Monday, October 31, 2016
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Sunday Supplication - We Are Following Jesus
Thank you for your promise to forgive and purify us. Forgive us our sins. Renew us by your Spirit. Show us how to act, think, and live as Christ. And as you have forgiven us, make us merciful and ready to forgive those who have sinned against us.
Help us, O Lord, to know and understand the love of Jesus. Help us to experience it. Help us to share it. Help us live out love in such a way that it becomes clear to all around us that we are following Jesus.
It’s in his name that we pray these things. Amen.
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Friday, October 28, 2016
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Thursday Thinking - Election Anxiety
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what
you will wear; or about your country, who wins an election..." That's not an exact quote, but I think it works pretty well.
David Brooks has written a new piece about this year's anxiety-riddled election season. Take some time to read it and then calm down.
The Epidemic of Worry
by David Brooks
David Brooks has written a new piece about this year's anxiety-riddled election season. Take some time to read it and then calm down.
The Epidemic of Worry
by David Brooks
We’ve
had a tutorial on worry this year. The election campaign isn’t really
about policy proposals, issue solutions or even hope. It’s led by two
candidates who arouse gargantuan anxieties, fear and hatred in their
opponents.
As a result, some mental health therapists are reporting that three-quarters of their patients are mentioning significant election-related anxiety. An American Psychological Association study found that more than half of all Americans are very or somewhat stressed by this race.
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Wednesday Words - A Letter in October
Dawn comes later and later now,
and I, who only a month ago
could sit with coffee every morning
watching the light walk down the hill
to the edge of the pond and place
a doe there, shyly drinking,
then see the light step out upon
the water, sowing reflections
to either side—a garden
of trees that grew as if by magic—
now see no more than my face,
mirrored by darkness, pale and odd,
startled by time. While I slept,
night in its thick winter jacket
bridled the doe with a twist
of wet leaves and led her away,
then brought its black horse with harness
that creaked like a cricket, and turned
the water garden under. I woke,
and at the waiting window found
the curtains open to my open face;
beyond me, darkness. And I,
who only wished to keep looking out,
must now keep looking in.
“A Letter in October” by Ted Kooser, from Weather Central.
Copyright © 1994 by Ted Kooser.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Tuesday Tome - Book Club Week 3
BOOK SELECTION:
You Are What You Love by K. A. Smith
WHEN:
Five Mondays at 8:00pm
WHERE:
Valley Christian Church Office
READING & MEETING SCHEDULE:
Monday, October 31, 8:00pm - Chapter 4
Monday, November 7, 8:00pm - Chapter 5
Monday, November 14, 8:00pm - Chapters 6-7
PURCHASE THE BOOK AT AMAZON
Publisher's Description...
You are what you love. But you might not love what you think. In this book, award-winning author James K. A. Smith shows that who and what we worship fundamentally shape our hearts. And while we desire to shape culture, we are not often aware of how culture shapes us. We might not realize the ways our hearts are being taught to love rival gods instead of the One for whom we were made. Smith helps readers recognize the formative power of culture and the transformative possibilities of Christian practices. He explains that worship is the "imagination station" that incubates our loves and longings so that our cultural endeavors are indexed toward God and his kingdom. This is why the church and worshiping in a local community of believers should be the hub and heart of Christian formation and discipleship.
Monday, October 24, 2016
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Sunday Supplication - Your Upward Calling
Lead us away from temptation. Free us from selfishness and pride. Give us the honesty and humility to recognize our need for your grace and mercy. Forgive us our sins and make us ready to forgive others.
Thank you, O God, for providing for our needs. Give us the wisdom and humility to recognize your provision. Give us hearts that are generous toward others. Make us ready and willing to help those in need. And may your grace and provision in our lives always result in us being more gracious and generous as we follow in the way of Christ.
Through Him, we pray. Amen.
Saturday, October 22, 2016
Friday, October 21, 2016
Friday Favorites - Mat Kearney
I'm looking forward seeing my son, Tyler, perform with Mat Kearney next Thursday, October 27 at Roy Wilkins Auditorium next Thursday with Need to Breathe.
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Thursday Thinking - The Christian Responsibility
I appreciated this short but thoughtful post on Peter Enns' blog...
A QUICK THOUGHT ABOUT
TRUE CHRISTIAN RESPONSIBILITY
IN VOTING FOR A PRESIDENT
Posted by PeteEnns on October 17, 2016
I’ll make this short.
In a public lecture given in 2011, N. T. Wright (“Kingdom and Cross”—which I make my Bible intro students watch every year) talks about the American Evangelical tendency to get tied up with power and place false hope in the political system.
The true Christian responsibility, Wright reminds us, is not to align with power, but to critique it prophetically in all its forms, to remind the powerful that no matter how powerful they are, they answer to the Creator.
That doesn’t mean, of course, that Christians are not to be involved in the political process. It only means that they acknowledge that no political process or candidate is ever the source of hope because no candidate is ever free of corruption. A prophetic critique is the Christian responsibility and always needed...
KEEP READING
A QUICK THOUGHT ABOUT
TRUE CHRISTIAN RESPONSIBILITY
IN VOTING FOR A PRESIDENT
Posted by PeteEnns on October 17, 2016
I’ll make this short.
In a public lecture given in 2011, N. T. Wright (“Kingdom and Cross”—which I make my Bible intro students watch every year) talks about the American Evangelical tendency to get tied up with power and place false hope in the political system.
The true Christian responsibility, Wright reminds us, is not to align with power, but to critique it prophetically in all its forms, to remind the powerful that no matter how powerful they are, they answer to the Creator.
That doesn’t mean, of course, that Christians are not to be involved in the political process. It only means that they acknowledge that no political process or candidate is ever the source of hope because no candidate is ever free of corruption. A prophetic critique is the Christian responsibility and always needed...
KEEP READING
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Wednesday Words - Autumn
A touch of cold in the Autumn night—
I walked abroad,
And saw the ruddy moon lean over a hedge
Like a red-faced farmer.
I did not stop to speak, but nodded,
And round about were the wistful stars
With white faces like town children.
“Autumn,” by T. E. Hulme, from The Imaginist: Modern Poetry in Miniature (ed. William Pratt) © Copyright 2008.
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Tuesday Tome - Book Club
BOOK SELECTION:
You Are What You Love by K. A. Smith
WHEN:
Five Mondays at 8:00pm
WHERE:
Valley Christian Church Office
READING & MEETING SCHEDULE:
Monday, October 24, 8:00pm - Chapter 3Monday, October 31, 8:00pm - Chapter 4
Monday, November 7, 8:00pm - Chapter 5
Monday, November 14, 8:00pm - Chapters 6-7
PURCHASE THE BOOK AT AMAZON
Publisher's Description...
You are what you love. But you might not love what you think. In this book, award-winning author James K. A. Smith shows that who and what we worship fundamentally shape our hearts. And while we desire to shape culture, we are not often aware of how culture shapes us. We might not realize the ways our hearts are being taught to love rival gods instead of the One for whom we were made. Smith helps readers recognize the formative power of culture and the transformative possibilities of Christian practices. He explains that worship is the "imagination station" that incubates our loves and longings so that our cultural endeavors are indexed toward God and his kingdom. This is why the church and worshiping in a local community of believers should be the hub and heart of Christian formation and discipleship.
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