Unbelievable shame -
audacious claims -
stupendous stories -
swallowed and
banked on
by millions!
Scandalous...
yet true.
A Jewish family
of the house of David -
lineage intact.
A virgin teen
encountering
an actual angel
with astounding news.
Her curious mind alert
in spite of quaking knees,
she blurts the obvious: "how?"
and receives
a mystery for answer.
Instead of insisting
on diagrams and proofs,
she bows her head
accepting
the mysterious scandal;
so much teeters
upon her answer.
Why her?
Why her people?
An unexpected choice
from an
unpredictable God
who will not be boxed in.
God is a lover
of irony -
choosing to be born
into a Jewish
peasant family
at a time when Romans
held pomp and power
and Jews were
merely dust between their toes.
But it's not as though
he didn't warn us
using an entire Testament
to allude and foreshadow
his plan.
From a woman (promised
from day one),
will come the seed
that will rescue us all
from the bite of the
Serpent.
One man
from a particular people,
calls together
all people.
Instead of "the Other"
defining the group
we are part of,
it only illuminates
another lovely branch
of this multi-faceted
world he created.
We are his
before we are families,
ethnicities and
nations.
Scandalous...but true.
Creative Note-taking • Unedited, quickly captured, and honest responses to teaching at Hillcrest Chapel through image and language.
Sunday, December 3, 2017
Sunday, November 26, 2017
Dance with Time: Scandal: God was Born series - Tim Knipp (Luke 2:1-7)
A Jewish girl at prayer
electrified history
in a particular place
at a specific time.
Time.
A gift we step into
to encounter God.
Drink from the chalice
of sacred moments;
let none slip by
uncaressed.
Chronos clocks tick
draining life,
boxing time.
Kairos time
is divine,
tingling air, alive
with possibility.
In Bethlehem
chronos and kairos
met and danced.
We can learn
the steps
through practice:
daily sabbath moments,
weekly hours
and yearly times
of reflection.
One step
at a time.
Some will feel clumsy,
the minutes chunky and loud,
but practice
can lead us
into fluid movement,
a dance
with Time
where we accept the gift
and let it twirl us
into His arms.
electrified history
in a particular place
at a specific time.
Time.
A gift we step into
to encounter God.
Drink from the chalice
of sacred moments;
let none slip by
uncaressed.
Chronos clocks tick
draining life,
boxing time.
Kairos time
is divine,
tingling air, alive
with possibility.
In Bethlehem
chronos and kairos
met and danced.
We can learn
the steps
through practice:
daily sabbath moments,
weekly hours
and yearly times
of reflection.
One step
at a time.
Some will feel clumsy,
the minutes chunky and loud,
but practice
can lead us
into fluid movement,
a dance
with Time
where we accept the gift
and let it twirl us
into His arms.
Sunday, November 19, 2017
Enough, but Thankful: From Prison to Joy series - Christian Lindbeck (Phil. 4:10-14; 1 John 1:3)
Contentment
curls like a purring cat,
oblivious
to circumstance.
The cat who walks alone,
content with itself
and its Shadow -
also loves a
good chin-rub
and a warm body
to curl around.
So thank you.
Christ is enough for me
but oh,
how thankful I am
that you walk
beside me
as well.
curls like a purring cat,
oblivious
to circumstance.
The cat who walks alone,
content with itself
and its Shadow -
also loves a
good chin-rub
and a warm body
to curl around.
So thank you.
Christ is enough for me
but oh,
how thankful I am
that you walk
beside me
as well.
Sunday, November 5, 2017
Caught Not Taught: From Prison with Joy series - Tim Knipp (Phil. 3:17-4:1)
Mechanized living -
efficient and productive -
assembly line formation:
the way of the world.
Rather...shadow me,
says Paul.
Imitate my movements,
evaluate my choices,
and do likewise.
Press in to my shape;
see my heart
and mold yourself around me.
**********************
Who is imprinting me?
And what will the results be?
What glaring fault lines
will trip them up?
This broken being is all I have,
limping along a darkened path...
do I dare to lead the blind?
Before I can be impress-able,
I must press in to God,
softened and moldable,
chastened and raw,
till I am formed anew
by His character
and care.
efficient and productive -
assembly line formation:
the way of the world.
Rather...shadow me,
says Paul.
Imitate my movements,
evaluate my choices,
and do likewise.
Press in to my shape;
see my heart
and mold yourself around me.
**********************
Who is imprinting me?
And what will the results be?
What glaring fault lines
will trip them up?
This broken being is all I have,
limping along a darkened path...
do I dare to lead the blind?
Before I can be impress-able,
I must press in to God,
softened and moldable,
chastened and raw,
till I am formed anew
by His character
and care.
Sunday, October 29, 2017
Press On: From Prison with Joy series - Christian Lindbeck (Phil. 2:5-11)
Hard times comin',
push back risin',
hurricane whistlin' -
stand strong, my child.
Prison walls may be rough,
cleanliness a forgotten dream,
but these bars
can't keep joy out,
can't keep joy out!
Whatever's comin',
whatever's here,
be worthy of Him, my child.
He let it all go:
all riches and fame,
all security and comfort,
even His very life,
even His very life,
to gain us back
as His own.
So let it go,
yes, let it go,
there's nothin' you
can give or do
to earn His love.
I had it all,
all the world could give,
but I let it go,
I let it go for joy!
Christ suffered for us,
I suffer for you,
for joy, oh yes, for joy!
Hard times comin',
push back risin',
hurricane whistlin' -
stand strong, my child.
It's worth it all
to let it go
and let joy in,
just let it in.
Open your hands,
fingers spread wide,
and let the world fall through,
let privilege, power and need
fall through,
let go your right to anger
and unbridled greed,
let fall your ego,
hates and fears,
let go your future,
release the gears;
let yourself tumble through
as you grasp hold of
and hang onto
Him who'll see you through
no matter what,
no matter what!
Hard times comin',
push back risin',
hurricane whistlin' -
stand strong, my child.
Don't look behind,
press on!
Don't believe the lies,
press on, children,
press on.
Sunday, October 15, 2017
For All of Us: From Prison with Joy series - Tim Knipp (Phil. 2:5-11; Gen. 3:1-3)
Crafty whispers
nudge doubt
to center stage.
Sin catapults
like a wily court jester
into the spotlight,
somersaulting
in dizzying circles.
Like gods,
we were formed
as self-portraits
in flesh,
but we reached too high
incurring the fatal flaw -
a defacing tattoo.
Our inheritance,
a world out of kilter.
The very Son -
a natural God -
did not reach
for high status
but assumed the flaw,
had it imprinted on His flesh
where it festered
and smoldered
until He was tossed
on Death's pyre...
for us.
For all of us.
Creator God,
dressed in man-skin,
wooed us;
risked the ravages
of sin;
stripped off royal robes
and knelt in the muck
and filth
we wallow in.
He kneels there now,
body bruised,
welts rising and oozing
on His back,
bloody holes encircling
His forehead -
a scarlet crown.
Look in His eyes
as He smiles up,
hopefully,
awaiting your response.
nudge doubt
to center stage.
Sin catapults
like a wily court jester
into the spotlight,
somersaulting
in dizzying circles.
Like gods,
we were formed
as self-portraits
in flesh,
but we reached too high
incurring the fatal flaw -
a defacing tattoo.
Our inheritance,
a world out of kilter.
The very Son -
a natural God -
did not reach
for high status
but assumed the flaw,
had it imprinted on His flesh
where it festered
and smoldered
until He was tossed
on Death's pyre...
for us.
For all of us.
Creator God,
dressed in man-skin,
wooed us;
risked the ravages
of sin;
stripped off royal robes
and knelt in the muck
and filth
we wallow in.
He kneels there now,
body bruised,
welts rising and oozing
on His back,
bloody holes encircling
His forehead -
a scarlet crown.
Look in His eyes
as He smiles up,
hopefully,
awaiting your response.
Monday, October 9, 2017
God is Like Jesus - Tim Knipp - From Prison with Joy Philipians 2:5-11
Philippians 2:5-11
In your relationships with one another,
have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the very nature of God,
did not consider equality with God
something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in the appearance as a man
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death---
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
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