New Way to Be Human

Seven baptisms!

Our Easter Sabbath worship today included seven baptisms from among those who have attended our Exploring Christian Faith series. To see and read more, visit the Hollywood Church website and my personal blog, Intersections. Congrats, you guys!

The Lord's Prayer

We've spent some time in our Exploring Christian Faith class with the Lord's Prayer. Mostly we have simply prayed it and not talked about it very much. This, this past week in our Sabbath Morning Bible Study we talked about the LOrd's Prayer. Taron Hovsepyan, who is a part of both groups and getting baptized this Sabbath, emailed me this very good poem. I wanted you all to see it.

I cannot say 'our' if I live only for myself.
I cannot say 'Father' if I do not endeavor each day to act like his child.
I cannot say 'who art in heaven' if I'm laying up no treasures there.
I cannot say 'hallowed be thy name' if I am not striving for holiness.
I cannot say 'thy kingdom come' if I'm not seeking to hasten the blessed hope.
I cannot say 'thy will be done' if I am disobedient.
I cannot say 'in earth as it is in heaven' if I'll not serve him here and now.
I cannot say 'give us this day our daily bread' if I am selfishly hoarding for the future.
I cannot say 'forgive us our debts' if I harbor a grudge against anyone.
I cannot say 'lead us not into temptation' if I deliberately place myself in its path.
I cannot say 'deliver us from evil' if I do not long for holiness.
I cannot say 'thine is the kingdom' if I do not give Jesus the throne of my heart.
I cannot attribute to him 'the power' if I fear what men may do.
I cannot ascribe to him 'the glory' if I'm seeking for my own honor.
I cannot say 'forever' if I'm living only for temporary earthly rewards.

How Worship Shapes Us

Last night we explored the Christian practice of worship and how worship shapes us as Christians and helps keep us Christian. Worship shapes us in a Christian culture or, as Abraham Joshua Heschel puts it, "Worship is a way of seeing the world in the light of God." Well said! You can download the entire lesson by clicking the link at the left.

The other thing that emerged from our discussion was the question of whether worship is primarily a subjective experience that gives rise to concrete expressions of worship (like singing, praying, kneeling, standing, shouting, eating the Eucharist, baptism, etc) or whether it is primarily objective expressions that give rise to the experience of worship. As with most good questions, the answer is a resounding, YES! This diagram above is my attempt to capture the gist of the great conversation which just sprang up in our group (click the picture to enlarge). What are your thoughts?