Timberline Old Town

The Poem is a 4-week series in Isaiah 11, a section of poetry a few of us have thought a lot about over the years. As a result of that thinking, it has had a large influence on how we view things and do things at Timberline Old Town & Everyday Joe's. The hopeful fruit of a month in the poem together is a reminder of our identity: congregationally and individually.    TEXT Isaiah 11:1-5   TAKEAWAYS We must reckon with what is and what was, but the Spirit of Christ is always leading us to newness Reckon with our words. What is our goal? To impress? To control? To bring healing, joy, reconciliation. Shut up sometimes. Listen to this: On Being with Krista Tippett - Eugene Peterson    BENEDICTION Risen Christ, Come near to us who are in        places of death, Come near to us who are               struggling to surrender, Come near to us fools        and make us your fools        and let us practice            resurrection in a world        that fears death. Amen

The Poem is a 4-week series in Isaiah 11, a section of poetry a few of us have thought a lot about over the years. As a result of that thinking, it has had a large influence on how we view things and do things at Timberline Old Town & Everyday Joe's. The hopeful fruit of a month in the poem together is a reminder of our identity: congregationally and individually.    TEXT Isaiah 11:2-4a   TAKEAWAYS A few times this week, read Isaiah 11:1-4a. As for the Spirit of Christ to guide you as you... Reflect - try practicing the Examen prayer. Write down what was brought to your attention in reflection. Ask “Does it burn good?” Look for new life. Where is there unexpected beauty? Rest - Set the list aside. Breath - In, out. Rest in you, resting in me. Listen to The Poetry of Self Compassion   BENEDICTION Risen Christ, Come near to us who are in        places of death, Come near to us who are               struggling to surrender, Come near to us fools        and make us your fools        and let us practice    

The Poem is a 4-week series in Isaiah 11, a section of poetry a few of us have thought a lot about over the years. As a result of that thinking, it has had a large influence on how we view things and do things at Timberline Old Town & Everyday Joe's. The hopeful fruit of a month in the poem together is a reminder of our identity: congregationally and individually.    TEXT Isaiah 11:1   TAKEAWAYS Sins of omission get us all  What do I need to reckon with personally? What sins of my family or my race or my congregation or my gender do I need to consider that I haven’t considered? Think big. Think free. Watch Vapor Meditation and Vapor Gungor official lyric videos     BENEDICTON "For A New Beginning" by John O'Donohue In out-of-the-way places of the heart, Where your thoughts never think to wander, This beginning has been quietly forming, Waiting until you were ready to emerge. For a long time it has watched your desire, Feeling the emptiness growing inside you, Noticing how you willed yourself on, Still

TEXT James 1:19-20 Philippians 4:4-9 Philippians 2:1-8, 12-16   TAKEAWAYS 1 Be slow to speak   2 When you're not speaking think about some things: That’s a human bearing the image of God  We cannot and should not assume that given the same genetic and environmental conditions we would be any different than they are Have I been wrong before? What are the questions? What is the mind of Christ?

TEXT Ephesians 4:2-6, 29-32   TAKEAWAYS 1 Life is awful beautiful   2 Be gentle with our souls 3 Let them love you.  I know you don’t always believe it, but your limp makes you even more beautiful. 4 Pay attention.  It’s hard to imagine that nothing at all could be so exciting, so much fun.   BENEDICTION  Let us praise the grace & risk of Fire. In the beginning The Word was red, And the sound was thunder, And the wound in the unseen Spilled forth the red weather of being. In the name of Fire, The Flame, And the Light: Praise the pure presence of fire That burns from within Without thought of time. The hunger of fire has no need For the reliquary of the future; It adores the eros of now, Where the memory of the earth In flames that lick and drink the air Is made to release Its long enduring forms In a powder of ashes Left for the wind to decipher. As air intensifies the hunger of fire, May the thought of death Breathe new urgency Into our love of life. As fire cleanses dross May the flame of passion

TEXT Isaiah 11:1-9   TAKEAWAYS 1 Disparate:  Fundamentally distinct or different in kind; entirely dissimilar: Containing or composed of dissimilar or opposing elements.  essentially not alike; distinct or different in kind; unequal.   2 Have a mixer 3 Note the places and times when people who wouldn’t otherwise be together are together and identify the transcendent 4 See Christ in all   BENEDICTION  Christ shield me today Against wounding Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in the eye that sees me, Christ in the ear that hears me. Amen  

Mackenzie Matthews is a dear friend and pastor of Timberline College. She's also an impressive visual artist. On 9.16.18, she shared with us concerning the importance of creative work, whatever our work is.   TEXT Genesis 1.27 Nehemiah 4.16-17 Matthew 13.13-16   READINGS “Unless we are creators, we are not fully alive.” - Madeline L’Engle  “A singer songwriter named Peter Case was leading a discussion among aspiring muscians concerning lifelong habits of creativity. He talked about how the artist operates as a thieving magpie, always on the lookout for bits, threads and fragments that might serve in the assembling of a nest. With the same working survival instinct, the artist draws inspiration from a half-remembered remark, a billboard, an odd facial expression mis-perceived, a snatch of dialogue among strangers or whatever’s at hand... to articulate something needful, new and timely whether in lyric, image, story or argument.      “How old are you guys?” He asked when a lull had set in. Most reported in thei

TEXT John 9:1-41 John 10:1-11   TAKEAWAYS 1 The thief climbs in through the fence instead of walking through the gate   2 The thief robs present joy by reminding us we are frauds   3 The thief robs from the now with the not yet and robs from the enough with the not enough 4 Prayer for when the thief is speaking: This is enough. You are enough. I am enough.

TEXT Matthew 16:13-15 John 8:31-32   TAKEAWAYS 1. May my words and actions more and more be congruent with the ruth (heart of Christ and my deepest calling)    2. Three possible sacrifices of following our deepest calling: Misunderstanding, shame, loneliness   3. Three important questions in pursuing our deepest calling: Is it true? Are my words or actions doing harm as far as I can tell? Are my words and actions motivated by love as best as I can discern?   BENEDICTION May we be undone by the love of Christ and for the sake of those whose voices have been silenced

While Darren is on sabbatical, we're in a series called Voices - exploring the different voices around us (call them wisdom, if you want) that might act as guides on the pilgrimage to the heart of Christ.  Each week, the speaker will act as the guide to exploring a different voice of their choosing. The guest speakers invited are some of the voices we want people to hear.   TEXT 2 Chronicles 5:11-14 Mark 7:31-37 TAKEAWAYS 1. Yield power and listen to the voice and stories of those who are often silenced Suggested reading:  The Power Of The Powerless by Christopher De Vinck I'm Still Here by Austin Channing Brown   2. Practice a prophetic imagination that is deeply rooted in the world around you.   3. Become curious for the voice of God in the cry of others.    BENEDICTION May we be undone by the love of Christ and for the sake of those whose voices have been silenced

While Darren is on sabbatical, we're in a series called Voices - exploring the different voices around us (call them wisdom, if you want) that might act as guides on the pilgrimage to the heart of Christ.  Each week, the speaker will act as the guide to exploring a different voice of their choosing. The guest speakers invited are some of the voices we want people to hear.   TEXT 2 Chronicles 5:11-14 Mark 7:31-37 TAKEAWAYS Be mindful this week about when you feel the need to interrupt or interject in a conversation. Ask, "Why?" Change one routine this week. At least three times this week, set a timer for 4’33”. Sit in silence, with the word Ephphatha in your mind. See what the Spirit might reveal to you. Consider reading these books: Reaching Out by Henri Nouwen   Interrupting Silence by Walter Brueggemann   Just Mercy by Brian Stevenson   BENEDICTION Be Opened by Malcolm Guite Be opened. Oh if only we might be! Speak to a heart that’s closed in on itself: ‘Be opened and the truth will set you free’, S

July 29, 2018 presented us with a 5th Sunday of the month! On those Sundays throughout year, we take a break from our normal order of service and have a Movement Service. We pick a theme and explore through that theme through three or four different movements in the structure of: Word - Song - Prayer Staying true to our Voices series, the theme for our movement service this time was The Voice Of The Congregation. ----- While Darren is on sabbatical, we're in a series called Voices - exploring the different voices around us (call them wisdom, if you want) that might act as guides on the pilgrimage to the heart of Christ.  Each week, the speaker will act as the guide to exploring a different voice of their choosing. The guest speakers invited are some of the voices we want people to hear.    ORDER OF SERVICE | MOVEMENT: THE VOICE OF THE CONGREGATION Song of Welcome - Give Me Your Hand   Invocation Song of Entry -  Hallelujah Recognition of Souls - Ben Song of Entry -  Hallelujah Prayer   Movement 1: Recognition

While Darren is on sabbatical, we're in a series called Voices - exploring the different voices around us (call them wisdom, if you want) that might act as guides on the pilgrimage to the heart of Christ.  Each week, the speaker will act as the guide to exploring a different voice of their choosing. The guest speakers invited are some of the voices we want people to hear.     TEXT   Mark 10:13-16   TAKEAWAYS Find and study a picture of yourself as a child. And picture those around you as children too.   BENEDICTION My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother Like a weaned child, I am content. Amen.  

While Darren is on sabbatical, we're in a series called Voices - exploring the different voices around us (call them wisdom, if you want) that lead are guides on the pilgrimage to the heart of Christ.  Each week, the speaker will act as the guide to exploring a different voice. The guest speakers invited are some of the voices we want people to hear.     TEXT Matthew 5:3-6 (MSG) Matthew 5:21-22 (MSG) Matthew 5:27-28 (NIV) Matthew 6:30-33 (MSG) Matthew 7:13-14 (MSG) Matthew 7:28-29 (MSG)   TAKEAWAYS The Voice of Jesus sounds like I see you, I am glad you’re here, I am with you, let’s do this together. The Voice of Jesus calls us to Transformation personally and publicly Community: Life is like doge-ball. Pick a good team. A rigorous journey     BENEDICTION O God, gather me to be with you as you are with me. Keep me in touch with myself. with my needs my anxieties, my pains, my corruptions.  That I may claim them as my own,  rather than blame them on someone else.   O Lord, deepen my wounds into wisdom; shape m

While Darren is on sabbatical, we're in a series called Voices - exploring the different voices around us (call them wisdom, if you want) that lead are guides on the pilgrimage to the heart of Christ.  Each week, the speaker will act as the guide to exploring a different voice. The guest speakers invited are some of the voices we want people to hear.   TEXT Matthew 25:35   TAKEAWAYS Consider this Danish proverb: If there is room in the heart, there is room in the house.   Consider this statement: Learn how to learn from those who offend you.   Consider seeing this movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhwktRDG_aQ   BENEDICTION Father - We ask that this path not be a place of emptying Without also being a place of filling. That those who use it would quiet themselves to focus on God’s voice, And upon departing be obedient. That its pilgrims would find Christ and in so-doing find love and peace and life. Amen

While Darren is on sabbatical, we're in a series called Voices - exploring the different voices around us (call them wisdom, if you want) that lead are guides on the pilgrimage to the heart of Christ.  Each week, the speaker will act as the guide to exploring a different voice. The guest speakers invited are some of the voices we want people to hear.     TEXT John 1:1-14   BENEDICTION Father - We ask that this path not be a place of emptying Without also being a place of filling. That those who use it would quiet themselves to focus on God’s voice, And upon departing be obedient. That its pilgrims would find Christ and in so-doing find love and peace and life. Amen

TEXT Genesis‬ ‭25-33   TAKEAWAYS May we be people who recognize our advantages and be humble about them May we be people who recognize our disadvantages and find grace May we be people who return to places of shame and find mercy. And may we be people who allow others to return to places of shame and find mercy May we be people who slay the dragon of ego and find the true source of life.  May we be people who see the face of God where we once saw adversaries.   BENEDICTION May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you:  wherever he may send you; May he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm; May he bring you home rejoicing: at the wonders he has shown you; May he bring you home rejoicing: once again into our doors.   Amen.