon us once again and cries, “Yes, it is good.”  In Christ, we see the goodness of God shining through.  In Christ, we know all the mysteries of Heaven we can know.  In Christ, we are given the ability to know we are in Christ.  In Christ we have our being.  

half-baked idea

Wednesday May 29^th, Romans 5: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next.  Life does not always go smoothly.  There are dips and bumps on the road of life for us all.  When you meet someone who possesses that something we call “character,” it is not because the road has gone smooth for them; it is because they have learned to handle the bumps by holding fast to the loving hand of God.  They live their life knowing that there are bumps in this journey for everyone.  Character comes not from smooth sailing, but knowing the presence of God in the beauty of a calm sunset, and knowing that God is always near in the violence of the storm.  Lack of character and a façade of callousness is what comes from thinking you can go it in this world all alone, without the loving hand of God. A Christian is not any better than anyone else, they just have some half-baked idea who to thank, and they do so often.  

what is going on!?!

Thursday May 30^th, Romans 5: In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit! A life well lived is one where you can say, “Look how God has been with me through the bumps, dips and ditches, I can’t wait to see what is next.”  If you have ever tried to read the Bible you probably know of those boring parts of scripture with the long list of names, most of which you cannot pronounce.  These sections are the writers way of saying, “look how God has been with all generations through all the bumps, dips and ditches they have been through, just imagine what God has in store for you, yahoo.”  When you get to these sections in the Bible, you have permission to skip over all those names and say, “look how God has been faithful for all these generations, surely God will be faithful to me also.”  Then close your eyes, hold out your arms in praise, and soak in the love of God and the presence of God poured out upon you.  A good “Hallelujah, Praise the Lord” would be in order about now.  Say it loud so the neighbors wonder what is going on.

stiff wind

Friday May 31^st,  John 16:  "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when (s)he, the Spirit of truth, comes, (s)he will guide you into all truth.  I always thought the Greek word for the Holy Spirit was a feminine noun.  When the Spirit comes to us, she will guide us in all truth, not knowledge, not wealth, not power, but in truth.  And in that truth we are sent into the world to serve one another. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is not for narcissistic astaticism, but rather, as was shown in the book of Acts, a good stiff wind at our backs as we go out into all the world to be the love of Christ active in this world.  That wind blowing us out into the world with the message of God’s love and grace is the Spirit and her name is Holy.  

live it!

Saturday June 1^st, John 16: He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.  As you are drawn into a relationship with someone, you are drawn into the intimate knowledge of their likes and dislikes, feelings and hopes, their dreams and fears as well as all their hidden gifts.  The Spirit brings us into an intimate relationship with the God of Creation, shown to us in the work of Jesus the Christ.  It is in that relationship that life has meaning.  It is the New Creation, Yes!!!  It is Good!!!  It is you!!!! Now go live it!!! And know you are never alone.  

Animated video for Pentecost

The following is a 10 minute worship for May19th, the Day of Pentecost, NL. You can listen on the flash player below. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "The Church Song" by the Jay Beech Band from the CD "One Body Alive" which can be purchased HERE
 

The following is a 10 minute worship for May19th, the Day of Pentecost. You can  listen on the flash player below. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "the Spirit Intercedes for us" by Dakota Road from the CD "All Are Welcome" which can be purchased HERE

Poem for Pentecost John 14:8-27

We have seen the Lord

not high in the Heavens above

but right here in our midst

living among us

living within us

            and within those who do not know

            they are loved

We have seen the Lord

in the eyes of a child

the eyes of a foe

and we are not afraid

for we live in the presence of the Lord

surrounded by the Spirit

filled with the peace of Christ

and called to reach out

to let others know of this love

(Peace)

calling toward the peace of Christ

that is within them

God created and said it was good

as the children of God

We see

good

God

in all that

and in all who

surrounds us

living as the children of God

Knowing

we are never alone

(Peace )

Opening Litany based on Psalm 104:24-34

Worship Leader: Lord, In your wisdom you have made all thing in this world.  The earth, the heavens, the skies and the seas are full of your riches.

Congregation: As I look out over the vastness of the seas alone, I am in awe at their magnificence and magnitude. They are filled with life, known and unknown are a place where creatures large and small play.  

Worship Leader: All of life is dependent upon You O Lord and you supply for their needs at the right time.

Congregation: When you give O Lord, there is more than enough for all to live and eat well, with abundance left over. 

Worship Leader: In your absence is anxiety and fear.  In your absence is scarcity and want, with abundance for some and starvation for others. 

Congregation: But when you spirit moves in this world, life is created.  Life for ourselves, and life for the whole world.  For you make all things new.

Worship Leader: May the glory of the Lord be forever and may the Lord look upon this creation and smile.

Congregation:  I will sing to the Lord all my life; singing praises to my God as long as I live and ask only that my thoughts be pleasing to the Lord, and bring me joy.  

Oh, Look... A bird

Sunday May 19^th, Genesis 11: 1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.  3 They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." Give a kid a new toy and they play with it and play with their friends using this new toy.  Give most adults a new toy and they try to take over the world.  This story is a repeat of the garden story of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Humanity once again tries to take over the god spot.  No longer content with using the building materials God had given them to provide shelter and help for one another, they are now making their own bricks and using tar to stick them together to build an edifice to themselves.  Making something new from the tools God has given you is not a bad thing, it has given us many wonderful gifts and tools and wonders and part of the creating process God has gifted us with.  It is why our young men and women are driven to go to school, learn, graduate and hopefully make the world a better place, but we all know that all too often our love for our toys has outstripped our ethics on how to use them.  Here is where the church as a collection of the children of God is called to step in and bring humanity into the conversation.  This is where we are called to bring the message that the gifts from God, sometimes known as our toys should help us work for the good of the whole kingdom of God, not against it.  The 24/7 news cycle draws us into the latest tragedy and informs us to be afraid, be very afraid.  The defense industry, both personal and corporate, compels us to spend more to arm ourselves and retreat back into our personal lives in front of the TV news. It is sad really, men and women of good will, and the children of God in the pews have largely been silenced by the call for personal greed over public need.  Keep your eye on the king….. Oh look at that shinny new thing… dom.

reverse Babel

Monday May 20^th, Genesis 11:  5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. 6 The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."  8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel —because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.  Sitting around the campfire, the child asks, “why do some people talk so we can’t understand them?”  The question prompts this story.  On the one hand it is just a story, on the other hand, like most stories in the Bible, it is a glimpse into the heart of humanity.  Humanity wasn’t ready to get together and try to solve the world’s problems.  Humanity then, as now, was just a bit too immature.  Humanity was as a child, too focused inward upon itself.  The melt downs and bubbling ups and the Boston bombings of terror or the Texan explosions of greed show that things have changed little.  Pentecost is a move to change that. Rather than looking inward for our personal gain, Pentecost sends us out into the world to be the hands and feet of God in the world.  It reverses Babel.  Now if only our maturity would catch up.  

I believe in God and all that but

Tuesday May 21^st, Acts 2: When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force—no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building.  Try as we might, there is no way to control or predict the work of the spirit.  It is as the wind.  As the wind it has no real beginning, it has no real end, it is just their and stirs things up for the good. This is the beginning of the great reversal of Babel, and once again, humanity is not in control, God is.  Where is the spirit blowing in your community, nation, workplace or life this day?  What limits do we foolishly try to place on the wind in our lives?  Who do we foolishly try to cast as being outside the community of faith?  Who do we foolishly try to cast as being inside the community of faith?  How do we try to harness the wind as our personal lord and savior and as a badge to judge others?  All too often the church has not only participated in, but promoted attempts at harnessing the wind instead of celebrating it.  As a culture we are still reeling from that dime store novel theology of the left behind series with its vision of who is out and who is in.  When people in conversation say, “I believe in God and all that but………”  The “but” of their objections to faith are usually not objections to faith at all, they are objections to the way the church has acted in this world.  All too often what the church as done has been to attempt to harness the wind.  The “I believe in God and all that” part of the conversation is the work of the spirit.  

build those bridges

Wednesday May 22^nd, Acts 2: This is what the prophet Joel announced would happen: "In the Last Days," God says, "I will pour out my Spirit on every kind of people: Your sons will prophesy, also your daughters; Your young men will see visions, your old men dream dreams.  In the last days the Spirit would not be confined to the usual but will explode in the unusual.  It is usually the old who have visions and the young who have dreams and the spirit brings the great reversal.  It is usually the ones in the church who have the vision of what the family of God should be and the young outside the walls who dream of what the church could be.  God will move wherever and through whomever God wishes.  It has always been that way and any attempts by humanity to wrest that control from God have failed starting with that tree in the garden up to today.  Most of human history has been efforts to subtly control and stifle the Spirit for personal gain.  It never worked, but we felt in charge trying to make it work.  God however spends all of human history getting us to build bridges outward instead of towers upward.  The Spirit urges us to build those bridges to where we often feel the spirit is not, only to find when we do get there that the spirit has been waiting a long time and has set a few fires of her own while waiting for us to show up.  The first step is to look beyond ourselves and see God alive and active in the world out there. The second step is to fan the flames not douse them with dogma.   

All we need to know

Thursday May 23^rd, John 14: 8 Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." 9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.  We can speculate all we want about the nature of God.  All we need to know of God is what we have seen in Jesus’ message, Jesus’ teachings, Jesus’ grace and God’s act of salvation for all creation through that grace.  As humanity matures, we see more and more the wonder more and more at the grace of God in the actions of Jesus.  In spite of the attempts to control the message over the centuries, it is a comfort for many and a call to all.  

narcissistic gamblers

Friday May 24^th, John 14: 12"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.  I have often heard this message to justify the view of God as the magic vending machine in the sky.  We ask, that is we ask properly and while attending the right church and believing the right doctrine and voting the right way, and bingo, we get what we want from Jesus.  Put in your prayers, pull the lever and Jesus does your bidding.  If you don’t get the answer you want it is because you do not believe properly, belong to the right church, give enough money, vote the right way etc. and the list goes on. This theology is a shell game however and the only thing that works is the illusion that you are in control and the grace of a loving God who doesn't zap you for playing those stupid games once again.  It is not as if the scripture isn't full of examples of this type of narcissistic gamblers fallacy.  The point of prayer is not so much asking for what we want, but asking from the deep need within for a healthy relationship with God.  What we find when we seek that God relationship is that what we ask for is God’s plan all along.  

half-baked

Saturday May 25^th, John 14: "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.  The difference between these two statements is that those who love Jesus will keep his word and those who do not love Jesus will not keep his words.  We often take the leap and assume that the second group, those who do not love Jesus, are not loved by God and that God does not dwell in them.  But the scripture does not say that. That is our hang-up for which we need forgiveness. The difference is not whether “they” are loved or whether God dwells within them, the difference is whether “they” are aware of God’s love dwelling in them or not.  Those who do not love God may be missing out in the joy and comfort of knowing God is with them, but they are not missing out on God being with them.  That is just the rest of us trying to be judgmental.  A Christian is no better than anyone else, they just have some half-baked idea who to thank.  

Mothers in Arms

Criticism of the corruption of Mothers Day has become as much a cliché as the holiday itself. Most people believe that Mother's Day started out as a private celebration of women's family roles and relations. We took Mom breakfast in bed to thank her for all the meals she made us. We picked her a bouquet of flowers to symbolize her personal, unpaid services. We tried to fix in our memory those precious moments of her knitting sweaters or sitting at our bedside, all the while focusing on her devotion to her family and ignoring her broader social ties, interests and political concerns.

Today, many complain, the personal element in this celebration has been lost. Mother's Day is just another occasion to make money. It is the busiest day of the year for restaurants, and the week that precedes it is the single-best for florists. The real meaning of Mother's Day is gone.

Such lamentation about the holiday's degradation reflect a misunderstanding of its history. It was the education of Mother's Day to sentimentalism and private family relations that made it so vulnerable to commercial exploitation.

The 19th century forerunners of our modern holiday were called mothers' days, not Mother's Day. The plural is significant: They celebrated the extension of women's moral concerns beyond the home. They commemorated mothers' civic roles and services to the nation, not their private roles and personal services to the family. The women who organized the first mothers' days believed motherhood was a political force that should be mobilized on behalf of the entire community, not merely an expression of a fundamental instinct that led them to lavish all their time and attention on their children.

full article at: http://www.stephaniecoontz.com/articles/article5.htm

10w for May 18th, the Vigil of Pentecost

The following is a 10 minute worship for May 18th, the Vigil of Pentecost. You can either listen on the flash player below or download it to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player by clicking on "DOWNLOAD" or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "Love Can Break Through" by Dakota Road from the CD "Love Can Break Through" which can be purchased HERE

Poem for May 18th, John 7:37-39 The Vigil of Pentecost

we are guided by the light

the light of Christ

the light of love

the love of God

be still and know

be still and hear

be still and let the spirit work in you

in me

be still and let the Love of God

more than dwell

            but live

be still

and know of the love that created the word

and suffered to give

            life

be still and know of the love of God

            in the silence of the night

            the noise of the children

            the beauty of the sunset

            the hand of the neighbor

be still and know

the love of God will find a way to break in

and the God of Creation will love

10w for May14th, St. Matthias, Apostle.

The following is a 10 minute worship for May14th, St. Matthias, Apostle. You can either listen on the flash player below or download it to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player by clicking on "DOWNLOAD" or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "Because You are Chosen" by John Michael Talbot from the CD "The Heart of the Shepherd" which can be purchased HERE

Poem for May 14th, St. Matthias, Apostle Luke 6:12-16

Chosen

among the many

twelve who would be there in a special way

twelve

who would help to lead the world

from nowhere

from powerlessness

help to lead the world

with it’s great armies

and nations

and people

who live separate lives

lives

in pain

lives

in need

of the one who chose twelve

just twelve

with no particular greatness

except

being chosen by Christ

who brought salvation

by choosing

you and me!

10w for May 12th, One in Christ, E7NL

The following is a 10 minute worship for May 12th, One in Christ, E7NL. You can either listen on the flash player below or download it to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player by clicking on "DOWNLOAD" or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "In Christ there is no East or West" by Leo Kottke from the CD "Instrumentals, the best of the Capitol Years" which can be purchased HERE

10w for May 12th, My love in them, E7.

The following is a 10 minute worship for May 12th, My love in them, E7. You can either listen on the flash player below or download it to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player by clicking on "DOWNLOAD" or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "One Love" by Bob Marley and the Wailers from the CD "Marley" which can be purchased HERE

Poem for 7th Sunday of Easter John 17:20-26

Call us dear Lord

that we may all be one

One in love

One in your name

One in prayer

Pray for us Lord

that we may all be you children

Unique, but one

Whole and part of the whole

Individual persons

each loved

and gathered around your table

One family

Divided through our own efforts

but united in you

Fill us with the love of God

that we

in spite of ourselves

may love

That we

in spite of ourselves

may gather

That we

in spite of ourselves

may pray

That we

in spite of ourselves

and because of your love

may pray

---- gather

--------worship

------------ together

as one

in You

Amen

Opening Litany based on Psalm 97

Pastor: The Lord is our God let the earth rejoice

Congregation: Let the whole earth rejoice, the coastlands and mountains and plains and all that live in them.

Pastor: For righteous and justice in the land are the foundation of the throne of God.

Congregation: For the Lord is all powerful, able to destroy as well as create all that is.

Pastor: The heavens proclaim the righteousness of the Lord and all people behold the Glory of God.

Congregation: All of the priorities of humanity are but idols which in the end will bow down before the greatness of our God.

Pastor: For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.

Congregation: Let us rout out evil from within our hearts and live faithfully under the hand of the Lord.

Pastor: Light dawns for the righteous and joy for the upright in heart.

Congregation: Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to the  holy name of God.

be church

Sunday May 12^th, Acts 16:  16-18 One day, on our way to the place of prayer, a slave girl ran into us. She was a psychic and, with her fortunetelling, made a lot of money for the people who owned her. She started following Paul around, calling everyone's attention to us by yelling out, "These men are working for the Most High God. They're laying out the road of salvation for you!" She did this for a number of days until Paul, finally fed up with her, turned and commanded the spirit that possessed her, "Out! In the name of Jesus Christ, get out of her!" And it was gone, just like that. Let me see, since she was possessed I assume she could speak in tongues, but before I can accept her as a child of God I must ask a few questions.  Was she baptized before she started yelling that these men worked for the Most High God?  Was she born again first?  Did she become a member first? Was she confirmed member or only baptized? Is yelling at others one of the gifts of the spirit? Actually none of these were Paul’s questions, and as the children of God, neither should they be our questions.  All Paul saw was someone in need and someone through whom the spirit had already worked its wonders. The same could be said for you and I and that anonymous person you see walking down the street. Through the love of Christ, Paul responded to her needs and through the love of Christ and she was set free, much to the irritation of those who thought they could own her.  That is our calling also.  To set free those who are bound, by whatever it is that binds them.  One could assume that since before she was set free she was doing the will of God, after she was set free, even though we do not hear from her again, she was also doing the will of God.  How many people in your lives, without doing some formal training, are doing the will of God and speaking the word of God in your heart? Sometimes we get too busy playing church to be the church.  The last line of the Church Song by the Jay Beech Band is; The church it is the people, living out their lives, called, enlightened, sanctified for the work of Jesus Christ. (http://www.baytonemusic.com/) So it goes.  Now go be the church.  

jailers

Monday May 13^th, Acts 16:  29-31 The jailer got a torch and ran inside. Badly shaken, he collapsed in front of Paul and Silas. He led them out of the jail and asked, "Sirs, what do I have to do to be saved, to really live?" They said, "Put your entire trust in the Master Jesus. Then you'll live as you were meant to live—and everyone in your house included!"  For all who think there must be a proper order to things, it is good to remember that the jailer didn’t take a membership class, or confirmation class, his children weren’t instructed in the meanings of the words of institution or the office of the keys.  He knew little of church history.  He was just some poor guy whose life and the lives of his loved ones as he had known it, had come to an end, and a new life had started.  He could either fall on his sword and abandon his family, as was called for by the powers that be, or he could “really live.”  He chose the latter, for both himself and his family.  All too often it is not until we reach bottom that we can see up.  It is not until we need God that we see God who has been with us all along. The Jailers only qualification for being a child of God was that he had nowhere else to go.  He had reached the point where it was a choice between life and death, and he chose life.   Would that we had more in our congregation like that!!!!  There would be no way to stop us.  Welcome to the end of the road church…… this is where life begins.

not what I was taught in Seminary

Tuesday May 14^th, Acts 16:  32-34 They went on to spell out in detail the story of the Master—the entire family got in on this part. They never did get to bed that night. The jailer made them feel at home, dressed their wounds, and then—he couldn't wait till morning!—was baptized, he and everyone in his family. There in his home, he had food set out for a festive meal. It was a night to remember: He and his entire family had put their trust in God; everyone in the house was in on the celebration. Grace given, Grace received.  This is God’s view of the of the new creation God called good brought to fruition in this home, this family, this night.  Sometimes we work so hard in the presentation of the message that we forget that the power in the message is the presence of Christ.  When everyone comes once a week to hear the pastor give the message, no matter how good or bad the message is, it can seem like the same thing over and over in different packages. In essence, it is.  God loves you and forgives you and saves you, now deal with it.  Sometimes there is a small crack in the defenses and the message gets through.  The message in church, however good, is never as good as one that comes to a person in a time of need hearing it from one person who happens to be there for them at that time.  Pastors should spend more time training others to respond to those moments than on eloquently telling the story again themselves.  Just think of it, a congregation of pastors who once a week gather around to celebrate with a teacher who is a piss poor preacher, and a congregation that grows.  This is not what I was taught in Seminary.  It is called the spirit. 

bottom in life

Wednesday May 15^th, Revelation 22: 14 "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.  We hear statements like this and begin to feel at home.  Finally God gets it and those dogs and immoral idolaters are, in the end, outside the Holy City, the Kingdom of God on earth.  We can breathe a sigh of relief as we revel in the thought that we are unique and special people called by God who noticed something special in us.  That is until we realize that there are no closed gates in this holy city.  Perhaps these sinister folks are out there waiting for those inside the city to come and get them and tell them the story of God’s love until, from their bottom in life, or after-life, they too can look up see God and dance joyfully into the Holy city.  I believe that evangelism goes on in heaven until the last weary soul is brought into the Holy City rejoicing. It is at that point that all the Holy city rejoicing with them and heaven itself is complete.  As we confess each week, it is then that the Kingdom has come.   

picture

Thursday May 16^th, Revelation 22: 17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.  To all those dogs and sleazebags outside the Holy City, come, take the Free Gift of the water of life.  More importantly, to all those who look down upon the dogs and sleazebags outside the gates and because of that looking down on others find yourselves outside the gates of the Holy City, come, take the Free Gift of the water of life.  All you church folk who are welcoming to all, but, first they must renounce a part of who they are or have an experience or understand the sacraments or, or, or……… come, take the Free Gift of the water of life.  All you religious folks, who call God by some other name like Jehovah, or Allah, or Krishna, or YHWH, come, take the Free Gift of the water of life and welcome to the Kingdom, the City of God.  Are you beginning to get the picture!?!

hell

Friday May 17^th, John 17: 20-23 The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind— Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, So they might be one heart and mind with us.  We often confuse being of one heart and mind with being in agreement on all the unimportant issues that we feel are important.  If everyone agreed, even in Heaven, then eternity would be a mighty long long boring time.  One could argue that this kind of heaven wouldn't even be heaven but would itself be hell.   Disagreeing is different than dissing; Washington has seemed to have lost that lesson.  Being one in heart and mind is like being in love, wanting the best for the other even if you can’t agree where to go out to eat on one particular evening or which candidate to vote for.  It is caring for one another in spite of our differences.  It is what makes life alive and love real and throws a conflict in there once in a while for spice.  Be of one heart and one mind, in Christ, but give it some spice for life.

unhealthy

Saturday May 18^th, John 17:20-23 The same glory you gave me, I gave them, So they'll be as unified and together as we are— I in them and you in me. Then they'll be mature in this oneness, And give the godless world evidence That you've sent me and loved them In the same way you've loved me. The children of God will be mature in oneness.  I think that would mean that until we get that oneness thing down, we are acting rather immature. War is not oneness.  Vast economic discrepancies are not oneness.  Putting up fences is not oneness.  Haves and have not’s is not oneness.  Fighting decent health care for all is not oneness. Corporations as persons is not oneness.  Oneness is more than saying we are brothers and sisters in Christ.  Oneness is acting upon the fact that we are brothers and sisters in Christ and caring for one another in this world as one would in a healthy family…. Oh, maybe that is the problem.  We are trying to pretend that we live in this world alone, and that is making us unhealthy.    

10w for May 9th, The Ascension of our Lord.

The following is a 10 minute worship for May 9th, The Ascension of our Lord. You can either listen on the flash player below or download it to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player by clicking on "DOWNLOAD" or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "Awesome God" by Michael W. Smith from the CD "Worship" which can be purchased HERE

Poem for Luke 24:44-53 The Ascension

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth

And the earth was formless and void

And chaos ruled

And God created

And declared

It is Good

It is good this creation of earth

It is good this creation of life

It is even good

This earthling from the earth

Made in the image of God

It is good

And not all good

Tempted to turn inward

Tempted to eat of the tree

Tempted to be god

With a little g

Then one came

Of lowly birth and high calling

Called to fulfill what was called into being as good

Bringing forgiveness

For inward turning little “g’s”

To turn them outward once again

From Jerusalem

To all the nations of this earth

Called good

To bring the news of new beginnings

Freedom from the created chaos

Of the ever inward turning earthling

Called to go into all of creation

Called good

And bring the news of new beginnings

Freedom from

Inward turnings

Freedom for

Outward yearnings

And as he ascended from Bethany below

To the heavens all around

He told them to go

To every nook and cranny

Every nation and state

Every tribe and village

And bring the forgiving news of goodness

As they once again turned inward

To small “g”

And stayed in the temple day and night

Praising god