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Our weekly songs, readings and practices are now available in our Weekly Guide! We hope for it to be a catalyst for the movement of the Spirit through our week.
Love -
Timberline Old Town & Everyday Joe's
Our weekly songs, readings and practices are now available in our Weekly Guide! We hope for it to be a catalyst for the movement of the Spirit through our week.
Love -
Timberline Old Town & Everyday Joe's
TEXT
Matthew 16:24-36
TAKEAWAYS
1 Write em down: “I am dust and ashes.” “The world was created just for me.”
2 Less is more. What do I need to do or say less?
3 Spend one full half hour in a natural setting meditating on the flow of life.
4 Prayerfully, be who you are in conscious awareness of Christ’s presence
BENEDICTION
The grace of God means something like: "Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are, because the party wouldn't have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It's for you I created the universe. I love you."
There's only one catch. Like any other gift, the gift of grace can be yours only if you'll reach out and take it.
Maybe being able to reach out and take it is a gift too.
Amen.
- Frederick Buechner
SONGS WE SANG
Jesus Paid It All by Kings (MHM)
Heart Of Worship by Matt Redman
King Of My Heart by John Mark McMillan
TEXT
TAKEAWAYS
1 Surrender to Everyone
2 Pray for the person that annoys you
3 Go home, and let all your relatives off the potter's wheel. You are not the potter. - Joyce Meyeer
4 Listen through your screams to the wind still whispering: Don't give up -- Surrender! - Eric Ganther
BENEDICTION
By Rachel Held Evans, who recently passed away and we will miss.
God, go with us. Help us to be an honor to the church.
Give us the grace to follow Christ’s word,
to be clear in our task and careful in our speech.
Give us open hands and joyful hearts.
Let Christ be on our lips.
May our lives reflect a love of truth and compassion.
Let no one come to us and go away sad.
May we offer hope to the poor,
and solace to the disheartened.
Let us so walk before God’s people,
that those who follow us might come into his kingdom.
Let us sow loving seeds, words that are quick with life,
that faith may be the harvest in people’s hearts.
In word and in example let your light shine
in the dark like the morning star.
Do not allow the wealth of the world or its enchantment
flatter us into silence as to your truth.
Do not permit the powerful, or judges,
or our dearest friends
to keep us from professing what is right.
Amen.
PRACTICE
In forgetting ourselves long enough to lend a helping hand (see the Message link above), consider this practice:
Pause ... when an interaction or situation causes something to rise up in you
Consider ... is this of weight or is this me just wanting people to be more like me?
Confess ... should the Holy Spirit show us we are keeping others at a distance because of superficial things
Surrender ... to our (God's) love of the person leading to an important conversation or letting it go.
RESOURCE
- During Recognition Of Souls, our friend Maggie lead us in a reading of the poem "To My Mother" by Wendell Berry. You can read that poem here.
- Rachel Held Evan's recently passed. Her book Searching For Sunday has been important to quite a few of us. Dig into her writings here.
SONGS WE SANG
Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing by Audrey Assad
Twenty-Three by Aaron Strumpel
You're Beautiful by Phil Wickham
TEXT
TAKEAWAYS
1 We have the Spirit
2 Get lost
3 Take a walk without a plan
4 Practice knowing as we go instead of knowing before we go
BENEDICTION
God go before you to lead you,
God go behind you to protect you,
God go beneath you to support you,
God go beside you to to befriend you.
Do not be afraid.
May the blessing of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be upon you.
Do not be afraid.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Amen.
PRACTICE
Get lost! Go for a walk without knowing where you're headed, pausing to notice what you come across, wondering about it with God. Go for a drive without destination. Follow interesting road signs. See where you end up. Wherever you end up, spend time in silence.
RESOURCES
Busy week! Lydia Cruz - Bolt Gallery's featured artist for April 2019 - shared about the personal origins of her exhibit The Forest. Then we talked about breakfast.
SONGS WE SANG
Mightier by Aaron Strumpel
Your Love Never Runs Out by Loud Harp
Broken Vessels by Hillsong
Sins Are Stones by John Mark McMillan
TEXT
John 21:1-17 (MSG)
READINGS
“The true way to be humble is not to stoop until you’re smaller than yourself, but to stand at your real height against some higher nature.”
- Phillips Brooks
“It is while you are patiently toiling at the little tasks of life that the meaning and shape of the great whole of life dawn on you.”
- Phillips Brooks
"What matters is not where we are, but who -- what real things -- are with us. "
- Robert Capon
BENEDICTION
O Lord,
refresh our sensibilities.
Give us this day our daily taste.
Restore to us soups that spoons will not sink in,
and sauces which are never the same twice.
Raise up among us stews with more gravy
than we have bread to blot it with,
and casseroles that put starch and substance
in our limp modernity.
Take away our fear of fat,
and make us glad of the oil
that ran upon Aaron’s beard.
Give us pasta with a hundred fillings,
and rice in a thousand variations.
Above all,
give us grace to live as true people—
to fast till we come to a refreshed sense
of what we have and then to dine gratefully
on all that comes to hand.
Drive far from us,
O Most Bountiful,
all creatures of air and darkness;
cast out the demons that possess us;
deliver us from the fear of calories
and the bondage of nutrition;
and set us free once more in our own land,
where we shall serve thee as thou hast blessed us—
with the dew of heaven,
the fatness of the earth,
and plenty of corn and wine.
Amen
-Robert Capon, from The Supper Of The Lamb: A Culinary Reflection
RESOURCE
Excerpt from The Supper Of The Lamb: A Culinary Reflection
PRACTICE
Set aside 15 minutes. Sit down with a piece of paper in front of you. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you 'stand at your real height'. Begin to right down statements beginning with "The truth is..." Write statements until the time is up. What do you notice? What was difficult to write? What feels like provision? What feels like new life?
SONGS WE SANG
All Creatures Of Our God And King by St. Francis of Assissi
Satisfied In You by Sing Team
(27) Take Heart by Loud Harp
Build My Life by Housefires
TEXT
Mark 4:1-20
TAKEAWAYS
The seed is good
We feel like fools
It’s not a secret to be de-coded. It’s a mystery to be experienced
Hold space (Our soil)
- confess weakness and sin
- Receive love and grace
- Cultivate gifts
- Pay attention
BENEDICTION
Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.
Amen.
(Elizabeth Barrett Browning)
SONGS WE SANG
Who You Say I Am by Hillsong
God Is So Good by Pat Barrett
Almighty God by Sandra McCracken
Immanuel by Loud Harp
TEXT
Mark 2:15-16
TAKEAWAYS
1 Go where you go, but go differently.
2 Questions To Consider:
Who am I avoiding?
Who am I keeping separated?
With whom do I need to have a 21 minute conversation?
3 Have coffee with two of your friends who've never met each other
4 Throw a party and invite people you're not sure will like each other
BENEDICTION
A Prayer of St. Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
SONGS WE SANG
Free by Gungor
Beautiful Things by Gungor
BENEDICTION
Father,
PRACTICE
Think of someone who you know very well, whose story you know very well. Holding their face in your mind, say this prayer:
SONGS WE SANG
Spirit Move by Bethel Music
Nothing I Hold Onto by United Pursuit
King Of My Heart by John Mark McMillan
TEXT
2 Corinthians 1:3-7
TAKEAWAYS
1
The worst suffering is suffering alone.
2
The curse of rugged individualism is isolation.
3
What needs to be re-integrated?
4
What needs to be unwrapped?
RESOURCES
Video: Psalm 29 by Shawn Keefer
Podcast: The Miraculous Healing Power of Mustard Seeds
BENEDICTION
PRACTICE
This week, set aside 30-60 minutes to reflect on 2 Corinthians 1:3-7.
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal what needs to be unwrapped and what needs to be re-integrated.
SONGS WE SANG
Build My Life by Housefires
Nothing I Hold Onto by United Pursuit
How Beautiful by Mosaic
Reckless Love by Bethel
TEXT
Matthew 17:14-20
TAKEAWAYS
1
Helpful and Helpless may be ego narratives
2
Be present
3
Bear Witness
4
Check In
5
Pray
RESOURCE
Video: As If with Malcolm Guite
PRACTICE
This week - in moments of feeling helpful or feeling helpless - recite the Jesus Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ,
Son of God,
Have mercy on me.
Amen
SONGS WE SANG
Woke Up This Mornin'
It Is Well With My Soul
Mightier by Aaron Strumpel
How Great Thou Art
TEXT
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
TAKEAWAYS
Everything Belongs
Everyone Belongs
Everything is Now
RESOURCE
Podcast: The Bible For Normal People "Episode 2: Richard Rohr- A Contemplative Look At The Bible"
PRACTICE
This week it will be nice weather. Find some sweet music. Put in earbuds. Look at everything. Ponder.
TEXT
James 1:19-20
Philippians 4:4-9
Philippians 2:1-8, 12-16
When you're not speaking think about some things:
- That’s a human bearing the image of God
- We cannot and should not assume that given the same genetic and environmental conditions we would be any different than they are
- Have I been wrong before?
- What are the questions?
- What is the mind of Christ?
TEXT
Ephesians 4:2-6, 29-32
Be gentle with our souls
3
Let them love you. I know you don’t always believe it, but your limp makes you even more beautiful.
4
Pay attention. It’s hard to imagine that nothing at all could be so exciting, so much fun.
BENEDICTION
Let us praise the grace & risk of Fire.
In the beginning
The Word was red,
And the sound was thunder,
And the wound in the unseen
Spilled forth the red weather of being.
In the name of Fire,
The Flame,
And the Light:
Praise the pure presence of fire
That burns from within
Without thought of time.
The hunger of fire has no need
For the reliquary of the future;
It adores the eros of now,
Where the memory of the earth
In flames that lick and drink the air
Is made to release
Its long enduring forms
In a powder of ashes
Left for the wind to decipher.
As air intensifies the hunger of fire,
May the thought of death
Breathe new urgency
Into our love of life.
As fire cleanses dross
May the flame of passion
Burn away what is false.
As short as the time
From spark to flame,
So brief may the distance be
Between heart and being.
May we discover
Beneath our fear
Embers of anger
To kindle justice.
May courage
Cause our lives to flame,
In the name of the Fire,
And the Flame
And the Light.
Amen
TEXT
Isaiah 11:1-9
Have a mixer
3
Note the places and times when people who wouldn’t otherwise be together are together and identify the transcendent
4
See Christ in all
BENEDICTION
Christ shield me today
Against wounding
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.
Amen
Mackenzie Matthews is a dear friend and pastor of Timberline College. She's also an impressive visual artist. On 9.16.18, she shared with us concerning the importance of creative work, whatever our work is.
TEXT
Genesis 1.27
Nehemiah 4.16-17
Matthew 13.13-16
READINGS
“Unless we are creators, we are not fully alive.” - Madeline L’Engle
While Darren is on sabbatical, we're in a series called Voices - exploring the different voices around us (call them wisdom, if you want) that might act as guides on the pilgrimage to the heart of Christ.
Each week, the speaker will act as the guide to exploring a different voice of their choosing. The guest speakers invited are some of the voices we want people to hear.
TEXT
Mark 10:13-16
TAKEAWAYS
Find and study a picture of yourself as a child. And picture those around you as children too.
BENEDICTION
My heart is not proud, Lord,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.
But I have calmed and quieted myself,
I am like a weaned child with its mother
Like a weaned child, I am content.
Amen.
TEXT
Genesis 25-33
TAKEAWAYS
-
May we be people who recognize our advantages and be humble about them
-
May we be people who recognize our disadvantages and find grace
-
May we be people who return to places of shame and find mercy. And may we be people who allow others to return to places of shame and find mercy
-
May we be people who slay the dragon of ego and find the true source of life.
-
May we be people who see the face of God where we once saw adversaries.
BENEDICTION
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you:
wherever he may send you;
May he guide you through the wilderness:
protect you through the storm;
May he bring you home rejoicing:
at the wonders he has shown you;
May he bring you home rejoicing:
once again into our doors.
Amen.
TEXT
Psalm 39:1-13 NIV
Luke 5:1-16 NIV
TAKEAWAYS:
1
Being alone is not necessarily solitude and solitude is not necessarily being alone
2
It is important to know who and when we are
3
It is important that our attempt at solitude be concrete
4
Evaluate time alone: What did I bring out of my time alone and into the world?
5
Bring Christ into the struggle
TEXT
James 1:19 NIV
Matthew 27:11-14 NIV
TAKEAWAYS:
1
Read James 3:2-10
2
Practice holding an idea inside for a little longer
3
Practice letting awkward silence be
4
When tempted to sin with our tongue, pray silently instead
5
Practice silence in new places.
6
Silence is not just a discipline. Silence is a gift.
7
Silence isn't just silence on the outside.
BENEDICTION:
3-3-3-3 Prayer
TEXT
Matthew 13:10-13 MSG
Matthew 13:3-9 NIV
Matthew 13:14-15 MSG
TAKEAWAYS:
1
This week, read the parables in Matthew 13. Take them slow and spend time with them.
2
Be honest with yourself about your cynicism, your isolation, your distraction.
3
Think about what you have received.
4
Pass on what you have received.
5
Tell a good story.
BENEDICTION:
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you:
wherever he may send you;
May he guide you through the wilderness:
protect you through the storm;
May he bring you home rejoicing:
at the wonders he has shown you;
May he bring you home rejoicing:
once again into our doors.
Amen.
TEXT
Genesis 1:26-28
Psalm 8:3-6
Colossians 1:15-20
John 1:1
John 1:14
Philippians 2:6-8
TAKEAWAYS:
1
Who do you look like? How do you resemble them?
2
Who do you want to look like? Why do you desire to be more like them?
3
Be Humble.
4
Show someone else they matter.
BENEDICTION:
O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son.
Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; Unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Long Story Short: Enter The Story is a 12-week series covering the entirety of the Bible.
What an irresponsible use of entirety! Really, it's an overview of the holy scriptures. The hope is to catch the thread of the story being told: the coming and the presence of the Kingdom of Heaven. As a guide, we are using the imperative -enter the story-
Find weekly readings and more here.
TEXT:
Revelation 1:1-20 NIV
Revelation 4:1-11
Revelation 22:14
TAKEAWAYS:
1
What does the Church not know? What does this church not know? What do I not know?
2
What do I know but I don’t know how to say it? What have I seen that is a burden?
3
There’s a lot that is massively wrong everywhere and always. What is wrong in my own house that I need to start setting right?
BENEDICTION:
What would it mean for Christians to give up that little piece of the American dream that says, "You are limitless"?
Everything is not possible.
The mighty Kingdom of God is not yet here.
What if rich did not have to mean wealthy, and whole did not have to mean healed?
What if being people of the "the gospel" meant that we are simply good people with good news?
God is here.
We are loved.
It is enough.
PRAYERS
- May I see those you have given to me to love and allow myself to be seen by those to whom I have been given to love.
- May I daily surrender before you God, opening my mind to the sacred wind of the Kingdom, letting go of my shame and releasing others from theirs.
- May I practice passing on knowledge and wisdom and food and joy and friends and love so that my life is a vibrant river of life with the grace of God flowing in and out.
- Father, when I am stuck in my own head, in my own fears, in my own shame, grant me the courage to make one move, and when I am depleted with my pursuing, may I be still and receive power from on high.
- We have received mercy. May we be merciful. We have received power. May we be wise and true and humble. Amen.
TAKEAWAYS
- This week, each day, pick one story from the life of Jesus. Read it through. Choose an word of action in that story. Write that word down. Meditate on it. Pray about it. Then watch for opportunities during the day to practice that word.
- With the mission of Jesus in mind, write a mission statement for yourself, your family, your vocation.