What If…

Lent Resources

// February 17th, 2010 // 1309No Comments »http://williamguice.com/2010/02/17/lent-resources/Lent+Resources2010-02-17+16%3A18%3A52William+Guice // Church

What is Lent?

How to Prepare For Lent?

Children & Lent?

Our 2010 Lent Book

Tonight’s Ash Wednesday Liturgy

// February 17th, 2010 // 1306No Comments »http://williamguice.com/2010/02/17/tonights-ash-wednesday-liturgy/Tonight%27s+Ash+Wednesday+Liturgy2010-02-17+16%3A07%3A42William+Guice // Church

Corporate Reading of Psalm 23

Prayer For God’s Leading

OT Reading: Amos 5v6-15

Song: Lord Who Throughout these 40 Days

Reading From the Psalm 143

Song: Have Thine Own Way

NT Reading Luke 18v9-14

Song: Give Us Clean Hands

Meditation on Luke 18v9-14

Invitation to Holy Lent

Corporate Reading of Psalm 51

Eucharist

Corporate Litany of Penitence

Passing of the Peace

Benediction

Lent

// February 16th, 2010 // 1295No Comments »http://williamguice.com/2010/02/16/lent/Lent2010-02-16+16%3A50%3A57William+Guice // Church, Uncategorized

We are one day away from beginning the observation of Lent in our community and in much of the Christian Church worldwide.  This past Saturday we began tuning our hearts toward what God may be wanting to do in us as we examined Jesus teaching at Nazareth and how Jesus challenges us to see him in ways that we don’t often expect.

This year we are joining with Spring Hill United Methodist Church for Ash Wednesday and will then journey together through Lent using this guide that my friend Brody Harper help me put together. Feel free to download it. Use it and journey with us.

Maybe a good framework to use is examining your intent and practices as you see them played out in your rituals, your story and your relationships.  In other words what are the things you do over and over again and where do they say that your allegiances lie (rituals)?  What are you involved in that says who you are?  What would a biographer say is the arc of your life (story)?  How are you relationships – with God, yourself, your family, your friends, your community (relationships)? Is there work that needs to be done in these areas?

Remember Lent is not just about giving something up? It’s about laying down thins that are keeping you from being everything that God created you to be and picking up things that do this. I’ll be honest Lent is a struggle.  It is hard work. It takes commitment but just like the exodus, the exile the 3 days in the tomb, the waiting of the church there is redemption in the end and how we handle the waiting is as important as how we handle the victory.

Praying that you join the journey with us.

Peace ~

William

2010 Lent Book

I Dare You (part 2)

// August 12th, 2009 // Comments Off // Current Affairs, Television

Lent is always a sobering and funny thing to me. People give up some of the most interesting things. I often wonder about the motivations & really some times I could just point blank ask. Yesterday I talked about me giving up TV for Lent. To be honest I’m not sure what the motivation was the first time other than I remember being really challenged about how I used my time by Rob Bell’s Mastering the Art of Living series. Maybe that was it.

Lent is often just an exercise in self-control and it is a good one. It forces us to think about our habits and assess where our priorities lie. But there is a second part to Lent that is often neglected. Not only do we give up things that maybe have mastery over us or things that we are addicted to but we also look for new things to take up. What are good, noble, divine things we can take up to fill that time.

So part two of the challenge is simple: how can you better use the time that you were spending having your brain traumatized by the talking heads?

How can you bring love and healing to a person or situation, instead of useless banter about all that is wrong with someone or something else. Just find something to go fix. The only thing that is stopping the world from being different is you.

I’d love for us to use the comment section today for some ideas. Think about the places where you live, work and play. How can you use your time better in these locations? Maybe you just listen when you are driving…how can you better use your mental space in that time? Can you make a commitment to end the drama, the gossip, the bitter conversation, the belittling of a perceived enemy?

Two thoughts to go…

(repeat from yesterday) What you are inhaling you are exhaling on those around you…often on people that you say you love.

I think I could teach a whole series on the Where is the Love? (Black Eyed Peas) I’ve been thinking a lot about the line

“I think the whole world is addicted to the drama,
Only attracted to things that’ll bring you trauma.”

or this one

“Wrong information always shown by the media,
Negative images is the main criteria,
Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria”