7/30 Fire: Growing Through Struggle and Pain - looking at the fact that struggles, pain and hardship are a part of life. There not a sign that you're doing something wrong, or you don't have enough faith. And Christianity doesn't answer all our questions and make us comfortable and happy. But our faith does give us a context for living...and we realize that "our light, momentary afflictions are preparing us for an eternal weight of glory." (2 Cor. 4:17)We're thinking we'll do a creative service on this one - not a gathering with a specific message/teacher.
Creative:
Explaining the God is a potter we are the clay image with Liz unpacking it and maybe even throwing some pottery during the service.
Some sort of testimony or rough stuff happening to someone - maybe Tim?
Music:
A lot of Rich Mullins songs apply: Bound to Come Some Trouble,
Verge of a Miracle, The Agony and the Glory, Damascus Road.
Refiners Fire
Potter's Hands
Movies:
Magnolia
Rocky Balboa trailer
Dumb and Dumber (two people that don't have a whole lot going for them but are still happy)
8/6 Bread: Learning a Raw Reliance on God - talking about the Jews wandering around in the desert and how they learned to depend so desperately on God. How are we like this today? What distracts us from sensing our dependence on God? Why are we so resistant to be vulnerable? How can we live lives of raw reliance on God?Creative:
Either challenge people to fast beforehand and break the fast on Sunday evening with some bread or challenge them to fast the week after to experience a small part of relying on God.
Music:
If You Want to Go Back to Egypt - Keith Green
Again - we could use a lot of ideas so post away!
4 comments:
I had an idea for a song for the bread/raw reliance on God service: while this is not my usual, perfered genre of music, i heard this song on the radio and it definitely made me think of desperate dependence. It is by Angels and Airwaves and the song is "The Adventure". While I typically don't like "punk-y" music I am kind of a sucker for semi-epic musical introductions with hints of orchestral synthesizer noises. Maybe everyone else has heard this song a million times before and I've been listening to too much community radio but here are the lyrics:
I wanna have the same last dream again,
the one where I wake up and I'm alive.
Just as the four walls close me within,
my eyes are opened up with pure sunlight.
I'm the first to know,
my dearest friends,
even if your hope has burned with time,
anything that's dead shall be re-grown,
and your vicious pain, your warning sign,
you will be fine.
Hey, oh, here I am,
and here we go, life's waiting to begin.
Any type of love - it will be shown,
like every single tree reach for the sky.
If you're gonna fall,
I'll let you know,
that I will pick you up
like you for I,
I felt this thing,
I can't replace.
Where everyone was working for this goal.
Where all the children left without a trace,
only to come back, as pure as gold,
To recite this all.
Hey, oh, here I am,
and here we go, life's waiting to begin.
Tonight,
hey, oh, here I am,
and here we go, life's waiting to begin.
Tonight,
hey, oh, here I am,
and here we go, life's waiting to begin.
I cannot live, I can't breathe
unless you do this with me
I cannot live, I can't breathe
unless you do this with me
I cannot live, I can't breathe
unless you do this with me
I cannot live, I can't breathe
unless you do this with me
I cannot live, I can't breathe
unless you do this with me
I cannot live, I can't breathe
unless you do this with me
Hey, oh, here I am (do this with me),
and here we go, life's waiting to begin (do this with me).
Hey, oh, here I am (do this with me).
And here we go, life's waiting to begin,
life's waiting to begin
so thats just an idea -- Linsey
I also just discovered you can listen to the song with the music video for free on their website just click on "the adventure"
http://www.angelsandairwaves.com/
Hah! I tricked you all. This is actually Liz.
About the pottery, it is a great example of being "shaped" because you have to beat it quite a bit before it is ready to throw. If you don't there could be air pockets and those explode in the kiln. So I suppose it is in everyone's best interest, even the pot's. Not to mention it won't center on the wheel, which is essential. It is actually quite a work out for the person beating it too, so maybe it is hard for God in some ways.
Anyway.
I doubt we could actually have someone throwing a pot (too messy and no wheel that I know of), but maybe you could just have the sound effect of someone wedging or beating the clay at various points in the service. Maybe have the sound while images of things are up on the screen. Images of things that have become beautiful after a process. Like butterflies, or Silver, or Hand blown glass, interspersed with pictures of individuals... maybe even of us?
oh and ryan says the worship song "Breathe" as in "this is the air I breathe". Perhaps the clay wedging sounds could be the intro to that song. I would be happy to help any way I can. -Liz
Liz wanted me to post that she didn't care for the song: When I Think About the Lord at all. It made her think of children's choir. It felt very old unkown hymny to her and that maybe it wasn't well known for a reason. Obviously not everyone is going to like every song but she wanted to get this discussion out there.
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