on the walk

Just wanted to let my faithful readers know that I am traveling for a couple days and may not have access to post.  I’ll be back by Monday.

I was asked by a friend to be one of many people to write a letter to her son who is about to turn 18 and graduate from High School. I did not feel up the task and did not have enough time to give it what it deserved. Nevertheless, I did write something and since it was written, I decided to share it here. Continue Reading »

I have been putting off this post. There has been plenty to write about, so I could pretend that I have just been busy. But that would not be the whole truth. I have been putting off this post. As we work our way through Mark we have come to chapter 11 and we already talked about the temple as a house of prayer, and I for one was stunned by the power of that text which appeared after I went back and read the texts being quoted there. If you missed it, it is probably better than this post will be so you should check it out.

Let’s start by looking at the text. Continue Reading »

I have realized that perhaps the titles of these sermon reflection posts needs some explanation. (To hear the sermons upon which I am reflecting, go here.) Many of the hippest playgrounds these days not only have tire swings and ladders, but they also have a soft squishy surface that is made from shredded tires.

My first reflection this week does not come specifically from the sermon or even the specific topic. (Although I have a few of those coming.) Rather I have a general reflection on recycling. Most recycling involves destruction. Turning an old tire into a tire swing is not very destructive, but to turn it into a play surface involves at the very least, shredding the tire into little pieces. Recycling paper involves shredding it, and soaking it in water and mixing it with chemicals and mashing it back together.

In Douglas Adams wonderful book Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Ford Prefect describes traveling through hyperspace as “Unpleasantly like being drunk.” Aurthur dent replies, “What is so unpleasant about being drunk?” Prefect deadpans, “Ask a glass of water.” Continue Reading »

The blog Out of Ur has a helpful reminder today to practice what we preach. You can check it out here.

on the walk

-Ethan

I have come to believe that the most significant influence on the theological understanding of most Christians is the lyrics of Christian worship music. These are the words that we repeat again and again. They are memorized and the power of memorized words affects us both consciously and subconsciously.

It is for this reason that I do not envy the difficult task of choosing songs for worship each week. It seems to me that there is little a preacher can do to overcome the damage that a poorly written piece of special music might do. Very few people will walk out and hum a sermon all week. Continue Reading »

My second reflection on the sermon this week is more generally on the topic of recycling. (To check out the sermon go here.)

As I have been watching Ben pick up items of trash and move them from the trash pile to the recycling bin, I have had a few thoughts rise to my mind. One is this, what about the person who doesn’t think they have any trash. Continue Reading »

At the end of our staff meeting, our executive pastor shared the following blessing. I was reminded how dangerous it is to prayer the will of God. I always feel safe when I pray the selfish prayers that are my habit, but when I am confronted with a prayer that so expresses the example of Christ and the values of God, I realize that prayer is dangerous. To pray “thy will be done” as a follower of one who was sent by God to die is a truly dangerous thing. Continue Reading »

John Sarno (one of the members of Mountain’s worhsip arts staff) has a blog that usually talks about his travels and ministry in Austria. However lately he has been writing about the new venue at mountain.

In one of his recent reflections, he talks about our new venue service, but what really captured my attention was his musing at the end of the post about who is a worship leader. Continue Reading »

[Note: Don’t forget that you can see this whole series by clicking on the category links.]

It has a been a few days since the last post in this series, so to remind us and to catch up those who are new, this series is an attempt to looks at Jesus’ teaching and modeling of prayer. In the gospel of Mark we have so far seen Jesus model prayer but not really any direct teaching on prayer. That changes in chapter 11. Continue Reading »