Nature Disciplines

with spring being here, it is easier for us to get outside and to enjoy the beautiful weather, when it is not raining at least. to get up, to head outside, to breathe in the fresh morning air, to be warmed by the warm sunshine, and to stretch our legs on a nice walk.

or if you are not a morning person, it is nice to come home after school in the spring, eat dinner, do homework, and right before the sun makes its final appearance, head outside for a nice long walk. there is just something about being outside in the spring.

is it because maybe after 4-5 long months of cold, snowy and icy weather, we can finally go outside without a jacket on? or could it be that after many months of plants lying dormant, things are beginning to bloom? we walk outside and we smell the honeysuckle, we see the purples and pinks, and now even, a little yellow, as flowers and dandelions begin to bloom.

personally, one aspect of being outside i enjoy in the spring is how one man's garbage can be a...

baby rabbit?

the other day i was on my daily walk with silas when i noticed something off to the right creeping ever so slowly as silas and i approached. at first i didn't think anything of it but with each step i began to get a better look at what i thought was a leaf or a piece of old paper. once silas and i got up to this brown and gray object, i realized that what i thought was a piece of garbage/debris, was actually a baby rabbit sitting all alone in the sun, soaking it up. luckily i noticed it before silas did and we slipped on by without disturbing the little fellow.

as we continued to walk i thought about how wonderful it is to see new life all around us: in the baby birds chirping from the robin's nest, to the little plants in my neighbors garden stretching ever so tall to the sun, life is all around us. had i just assumed it was what i thought it was, i would not have had the revelation of god's goodness coming to us in creation.

this sunday it will be pentecost, the day the holy spirit was poured out upon the church, but until then, we are still in easter, having just worshiped on the 7th sunday of easter. we continue to acknowledge the resurrection of jesus christ from the tomb 2,ooo+ years ago, and the way we encounter the resurrected one today. isn't it fitting how the liturgical year compliments the seasons which accompany it? especially in the spring, we can be reminded of just how much we are connected to nature and all of the other creatures around us.

imagine this for a moment: that indeed we are connected to all creation. that everything you did outside, all the products you used, all the choices you made in fact does affect creation and its inhabitants. would how you go about your everyday be changed? when you walked outside and saw the flock of geese flying overhead in the late autumn months, would you stop and gaze a little longer, being inspired by their honking as they fly over? or the community of ants working ever so hard to get the things they need in order for their community to survive, would you stop and give thanks for the ways we benefit from their diligence?

as we begin to add to our repertoire of spiritual disciplines and as we continue to do the difficult task of tending to God's presence within us, thomas merton says we will begin to see the holiness in the world around us. seeing in this way has power, because we no longer encounter the world only as a physical reality but a revelation of love. "such seeing has the power to transfigure the world and, at the same time, deepen our respect for nature.' we seek harmony with the universe rather than domination, and we walk with a sense that the ground underfoot is truly holy.

much can be discovered in nature: not only about god but ourselves too. merton goes on to suggest that if we open our hearts to the fact that we are part of nature and called to kinship with all, we will begin to see the transformation which awaits us in all of the created order. "one of the most important--and most neglected--elements in the beginnings of the interior life is the ability to respond to reality, to see the value and the beauty in ordinary things, to come alive to the splendor that is all around us in the creatures of God."

to come alive to the splendor that is all around us in the creatures of god....

what more does god want for us than for god's children to be completely themselves and to come alive. perhaps then, we can learn how to do this by taking notice of birds of the sky, the fish in the water, the flowers of the fields, and the roots of a tall oak tree. in doing so, in our attempts to see the presence of god in the mundane, ordinary things of life, perhaps we will encounter paradise, heaven if you will. if we have god dwelling with us, making our souls god's paradise, then the world around us can also become for us what is was meant to be for the first of the garden--god's paradise.

i encourage you then, this weekend, to go outside, take a pen and journal with you, and sit, listen, watch what is going on around you. in the stillness that his nature, listen for the still, small voice whispering in the depths of your being and take note. as you do, maybe you will be reminded of who you are and become fully alive with all creation.

Spiritual Seeing

On an iPhone you can get/buy "app's", which are media resources for your phone. You can get game apps, you can get sports apps, you can get weather apps, you can get dating tip apps, you can get social networking apps, you can get twitter apps, and you can get...

news apps.

What I have come to experience with these apps is that they can get you what you need to know in a hurry. You get onto the facebook app and the next thing you know, you're updating your status about how you just got done going through a McDonald's drive through while speaking entirely in an English accent.

Or...

You can get up to date notifications on how UK lost in the NCAA tournament, having yet another let down of a season.

Or...

You can get updates from the certain news app you recently downloaded, letting you know all of that is happening in the world of politics, US news, World News, and Entertainment.

These handy, easy to access apps have many benefits and have had an impact on our society and the way we view media and news.

Yet I've noticed something else too.

I have an app for a particular news channel and I have my settings set up so that when 'breaking news' happens I would get an alert, letting me know, just minutes after 'it' happens, what just happened. It is great too. I was one of the first to know when many events occurred.
But here is what I've noticed....

Most of the time, most of the dings I get when I get an update, most of the 'breaking news' is nothing but...

bad

news.

Death toll is up to ____

So and so said this about so and so.

Plane crashes....

River floods....

Volcano erupts...

Terrorist plot....

You get the point.

Too often all we get is bad news. When you turn on the TV, what do you see? Floating heads, accusing someone of saying something and then on the other channels you have so and so saying they never said anything like that. You have one station too ____ and another station to _____.

All of the bad news being reported about makes me wonder, is there any good news out there? Are there any good things happening to people? Are there any good people out there providing hope to those who are hopeless?

It is quite understandable then when we hear people ask...

Where is God...

amidst these floods, bombs, earthquakes, killing of animals and oil spills, death threats, and political mumble-jumble?

God, if you are real, where are you then? Show us a sign. Show us you are with us.

Let's be honest though, what we are really asking , what we really are projecting, is our own fears, anxieties, frustrations and doubts. We join our voice to the cacophony of negative voices that surround us and we get caught up on 'just how bad things really are.'

Again I can't help but to ask, are they really that bad?

Or is it, we focus too much on the negative and spend too little of time acknowledging those good things that are happening in our lives, the good work that is being don, the good news that is coming to us in different ways?

I understand and realize too there are times when we need to express our frustration. There are times when we need to express our anger. There are times when we need to express how upset we are with the way things have turned out. For if we don't, we aren't being honest to ourselves and we begin to hide behind a facade of 'religious and spiritual' nonsense, stripping us of any authentic voices we may add to the community at large. Suppressing any emotion, both positive and negative, can have a lasting and harmful affect.

What to do then? Where does one begin?

This is what is exciting about what we will be doing this Sunday. As we load up in vehicles and as we grab our camera's, we are going to make time to look for the good in our community. Our exercise is to drive around the city...

looking for those places where we know Christ is present...

and...

go to those places where we would least expect to meet the risen Christ.

Henri Nouwen says, "Spiritual disciplines are the skills and techniques by which we begin to see the image of God in our heart. Spiritual formation is the careful attentiveness to the work of God, our master sculptor, as we submit to the gradual chipping away of all that is not of God, until the inner lion is revealed (referring to a marble artist carving a lion of a marble stone, freeing the lion from within)."

I mention this to remind us of the discipline of holy listening...

and watching.

Living a spiritual life is far from easy. Being attentive to God in our lives, amidst our busy schedules, bad news reports, and all the other distractions which get in the way, is difficult. Yet, being formed in God's likeness involves the struggle to move from absurd living to obedient listening, Nouwen would say. Absurd includes the word sardus, which means 'deaf'. Absurd living is a way of life in which we remain deaf to the voice that speaks to us in our silence. Nouwen also said, "It seems that the noisy, busy world conspire against our hearing that voice and tries to make us absolutely deaf. It therefore is not surprising that we often wonder, in the midst of our very occupied and preoccupied lives, if anything is truly happening."

Replace 'deaf' with 'blind' and this is where we find ourselves, looking and seeing God in a different way.

Prayerfully seeing God in our lives, in our community, in our nation, and in our world.

Being able to embrace the good in our lives, see it, and maybe even embodying it, our attentiveness can grow too. Growing in faith requires a growing attentiveness to perceive where God is active and to where we are being led.

This Sunday, and for the remainder of this study, we shall ask:

Where is God active in my life or community right now?

This Sunday, we go out into the community, we go out into the city and ask:

Where is God active in the community of Owensboro, Kentucky?

May it be then, as we begin our journey down the way of spiritual disciplines, that we will create the spaces in our lives for God to reveal God's self to us in a variety of ways. And in doing so, may we recognize God's claim on us, and may our eyes open, and may we begin to see what God has already been at work doing, even when, while, and during, those times when we asked, "Where are you God?"

See you Sunday!

Spiritual Disciplines Sunday

As a community travels together and begins to come head on with life circumstances, it is important to be able to be able to see what we have learned and can learn from both the good and the bad, as a community and as individuals. Instead of being a people of, "Why did this happen God?” we will be transformed into a people who ask, "Where is God in the midst of all this?"

It is our hope then, as we begin this new journey as a community together exploring spiritual disciplines and practices, we will allow our faith to not simply be something we 'do' on Sunday's only, but will set it free and become for us a transforming way of life. As a community, we will begin our 3rd part of our journey to better shape our lives together, learning, practicing, and exercising disciplines which will shape our lives and help us see the sacredness in the normalcy of everyday living.

We will explore the ancient ways that can teach us to practice peace, joy, self-mastery, and justice. The old disciplines--fasting, contemplative prayer, and simplicity, observing the holy days--do for our souls what exercise does for our bodies or study does for our minds. Our youth group and our upper room then will be transformed into a people and place of sincere spiritual formation.

It'll begin this Sunday after dinner, in the upper youth room where you will receive your 'gear' which will provide good assistance to you as we explore the spiritual disciplines.

On Thursday nights for Sanctus, we will continue in our study of disciplines and begin to practice them as well as study a book, An Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. Book is $5 a person.

Sunday Night we will gather from 5-7pm jr&sr high. sr. high 7-8pm.

Peace to you t his week.

24 Hour Fast 2010

Amma Syncletica once said, "Just as the most bitter medicine drive out poisonous creatures so prayer joined to fasting drives evil thoughts away."

John Calvin, our church father, once said, "whenever men are to pray to God concerning any great matter, it would be expedient to appoint fasting along with prayer. Their sole purpose in this kind of fasting is to render themselves more eager and unencumbered for prayer...with a full stomach our mind is not so lifted up to God."

This Friday night and Saturday morning, we will be participating in our annual 24 hour fast, which begins 1pm on Friday and concludes 1pm on Saturday.

Here are the specifics:

Be at the church Friday night @ 5pm where we will help out our CDO program and an event they are offering until 7pm.

7pm-7:15pm we will have a water break

7:30pm we will have some time for worship

8pm we will watch a movie

10:30pm we will have compline prayer

12am bedtime/lights out

Saturday we will have morning prayer @ 8:30am

We will wake up and head out collecting canned goods from the neighborhood @ 9am

10am we will head to Boulware to drop off the canned goods

10:30am we will study hunger in the world

1pm we will break our fast with communion and a lunch

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask me. This is for 8th-12th grade.

A Community of Fighters Post 1

"No, I do not agree with you. I think what you have to say is completely irrelevant and disconcerting."

About this time, you can feel it, can't you?

You begin to breathe a little heavier.
You notice your heart rate pick up.
Your hands maybe even become sweaty.
You try to speak, and your tongue is heavy and numb.
You feel the steam boiling up within....

The air gets 'thicker'.
You begin to get uncomfortable.
You squirm in your seat.
You might even crack a joke, with hopes it eases the tension...

No one understands you.
You speak up, you voice your opinions, and still, on one 'gets you'.
We know your intentions mean well and their is truth in what you say.
You didn't mean for this to happen...

Perhaps one of the most uncomfortable positions to be in is one where conflict is present.

But why? Why is it when people disagree on something, we become...

Taken aback, feeling as if we are being attacked...
or
Awkward position, so we avoid addressing it by joking with hopes that if we ignore it long enough, the tension will go away....
or
We mean well, we spoke our mind, but we think the world is against us...

One of the greatest gifts God has given us is that we are created uniquely. Not one of us is created the same thus, our thoughts are different. We approach situations differently. Some of us have to problem voicing our opinions, while others of us are a little more reserved and not as 'outgoing' with our thoughts. One is not 'better' than the other and we are who we are. What is important in these situations where opposition may occur, is how we respond, how we present ourselves in conflict, and how we articulate what it is we want to express, not only with our words but with our non-verbal as well. Often times we communicate more with our nonverbal than with our verbal. Our nonverbal communication are things like: facial expressions, body movement and postures, gestures, eye contact, touch, and space. All of the before mentioned expressions have the opportunity to change the mood of a conversation as much as words and the tone of ones voice.

Controlling ourselves is quite important too when we dialogue with one another. Again, the importance of keeping our frustrations under control and hidden, is key to having a good conversation. When we do experience frustrations or something we disagree with, instead of rolling our eyes, throwing our hands up, detaching ourselves from the community and sit with our head down, arms folded, perhaps we need to name our frustration and opposing views. When we see conflict arise, one of the worst ways to deal with it is ignoring it and keeping it to ourselves. You see, the fact of the matter is this, when we live in community, we will experience conflict.

Luke 9.46-56

True Greatness

46 An argument arose among them as to which one of them was the greatest. 47But Jesus, aware of their inner thoughts, took a little child and put it by his side, 48and said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among all of you is the greatest.’
Another Exorcist

49 John answered, ‘Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.’ 50But Jesus said to him, ‘Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you.’

A Samaritan Village Refuses to Receive Jesus

51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; 53but they did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem. 54When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’* 55But he turned and rebuked them. 56Then* they went on to another village.

Often times we forget we will not always agree with each other. Maybe even at times we forget even those who were with Jesus experience conflict, even within the 12 disciples. What is fascinating about this is that all 3 of the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, include this text about the disciples arguing who is the best, greatest, coolest, the ones who's swags are the tightest. They, like us, let their egos get the better of them. They even went as far to say, "Since these folks aren't one of us, can we disown them, stop them, and prevent them from coming to you?" How selfish, right? Jesus holds up the situation and says, "Those who aren't against us, are for us." Although they may not be like us, although they may see the world differently than us, doesn't mean we rule them out and un-friend them on Facebook.

Then there is Paul and Cephas' (Peter) conflict in Galatians...

Paul Rebukes Peter at Antioch
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood self-condemned; 12for until certain people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But after they came, he drew back and kept himself separate for fear of the circumcision faction. 13And the other Jews joined him in this hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, ‘If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?’

When we live together, no matter how good of friends we may be, no matter how alike we see the world, there will be parts of it we won't see eye to eye with, and this is OK!!

Regardless of who it is you are with and regardless if you agree or disagree with them, we are called to love one another. We are called to speak positively of one another, saying nothing which is slandering to ones character. Gossipping and talking behind one another's back will do nothing but bring on disunity a conflict which is quite uglier than what we have recently experienced. Perhaps we are in difficult seasons right now and yes, maybe so and so and I are not on the best of terms, but we still need them in our community. Their and your voices add to the cacophony of voices which speaks good, hopeful, truthful, and loving words to us, your faith community.

Again, it can't be emphasized enough that when you share life with someone, whether it be your brother or sister, mom and dad, boyfriend or girlfriend, husband or wife, conflict will arise and yes, perhaps fights will occur. As frustrating as this may be, as disheartening as this may be, there is hope and good things can come from such disagreements and perhaps heated arguments. It takes maturity, responsibility and learning/knowing how to fight well with grace.

We find our community in a crucial time in our formation as we have come to realize our differences and as we move out of a long period of what some could call, pseudo-community, we will need to begin to wrestle with what a community looks like when we may not see eye to eye on things.

It'll be tough.
It'll be a long journey.

But it is one we can get through, for God is in the midst of what may appear to be chaos.

After all, it was God who brought order and life from chaos.

Until then, love the face of Christ you see in one another and embrace that which we are experience with maturity and grace.

Peace of Christ to you friends.

A Night of Lovely Valentine Hearts

"What does 'POSH' mean?"

"A crown? Really a crown? What are we to say about the crown?"

"Text me, you're kidding me right?"

"First kiss--how am I to communicate this into something God would say?"

How exciting it was for us, a people of Love, to have a cultural event fall on Sunday!?

We gathered again, like we have been for quite some time, together, all of us from Kids for Christ to junior high and even the high schoolers, packed ourselves again tightly into the upper youth room where we found ourselves sharing our lives and telling stories. Yet what was different about this past Sunday night was our stories focused on LOVE and our lives, we examined them through the lenses of God's love for us, God's people.

One of the characteristics I enjoy most about you the youth, is your ability to think critically and quickly, all the while using your imagination. Your creative juices are always pumping and your humor, which is bright, always shines through. Your capacity to think on the spot provides many entertaining conversations and it usually leaves me and the other adults scratching our heads and thinking, "Why didn't I see that?" or, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Our conversation with all of us again, began with us going to the source of love, our sacred readings. We took two of what probably are the most well known references to Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13 and 1 John 4. What you did with them was remarkable. Your ability to tell story through cleverly written summaries and your cunning narratives left us for sure in the presence of love.

Though what was impressive was your desire to work together. It can be quite the task to find roles for 10-12 peers in a matter of 15 minutes with a 'script' that may not have as many options. These 'limitations' did not prevent you from going forth with the show. I remember as we were preparing for the skits, one of our KFC students said what might have been the funniest thing I've personally heard in a long time, and it was quite silly. But the way you all responded with grace and laughter, made them feel comfortable enough to rattle off the next outrageous comment. Your inclusiveness is evident within our groups and this is a perfect example of demonstrating God's love the world.

To tell a good story is a great way to grab people's attention. After all, the Master Story teller himself, was often scrutinized because of his stories. You all are story tellers and you friends, are finding ways to let your lives tell your stories. You friends, are finding the mysteries of LOVE in the world and communicating them to others in ways I'm sure you are unaware of.

Trust yourselves. At times revisit your imagination, get lost in creative dreaming, and dream wildly. Don't worry about who or what may be around, but hope with entirely with your heart for what you wish LOVE would look like. For when you do, you create things like Catherine and Marie did:

Faith is now
Love is now
Hope is now
And now, we show the greatest--
Love
Love is eternal
Love is true
Love is God
Lois is you
Love

Then this is what you came up with as you gazed at the cheesy pick up lines on the hearts:

For the Crown--You belong in the Kingdom of Heaven
For Holla--Hello my child
For Marry Me--Dedicate yourself to Jesus
For real love--God
For Love Ya--Love Everyone
For LOL--God Loves your Laughter
For Dream Big--God has many dreams for you
For Hottie--Everyone is a hottie

Or again how you took Scripture and created something beautiful like this:

God wants us to look past stereotypes and focus on inner beauty and love what you love because you love it

Love is not limited to romance or significant others. It transcends these things which we limit it to, like how we love tacos and muffins and how we love our mom and dad. Love, as demonstrated in the last sentence, can and is, quite confusing. Yet no matter how much we claim loves confusion, we often times prevent Love's capacity to woo us. We are quick to label love and even quicker to pick who we will love. In a sense, our attempt to define what LOVE is often times leaves us looking harder for it because where we once encountered love in some capacity, is no longer there. This is what is beautiful about love, it surprises us, even when we have it figured out.

We still have a lot of LOVIN left to do and we are still in need of much love. Many of us are longing for love and some of us have plenty of love to give away. Be attentive to the places where God's love appears and take note of them. Look for those in your life who is in need of God's love and give it to them. Find ways to creatively proclaim Christ's love with the stories you are telling with your lives. All the while, trust and know, God loves you and I more than we will ever know. Remember too:

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

Peace to you these Lenten Days friends.

Shalom.

Adam

Rhythm of Life

Getting started on a Monday can perhaps be a difficult task for you if you're coming off an exciting and eventful weekend. The drive to work, the bus ride to school, you yawn and fight back the temptation to close your eyes and sink back into wake up mode.

Perhaps we do different things to wake us up. Some of us may have a pot of coffee waiting for us in the morning, others start their days by a hearty breakfast, warm shower and a tall glass of OJ, while others make sure they drive by Starbucks to grab their favorite Mocha beverage. Don't limit though the start of the morning to just these few practices for there are many more. Either way, there is usually a routine we follow and if we for some reason miss one part of the routine, our days could potentially be shot. Then there are the days when we are in such a rhythm with the early morning events, we feel as if we can take on the day. Again though, finding the rhythm is important for us.

A rhythm of mine on Monday morning is key for me and the result of my week. On Monday's I wake up early, take Silas on a walk, come back to the smell of coffee filling up the house, shower, grab my Prayer Book, Bible, and what ever else I am reading, pour myself a cup of coffee, and read. From here I go to church. If I get there in time I join Jonathan and the others who show up for morning prayer in our Chapel and for 15 minutes, I join my life in prayer with those who are there with me and we pray: for the world, the nation, the community, and you. At the conclusion of the prayer I make my way down the freshly vacuumed hallway and I grab the Vacuum and ascend up the darkened hallway to the youth room and I begin to meditate.

Closing the door behind me, I peer across the room and smile. I think begin to reflect on how messy the room is and how it got that way. The smile grows wider and wider as I pick up Sunday school papers and remember our great discussion on Luke 4, Jesus' reading from the scroll of Isaiah. I think about how you the youth defined justice and equality and then how you made the connection of the injustices in this land, the land of the "Free". My attention is then grabbed by the bread crumbs which appear all across the room from our "Agape Feast". I begin to vacuum and think about Sunday worship and how I have the honor of joining with you in the Eucharist and offering to you, "The bread of heaven," "The bread of life," and I give thanks for your lives and the way you have taught me about community. I make my way into the classrooms and see the puzzled you all worked on, or the world's you all dedicated yourselves to fix and restore. Your commitment and dedication to finishing what you started reminded me of God's promise to love us, to bring restoration to that which God created.

My reflection doesn't stop there for I stand now with a hammer in my hand and begin to hammer nails into the wall to hang up your paintings. These paintings remember were done during Advent, to aid us in our journey to worship this child who would change the world. We hoped together, we longed for peace together, we share in each others joys, and we learned more and demonstrated love to each other. This then reminded me of the journey we have been on and gave me much hope for where we are going next. I hung up posters that have fallen down over time and ran across our Wii Bowling tournament and again, gave thanks for the fun times we have had together. I gazed at the names and prayed for those whom we haven't seen in a while and gave thanks for their lives too. What fun we have had!

Having moved the furniture once to vacuum, after completing this task, I began to rearrange the furniture, putting the pieces back together and setting up our table: new candles, setting up the Christ candle, and a fresh stick of vanilla incense awaits to be lit and to rise like our prayers. It dawned on me as I moved the furniture how you all have began to take steps many months ago of rearranging your own lives so you can further enhance your encounters with the Holy. I thought about how you all have been gracious to me and have been willing to move, experiment, and make things up, as we have went a long and I am grateful for this too. Remember though dear friends, you all have done, are doing, and most guarantee, to do great things in the future. Your insights, willingness to go with the flow, and commitment to one another inspires not only me to continue to be in ministry but the church at large. You are the one's Paul was encouraging when he said, "Don't let anyone look down upon you because of your youth." As the Gandhi poster says in our room, "Be the change you wish to see in the world," and you are guys are doing it.

After an hours worth of work, it was completed. In one hour of 'cleaning', I was able to take a peek down memory lane, give thanks for our time together, pray for you and your families, and dream about what is going to happen next, a rhythm which is essential to the life of this ministry. Had I not taken the time to stop, move slowly but deliberately, and be quiet, I would have missed God reminding me of God's love for me through the indications of it from the 'mess' in our youth room.

Daily rhythms are important and can be very insightful. Often times we call these things habits or disciplines. In the Christian community (and others for that matter) there are different disciplines we can practice to help us in our faith journeys. They range from long hours of silence, deep attitudes of prayer, walking a Labyrinth, to reading the Bible and taking a long walk. Yet what is great about spiritual disciplines is their ability to take on many shapes and their general definition. Your morning routines can be just that: a spiritual discipline.

In your activity, where do you see God? Perhaps you hear God's voice claiming God's belovedness on you in the gurgling of the coffee pot. Or maybe you see God in your toast, reminding you of the Eucharistic meal you ate just yesterday at church. Maybe you are reminded of God's grace as you stand in the shower and feel the water pouring out upon you, while you remember your baptism and give thanks. Possibly you encounter God in the silence you experience as you sit, gazing out the window of your ride to school. Or, may you feel God's presence when you arrive to school and are greeted by your best friend.

Friends, be attentive to the rhythms of your life. Find the things you do every day and see the sacredness lying in them. Discover God's presence in your unfolding of the clothes and how you are covered in God's grace. Take time to pause, look, and listen for that rhythm which gives the beat to your life's swagger. In doing so, may new life and peace come to you.

Shalom good friends!

Adam

Sanctus 01.21.10

Jesus Stills a Storm Mark 4.35-41

35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ 36And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 37A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ 39He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ 41And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’

Jesus Stills the Storm

There it sits, bobbing up and down like an apple in a bucket at a Halloween party. As you walk closer to it, you glance off to the west and see the colors of orange, red, and violet are turning into blue and black as a storm seems to be approaching.

After an hour or so you and your comrades are in the middle of the lake and the storm clouds are right above you now. The tiny hairs on your neck begin to rise as the first sound of thunder cools off the bright lights of the lighting bolt which just displayed the gray clouds which hover above your soon to be rained on head.

Chills soon follow as the first drop of rain finds itself on the bare skin of your neck and slides down your back.

You sit now in the boat, with the storm starting, and you begin to feel your heart start racing and the thumping sounds louder than the bass drum of a middle school band. Your legs begin to get weak and your feel the adrenaline beginning to pump…

First in your knocking knees, then in your thy, your arms get heavy, and your numb fingers begin to tremble…

Where are you now in the boat?

You scrounge through your bag looking for your yellow rain coat, only to remember you left on the kitchen chair and now this though goes away with the first splash from the waves spilling into the boat.

The howling and gusting winds is a terrifying sound, reminding you of wolves crying out in the wilderness.

You get thrown from the left and then to the right. Finally after a long tug of war with your seat, your grip, which was accompanied by your white knuckles by now, gives out and you are thrown onto the floor of the boat…

How do you feel now?
Where are you?

Crawling in a pool of lake water, you try rising to your feet and with the after taste of salt residing in your mouth, you cry out only to be knocked off your feet again, this time to your knees…

What do you say?

Your eyes open and you begin to frantically look for help. You know he is on this boat, somewhere. He was on it when you left, after all it was he who suggested, “Let us go to the other side.” Yes your friends are there but when you look at them, you see the terror and fear in their eyes, a reflection of your face…

What do you feel after looking at them?

Their looks of terror are no comfort to you…

What then do you say?

As screams begin to resonate in the hull of this small fishing boat, your eyes catch a glimpse of him…

What do you see?

Still grasping tightly to the nets, which smell of rotten fish, you try to somehow steady yourself, you take a deep breath as you cry out to Him…

What is it you cry out to him?

Your eyes lock with his and your fingers release their grip on the net, and your hands no longer hurt. You try to look away but you are captivated by the peacefulness on his face. Sternly he looks at you but in the words he tells with his eyes, you are comforted…

What do you feel?

Like a ghost, he gently moves to you and extends out his hand and says, “Peace! Be still!” You grasp his warm, wet hand and your body once filled with an uncomfortable rush of adrenaline, now tingles in delight.

How do you respond?

Things stop moving. The boat sits peacefully on the water, whose appearance looks like a sheet of glass. No less than a minute ago your life was in limbo, being tossed to and fro, and now, peace.

As soon as you realize this, a smile comes over your face…

Smile. How does it feel now to smile?

But as soon as your pearly white teeth appear from your vice-gripped tight mouth, Jesus says to you, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?”

And your smile fades…

What happens to you now?

Peace is here.
Even amidst the storms, Christ stills them.

What storm are you currently in?

Do you see storm clouds on the horizon?

Where do you see the sunset and the light from the sun?

We are quick to ask, “God don’t you care?”, yet are quicker to forget that God is in the boat with us…somewhere. In our own times of distress and in the sharing of the disciple’s anxieties, Christ reassures us of his presence with us, concerned even when we can pin-point exactly where He may be.

So, what now?

Psalm 139.11-12
1If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light around me become night’,
12even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

To say we’ve never been in a storm or we have never seen one, would sell ourselves short of telling of our stories of how God’s grace has met us and overwhelmed us. “Storms” happen, not only in our lives but the lives of the world too. We know God does not cause these storms but they still happen and God is still God, even in the thickest of foggy weather. God offers a beacon of light to those in the darkest parts of the storm; God offers calm waters to those who are frantically swimming in dangerous waves; God offers a life preserver when we find ourselves gasping for air. God wants us to …

Be still…
Look for peace…
And know, God’s present with us in the storm.

Where then now, in your life, can you find peace?

1st Sunday Advent--Darkest Just Before th Dawn

Press Conference - The Dark Knight

(To aid us in our discussion of Advent, we used a quick scene from the movie Batman: The Dark Night. Focusing mainly on the lines, "It is darkest just before the dawn, and the dawn is coming.)


Darkest Before the Dawn

It is always difficult this time of year to not get excited. We look around and there are all sorts of shiny, flashy, noisy, and distracting things everywhere. From stores, to radio stations, and even on people’s front yards, we have already begun to be consumed, swallowed up by the materialism that is the Christmas season.

Get ready for Christmas we often say and we do this by putting up trees, decorating our houses, shopping, and more shopping. We begin to play Christmas songs and we watch our favorite Christmas movies: How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Elf, and A Christmas Story. We look forward to so much this time of year and again, often times ending up getting too distracted.

We lose sight of the “reason for the season” and we buy into culture and society, spending, spending, and spending. This time of the year also can be a difficult season for people who don’t have family, don’t have anywhere to go, and can be difficult for those who may have lost loved ones. It can be difficult for anybody who may find themselves wandering around in large stores looking and searching for the right gift and having just found it, they get trampled on by inconsiderate shoppers and just like that, the joyful spirit goes out the door with a few mumbled words we cannot say and a look which speaks louder than thoe words.

How much do we really get it? How much do we really understand what is going on in the world, our communities, and our lives? We participate in it and not that this is bad but it can be. It can be a distracting and controlling matter which prevents us from being who we are to be and seeing others for who they are too. We prepare for the Christmas season by consuming all sorts of things and often times, because of this consumption, we become over-stressed and tired. I remember growing up and hoping and hoping to get the things I put on my Christmas list, which I worked so hard on. I would spend hours working on the list, searching through magazines and newspapers looking and writing down the toys that I NEEDED. I needed these things or I would not survive. Then when I didn’t get it, I complained, I mumbled, I would try to understand, but in the heart of my heart, I was quite ticked off I didn’t get that N64 or the latest gadget.

I wasn’t grateful for what was there, right in front of me. I longed for more and I wanted more. Yet now, that N64 I so badly NEEDED, sits in the bottom of T and I’s closet, collecting dust and being used maybe 1 time a year.

Yet there is good hope which lies in this time of the year. We get to practice the discipline of waiting. How anxious we grow during this time of the year. When we are little we get excited as we see the gifts pile up under the tree. We get excited as we count down the days to when we have no school. We get excited for the first snow fall. We get excited to see family we haven’t seen in a long time. We get excited for that feeling we get during this time of the year. We have to wait….for a month….for a while.

Waiting is tough especially if we find ourselves in a season of darkness, confusion, uncertainty, frustration, and worry. At some point in 2009 all of us have been in one of these situations. Where we have felt alone, where we have felt lost, where we have felt uncertain, and maybe even, we have felt unloved. How good it was though when those things went a way. When those feelings of despair and deep sadness were lifted. How great it was and how much easier it was for us to breathe when we saw the light appearing in the distance in our lives when darkness was all too present. These seasons may have lasted a good while, maybe a month, a week, or they may have only lasted a day, an hour, or a minute. Yet even in our most frustrating of moments we knew, light would come and darkness would dissipate. We knew these seasons would end and a new one would come to us. Our trust was in the Light, we knew it would appear, because if there is one thing we know that is certain in this world, it is that in the morning, in the dawning hours of the day, light will appear.

What is going on around us? Deep sadness. Deep hurts. Deep confusion. Deep misunderstanding. Quite like a period in time so many years ago. When God seemed to have been absent and people were longing for a Messiah, one to come and heal them. One to come and rescue them. One to come and free them. For so long they waited. They cried out to God and then their crying stopped. They no longer seem to want it. Their hope for the dawn was lost and they were fine being in the darkest parts of their days. Yet even in their hopes for the Messiah, the season they waited for, their thoughts were misguided too. They wanted someone attractive, they wanted someone rich, they wanted someone smart, they wanted someone who was a purebred, they wanted a King, and they wanted a mighty military and political ruler.

And guess what?

They didn’t get it. Instead, they got a baby, born to some peasant mother and father in some house where animals fed out of the same place where he laid his tired head. Jesus the Messiah, the King, the Prince of Peace came in an unlikely way, yet he did more than what any earthly ruler has ever done.

And he will do more than any earthly ruler will ever be able to do.
Christ is coming again and we, during this season of Advent, begin to prepare ourselves for his coming. What will his coming look like? How are we preparing? How should we be preparing? Where will Christ be coming? Who’s coming? What will he be like?

Latin word for Advent is adventus—which means “the approach” or “the arrival”. The verb advenio means—“I arrive. I come. I am coming.”

Christ is coming again and again to us. We must find ourselves ready and alert, attentive to where God has been, where God is now, and where God will be. We must be on guard and not let our hearts get tangled up in a mess of consumerism, greed, and selfish expectation. We must begin to prepare ourselves for the light, realizing that when we have been in darkness for a while and when we finally enter into the light, it often times is overwhelming and can be quite painful. Yet we continue to pray for strength, praying God’s direction and for God to make known God’s ways to us, like the psalmist did. We want to be ready so we may respond with obedience, responsive period, and to be ready to pick up the light and carry it with thus. The great Light of the World is coming, in an unlikely way, to us, an unlikely group of people who although may be sinful, we are redeemable, and God wants us to experience and lavish in God’s love.

It is a dark season, as the Christ candle is not lit. But we come to the table, bringing our own experiences and our own lights of God is with the hope that our candles will be bright enough to get us through the darkest part of the seasons, which is right before the dawn, which is right before the Christ child comes.

December 2009 Youth PresbyNotes

December 2009 Youth PresbyNotes

Many Things A’Coming

Mark 13.32-37

The Necessity for Watchfulness

32 ‘But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33Beware, keep alert;* for you do not know when the time will come. 34It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. 35Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, 36or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. 37And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.’

If you take a minute to stop and think, there are many things coming. Many exciting days to spend with family, many days to spend with friends while there is no school, many days to eat good food, and many days to be at church.

Yet there aren’t many days left for some things. For instance, there aren’t many days left for nice, warm weather. Or, there aren’t many days left your first semester of the school year and we’re running out of time to get our grades up if need be. Better yet, we’re running out of days before we lose the single digit to the end of our years and 2009 will soon become 2010. Which to be honest, will be weird to write and get used to.

We’re running out of time, it seems like. This time of year means things pick up, right? More homework comes, more chores come as we prepare, as our parents, prepare for family members and friends to come over for the Holidays, more stress, it seems like. Lots of people everywhere, running around franticly, and even at times it seems like they don’t care about others. People act as if they are running out of time and so they live irresponsibly, carelessly, and maybe even inconsiderately. To me this is funny because people can become quite rude and self-absorbed when they are out “doing” things for “others”, like shopping and what not.

Many thins are coming, like a time for us to stop and think about the things we are thankful for. If you remember right, we have a practice in our group we often do before we eat and give thanks for things we are grateful for:

Family…
Friends…
Food…
Sports…
Pets…
Life…
Laughter…
Water…

When we actually do stop and no longer go about living like we have to constantly be doing something, we can realize there are lot of things in our lives we are grateful for. A hug from a friend when we are in need of one, comforting words from our family when we need them, a stranger accidentally making us laugh when we least expected it, or other little blessings which come to us when we least expect them.

Many things are coming. One thing especially: the coming of Christ our Lord. Yea, that is right, Christ is coming…again. A great celebration is coming, soon. Before we can celebrate though, we must do a little waiting, remembering, hoping, and expecting.

Waiting—It is calm. It is dark. It is quiet. We wait for the movement of a pregnant mother and father to break the calmness of the night. We wait for the Light of the World to begin shining. We wait for the cry of a baby to drown out the quietness of the night.

Remembering—Where have you been? What are those things which shape you? Remember those who have loved you? Remember those promises which make you hopeful? We remember our story to help us see where this Christ child has already come to us!

Hoping—We hope for laughter. We hope for happiness. We hope for the day when there will be no more pain or sadness. We hope for enough to be made available for everyone. Hoping for a better year.

Expecting—We go into a new year expecting a fresh start. We go into a new year expecting new things. Expecting the best. After all, a newness comes to us when a new year comes, right?

For a nation, a chosen people, they too found themselves waiting some time ago. Now, we join in the waiting, remembering, hoping and expecting. God reached into our lives and began to put into action God’s redemption of the world. Through a small child. He was to be, is, and will be the Messiah. We, as followers of this King, this time of the year prepare for his coming, preparing ourselves by examining our lives. As we wait to greet this Son of God, we clean up our lives, interior and exterior, and we make ourselves ready to meet this hero, the one who has, is and will save us. In our expectation of what is to come, we become joyful for the good news we will soon receive.

Many things are coming. Like the hero, a baby. Not like what we think, like King Ali Ababwa in Aladdin, with horses, elephants, fancy dressing, and trumpet players. Actually it’s quite the opposite, really. Christ came as, you ready for this, Christ came exactly like we did: weak and needy as an infant, totally dependent on his parents. People saw the time was running out and then in the story entered the Hope, Peace, Joy and Love of God for the world, in a completely human birth.

Many things are coming and because of this, we are hopeful, expectant, mindful and excited! It is because of that event which happened, is happening, and is going to happen, we rejoice!

Friends, take time and give thanks for what is soon to happen. Be patient. Be mindful. Be optimistic. Be anticipative.

For he is coming.

Keep awake.

With hope, peace, joy, and love, He is coming again and again and again and again….

Peace
Adam

December 2009 Calendar

Sunday the 29th (Nov.)—Pitino Shelter with Debbie Bowley, all youth are encouraged to go and make crafts with the folks there. 11am
Thursday the 3rd—6:30-8pm Sanctus Bible Study
Sunday the 6th—5-7pm Christmas Program and Kirk Night: ALL YOUTH EVENT
Thursday the 10th—6:30-8pm Sanctus Bible Study
Sunday the 13th—5-7:30 pm: A Night of Love: Waiting in the City
Thursday the 17th—6:30-8pm Sanctus Bible Study
Saturday the 19th—Senior High Christmas Party: A trip to Evansville where we will eat out, visit Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights and hang out in Evansville
Sunday the 20th—Christmas Concert and Reading Night 6pm—Church Wide Event
Monday the 21st—All Youth Christmas Party and Caroling 5-8pm
Thursday the 24th—Christmas Eve Service 6pm
Friday the 25th—Christmas Day! Celebration of the Nativity of Christ
Sunday the 27th—No Youth Group
Thursday the 31st—New Years Eve Lock-in 6pm-8am
Sunday the 3rd (January)—Youth Kirk Night and 2010 Summer Mission Trip Fundraiser 5-7:30 pm

Happy Birthday
1st—Anthony Free
7th—Maggie Triplett
18th—Ben Duncan
19th—Weston Hayden
Happy birthday to you all!

Calendar Break Down

Sanctus Bible Study—We continue to meet in our upper youth room to share our stories, to laugh, to sing on the occasion, to pray, and to worship as we share life together. Gathering time begins around 6:30 pm and the evening usually concludes around 8 pm. Friends are invited, too.

“On Christmas Day” Christmas Program and Kirk Night—Lore North is gearing up for what will be an exciting evening of our youth demonstrating their unique gifts through readings, songs, and music with a variety of instruments. This night will also be our church Kirk Night so come hungry and enjoy a great program put on by our youth! Please note that we’ll be practicing during the hanging of the greens (Sunday, December 6th @ 1pm!). All children and youth are invited even if they have not attended a rehearsal to date. They need to bring their music and instruments. We’ll put the whole show together for the first time that day. If there is anyone who does not want to sing or play an instrument, tell them to come on! We need people to help with lights, sound, etc.

A Night of Love: Waiting and Seeing IT in the City—We are coming closer to an end of our schedule on love and this night we will engage in looking for love in our city. We will break up in teams and like a scavenger hunt, we will go out into the city and find God’s love at work in our city. This will be on Sunday, December 13th from 4-7:30 pm!

Sr. High Trip to Evansville—For our Senior High Christmas party we, along with your friends, will load up in the bus and head to Evansville where we will dine out together (bring money for this), maybe do a little shopping in the mall, and then conclude the evening together by visiting the Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights. Come dressed warm, with some money for food and hot chocolate, and be ready to have a good time with each other!

Annual Christmas Concert—Sunday the 20th the church will have its yearly Christmas Carol and lesson song night. The evening begins at 6pm.

FPC Youth Christmas Party and Caroling Night—On Monday the 21st we will have our annual Christmas party and caroling night, along with some good food as well. We will make trips to different places where we will sing our hearts out and spread the Christmas joy for all to hear! Kids for Christ you too have a party this night with more information to come!

Christmas Eve Service—6pm First Presbyterian Church Christmas Eve Service

3rd Annual New Year’s Eve Lock-in—This night is for all youth as we celebrate bringing in the new year, 2010! Registration is required and more details are soon to come. Doors open at 6pm. Friends are more than welcome to come!

A Few Minutes for Mission—January 3rd, 2010 we the youth group will host the January Kirk Night. This will act as a fundraiser for our 2010 mission trip and all youth are required to be there. Our night will begin at 4pm as we set up the Fellowship Hall for the evening festivities and also, learn our roles for the night’s events. We will be showing pictures and videos from our trip to South Dakota, so all students who are a part of that trip must attend. Again, all youth are asked to come and help serve and volunteer this evening. Those of you who do come will have money go into your ‘account’ for 2010 trips. Parents, we will need your help with the prep work for that night.

Websites to Visit when you get a Chance:
http://www.adventconspiracy.org/
http://www.d365.org/todaysdevotion/
http://fpcowensboroyouth.blogspot.com/

Reminder!
Remember parents and students to frequently check our church’s website and the blog site for updated calendar events and news!

Attention All Students in Grades 8-12
Sandy beaches, quaint shops, historical landmarks are the things that we associate with the Outer Banks of North Carolina. In Hyde County, though, hurricanes and unemployment have led to poverty. Here is an opportunity to serve and restore hurting areas of that community!

Who: High School Students (including rising freshmen)

What: Travel to the Outer Banks; 4 days serving on work projects and with a Kid’s Club; nightly activities in the outer banks; worship and devotional time; Whitewater Rafting in the New River Gorge after our mission week is complete,

Cost: $400 per person Deposit Required by January 4: $60
Please note the following balance deadlines:
$170 due by March 1 2010; $170 due by May 1, 2010.

Congratulations!
A reminder to all parents and students to please let us know of your accomplishments so we can celebrate them with you! Congrats to all of you.

Hour of Nones--Noonday Prayer

Psalm 121

Assurance of God’s Protection

A Song of Ascents.
1I lift up my eyes to the hills—
from where will my help come?
2My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

3He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
4He who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

5The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
6The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.

7The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
8The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time on and for evermore.

Loucon First Notice 2009

Western Kentucky Presbytery
Youth Council
Prayer
November 6, 7, 8
Camp Loucon, Leitchfield, KY

All students in grades 6-12 and their adult leaders are invited to attend this energizing and worshipful retreat!

Activities include: Prayer time, worship time, free time, bonfires, hiking, games, the zipline, high ropes for high school, low ropes and the climbing wall for middle school.

Bring: Bible, flashlight, sleeping bag/pillow, personal items, comfortable clothing for all kinds of weather, jacket, comfortable shoes, bug spray, water bottle, snacks

Arrive at Loucon between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. Friday night! Depart at 2:30 on Sunday afternoon

Cost: $50 each Deadline to sign up: October 26

Return to Becky Durham, PO Box 1016, Henderson, KY 42419
Or email information to beckydurham@preschurchky.org

Name: _________________________ Grade: _______ T-shirt Size: ___________

Home Church: ________________________________ Phone: ____________

March 2009

March 2009 is just a few days away and that means so is Spring! Check out our calendar of events:

March 1st--5-7pm Kirk Night all youth from Kids for Christ through Senior High are invited. We will be having a game night with a Wii Bowling Tournament! Winner will win a gift card!

March 3rd--Bible Study in the Upper Youth Room from 6:30-8:00 pm

March 8th--Middle High Only 5-7 pm @ the Church

March 10th--Bible Study in the Upper Youth Room from 6:30-8:00 pm

March 15th--All Youth Play 5:00-7:30 pm

March 17th--NO BIBLE STUDY

March 22nd--Birthday Breakfast at the Cracker Barrel 8:15 am
Senior High Only Native American Night with Henderson Church
On the 22nd we will hear from Woody Maglinger who is an adjunct professor at Western Kentucky University. On this night we will be joining with the youth from Henderson to learn a little about Native American history. If you are attending the mission trip, it is highly recommended that you be there! 5-7pm Senior High!

March 24th--Bible Study in the Upper Youth Room from 6:30-8:00 pm

March 29th--Movie Night at the church 5:00-8:00 pm

March 31st--Bible Study in the Upper Youth Room from 6:30-8:00 pm

February 2009

It is hard to believe that for some of you, it has been over two weeks since we last gathered together. Although there were some of you whom I have seen on numerous occasions, it is always a good time when all of us get to gather together for prayer, worship, fun, fellowship and of course food. I have missed you all dearly and am anticipating the next time when we will gather together....

Which looks like it will be this weekend! Rumor has it the power will be back on at the church by Sunday evening. Thus we will be gathering again in the upper youth room where we will share life together! I am looking forward to being with you all again!

Here are some dates for the rest of February:
8th--Youth Group at the Church 5-7pm
15th--At the church 5-8pm (Potential Destination Unknown)
22nd--Sr. High Breakfast @ the Barrel 8:15 am
Youth Group 5-7:30 pm (Love)

Senior high, be expecting information in the mail about the mission trip and the due dates for deposits and other important dates. We will be gathering more often to prepare ourselves for the trip and to begin holding each other in prayer.

Until later....

Love Discussion Week 3
“An Image Bearer”
January 11, 2009

LOVE. We are back to the discussion again. Before we begin let’s have a recap as to what we discussed last time we were together.

We did not get a chance to get too much into it for we had other things going on but what was something that we did?
(Recreated the Creation story)

That is right. I wanted us to take time, to think about how we would create the beginning poem and story of our bible. You guys did a wonderful job. The ways in which you represented each step and how you too notice of the difference between the good story. It is important to that we remind ourselves how we are created in the image of God. That our belief on God differs from others in the world and how we do not believe we will turn into God but that we have a divine spark within us, that we are not God and we aren’t going to become him but in some distinct, intentional way, something of God has been placed inside us.

We even began a discussion about how we blow out that divine spark by the ways in which we treat and talk about people. We also mentioned how when we allow our conversations to take us from seeing a person as a child of God and instead, we view them as a “that”.

This lead us into a reality about how the Hebrew’s viewed heaven and hell differently. How there was heaven that belonged to God but we are in control of the earth so we have a choice: a choice to bring God’s kingdom to the earth bringing heaven on earth or do the opposite of that, neglecting the cries of the world and bringing hell on earth. We have a choice. We will always have a choice.
 Hell is when we exploit women
 Hell is when we snicker at someone who is different than us
 Hell is when we knowingly ignore someone who needs help
 Hell is when we pick on someone

Yet there are debates over these things. How whether or not we should encourage our kids, you the students, to overwhelm yourself to the point where you cannot go on. But more controversial is that we even have began to debate whether or not we should carry out some military like actions: bombing, torturing and killing. My question to you is, why are we debating this? What is this saying about us as a Christian people? You see no longer is it about the person who is being tortured, just like it is not only about the person you pick on, but it is about the one DOING the torturing, and the one DOING the picking-on.

This then is where we are tonight. We are children and people of God. We are no longer separated by labels society gave to us. You see, we have a common bond with each other. There is something here that brings us all together. Our first Christian brothers and sisters had a name for this common denominator. They had a work for when they no longer viewed each other as Jew, Gentile, Greek or other. When Christ came, those labels no longer worked. Instead of seeing people in their ethnic races, the early Christians called the new commonality, this new bond the brought these people together, the “new humanity”.

The new humanity were followers of, “The Way”. This friends was what the early Christian movement was called. Before there was Christians, there was The Way. In order for The Way to happen, people had to begin in the beginning. The very same place where we did the last time we talked about God. They had to be reminded that they, like we, are created in the image of God. That God gave us an image to bear. Something that is so precious to God, that when we tarnish this image, sadness overwhelms God. It wasn’t until AFTER God gave us God’s image did we become male or female. Then after that we were giving tasks to do within the Garden, we have something to do, to take care of the world and move it forward, taking part in the ongoing creation of the word. However people messed this up and something else happened.

We began to view ourselves no longer image bearers. Instead we began to move to a different way of labeling people. As time went on and as we were given things to do, people began to spread across the world. It takes years and years of human history to get to the place where these people are from here and those people are from there. Different locations, skin colors, languages, and cultures come much later in the human story. You see, we have it backwards. We begin describing people by their cultural background and their skin colors and their nationalities, and it sonly when we look past these things that we are able get to what we have in common—that we are fellow image-bearers with the shared task of caring for God’s creation.

The new humanity is about seeing people as God sees them.

This is where we are tonight. I want us to begin thinking about how God views us, individually. So this evening, we are going to spend time in reflection as we think about, pray about and eventually demonstrate how, we think God views us. What we are going to do is sit ourselves in front of many artistic opportunities and allow ourselves to pray with paint-brushes, canvases, magazines, and other art related things.

I want you to stop and think about what God was thinking we he created _____________. Use this time to paint a picture of who you are. You can paint an actual portrait or you can paint images that represent how you see yourself through the eyes of God.

In order to love others, you must love yourself. In order to be a new humanity, you must not hate yourself, for it was John who reminds us, “We love because he first loved us”. So tonight, God loves us and we are going to artistically express how we feel God’s love in our lives!

Love Discussion 3: Loving Yourself 1st

This Sunday you as youth will have the opportunity to pray differently. As we continue on with our discussion about love, we will have the good practice of taking time and looking at who we are through God's eyes. For God created us as people in God's image. Thus we are the apple to God's eye. How we view creation is how we view God. How we love ourselves reflects how we love God and others.

Come prepared with old clothes, maybe a picture of yourself but more importantly, come with an open mind as we pray with paint, a blank canvas and 2 1/2 hours of contemplative, communal praying, through art! Our task together will be creating ourselves with art as if we were God. What does God see when we are created and who are we in God's creation?

So time for reflection, hoping, praying, laughing and painting. I'm sure it will be a great time!

December 2008 Article: Advent 2008

Remembering, Waiting, Imagining, Hoping

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. ~John 1.1,2

What in the world am I going to do? I mean there is no way this is possible. How can she be, pregnant? We are not even married yet, there is no way that this can be happening to me.

There is nothing else for me to do. I mean, what will this say about me as a person and more importantly, what will it say about her? I don’t want to disgrace her. Then that is what I shall do, I will pack my things and leave. It is nothing against her but I know these circumstances, nothing good can come from this.

It is midnight, I suppose I should sleep a bit before I start packing my things and leave in the middle of the night.

“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid…” said the stranger
What do you mean do not be afraid? What are you? Who are you? Why are you here? Please, don’t hurt me; I’m just a poor carpenter, in this peasant style home. What I am saying then is I have no money for you to take, so please leave me alone!

“No no, Joseph you got me all wrong. You see I am an angel of the Lord and I am hear to tell you this, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins,” the Angel said before it slipped away.

Joseph then fell asleep again. Awaking only to scratch his head and wonder what happened was a dream or if it was real. After thinking about it, he decided to do what the angel of the Lord told him to do. Together, Joseph and Mary welcomed a baby boy into the world and named him Jesus.

Often times we hear a lot about Mary and the pressures it must have been upon this young teenage girl. Yet I want us to focus on Joseph. Imagine what he must have felt like discovering his wife was pregnant with someone else’s child. Then after constructing a plan to get the heck out of dodge, have it picked a part by an angel. Only then to be left waking up scratching his head trying to remember what just happened. Reading on in the story, we see that King Herod had a plot to kill all infants, think about Joseph, Mary and Jesus waiting for the right time to escape. Finally, after the dust has settled, Joseph and Mary breathe a little bit and I can bet you, they were hoping the best for this child.

Remembering. Waiting. Imagining. Hoping. That is what Advent is all about. This is the season we are in friends. We find ourselves remembering where it was we just came from, waiting for this next year to begin, imagining what it will entail and then hoping for the year to be a great one!

This Advent let us together remember God’s promises to us as a people. Through this let’s begin discussion Christ’s return and what that will entail for us. Clinging tightly to the promises that God made through Christ, lets imagine what it would be like if we begin to live out the world that God had dreamed of. Together then we can begin to hope for a new world, become a picture of the Christ-life for the world and bring the Kingdom of Heaven to this place which is broken and is waiting for a healing.

What are God’s promises to us? What has God promised to his people? As we read these stories of Jesus’ birth and how God became flesh through Christ, let us engage in the reality that God did not die when Christ was crucified, but God is still alive and that God had come and that God is coming still! Let’s remember this, wait for Christ’s coming again, imagining what this will look like and then hope for the renewal God’s creation and for the life of the world to come.

Friends, this Advent season let us live in hope, as we remember God’s love for us, let us imagine what some may say is impossible such as peace and love for all and then let us do the good work of God, waiting for the moment when we will encounter Christ and his return! This is when God came to us. This is when we remember that God is coming to us again!

O God, fill us with a holy longing for the coming of your Son, Jesus, to brighten our dark and dreary world.

(Remembering, waiting, imagining, and hoping is the theme for FPC Owensboro this Advent season. Highlighted words is to recognize where it comes from, Jonathan E. Carroll.)