Christianity

EMBODIED :: Postures of Prayer & Praise #1, Hands Raised

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Postures of Prayer & Praise are
“outer representations of an inner reality”

Exploring: Hands Raised in Praise, Prayer & Petition

I Kings 8:22-23 – Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven and said: “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.”

Solomon is 1st giving words of praise to God; 2nd witnessing in front of everyone; and 3rd remembering God’s covenant of love.

I Timothy 2:8 – Therefore I want people everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing.

Here we find hands raised in prayer, and note that it is to be without anger or dispute in your heart. Continue reading

Moving Creatively Through Lent

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Yesterday I posted information on a new series called EMBODIED that starts this Friday, February 16th and goes through Good Friday. Embodied is a 7 week-long exploration of postures of praise & prayer to help us move mindfully through the Lenten season. I will be posting one posture each week (on Friday) to take us through the season of Lent.

In addition, to further help us move through Lent creatively, I will also be posting from the previously featured  “7” Virtual Art-Walk series each week on Wednesdays throughout Lent, as well as reflections from our church’s Lenten sermon series on Monday of each week. The 7 Virtual Art-Walk includes the artwork of Matt Durbin, the poetry of Sarah Wells, and music that all focus on the last 7 words of Christ spoken from the cross. And our church (5 Stones Community Church) will be working with passages throughout Ephesians to help us prayerfully remember and reflect on Jesus during this season. Continue reading

An Open Letter to the Other Side of the Aisle: a meditation on John 4

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“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. (John 4:19-22)

Dear Hymn-Singer on the Other Side of the Aisle, Continue reading

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #251 — Nativity Shadow Dance

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Screen Shot 2015-12-05 at 11.44.45 PMWe are nearing the end of our Create-A-Day 2015 posts. As we wind down, I want to leave you with a shadow dance to “O Magnum Mysterium” sung live for CHRISTmas Eve 2013 at Northland Church in Longwood, Florida. Such BEaUty!!

“O Magnum Mysterium” written & arranged by Morten Lauridsen

Original Text:
O magnum mysterium,
et admirabile sacramentum,
ut animalia viderent Dominum natum,
jacentem in praesepio!
Beata Virgo, cujus viscera
meruerunt portare
Dominum Christum. Alleluia. Continue reading

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #250 — Infinite Windows

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Infinite Windows

I trust you had a blessed CHRISTmas holiday as you celebrated the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Did you know in traditional Christian church tradition, CHRISTmas lasts through Epiphany on January 6th? As we wind down from the CHRISTmas holiday weekend, let us remember that Jesus came both to LIVE as God among us (Incarnation) and to DIE as the final atoning sacrifice (Salvation). He is both Lion and Lamb, Alpha and Omega, Healer and Savior, Infant Babe and Victorious King!

Today let me refer you to an October post on Infinite Windows, a blog with meditations on faith and art. This post describes a powerful encounter the writer recently had with a piece of artwork at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. The painting was Caravaggio’s Christ Crowned with Thorns, and it depicts Roman soldiers forcing the crown of thorns upon Jesus’ head. I am often astonished by the power of art to bring us into life-changing encounters and memories of God’s redemptive power, grace and love. Continue reading

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #246 — Are you still Waiting?

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Are you WAITING with intention? Are you slowing down? Are you remembering to breathe?

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Create-A-Day #242: ADVENTure Prayer Walk 4 — Love & Joseph

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Advent BabyJesus strawADVENTure is a self-directed prayer walk pondering the true meaning of Christmas. You can read all about it here, as well as learn how you can do this as interactive prayer walk for your church or ministry.

This Sunday, December 20th is the fourth Sunday of Advent. As we consider the true meaning of CHRISTmas we light our fourth candle of the Advent Wreath; the Candle of LOVE and we think of Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, the man who raised a child that wasn’t his.

Candle of Love: Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus

Read: Matthew 1:18-25

Meditation:

This passage tells us that Joseph was a righteous man. While he was probably disappointed when he first found out Mary was with child, God’s direction gave him reassurance. He walked in that reassurance and raised Jesus as his own son.

Now was Joseph simply obedient or did he grow to love Mary and her son Jesus? As a righteous man, a man of God, I believe he grew to love them both.

Matthew 13:35 tells us that Joseph was a carpenter. As Jesus’ earthly father, he would have taught his son his trade. They spent their days working side by side. Learning to build and hewn and nail.

Advent JosephChild

by Jose Ortega

Thirty years later, a cross would be hewn and built from wood and nails were used to secure the hands and feet of Christ to that cross. The carpenter’s son crucified. Continue reading

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #241 — Hallelujah! a Son is Born!

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If you’ve not heard Cloverton’s CHRISTmas version of Hallelujah, I hope you find it as touching as I did the first time I heard it. Always loved the original music but these words, completely turn it into a wonderful song of worship. Be blessed!

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #235 — Pastors’ Day Off

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S x cookie famI’m going to jump up on a soapbox a bit today. As a preacher’s kid and having been involved in pastoral ministry myself, I want to speak to Sabbath rest and family time for your pastoral, ministerial and church staff at the holidays.

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #228 — The Advent Door

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S x wreathThe Advent Door is the blog of artist, author and minister Jan Richardson. For several years now Jan has posted weekly Advent meditations with her artwork and poetry. The meditations are based on each year’s lectionary cycle. You can sift down through the posts and be inspired by her BEaUtiful artwork and thoughtful poetry, just make sure you hit ‘older posts’ at the bottom to continue down through the posts she has made over the years. She has much to share to take us through the CHRISTmas season. Resource ideas for corporate or personal worship — a great way to prayerfully and intentionally move through the season. Continue reading

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #226 — Advent Media Resources

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Slide1Need Advent and CHRISTmas resources for your church or ministry this coming season? Don’t forget Worship House Media, Sermon Spice, or Share Faith for everything from still images to whole video packages for Advent! Search “Advent” or “Christmas” and you’ll find tons of great resources to add creativity to your worship! Continue reading

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #129 — Free Indeed!

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Koren War Vet Mem

The Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington DC makes this powerful statement:

Freedom is not free.

Take a moment, look at these images, and consider the cost.

Count the Cost

What did your freedom cost the young man above?

Natnl Cem

What did your freedom cost the men, the women, the families represented by the more than 285,000 headstones at Arlington National Cemetery?

From the American Revolution to the current situation in the Middle East, have you considered the cost paid for your freedom?

Don’t ever forget!

And don’t forget the cost paid by Jesus Christ as he took your sin to the cross and was buried in the tomb. Continue reading

Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #114 — Who You Are

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photo by Joe Pelletier

photo by Joe Pelletier

Today’s post is dedicated to my son Evan in celebration of his birthday! You are Evan Godfrey, Young Warrior of God’s Peace! You are my amazing son! You are GOD’S amazing SON!

Who You Are: A Message to All Men

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #106 — Fun in Your Creativity

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Conducting1From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise! (Matt 21:16)

When I first saw this video I was first struck by this boy’s exuberance, then by his uncanny metronome-like sense of meter and timing, and then by his knowledge of this intricate piece of music. And then, of course, on the shear fun and laughter of it all! He is filled with energy and life as he conducts his imaginary orchestra! He captures the nuances of the dynamics of the song as it swells and collapses back down to near silence!

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Create-A-Day, your daily dose of creativity, edition#100 — Willow Creek Drama

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We’ve made it to 100 creative resources!!

Referring you on over to Willow Creek Association today. They have a variety of creative resources to assist you in planning worship services. You can search for creative ideas by keyword. I have found some compelling dramas there. Both scripts and videos are available for the dramas, and most allow you to preview them.

Willow CreekWant to refer you to a specific drama today entitled “Let Go” with Ingrid DeSanctis. Paired with the song “Open Up,” It’s about letting go of the baggage in our lives. You can watch the drama by clicking the link above.

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #92 — 100 Books on Worship

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W worship heartSummer is fast approaching, and for those of you who look for books to read over the summer, have I got a resource for you!

Worship the Rock blog has compiled an extensive list of 100 Books on Worship. Although it’s geared towards worship leaders, there are many titles on this list for everyone! I can tell you as a worship leader myself, many of these are the books we would love our congregations to be reading right alongside us!

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #83 — Faith & Form

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Austrian churchFaith and Form is a journal that explores the intersections of religion, art and architecture. In 2014, they awarded 32 structures their International Award for Religious Art & Architecture. Check out pictures of all the award winners here:

Worship Spaces of Artistry, Creativity & Beauty

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #77 — Gospel Singing Tips

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MicrophoneEver wish you had a better singing voice? We all know God’s Word says to lift a joyful noise unto the Lord, but we sometimes wish our joyful didn’t sound so off-pitch!

Enjoy this article complete with tips on How to Sing Gospel from Vocal Singing Tips. Then practice along with this live version of Tasha Cobbs singing Break Every Chain:

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #54 — Paradosi Ballet

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paradosiballetcompany.com

paradosiballetcompany.com

Paradosi Ballet Company shares the Love of Christ through dance, drama and personal witness. The first professional ballet company in the Pacific Northwest, they serve under the direction of Joel and Tennille Carver.

This is the company performing “Amazing Grace” in Avignon, France. I love the backdrop of BEaUtiful architecture behind them!

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Create-A-Day: your daily dose of creativity #51 — Creative Ideas for Easter Worship

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Need some fresh ideas for Easter at your church or for your ministry? Here’s a list of Creative Worship Settings and Elements from The Worship Closet: The Place for Creative Worship Ideas. It also includes ideas for Mission Projects. Lots of great ideas! Happy hunting!

worshipcloset.com

worshipcloset.com

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