This is the third in our series of discussions focussing on the acronym “BELLS”. Many of the ideas have been taken from the book “Exiles” by Michael Frost. Some are also from the website http://www.smallboatbigsea.org/ which is the website of the church group that Michael Frost is a part of. The third letter of “BELLS” is “L” which stands for “Listen”.
Someone once asked Mother Teresa, “What do you say to God when you pray? She replied, “Nothing I just listen.” The person then went on to ask “What does God say to you when you pray?” She replied, “Nothing, He listens too”. Sometimes it seems the art of listening is in short supply. We are always so busy doing or talking, we don’t have much time for listening.
Listening may refer to hearing what someone is saying. It can also include obeying someone. And finally, it can mean to wait for a sound. You don’t hear it now, but you are “listening” in hopes of hearing it.
From the website:
Someone once said that listening to a person is a powerful expression of our love for them. In our silence-starved world, we want to model the value of listening to God as an expression of our love and worship.
Past listening - Since the time of creation until now, God has been and is speaking to humans. Beginning with Adam and Eve in the garden, God spoke to them. At that time it seems God spoke in an audible voice as we might speak to each other. He also spoke audibly to Samuel, who, once he knew it was the voice of God, responded with “Speak for your servant is listening.” (I Sam. 3) God also spoke through the book of the law (Nehemiah 8) and through the prophets (Heb. 1: 1 – 3) And in the greatest communication of all time, God spoke through the incarnation in Jesus, both in his words and in his life.
God still speaks in the present. “in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Heb. 1:1 -3) We need to listen for the voice of God. Sometimes it is helpful to be completely silent before God, sometimes music can help us to hear his voice. In John 10, we have the picture of a shepherd with his sheep. The sheep hear and recognize the shepherd’s voice. We must learn to recognize the voice of God.
From the website:
L is for Listening
LISTENING – We believe that God is capable of speaking to us. We do not confine him to any particular medium, but we try to be attentive to his voice, wherever and whenever it speaks.
We acknowledge that some among us hear God speak in unique, prophetic ways. Some others share God’s heart for justice and peace in this world. Others still can bring a song or a word to us to encourage us. We want everyone to be engaged and participating in our gathering. The fullness of the heart of God and our corporate life is revealed as people listen to the Lord and respond as he prompts us to share. So after we eat there will be a time of silence (or accompanied by soft music) while people still themselves and respond to God’s promptings. This will be followed by a time of sharing.
From the book: Listen. We will commit ourselves weekly to listening to the promptings of God in our lives. Again, this will take different forms for different people. Some of us are very spiritually intuitive and hear from God in visions, pictures, and other ecstatic experiences. Others of us make our weekly commitment to search out God’s voice in less spectacular ways. We will ensure a weekly time of solitude to listen to God. We will take a prayer walk, find time alone in a special place, use prayer beads, and so on.
Questions to think about: How has God spoken to you in the past? Does God speak today? How does he speak? How will we hear God’s voice? How will we recognize it?
How can we be ready to listen to God?
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Sunday, July 20 - Eat
This is the second in our series of discussions focussing on the acronym “BELLS”. Many of the ideas have been taken from the book “Exiles” by Michael Frost. Some are also from the website http://www.smallboatbigsea.org/ which is the website of the church group that Michael Frost is a part of. The second letter of “BELLS” is “E” which stands for “Eating”.
Food is mentioned in the Bible in many different contexts beginning with Eve eating the forbidden fruit in Genesis to the end of Revelation where it talks about “on each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And many times in between in many different contexts. Jesus did several miracles concerning food, including the first recorded miracle where he turned water into wine.
Chapter 7 of Frosts book is entitled “Exiles at the Table. The Promise: We will be generous and practice hospitality. He begins by saying that “Eating is an opportunity to bring God and his grace into our everyday world”. (159)
In this chapter Frost looks at the lives of Joseph, Daniel, and Paul to teach us some lessons about eating. According to Frost the story of Joseph “Teaches us to fashion an empire that is concerned with the fair and wise distribution of food” (166). Frost goes on to say that in a world where so many people are dying of hunger we must be concerned with the equitable and responsible distribution of resources.
Frost says that the Vegetarian Daniel “reminds us to eat in such a way as to be as healthy and vital as we possibly can so that our lifestyles will glorify God”. (166) He also says “Exiles will enjoy a good, healthy diet. They will eat in moderation, not stoically denying themselves all gastronomic pleasures, but enjoying delicious, fresh, tasty food just as God intended.” (163)
Frost notes that Paul and the “Missional Table” “Instructs us to be responsible in our freedom and to share food with those who don’t know our Lord and Savior”. (166) Paul, contrary to the religious custom of the day, ate with Gentiles. It seems Paul would rather eat “questionable meat” with unbelievers than to isolate himself from the people around him.
In Chapter 2 of Frost’s book he also talks about “Jesus the Exile”. He talks about how Jesus ate and drank with people. He was known as a glutton, and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. (Mt. 11:19). He accepted a “sinner” women washing his feet in perfume at a dinner table. He invited himself to the home of Zacchaeus, the tax collector. Jesus’ first recorded miracle was changing the water to wine at a wedding feast. And in parting, Jesus commanded his followers to eat and drink in remembrance of Him.
Frost goes on to say that people tend to open up over food and drinks. And yet too many Christians are so busy with the “church” that there is no time to eat and drink with non-Christians and on their terms. Frost insists that we make sure we find the time to eat and drink with others.
Frost does not however encourage excessive eating. He says, “Only when pleasures are balanced in a rhythm of freedom and responsibility can we enjoy them all the more for what they’re worth. When I give into gluttony, the beauty of godly feasting is lost because each meal blurs into the previous one. The undisciplined and uncontrolled search for pleasure makes that which is potentially sacred ordinary and mundane. By denying ourselves, we heighten the importance and the wonder of the experience”. (168) John Piper says that “God is glorified in us when we aim our behaviour at being most satisfied in him. We may do this by grateful eating or by grateful fasting.” (170)
In summary, Frost notes that: Like Paul, We should eat communally with both fellow believers and unbelieving friends; Like Daniel, we should eat responsibly and healthily to demonstrate the inherent goodness of life in God; Like Joseph, we should work at ensuring that the poor, the marginalized, the dispossessed, and victims of an unjust global economy have enough to eat. (171) “Every church should be a Matthew’s Party, a table for tax collectors and “sinners” to feast with the exile Jesus and his friends.” (176)
From the website little boat big sea:
EATING – Sharing food has always been central to a shared life of community. We want to place worship and communion back where it began: as a providore’s delight in the middle of the shared table. We meet weekly to share in a community meal. We bring food to share with everyone and visitors and guests eat freely. But instead of saying a hurried grace we will break a loaf of bread and drink wine/juice at the beginning of the meal. This way we will be acknowledging Christ’s presence at our table and our allegiance to him. (According to the website, they had communion once per month)
The Eating Challenge:
From the book The Exiles: “We will eat with other members of our community at least three times each week. In our community we all eat together every Sunday night… Also, we are divided into groups of three that meet weekly for mutual accountability, discipleship, and nurture. Those smaller cells usually meet over a meal or coffee… we eat one more meal with someone else in our collective” (150).
From the website: Eat (anything from a cup of coffee to a full meal) with someone that you don’t live with at least once every week.
Food is mentioned in the Bible in many different contexts beginning with Eve eating the forbidden fruit in Genesis to the end of Revelation where it talks about “on each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And many times in between in many different contexts. Jesus did several miracles concerning food, including the first recorded miracle where he turned water into wine.
Chapter 7 of Frosts book is entitled “Exiles at the Table. The Promise: We will be generous and practice hospitality. He begins by saying that “Eating is an opportunity to bring God and his grace into our everyday world”. (159)
In this chapter Frost looks at the lives of Joseph, Daniel, and Paul to teach us some lessons about eating. According to Frost the story of Joseph “Teaches us to fashion an empire that is concerned with the fair and wise distribution of food” (166). Frost goes on to say that in a world where so many people are dying of hunger we must be concerned with the equitable and responsible distribution of resources.
Frost says that the Vegetarian Daniel “reminds us to eat in such a way as to be as healthy and vital as we possibly can so that our lifestyles will glorify God”. (166) He also says “Exiles will enjoy a good, healthy diet. They will eat in moderation, not stoically denying themselves all gastronomic pleasures, but enjoying delicious, fresh, tasty food just as God intended.” (163)
Frost notes that Paul and the “Missional Table” “Instructs us to be responsible in our freedom and to share food with those who don’t know our Lord and Savior”. (166) Paul, contrary to the religious custom of the day, ate with Gentiles. It seems Paul would rather eat “questionable meat” with unbelievers than to isolate himself from the people around him.
In Chapter 2 of Frost’s book he also talks about “Jesus the Exile”. He talks about how Jesus ate and drank with people. He was known as a glutton, and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. (Mt. 11:19). He accepted a “sinner” women washing his feet in perfume at a dinner table. He invited himself to the home of Zacchaeus, the tax collector. Jesus’ first recorded miracle was changing the water to wine at a wedding feast. And in parting, Jesus commanded his followers to eat and drink in remembrance of Him.
Frost goes on to say that people tend to open up over food and drinks. And yet too many Christians are so busy with the “church” that there is no time to eat and drink with non-Christians and on their terms. Frost insists that we make sure we find the time to eat and drink with others.
Frost does not however encourage excessive eating. He says, “Only when pleasures are balanced in a rhythm of freedom and responsibility can we enjoy them all the more for what they’re worth. When I give into gluttony, the beauty of godly feasting is lost because each meal blurs into the previous one. The undisciplined and uncontrolled search for pleasure makes that which is potentially sacred ordinary and mundane. By denying ourselves, we heighten the importance and the wonder of the experience”. (168) John Piper says that “God is glorified in us when we aim our behaviour at being most satisfied in him. We may do this by grateful eating or by grateful fasting.” (170)
In summary, Frost notes that: Like Paul, We should eat communally with both fellow believers and unbelieving friends; Like Daniel, we should eat responsibly and healthily to demonstrate the inherent goodness of life in God; Like Joseph, we should work at ensuring that the poor, the marginalized, the dispossessed, and victims of an unjust global economy have enough to eat. (171) “Every church should be a Matthew’s Party, a table for tax collectors and “sinners” to feast with the exile Jesus and his friends.” (176)
From the website little boat big sea:
EATING – Sharing food has always been central to a shared life of community. We want to place worship and communion back where it began: as a providore’s delight in the middle of the shared table. We meet weekly to share in a community meal. We bring food to share with everyone and visitors and guests eat freely. But instead of saying a hurried grace we will break a loaf of bread and drink wine/juice at the beginning of the meal. This way we will be acknowledging Christ’s presence at our table and our allegiance to him. (According to the website, they had communion once per month)
The Eating Challenge:
From the book The Exiles: “We will eat with other members of our community at least three times each week. In our community we all eat together every Sunday night… Also, we are divided into groups of three that meet weekly for mutual accountability, discipleship, and nurture. Those smaller cells usually meet over a meal or coffee… we eat one more meal with someone else in our collective” (150).
From the website: Eat (anything from a cup of coffee to a full meal) with someone that you don’t live with at least once every week.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Sunday July 13 - Bless
This is the first in a series of discussions that will look at the acronym BELLS. This is an acronym that we have been using in our Sunday morning gatherings to provide a structure for our meetings. Many of the thoughts have been taken from the book “Exiles” by Michael Frost. Some are also from the website http://www.smallboatbigsea.org/ which is the website of the church group that Michael Frost is a part of.
The “B” in the acronym is for “Bless”. According to the website mentioned earlier, the Hebrew for blessing means to “empower to strength”. We need to seek God’s blessing and pass that blessing on to others. “A blessing is like a prophetic announcement and a prayer rolled into one. We say and gesture to someone what we would like God to do in their life, knowing that the one who blesses is listening too.”
The Bible has many references to blessing. God blesses people (Gen.1:21 – 23; Ps. 29:11; Rom. 10:12). People bless each other (Gen. 24:60; Gen. 27). People who walk in God’s ways are blessed (Ps. 1:1; 32:2; 40:4; Is. 30:18; James 1:12; Rev. 1:3; 22:7;22:14, etc.). The beatitudes list those Jesus calls blessed (Mat.5:3 – 12).
We bless God. The website above encourages us to: “Begin with a time of blessing God for the goodness that has been shown during your day” and includes a simple prayer of blessing to God.
From the website, “Relationship with and belief in God are essential to blessing. When we bless, we ask for goodness, and we ask from the source of all goodness, we ask God. To bless is a small ritual wherein the blessing is transferred through the words that we pronounce and the gestures that we make, such as uplifted arms or actual laying-on of hands. A Blessing is for the enhancement of the receiver. To bless is to envision something good for the other. Even Jesus, when he pronounced the Beatitudes, envisioned a goodness that would give comfort and hope to future believers. The power to bless is awesome. It is the vision of divine enhancement, of a people resting in the palm of God’s hand. That is the hallmark of a blessing.
From the book, “Exiles”: “Bless. We will bless at least one other member of our community every day. This will take different forms. We might simply send an e-mail expressing our affirmation. We might write a letter, deliver a gift, say a word of encouragement. It might sound difficult, but you’d be surprised how easy it is once you’ve got into the hang of it. And it’s marvellous to be in a community of such support and consideration.”
The website mentions 3 ways people may bless each other, particularly referring to the morning service: (1) You can read a written blessing to someone (from the Bible or from another source); (2) Ask someone where they would like to see God’s blessing in their life, and then say a short prayer for them; (3) Bless someone by pointing out ways you see God using them, positive qualities in their lives, gifts and skills they have, or general words of encouragement.
For some examples of blessings you may wish to use see: http://www.smallboatbigsea.org/21/
Numbers 6:22 – 26: The LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron and his sons, 'This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: " ' "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace." ' (NIV)
The “B” in the acronym is for “Bless”. According to the website mentioned earlier, the Hebrew for blessing means to “empower to strength”. We need to seek God’s blessing and pass that blessing on to others. “A blessing is like a prophetic announcement and a prayer rolled into one. We say and gesture to someone what we would like God to do in their life, knowing that the one who blesses is listening too.”
The Bible has many references to blessing. God blesses people (Gen.1:21 – 23; Ps. 29:11; Rom. 10:12). People bless each other (Gen. 24:60; Gen. 27). People who walk in God’s ways are blessed (Ps. 1:1; 32:2; 40:4; Is. 30:18; James 1:12; Rev. 1:3; 22:7;22:14, etc.). The beatitudes list those Jesus calls blessed (Mat.5:3 – 12).
We bless God. The website above encourages us to: “Begin with a time of blessing God for the goodness that has been shown during your day” and includes a simple prayer of blessing to God.
From the website, “Relationship with and belief in God are essential to blessing. When we bless, we ask for goodness, and we ask from the source of all goodness, we ask God. To bless is a small ritual wherein the blessing is transferred through the words that we pronounce and the gestures that we make, such as uplifted arms or actual laying-on of hands. A Blessing is for the enhancement of the receiver. To bless is to envision something good for the other. Even Jesus, when he pronounced the Beatitudes, envisioned a goodness that would give comfort and hope to future believers. The power to bless is awesome. It is the vision of divine enhancement, of a people resting in the palm of God’s hand. That is the hallmark of a blessing.
From the book, “Exiles”: “Bless. We will bless at least one other member of our community every day. This will take different forms. We might simply send an e-mail expressing our affirmation. We might write a letter, deliver a gift, say a word of encouragement. It might sound difficult, but you’d be surprised how easy it is once you’ve got into the hang of it. And it’s marvellous to be in a community of such support and consideration.”
The website mentions 3 ways people may bless each other, particularly referring to the morning service: (1) You can read a written blessing to someone (from the Bible or from another source); (2) Ask someone where they would like to see God’s blessing in their life, and then say a short prayer for them; (3) Bless someone by pointing out ways you see God using them, positive qualities in their lives, gifts and skills they have, or general words of encouragement.
For some examples of blessings you may wish to use see: http://www.smallboatbigsea.org/21/
Numbers 6:22 – 26: The LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron and his sons, 'This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: " ' "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace." ' (NIV)
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Retreat dates
A few conflict of times has come to my attention regarding the August 22 - 24 dates for retreat. I am wondering whether people would prefer to keep it at that date, or change it to either September 19 - 21 or 26 - 28. Please let me know ASAP what you would prefer.
Gloria
Gloria
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Coffee Time
Hi all,
Just a note about Friday Coffee Times. I will try to have coffee ready Fridays from 2 - 4PM for anyone who wishes to come. Bring friends, family, whoever. This Friday I may be a little late because I have an appointment just before 2PM.
Gloria
Just a note about Friday Coffee Times. I will try to have coffee ready Fridays from 2 - 4PM for anyone who wishes to come. Bring friends, family, whoever. This Friday I may be a little late because I have an appointment just before 2PM.
Gloria
Sunday, July 6, 2008 - Practicing the presence of God
A review of Sunday's service:
Many of the ideas from this service were taken from Exiles by Michael Frost.
1. We live as exiles in this world - John 17:16
2. Christ lived among us and showed us how to live incarnationally - John 1:10 - 14; Phil. 2: 5 - 8. In the Incarnation God showed us his face in a way that it is possible for us to understand it. Ronald Rolheiser in The Holy Longing describes how a God who is too big for us to understand and imagine, put on a human body so that we could experience him with our senses. This too is how we bring Christ to others. We must live him in our every day lives so that those around us can see him too.
3. In order to "live incarnationally"; that is to bring Jesus to those around us, we must practice the presence of God. Brother Lawrence sees this as being more important than devotions. "I gave up all devotions and prayers that were not required and I devote myself exclusively to remaining always in his holy presence." (Frost, p. 65)
Brother Lawrence (Frost pp. 66 - 69) describes 5 skills to practice the presence of God
1. Seek God's presence: Guard your heart with extreme care to retain purity. We will sin, the important thing is to quickly confess our sins. Psalm 51: 10 - 12. Challenge: Confess sins regularly.
2. See God's presence: Keep the Soul's gaze fixed on God by Faith. We can see God in every aspect of live. Psalm 141: 8. Challenge: Look for God's presence every day.
3. Live God's presence: Do all for the love of God. Colossians 3: 23 - 24. Both the secular and the sacred can be done for God. Challenge: Do all your work for the love of God.
4. Speak in the presence of God: Offer short prayers to God. Ephesians 6:18. We can have short conversations with God throughout the day. Challenge: Talk to God about everything.
5. Treasure God's presence: Value the Presence of God. God seeks us to have relationship with us. Psalm 139: 1 - 18. Challenge: Seeking the presence of God is a priority.
Frost (69 - 70) added 6 skills of his own which he called Demonstrating the Presence of Christ by encouraging the following practices: hospitality, generosity, justice, environmental stewardship, mission.
The benediction was found at: http://panainstitute.blogspot.com/2008/05/fumitaka-matsuoka-gtu-graduates-of.html
Gloria Dueck
Many of the ideas from this service were taken from Exiles by Michael Frost.
1. We live as exiles in this world - John 17:16
2. Christ lived among us and showed us how to live incarnationally - John 1:10 - 14; Phil. 2: 5 - 8. In the Incarnation God showed us his face in a way that it is possible for us to understand it. Ronald Rolheiser in The Holy Longing describes how a God who is too big for us to understand and imagine, put on a human body so that we could experience him with our senses. This too is how we bring Christ to others. We must live him in our every day lives so that those around us can see him too.
3. In order to "live incarnationally"; that is to bring Jesus to those around us, we must practice the presence of God. Brother Lawrence sees this as being more important than devotions. "I gave up all devotions and prayers that were not required and I devote myself exclusively to remaining always in his holy presence." (Frost, p. 65)
Brother Lawrence (Frost pp. 66 - 69) describes 5 skills to practice the presence of God
1. Seek God's presence: Guard your heart with extreme care to retain purity. We will sin, the important thing is to quickly confess our sins. Psalm 51: 10 - 12. Challenge: Confess sins regularly.
2. See God's presence: Keep the Soul's gaze fixed on God by Faith. We can see God in every aspect of live. Psalm 141: 8. Challenge: Look for God's presence every day.
3. Live God's presence: Do all for the love of God. Colossians 3: 23 - 24. Both the secular and the sacred can be done for God. Challenge: Do all your work for the love of God.
4. Speak in the presence of God: Offer short prayers to God. Ephesians 6:18. We can have short conversations with God throughout the day. Challenge: Talk to God about everything.
5. Treasure God's presence: Value the Presence of God. God seeks us to have relationship with us. Psalm 139: 1 - 18. Challenge: Seeking the presence of God is a priority.
Frost (69 - 70) added 6 skills of his own which he called Demonstrating the Presence of Christ by encouraging the following practices: hospitality, generosity, justice, environmental stewardship, mission.
The benediction was found at: http://panainstitute.blogspot.com/2008/05/fumitaka-matsuoka-gtu-graduates-of.html
Gloria Dueck
Calendar
Please note the attached calendar. I have inserted birthdays of regular attenders. There were a few birthdays I didn't have. Feel free to insert your birthday if it is not inserted or let me know and I will insert it for you. The same goes for events you wish to post. Gloria
Monday, July 7, 2008
Prayer Request
Just wondering if we could ask you all to pray for us on our upcomming vacation. I (carissa) am a very nervouse flyer and am unsure how this trip will go with Alliana. Please pray for protection, peace, and the making of good memories. Thanks! We'll miss you all! See you when we get back!
Friday, July 4, 2008
Upcoming
Mark your calendars for August 22 - 24 for the church retreat. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions please contact Gloria Dueck.
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