10w for January 6th, Baptismal Fruit, EpNL.

The following is a 10 minute worship for January 6th, Baptismal Fruit, EpNL. You can either listen on the flash player below or download it to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player by clicking on "DOWNLOAD" or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our email list" or on your phone by texting 10W to 22828. The song for the day is,"Baptized" by the Jay Beech Band from the CD "One Body Alive"  which can be purchased HERE

10w for January 6th, Magi visit Ep.

The following is a 10 minute worship for January 6th, Magi visit Ep. You can either listen on the flash player below or download it to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player by clicking on "DOWNLOAD" or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our email list" or on your phone by texting 10W to 22828. The song for the day is,"We Three Kings" by Lorie Line from the CD "Sharing the Season, Vol. 2"  which can be purchased HERE

10w for January 1st, the Name of Jesus

The following is a 10 minute worship for January 1st, the Name of Jesus. You can either listen on the flash player below or download it to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player by clicking on "DOWNLOAD" or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our email list" or on your phone by texting 10W to 22828. The song for the day is,"How Majestic is your Name" by the Harding University Concert Choir from the CD "the Greatest Commands"  which can be purchased HERE

Poem for The Name of Jesus Luke 2:21

Sally, Joe, Abdul, Rebecca and Juan

all names

all given to the ones new born

on their day

Names

that in time invoke an image

of who they are

and what they have done

in this world

Names

that speak of love

----------------- hate

----------------- worry and fear

Names that speak of a promise spoken

I will be your God

and you will be my people

Names like any other names

yet special

because of who they speak of

before time

one name was given

a name of love

a name of change

a name of hope

and at the sound of this name every knee shall bow

that name

Jesus

like another name

except

it changed who we

and

the Sallys, Joes, Abduls, Rebeccas and Juans

of this world

will forever be,

the children of God

Poem for Epiphany Matthew 2:1-12

For those who know these things

who study the signs

---- that they might know

what is

---- and is to come

Yes

---- even they

---- who could see the handwriting in the stars

Came

---- in search of the one foretold

---- the one who would make

---- all the searching

-------- yearning

------------ seeing

---- complete

The Heavens told them

This was the Messiah

---- the Christ

-------- the Prince of Peace

In a world longing so

------------------ for Peace

This was to be the one

Who would make all the Herods

---- in their quest for

-------- Peace

-------- (Law and Order at any Cost)

-------- and Tranquility

-------- (Change must not come too quickly

--------------------------------------- and upset

-------- the systems that fill my pockets)

lords

---- of only kingdoms

granted them in this world

-------- by the people

------------who wish to have security

------------ made up of the

------------------------------ bits

--------------------------------- and

-------------------------------------- pieces

-------------------------------------------- of

------------------------------------------------- human

------------------- Destruction

Into this came

-------------- and comes

the Kingdom

----- of the one who brings Peace

-------------------------- Shalom

-------------- even to the Herods

This Messiah

----- Born under the star

was here

Breaking into all the might

---------------------------- wisdom

----------------------------------- Power

---------- of this world

--------- with the seemingly helpless

--------------------------------------------- cry

--------------------------------------------------of a baby

turn off your own glare

Sunday, January 6^th, Isaiah 60: “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. ² See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. ³ Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.  The days are getting longer here and by now we might know if we are going over the fiscal cliff… maybe not.  When people live in darkness, that little bit of extra light means a lot.  In our lives a little bit of extra light can also mean a lot.  Most of us however do not suffer from living in the darkness, but rather from living in the fake glow of our own manufactured light.  During the last election cycle there was a phrase bantered about, “You didn’t build that.”  It turned out to be an embarrassment for those who tried to use it in a negative way by saying “We built that” as most of them had received some sort of help, usually from the government, in building this very thing they were so proud of building.  The truth is that we are all both interdependent with one another and dependent on God for the gracious gifts bestowed upon us.  The light is shining, time to turn off your own glare and turn your face to the glories of God, for it is in that light that we begin to see one another.  

little fiefdom

Monday, January 7^th, Isaiah 60: ⁴ “Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip. ⁵ Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. ⁶ Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the Lord. Lift up your eyes and come, come to the Lord, come to the grace of God, come to the aid of one another and live, truly live.  This description reminds me of a great musical where the masses of the people come sauntering forth with baskets and babies on the hip, tools in hand, singing for joy at the top of their lungs.  In a world where we all work together, this would be closer to the reality.  Just think of the cost of greed and power grabs and the “isms” in this world.  The lives, the time, the energy, the innovation devoted to destruction is destroying us and our world.   Is this really God’s intent for a people created in the image of God and called good? Or should we as the children of God strive to build a world in which the masses come from the east and the west, the north and the south, singing and helping one another build a better world for all?  All that gets in the way is our own little greedy attempts to build our own little fiefdom and keep God out.  

only rainbow of beauty

Tuesday, January 8^th, Ephesians 3:  ² Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, ³ that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. ⁴ In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, ⁵ which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. ⁶ This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. In the time of Paul, the boundary crossing of seeing the blessings and grace of God being extended to both Jews and Gentiles was earth shattering.  In our day, most of us are still trying to get our heads around that one.  But does God stop there?  What other boundaries is God asking us to tear down?  What other walls have we set up to keep “them” out because surely God made a mistake when they were created?  Wait, stop, think about it.  If God is God, then surely those created different from ourselves are not a mistake of God.  Perhaps the obstacle all along is our ability to love one another cross borders.   When we learn to accept that those who love differently, worship differently, speak differently, eat differently, laugh and play and work differently are too created in the image of God and called good, then perhaps we can begin to grasps the “mystery of Christ.”  The Mystery is that from God’s point of view, there are no boundaries; there is only a rainbow of beauty.  

we are the church

Wednesday, January 9^th, Ephesians 3: ⁷ I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. ⁸ Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, ⁹ and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. ¹⁰ His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, ¹¹ according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹² In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. The wonderful song by the Jay Beech Band, (http://www.baytonemusic.com/) “The Church Song” has as a refrain, “We are the Church, the body of our Lord, we are all God’s children and we have been restored.”  This is a reminder that the church is us, you and I.  According to Paul, we are to make known the manifold wisdom of God to rulers and authorities.  And according to Paul, that manifold wisdom is that all may approach God with freedom and confidence.  All too often we as the church have tried to be gate keepers and fence builders rather than gate openers.  All are welcome into the kingdom of God, All!!!!  Our job is to let the world know this wonderful gift from God and to call humanity to start acting toward each other now in a way that befits the fact that we are brothers and sisters in the family of God and will be for all eternity.  

All of Jerusalem?

Thursday, January 10^th, Matthew 2: After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” ³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.  I have been intrigued by that third verse.  On the one hand, the idea of Herod being disturbed is understandable.  What he was facing was his own worst nightmare, a potential threat to this throne, at least in his mind.  For Herod, even the slightest threat to his throne and power were met with force and death.  He even had two of his children killed because he thought they might want to take over from the old man someday. But the part that intrigues me is that all of Jerusalem was disturbed with him.  Systems were in place and the status quo was established and the haves and the have not’s knew who they were and what rules were to be played by.  Oh, how we hate to have the preverbal apple cart overturned.   In our nation we have been on a thirty to forty year run on trickle-down economics, everyone knows how it works and everyone knows that as more and more floats to the top, fewer and fewer crumbs fall to the rest of the world.  Not much different than under Herod.  But it is the way it works and most are happy with the security of knowing what tomorrow might bring even if what it brings is more bad news.  Into this comes the Prince of Peace, the Light of the World, the Messiah who commands even loyalty from those far outside the language, culture and religion of Jerusalem, the Magi from the east.  How does this Christ, this Messiah coming into the world threaten our status quo?  In what ways are we too, right along with Herod and all of Jerusalem, threatened by this one who would call us to love one another?  

status quo?

Friday, January 11^th, Matthew 2: ⁴ When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: ⁶ “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ⁷ Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”  The one seen as a threat to the status quo of Herod and all of Jerusalem is to be born in Bethlehem, the backwoods little town outside of Jerusalem.  Today it is surrounded by a prison wall thirty feet high, with guard towers and armed guards.  Today, the power of the status quo in Jerusalem remains intact and the public is let in to see this birth of Jesus spot only when it is good economics for the status quo of Jerusalem.  How could they do that you ask?  With money and support from you and I is the answer.  The construction of the prison wall around the birth place of the savior was paid for with U.S. dollars.  On the inside of the wall is a graffiti sign that says, “American dollars, Israeli Apartheid.”   Two thousand years later, we are still on the side of Herod.

follow the light

Saturday, January 12^th, Matthew 2: ⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.  When they left, they went home by a different route.  We too, when we encounter the messiah, the love of God poured into the world, find our lives changing course.  The best laid plans of mice and men go by the wayside and the path to the fulfillment of this love and grace in the world is by another route.  As we move on into the light of 2013, where will this different route take us?  Or will we simply go back to Jerusalem and Herod and life as usual?  Follow the star, follow the light, follow the Christ, and let the love of God lead you on a different route, one that is filled with love.  

10w for December 30th, Depart in Peace, C1NL

The following is a 10 minute worship for December 30th, Depart in Peace, C1NL. You can either listen on the flash player below or download it to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player by clicking on "DOWNLOAD" or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our email list" or on your phone by texting 10W to 22828. The song for the day is,"I Lift My Eyes" by Dakota Road from the CD "Love Can Break Through" which can be purchased HERE

10w for December 30th, Young Jesus, C1.

The following is a 10 minute worship for December 30th, Young Jesus, C1.  You can either listen on the flash player below or download it to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player by clicking on "DOWNLOAD" or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our email list" or on your phone by texting 10W to 22828. The song for the day is,"One Small Child" by the Women of Faith Worship Team from the CD "Total Worship Experience" which can be purchased HERE

Poem for 1st Sunday after Christmas Luke 2:41-52

Did you not know?

After all the praise on high

after all the promise heard

of this one

------ the Messiah?

Did you not know

the presence of God in this your son?

Do we not know

who have heard the end of the story

who have seen the salvation of God?

Do we not know

and do we relegate this the Christ

to the role of a child in our lives

to be brought forth only

when it is to our liking?

How could Mary not know after all she had heard?

How could we

and not head the call?

Come let us walk in the way of the Lord

and hear anew

all the promise given

and the Praise on High

in the new year of our lives

Opening Litany based on Psalm 148

Pastor: Praise the LORD from the heavens, and in the heights above.  Praise the LORD, all angels and heavenly hosts.

Congregation: Praise the LORD, sun and moon and shining stars. Praise, you highest heavens and waters above the skies.

Pastor: Let everyone and everything praise the name of the LORD, for the LORD spoke and they were created. The LORD set them in place for ever and ever and gave a decree that will never pass away.

Congregation: Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding.

Pastor: Praise the LORD you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds.

Congregation: Praise the LORD all you kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth, young men and maidens, old men and children.

Pastor: Let them praise the name of the LORD, for the LORD alone is exalted; and the LORD’s splendor is above the earth and the heavens.

Congregation: The LORD has raised up for all people a voice through the praise of the saints, and the people close to the heart of God. Praise the LORD.

keep it good

Sunday December 30^th, Psalm 148: Shout praises to the LORD! Shout the LORD's praises in the highest heavens. All of you angels, and all who serve him above, come and offer praise.  Sun and moon, and all of you bright stars, come and offer praise. Highest heavens, and the water above the highest heavens, come and offer praise. Let all things praise the name of the LORD, because they were created at his command. All of creation, all of God’s handiwork, all of the quarks and dark matter, your mother and father, your children born and the great great ones yet to come you will never see, all this and more (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/17/tour-of-the-known-univers_n_396287.html)  is the handiwork of the Lord.  Sometimes it is easy to forget that.  The human original sin of self-centeredness and wanting to be god with a little “g” always brings us back to ourselves.  We are the center of the Lord’s handiwork, we are the center of all people, we are the center of all creation.  It feels good for a moment, but it is wrong.  The Lord created all creation and said it was good.  Our job is to help keep it good.  

Care for it

Monday December 31^st, Psalm 148:  The Lord made them to last forever, and nothing can change what he has done.  All creatures on earth, you obey his commands, so come praise the LORD! Sea monsters and the deep sea, fire and hail, snow and frost, and every stormy wind, come praise the LORD! All mountains and hills, fruit trees and cedars, every wild and tame animal, all reptiles and birds, come praise the LORD! Every king and every ruler, all nations on earth, every man and every woman, young people and old, come praise the LORD! All creation, come praise the name of the LORD.  The West Antartic is melting twice as fast as previously thought http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/23/west-antarctica-warming-climate-change_n_2356287.html   When we look at the endangered species list, or the list of the many forms of life that are no longer endangered because they no longer exist, we can only imagine the sadness of the Lord who created them and called them good.  I know some are natural changes; life would be a bit difficult with T-Rex running around.  But let’s get real, the Dodo bird never hurt anyone.  Maybe the compromises in climate change talks and legislation seem like good logical compromises between and our economy and God’s creation, but then again maybe we are just using our economy the same way the people used the golden calf while Moses was up on the mountain, our attempt once again to stick our head in the sand and pretend that Our world as we have created it will be just fine.  Perhaps our sin, our idolatry, is thinking that that our economy is more important than some life form we have learned to exploit yet.  Perhaps it exists only because God wants it that way, and that should be good enough. The opponents of climate change legislation of the world point to the snow or cold in Anchorage as proof that there is no global warming.  In the meantime profits and pollution both flow upward and kill the rest of us little by little.  God looks at what we have done and does not call it good.  

surround

Tuesday January 1^st,  Colossians 3:  12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. As we move into a New Year and a new decade, let us, as the children of God, try to live by this simple phrase.  Clothe yourselves with compassion for those in need, kindness to others, humility in how you see yourself and gentleness and patience in your dealing with one another.  Be forgiving always as God has forgiven you, for the lack of such virtues is the source of war and killing.  Concern yourself less with what the other has done wrong and more with what you can do better and surround everything in life with love.  

on the other side

Wednesday January 2^nd, Colossians 3: 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Imagine that!!!  Since we are members of one body, we are called to live in peace.  A building divided cannot stand, a nation divided cannot stand, and a world divided does not do so well either.  One of the issues to deal with when one has had an organ transplant is rejection, if the body rejects the new part, depending on the part, it could lead to death.  When the body fights against itself, death is the result.  The same is true for the body of Christ, you and I and the people we like and don’t like in this world. Peace is what we are called to seek as the body of Christ.  Often we try to do this by narrowing the definition of what the body of Christ is, our church, our religion, our faith, our neighborhood, city, county, state or nation, friends on Facebook or just people who think like me.  Jesus kept pushing the boundaries of the body of Christ outward with stories like the Good Samaritan or the Sheep and Goats, and questions like which one acted like a neighbor thereby putting the ownership of a limited view of the body of Christ on us and not “them.”  Sometimes even using the phrase “Body of Christ” is a limiting view whereby we see our only calling is to be brothers and sisters within our narrow view of faith.  I have started using the phrase “Family of God” instead, embracing all of creation, not just those whose religious views fit into the narrow definition of orthodox Christianity. This New Year as we look ahead to where God is leading us, let us move toward Peace in the expanded view of Christ, and a “Family of God” that contains no “them.” And remember that every time you draw a line in the sand….. Jesus is on the other side. 

custom

Thursday January 3^rd, Luke 2:  41 Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom.  We have just moved through the Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas and New Years.  The days are getting longer, here in Anchorage we are currently gaining about twenty seconds a day, and soon we will be moving into the Lent, Spring Break, Holy Week, Easter and then Pentecost.  What customs do you or your family have for these seasons?  Do they include worship?  There are so many I only see at worship on Christmas and Easter, the CEO’s or Christmas and Easter onlys.  For those for whom life is too busy and you find yourself on the road, there is always 10W (www.10worship.blogspot.com) These are short 10 minute worship services on both the RCL lectionary and Narrative lectionary for Sundays and festive days and you can sign up to get them emailed to your cell phone if you are good at that sort of thing.  We also have a web radio where we broadcast our worship service and invite people to join us from their remote cabin locations for communion during that part of the service.  Just go to the church web site (www.coslc.ws) and click on the link for COSLC Web Radio at 10am Anchorage time and join us. With all the options available to us it would be easy to be critical about those who never seem to connect, and yet there is something there in the back of their minds, something that compels them to at least make the connection on these special occasions.  Who knows how God is working in them.  Perhaps the reason they don’t join in worship more often is they don’t feel welcome because someone is always saying, I don’t see you very often, instead of simply welcoming them. Who knows when or if their worship life as a family will expand into something more often.  But for Jesus and his family, worship was their “custom.”  This new year, make it more of your custom also.

Get to

Friday January 4^th, Luke 2: 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."  Even Mary and Joseph wanted to keep a bit of a lid on Jesus’ spirituality.  It is no surprise to me when I find that it is the kids that are the ones that encourage their parents to go to worship more often than it is the parents that encourage the kids to go to worship.  In the area of Christian Education it is the kids that set the attendance records.  The common custom for many is to drop off the kids and go get a cup of coffee, or some shopping, or some other urgent task.  The trouble is that customs are often handed down.  The kids are not learning the custom of going to church, they are learning that when they are older they don’t attend Christian Education classes.  It turns the whole experience from a “get to” to a “have to” thing.  This new year, treat your children to the gift of “get to” rather than the burden of “have to.”  Join together as part of the “Family of God” and give the whole family the gift of spiritual growth.  Let God work in their hearts, and yours, without the interference. 

Be

Saturday January 5^th, Luke 2:  49 "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Moving religion from an external to an internal thing, takes more than just telling your children, it takes showing them.  This new year, show them that it is never too late to internalize that gracious gift of God’s grace into your lives.  Give yourselves and your children the gift of knowing God’s grace right down in depths of your toes.  Why are your searching for me, where else would I be?  God is present in the world and in all parts of the world.  The clumsy statements by some following the Sandy Hook shooting that God was not in the school because we have systematically banned God from the schools is some of the worst theological thinking I have seen.  There is nothing we can do to ban God from anywhere in life.  God is in our lives in our houses of worship, in our places of work, in our hospitals and psych wards and with the homeless on the streets.  God is already there and waiting for us to show up and “Be” a part of the “Family of God” in this place by bringing the love of God into the world in what we say and more importantly, in what we do.