Last Sunday Night at BSM

June 2, 2015

Last Sunday Night, April 31st, 2015, Rev.Andy Greenhow preached on John 3:1-17.  The sermon was titled “But Seriously.”  Andy preached about the good news that is in John 3:16, good news that is often crowded out by our connection of that text with people who hold up signs with that scripture verse written on it.  Andy spoke about how those signs are the church version of a catcall, a statement that doesn’t lead to engagement, or invite us into a conversation about what the text means.  Andy reminded us that, To look up at Christ on the cross is an action taken so that we can be healed, not an act that should lead to further shame and brokenness.

Tony Moore and the Motley Order Choir sang a new favorite of BSM’s, John Mayer’s “Belief,” a long time classic of ours, Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody,” and “I Stand Alone” by Robert Glasper Experiment.

For our offering our community offered these, our psalms of the street, to God:

Dear god~

Please make your presence known in my mind, body, and spirit. Please give me peace, compassion, and wisdom. Please keep me safe from language and personalities that are hurtful and wrong—and show me what is RIGHT—I’m yours, please help.

Amen, *****

 

I ask God to return all spells, curses, enchantments and black magic that are on the minds, bodies, souls and spirits of my soul mate and me and my children, *****, *****, *****, ***** and ***** back to all senders 50x fold now and forever more in Jesus name I ask…please pray daily for me and my kids…Thank you. God bless you.

 

I’m finishing a manuscript for next book. Pray for me as I wrap it up and get it to my publisher.

 

I was having a very hard time at my previous job. So I left in faith that I might find something more suited to me. It just does not seem that my qualifications are suited to jobs that pay money. Womp womp…It’s been 2 months so not very long, but I am afraid it could be much longer…

 

Dear God,

Thank You for this glorious day that You have made. Help me to never start a conversation that I can’t completely engage the other person or person’s in, but Lord help me to start Holy conversations!

 

please pray for my family who is going through some tough times with change, and for me as I prepare for the future.

 

Dear God, I keep uncovering wound after wound, endless layers of wounds in my therapy sessions. Each new wound I unearth brings more sadness and frustration about how fucked up and unworthy of love I am. I feel utterly far away from who I should be…but isn’t that where your Kingdom starts? With ppl who are unfit for the task before them? With ppl who are wounded and fucked up? With ppl who don’t deserve to be invited in? With ppl who are far away from who they should be? Isn’t that where you Kingdom begins? Not with the powerful, but with the powerless? With lepers deemed too unclean for the Kingdom of God suddenly becoming the center of God’s activity in the world? Isn’t that what you’re about? Please say it is. And as I unearth wound after wound, somehow let your Kingdom come in my life and in my insatiably needy heart and in the eight mile canyon that I feel inside my chest and in my frustrated fits of rage and in my fear of being loved. Somehow, let your Kingdom come in all those things. Somehow, make me capable of receiving and enjoying love. Because isn’t that what you do? Aren’t I who your Kingdom is for?

 

Help

them

listen,

God.

Help

me

listen.

 

God,

Thank you for friends who care about, guide me, and support me.

Amen.

 

Lord, I’m thankful for the life of *****, and the gifts she brought to this world. I pray for her peace and joy with you eternally. I also pray for her loved ones, that they may be comforted by you and keep your peace in their hearts. Amen.

 

Return me to myself—who you made me to be.

Return us to ourselves.

Make (return) BSM to be the people you would have us to be.

For guidance on how to lovingly confront.

 

Dear G-d, be with me in my time of need. I can’t make without your help. Watch out for my son and family. I need your help with everything.

Thank you,

ME

 

Dear Lord,

Bless us all to find clarity and have courage. Please bless those in partnerships to fill their love with your love. Please bless all of us w/o partners—help us find the path and earthly love you want us to have. I love you!  *****

 

God, Please be with Blau Biden, and all the Bidens, and with all those who are saddened by his death. Please be with my family. Amen.

 

Ultimate stuff only.

*****, *****, *****, *****.

I miss you, *****.

 

God,

Thank you so much. My life has been just ridiculously full of blessings lately. I’m overwhelmed trying to be anything close to an appropriate level of grateful for all of this. You have done so much for me. Please let me know what I may do for you.

 

Dear God,

This is not an antagonistic question. I’m asking in order to gain knowledge:

How can I know you will protect me now since you didn’t protect me when I was molested as a 13-year-old? Much of the abused I encountered took place within the walls of a church. Church is also where I internalized a lot of shame b/c of my sexual orientation. Why should I trust you now if you (at least seemingly) weren’t trustworthy then? Are you even real? Is Christianity a bunch of bullshit? Is faith unnecessary? Should I stop believing? I am open and willing to receive an answer. I ask these questions with a spirit that desires wisdom and understanding. Give my eyes to see and ears to hear your answer…if you are real.

 

Spirit of the Living God,

Please encourage Andy, David, Sammie, and Devin. Remind them that you have called them and equipped them for the work they do here at BSM. Holy Spirit, speak to the spirits of the people on our faith staff. Care for them as they care for us. May they find joy and fulfillment in their work. May the peace of Christ sustain them in their daily lives. Amen.

 

God bless my family and friends, and their families.

 

Every Sunday after worship, we also have community engagement groups.  These groups are a great way to get to know people, maybe learn something about yourselves, one another, and/or God, and get to know a few more peoples’ names.  Last Sunday we had two groups:

Short Term 12: The first of a three-part group. The first two times we will be watching a film called, “Short Term 12,” and the third group will be a discussion about the film. It is a film that can be found on Netflix, and is about a residential treatment facility for youth in transition.

Centering Prayer:  After worship, Kate Sheehan Roach led us in exploring what it means to “Be still and know” (Psalm 46:10) and experiment with a new (actually, very old!) approach to the teaching found in Matthew 6:6: “When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place.” Centering Prayer is a Christian form of meditation by which we can begin to quiet the constant chatter of the mind and momentarily still the perpetual motion of the body by learning to commune deeply with God in a place beyond words.

Broad Street Ministry is a broad-minded faith community committed to extending radical hospitality and creating a spiritual home for all, especially those who feel like they don’t belong anywhere else. For more information click here.