May 1, 2017 | News, Newsletter |
Peace be with you! We recently started taking time for intentional breathing at our house. With two young kids learning to manage emotions, and two young parents learning how to manage the emotions of youngkids…and our own, we need to do a lot of breathing. Hectic schedules, obligations, and commitments can make the life after the resurrection feel like anything but the resurrected life. Taking time to slow down and breathe seems like a luxury. And if not that, time wasted. It is interesting that in the Gospel of John, one of the first things Jesus does after his resurrection is wish peace upon the disciples and breathe into them the Holy Spirit, the breath of life. The language used in the Greek is the same breath that God breathes into the lump of clay in Genesis to create Adam. This breathing is anything but a luxury. It is part of the very act of creation. This breathing doesn’t come when we need a time out, when we are already out of breath. It comes at the beginning. It is the first breath. Just now, as I am writing this, my smartwatch reminded me to breathe. I told it to remind me in 30 minutes. Cause you know, I need to finish this article ASAP or this newsletter will be delayed a day and arrive on May 2nd instead of May 1st. Perhaps you laugh. But how many times have you thought something similar this week? Irony can sometimes be the best teacher. So if you’ve read this far, please, breathe. Breathe deep enough that it feels like your...Jun 1, 2015 | News, Newsletter |
Quick–Answer this question, “Why do we go to worship?” How many of you missed the answer that the question the question itself implies—to worship? Most often we would hear it phrased, “why do we go to church?” They may seem, on the surface, to be the same question, but I think they can generate very different answers. If I ask, “why go to church?” I expect to hear things like, “because–it’s good for us– God wants us to—Jesus did—it’s where our ‘family’ is—our family has always gone to church–it’s a good habit—it’s how we set an example for others—it’s good fellowship—to grow spiritually—to ask and receive forgiveness—because my life is so ‘screwed up, etc.” What was your answer? Whatever answer we give, it seems that more and more people around us are worshiping less often, and fewer and fewer people are worshiping at all. Perhaps we gain some clarity by focusing especially on the word “worship,” as opposed to “going to church.” What does it mean to worship? I love the answer I found on the internet, the source to which I won’t bother to give credit: “We worship God for God is who God is. We worship because of who God is and what God has done. Our worship is a response to God, to God’s nature and activity.” Huh? What is worship, and why should we be doing it? According to Merriam-Webster: Origin of WORSHIP Middle English worshipe worthiness, respect, reverence paid to a divine being, from Old English weorthscipe worthiness, respect, from weorthworthy, worth + -scipe –ship First Known Use: before 12th century. Synonyms: adulation, deification,...