Archive for 2006
Advent 4: Saying Yes to God
“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb… And blessed is she who believed that there would be fulfillment of what was spoken to her…
Read MoreAdvent 3: A Community of Waiting and Expectation
“As the people were filled with expectation and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, ‘One who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals…’” Third Sunday of Advent Luke 3:7-18…
Read MoreAdvent 2: Preparing the Way
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee…during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, son of Zechariah in the wilderness…He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of…
Read MoreAdvent: Light of Our Darkness
“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among the nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the wave. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then we will…
Read MoreMy Words Can’t Carry All the Praise
Editors Note: The poems of Pastor Ted Loder have accompanied us on many Transforming Center retreats, guiding us into moments of quiet reflection. During this Thanksgiving season, we offer you this prayer from Guerrillas of Grace to guide you in a moment of quiet gratitude for all of God’s good gifts. Glorious God, how curious,…
Read MoreTransformational Worship: Encountering God in Ways that Change Us
Editor’s Note: Rory Noland is a composer and songwriter who has joined the Transforming Center team to help us continue to cultivate worship experiences that open us to God’s transforming presence. In 2005 he completed the two year Transforming Community experience and articulates in this article some of the basic components of transformational worship that…
Read MoreInterview with Ruth Haley Barton Regarding Sacred Rhythms
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Read MoreReleasing Ourselves to God: A Leader’s Invitation to Solitude and Silence
Editor’s note: The following article is adapted from Dallas Willard’s forward to Invitation to Solitude and Silence (Ruth Haley Barton, 2004). In it he identifies solitude and silence as the most radical disciplines of the Christian life because they require us to release ourselves into God’s hands in very concrete ways. Knowing the particular challenges…
Read MoreThe Lenten Way: Following Christ in Death and in Life
“Lent is a time of returning to God. It is a time to confess how we keep looking for joy, peace, and satisfaction in the many people and things surrounding us without really finding what we desire. Only God can give us what we want. So we must be reconciled with God … The season…
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