Sermon
9-23-12 contemplation – spiritual practices –psalm 143
1 O Lord, hear my prayer,(A) listen to my cry for mercy;(B)
in your faithfulness(C) and righteousness(D) come to my relief.
2 Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous(E) before you.3 The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground;he makes me dwell in darkness(F) like those long dead.(G)
4 So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed.(H)5 I remember(I) the days of long ago; I meditate(J) on all your works and consider what your hands have done. 6 I spread out my hands(K) to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah7 Answer me quickly,(L) O Lord; my spirit fails.(M) Do not hide your face(N) from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,(O) for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way(P) I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.(Q)
9 Rescue me(R) from my enemies,(S) O Lord, for I hide myself in you.
10 Teach me(T) to do your will, for you are my God;(U)
may your good Spirit lead(V) me on level ground.(W)11 For your name’s sake,(X) O Lord, preserve my life;(Y) in your righteousness,(Z) bring me out of trouble.12 In your unfailing love, silence my enemies;(AA) destroy all my foes,(AB)
in your faithfulness(C) and righteousness(D) come to my relief.
2 Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous(E) before you.3 The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground;he makes me dwell in darkness(F) like those long dead.(G)
4 So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed.(H)5 I remember(I) the days of long ago; I meditate(J) on all your works and consider what your hands have done. 6 I spread out my hands(K) to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah7 Answer me quickly,(L) O Lord; my spirit fails.(M) Do not hide your face(N) from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,(O) for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way(P) I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.(Q)
9 Rescue me(R) from my enemies,(S) O Lord, for I hide myself in you.
10 Teach me(T) to do your will, for you are my God;(U)
may your good Spirit lead(V) me on level ground.(W)11 For your name’s sake,(X) O Lord, preserve my life;(Y) in your righteousness,(Z) bring me out of trouble.12 In your unfailing love, silence my enemies;(AA) destroy all my foes,(AB)
What
is the psalmist doing?
Thinking about, praying to, contemplating, Getting lost in God
contemplation
a: concentration on
spiritual things as a form of private devotion
b: a state of mystical
awareness of God's being
: an act of
considering with attention : study
: the act of regarding
steadily
The
point of contemplation is to clear the mind of distractions, to create a space
in our soul, so we can hear God.
Recognize
we are distracted
Identify
the ways we contribute to the busy-ness
Agree
there is a better way
Begin
to turn off the noise
Spiritual Practices which can help:
Giving
your time to God
Solitude-
silence-listening to music
It
isn’t easy, but it is needful
Four
monks decided to go into silence for a month. They started out well enough, but
after the first day, one monk said, “I wonder if I locked the door of my cell
at the monastery before we set out.”
Another monk said, “You fool! We decided to keep silence for a month, and now you have gone and broken it!”
A third monk said, “What about you? You have broken it too!”
Said the fourth, “Thank God, I’m the only one who hasn’t spoken yet!”
Another monk said, “You fool! We decided to keep silence for a month, and now you have gone and broken it!”
A third monk said, “What about you? You have broken it too!”
Said the fourth, “Thank God, I’m the only one who hasn’t spoken yet!”
There
is no solitude without silence.
The
blessing of music
My
walk with Christian music
Fernando
Ortega. Lora story. Sanctus real. Casting crowns.
Submission/find
a mentor/accountability
Never
trust a shepherd who isn’t someone else’s sheep
Spiritual
director. Counselor. Coach. Boss. Pastor friends.
Friends. Wife.
Many
places onour property for contemplation.
Chapel,
sanctuary, benches on trails. Pavilion. Gardens.
Walking
the stations of the cross
Remembering
the suffering of Jesus
Jesus
in the garden. Before pilate. Jesus flogged. Crucified.
Sit
and pray with me for a while?
Walking
the labyrinth
7
circuits
Gabage
in, peace out
maze
refers to a complex branching puzzle with choices of path and direction; a
labyrinth has only a single, non-branching path, which leads to the center. A
labyrinth in this sense has an unambiguous route to the center and back and is
not designed to be difficult to navigate.
Walking
among the turnings, one loses track of direction and of the outside world, and
thus quiets the mind.
Fasting/self
denial/simplicity
Not
to lose weight
To
direct a persons thoughts towards God The pangs of hunger remind one to pray
The role of self denial in the life of a chirstian Living in perspective.
Simplicity.
When
God is forced out of his rightful place in our lives, things begin to
fill our hearts and take over our living.
The
point of contemplation is to clear the mind of distractions, to create a space
in our soul, so we can hear God.
Without
the distractions we can hear from God
Who is God
What is He about
Who are we
What should I be about
There is a story about a
man who runs out to meet a monk who is passing by the village. ‘Give me the
stone,’ he cries, ‘the precious stone.’
The monk says, ‘What stone are you talking about?’
The man says, ‘Last night God appeared to me in a dream and said, “A monk will be passing by the village at noon tomorrow, and if he gives you a rock that he is carrying with him, you will be the richest man in the country.” So give me the stone!’
The monk reached into his sack and took out a diamond; the biggest diamond in the world, the size of a human head! And he said, ‘Is this the stone you want? I found it in the forest. Take it.’ The man seized the stone and went running home. But he couldn’t sleep that night. Very early the next morning he went to where the monk was sleeping under a tree, woke him up, and said, ‘Here’s your diamond back. I want the kind of wealth that enables you to throw wealth away.’
The monk says, ‘What stone are you talking about?’
The man says, ‘Last night God appeared to me in a dream and said, “A monk will be passing by the village at noon tomorrow, and if he gives you a rock that he is carrying with him, you will be the richest man in the country.” So give me the stone!’
The monk reached into his sack and took out a diamond; the biggest diamond in the world, the size of a human head! And he said, ‘Is this the stone you want? I found it in the forest. Take it.’ The man seized the stone and went running home. But he couldn’t sleep that night. Very early the next morning he went to where the monk was sleeping under a tree, woke him up, and said, ‘Here’s your diamond back. I want the kind of wealth that enables you to throw wealth away.’
Alli’s
encounter in Chicago
Passing
knowledge or falling into, being lost in God
Meet
my wife
Fall
in love with my wife
One
flower
The
garden picture
The
point of contemplation is to clear the mind of distractions, to create a space
in our soul, so we can hear God.
And
when we hear from God, life is richer, fuller, more meaningful, exciting, and
significant. That's worth thinking about. That’s worth
contemplating
No comments:
Post a Comment