An Open Door...

After Thoughts & Other Thoughts – Sunday, May 22, 2011: Rev. Dr. Younsook Kang “Courage to Lead” –Nehemiah 8:1 - 10

On Sunday, Youngsook mentioned the work of Ronald A. Heifetz and had wanted to share part of a video clip of his. The clip she wanted to use was eight minutes long which was too long for the message time. So she told us the story instead.

Ronald Heifetz is co-founder of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and is known worldwide for his seminal work on the practice and teaching of leadership. The excerpt Youngsook wanted to use is from an address given on Oct. 14, 2008, at the Convocation & Pastors School at Duke Divinity School. Here is the link to the video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSZId1VlYxc. If this link doesn’t work for you, go to YouTube.com and do a search for Ronald Heifetz. Several clips will come up. This clip is easy to find because it is over an hour long and is titled “Leadership, Adaptability and Thriving.” Enjoy!

After Thoughts and Other Thoughts –Sunday May 15, 2011: “When I Was Your Age” Mark 13:11; Acts 4:13 & I Timothy 4:11 – 14

On Sunday, while Shane sang and Kirby played his cello, Hanna’s choreography walked us through the lyrics of the Switchfoot song, Only Hope. I did not want to split our attention from the worship experience being created for us by putting the words of the song on the power point screen. So today, I give them to us. In these words, we are given the opportunity to join our hearts together to say that we too find our hope in Jesus and want to be his:

There's a song that's inside of my soul
It's the one that I've tried to write over and over again
I'm awake in the infinite cold
But You sing to me over and over again

So I lay my head back down
And I lift my hands
And pray to be only Yours
I pray to be only Yours
I know now You're my only hope

Sing to me of the song of the stars
Of Your galaxy dancing and laughing and laughing again
When it feels like my dreams are so far
Sing to me of the plans that You have for me over again

And I lay my head back down
And I lift my hands
And pray to be only Yours
I pray to be only Yours
I know now You're my only hope

I give You my apathy
I'm giving You all of me
I want Your symphony
Singing in all that I am
At the top of my lungs I'm giving it back

And I lay my head back down
And I lift my hands
And pray to be only Yours
I pray to be only Yours
I pray to be only Yours
I know now You're my only hope

After Thoughts & Other Thoughts –Sunday, May 8, 2011: Tell Them – Deuteronomy 6:1 – 9

FYI—Below are the four scriptures that are put into the phylacteries we talked about on Sunday. Each passage speaks about putting the words on the doorposts, hands and foreheads as a sign to remember that the LORD's mighty hand had brought them out of Egypt:

Exodus 13: 1 – 10 (TNIV)

1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.” 3 Then Moses said to the people, “Commemoratethis day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the LORD brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast. 4 Today, in the month of Aviv, you are leaving. 5 When the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites—the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey—you are to observe this ceremony in this month: 6 For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a festival to the LORD. 7 Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders. 8 On that day tell your children, ‘I do this because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9 This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that this law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For the LORD brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand. 10 You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time year after year.

Exodus 13:11 – 16 (TNIV)

11 “After the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your ancestors, 12 you are to give over to the LORD the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD. 13 Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons. 14 “In days to come, when your children ask you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to them, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’ 16 And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the LORD brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.”

Deuteronomy 6:4 – 9 (TNIV)

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.[a] 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 11:13 - 21

13 So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the LORD your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul— 14 then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. 15 I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. 16 Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. 17 Then the LORD’s anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the LORD is giving you. 18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.

(Information found at http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=290&letter=P)

After Thoughts & Other Thoughts -- Sunday, May 1, 2011: Easter Emotions—Luke 24:1 – 12

Yesterday, we looked at the emotions surrounding the Easter accounts in the Gospel of Luke. There were some pretty strong ones flying around: grief/sadness, fright/terror, wondering/pondering the events, disbelief, doubt, amazement, AND joy…GREAT joy.

And yet a day out of the sermon, I'm thinking the emotion that is foundational to Easter is love.

When I say ‘love’, I mean ‘love’ as in God’s great love for us…I mean Jesus’ great love for us…AND I mean our love for Jesus. At 9:00 a.m. worship we sing:

“There is name I love to hear, I love to sing its worth;

it sounds like music in my ear, the sweetest name on earth…

It tells of one whose loving heart can feel my deepest woe;

who in each sorrow bears a part that none can bear below.

O how I love Jesus O how I love Jesus,

O how I love Jesus, because he first loved me!”

--Frederick Whitfield, 1855

At 11:00 a.m. worship, we sing these words from the pen of Tim Hughes:

“Wonderful, so wonderful Is Your unfailing love

Your cross has spoken mercy over me

No eye has seen, no ear has heard,

No heart could fully know

How glorious, how beautiful you are!

Beautiful One I love You

Beautiful One I adore

Beautiful One my soul must sing…”

May our love for Jesus continue to grow and deepen…