Reflection and Renewal: When Miracles Don't Happen (based on John 12:24)

God, sometimes life blows storms across our paths - or across the paths of those we love. In these moments, when it feels like there’s no way out, or when hard times - or even death - is nearing for someone we love, we instinctively wish for some kind of supernatural intervention. And yet, we also know that nothing in this world completely avoids suffering or goes on living forever.

When difficulty, pain, and loss come into our lives, we experience grief. We often ask why it has to be this way and wonder why there aren't any easy answers for why good things come to an end. 

God, we need your help to remember that loss and pain also grieve you, precisely because your will is that all things thrive in abundant life, and suffering and death are violations of that.

You chose - in the form of Jesus - to suffer alongside of us.

So help us not to be afraid to communicate our disappointment, grief, and anger with you when there aren't easy answers or the kind of miraculous breakthroughs we wish for.  Help us to look for your grace in those who come alongside of us when we’re suffering or mourning.

Forgive us for when we've let our discomfort with uncertainty lead us to offer simplistic, unhelpful. and dismissive rationalizations to those who are hurting. Grace us with the ability to listen, to share in others’ pain so that we can mourn with those who mourn; and in that way be your hands and feet.

And help all of us to have our eyes and ears open for where new life is bursting forth where there once was only death.

 Amen.

It’s Time For New Church Music Metaphors - Craig Greenfield

I guess I'd like something more in church music; something grittier, something truer to my context.

There are a ton of nature metaphors we go back to time and time again in church music. Our Creator God made all this and it is definitely good.

However, it’s not a complete picture of my day to day reality. Nor does it reflect the day to day reality of most of my neighbors.

I guess I'd like something more in church music; something grittier, something truer to my context.

As Pete Rollins points out, a church that only knows how to celebrate can become like a spiritual crack house - a place we go to get our regular fix, our weekly high (which has to get more and more intense in order to give the same satisfaction).

I'd like to sing from the reality of the world I live in. I'd like to learn how to see and connect with God while surrounded by people, not just individualistically in nature.

And I'd like to sing through the tears I shed for the brokenness around me.

The full article is available here

The Center Of The Universe Is Infinite Love - Richard Rohr

Reflection and Renewal: We're Broken But Also Loved (based on John 16:8)

God, you are loving and kind. Your grace is bottomless and all-encompassing.

But in our lives, there are a lot of voices which tell us that we are somehow outside of your grace. Often these voices tell us that - beyond feeling the appropriate guilt in our conscience when we do a bad thing - we should feel shame about being a bad person; that we're not worthy of being loved because we’re not perfect.

When we take what these voices say to heart, some of us begin to think that we have no value and that if anyone knew the real us, they wouldn't want anything to do with us. Or perhaps some of us try to deny that we’re not perfect and attempt to defend our ego by pretending that we don't have brokeness just like everyone else is.

God, we simply have a difficult time being honest about our shortcomings while also not devaluing ourselves, so we need your grace. Help us to remember that you created us in your image, and that we are a part of the original goodness that you created the entire universe in. Help us to remember that you reaffirmed that goodness when chose to enter into our world in human form and that you chose to suffer alongside of us.

Grace us with the ability to be honest about where we have brokenness while also seeing as ourselves as loved and accepted by you.

Amen.

Holy Saturday: God Suffers With Us - Richard Rohr

Maundy Thursday - A Kingdom Of Love, Not Grabbing Power - Brian Zahnd

Violence Only Destroys - Richard Rohr

Reflection and Renewal: Seeing Everything Through The Lens Of Love (based on 2 Timothy 1:7)

God, when you look at us, your view of us isn’t defined by the things which we’ve all done wrong.  Instead, you see us through the lens of love. You see us as potential conduits of the original goodness that you created the entire universe with.

We're not nearly as good as you are at seeing ourselves that way. We can easily get trapped in shame; seeing ourselves as inherently sinful, as unworthy of love, and as incapable of goodness.

We're not nearly as good as you are at seeing the world through the eyes of love. We often define people solely based upon their moments of imperfection. And even though it's wise to have healthy boundaries with people who unrepentantly cause harm; we often go well beyond that and write people off in totality or dehumanize them. When we do that, we don’t allow for the possibility that goodness and light could ever break through to them.

So God, forgive us when we don’t get it right. Help us to accept forgiveness as well as extend it to all. Help us to remember that your all-encompassing grace seeks to bring out the best in everyone and everything.

Amen.

God's Love Isn't Reckless, It's Thoughtful and Intentional - Andrew Gabriel

God loves us with clear and thoughtful intention.

The chorus of the song in question speaks of the “overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God.”

I searched for the meaning of “reckless,” and Google tells me that “reckless” describes someone who acts “without thinking or caring about the consequences of an action.”

I tried the more respectable Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, and, similarly, it defines reckless as “marked by lack of proper caution: careless of consequences” and even as “irresponsible.”

I don’t think too many Christians would like to say that God is “careless” or that God’s love doesn’t “care about consequences.”  Instead, God loves us with the clear and thoughtful intention “that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

I think the author meant that God’s love is relentless. At my church, we've changed the lyric to "perfect love."

The full article is available here

Reflection & Renewal: Following Jesus, The Fully Spiritually-Alive Human (based on 2 Corinthians 3:16-18)

God, when Jesus came to earth, he lead a life of sacrificial, inclusive, and selfless love. While fully God, he was simultaneously fully human and thrived in the goodness you created the world in. Thank you for that amazing example for us of how to live. 

In Jesus, we see that you didn't create us for violence, greed, and oppression. You designed us to be makers of peace and agents of forgiveness, like Jesus was. Where systems and structures have brought dehumanization, you've called us to rehumanize, like Jesus did.

But even when we try to follow that example, we often get off track. Without even meaning to, we easily get swept up in currents of competition, striving, controlling, and consuming.

In our spiritual lives, we easily fall into ruts of thinking that our humanity itself is inherently bad and sinful; of thinking that being human makes us somehow undeserving of your love, God.

Forgive us.

Help us to celebrate and emulate the beautiful way that Jesus lived; as a fully spiritually-alive human who, through your love, brought out the best in everyone and everything.

Amen.

Call To Worship: Open Eyes & Hearts in God's World (based on Ephesians 5:8)

We gather this morning seeking to connect with God, whose presence lives within us and surrounds us. May our eyes be open to see God's goodness so that we view the world as God does. May our hearts be open to God's mercy, so that we care for all of God's world.

For God's endless compassion and love, we give thanks and praise.

Why My Church Doesn’t Use Songs by Hillsong or Jesus Culture/Bethel - Dan Cogen, New City Church

If my church was singing songs from churches that teach dangerously unbiblical doctrines, that would mean several negative things.

My concern is that if we embrace the songs these churches are writing, it would lend credence to their ministries whose theologies are significantly erroneous, at best.

Perhaps the most significant error that Hillsong and Bethel teach is the Prosperity Gospel.  Bethel's senior pastor Bill Johnson even claimed that he could not accept a theology that allows for suffering (not sure how he squares that with Jesus' temptation, agony in the Garden, or crucifixion?)

So here's what it boils down to for me.  If my church was singing songs from churches that teach dangerously unbiblical doctrines, that would mean several negative things ...

1. that we endorse them and are willing to promote their music
2. that we are willing to contribute to their financial progress to continue spreading more erroneous music
3. that we have a deliberate willingness to compromise our theology
   

(Editors aside: this article doesn't even touch on gay conversion therapy, which psychologists have categorized as child abuse, which both churches continue to promote and support).

The full article is available here

5 Things To Remember/Advocate for During “Border Crisis” & Budget Negotiations - CRCNA

The synod of the Christian Reformed Church in North America has long advocated for a fair and just immigration system that honors the inherent dignity of immigrants and refugees.

Members of Congress need to hear from the faith community.

With this in mind, we as the Church uphold these 5 important points to remember and advocate for in this time of “border crisis” and budget negotiations.

1. We can have a secure border and humane border policy.
2. We can protect the asylum-seeking process, which is legal.
3. We can invest in aid, development, and just solutions to migrations’ root causes.
4. We can continue to protect children.
5. We can find permanent solutions for Dreamers and TPS recipients.

Using our action alert, you can urge your Congressperson to ensure that:

• funding for border security will also protect the safety of and access to legal protections for immigrants and asylum-seekers; it is harmful and disingenuous to only be funding and talking about a border wall
• and that the truth is told about immigrants: immigrants are a blessing to our economy, public safety, and overall stability in the United States.  Changing our immigration system should reflect this truth by increasing paths to legal immigration, not creating harmful, inhumane deterents.

The full article is available here 

Call To Worship: Eyes and Hearts Open (based on Ephesians 4:10 and Micah 6:8)

We gather this morning seeking to connect with God, whose presence lives within us and surrounds us. May our eyes be open to see God's goodness so that we view the world as God does. May our hearts be open to God's mercy, so that we care for all of God's world; pouring out justice, kindness, and radical grace.

For God's endless compassion and love, we give thanks and praise.

Reflection & Renewal: Faith Should Be Organic, Not Consumerist (based on Luke 5:16)

God, we are often impatient in life. In our lives, we've come to expect the easy answers, quick fixes, and instant solutions of consumerism. Without thinking, we sometimes take this approach to faith. When this happen, we often treat our relationship with you as if you're a fast food drive through or an ATM.

We can also fall into treating scripture this way; looking to it for the easy, quick answers which we hope it will supply - instead of taking the time to listen for, and dwell in, the questions that it may ask of us.

God, you've called us to live out our faith like Jesus did; in a way that's deeper and integrated into our entire lives, as a way of life to be continually growing in throughout our time in your world.

But we're often so busy that we think we don't have the time for such in-depth living, and as a result,  our lives can end up feeling shallow, plastic, and hollow.

So help us to pause; to shift out of auto-pilot, and to be willing to dive into the depths of your way of life instead of racing around on the surface. Grace us with patient spirits, reflective minds, and open hearts.

Amen

Call To Worship: God, We Look To You (based on James 1:17)

God, as we gather now, we look to you. As our source of life, make us new again. As our source of hope, give us peace and joy. As our source of love, help us to grow in grace.

In gratitude for your all-encompassing goodness, we come to give thanks and praise.

New Year Benediction: Being Aware And On The Lookout (based on Matthew 13:9)

As we leave today, we head into an unmapped future. As we live it, may we have our eyes, ears, hearts, and minds open.  May we be aware of God's presence, which can be found everywhere around us as well as within us. May we be on the lookout for it in the parts of our lives where we could use more love and grace. May we pour it out into God's world, which yearns to be made new again.

May compassion and hope, which are found in God, be the road on which we walk, today and always.

New Year Reflection and Renewal: Give Us Awareness

God, for some of us, the forthcoming New Year brings feelings of excitement, empowerment, and anticipation. We look back and feel fulfilled in what we have achieved in the last year and look forward to what we will take on in the coming year.

However, for some of us, the passing of another year simply adds to the tally of days, weeks, months, and years of hardship. A New Year arriving reminds us of how long we've been in pain, of how long we've felt incomplete, of how long we've seen injustice, cruelty, prejudice, hate, and violence continue to do damage in your world, God; of how long we've been waiting for something good to come our way.

From whatever condition we find ourselves in God, hear our prayer.

If we feel fulfilled and at ease, give us empathy for those who are suffering and help us to be your hands and feet to them. If we are suffering, help us to notice where some answers to our prayers may already be waiting for us in the world you created and called "good."

Amen

New Year Call To Worship: Live In Awareness (based on Ephesians 4:1)

A new day has dawned. A new year is about to begin. Jesus, may we look to how you've showed us to live. As we move towards our hopes and dreams for the future, Spirit, may we listen for your voice. As we enter a new year with anticipation and excitement, and as we gather now to give thanks and praise, guide us God.

Holy Family 2x Fled Murderous Tyrants As Refugees

The Holy Family was twice forced to flee as refugees to get outside of a murderous tyrant’s jurisdictions. 

This fact debunks the common talking point that the Holy Family’s flight “wouldn’t qualify them as refugees” because they were “moving within the Roman Empire.”

2 years after Jesus was born, Herod the Great issued a command that all male children two years old and younger, in and around Bethlehem, are to be put to death (Matthew 2:16).

So Mary, Jesus, and Joseph flex from Bethlehem to Egypt, which was outside the jurisdiction of Herod.

After Herod died in early 4 B.C., they soon begin their travel back to Judea and Bethlehem. However, as Mary and Joseph approach Judea, it is discovered that Herod Archelaus, the eldest surviving son of Herod the Great, is the new ruler of the area (Matthew 2:22). Like his father, Archelaus ruled with tyranny and cruelty.

Joseph's fears about living within Judea are confirmed when God sent him a warning in a dream. The family continued their travels northward to their hometown of Nazareth (Matthew 2:22 - 23).

The city was part of Galilee, which was outside the jurisdiction of Herod Archelaus. Galilee was ruled by a another son of Herod the Great named Herod Antipas. This son had a slightly less violent disposition than Archelaus. (Citation: http://www.biblestudy.org/maps/the-journeys-of-mary-and-joseph.html)

It should also be noted that nowhere in Scripture is it indicated that Mary, Joseph, or Jesus were Roman Citizens. (Citation: https://historum.com/threads/is-jesus-christ-a-roman-citizen.134847/)

Incarnation = Embodiment In The Human Condition

Advent Reflection and Renewal: Radical Hope

God,

It may seem naïve to us, in a world that is still full of grief, to talk about the joy of good news; to speak of all oppression ceasing in a world that is still full of suffering and injustice. 

But Jesus came to bring joy into our grief and light into our darkness; to bring good news to the poor, and to fill the hungry with good things.

Help us to embrace the radical hope of your kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven; of peace on earth and goodwill to all.

Amen

Advent: Hoping, Crying Out, and Laboring for Peace and Justice - Do Justice

This Advent, let's cry out against suffering and injustice, let's keep hoping for the coming restoration and renewal, and let us work diligently to bring about as much of that hopeful vision as we can, as soon as we can. 

War, wildfires, violence, famine, people fleeing danger forced to be refugees, people fleeing death and violence forced to be asylum seekers. Oil spills and poisoned water and seas choked by plastics. It’s no wonder the whole of creation groans for freedom from bondage, hopes for glory and restoration.  It’s no wonder that we Christians too, filled with the Holy Spirit, long for full adoption into the family of God as we colabor in the redemption of all creation.

Romans 8:18-25 captures perfectly the sense of these times. As the earth literally burns around us, as people flee their homes around the world before the sometimes figurative, sometimes literal scorched earth of violence and abuse, we cannot help crying out.

And yet, we find that we must wait.

But waiting patiently is different from waiting quietly. Creation groans, and we groan. We cry out in our suffering, just as the creation in California cries out to God, dressed in ashes like Jerusalem in mourning. Refugees lament, and rightly so. Asylum seekers lament, as they should.

In our crying out, we are in the same boat as God. Jesus, “God with us,” arrived in a time of turmoil to an occupied and oppressed people, not a time of peace.

Waiting patiently is also different from waiting passively. Through the act of crying out, we learn the urgency felt by the people who are suffering. From lament we are called to action.

We are supposed to work diligently and urgently toward the peace, reconciliation, and restoration we hope for. We are to work to help all of God’s creation, and this is a means of displaying our love for God as well.

Throughout this Advent season, let cry out with the suffering creation and all who are living through hardship. Let us keep hoping for the coming peace, restoration, and reconciliation that will finally end all suffering and injustice. And let us work faithfully, diligently, patiently, for all of God’s creation to bring about as much of that hopeful vision as we can, as soon as we can.

The full article is available here

Advent Reflection: Who Exactly Is "God With?" - CRC Office of Social Justice

If the gospel of Emmanuel is to be good news to all things - then now is the time for that gospel to be proclaimed and lived like never before.

In Colossians, Paul writes that, in Christ, God is “pleased to reconcile to himself all things” (Col. 1:20).  All people, of course. But “all things” means a whole new ball game. The creation belongs to God, and he is reconciling all of it.

At this moment in history, this is good news like never before - and an unprecedented challenge. That’s because in less than 50 years, our earth has lost more than half of all of its mammals, fish, reptiles, and birds. They, who once flourished with their Creator’s blessing, have dwindled under the heavy hand of habitat destruction, pollution, and exploitation.

If the gospel of Emmanuel is to be good news to all things - then now is the time for that gospel to be proclaimed and lived like never before.

The full article is available here

4 Ways to Support Asylum Seekers at the US-Mexico Border - Do Justice

Many are wondering what Christians who are far from the U.S. southern border can do to seek justice and support the dignity of those who are migrating.

Here are a few ideas:

1) Contemplate/Meditate. If you’re wondering where you can find words to guide you in contemplation and meditation focusing on the “migrant caravan,”these words might help.

2) Learn. Watch and share this video, where CRC pastor Rev. Sandra Van Opstal interviews leaders who are on the ground in Tijuana (including OSJ’s mobilizer on the ground in Southern California, Vanessa Soltero Martinez).

3) Give. Organizations like Matthew 25 So Cal are working tirelessly to support leaders in Mexico and along the border. They’re seeking gifts that go directly to the migrants.

4) Advocate. Your voice is critical -- and it’s easy to raise it. Go to this action alert to learn more.

The full article is available here