lilly's pad

Prayer Tree- creating for All-Saints, to Thanksgiving and beyond to Advent

In honor of All-Saints Day last week and in anticipation of thanksgiving in just a few...create a prayer tree for your worship gathering and/or your family.

As an All-Saints prayer station: focus the station on the people who have encouraged our faith or the people who have inspired us to draw closer to Jesus

SIGN/Directions: hebrews 12:1-8   FAMILY TREE

Consider all the people who have encouraged you to seek Jesus. Think about the people in your life, family, friends, teachers, youth leaders, etc who have helped you along the way in your journey with jesus ) or along your faith journey)These people might even be ones you've read about in books.

WRITE their names on the tags and pray for them. Thank God for their lives and ask God to show you more of how they have impacted your life. TIE THE TAG ON THE TREE

Part 2...Now think of someone in your life who needs to know the love of God...who may need encouragement on his/her journey with Jesus.  Write that person's name on a tag and take it home with you. Hang it somewhere where you will be reminded to pray for that person. Ask God to help you inspire and encouage this person to know God better and ask God to help you to inspire others around you in the coming weeks.

SET UP:

in this photo we used an artificial ficus tree that was already in the worshp space, and added white twinkle lights. we had a basket of sharpie markers of various colors and mailing tags from office depot/staples that already have string in them to use to tie them on the branches. OR

you can create a tree with a few large branches (with out leaves) stuck securely in a bucket and make tags out of colorful index cards or even print  off various shaped leaves, punch a hole in the top and add some yarn...then these card tags or leaves can be

THANKSGIVING TREE: Philippians 4:6-7

Continue the prayer tree idea ...you can take off the names of the" saints" or you can add to the tags on the tree.if you used only one color of tags for the SAINTS tree, you might use a different color for the thanksgiving tags.

SIGN/directions

Thanksgiving is a lost holiday in our culture...it sadly gets lost between halloween candy and christmas decoations and shopping.  Yet we are called to give thanks as Jesus gave thanks.

So what are you thankful for today? What are some great things or some little things that you can see as gifts of God and thank him for today?

Write your prayers on the tag and hang them on the tree. THANK GOD for the things he has given you and ask God to give you eyes to see the blessings and gifts he is giving you each week. and Ask God to help you be more grateful in the days ahead.

The Thanksgiving tree can be added to each day if you are doing it at home, or each time you meet if you are creating it with your small group or worshipping community. 

you can also encourage people to write down what they are thankful for during the week and bring this to your worship gathering to add to the tree. 

ADVENT...tomorrow..

you'll need chrsitmas gift tags and a christmas tree.

 

if you'd like more ideas for creating thankful prayers with small children at church or in your family, check out this great site

"IN" courage

Praying with Halloween CANDY

Ok, Halloween is upon us and whether or not you choose to embrace Halloween as a holiday or event, you can still use all that great Halloween candy as a part of your youth group or personal prayer time.  And post Halloween is a great time to buy up candy to use for future prayer experiences. I use sour skittles and m&ms for end of year prayers (future post…thanking God for the sweet and sour for the past year) and tootsie roll pops for advent prayers.( are we willing to wait on God to get to the good stuff of Christmas)  Also Hershey treasures are great reminders that God came to earth as a baby as our treasure, but even better God searches for each of us because we are HIS treasure. And don't forget that candy corn is in three colors so you can talk about the trinity..Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Remember that younger students are much more concrete in their thinking and this probably works better with high school and beyond, but don’t be afraid to try it with younger students just give them more examples and guidance of what you are going for since they don’t all think in metaphor/comparisons just yet.

THESE prayers can be done with a group as a corporate prayer or as an individual prayer stations.

***These are just some ideas …see what they might spark in you and feel free to morph and change them. I’d love to hear about how you use these.

 

HALLOWEEN CANDY PRAYERS

PRAYER 1

Have a bowl of mixed halloween candy, at least one piece for each participant.

Example candy:

Small Hershey bars, kit kat bars, m&ms, mounds, regular skittles, sour skittles, tootsie rolls, tootsie roll pops, mini snickers, mars,  etc.  

Pick out a piece of Halloween candy…

Consider how your life is going right now, how is your life like that piece of candy …

Is life feeling plain not very exciting like a plain Hershey bar? Or maybe it’s feeling nutty?

Are you sharing your life, like your real self , who you are with anyone? Like sharing a kit kat bar?

Is your life an adventure like different flavors of skittles?

Is it hard ..perhaps rather hard to endure like a chewy tootsie roll…or does it have the potential for adventure and unknown like a tootsie roll pop?

Maybe it’s colorful like a handful of m&m’s with lots of great things going on?

Talk to God about your life

Take some time…consider, think about your life.

Where have you seen God at work even in the plain and boring parts.

Even in the sour parts of your life? Thank him for being there in all aspects of your life.

 

PRAYER 2 (have candy types/mini candy bars displayed as examples, empty candy wrappers, pieces of choc to taste, like chocolate chips)

Now consider you life with God, your relationship, your journey with Jesus.

Which candy reflects your life with Jesus?

Look at and Think about the candy on the table.

 

Your life with God…Is it good and rich and like your favorite candy bar?

Or maybe your life with GOD is like an empty candy wrapper with nothing inside…

Is it plain and boring like a plain Hershey bar?

Or maybe rich like dark chocolate?

Maybe it’s rocky ..you know filled with nuts …or hard to chew because of the nougat and caramel

Is your life with Jesus tasting sour like sour skittles or sweet like m&ms?

 

TALK TO GOD about this. Tell Him where you are and then tell him where you’d like to be on your journey with Him…

Take a piece of chocolate.(you can use chocolate chips rather than small candy bars to save money)  EAT IT . TASTE and SEE that the Lord is GOOD.

Jesus longs to be in relationship with you.

You just have to open the door to your life and ask Jesus to come in.

EAT the chocolate as a symbol of your willingness to start a relationship or get back on track in your relationship with Jesus.

 

PRAYER 3:

BOX of chocolates and an empty box….and you could show the clip from the movie “Forrest Gump”

In the movie Forrest Gump, Tom Hanks character says “life is like a box of chocolates, you never known what you are going to get. “

Maybe the pieces of candy that you have tried out of the box have been gross…maybe you were expecting a piece with a filling of rich chocolate and you got a piece of slimy fruit filling instead.

TALK TO GOD ABOUT THE BAD pieces of chocolate, the bad pieces, the negative pieces of your life, both in the past and going on now. and maybe it's negative pieces of God.

God’s not afraid of your feelings. God wants to hear you. God is listening.

Thank God for both the good things and the yucky things.

Ask God to show you where he is and what he is up to in your life…

TAKE the TIME TO LISTEN to God.

 

Maybe you’ve felt like an empty box of chocolates rather than a full box…

Maybe you've felt like a gross piece of chocolate/candy yourself. Talk to JESUS about this.

How does God really feel about you?

YOU ARE  NOT GROSS you are fearfully and wonderfully made. and God knew you before you were born.

When you see a candy box, and candy bars in the store, Let them remind you that God is filling your life with GOOD THINGS. Let the Candy box remind you that God is at work in your life. know that God is working and filling your life with his love…YOU are not empty, you are not a rotten, gross piece of chocolate.

God created you to be his favorite.

 

 

 

NYWC-and a kick in the pants

Didn't make my October 1 deadline to begin again, AGAIN with my blog...but that was only due to lack of internet access in the sanctuary space yesterday and staying too long at the theology pub last night. So after much procrastination and the encouragement of lots of friends, i'm committing to writing again at lilly's pad and beyond. i've had amazing feedback from people this year about  SACRED SPACE (the book ) and about the experiential stations of the cross we use in the Sanctuary here at NYWC. people are hungry for ideas for experiential learning and  My passion is to help people connect with God through all their senses and using all their gifts and to honor art and artists in the church. i used the one of my favorite sayings in my Art in Worship workshop yesterday..."why do little kids get to have all the fun in church?"...meaning, why is it that when you are in kindergarden and below, you get to have crayons in church and get up and move around and after about 3rd grade you are required to just sit and listen?  As a worship curator it's my desire to expand the horizons of worship way beyond our small definitions of preaching and singing and to show people that our CREATOR has blessed each one of us with creativity and gifts that are designed to give Him honor and glory.  so thanks david for the kick and for holding me accountable. here's to the NEW YEAR of writing.

thinplace workshop NYWC -san diego-

first worship workshop in the sanctuary space this convention was called "encountering God" i based it on the thinplace design we used for worship the last three years in cincinnati. the thinplace model involves opening by praying a psalm out loud together, listening to a gospel passage read outloud (three times with three different voices) allowing the holy spirit to highlight words and phrases and ideas from the passage (lectio divina) and then having 30 minutes to journal and/ or create in art our responses to the gospel passage and what God is speaking to us about. then we meet back together to share what God said (you only have to share if you want to) and finishing with an experiential element that ties the theme together and then closing in prayer.

Rosh Hashanah started off the Jewish New Year this week, so our theme was centered around this. and the experiential elements involved passing out cups filled with water ...pouring out the old year (pouring out the water in to a large bowl) and taking away our empty cups as a reminder that God is filling our cups in new ways this year ...an empty cup available for God to fill in the New Year.   after pouring out the water we dipped an apple slice in to a bowl of honey and ate it as a symbol of receiving the sweetness of the new year. During Rosh Hashanah prayers are prayed beside water whenever possible and the apple and honey are a part of the worship service.  Rosh Hashana means we have a clean slate, we get a new start and we all need one of those on a regular basis.

here's a copy of the service order we used:

THINPLACE

This week, we get to start over! a brand new year!! I love new beginnings...What? You thought New Years was Jan.1st? Well Happy Rosh Hashanah It is the Jewish High Holiday celebrating the New Year. Rosh Hashanah celebrates the kingship of almighty God...and celebrates the day of creation and begins ten days of prayers moving towards Yom Kippur...the day of atonement. So Happy New Year…as you begin a New Year in ministry, what does Jesus have in store for you? Are you ready for a clean slate?

 

PRAY TOGETHER: Psalm 145 A psalm of praise. Of David.

1 I will exalt you, my God the King;

   I will praise your name for ever and ever.

2 Every day I will praise you

   and extol your name for ever and ever.

3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;

   his greatness no one can fathom.

4 One generation commends your works to another;

   they tell of your mighty acts.

5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—

   and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

6 They tell of the power of your awesome works—

   and I will proclaim your great deeds.

7 They celebrate your abundant goodness

   and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate,

   slow to anger and rich in love.

9 The LORD is good to all;

   he has compassion on all he has made.

10 All your works praise you, LORD;

   your faithful people extol you.

11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom

   and speak of your might,

12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts

   and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

   and your dominion endures through all generations.

The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises

   and faithful in all he does.

14 The LORD upholds all who fall

   and lifts up all who are bowed down.

15 The eyes of all look to you,

   and you give them their food at the proper time.

16 You open your hand

   and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways

   and faithful in all he does.

18 The LORD is near to all who call on him,

   to all who call on him in truth.

19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;

   he hears their cry and saves them.

20 The LORD watches over all who love him,

   but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.

   Let every creature praise his holy name

   for ever and ever.

 GOSPEL ( read aloud three times, three different voices) Lectio Divina

Matthew 6:7-15 (NRSV)

When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

'Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Things to consider while journaling or creating in art:

1. Anyone in your life today that you need to forgive? Anyone you need to ask to forgive you? Tell God about this?
2. Anything you need to forgive yourself for as the New Year begins, so you can start fresh?
3. What does it mean to you to pray for God’s kingdom to come on earth?
4. How do you need God to provide for you in this New Year? Talk to God about this.
5. Do you believe that God really knows your needs? Why or why not? Why is it hard to believe this?

 

Sharing our stories after journaling

 

Experiential RESPONSE:

Pour out water…pour out your cup of water into the bowl as a symbol of pouring out the old year and the junk, sin, brokeness of the old year take home your empty cup to recieve what God wants to pour into it this year. To receive the new things God has for you.

Eating the apple and honey. Dip a slice of apple into the honey and accept the Gift of the New Year.

 

“Welcoming a New Year” poem/prayer by Joyce Rupp (leader prays this aloud )

A new year stands on my doorstep

Ready to enter my life’s journey.

Something in me welcomes this visitor:

The hope of bountiful blessings

The joy of a new beginning

The freshness of unclaimed surprises

Something in me rebuffs this visitor:

The swiftness of the coming

The boldness of the entrance

The challenge of a year’s good-bye.

Something in me fears this visitor:

The unnamed events of future days

The wisdom needed to walk love well

The demands of giving away and growing

A new year stands on my doorstep.

With fragile caution I move

To open the door for its entrance.

My heart leaps with surprise,

Joy jumps in my eyes,

For there beside this brand-new year

Stand my God with outstretched hand!

He smiles and genly asks of me:

Can we walk this year together?

And I, so overwhelmed with goodness,

Can barely whisper my reply:

Welcome in!  AMEN

(found on p.25 in Fresh Bread, Ave Maria Press)

 

CLOSING PRAYER : Pray out loud together

We welcome you Jesus to clean us up and renew our minds.

We ask that you help us to trust in your provision.

We ask you to help us to rest in your love.

We ask that you renew us with your Spirit and fill us to overflowing with your peace and joy. Amen

 

c. designed by lilly lewin for NYWC 2011

 

lenten prayer stations

ok..i've been rather slow in getting into lent this year...started out ok...but due to work and travel, my rhythm hasn't been it's best.

maybe that's true for you too. the grace factor is that lent used to just be the 7 days before Easter, not the forty days before Easter!

so if you have had a slow start...don't despair...just start again!

here are a few prayer stations and ideas to use with your group or family.

let me know what you think.

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Prayer station ideas for Lent

 

 Lint Brush Station…

Lint or Lent?

When you hear the word lent what comes to mind?

Many people don’t know the difference…LINT OR LENT?

Is it something in your belly button or your dryer?

What about a season of the church year designed to bring you closer to jesus?

 

Using a lint brush as a prayer tool…

Set up a station with a couple of lint brushes or use as a group prayer response

With lint brushes to pass around.

You can also save lint from your dryer to have as a part of the décor.

( a favorite Lenten prayer practice of mine is to use cleaning the lint trap in the dryer as  time to ask God what needs to be cleaned out of my life…putting laundry in the dryer becomes a prayer of confession)

 

The Lint brush is used as a prayer of confession…

God removes the “lint, “ the junk that is stuck to us…

The sin that so easily entangles us…

As you roll the lint brush over your clothes talk to God

about the Lint, the junk, in your life you need him to remove.

Ask God to show you any lint that is blocking your relationship with him..

as you roll the lint brush on your shirt/ jeans, picture the junk being removed.

And know that God loves you and forgives you.

 

DESERT STATION

Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness….

Fasting.

Sometimes we think that it was the Enemy, the devil, that drove him into the wilderness…

And sometimes we think that the wilderness itself is bad.

But remember, it was the Holy Spirit who led Jesus into the wilderness…

God was present with Jesus the entire time…he wasn’t alone, he wasn’t’ abandoned.

Jesus fasted for 40 days…that’s a number of testing…

 

OPTION 1

Sit down

Where are you on your journey today?

Are you feeling lost in the wilderness

Are you feeling dry, hungry, alone?

Are you feeling tempted? Or tested?

Have you felt like life has become filled with temptations?

Talk to Jesus about this….

Allow Jesus to be present with you in the wilderness.

 

OPTION 2

Sit down and consider what Jesus felt in the wilderness..

READ the story. Picture Jesus there.

What temptations are you facing today?

Talk to God about these.

What are you hungry for in your life? …..

Talk to God about this

Are you tempted by hungers, hunger for power, popularity, wealth, what else?

Talk to God about this and allow Him to talk to you…

WRITE THESE IN THE SAND…then brush them out as you ask for forgiveness.

 

What are you hungry for in your life? …..The Good things…

Talk to God about these things and feel his love and comfort.

 

 

Set up a desert area… lay down a painters tarp …fold up edges to create rim

(looks best if it’s not a square) pour sand on top and spread out to create a layer.

Add a couple of camping stools a few large rocks. 

Allow students time to be in the desert…

This station can be very large ..we once created a desert space in the center of our chapel …everyone had to cross the sand to get to their seats and then we had everyone sit on the floor around the sand to focus on and consider Jesus’ time in the wilderness.

 

BOWL OF SAND….

The Lenten Season is the 40 days before Easter

Where do you want to go in the next few weeks?

What do you want to be like by the time Easter arrives?

How can you choose to fall more in love with Jesus over

The next few weeks?

 

As you begin your Lenten journey…

wash your hands in the bowl of sand as an act of repentance…

As a reminder of the wilderness where jesus spent his forty days of fasting and prayer.

Talk to God about where you are and where you want to be in the next few weeks before Easter.

Now wash your hands in the bowl of water and allow God to refresh you and allow the Living Water to encourage you as you journey with Jesus during the days before Easter.

YOU ARE CLEAN…YOU ARE LOVED…YOU ARE FORGIVEN

 

OPTION 2…after washing in the sand and then the water…write down on a cut out or printed out heart…a way that you will choose to fall more in love with jesus during lent, during the weeks before EASTER….

Examples…spending more time in silence

Spending more time reading the bible

Spending more time serving others..

 

TAKE HOME THE heart and place it where you will see it each day and be reminded to fall in love with Jesus each day.

 

 

 

 

thinplace: transfiguration...glory and the mountain top

 

here's your taste of thinplace for this week...sunday is the sunday of the transfiguration and it's always good to reflect on this amazing happening in the life of Jesus and his close friends. every time i listen to the story i learn and see new things...

for me last night , it was about experiencing the glory of king jesus...too often i know and experience jesus as my friend, "my buddy" jesus...but not the KING of KINGS glorified Jesus...

too often i don't take the time to be awestruck by jesus...i don't focus enough on his glory and his position as king...

so this lent (starting next wednesday btw) i am reflecting on how i might engage the wonder and awe of jesus in tangible ways.

i also spent time wondering about the last verse..."don't tell anyone..." i know jesus didn't want peter shooting off his mouth and declaring his messiahship and kingship before the cross, but do you think they really did keep quiet? do you think peter really could ?

and what about the 9 disciples that were left down the mountain...i've always wondered how they felt...i would have felt left out and i know i would have bugged peter for information about what happened up there! ...just some wonderings...

to be honest, i almost didn't use this week's lections because i've "done that story" so many times before...and i hate skipping forward too far in the gospel rather than just doing the next chapter.

turns out i'm so glad the holy spirit is the teacher and not me! had two folks at thinplace last night who heard this passage for the very first time!!!!

i always say in my workshops never to assume that anyone knows the story...and i proved to myself i need to remember that fact myself!!!

got a little carried away with the questions to consider ...really shouldn't be more than 5...just had lots of thoughts 

as usual you don't have to journal from any of them if you don't want to...

the TAKE AWAY was a small white light bulb...to put on our desk or kitchen window or by our beds..keep it somewhere where you'll see it each day...to remind us of the light of Jesus...and to remind us that we too carry his light into the world...think also of someone who needs the light of God's love in their lives...and use the light bulb as a reminder to pray for this person in the coming week/month.

and if you have to change a light bulb or buy new light bulbs in the near future...remember to shine your light, the light of God's love to the people around you.

 

THINPLACE march 3, 2011…

Opening Prayer…

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18

Help me, Lord, to notice how you are speaking to me.

Matthew 17  New Living Translation  The Transfiguration

Matthew 17 The Message

Listen to the passage read three times

Things to consider while journaling….

1. Had any mountain top experiences lately? Would you be interested in having one? Do you need one?
2. Was there ever a time when you just wanted to build a shelter, pitch a tent, and not go back down the mountain, not have to return to real life?
3. Anything making you scared right now?
4. What would it be like to have Jesus touch you when you are scared?
5. What is it that you just don’t get about what Jesus is doing …in this passage, in your life, on your journey? On the other hand, What things are making sense?
6. What things help you see Jesus more clearly…?
7. Why do we forget about the Glory of God? What blinds us to the glory of God?
8. Do you think we get too comfortable with “buddy” Jesus and forget the king of king side of Him? Why?
9. What area of your life do you need illuminated and perhaps cleaned out?

10.What are some ways you can reflect the light of King in the coming days?

 

IDEAS: Use the last two questions as meditations to close your time together....

#9 CONFESSION: HOLD a light bulb in your hand ...what areas of your life need to be illuminated/cleaned out... talk to God about this.

#10. ways that you can reflect the light of king jesus in the week to come...write these down on paper to take home...or as a prayer station...

use a large mirror and write these ways to reflect Jesus and His light on the mirror.

TABLE: center piece ...large white candle, bowl of small white light bulbs. several types of light bulbs displayed around the candle

TAKE AWAY: Small white light bulbs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jesus …

We ask you to give us eyes to see …to see your Light around us

To see your Light in other people

To see your Light and realize how much you love us.

We ask that you give us ears to hear …to hear your voice above the crowd

To hear your voice above our own…

Help us to hear your voice in the midst of our fears and our pain.

We ask that you help us remember the mountain top experiences when we’ve felt close to you, especially when we are feeling down in a ditch.

Help us to remember that you are with us

Thank you for loving us before we even had a clue

Thanks for loving us when we feel un-loveable.

Thank you for loving me …all that I am. AMEN

 

 

 

 

 

shrove tuesday.. is .pancake tuesday!

next week the season of lent begins with ash wednesday, march 9th, but the day before we get to celebrate with our spatulas and syrup! check out some ideas for celebrating pancake tuesday with your family, church community or youth group! at YMtoday.com.

without an IHOP within a 30 mile radius...the chef and i will be cooking some pancakes at home.

check out Youth Ministry Today on facebook too! and they are recommending a great resource for EASTER and LENT (if i do say so myself : ) )check out the Journey to the Cross Prayer Experience in SACRED SPACE

Matthew 5: 38-48 thinplace gathering...love your enemies

so i'll be posting the scripture and questions, and responses we use each week for thinplace...so you can play along too!

one of my favorite things about thinplace is that we gather around a table...eating dinner, laughing getting caught up with things that are happening in our lives...

 and we gather around a coffee table for art, journaling, discussion and experiential prayer. so you don't need a big room or a big building, just a little hospitality!

the gospel passage for sunday is matthew 5: 38-48

we opened by praying part of psalm 119 together

PSALM 119

33 Teach me your decrees, O Lord;

      I will keep them to the end.

 34 Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions;

      I will put them into practice with all my heart.

 35 Make me walk along the path of your commands,

      for that is where my happiness is found.

 36 Give me an eagerness for your laws

      rather than a love for money!

 37 Turn my eyes from worthless things,

      and give me life through your word.

 38 Reassure me of your promise,

      made to those who fear you.

 39 Help me abandon my shameful ways;

      for your regulations are good.

 40 I long to obey your commandments!

      Renew my life with your goodness.

LECTIO: (latin for Listening) read the passage three times (preferably with both male and female voices, but you can do it on your own too)

Listen to the passage and allow the holy spirit to highlight a word or phrase..is there an emotion or feeling, or memory around this word or phrase? what is the response God is asking of you from this passage?

how is the passage speaking to you today? ...what questions or problems come up for you from this passage?

after listening to the passage, you have 30 -40 minutes to journal, create with the art supplies, or just be still

then we'll come back together and we'll see where God has taken us. you can use the MESSAGE version to contrast our reading.

Matthew 5: 38-48 NIV (2010)

    38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

    43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 5: 38-48 THE MESSAGE

38-42"Here's another old saying that deserves a second look: 'Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.' Is that going to get us anywhere? Here's what I propose: 'Don't hit back at all.' If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.

43-47"You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

 48"In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you."

feel free to write /create from anything that God inspires you...sometimes God takes you in a completely differnt direction than you expect ...sometimes i've been inspired by the psalm rather than the gospel. there are no rules, except to be open and to listen...feel free to use the questions if you want to

THINGS to CONSIDER WHILE JOURNALING:

1. Got any enemies today? Any one who is bugging you to death that you’d just like to “kill”? how would you go about loving them?
2. Who do you think of as an enemy? Do you think of terrorists, your parents, a teacher? Why?
3. Why is it so hard to give to someone who asks? Is it hard to give to a friend who needs to borrow money? What about a homeless person? Is it different?
4. What do you think it means “to be perfect” when it comes to living out loving others, especially people you don’t like very much, or those who have hurt you?

       5. Anybody, any enemies you need help forgiving tonight?

SHARED RESPONSE:

take the time to have people share what they wrote or created...or any questions that came up during the listening/journaling time.

"what came up for you? what did you hear? where did God take you?

EXPERIENTIAL RESPONSE:

1. have a bowl filled with chocolate hearts and a bowl /basket with foam or plastic hearts found at michaels or hobby lobby...

Pass around chocolate hearts...take out two...one for you and one for a person who has been "your enemy" this week...a person who's driven you crazy this week...

eat the chocolate heart and thank God that he loves you abundantly, and unconditionally...take time to thank him for the good things that have happened today, this week....

take the second chocolate heart...pray for the person who's been your enemy this week...that they would feel God's love..take the heart and give it to them when you see them next.

TAKE HOME the plasic/foam heart of a reminder to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

YOUTH GROUP OPTION: if you did this with youth group, you could create a station with a map of the world and/or with photos form current events and have participants place small foam hearts  on the map while praying for enemies in certain places in our world.  could also be done using an ink pad and a heart stamp

CLOSING PRAYER

The heart of Jesus

Nearest the Father’s heart

A wellspring full of love

Richness for my poverty

Wholeness for my brokenness

Home for my wandering

Fullness for my emptiness

Loving care for my selfishness

Healing for my hurts

Faith for my mediocrity

Courage for my fears

The heart of Jesus

Nearest the Father’s heart

Drawing all of me to him

Reaching from his heart to mine,

Tender, compassionate, true,

Wanting one thing only:

My loving response. Amen

 

By Joyce Rupp found in Fresh Bread. P. 37

 

on a personal note...i realized while journaling that it might come up that it would be very hard to "turn the other cheek" to someone who is abusive....and it might also come up  "how do we love our enemies" when they have hurt us physically..or love those who've abused/hurt others"?

 

 

 

 

mark 8:22-25

on the sacred space web site .. after the scripture reading of the day, there is a simple question

What are you saying to me, Lord?

Mark 8:22-25

They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged him to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, "Can you see anything?" And the man looked up and said, "I can see people, but they look like trees, walking." Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Then he sent him away to his home, saying, 'Do not even go into the village.'

 

 

I think Jesus needed to take me out of the village in order to heal my blindness…

In order to help me see again…

To help me see my gifts

To help me see my passions

To help me see how blessed I am and have been

 

Yet, like the blind man, I can still only see trees…

I don’t see clearly

I don’t see clearly yet, what He wants me to see.

I don’t’ see clearly the people around me…who they are, what they need, what I can share with them.

 

If I’m true to who and what God has called me to be…then it really doesn’t matter what the place is, or where I am or who I am with. I am called to love, to bring light, to bring love and encouragement to all …everyone is a gift and everything that comes my way is both a gift and an opportunity…

the question is

DO I WANT TO SEE?

And am I WILLING TO SEE? Especially to see as Jesus does.

To see beyond skin color, to see beyond economic benefits or lack of them, to see beyond the bitterness and brokenness of others …

AM I WILLING? Do I really want to see?

Jesus, I really need you to spit into my eyes today…to make mud from your saliva and let your living water bringing healing to my blindness.

help me be willing to be willing.

Help me not to be afraid to respond in fear.

Help me see and live out love…to everyone who comes my way, and even more importantly …to first love myself as you love me. AMEN

 

starting a thinplace worship gathering...

three years ago, rob and i started a gathering called "thinplace"

“thinplace“ was the overall name for several gatherings that met in cincinnati throughout the month. but since a friend has asked how she might begin her own in her gathering in her new town, i'll focus on one aspect to begin:

"thinplace journaling" became our regular house church like gathering that we hosted on sunday nights.  the idea was to engage scripture through journaling and art, not through a bible study or a sermon/teaching.

usually our focus was the gospel passage from the lectionary...but we also used the church year to base our scripture choices off ...for example...during epiphany (the season of the church year after Christmas…Jan. 6-til Lent begins)  we focused longer on the birth narrative, the visit of the magi and on the life of jesus as a child  rather than jumping forward into his ministry.

our desire was for people to "get" the story...to engage the gospel in it's context, not just certain verses or certain themes. Everyone was encouraged to bring a journal and a bible but we also had paper, pens and bibles available along with art supplies.

We began thinplace gatherings with food, snacks and/or dessert and sometimes we would start with a pot luck dinner. in the beginning, i hosted the food because i wanted people to know they were welcome and expected and as time went on, everyone was invited to bring things to share. everyone got to participate and share their gifts.

As people gathered we would check in and introduce each other. Then we would introduce the format we used and what to expect. There was a hand out with the opening psalm, the gospel passage of day and few questions to consider while journaling and a closing prayer. we used lectio divina as our listening process for the scripture passage.  At this point, we would ask for three readers and then open by praying a psalm together. 

Then the readers would read the passage slowly and we would all listen and allow holy spirit to speak through the scripture and highlight it for each of us. (usually we had both male and female voices)

 There are more traditional forms of lectio but this is what we used :

*LECTIO

1.     Listen to the Scripture, allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you. 2.       First time through, what is the word or phrase that jumps out at you...that

stands out to you? 3.      Second time through, what is the feeling or emotion around this word orphrase? Or what is the memory around it? 4.    Third time through, how is Jesus is asking you to respond to this passage, or to the word or phrase?

As time went on we also encouraged questions that came up in the passage. Such as What didn’t make sense? or what do you wish you knew more about?

After the three readings, people got comfortable, and spread out to the other room. Everyone was silent and journaled and/or used the art supplies available to respond to the scripture passage. The room was quiet for 30 minutes, then we came back together to share. People were invited to share if they wanted to. Or to ask questions. We made sure that people didn’t do much “cross talk”…ie didn’t allow folks to criticize or condemn what someone else experienced. It was always amazing to see where the Holy Spirit took people and to learn from each other. After everyone who wanted to got to share, we would close with an experiential response that had something to do with the scripture passage and then prayed the closing prayer together.

 

At thinplace journaling, the coffee table became the “altar” piece…the place where we set up a display or symbols to convey the passage of the day…and where the experiential element would be set up.  Also there often would be a “take away, “ a symbol, that would remind us of what we’d learned that week.  Once we passed around gold glitter and sprinkled ourselves as a reminder that we wanted to get the dust of the rabbi…(a la rob bell ) on us..the glitter represented our desire to follow the king…and get the dust of the king on us!

On a personal note, I’ve followed Jesus a very long time and studied and taught the bible but I can say that through journaling from scripture and having the opportunity to create from a passage, God definitely taught me amazing things and I remember so much more of it!

TO GET STARTED:

 gather a group of friends and their friends

1. pick a place
2. you need 1. 5-2 hours could be longer if you like to hang out and talk before and after
3. have food! Especially chocolate
4. use the lectionary and/or the church calendar for the scripture to journal from
5. have questions that could spark journaling but are just considerations not “have tos”
6. start small…try it for a month or two and see how it goes
7. think about what you want the group to “take away” from the passage and that’s where you start with the experiential element…

        what’s naturally in the passage? Touch, taste, sounds, colors, items?

           How can you respond to the text in order to remember it?

       8. start a collection of prayers, written by others, fathers and mothers of the church , and those written         by your community to use as closing prayers.

        we used many from Celtic Daily Prayer

        9. Start early to share the job of curating the gathering…help others learn to “lead” and create so it’s             not all on one or two people.