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This last week we had a wonderful discussion about prayer, based on Jesus’ example in Matthew 6. We had a great time delving into the text and hearing its resonance in our lives. As Christians*at*large it is tempting to think we’ve got prayer nailed, but our discussion revealed that making prayer as Jesus modeled it a way of life is a long-term project. For those of you who weren’t there, here’s some food for thought from our experience:

Prayer isn’t about changing God’s mind, it’s about changing our hearts. Many of us have a hard time bringing our personal needs and desires to God; it seems selfish, somehow. But if we are honest about what we want and what we think we need, God can show us what we really need and help us to accept the things we don’t want.

Jesus tells us that prayer shouldn’t be a public show; we should go to our room to pray. One of us noted that that direction is a wonderful metaphor for “being real,” for praying from the place we really are at, not the place we’d like others to see us in. Prayer can’t be walled off from the world, because a relationship with the God of this world means we will join him in blessing it, not retreating from it. But prayer for the sake of seeming “holy” or “smart” might accomplish that goal, but it can fall short of helping reveal God’s kingdom.

This text includes the Our Father, or the Lord’s Prayer, which Jesus taught his disciples. Jesus’ model prayer isn’t just a way to talk to God (though it certainly is that), it is also a great example of how to live in the kingdom of God. Imagine what life would be like patterned after the Lord’s Prayer:

• The first thing would be praising and honoring God, and joining God’s mission to the world, so our lives would honor God.
• Even though we are creatures with “will” and “kingdoms” (or, at least, areas in which we have authority to do our will), it would be natural to yield our desires and power to God’s.
• As we look to reconciliation with God in heaven, we would also work to bring that reconciliation and healing here and now.
• Gratitude for the daily care God provides — food, family, health and faith — would overshadow the anxiety we feel to succeed and get ahead.
• We would be as quick to show mercy as we are to ask forgiveness.
• We’d be aware of the devil’s snares and our own tendency to mess things up (The Message says it beautifully: “Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil” - read it here).
• And praising God would be our final answer.

Download our worship for personal or family devotions here: Matthew 6 meditation

Over the last few weeks we’ve been having conversation about how we are the body of Christ together. The other week Maria led us in a great vision brainstorming session. As she asked, “How do we enfold our values into our lives, or ‘walk the walk’?”

That night we identified a few shared values we bring to C*A*L, including:

• Christ-centered living — discipleship
• Contemplation/Prayer
• Scripture/Study
• Relationships/Community
• Outreach/Action
• Openness/Questioning
• Generosity
• Others?

Whether you’ve been part of organized conversations or not, your values and your dreams are important to the life of our community. So what do you think? What would you add to the list? How would you see us living into these values? Drop a comment here or drop me an email at bob [at] liveservegrow [dot] info.

The texts for the commemoration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus tell of God’s amazing, almost unfathomable love. Like a widow who turns her house upside down searching for a lost, valuable treasure, God seeks us out relentlessly — going so far as to send Jesus to die for us before we were reconciled to God.

Our worship focused on noticing and experiencing this care, and recognizing ourselves as the ones pursued by God. A PDF of our slides is linked below. Use it for a personal or family devotions. When you get the the picture of the sheep after the second reading, take some time to ponder these questions:

• Does leaving 99 sheep to seek out one lost one make sense? Isn’t 99 good enough? What does this say about God’s love for you?
• Take a few minutes to imaging God’s relentless love for you? How do you feel in the face of such love? Can you trust it?
• When in your life have you been lost? Did someone seek you out and rescue you? Who? How did you feel if they did (or did not) find you?
• How are you “lost” in the context of your journey with God? What is Jesus calling you to do so that you can be reunited with your Good Shepherd?

Enjoy! Thanks to Bob Hyatt for the background image.

• 070615 Powerpoint

Friday, June 15, we’ll meet at Waldo’s at 6:30 for supper and worship.

We’ve had requests to share in advance what we’ll be doing in worship. This Friday is known as The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on the Roman Catholic calendar, and we will use the readings for that day to reflect on the holy mystery of Christ’s unconditional, unlimited love for us. We’ll focus on two readings:

• In Romans 5, St. Paul writes that our hope lies not in the absence of trials and afflictions, but in the reality that “God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” Read it at http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=48759508
• In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus tells a familiar story of a shepherd who leaves his flock to seek out and rescue the one that has gone astray. Read it at http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=48759715 . This story describes how boundless is God’s love for us, how “crazy” it seems by our rational standards.

As you read, reflect on your experience of God’s love, which is not a bargain returned for our righteousness but a passionate search for us “while we (are) still sinners.” Have you experienced this love? Or is it just a little too unreasonable for you to digest? How do we as a community of faith reflect that kind of love to those around us?

Logistics:
• Please RSVP to 267.221.1249 and bring food to share.
• Also, please bring non-perishable food items, which Suzanne will collect for a local food pantry.

Prayer concerns:
• Celebrate with Zac as he graduates high school Friday night! And remember all graduates, and all of our young people as they transition from school into new summer rhythms of work and play.
• Healing for Laura S.
• Remember the poor among us. Census figures show that in 2003 6% of Bucks County residents had incomes below the poverty line, and 25% of families headed by single women.

News:
• On Friday, June 29 we’ll have a special send-off for our youth servants, Vanessa, Greg, Leah, Liz and Pete, who will be headed to South Dakota for the synod’s youth servant trip. Please plan to be there to pray for them and wish them godspeed!
• Stay tuned for information on new prayer and worship experiences at times other than Friday nights, and for opportunities to serve the community, as you have requested!

Questions? Call Bob, 267-377-7192.