Scripture for this Week

We are getting close to the end of chapter four this week. We will be reading a couple more parables about seeds:

Mark 4:26-34 - New Revised Standard Version
Mark 4:26-34- Eugene Peterson's The Message

Please post any initial thoughts or questions you have about the scripture!

Blessings on your week,

will

Worship 9.26.04

What a wonderful evening of worship! Tonight we gathered around the table and shared in Holy Communion together. We were talking about the mystery of the Kingdom of God and I always feel that mystery surrounding me when I come to the table. I hope you did too!

If you weren't there this week, the sermon is posted here.

We will continue on through the Gospel of Mark next week. I will post the exact scripture a little later in the week.

By the way, thank you to everyone who helps makes the service happen. A lot of work is done throughout the week and especially on Sunday so that we can worship Sunday evening. If you help, thanks! If you want to help, drop me an e-mail and I will get you in touch with the appropriate person.

As always, feel free to post a comment about worship, or about the Gospel of Mark, or whatever is on your mind.

May God's Grace Surround You!

will

Scripture This Week

Did anybody notice that I skipped three verses in the reading Sunday evening? If you did, you get extra credit. I skipped verses 10-12 in chapter 4. I skipped over them because they raised some issues the sermon didn't have time to address. So this week, I am going to go back and pick them up and add them to the next section.

This week, we will be reading Mark 4:10-12, 21-25. The first link is the New Revised Standard Version. If you are looking for a different take read Eugene Peterson's paraphrase here.

Feel free to post your questions.

Grace and peace to you,

will

Worship 9.19.04

It is hard to believe that last night was the eleventh Sunday for this new worship service. A lot of hard work and planning went into getting started on Sunday evenings, but we really had no idea how everything would work out. I am really excited every week to see so many faces and to feel the energy and excitement. Thank you to everyone who works so hard and to everyone who comes every week to worship with us.

This blog is a great opportunity to interact. As a pastor, I always wish I had more opportunity to talk with people about scripture and about the sermons and the worship services. I love to hear other people's perceptions and understandings. I learn a lot from books but much, much more from people.

It is fairly easy to post a comment to this blog. You can post anonymously if you don't want to set up an account. You can also feel free to e-mail me at pastorwill@cometogetheraustin.org.

May God's love surround you,


will

Scripture This Week

This week I will be preaching on the parable of the sower from the fourth chapter of Mark. If you have the time, take a look at it:

Mark 4:1-20

Feel free to post your initial thoughts or questions.

Have a blessed weekend!

will

Cornerstone Column

In case you don't get a chance to read the Cornerstone, here is an article I wrote for this week:

I am writing this column as I sit beneath a plastic tarp I have fashioned into a lean-to. It is supported by an old pine tree on the side of a hill, overlooking a ridge so high that it has blocked the sun for most of the morning. I sit alone in my tarp as part of my two nights solo in the wilderness that draws to a close two weeks of a course called Adventure in Wilderness and Spirituality. Over the last two weeks I have walked across a wire 30 feet in the air, rappelled down the face of cliff and climbed a sheer rock face. I have hidden under pine trees to escape a hailstorm, carried a 40 pound pack across a 12,000 foot mountain pass and seen beauty that cannot be captured in word or photograph.
As I sit here listening to the sound of a mountain stream and the hundreds of creatures whose home I am visiting my heart wants to burst with love for my creator. In the midst of the wilderness I feel simultaneously totally insignificant and overwhelmingly blessed.
The time I have shared with 6 students, 2 pastors, our professor and guides will be with me all of my days. There are so many different ways in which we may experience the divine and each of us may be more drawn to one than the other. Some may most feel the presence of God in the words and music of Sunday worship, others in the fellowship of friends and family. Some may feel God right beside them hammering nails into wood that will someday make the home for a family looking to make a fresh start and others may find the peace and grace of God in the stillness and solitude of the wilderness. I hope you will consider where you feel closest to the divine and find some time to spend there.

will

Worship 9.12.04

I am running a little behind this week. It has taken me until Wednesday to comment on this week's service. We had another great turnout and the music was really uplifting (as usual). As always, please feel free to post comments about the service.

I usually know by Monday what the message is going to be for Sunday, but here it is Wednesday and I am still thinking about it. I will try and post the scripture later today.

I hope everyone has a grace filled week!

will

Scripture For This Week

I want to try and remember to post the scripture early in the week so you can read ahead and comment on it if you like.

We are in chapter 3 of the Gospel of Mark. I am going to skip over verses 13-19a. This is the calling of the 12 disciples. I hope you will read over that. What we will deal with in worship this week are verses 19b-35.

In the text we read about Jesus and his family and another conflict between Jesus and the religious authorities. Feel free to post and questions or comments.

May God Bless You and Keep You!

will

Worship 9.05.05

Wow! What an amazing worship service we had last night. The energy from the youth praise band and from the congregation was totally contagious! I am really pleased that so many people came out on a holiday weekend.

I noticed a lot of new faces. Thank you for coming to worship with us and thank you to whoever spread the word about the service. I hope that everyone will tell someone. You never know what effect one Sunday evening may have on someone's life.

If you have something to say about the service, I hope you will post a comment. All of us who work to put the service together love to hear what you like about the service or what you might like to see or hear different.

Thank you for being part of this worshipping community.

May God Bless You!

will

Spreading the Word

Carol and I went to Austin Community College's Pinnacle campus today to hand out cookies and talk about the worship service. We handed out bags of cookies with flyers in them promoting the service. We had a great response to the cookies and lots of questions about the church and the service. We hope that some of the people we met will stop by and check out what we are doing Sunday night.

I hope you might consider inviting someone to come this week. You might just change their life.

May God bless you!

will