This morning I led the service at St Mark's United Church where I grew up. It's always a challenge to know what to communicate to a group I don't know.
What we ended up digging into was Matthew 16 where Simon Peter realizes that Jesus really is the Christ, but then Jesus shows him that even that revelation wasn't complete.
I think pretty much everyone in our culture has some ideas about Jesus. We can imagine him to some degree depending on our background, experiences, and what we've been exposed to. If we take a few minutes and consider a few questions we can draft a picture of our own imaginary Jesus. Try these to get started:
1. When you imagine Jesus, what does he look like? (appearance, race,
build, clothing, setting, etc.)
2. When you imagine Jesus, what sorts of things do you most often picture
him doing?
3. What do you imagine Jesus saying?
4. When you imagine Jesus, what emotions do you imagine him expressing?
5. What sort of political views do you imagine Jesus to have?
6. Who do you imagine Jesus hanging around with?
7. What do you imagine Jesus being passionate about?
8. What would your imaginary Jesus most likely say to you?
I'd love to hear some thoughts back!
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Doing it right
Last Sunday was the closing service for our church.
I really wasn't sure how any of us would react.
We tried to design a gathering that would be honest about the hurt and confusion many of us are feeling, but still ultimately focus on God's good faithfulness. I think we managed it...
There were a couple moments that really struck me hard. Knowing how disappointed some people were and still seeing them choose to sing songs honouring God was nearly overwhelming. Hearing pledges of continued faith as we prayed at the end of the service impacted me too.
So, as much as I do truly wish that we were continuing; there is some consolation in seeing that we were able to help one another deal with the emotions in a real way. After continually talking about authenticity the whole time we existed as a church it meant a lot to see us living it in a challenging time.
I don't know what might be next for our people. I know some are trying to figure out a way to explore possibilities of continuing in some form and that would really interest me. Still, there's certainly no guarantee of that coming together. In the mean time we've got to start looking for a church for our family.
This weekend I'm speaking (for what will probably be the last time) at Forestview Oakville. Again, I don't know if that will draw up some emotion. But I do know that I can go back there with a sense that what we did with the Hamilton congregation was risky, bold, and faithful. That's not a bad way to sign off.
I really wasn't sure how any of us would react.
We tried to design a gathering that would be honest about the hurt and confusion many of us are feeling, but still ultimately focus on God's good faithfulness. I think we managed it...
There were a couple moments that really struck me hard. Knowing how disappointed some people were and still seeing them choose to sing songs honouring God was nearly overwhelming. Hearing pledges of continued faith as we prayed at the end of the service impacted me too.
So, as much as I do truly wish that we were continuing; there is some consolation in seeing that we were able to help one another deal with the emotions in a real way. After continually talking about authenticity the whole time we existed as a church it meant a lot to see us living it in a challenging time.
I don't know what might be next for our people. I know some are trying to figure out a way to explore possibilities of continuing in some form and that would really interest me. Still, there's certainly no guarantee of that coming together. In the mean time we've got to start looking for a church for our family.
This weekend I'm speaking (for what will probably be the last time) at Forestview Oakville. Again, I don't know if that will draw up some emotion. But I do know that I can go back there with a sense that what we did with the Hamilton congregation was risky, bold, and faithful. That's not a bad way to sign off.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
