Podcast – Camas Friends Church podcast

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A few thoughts about the experience of self-giving, listening, and responding when we meet for worship, as well as an invitation to bring our unique and personal experiences of the Divine to our reading of this Psalm… Psalm 62:5-8 (NRSV) 5 For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from [God]. 6 [God] alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. 7 On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God. 8 Trust in [God] at all times, O people; pour out your heart before [God]; God is a refuge for us.…

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Changing Course (Jonah 3)

4 years тому

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Jonah 3 (NRSV): 1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, 2 “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth. 6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. 8 Human beings and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. 9 Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.” 10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it. Queries: What are you discovering about what it means to be responsive? What invitation, if any, are you feeling today?…

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Your Body, Spirit’s Home (I Corinthians 6:18-20)

4 years тому

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We began today with some corporate sharing in response to the question: What is one thing you love that your body can do? Here is the message that followed… I Corinthians 6:18-20: 18 Shun fornication! Every sin that a person commits is outside the body; but the fornicator sins against the body itself. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body. Queries: How can I more fully live into the truth that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit? How can I more fully live into the truth that I “am not my own”?…

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The Mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5-11)

4 years тому

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Query : What does it mean to have the same mind as Christ Jesus? Philippians 2:5-11 (NRSV): 5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.…

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The Responsive Shepherds (Luke 2:8-20)

4 years тому

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Luke 2:8-20 (NRSV): 8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. Queries: To whom or to what am I feeling nudged to respond in the very near future? What might that response require of me? What would it mean for Camas Friends Church to become more responsive in 2021? How would Jesus grow to demonstrate responsiveness throughout this life?…

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Mary’s Joy (Luke 1:46-55)

4 years тому

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Luke 1:46-55 (NRSV): Mary’s Song of Praise 46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” Queries: How has discovering the goodness of God brought me joy? How has discovering my power and my importance brought me joy? How has participating in what God is doing in the world brought me joy? — Photo Credit for “Mary 2018”: Benjamin Wildflower…

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Waiting (Isaiah 64:1-8)

4 years тому

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“Extended Open Worship” week. The following is a brief introduction to that time… Isaiah 64:1-8 (NRSV): 1 O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence— 2 as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your presence! 3 When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. 4 From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for him. 5 You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember you in your ways. But you were angry, and we sinned; because you hid yourself we transgressed. 6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 7 There is no one who calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. 8 Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Queries: What hopes—whether yours or others’—feel most urgent to you today? How are you experiencing or witnessing desperation? What clarity or power do you find in the image of “Potter” for God? Where is God? Where do you sense the ongoing but not-yet-complete work of God taking place? Of what are we collectively guilty? What are our collective transgressions? What does waiting for God entail? What do wait-ers do?…

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The Good We’ve Been Given (Deuteronomy 8:7-16)

4 years тому