Pro-creative. In a non-sexy way.
michael’s pretty interesting links
Found a great hymn this week, arranged it for viola and piano. The tune is “I Am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger” and the words are as follows:
Bread of the world in mercy broken
wine of the soul in mercy shed
By whom the words of life were spoken
and in whose death our sins are dead
Look on the heart by sorrow broken
look on the tears by sinners shed
And be your feast to us the token
that by your grace our souls are fed
So you’ve seen Mike’s posts about The Lord’s Prayer, and his piece, Our Father Vindicate, now come hear it live.
From the APU School of Music Calendar:
Jan.22, 2010 Friday: “The Lord’s Prayer” Festival Concert; Stamps Rotunda (Darling Library), 7:30 pm
Men’s Chorale, Chamber Singers, and Alumni Orchestra
Alex Russell, violin Duane Funderburk, piano
“Enjoy an evening of music dedicated to the most famous prayer in Christendom, featuring new music composed by Professors Phil Shackleton and Michael Lee, as well as new music by contemporary composer Alf Bishai (NYU). ”
I say we make it an event and go out for dinner, celebration afterwards. Whose in?
Today I got two calls to play piano. The first was from an unfamiliar source, wanting me to play at a “Shakespeare audition thing” from 6-9 tonight, and they didn’t mention money. Jason and I were laughing about how much money it was take for me to do it. $500? In other words, I was particularly uninterested.
Then I got another call. A man in our church has died. He has been ill for quite some time. His wife, for this long duration of his illness, has spent one of her few hours away from his bedside each week teaching my son’s three year-old Sunday School class. I’m not sure how long she’s been teaching, but she was also the teacher two years ago under the same circumstance when my daughter was there. Can I play at his funeral Friday night?
Instantly I became grateful for the ability to play, because I can’t find the words to say Thank You.
Pastor Doug listens to Pearl Jam.
The audio from this morning. Here’s the link to download the file:
Or listen here in your browser:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Enjoy! I’d love to hear your feedback.
Previous in series: God is Good, Good, Good. Mostly.
Well, first service is done, second service is about to start, and the sermon went great! I’ll post the audio a little later, but for now, here’s the manuscript. Thanks to all for your help, your comments, and your prayers.
Previous in series: This Week’s Sermon: God is Good
Next in series: God is Good: Sermon Audio
Holy Crap!
APU just added a huge new piece to it’s library collection. The Dead Sea Scrolls! This is, like, huge. Massive. Like, on the national map in a big way. Anybody wanna sneak in to the library holding room and check them out with me? I totally have a faculty key!
A couple of Saturdays ago I was in our church kitchen. A man I didn’t recognize popped his head in from outside. “I can’t make it to church tomorrow,” he quickly explained, “so I stopped by to drop off my tithe.”
Caught off guard, I said, “No one is in the office right now, but if you trust me enough what would be easiest for our treasurer is if I just put it in the basket for you tomorrow.” “Sure,” he said, handed it to me, and just as quickly as he arrived he was gone.
It turns out I couldn’t have run away with it even if I had bad intentions. It was a credit union check typed out to the church with a modest amount that included cents. I am guessing it was exactly 10% of a paycheck.
In the midst of the ups and downs of church life, I was stopped in my tracks by his pure obedience. He is not an active church member, but was somehow led to worship in this sacrificial way. I had never before tithed on behalf of someone else. It was an honor.
Here’s the audio from today’s message (not sure if the audio player is working, so I’ll just put a download link.
Faith … and Doubt (sermon audio)
If you don’t want to listen to the whole thing, here’s the outline:
If you want the full experience (minus the actual experience!), you can download everything here:
Faith … and Doubt (manuscript)
Faith … and Doubt (keynote presentation)
Previous in series: 7 Days of Doubt
A week from this Sunday, Chad and Erica will be leading worship at our little dutch chapel in Orange County, and I will be bringing the bible-thumping fiery rhetoric from the pulpit. You should definitely come check it out. Or, if not, you should at least help me plan my message.
I think I’m going to talk about the third rail of the life of faith: doubt.
Here, let me make it a little spookier:
DOUBT!
Topics on the table:
Doubting Thomas
Mother Theresa
Mark 9:24
So – hit me. If you had to put a percentage on is, what’s the ratio of belief to doubt for the things in your personal creed? How influential is the belief of others in reinforcing your belief? Do you feel the freedom to express honest doubt about fundamental things (scripture, resurrection, omnipotence) when you’re in the company of other believers? And most importantly, Doug, will I still have a job waiting when I get back? For that matter, Phil, will I still have a job waiting when I come before the faith interrogation high council?
Next in series: Digital Art Photos