First Coming
by Madeleine L’Engle
He did not wait till the world was ready,
till men and nations were at peace.
He came when the Heavens were unsteady,
and prisoners cried out for release.
He did not wait for the perfect time.
He came when the need was deep and great.
He dined with sinners in all their grime,
turned water into wine. He did not wait
till hearts were pure. In joy he came
to a tarnished world of sin and doubt.
To a world like ours, of anguished shame
he came, and his Light would not go out.
He came to a world which did not mesh,
to heal its tangles, shield its scorn.
In the mystery of the Word made Flesh
the Maker of the stars was born.
We cannot wait till the world is sane
to raise our songs with joyful voice,
for to share our grief, to touch our pain,
He came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Mary's Song
Mary's Song
by Luci Shaw
Blue homespun and the bend of my breast
keep warm this small hot naked star
fallen to my arms. (Rest …
you who have had so far to come.)
Now nearness satisfies
the body of God sweetly. Quiet he lies
whose vigor hurled a universe. He sleeps
whose eyelids have not closed before.
His breath (so slight it seems
no breath at all) once ruffled the dark deeps
to sprout a world. Charmed by doves' voices,
the whisper of straw, he dreams,
hearing no music from his other spheres.
Breath, mouth, ears, eyes
he is curtailed who overflowed all skies,
all years. Older than eternity, now he
is new. Now native to earth as I am, nailed
to my poor planet, caught
that I might be free, blind in my womb
to know my darkness ended,
brought to this birth for me to be new-born,
and for him to see me mended
I must see him torn.
by Luci Shaw
Blue homespun and the bend of my breast
keep warm this small hot naked star
fallen to my arms. (Rest …
you who have had so far to come.)
Now nearness satisfies
the body of God sweetly. Quiet he lies
whose vigor hurled a universe. He sleeps
whose eyelids have not closed before.
His breath (so slight it seems
no breath at all) once ruffled the dark deeps
to sprout a world. Charmed by doves' voices,
the whisper of straw, he dreams,
hearing no music from his other spheres.
Breath, mouth, ears, eyes
he is curtailed who overflowed all skies,
all years. Older than eternity, now he
is new. Now native to earth as I am, nailed
to my poor planet, caught
that I might be free, blind in my womb
to know my darkness ended,
brought to this birth for me to be new-born,
and for him to see me mended
I must see him torn.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Why Pastors Should Bless Interracial Marriage
We'll have a few more posts on racial reconciliation in the next few weeks, but first check out this video from John Piper.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
The Glory
The Glory
by Madeleine L’Engle
Without any rhyme
without any reason
my heart lifts to light
in this bleak season
Believer and wanderer
caught by salvation
stumbler and blunderer
into Creation
In this cold blight
where marrow is frozen
it is God’s time
my heart has chosen
In paradox and story
parable and laughter
find I the glory
here in hereafter
by Madeleine L’Engle
Without any rhyme
without any reason
my heart lifts to light
in this bleak season
Believer and wanderer
caught by salvation
stumbler and blunderer
into Creation
In this cold blight
where marrow is frozen
it is God’s time
my heart has chosen
In paradox and story
parable and laughter
find I the glory
here in hereafter
Thursday, December 8, 2011
A True Christmas
Dottie Stam
Worship Leader
This weekend, our Adult Worship Choir will be presenting "A True Christmas." It's a wonderful story that shares the true meaning of Christmas: our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
We'll offer five shows, all of them absolutely FREE. There will be an evening show beginning at 7:30 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We also will be presenting two matinees on Saturday and Sunday, both at 3:00. Doors open an hour before the performances.
We hope that you can make it, and that more importantly you'll bring a neighbor or friend who doesn't know what Jesus did for them on the cross!
Below is a short synopsis of the musical. Enjoy!
The story takes place in a small North Carolina town in the year 1872. Twelve year old Nan and her best friend Johnny are headed up to Herbert Morgan’s new barn. A fire has destroyed his old barn, so the men of the town are building Herbert a new dairy barn. A time of celebration at the barn raising is followed by the local school teacher, Rose, using the barn as a class room. When Christmas eve arrives, the local preacher, Sam Moore, also decides the barn would be a good place to hold the evening service. As the service ends, word comes that the Womack River, running through the center of town, has overflowed its banks and all the homes are soon to be flooded. The new barn proves to be a Godsend for the town as they are all forced to take refuge there, the only structure built on high ground. Meanwhile, Sam finds out Rose’s secret.
Later as the town is gathered inside, a stranger arrives proving to be the estranged brother of Nan’s father, Thomas. This brother, Sterling, had chosen to fight for the north while the youngest brother, Henry, had fought for the south and had been killed in battle. The brothers' initial meeting does not go well and there seems to be no hope for reconciliation.
As everyone anxiously waits for word on the flood, Johnny decides to go climb an old tree to be able to see the entire town. The tree is wet and Nan follows, warning Johnny about the tree. Sterling sees the children leave for the tree and follows. When the local Representative, Jubal, warns everyone that the tree is about to fall, other towns folk leave to save the children. The tree does fall and while Nan is saved by her Uncle Sterling, Johnny is brought in with a head injury. In the panic that follows, Bess and Herbert Morgan are faced with the dilemma of where to find a Doctor. Rose had once studied medicine but has mysteriously returned home to teach school. Bess persuades Rose to help Johnny and she reluctantly reveals the she is a certified Doctor and performs the needed surgery on Johnny. The surgery is successful and Thomas and Sterling reconcile. The town rejoices and prepares to celebrate Christmas by reading the Christmas story.
Another stranger arrives and reveals that he represents a church from a neighboring county that has offered to help the town. Everyone celebrates over this offer of help. Finally Nan and Johnny figure out what is really a True Christmas.
Worship Leader
This weekend, our Adult Worship Choir will be presenting "A True Christmas." It's a wonderful story that shares the true meaning of Christmas: our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
We'll offer five shows, all of them absolutely FREE. There will be an evening show beginning at 7:30 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We also will be presenting two matinees on Saturday and Sunday, both at 3:00. Doors open an hour before the performances.
We hope that you can make it, and that more importantly you'll bring a neighbor or friend who doesn't know what Jesus did for them on the cross!
Below is a short synopsis of the musical. Enjoy!
The story takes place in a small North Carolina town in the year 1872. Twelve year old Nan and her best friend Johnny are headed up to Herbert Morgan’s new barn. A fire has destroyed his old barn, so the men of the town are building Herbert a new dairy barn. A time of celebration at the barn raising is followed by the local school teacher, Rose, using the barn as a class room. When Christmas eve arrives, the local preacher, Sam Moore, also decides the barn would be a good place to hold the evening service. As the service ends, word comes that the Womack River, running through the center of town, has overflowed its banks and all the homes are soon to be flooded. The new barn proves to be a Godsend for the town as they are all forced to take refuge there, the only structure built on high ground. Meanwhile, Sam finds out Rose’s secret.
Later as the town is gathered inside, a stranger arrives proving to be the estranged brother of Nan’s father, Thomas. This brother, Sterling, had chosen to fight for the north while the youngest brother, Henry, had fought for the south and had been killed in battle. The brothers' initial meeting does not go well and there seems to be no hope for reconciliation.
As everyone anxiously waits for word on the flood, Johnny decides to go climb an old tree to be able to see the entire town. The tree is wet and Nan follows, warning Johnny about the tree. Sterling sees the children leave for the tree and follows. When the local Representative, Jubal, warns everyone that the tree is about to fall, other towns folk leave to save the children. The tree does fall and while Nan is saved by her Uncle Sterling, Johnny is brought in with a head injury. In the panic that follows, Bess and Herbert Morgan are faced with the dilemma of where to find a Doctor. Rose had once studied medicine but has mysteriously returned home to teach school. Bess persuades Rose to help Johnny and she reluctantly reveals the she is a certified Doctor and performs the needed surgery on Johnny. The surgery is successful and Thomas and Sterling reconcile. The town rejoices and prepares to celebrate Christmas by reading the Christmas story.
Another stranger arrives and reveals that he represents a church from a neighboring county that has offered to help the town. Everyone celebrates over this offer of help. Finally Nan and Johnny figure out what is really a True Christmas.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Resonate
Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor
I wanted to share a few quotes with you today from Kevin J. Vanhoozer.
The Collins English Dictionary defines resonance as "the sound produced by a body vibrating in sympathy with a neighboring source of sound." I think this concept has a lot of wonderful implications for the church!
Listen to what Vanhoozer writes:
Children/Communications Pastor
I wanted to share a few quotes with you today from Kevin J. Vanhoozer.
The Collins English Dictionary defines resonance as "the sound produced by a body vibrating in sympathy with a neighboring source of sound." I think this concept has a lot of wonderful implications for the church!
Listen to what Vanhoozer writes:
The faithful church resonates the Word of God to the extent that it continues to sound deeply and clearly the divine voice speaking in its holy script. . . . Resonance is not repetition. To live biblically is not to re-create the past but to resonate in the present. The church 'resounds' to God's glory not by replicating the self-same sound again but by filling space and time with booming echoing sympathetic vibrations--sound and shock waves from the big bang of resurrection.What a metaphor for our church! Let us resonate the Word of God in our present context as we hold out the Word of Life to our community and urge people to be reconciled to God. Let us set off some "shock waves from the big bang of resurrection" in Apex!
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