Weekend Wrap Up
Just wanted to jot down some of the key moments for me from this weekend:
- loved Matt’s opening set. creative, thoughtful, Adventy.
- The Terrys and Swishers did a fantastic job thinking practically about longing for hope. Gabe, thanks for introducing your family. Graham, nice reading. Swisher boys, way to stand proud! This is a fantastic new tradition. Can’t wait to hear the other households who will share.
- getting to wear a purple stole 🙂
- the middle voice: “The middle voice is critical to getting the sense and nuance of this passage. If you use the active voice– you are doing it: I am filling. If you use the passive voice– it is being done to you: I am continuously being filled. If you use the middle voice, there is a sense of cooperation, you are doing it to yourself. I am continually filling myself. I am doing it, but I am also receiving it. So the most literal translation of this verse– ‘continuously fill yourself with the Spirit.’ It is the middle voice that speaks volumes of dignity and worth. Because you are choosing something for yourself.
- Erin doing the welcome. She is always so thoughtful and intentional with her words. I liked the tension of darkness and light.
- The participle of result. Realizing that if we choose to be filled with the Holy Spirit, these five participles come with the package (they aren’t upgrades or options, they are standard)– Addressing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; Singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart; Giving Thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
- Putting others in line before yourself.
- Biblical submission is always for another person’s good, to serve them, to see them empowered, to see them mature. Biblical submission comes from our Spirit filled capacity, not from our empty dregs. It is from a posture of generous dignity that we can put someone else ahead of us. Biblical submission out of reverent fear of Christ can never be demanded, it can only be earned, it can only be given. It can only come from the middle voice– I choose to fill myself with the Holy Spirit with the result that I choose to submit myself to others.
- If you don’t get that you are submitted to One who dearly loves you, who chose you, you don’t get the passage.
- singing the sanctus
- meeting so many grandparents and parents who were visiting for Thanksgiving.
November 30, 2009 @ 10:25 am
I think ‘Adventy’ may be my new favorite word. And it was a GREAT day yesterday.
November 30, 2009 @ 10:36 am
Same thought: “Adventy” is good. Also, purple is the new black.
November 30, 2009 @ 1:53 pm
When I got in line at the grocery store yesterday I had a crisis of conscience! 🙂
November 30, 2009 @ 4:14 pm
So, bummed to have missed the kick-off of the new liturgical year and the beginning of Advent. Sounds like I need some detailed accounts. I’d love it if the entire service was recorded so I could hear the RAC family “do their thing,” from Adventy singing to testimonies.
Perchance could the families share as they light the Advent candles be recorded each week? If there were a podcast each week 1) Attendees of different service times would be able to hear the reflections and thoughts of the folks in both services –promoting togetherness! 2) We’d have a really cool oral history of RAC Advent traditions.
November 30, 2009 @ 8:27 pm
The service was so deep and so rich that we couldn’t quite digest everything. This is such a great way to reinforce the things we heard!
One thought: I love hearing the advent reflections from families. In some churches we’ve attended, there seems to be an unwritten “nuclear family” rule about lighting the advent calendar. It would be awesome to hear thoughts from empty-nest parents, communities of roommates/singles, couples without kids, and others.
We are so blessed to be part of this community, so deep in devotion and reflection. Also — the Nouwen advent reflections book is awesome.
November 30, 2009 @ 9:08 pm
Great thoughts, Cameron and Carolyn. We’re definitely planning on having lots of different kinds of households do the Advent reflections–roommates, singles, folks intentionally living with more than just their nuclear families…. Our longing for Christ and his kingdom is experienced differently by different people, and we want to hear a broad range of those perspectives. The great good news is that Christ is able to fulfill ALL of those longings, and more!
Looking forward to journeying through this season–one of my favorites–with all of you…
December 1, 2009 @ 1:41 pm
Or maybe we could have someone call in, say, from Florida?
December 1, 2009 @ 4:04 pm
skype it on the big screen?
December 4, 2009 @ 9:03 am
So thankful for the sermons being distributed as a podcast afterward because I couldn’t make it Sunday but didn’t want to miss out on this one.
David – your analogy of the person with the full cart in the grocery store, and the security they have that allows them to selflessly “submit” to the person with only one item reminds me of something I have posted at my desk at work as a reminder:
“I feel so well-taken care of by God, so favored and generously privileged by the all powerful and all-loving Maker of the Universe, that I am simply consumed with gratefulness. Accordingly, I waste little energy in comparing myself to others – their status, their things, their reputation, their position. Content in doing my best and in walking the way of Jesus, I am happy to leave with Him those slights, disadvantages, or inconveniences that are outside my control. IN FACT, I am so well taken care of by God that I find plenty of emotional energy for celebrating the successes of others, and find the safety to assume the best about people until proven otherwise.”
December 5, 2009 @ 9:35 pm
Wow, that is a challenging quote, Daniel– that last sentence is GREAT marriage. friendship, co-worker advice: assume the best about people… because God has taken such good care of us. Great reminder. thanks, friend.