Journey of Prayer

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Journey of Prayer

• Lesson 1 The Inward Journey the Search for
  Meaning.

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An 11 week quest for meaning

• Many begin this quest by exploring inwardly
• Certainly the fingerprint of the creator is
  impressed upon our hearts
• Yet, to stay focused on our heart
• misses the magnitude of creation
• reduces the universe to the common.
• misses the awesomeness and otherness of the
  Creator (The creator is NOT human)

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We need to look outward
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Finding God in others? Look how we treat each
other

• Destroyers
• Annoying
• Fat
• Ugly
• Lazy
• Stupid
• Murders
• Bums

• Idiots
• Worthless
• Haters
• Good-for-nothings
• Someone who will never change
• Troublemakers
• Objects

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Searching for meaning in humanity leads to
despair and disappointment.

• This is not who we are.
• This is not who we are created to be.

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We need to look further outwardWe need to begin
our search for meaning by looking for God
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Who is God?

• The One who creates from nothing with a simple
  Word

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and
the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and
empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep,
and the Spirit of God was hovering over the
waters. 3 And God said, "Let there be light," and
there was light. 4 God saw that the light was
good, and he separated the light from the
darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the
darkness he called "night." And there was
evening, and there was morning--the first day.
Genesis 11-5
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Who is God? (cont.)

• The One who is at the center of the universe
  the prime mover of all things
• The One who breathes life into our souls

the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the
ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath
of life, and the man became a living being.
Genesis 27
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Who is God? (cont.)

• The One who defines who we are and what is our
  purpose
• The One who comes from heaven to be our traveling
  companion in our lifes journey

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among
us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One
and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace
and truth. John 114
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Who is God? (cont.)

• The One who is distant and ominous and
  frightening
• The One who is near and common and friend

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Who are we?
26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image,
in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish
of the sea and the birds of the air, over the
livestock, over all the earth, and over all the
creatures that move along the ground. 27 So God
created man in his own image, in the image of God
he created him male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be
fruitful and increase in number fill the earth
and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and
the birds of the air and over every living
creature that moves on the ground.
Genesis 125-27
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Who are we? (cont.)

• The image of God
• Steward of Gods earth
• Caretakers of each other (we are our brothers
  keeper)
• Precious creations
• The defining masterpiece of God
• The equal of any king
• An intimate companion of an awesome God

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It is true that the world has not remained in the
state of shalom created by God, or in the unity
with God that the creator intended. Yet, this is
why God chooses to journey with us, so that we
might have a guide who prepares our path and
guides us to the center of all things, which is
God. As we continue our journey, we will discover
who this guide is, and what path we take to come
to God.
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We begin the journey to God

• Please use the next seven minutes as you see fit.
• You may close your eyes and listen to the
  narrator
• You may read along, or even use the scriptures to
  dive deeper into the words of the message
• You may kneel at the altar, or walk through the
  sanctuary to symbolize our journey.
• However you use this time, please honor this
  place and time as a quiet sanctuary from the
  world.

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You are on a journey, a journey towards the light
that is God. A journey towards the center of the
labyrinth and out again. A journey towards God
and out again. A journey of receiving and then
giving Walk with expectancy. As you journey,
reflect on what you see, hear, think. Expect to
discover the wonderful, the fantastic. Open your
eyes wide, use your sensesthis is no senseless
journey.
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Breathe deeply. Relax. Dont rush. Savor the
moment. Be aware of otherswe are traveling
togetherand focus on moving God-wards. As you
move towards the center of the labyrinth,
confess, and let go of the things that hinder
your relationship with God. Shed images or
projections of yourself so that you can be real
with God. Let go of what other people think you
should be, their expectations of you, their
projections. As you journey, unmask yourself,
peel away the layersgrow by subtraction. Prepare
your inner selfthe you of youto meet with God.
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At the beginning of time the earth was in
darkness, and we are in darkness.
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• But we shall move towards the warmth and
  nourishment that is God, our life source
• God spoke the Word, and the Word was God.
• And there was light.

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God created and created and keeps on
creating. God sees that it is good. God labors to
bring life and gives birth to abundance. It is
good.
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In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. The Word was
with God in the beginning. Through the Word all
things were made without the Word nothing was
made that has been made. In the Word was life,
and the life was the light of men and women. The
light shines in the darkness but the darkness has
not understood it.
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The Word became flesh and blood and moved into
the neighborhood Full of grace and truth
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The world that was in darkness has seen a great
lightheralded by a birth-star in the dark night
sky in Bethlehem. Just as the wise men journeyed
onwards towards God by following the star, so we
ask you to journey, to press on toward the light
of life.
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Our task is seldom easy after all, we see
through a glass dimly. But we have seenmaybe
just glimpsedthe light, and we travel towards
the center of the labyrinth as a symbol that we
are going after the light of God As a seed grows
towards the light, allow yourself to do the same.
Trust the Creator God with your whole self.
Acknowledge who you are and who you are becoming.
Show your amazing colors. Stand tall.
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On a journey, we sometimes find ourselves on the
open road plain cruising. Sometimes we have to
navigate terrible junctions. Sometimes we are
held up. Sometimes the road is wide and clear.
And sometimes it narrows. Almost frighteningly.
Sometimes our traveling companions are keeping up
with us. Sometimes they have gone on ahead and
left us. Sometimes it is they who lag behind.
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Who are your traveling companions? How much do
you value them? What do you like to travel with?
When the road gets rough and steepwill you be
there to support your friends, your family, those
you worship with?
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Have you stopped to see how far you have come
recently? Have you encouraged each other to
press on? As you journey through the labyrinth,
resolve to encourage those you travel with in
faith and life. And remember the beautiful,
strange paradox of our faith. We search after
God we travel towards God as pilgrims. And yet
God, too, is with us. As a guide. And as a
traveler. God hasnt promised an easy ride, but
has promised to sustain us.
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God is faithful. God will not desert you. God
is the pulse of the cosmos. God will not let you
die. God is love. They will comfort you. Three
in One, One, but not the same As we are one,
but not the same. Connected, but
individual. Apart, but together. A part of each
other.
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As you journey, begin to focus on God. God is at
the center of the universe, as the Sun is at the
center of our solar system. The source of all
warmth and love and light and life God pours out
into the universe with life-giving light, with
love. Experience the love, feel the warmth.
Choose life.
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Can you receive from God? You may not like
accepting and receiving hospitality. Yet God,
our host, has so much to offer us and give us
all the riches of a relationship.
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Jesus himself was a guest at a wedding in
Canaweve heard it all before. He turned the
water into wine. Vintage stuff. Jesus was a
guest of humanity. The heavenly host, who laid on
a harvest of abundance for the world, the
creator, my provider, became the guest of the
animals in the stable, the villagers of Nazareth,
the religious leaders in the Temple, the
prostitutes, drunkards, tax collectors.
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He let us play host, did away with the VIP
pass. Became one of us, dined at our table. Ate
the same bread, drank the same wineeverybody
having a good time. Shared stories shared our
story
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When He left the table, he left bread and
wine. He, himself, left, but he left himself. The
guest, once more, became the consummate host.
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Through all the interference and static of
on-screen culture, Gods voice is breaking
through the airwaves Are you receiving
me? Are you receiving me?