ITLOTC 1-26-18

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Any Given Sunday Morning

It is safe to say that one of my favorite parts of my job is Sunday morning. It brings me a lot of life to have kids and families (and college students and young professionals and grandparents and visitors and friends…) in the building. And it gives me so much joy to walk in and out of rooms where kid’s Bible study and formation is happening and hear our kid’s actively engaged in learning about the story that God has been eternally writing. It is hands down my favorite part of every week.

And one of the reasons I love it so much is because the formation that is taking place in every room is so different – and it always reminds me of different ways that I am still trying to be formed. In the Nurture Room with the babies I am reminded that my constant determination to be completely 100% independent is foolishness. We were created to be in relationship with other people and that includes being dependent on those with whom we are in community. Babies model this dependence for us every day and in every moment. May we all remember to depend on the people around us.

 In the Sprout Room with the tiny toddlers who have just learned to walk I am reminded that joy is never too far away. In this classroom kids laughter comes readily and something as small as a fist bump can bring a giant smile to a kid’s face. It forces me to ask the question – how much more joy would I find if I was expectantly looking for it? May we all be people who look for joy.

In the Bloom Room with the 2 and 3 year olds I am reminded about the importance of grace. 2 and 3 year olds have the tendency to test their boundaries – they’re figuring out the world and they have a lot of opinions about how they want to go about doing that. But they are resilient and quick to bounce back. It is a room full of grace – extended by our awesome teachers to our kids and by our 2 and 3 year olds to their teachers and their classmates – that reminds me that we are all still figuring this world out. May we all extend a little bit more grace to others and to ourselves.

 In the Branch Room with our Pre-K and Kindergarten kids I am reminded of the importance of imagination and creativity. They are quick to envision the setting of the Bible Story (this past Sunday they told me all about what Jonah might have been experiencing in the belly of a giant fish) and always so excited and pleased to show off their in class creations. We are all created in the image of the Creator and on most days these 4 and 5 year olds trust their own creative instincts more than most adults I know. They believe that it is important to create things and that the things they create are important. Might we all remember that we are created and creative beings, too.

And in the Root Rooms with our 1-4th graders I am reminded of the importance of curiosity. Our older kids are full of big and important questions – about the Bible, about the world around them, and about life in general. And I am reminded about the importance of knowledge. I am a person who deals primarily in feelings – but our 1st-4th graders keep my on my toes with all the things they know and their excitement and curiosity about what is left to learn. May we all keep learning about God and letting that knowledge form us more and more into the image of Christ.

I hope our kids never lose these attributes. That they are forever curious and creative and gracious and joyful and willing to depend on and trust the people around them so that they might be healthy and helpful community members. And so that they might see the Spirit of Christ in the world around them always. And I ask the same thing for you – that you might embody these qualities. And for myself – that I might embody them too. And when we don’t (because I am certain that there will be days that we don’t) – that we are able to point each other back to the work that the Holy Spirit has already done in our lives and continue to push each other towards Christ as we participate together in the kingdom of God.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email me at taylor@ubcwaco.org.

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Parishioner of the Week

Hogan Nance, for helping (actually showing) the adults how to run sound and lights on the Mid Winter Retreat for youth two weekends ago.  

Human Trafficking Prayer

Our liturgy this Sunday will include the reading of a declaration and prayer regarding human trafficking, provided to us by the Heart of Texas Human Trafficking Coalition.  This will occur after the third song, and the Roots class will be dismissed at that time rather than after the Scripture readings.

Ordination Service

UBC will be ordaining Joanna Sowards for the ministry of the gospel.  Joanna is a hospice chaplain.  Her service will be Sunday evening at 5:00 in the Backside @ UBC.  

nUBCer Lunch

If you are new to UBC and would like to learn more about the church we will be hosting a lunch after church on Sunday February 4th.  Sign ups will be in the foyer this Sunday or you can sign up by email toph@ubcwaco.org. 

Work is Worship

Greeters: Blaylocks 

Coffee Makers: Emmy and Caroline 

Mug Cleaners: UBC Youth 

Money Counter:  Doug McNamee 

Announcements

• Sermon Text: 1 corinthians 8
• 1-28 Quarterly Leadership Team Meeting 
• FEBRUARY BLACK HISTORY MONTH LITURGY 
• 2-11 Love, Love Feast 6:00 PM CST 
• 2-16 Date Night 
• 2-12 Finance Team Meeting 
• 2-14 Ash Wednesday Service, Lent Begins 

Do you have an emergency and need to talk to a pastor? 

254 413 2611

Leadership Team

If you have a concern or an idea for UBC that you’d like to share with someone that is not on staff, feel free to contact one of our leadership team members. 

Chair- Emma Wood:  emmaj.wood@yahoo.com

Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com

Stan Denman: Stan_Denman@baylor.edu

Adam Winn:  adamwinn68@yahoo.com

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Sharyl Loeung: sharylwl@gmail.com

Jon Davis: jdavis83@gmail.com

Student Position: Samuel Moore: samuel_moore2@baylor.edu

Student Position: Leah Reed: Leah_Reed@baylor.edu

UBC Finance Team

Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.

JD Newman: JD_Newman@baylor.edu 

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Anna Tilson: Anna_Tilson@jrbt.com

Doug McNamee: douglas_mcnamee@baylor.edu

UBC HR Team

If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com

Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com

Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com

Liturgy 1-21-2018

This blog is a record of the call to worship, Scripture readings, and prayers from our Sunday liturgies.  If you are interested in writing something for the liturgy, or if you have a concern about any aspect of our liturgy, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Call to Worship

we have gathered to worship the One
in whom we live and move and have our being

to devote our attention to the One
who is making all things new

hoping to find our living, moving,
and being, transformed

and our heart remade

into torches bearing Kingdom light

revealing life where there was once only darkness

Amen.

Scripture

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord.

Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days' walk across. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.

Mark 1:14-20

After John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” 

As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him.

As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

Prayer

This week's prayer was from A New Zealand Prayer Book (582):

God of all mercy,
your Son brought good news to the despairing,
freedom to the oppressed
and joy to the sad;
fill us with your Spirit,
that the people of our day may see in us his likeness
and glorify your name.

Jesus, our Redeemer,
give us your power to reveal and proclaim the good news,
so that wherever we may go
the sick may be healed, lepers embraced,
and the dead and dying given new life.

Almighty God,
your Son revealed in signs and wonders
the greatness of your saving love;
renew your people with your heavenly grace,
and in all our weakness
sustain us by your mighty power;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Setlist 1-21-2018

Our last liturgy was the second Sunday of Epiphany, and the songs were gathered with that in mind.  Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics.  Below the songs, you can find a brief example of one way you might think of these songs. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Bonfire by Jameson McGregor

All the Poor and Powerless by All Sons & Daughters

There's A Wideness in God's Mercy by Jameson McGregor (adapted from F. Faber)

Shadow by Jameson McGregor

How Great Thou Art

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

Bonfire: This song explores the contrast between God and humanity, and looks forward to the coming reconciliation of all things to God; the reconciliation that is sometimes glimpsed in the world around us in justice, redemption, and love. You can hear an album version of this song here.

All the Poor and Powerless: This song is about the hope of Christ in the lives of the oppressed, trampled, criminal, and hopeless, and more broadly about the love of God for God's creatures.

There's A Wideness In God's Mercy: We sang this song to remind ourselves that our best ideas of God's love fall short of grasping it in fullness.  During Epiphany, we hope to suspend our assumptions about God's love along with everything else we think we know about the Person of Jesus, in hopes of encountering Jesus anew.

Shadow: This song is about the impossibility of dying to self and the vision for humanity embodied in the person of Christ. You can hear an album version of this song here.

How Great Thou Art: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about How Great Thou Art then: As we travel through Epiphany, most of the gospel readings will depict someone acknowledging Jesus as Lord.  This song offered us language to join in this posture of acclamation. 

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos.

-JM

ITLOTC 1-19-18

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Epiphany

Engaging Epiphany

As you might remember, the Story We Live In hit reset after Christ the King Sunday, and we went from triumph and celebration to waiting for a Light in the darkness and dis-location of Advent.  At Christmas, we witnessed the Light enter the darkness, and we now find ourselves in a season of Light: Epiphany.  

During this season, the gospel readings in the lectionary will take us through several stories of people coming to know Jesus and/or acknowledging him as Lord.  This is a time when we are invited to come alongside the people of God in the text and become re-acquainted with Jesus; to attempt to set aside the assumptions we’ve already accumulated and to encounter this Person as if for the first time.

In this season of Light, we find the way that we perceive what was once cloaked in darkness to be changed.  We might find that things are worse than we thought or perhaps better, but there is hope to found in the illuminating—it’s the cover of darkness that lets despair flourish.

There are three interconnected ways of engaging Epiphany that I want to offer to you and myself.

First, make an effort to come to know the Person of Jesus.  The lectionary is going to give us several snippets of stories where people meet Jesus,  and that’s great, but those stories alone aren’t going to do much to you as a reader.  Instead, try entering into the story—taking on the posture of these people who encounter Jesus for the first time, and follow Jesus through the gospel narratives, waiting to see how he will react in precarious religious and social situations.  Listen to his teachings—especially the ones relevant to interacting with other people (most of them)—and resist the urge to tone them down or brush them aside because they seem impractical; you and I have both been taught to do this as a defense mechanism for the parts of our status quo that the ethic of Jesus opposes.  In doing this, we might come to know more about what God would have us know about who God is and what God would have us know about who we are.

Second, pay attention to the way Jesus sees those around him.  As you follow Jesus through the story of his life and ministry, you’ll find that he views human beings with dignity and decided lack of un-importance.  He has a particular lens for viewing the world, and we should presumably seek to make that lens our own. With this in mind, it might be worthwhile to take note of the way you see other people, and see how that measures up to the example offered in Jesus.

Third, seek to illumine the world around you.  This season offers us the chance to look again at Jesus and to look again at the world around us, but then asks what that means for the way we live and move in the world.  Are we interacting with people as though we truly see them? Are we actively seeking justice, or even just ordinary care, in our community?  Are we living lives that express a sense of dignity for Creation and all creatures?

Taken all together, that should keep us pretty busy for the next few weeks.  If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Baby Dedication

Please be in prayer for Hayes Duke as he prepares for his dedication this Sunday. 

Town Hall Update

Finance Report

Missions Report

Toph shared about our upcoming missions partnerships.  He will be taking a trip in February to explore a CBF partnership in the country Cuba.  We will be concluding our Thailand partnership after our last trip there this Spring.

Youth Report

Dilan and Hannah shared about the youth’s Mid-Winter Retreat as well as a few of the studies and activities the youth are involved with.

Land Report

We were asked by the city to demolish the storage unit (918 S. 18th St.) on our Flint property.  We decided at that time to also remove the house.  The total cost of the those demolition projects was $11,300. 

Building Report

Before Christmas I, Josh, met with our realtor and we decided to offer the Brazos Electric Company $1 million for the property.  The BEC refused that offer and didn’t counter.  They also informed us that they are pulling the listing.

The last time Lisa (our realtor) and I were there, the BEC had demolition and asbestos people were walking through the building.  Our opinion is that they are going to remove the permanent structures from the property and relist the land clean.  We will be watching for future listings. 

You may remember that BEC property was listed for $1.85 million.  Obviously our offer was low.  We didn’t necessarily think we’d get the property at that price, but we thought we’d get a counter.  That being said, we were nervous about the potential cost of renovating the existing structure.  After meeting with some finance folks from the BGCT and talking with a few builders, some estimates came in as high as $3 million to get that building ready for a worship space and to host children.  That didn’t include renovating that entire main building or dealing with asbestos in the other maintenance buildings.   Abatement costs on that type of asbestos and the 9x9 tiles in the existing structure (which we knew were asbestos) were alarming. 

When the leadership team meets on the 28th we will discuss what’s next. 

I did mention some ideas for our existing property.  Some of you asked for a sketch so I’d like to provide that for you. 

Below you’ll see an early sketch I got from our architect.  I’ve made some colorful amendments.  One idea is to do an expansion on the 18th st. side of the building.  The expansion would go out the current coffee area into the parking lot (pink area below).  When I talked with our architect his rough estimate is that, that project would run between $150-200 a sq. foot.  We’d likely do plumbing both on our current building and the new one.  That’d probably put us in the middle.  That shaded area is about 8,000 sq. ft.  we may need more room, we might need less room.   An intial estimate on that addition then would run between 1.5-2 million. 

In conjunction with that, we turn the newly demoed property on 18th st. (green on the sheet) into park along with investigating acquiring Flint St. from the city, which we also turn into to parking.  In talking with a developer in Waco, his quick guess would be that turning flint into parking would run 100K if we could get an easement form the city and they forfeited the property. 

In addition to these changes we’d also likely take this opportunity to improve our current buildings.  Some preliminary ideas include renovating current spaces into larger and more legitimate restrooms, adding natural sunlight to places like the backside and restoring classroom space to their former swanky

Parishioner of the Week

Marshall Cook for doing some heavy lifting with the children's ministry these past 7 weeks.  Marshall has volunteered 5 of the last 7.   Let's get him some help.  Email taylor@ubcwaco.org if you are interested in serving in the kids ministry.  

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nUBCer Lunch

If you are new to UBC and would like to learn more about the church we will be hosting a lunch after church on Sunday February 4th.  Sign ups will be in the foyer this Sunday or you can sign up by email toph@ubcwaco.org. 

Giving Statements

Giving statements for 2017 tax year will be available after church this Sunday.  

Work is Worship

Greeters: Richardsons 

Coffee Makers: Chris Jeffrey

Mug Cleaners: Carson & Andrew 

Money Counter:  Justin Pond 

Announcements

• Sermon Text: 
• 1-28 Quarterly Leadership Team Meeting 
• FEBRUARY BLACK HISTORY MONTH LITURGY 
• 2-4 NUBCer Lunch 
• 2-11 Love, Love Feast 6:00 PM CST 
• 2-16 Date Night 
• 2-12 Finance Team Meeting 
• 2-14 Ash Wednesday Service, Lent Begins 

Do you have an emergency and need to talk to a pastor? 

254 413 2611

Leadership Team

If you have a concern or an idea for UBC that you’d like to share with someone that is not on staff, feel free to contact one of our leadership team members. 

Chair- Emma Wood:  emmaj.wood@yahoo.com

Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com

Stan Denman: Stan_Denman@baylor.edu

Adam Winn:  adamwinn68@yahoo.com

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Sharyl Loeung: sharylwl@gmail.com

Jon Davis: jdavis83@gmail.com

Student Position: Samuel Moore: samuel_moore2@baylor.edu

Student Position: Leah Reed: Leah_Reed@baylor.edu

UBC Finance Team

Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.

JD Newman: JD_Newman@baylor.edu 

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Anna Tilson: Anna_Tilson@jrbt.com

Doug McNamee: douglas_mcnamee@baylor.edu

UBC HR Team

If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com

Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com

Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com

Liturgy 1-14-2018

This blog is a record of the call to worship, Scripture readings, and prayers from our Sunday liturgies.  If you are interested in writing something for the liturgy, or if you have a concern about any aspect of our liturgy, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Call to Worship

we have gathered to worship the creator

to come to know the one who knows us fully

to step into God’s story

and be transformed by it

into people whose eyes are tuned
with love and compassion

that we might learn to see others
and ourselves as God does

Amen.

Scripture

Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17

O Eternal One, You have explored my heart and know exactly who I am;
You even know the small details like when I take a seat and when I stand up again.
    Even when I am far away, You know what I’m thinking.

You observe my wanderings and my sleeping, my waking and my dreaming,
    and You know everything I do in more detail than even I know.
You know what I’m going to say long before I say it.
    It is true, Eternal One, that You know everything and everyone.

You have surrounded me on every side, behind me and before me,
    and You have placed Your hand gently on my shoulder.
It is the most amazing feeling to know how deeply You know me, inside and out;
    the realization of it is so great that I cannot comprehend it.

For You shaped me, inside and out.
    You knitted me together in my mother’s womb long before I took my first breath.
I will offer You my grateful heart, for I am Your unique creation, filled with wonder and awe.
    You have approached even the smallest details with excellence;
    Your works are wonderful;

I carry this knowledge deep within my soul.
    You see all things; nothing about me was hidden from You
As I took shape in secret,
    carefully crafted in the heart of the earth before I was born from its womb.

You see all things;
    You saw me growing, changing in my mother’s womb;
Every detail of my life was already written in Your book;
    You established the length of my life before I ever tasted the sweetness of it.

Your thoughts and plans are treasures to me, O God! I cherish each and every one of them!
    How grand in scope! How many in number!
If I could count each one of them, they would be more than all the grains of sand on earth. Their number is inconceivable!
    Even when I wake up, I am still near to You.

John 1:43-51

Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.”

Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?”

Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.”

And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

Prayer

This week's prayer was written by Martin Luther King Jr.:

Thou Eternal God, out of whose absolute power and infinite intelligence the whole universe has come into being, we humbly confess that we have not loved thee with our hearts, souls and minds, and we have not loved our neighbors as Christ loved us.

We have all too often lived by our own selfish impulses rather than by the life of sacrificial love as revealed by Christ. We often give in order to receive. We love our friends and hate our enemies. We go the first mile but dare not travel the second. We forgive but dare not forget.

And so as we look within ourselves, we are confronted with the appalling fact that the history of our lives is the history of an eternal revolt against you. But thou, O God, have mercy upon us. Forgive us for what we could have been but failed to be. Give us the intelligence to know your will. Give us the courage to do your will. Give us the devotion to love your will. In the name and spirit of Jesus, we pray.

Amen.

Setlist 1-14-2018

Our last liturgy was the second Sunday of Epiphany, and the songs were gathered with that in mind.  Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics.  Below the songs, you can find a brief example of one way you might think of these songs. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

How Great Thou Art

Death in His Grave by John Mark McMillan

There by Jameson McGregor

Anthem by Leonard Cohen

All Creatures of Our God and King by David Crowder* Band

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

How Great Thou Art: As we travel through Epiphany, most of the gospel readings will depict someone acknowledging Jesus as Lord.  This song offered us language to join in this posture of acclamation. 

Death In His Grave: As we come to know Jesus again this year, this song in some way hits fast-forward on the story, moving on to the Resurrection, but it also contains an extremely important insight: Jesus was executed as a criminal because his teachings and ministry posed a threat to the religious and political order.  

There: This song offers us the chance to step back and notice that, though God is present with us in any given situation, God precedes and will outlast any source of anxiety, and the story-we-live-in says that God intends to bring us along to the other side of sorrow as well.

Anthem: In this season of Light, this song reminds us that the Light of hope enters through the cracks of brokenness.

All Creatures of Our God and King: This song echoes the posture of acclamation that we took up in the first song, and offers us the chance to be present to our interconnectivity with the whole of Creation.

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos.

-JM

ITLOTC 1-12-18

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Christmas

The World I Want To Live In

I drive a scooter.  You can read about the reasons for that and my enthusiasm for that kind of transportation here.

My mom’s dad passed away on Saturday morning.  He was 99 and ready to die.  Needless to say she bought a plane ticket and drove her minivan up to DFW to fly to Florida.  With my mom went Wendell’s Monday/Wednesday child care and his transportation.  

My mom is an enneagram 1 with a 2 wing.  Obviously she was going to go to Florida, but the circumstances weren’t enough to make her feel excused of the duties she volunteers for i.e. taking care of a toddler two days a week.  We encouraged her not to worry about because Lindsay and I are great people like that.  

But this did put us in a small pickle.  I’m talking about a 2 out of 10 pickle (my mom reads the newsletter, so I really need to downplay this part).  Here’s how this solution came to us.  Two different friends volunteered to watch Wendell on Monday and Wednesday.  But there was still the issue of the car.  At first Lindsay and I reasoned that we could just be a one car family in my mom’s (and her minivan’s) absence.  But as we started dissecting the week and crafting plans, it became clear that this was going to be as easy as putting an air mattress back in the original box.  

On Sunday morning when we woke up Lindsay suggested that we use the afternoon to make a car purchase.  We’ve been planning on buying a 12 passenger van sometime in the next year, so she reasoned that we could move the purchase date up a few months.  I have a self preservation instinct.  I hate spending money, even if I plan to do it.  So I talked her back away from the ledge and I put our car need on Facebook.  

You probably won’t be surprised to hear that I had multiple offers.  All my friends are big time generous winners.  Eventually we selected the help of Mose and Kathy Dunning, all-American-champion transplants from Houston.  On Sunday evening they rolled into our driveway with a sweet awesome Volvo something or another, a nicer car than I usually get to drive. #winning.   It’s been my set of hot wheels all week.  

I don’t like needing help.  I always feel obligated in response.  Jesus is right, it’s better to give than to receive, but I think I agree with him for the wrong reason.  I don’t like feelings of indebtedness.  Even if they are self-invented, they chip away at my internal sense of autonomy.  So I agree it is better to give than to receive.  But I made conscious choice on Sunday night.  I meditated on the few times in my life when I have been able to provide for others.  I reflected on how much joy I got from being able to do that.  In that reflecting I gave myself permission to enjoy the help from my friends and I reminded myself that this is the nature of the kingdom Jesus proclaims.

So question for you.  When was the last time you gave yourself permission to enjoy someone else’s generosity?   

Parishioner of the Week

Paul Carron for his Grammy worthy performance of kids music in the bloom room.  

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UBCYP Game Night (TONIGHT)

the second friday of every month, the ubc "young" "professionals" get together for a game night at Ricky Lovecky's house at 7pm.  If you are interested in going, you can email ricky_lovecky@baylor.edu for further details.

Town Hall

Town Hall will take place after church this Sunday. 

Sunday School

Sunday School will start this Sunday January 14th.  We will be having two classes this Spring.  The first class led by Val Fisk and Kelly Doolittle will be about Matthew's usage of the Old Testament in writing his gospel.  The other class, Cheers, will resume and study the gospel of Mark.  That class will be led by Dr. Adam Winn.  YOUTH SS does not start until the following Sunday. 

Work is Worship

Greeters: Ricky

Coffee Makers: Jacob & Katie 

Mug Cleaners: Cooleys 

Money Counter: Anna Tilson 

Announcements

• Sermon Text: 
• 1-28 Quarterly Leadership Team Meeting 
• FEBRUARY BLACK HISTORY MONTH LITURGY 
• 2-4 NUBCer Lunch 
• 2-11 Love, Love Feast 6:00 PM CST 
• 2-16 Date Night 
• 2-12 Finance Team Meeting 
• 2-14 Ash Wednesday Service, Lent Begins 

Liturgy 1-7-2018

This blog is a record of the call to worship, Scripture readings, and prayers from our Sunday liturgies.  If you are interested in writing something for the liturgy, or if you have a concern about any aspect of our liturgy, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Call to Worship

we have gathered to devote our attention
to the Light in the darkness

to set our eyes toward God-with-us

seeking to learn
what God would have us know
about who God is

and what God would have us know
about who we are

hoping to be formed more fully in the way of Christ

that our lives might bear the Light of Christ

Amen

Scripture

Genesis 1:1-5

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Mark 1:4-11

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Setlist 1-7-2018

Yesterday was the first Sunday of Epiphany, and the songs were gathered with that in mind.  Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics.  Below the songs, you can find a brief example of one way you might think of these songs. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

We Three Kings

Be Thou My Vision

SMS [Shine] by David Crowder* Band

Lifted/Lifting by Jameson McGregor

Wayward Ones by The Gladsome Light

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

We Three Kings: This song captures the part of Jesus' story where the wise men visit him with gifts, which is observed at the feast of Epiphany.  It also underscores the symbolic freight of the gifts of frankincense, gold, and myrrh, which point to Jesus' divinity, kingship, and death.

Be Thou My Vision: In Epiphany, we encounter the person of Jesus for the first time, and in doing so, come to know what God would have us know about who God is and who we are.  This song acts as a petition for God to shape the way we see Jesus as we enter this season.

SMS [Shine]: This song is about the Light of God entering the darkness.  We sang it because Epiphany is a season of learning to see the world in the Light of Christ.

Lifted/Lifting: This song is about the lifelong pursuit of coming to know Jesus and being formed in the way of Christ.

Wayward Ones: We sing this song every time we take communion to remind ourselves of a couple of things.  First, we are a broken people--though we are seeking to become more like Jesus, we often fail at this.  Second, Christ has given Himself for us despite our brokenness.  We take communion to remember the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf, even though we did not, and do not, deserve it.

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos.

-JM

ITLOTC 1-5-18

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Christmas

2017 Big Finds

Now that the year has come to an end, i've asked the staff to all think of one big find for 2017.  The something in question doesn't have to new or have come out this year, but rather be new to the person experiencing it.  Asked differently, what did you discover this year the you love?

Josh

I'll go first.  You might know from previous newsletters that if I won the lottery i'd drop Waco like a bad habit and create a commune on Lake Superior.  The commune would be centered around sustainable agriculture and life together, especially meals.  As an added bonus and because Chip and Jo Jo made it look so easy, I decided that we'd turn this move into a reality TV show.  I was sharing this dream with one Dr. David Wilhite when he turned me onto the River Cottage series.  I got the DVDs from Wilhite, but if you'd like to watch a few seasons you can catch them on Youtube here.  Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is a former London chef who one decided to leave it all behind and see what he could cook up on his own little piece of property.  River Cottage is a TV series about that ever evolving experiment.  

Val

In 2017 I discovered “The Greatest Showman.” This musical movie is the story of P. T. Barnum and the circus he started, focusing especially on the unique characters of the circus. Hugh  Jackman worked for nearly 7 years to get approval for this moving story of what it means to be human, to be included, to be loved, and to be reminded of what matters when we fall. And Zac Efron’s first musical appearance in 10 years did not disappoint, due in large part to the songwriting genius of the same duo who wrote “La La Land.” I can promise you all that the theme of the movie, “This Is Me,” will move you to tears. 
 

Toph

This year, I was able to explore Israel, and I discovered a new appreciation for the area around Galilee and Jerusalem in which Jesus lived. To physically see the landscape of these places truly made the stories in Scripture jump off the pages in new ways for me.  Lastly, I had the privilege of sitting at the chef’s table at Machneyuda in Jerusalem.  This truly was one of the best dining experiences of my life.

Dilan

This year I discovered Iceland. This summer two friends and I spent a week driving across this beautiful island with waterfalls around every corner. Highlights included the Black Sand beach at Vik, 3 dudes sleeping in a Rav 4, Reykjadalur hot springs, and the Icelandic Hot Dogs. Also since USMNT failed to make the World Cup, I found a new team to cheer on this summer! 

Jamie

my big find of 2017 was the [de]constructionists podcast.  it's basically two guys who are good at asking questions who interview theologians, philosophers, and musicians about matters of faith.  pretty much any episode you pull up is going to have a great, exploratory, wonder-driven conversation. as they engage diverse perspectives, they model active listening really well, and I can't think of a single time where the conversation turned into a debate. i have found it to be informative and thought-provoking without being pretentious. if you're looking for a place to start, just scroll through their catalogue and find a name that looks familiar.  if you can't find one, i'd recommend any of the Peter Rollins episodes, or the N.T. Wright one. but my main recommendation would be to go to episode 1, and listen to everything.

Taylor 

In 2017 I discovered podcasts. And look I know that puts me way behind but we can't all be on top of all the trends. I've always really liked music and for some reason I had convinced myself that it would be hard to listen to podcasts if I was only driving short distances but - turns out - it's not. It all started with a podcast from The Ringer called BingeMode - it's about Game of Thrones. And then I listened to S-Town and just about every podcast about the Enneagram that I could find and more recently I started listening to a podcast called Good Christian Fun and a podcast about Gilmore Girls called Gilmore Guys (It's two guys reviewing every Gilmore Girls episode and I love it). I like podcasts because they can be fun and silly or they can be educational and interesting or there can be provocative and introspective and make me think deeply about things - and I have all of those choices at the touch of a button! Wow - the future is great. And so are podcasts!

Kim 

Last year up until this summer I served UBC as a Pastoral Associate and I felt so involved in the church process while I learned what it meant to serve the church. This year, I was hired as the Office Manager and found what it means to spend consistent time serving, talking with Taylor and Josh upstairs about current events, listening to Toph's song suggestions (he's got good taste), listening to Jamie practice music in his office, and processing life with these people. Living with these people, finding a home for my love of spreadsheets and organization, and fulfilling my need to be around genuine and caring people... this year, I found a job and a family.

Parishioner of the Week

Jay and Chris Jeffery for single handedly carrying the coffee/mug ministry through the end of 2K17. 

Random Picture So This Blog has a Thumbnail and a Greater Chance of Being Clickbait

Jamie was driving in TN and hit a deer.  Among other things his radiator was ruined.  Consequently he had to leave his car in TN and drive back in a rental.  This is the rental Enterprise gave him.  Enjoy the irony.  

Town Hall

There will be a town hall after church next Sunday, January 14th.  

Sunday School

Sunday School will start on Sunday January 14th.  We will be having two classes this Spring.  The first class led by Val Fisk and Kelly Doolittle will be about Matthew's usage of the Old Testament in writing his gospel.  The other class, Cheers, will resume and study the gospel of Mark.  That class will be led by Dr. Adam Winn.  

Work is Worship

Greeters: Walters 

Coffee Makers: Emmy & Caroline 

Mug Cleaners: Chris Jeffrey 

Money Counter: 

Announcements

• Sermon Text:  Mark 1:4-11, "Inward Realities" 
• 1-8 Finance Meeting 
• 1-14 Town Hall After Church 
• 1-28 Quarterly Leadership Team Meeting 
• FEBRUARY BLACK HISTORY MONTH LITURGY 
• 2-4 NUBCer Lunch 
• 2-9 Date Night 
• 2-11 Love, Love Feast 6:00 PM CST 
• 2-12 Finance Team Meeting 
• 2-14 Ash Wednesday Service, Lent Begins 
•  

Liturgy 12-17-2017

This blog is a record of the call to worship, Scripture readings, and prayers from our Sunday liturgies.  If you are interested in writing something for the liturgy, or if you have a concern about any aspect of our liturgy, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Call to Worship

we have gathered to learn to wait
for a light in the darkness

to take up the Joy
of all things being made new

to step into God’s story

and be transformed by it

into people whose stories bear
wonder, hope, peace, and joy

and who join with God
in the re-Creation of the world

Amen.

 

 

 

 

Joy Candle Liturgy

In directing our attention to the Light that God is giving us, we are captured by Joy.  This joy is neither fleeting, nor is it limited to the range of emotions that we might call “happy.” Instead, Joy is a way of seeing where we stubbornly refuse to call the way things are “the way things will always be.” It’s a way of seeing that looks back to look forward, knowing that God is still working to reconcile all things to Godself. With this in mind, we light the third candle.

[Light Joy Candle]

Hear now of the Lord coming into the darkness of Exile to lead us home in Isaiah 35:1-10.

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
   the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,
   and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
   the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
   the majesty of our God. 
Strengthen the weak hands,
   and make firm the feeble knees. 
Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
   ‘Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
   He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
   He will come and save you.’ 
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
   and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 
then the lame shall leap like a deer,
   and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
   and streams in the desert; 
the burning sand shall become a pool,
   and the thirsty ground springs of water;
the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,
   the grass shall become reeds and rushes. 
A highway shall be there,
   and it shall be called the Holy Way;
the unclean shall not travel on it,
   but it shall be for God’s people;
   no traveller, not even fools, shall go astray. 
No lion shall be there,
   nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
   but the redeemed shall walk there. 
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
   and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
   they shall obtain joy and gladness,
   and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 

Scripture

Isaiah 61:1-11

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
    to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
    to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.
They shall build up the ancient ruins,
    they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
    the devastations of many generations.

Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks,
    foreigners shall till your land and dress your vines;
but you shall be called priests of the Lord,
    you shall be named ministers of our God;
you shall enjoy the wealth of the nations,
    and in their riches you shall glory.
Because their shame was double,
    and dishonor was proclaimed as their lot,
therefore they shall possess a double portion;
    everlasting joy shall be theirs.

For I the Lord love justice,
    I hate robbery and wrongdoing;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
    and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Their descendants shall be known among the nations,
    and their offspring among the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge
    that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
    my whole being shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
    and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
    to spring up before all the nations.

Luke 1:46-55:

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
    and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
    Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
    he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
    and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
    and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
    in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
    to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

Setlist 12-17-2017

Yesterday was the third week of Advent, and the songs were gathered with that in mind.  Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics.  Below the songs, you can find a brief example of one way you might think of these songs. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Hope (There Will Come A Light) by ubcmusic

Peace (Change Everything) by ubcmusic

Mystery by Jameson McGregor (adapted from Charlie Hall)

Joy (Brightest) by ubcmusic

Rise Up by BiFrost Arts

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

Hope (There Will Come A Light): This song clings to the hope that God's inbreaking Kingdom will enter the darkness of our world of broken systems, bringing justice to the oppressed.

Peace (Change Everything): This song pleads for God to bring peace into the dissonance and brokenness of the world, from the socio-political sphere to the cellular level.

Mystery: We sang this song to lean into the present day vantage point of Advent, looking at the way the coming of Jesus intersects with our current way of engaging the world in peace and sanity.

Joy (Brightest): This song contemplates the fact that the Joy that accompanies the inbreaking of the Kingdom is a force that lays waste to systems from which we might benefit.

Rise Up: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about Rise Up then: This song proclaim's God's immanent concern in the plight of the oppressed and marginalized.

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos.

-JM

ITLOTC 12-15-17

 

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Advent

Prayer, Pt. 5

A few months ago, I started writing a series of newsletters on prayer.  At the beginning, I said that I would delay taking up the question of why one would pray at all until a later date.  

It is now a later date.

But I really don’t have much to say about this.

Because, if I’m honest, this question is not interesting to me.  

Don’t get me wrong—I spent years (YEARS) of my life spinning my wheels trying to theologically map out the mechanics of free will and prayer and divine providence, attempting to convince myself of whether or not prayer makes a difference in the world or to God. But at some point, I noticed that the twists and turns of that line of inquiry had little to no effect on my desire to pray.

On an existential level, there were things that I wanted to speak out loud—to shout into the universe.  Things that made me happy or angry, things that I wanted to happen or to change.  And insofar as I pushed down the impulse to express these things, the low-key preoccupation that I had with these desires more or less amounted to prayers whether I wanted to speak them or not.

And on a theological level, I was reading the Bible, finding time and again that God is portrayed as a dynamic, loving, compassionate Person, who is invested interpersonally with the minutiae of creatures and creation, and is interested in hearing prayers and responding to them—conversing, if you will.

With these two elements in mind, the question of whether or not my prayers get God to do things seems irrelevant.  I’ve got stuff to say, and I’m going to say it.  And if I acknowledge that God exists as a Person, I’m not going to give God the silent treatment when I don’t feel like God is doing what I ask.  I’d much rather tell God how angry it makes me that things fell apart or how help never came.  

This leads me to believe that the impulse I have to pray is about something besides making things happen or not happen.

The idea of prayer as conversation is pretty well obvious and/or trite at this point, but I want to take a closer look at it, because I think it is most often discussed as a format or mode of prayer, with the “why” of prayer still being to get God to do stuff.  More and more, I’ve come to think of conversation as the purpose and function of prayer.

By that I mean, the thing that drives us to pray is the same drive that leads us to seek out connection with other people, just on a more fundamental, existential level—the drive to know and be Known.

I think about the economy of conversation in terms of expression and transformation.  In expressing ourselves, we move toward being known (by both the other and ourselves).  In listening, we come to know.  And in coming to know, we are changed in some way.

Obviously, the conversational nature of prayer is different in some way from conversing with other people, but I think this structure holds.  The primary difference is the listening is more of a posture of existence—a sort of contemplative openness or teachability.  With or without words, the aim of coming to know and be Known remains.

And, yes, I do think that just as I am shaped by prayer, God is shaped in some way.  I think this because it happens frequently in the Bible.  

That doesn’t mean that I or you have control over God, just as a loved one doesn’t have control over us in conversation.  But the words or requests of a loved one carry SOME influence, right?

Regardless, the function and purpose of prayer is not to influence God—carrying that expectation will leave you thoroughly disappointed in life, and the expectation of interpersonal control in any other context would be easily identified as unhealthy.

Anyway, that is more or less all the stuff I have to say about that.  

I realize that I’ve really only talked about my experience (that’s really the only thing I know how to do).  There’s a chance that someone reading this has experiences that contradict these, and for whom these thoughts are wholly unhelpful—people who don’t feel any drive to pray, or who really do want (or need) an answer to the why of prayer.  If that’s you, send me an email (jamie@ubcwaco.org)—I don’t know that I’ll have answers for you, but I’d be honored to listen to you, step into your experience, and look for an answer together.

Random Picture So This Blog has a Thumbnail and a Greater Chance of Being Clickbait

UBC Parishioner of the Week

Paul Jobson, for coaching the Lady Bears soccer team to a big 12 tournament championship followed up by their first ever elite high appearance.  Thanks Paul, for being a winner, both on and off the field.  

ITLOTC Break

This beloved newsletter, that reaches millions of readers each week, will be taking a two week break for the Holiday season.  Please check your inboxes and Facebook feeds January 5th, for the first ITLOTC of 2K18, which promises to be full of amazing information and new ideas. 

Sunday School

There will be no more Sunday School for the rest the year.  Stay tuned for dates and class descriptions for the upcoming spring semester.  

Work is Worship

Greeters: Richardsons

Coffee Makers: 

Mug Cleaners: 

Money Counter: Justin Pond 

Announcements

• Sermon Text:  "Good Biblical Family Values Part 3: Bathsheba" 2 Samuel 11
• "Christmas Eve Morning Service/Advent 4" 12-24 @ 10:30 AM.    Carol sing and candle lighting at 5:00 PM. 

Liturgy 12-10-2017

This blog is a record of the call to worship, Scripture readings, and prayers from our Sunday liturgies.  If you are interested in writing something for the liturgy, or if you have a concern about any aspect of our liturgy, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Call to Worship

we have gathered to learn to wait
for a Light in the darkness

to grasp for the Peace of God
in the midst of uncertainty and so much noise

to step into God’s story

and to be transformed by it

into people who live stories
of wonder, hope, and peace,

and who join with God
in the work of re-Creation in the world

Amen

 

 

 

Peace Candle Liturgy

In our waiting for the Light to come into our darkness, we seek the peace of God--that peace that passes all understanding, that puts broken pieces back together, and heals wounds that, by any measure, are beyond repair.

[Light Peace Candle]

Here is God’s promise of peace from Isaiah 11:

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.

On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious. 

Scripture

Joshua 2

Then Joshua son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and spent the night there. The king of Jericho was told, “Some Israelites have come here tonight to search out the land.” 

Then the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come only to search out the whole land.” But the woman took the two men and hid them.

Then she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they came from. And when it was time to close the gate at dark, the men went out. Where the men went I do not know. Pursue them quickly, for you can overtake them.” 

She had, however, brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax that she had laid out on the roof. So the men pursued them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. As soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.

Before they went to sleep, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men: “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before you. 

For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites that were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. As soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no courage left in any of us because of you.

The Lord your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below. Now then, since I have dealt kindly with you, swear to me by the Lord that you in turn will deal kindly with my family. Give me a sign of good faith that you will spare my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” 

The men said to her, “Our life for yours! If you do not tell this business of ours, then we will deal kindly and faithfully with you when the Lord gives us the land.”

Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the outer side of the city wall and she resided within the wall itself. She said to them, “Go toward the hill country, so that the pursuers may not come upon you. Hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned; then afterward you may go your way.” 

The men said to her, “We will be released from this oath that you have made us swear to you if we invade the land and you do not tie this crimson cord in the window through which you let us down, and you do not gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your family. 

If any of you go out of the doors of your house into the street, they shall be responsible for their own death, and we shall be innocent; but if a hand is laid upon any who are with you in the house, we shall bear the responsibility for their death. 

But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be released from this oath that you made us swear to you.” She said, “According to your words, so be it.” She sent them away and they departed. Then she tied the crimson cord in the window.

They departed and went into the hill country and stayed there three days, until the pursuers returned. The pursuers had searched all along the way and found nothing. Then the two men came down again from the hill country.

They crossed over, came to Joshua son of Nun, and told him all that had happened to them. They said to Joshua, “Truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands; moreover all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before us.”

Setlist 12-10-2017

Yesterday was the second week of Advent, and the songs were selected with that in mind.  Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics.  Below the songs, you can find a brief example of one way you might think of these songs. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Hope (There Will Come A Light) by ubcmusic

There by Jameson McGregor

Rise Up by BiFrost Arts

Peace (Change Everything) by ubcmusic

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

Hope (There Will Come A Light): This song clings to the hope that God's inbreaking Kingdom will enter the darkness of our world of broken systems, bringing justice to the oppressed.

There: This song proclaim's God's transcendence over and above every source of anxiety in the world, and clings to God as an anchor in the midst of the uncertainty and noise of life.

Rise Up: This song proclaim's God's immanent concern in the plight of the oppressed and marginalized.

Peace (Change Everything): This song pleads for God to bring peace into the dissonance and brokenness of the world, from the socio-political sphere to the cellular level.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs: We sang this song to enter into the part of our Story where the people of God were waiting on the Light to enter the darkness.

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos.

-JM

ITLOTC 12-8-17

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Advent

Navigating the Darkness

Sometime last year, or maybe before, I wrote a blog on the difference between conviction and certainty.  The author of the book I have just finished reading provided me with a new language that further clarified this difference for me.  I’d like to share it with you.

Christian Wiman said, “We do not need definite beliefs because their objects are necessarily true.  We need them because they enable us to stand on steady spots from which the truth may be glimpsed.”

After I finished the book, I listened to Christian participate in an interview with Krista Tippett on her program, On Being.  He synthesized this and a few other thoughts that were fragmented in the book.  He said that belief has objects and that faith does not.

I think this is a helpful way to think about us as humans with changing belief.  I don’t believe everything I  believed ten years ago.  I likely won’t believe everything in ten years that I believe now.  I change.  My view of the world changes.  And still, in this sea of change, there is a constancy in my faith.  The same Jesus who pulled me out of the chairs of my childhood church up to the altar for prayer, visits with me now.  That same Jesus assures me, unsettles me, and stands by me.  

I believe everything in Nicene Creed.  It’s what we have listed on our website under “what we believe.”  But here’s how I’ve grown.  I’m not threatened by the removal of the individual objects on that list.  

One time my dad told me that people who persevere in faith do so because they’ve had experiences with God.  I think he was right.  Those experiences can be subtle like still small voices, but they are still experiences.  Said differently, people don’t stay Christian because their beliefs always make sense to them or never change.  They belong to the faith because they are held by God, and in the holding, they have sense of the ineffable.  

In advent we walk around in the dark.  Promises linger in the air.  We’ve heard rumors of God’s solution coming.  The stars are aligning.  Something cosmic seems to be going on up in the heavens, but without light, it’s tough to see.  And so we practice faith.  We cling to the thing that keeps us when the objects of belief find the limits of explanatory power.  We long to arrive at the manger and see Jesus.

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UBC Parishioner of the Week

Rev. Dr. David Wilhite for his contributions to and leadership in crafting the Boston Declaration. 

Foster Care Christmas Presents

If you took a tag to purchase a foster child a Christmas present with our partner ministry Arrow Child and Family Ministries, please bring that present this Sunday!!!  The party for the kids is Sunday afternoon and we are still missing about 8 gifts.  

Thailand Mission Trip - June 10-24, 2018

There are still spots open for the mission trip to Thailand in May.  The cost of the trip is around $2500, and covers all meals, travel, lodging, and events.  A $200 deposit is due by the 17th.  If you have any questions, please 

Work is Worship

Greeters: Ricky 

Coffee Makers: Kim 

Mug Cleaners:  Vince & Sarah

Money Counter: Hannah Kuhl 

Announcements

• Sermon Text:  "Good Biblical Family Values Part 2: Rahab" Joshua 2 
• finance team meeting 12-11
• "Christmas Eve Morning Service/Advent 4" 12-24 @ 10:30 AM.    Carol sing and candle lighting at 5:00 PM. 

Liturgy 12-3-2017

This blog is a record of the call to worship, Scripture readings, and prayers from our Sunday liturgies.  If you are interested in writing something for the liturgy, or if you have a concern about any aspect of our liturgy, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Call to Worship

we have gathered to learn to wait
for a Light in the darkness

to cling to the hope that the Living God
has not abandoned God’s creatures

to step into God’s story

and to be transformed by it

into people who carry the wonder
and love of God in our own stories

joining with God’s work
of re-Creation in the world

Amen

Advent Introduction

Today, we find ourselves in the first week of Advent.  If that’s a new term for you, Advent is the first season of the church calendar—the beginning of the story we live in—and like the other seasons of the church calendar, it calls us to enter into a drama of sorts.

We unstick ourselves in time, stepping back a couple thousand years, in order to allow ourselves to receive the Gift that God is bringing on Christmas, as though we don’t already know exactly what we are celebrating at the end of December.  It is a season of waiting on God, of looking back on the way that God has been faithful to God’s people and trusting that God will continue to be faithful to us. 

Now, we also stand as particular people in a particular time and place, who can look back a couple of thousand years and know exactly what we are celebrating at the end of December—people who stand in the midst of a story where we have seen just how far God is willing to go to set things right—yet who also know that things are still very broken.  As these people in this present brokenness, we too look forward, trusting that God will continue to be faithful to us, and that the Kingdom of God we sometimes glimpse among us is on its way in fullness.

So, holding both of these identities, the ancient and the future, we are learning and relearning to wait for God to show up.

Of the Advent and Christmas season, N.T. Wright says:

“For many, Christianity is just a beautiful dream.  It’s a world in which everyday reality goes a bit blurred.  It’s nostalgic, cozy, and comforting.  But real Christianity isn’t like that at all.  Take Christmas, for instance: a season of nostalgia, of carols and candles and firelight and happy children.  But that misses the point completely.  Christmas is not a reminder that the world is really quite a nice old place.  It reminds us that the world is a shockingly bad old place, where wickedness flourishes unchecked, where children are murdered, where civilized countries make a lot of money by selling weapons to uncivilized ones so they can blow each other apart.  Christmas is God lighting a candle; and you don’t light a candle in a room that’s already full of sunlight.  You light a candle in a room that’s so murky that the candle, when lit, reveals just how bad things really are.  The light shines in the darkness, says St John, and the darkness has not overcome it. Christmas, then, is not a dream, a moment of escapism.  Christmas is the reality, which shows up the rest of ‘reality.’” 

So, ubc, as we occupy the space of Advent, take time to look around to see how dark the world is, that we might learn to wait for a light in this darkness.

Hope Candle Liturgy

On this first Sunday of Advent, we are reminded that we live by Hope.  Hope in the coming of the Messiah, that God will bring Light into our present darkness.  Hope that those pinned in by anxiety will find rest.  Hope that those who feel worthless will find their true Value.  Hope that the poor, the homeless, the refugee, and all those trampled by systems of power will be given the mercy and justice of God.  And hope that Love will cast out every fear.

For now, we wait, trusting that God is faithful and at work redeeming all things.  We declare these things in lighting the Hope candle.

[Light the Hope candle]

Hear God’s promise of hope from Isaiah 2:2-4:

In days to come
   the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
   and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.
   Many peoples shall come and say,
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
   to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
   and that we may walk in his paths.’
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
   and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
   and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
   and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
   neither shall they learn war any more.

Scripture

Genesis 38:1-26

It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and settled near a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah. There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua; he married her and went in to her. She conceived and bore a son; and he named him Er. 

Again she conceived and bore a son whom she named Onan. Yet again she bore a son, and she named him Shelah. She was in Chezib when she bore him. Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death. 

Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her; raise up offspring for your brother.” But since Onan knew that the offspring would not be his, he spilled his semen on the ground whenever he went in to his brother’s wife, so that he would not give offspring to his brother. 

What he did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also. Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Remain a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up”—for he feared that he too would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went to live in her father’s house.

In course of time the wife of Judah, Shua’s daughter, died; when Judah’s time of mourning was over, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 

When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,” she put off her widow’s garments, put on a veil, wrapped herself up, and sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. She saw that Shelah was grown up, yet she had not been given to him in marriage. 

When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a prostitute, for she had covered her face. He went over to her at the roadside, and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law.

She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” He answered, “I will send you a kid from the flock.” And she said, “Only if you give me a pledge, until you send it.” He said, “What pledge shall I give you?”

She replied, “Your signet and your cord, and the staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him. Then she got up and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.

When Judah sent the kid by his friend the Adullamite, to recover the pledge from the woman, he could not find her. He asked the townspeople, “Where is the temple prostitute who was at Enaim by the wayside?”

But they said, “No prostitute has been here.” So he returned to Judah, and said, “I have not found her; moreover the townspeople said, ‘No prostitute has been here.’” Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, otherwise we will be laughed at; you see, I sent this kid, and you could not find her.”

About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has played the whore; moreover she is pregnant as a result of whoredom.” And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.” 

As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “It was the owner of these who made me pregnant.” And she said, “Take note, please, whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.” Then Judah acknowledged them and said, “She is more in the right than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not lie with her again.

When the time of her delivery came, there were twins in her womb. While she was in labor, one put out a hand; and the midwife took and bound on his hand a crimson thread, saying, “This one came out first.” 

But just then he drew back his hand, and out came his brother; and she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore he was named Perez. Afterward his brother came out with the crimson thread on his hand; and he was named Zerah.

Setlist 12-3-2017

Yesterday was the first week of Advent, and the songs were selected with that in mind.  Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics.  Below the songs, you can find a brief example of one way you might think of these songs. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Come Thou Fount

SMS [Shine] by David Crowder* Band

Hope (There Will Come A Light) by ubcmusic

Wayward Ones by The Gladsome Light

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

O Come, O Come Emmanuel: We sang this song to enter into the part of our Story where the people of God were waiting on the Light to enter the darkness.

Come Thou Fount: We sang this song to give voice to our looking back at who God has been in order to calibrate our hope of who God will continue to be for us.

SMS [Shine]: This song offers us language to express what it is like to wait in the darkness hoping that God has not abandoned us.

Hope (There Will Come A Light): This song clings to the hope that God's inbreaking Kingdom will enter the darkness of our world of broken systems, bringing justice to the oppressed.

Wayward Ones: We sing this song every time we take communion to remind ourselves of a couple of things.  First, we are a broken people--though we are seeking to become more like Jesus, we often fail at this.  Second, Christ has given Himself for us despite our brokenness.  We take communion to remember the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf, even though we did not, and do not, deserve it.

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos.

-JM

ITLOTC 12-1-17

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Advent

            When I was younger – probably until I was about 13 or 14 – my mom’s family would have a family reunion on the weekend after Thanksgiving. On Thursday morning we would load up the car with all our things for the weekend and drive to Fort Worth to celebrate Thanksgiving with my dad’s family, and then when we were done we would get back in the car and drive on to Rusk, TX. Rusk is a very small town in East Texas and someone owned some land and a farm just outside of town so we all went every year and stayed in this same hotel in town.

 It was a little bit of a free for all – or it felt that way as a kid. The hotel was on a lot of land and surrounded by lots of trees and a golf course. So there were plenty of places to run around or find a good hiding place and sit and read which is what I did. And we always rented one hotel suite as a common room where everyone would hang out and all the food got kept in there (it seemed like an endless supply of food at the time). And on Saturday night we all went out to the farm and had a big bonfire and roasted hotdogs and s’mores. It wasn’t the most typical Thanksgiving experience – but those days with my family are days for which I am very thankful.

The Lectionary text from the epistles for this coming Sunday is 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 and while I know that technically we’re in Advent and that the Lectionary Calendar isn’t created with Thanksgiving (or any American Holidays) in mind, I can’t help but think that this is a particularly appropriate text for the week after Thanksgiving. It says:

3 May all the gifts and benefits that come from God our Father, and the Master, Jesus Christ, be yours. 4-6 Every time I think of you—and I think of you often!—I thank God for your lives of free and open access to God, given by Jesus. There’s no end to what has happened in you—it’s beyond speech, beyond knowledge. The evidence of Christ has been clearly verified in your lives. 7-9 Just think—you don’t need a thing, you’ve got it all! All God’s gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that. - 1 Corinthians 1:3-9, The Message

            I am especially taken by the way The Message interprets v.7-9 – “Just think—you don’t need a thing, you’ve got it all! All God’s gifts are right in front of you…” I don’t think that I live my life like this every day – believing that I don’t need a thing because God has already given me all that I will ever need. I wonder how my life would change if I did. And not only has God already given me everything that I need, but also, “God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus.” Not only has God already given me all that I need, but also God is with me as I walk through this life – encouraging me, strengthening me, sustaining me at all times until all things are wrapped up in Christ.

            I think that sometimes it is easier to be thankful for things that have already happened. Sometimes it is easier for me to be thankful for days spent with my family at a hotel in East Texas – but it’s a little harder to be thankful for an ordinary day in my ordinary life while it’s happening. 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 encourages me to ask myself - how different would my life look if I lived every day with a sense of thankfulness that God had already given me all that I ever needed? How different would yours be?

As always, if you have any questions or concerns about this, feel free to email taylor@ubcwaco.org.

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UBC Parishioner of the Week

Chad May for being a #champion4thelord and making coffee on Sunday. 

 (December 5th and 6th)

UBC will be opening its doors from 10am-midnight, on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.  Overheard at last years Study Hall: “UBC is the best. I mean seriously, I have been here for 6 hours, but I feel like Ive learned as much as I do in 60.  I also feel closer to Jesus.  This is the absolute best place to study.  I feel sorry for my friends who didn’t come here to study, they will probably fail their finals.”

We will have snacks and drinks out all day, and don’t worry, our pancake extravaganza will be happening at 10pm on Wednesday night.  If you have any questions, email toph@ubcwaco.org #yourbestfinalsnow

Thailand Mission Trip - June 10-24, 2018

There are still spots open for the mission trip to Thailand in May.  The cost of the trip is around $2500, and covers all meals, travel, lodging, and events.  A $200 deposit is due by the 17th.  If you have any questions, please email toph@ubcwaco.org

Get To Know Your UBC Staff

7 UBC staff members: Val, Toph, Dilan, Josh, Jamie, Taylor and Kim have favorite movies.  

They are: Elizabethtown, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Interstellar, Straight Out Of Compton, The Tree of Life, Cast Away, and Remember The Titans.  

Be the first person to email josh@ubcwaco.org correctly matching 7 movies to the corresponding staff members and win a gift card to the local cinema.  Email subject line should read "the movies."  

Work is Worship

Greeters: Walters 

Coffee Makers: Emmy & Caroline

Mug Cleaners:  OOTP

Money Counter:  Anna Tilson 

Announcements

• Sermon Text: Genesis 38 "Good Biblical Family Values Part 1"
• finance team meeting 12-11
• "Christmas Eve Morning Service/Advent 4" 12-24 @ 10:30 AM.    Carol sing and candle lighting at 5:00 PM. 

Setlist 11-26-2017

Yesterday was Christ the King Sunday, and the songs were selected with that in mind.  Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics.  Below the songs, you can find a brief example of one way you might think of these songs. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Crown Him With Many Crowns

Mystery by Jameson McGregor (adapted from Charlie Hall)

Pulse by Jameson McGregor

Rise Up by Bifrost Arts

Inbreaking by Jameson McGregor

Chariot by Page France

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

Crown Him With Many Crowns: We sang this song because it was basically made to be sung on Christ the King Sunday.  It speaks both to a conceptual crowning of Christ in one's life, and also to a more eschatological vision of the Kingdom.

Mystery: This song proclaims the story of what kind of king Christ is--the kind that would suffer and die for his people. In singing this song, we began to pose a question to ourselves of what Christ's reign might mean for the way that we live and move in the world.

Pulse: We most often refer to the Holy Spirit as the Breath of Life undergirding all of Creation when we sing this song. But Pulse can also be taken to refer to the way in which all of Creation holds together in Christ, which is the angle we took yesterday.  At the bottom of everything, we are connected to the people least like us by our mutual connection to the grace of Christ.

Rise Up: This song is a petition for the King who stands with the oppressed to rise to their defense, and a charge to those who claim to be formed in the way of Christ to do the same.

Inbreaking: This song is a plea for the coming of the Kingdom and the re-Creation of all things.

Chariot: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about Chariot then: This song is a looking ahead toward the re-Creation of all things.  This looking ahead in some way embodies the posture of Ordinary Time, insofar as we allow this looking ahead to motivate us to live as though the Kingdom has already come in fullness.

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos.

-JM