PIX: blc alternative worship gathering, last night
Unsolicited Advice for Life, Work, Work/Life and Lifework
Life is flux, but one thing I keep returning to is the Word.
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worship
Heart of #Worship: a #sermon by @joshi21
My cousin preached a good sermon at his church, recently:Â
Heart of Worship - Joshua LimÂ
Â
- The completeness of God's graceÂ
- The importance of worship based on truth, not emotionsÂ
- Punctuated with live singing throughout the message, hahaÂ
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What is the worth of an old violin?
When I was a child, I used to listen to a song that was based on this poem. I dedicate this poem to all "old violins" out there. May it move you as it moved me so long ago.
...
'Twas battered and scared, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin,
But he held it up with a smile.
"What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,
"Who'll start bidding for me?
A dollar, a dollar - now who'll make it two?
Two dollars, and who'll make it three?"Three dollars once, three dollars twice,
Going for three". . . but no!
From the room far back a gray-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow;
Then wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening up the strings,
He played a melody, pure and sweet,
As sweet as an angel sings. The music ceased and the auctioneer
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said: "What am I bidden for the old violin?"
And he held it up with the bow;
"A thousand dollars - and who'll make it two?
Two thousand - and who'll make it three?
Three thousand once, three thousand twice
And going - and gone," said he.The people cheered, but some of them cried,
"We do not quite understand -
What changed its worth?" The man replied:
"The touch of the masters hand."
And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and torn with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd.
Much like the old violin. A "mess of pottage," a glass of wine,
A game and he travels on,
He's going once, and going twice -
He's going - and almost gone!
But the MASTER comes, and the foolish crowd,
Never can quite understand,
The worth of a soul, and the change that's wrought
By the touch of the MASTER'S hand.- Myra B. Welch [http://www.ehhs.cmich.edu/~tbushey/quote.html]
To waste much time on the old violin,
But he held it up with a smile.
"What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,
"Who'll start bidding for me?
A dollar, a dollar - now who'll make it two?
Two dollars, and who'll make it three?"Three dollars once, three dollars twice,
Going for three". . . but no!
From the room far back a gray-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow;
Then wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening up the strings,
He played a melody, pure and sweet,
As sweet as an angel sings. The music ceased and the auctioneer
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said: "What am I bidden for the old violin?"
And he held it up with the bow;
"A thousand dollars - and who'll make it two?
Two thousand - and who'll make it three?
Three thousand once, three thousand twice
And going - and gone," said he.The people cheered, but some of them cried,
"We do not quite understand -
What changed its worth?" The man replied:
"The touch of the masters hand."
And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and torn with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd.
Much like the old violin. A "mess of pottage," a glass of wine,
A game and he travels on,
He's going once, and going twice -
He's going - and almost gone!
But the MASTER comes, and the foolish crowd,
Never can quite understand,
The worth of a soul, and the change that's wrought
By the touch of the MASTER'S hand.- Myra B. Welch [http://www.ehhs.cmich.edu/~tbushey/quote.html]
...
Here is the closest rendition of the song I used to listen to as a kid. There are commercially recorded versions on YouTube, but none manage to catch the pathos of the version I knew. This one comes close.
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My community of faith inspires me.
Quick Thoughts!
As I prepare for bed...
Being a recollection of inspirations that waltzed through my mind during this morning's worship gathering at blc.
Joanna - the steadiest percussionist I know personally. I've told her so enough times to embarrass her, I think ;).
It is inspiring to see people worship wholeheartedly.
It is inspiring to see cutesy-wutesy babies in the worship gathering.
It is inspiring to hear the strains of the violin.
It is inspiring to see people worship.
When you know their stories. When you know the pain they feel and the trouble they face.
And when you see them worship anyway - it is inspiring.
It is inspiring to see people behind the scenes, keeping things up front running well.
My community of faith inspires me.
http://blc.net.my/
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This is *not* what you want to see when googling to prepare for worship.
Seriously, I still do not understand why anyone thought this was a good idea. Look at that arm reaching out for you, seemingly to pull you through the screen into the mysterious world behind the lcd, the moment you touch that keyboard. The candles burn like sentinels of the doorway. See the maniacal look in the eyes. The sinister grin.Â
Not what they were trying to achieve, I'm sure, but there you have it.Â
A bland bit of clipart work made into something nightmarish by that arm. That terrifying arm.Â
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Let Us Exalt His Name Together Forever
A golden oldie I'm thinking of singing this Sunday at blc:Â
I love this song, although I think this particular arrangement is a bit tame ;).Â
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Daily Bible readings in your inbox - this time, the lectionary.
Devotions and readings suggested for daily meditation and prayer
Lectionary readings provide a disciplined way to read through the Bible. These readings are available for both lectionary cycles, the Sunday and festival readings and the Daily Lectionary.
Read them online, subscribe to our email list, print a reading list or listen to "Hear the Word," the lectionary podcast.
Learn more about lectionary readings.
via pcusa.org
I just received an email from the Presbyterian Church (USA) from a list I subscribed to more than a week ago. I don't know why the delay (maybe they process subscriptions by hand), but I'm glad it's here.
It's the daily lectionary reading via email. I've already blogged about the Bible-in-two-years programme I'm following (http://alphalim.me/hijacking-a-bad-habit-to-promote-a-good-one-d ). This should be another exciting option.
The lectionary is a three-year cycle of readings that covers the whole Bible (and optionally, the Apocrypha). It's based on early Jewish reading patterns and has been developed throughout the history of the church. You might find it helpful.
I'll be trying both email subscriptions for awhile and see which I'll drop (or I might go whole hog and keep following both). The lectionary reading has the benefit of being in sync with the church year, though. So - well, we'll see what happens.
Let me know if you give it a go!
Filed under //
Bible
Christian
church
daily readings
household of faith
Scripture
spirituality
worship
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Yet another magical time of worship and fellowship. Around the giant bowl whence flow twelve liquid streams.
via facebook.com
11 photos are here!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=125998&id=600721057&l=c9254b3767
Grainy and underexposed!
I mean, raw and authentic!
Because I haz no flash!
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Hijacking a "bad" habit to promote a good one - daily Bible emails!
Have trouble finding time to read the Bible? (Like me.)
Spending too much time reading your email? (Like me.)
Hijack one habit to promote the other! Get the Bible in your email every day! Haha...
There are various "daily Bible emails" out there, but I like this one because they provide options - read your Bible through in 1, 2 or 3 years.
Someone asked me how I read my Bible - nowadays, mostly online, iPhone, and now, email!
Jesus came to meet us where we are. It makes sense that the text should meet us in our context.
Give it a go and let me know!
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Today was the last worship gathering of @blc in Bangsar. For now.
A quick missive before I nod off to bed...
Today was the final (for now) worship gathering of Bangsar Lutheran Church at The Father's House.
For the near future, Bangsar Lutheran Church will - ironically - gather in PJ.
The Father's House is being renovated to accommodate more people.
In the meantime, we will be at the new Luther Centre, which accommodates more people as-is.
Here are some photos of today's happenings.
I'll see if I can caption them. I haven't tried a mass upload of photos via Posterous before!
[Okay, so you can't caption individual photos that you uploaded as email attachments. But be not dismayed, fair blog reader, for thou mayest yet behold these photos on yon Facebook album page at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=123451&id=600721057&l=5816a8c2e9
(It's significantly later now, since I first posted this blog post.)]
This is our weather-beaten, termite-eaten, much-loved wooden signboard.
If you look behind, you'll see it's being held together by duct tape.
Our newer, plastic, (cheesy) signboard was stolen.
(Some of us were happy to see it go, haha. Shh...)
Posted from Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
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