Doxology

I like some of the modern stuff being written nowadays for worship, but it doesn't hold a candle to the old stuff. This hymn is where we get the Doxology from (Praise God from whom all blessings flow...). I don't know the name of the hymn (usually it's just the first line of the hymn), but the Doxology appears at the end. Good stuff.

Awake, my soul, and with the sun
Thy daily stage of duty run;
Shake off dull sloth, and joyful rise,
To pay thy morning sacrifice.

Thy precious time misspent, redeem,
Each present day thy last esteem,
Improve thy talent with due care;
For the great day thyself prepare.

By influence of the Light divine
Let thy own light to others shine.
Reflect all Heaven’s propitious ways
In ardent love, and cheerful praise.

In conversation be sincere;
Keep conscience as the noontide clear;
Think how all seeing God thy ways
And all thy secret thoughts surveys.

Wake, and lift up thyself, my heart,
And with the angels bear thy part,
Who all night long unwearied sing
High praise to the eternal King.

All praise to Thee, Who safe has kept
And hast refreshed me while I slept
Grant, Lord, when I from death shall wake
I may of endless light partake.

Heav’n is, dear Lord, where’er Thou art,
O never then from me depart;
For to my soul ’tis hell to be
But for one moment void of Thee.

Lord, I my vows to Thee renew;
Disperse my sins as morning dew.
Guard my first springs of thought and will,
And with Thyself my spirit fill.

Direct, control, suggest, this day,
All I design, or do, or say,
That all my powers, with all their might,
In Thy sole glory may unite.

I would not wake nor rise again
And Heaven itself I would disdain,
Wert Thou not there to be enjoyed,
And I in hymns to be employed.

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

On Giving (part 2)

From The Prophet...

You often say, “I would give, but only to the deserving”
The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.
They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.
Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is worthy of all else from you.
And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream.

Audio Posted on Myspace

You can find the audio from last night's message here.

shalom, matt

On Giving

Another shot of The Prophet for you to chew on. Where in Jesus’ teachings do you similar thoughts? Good stuff, ain’t it? I told you it was. One of these days you may actually believe me.

Then said a rich man, Speak to us of Giving.
And he answered:
You give but little when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow?...
There are those who give little of the much which they have—and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.
And there are those who have little and give it all.
These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.

There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward. And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.
And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;
They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.
Through the hands of such as these God’s speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth.

Lesson 4 Posted on eSnips

It's a bit early, but I'll forget if I don't post it now. Here's lesson 4 for Wednesday's message.

shalom, matt

Britney's Back

I heard today that Britney Spears is out of rehab. So the obvious question is, How long until she is back in? I hope that she never goes back. I'd like to think that she might make a turn for the better and get some crap sorted out in her life, for the sake of her children if nothing else. But here's the rub: without some sort of regular accountability, or without a change in lifestyle, she's doomed to repeat the same mistakes, end up in the same clubs, with the same people, doing the same ol' things. We see it time and again in the lives of Hollywood stars. We see it time and again in the lives of you and me as well, don't we? When are we going to realize that we need each other, that we can't make it on our own? "It is not good for man to be alone," saith the Lord. We were meant to live in community because we cannot live in any other way. How many suicides happen because someone is too connected to a community? Few, if any. How many happen because someone is totally without community? Most I would guess. We cannot exist on our own.

This new command I give you: Love one another.

shalom, matt

And the Award...

...for giant waste of time goes to...

this website cataloguing the religious affiliations of super heroes.

I want the kind of spare time that these people have to do this.

shalom, matt

New Apple Products

On Love (part 2)

This is the second entry from The Prophet. If you haven’t bought this yet, then you are a literary idiot and I feel sorry for you (no offense intended, of course).

When you love you should not say, “God is in my heart,” but rather, “I am in the heart of God.”

And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

shalom, matt

On Love

I’ve got this book by Kahlil Gibran (a favorite of the late Johnny Cash) called The Prophet. I just started reading it today whilst sitting on the toilet (TMI…I know). It’s a very cool little book. It’s got some great lines in it that I thought might be worthwhile to share with you all. I hope that it’ll be some brain food for you to ruminate upon.

Then said Almitra, “Speak to us of Love.”

And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them. And with a great voice he said:

When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.
For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.
Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from the husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God’s sacred feast.

shalom, matt

Audio Message Posted on Myspace

The audio from Wednesday's message is posted on Myspace now. You can find it here.

shalom, matt

Lesson 3 Posted on eSnips

You can find lesson three from our Theology of the Soul series here on eSnips.

shalom, matt

Audio Message and Lesson Notes Posted

Finally! Sorry it took so flippin' long to get this stuff posted. The message was bigger than normal so I had problems emailing it to Michael. I had to finally just do it myself. Stupid email. I totally forgot to post the lesson notes, which is something I do the day of or the day after each message. Anyway, here are both for you if you still would like them. One note: I left the message completely unedited, leaving in all of the interruptions and pauses and whatnot so you could hear them. It was a rather goofy night and I thought it would be fun to hear it again........plus, I didn't feel like editing it.

Notes are here.

Audio is here.

shalom, matt

Doing Right

What is it about doing the right thing, even a difficult thing, that fills us with a sense of peace? Have you ever noticed this? It seems that more and more I've become aware of this "other," this sense of something grander, more beautiful, that seems to follow shortly after having done something right, humbled myself, done the difficult thing, etc. I feel more alive, more at rest, more contented with my circumstances. And more human. Maybe that's it. I feel more human, like something has awakened within me, something I dare not let crawl back into sleepy hibernation, something that I long to make a permanent reality in my day to day existence, not fleeting like shifting shadows or spring breezes. Is this how Jesus felt? Is this what it's feels like to live the Way, to live rightly, aligning yourself with God's will for your day to day ordinariness?

I want to be the kind of person that does the right thing. And not just the big things, but the small sacrifices, acts of love and generosity, the times of humility and humiliation for the greater good, the invisible actions that only God sees. I want to be that guy.

shalom, matt