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January 27, 2016July 30, 2017

Morning Prayer: January 27

Opening sentences:

Screen Shot 2016-01-08 at 8.33.47 AM — Art by Jeremiah Moon, friend of GCF

My soul waits for the Lord
more than those
who watch for the morning,
more than those
who watch for the morning.

Call: Out of the depths I have cried to You.
Response: O Lord, hear my voice.
Call: With my whole heart I want to praise You.
Response: O Lord, hear my voice.
Call: If you, Lord, should mark iniquities:
Response: Who could stand? who could stand?
I will wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in His word do I hope.

Words for reflection:
(From John Wesley’s Covenant Renewal Service)

Let us give thanks for all of God’s mercies.
O God, our Covenant Friend,
you have been gracious to us through all the years of our lives.
We thank you for your loving care,
which has filled our days and brought us to this time and place.
You have given us life and reason,
and set us in a world filled with your glory.
You have comforted us with family and friends,
and ministered to us through the hands of our sisters and brothers.
You have filled our hearts with a hunger after you,
and have given us your peace.
You have redeemed us, and called us to a high calling in Christ Jesus.
You have given us a place in the fellowship of your Spirit
and the witness of your Church.
You have been our light in darkness
and a rock of strength in adversity and temptation.
You have been the very Spirit of joy in our joys
and the all–sufficient reward in all our labors.
You remembered us when we forgot you.
You followed us even when we tried to flee from you.
You met us with forgiveness when we returned to you.
For all your patience and overflowing grace,
we praise your holy name, O God.
Now, hear this invitation:
Commit yourselves to Christ as his servants.
Give yourselves to him, that you may belong to him.
Christ has many services to be done.
Some are more easy and honorable,
others are more difficult and lowly.
Some are suitable to our inclinations and interests,
others are contrary to both.
In some we may please Christ and please ourselves.
But then there are other works where we cannot please Christ
except by denying ourselves.
It is necessary, therefore,
that we consider what it means to be a servant of Christ.
Let us, therefore, go to Christ, and pray:

Prayer:
(From John Wesley’s Covenant Renewal Service)

Let me be your servant, under your command.
I will no longer be my own.
I will give up myself to your will in all things.
Lord, make me what you will.
I put myself fully into your hands:
put me to doing, put me to suffering,
let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you,
let me be full, let me be empty,
let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and with a willing heart
give it all to your pleasure and disposal.
I do here willingly put my neck under your yoke, to carry your burden.
All your laws are holy, just, and good.
I therefore take them as the rule for my words, thoughts, and actions,
promising that I will strive
to order my whole life according to your direction,
and not allow myself to neglect anything I know to be my duty.
And now, glory be to you, O God the Father,
whom I from this day forward shall look upon as my God and Father.
Glory be to you, O God the Son,
who have loved me and washed me from my sins in your own blood,
and now is my Savior and Redeemer.
Glory be to you, O God the Holy Spirit,
who by your almighty power have turned my heart from sin to God.
O mighty God, the Lord Omnipotent, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
you are my Covenant Friend.
And I, through your infinite grace, have become your covenant servant.
Let the covenant I have made on earth be ratified in heaven.
Amen.

Blessing:

God go before you to lead you, God go behind you to protect you, God go beneath you to support you, God go beside you to befriend you. Do not be afraid. May the blessing of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be upon you. Do not be afraid. Amen.

January 6, 2016July 30, 2017

It’s Story Time!

For the first five weeks in winter quarter, we’re sharing our stories of God’s grace.

You might be wondering why we’re doing this.

For one, we believe it’s a great way for us to get to know one another better. Given that we’re only together for a few hours each week, we don’t get the chance to go deep with one another all that often. We see this as an opportunity to grow closer as a community as we hear about how God has worked and continues to work in the lives of fellow students.

Secondly, since we desire to be an intentional Christian community on campus, it’s good for us to be in the habit of talking about where we’ve seen God at work. As Christians, we are supposed to be ready to give an account for the hope we have, and so it’s good to practice telling our stories of hope.

And finally, we want to hear these stories because grad school (and life in general) is hard. And we need to hear about the ways in which God has been faithful and generous and present in one another’s lives. We need to hear the good news as it has played out in our lives so that we can keep on keeping on.

So, to sum up:

We’re sharing stories of grace for the next five weeks.

Same time and place as always, Chapel on the Ave from 6 to 8 pm.

January 6, 2016July 30, 2017

Morning Prayer: December 9

Opening sentences:

My soul waits for the Lord
more than those
who watch for the morning,
more than those
who watch for the morning.

Call: Out of the depths I have cried to You.

Response: O Lord, hear my voice.

Call: With my whole heart I want to praise You.

Response: O Lord, hear my voice.

Call: If you, Lord, should mark iniquities:

Response: Who could stand? who could stand?
I will wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in His word do I hope.

Familiar words and promises:

When the angel came to Mary to tell her of the child she would bear, he said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary.”

Do not be afraid.

It is the most often repeated exhortation in the Bible, the thing that God commands his people to do more than anything else: Do not be afraid.

Abraham and Sara, they’re old and they’re childless, and the word of the Lord comes to them: Do not be afraid.

The Israelites are pinned between Pharaoh’s army and the Red Sea, and God speaks through Moses: Do not be afraid.

Israel is about to enter the promised land: Do not be afraid.

And then they’re exiled from the promised land because they’re disobedient: Do not be afraid.

And in the New Testament…Angels appear to Zechariah, to Mary, to Joseph, to the shepherds and every time the message begins the same way: Do not be afraid.

Jesus sends his 12 disciples out to preach as “sheep among wolves.” His charge to them? Do not be afraid.

And when the ascended Jesus, in the book of Revelation, prophesies suffering and persecution for the church, his command to them…Do not afraid.

Why? The angel tells Mary quite succinctly:

“Because no word from God will ever fail.”

Prayer: [Let’s pray together, remembering that no word from God will ever fail. We’ll use the angel’s words as a refrain. When I pray, Do not be afraid, please respond with: Because no word from God will ever fail.]

God in this advent season, when so much around us feels weighty and dark, be our light. Save us from ourselves, our own worries and doubts, the cares that weigh us down, the things that frighten us. Help us to hear the angel’s words as for us.

Do not be afraid

Because no word from God will ever fail.

God when you came, you sent before you angels. Angels who said “Do not be afraid.” We pray that we would heed their call. Help us to not be afraid, afraid of the small things…a stressful upcoming week of back to back exams and presentations and papers and grading…or afraid of the big things, stories of violence, disease, war, and on and on that plague the news, our world, our communities, our friends, our own selves. May we not be afraid of the powers and principalities and people who wage war on our souls and minds. May the angel’s words be our words.

Do not be afraid

Because no word from God will ever fail.

Open our eyes to the immense love you have for us and the great lengths to which you went for us so that this Christmas, when we look in the manger we might actually see you there—a tiny child, God of the universe, Glory come down to meet us with all humility, grace, power and love, to save us, to keep us from all fear and free us from all darkness.

And in seeing you there, in remembering your love and your great humility, may our souls somehow be renewed, emboldened. May we remember the hope that we have, even now, in busy times, in sad times, in times of chaos and violence.

Because we long for hope and peace and strength and joy, we really do pray that the angel’s words would be words that sink deeply into hearts and our minds:

Do not be afraid

Because no word from God will ever fail.

Amen!

Blessing:

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Amen.

January 5, 2016October 2, 2017

Morning Prayer

This Fall Quarter, we’ll go together as intercessors, addressing God for each other, ourselves, and the world.

If you need some encouragement, some words to pray, some coffee, some time with people you love before you really get into the day, join us

for twenty minutes

on Monday mornings at 9:00

at Chapel on the Ave.

We’ll go before God in the hope and knowledge that God does act in this world.

September 30, 2015July 30, 2017

Kickoff BBQ

It’s the beginning of another school year.

For us at GCF, that means it’s BBQ time. So join us Thursday, October 1 at 6 P.M. at Chapel on the Ave. We’ll eat. Catch up. Make new friends. And we’ll talk about what’s on tap with GCF this quarter. If you’re interested in joining a small group, studying the Bible with other thoughtful people, or thinking well about integrating your faith with what you’re learning, GCF has a group for you.

All are welcome.

September 11, 2015July 30, 2017

Fall Small Groups

In the Evangelical world, we like the word “blessed.” It means a lot of things to a lot of people. But often it’s used to talk about the good things in our lives. A good job, a great education, a decent house, a hypoallergenic pet, that cashmere sweater you got for your birthday. #Blessed. It’s the humble brag for the pious.

And it’s ridiculous.

Because there’s nothing all that sacrosanct about your cool vacation or brand new gadgety thingamabob or the fact that you can do or have what others can’t or don’t.

And so we wonder: what does it mean to be blessed? To live a blessed life? And who is blessed?

Jesus told us.

He blessed the ones who seemed cursed. The poor. The down-and-out. The least. The ones who cry all the time. And he wasn’t being ironic.

But what did he mean?

And then there’s all of us, studying at an elite university. Many of us being paid to think. And when we go home, it’s to cozy apartments and comfortable people and it’s always enough. Maybe more than enough. Right?

And so when Jesus blesses the down and out, what does that mean for us? Are we blessed too? Are we meant to be part of the blessing for others?

Another academic year is upon us. We can burrow into our academic cocoons. Or we can remember that there’s a great big hurting world out there. And maybe God put us where we are, blessed us, you might say, to do something about it. Maybe our graduate degrees aren’t for ourselves, but for others and to serve and to love and to bless.

And maybe it’s not as cliche as it sounds but instead real and meaningful.

And so join us as we learn about what it looks like to be blessed and to bless. Every Thursday at Chapel on the Ave. Dinner’s at 6. Small groups start at 7.

June 11, 2015July 30, 2017

GCF Lunchtime Round Table

Jesus tells us to go and make disciples and to preach the gospel….to the world. And most of us have this sense that we have a responsibility to share what we believe. Whether this sense comes from a good place (nudges from the Spirit) or from a strange sense of guilt that last Sunday’s sermon put on us, most of us wonder about how, exactly, we’re supposed to do this.

There seem to be a lot of different ways.

We’ve seen the people with signs in red square whose passion for witness seems a little misdirected. We’ve tailored our paths to bypass those fellow students with the oversimplified tracts. We’ve noticed those four students praying rather boldy off in the corner of the library. But does any of this actually communicate the gospel?

And does it communicate in our particular context? The northwest. In Seattle. On campus.

We’ve wondered:

How do we communicate well about the good and beautiful God we love with those around us?

Is there a better way? A best way? Something more genuine? Less weird?

This summer we’re going to talk about it. Missions. Witness. Evangelism. That thing we do or are supposed to do but aren’t doing or just really have no clue how to do or are too terrified to do that Jesus calls us to do…and that our hearts are strangely inclined to do.

Join us for three lunch-time round tables in which we’ll ask more questions, share our thoughts and experiences, and hopefully we’ll come away with a better understanding of mission in the context of the university.

Wednesday, July 1, 12-1 P.M. What are we so afraid of?

Wednesday, July 8, 12-1 P.M. Is conversion all it’s cracked up to be?

Wednesday, July 15, 12-1 P.M. How should we do this thing of missions on campus?

All roundtable discussions will take place at Chapel on the Ave in the downstairs meeting room.

June 10, 2015July 30, 2017

Summertime Series

In our twenties and thirties, we learn that life is actually quite complicated and, potentially, disappointing. We begin to realize that our families, our schooling, our relationships and even our faith, while being great sources of joy and meaning, can also be sources of angst and upset. How do we navigate the gray areas in these aspects of our lives? How do we approach them with appropriate expectations so that we aren’t always feeling disappointed? And, as Christians, who are now adults, how do we ground ourselves?

This summer we’ll gather together to talk and wonder (and maybe even agree) about how to do the Christian life well in our twenties and thirties and beyond. We’ll hear from each other, from a few authors and, hopefully, the Holy Spirit.

On some of these matters, some of us have wisdom to share because we’ve been there. Done that. Messed it up. And are now willing to talk about it.

Some of us might never face any of these challenges or ask any of these questions because we’re weirdly robotic or have perfect families or are better at life than everyone else.

Regardless, we think these questions and topics will make for great conversation and will help us to grow as individuals and draw closer to God and as a community.

Relationships: The fear of! The angst! The anticipation!

At this stage in the game, many of us desire relationships of the romantic sort. Some of us are in them. Some of us are not. Some of us never want them. For all of us, they’re worth talking about. Does God have a plan for this aspect of our lives too? Is there a Christian way to date? Is there a Christian way to be single? And why are these things so hard?

Calling/Vocation: God’s Fuzzy Blueprints for Your Life

You have or are about to have (or will in six years time have) this degree. Now what? We’re told that God has a plan for us. Each of us. How do we know what it is? How do we know if what we’re doing is the right thing to be doing? What if things change? What if we’re so sure that we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing but we don’t get that job…or that job won’t pay the rent…or people aren’t supportive. What then? Discerning God’s call on your life isn’t easy. Let’s talk about it.

Faith: That One Little Time You had a Crisis And Your Mom Got Scared

For a lot of twenty somethings, the pat answers they learned in Sunday school don’t hold water in the way they once did. There’s a realization that faith, along with everything else, is complicated and that not all questions have easy answers. A big part of sorting out your faith, at this point in life, is deciding which questions you need to be able to answer concretely and which ones are maybe best answered with other questions.

Family: When Our Family of Origin Becomes Alien

At some point in our twenties and beyond, many of us wonder how we came from the family that we did. Along the educational road, worldviews are shaped, tastes in all kinds of things change, and new experiences form our understanding of everything. And then we go home. And so much is the same. But you’re not. And this (no surprise here) causes tension. And so, how do we love and be a part of our family at this stage? God tells us to honor our parents. What does that even mean and how do you do that when you feel like you’re in such different places?

Church: You’re not just a consumer anymore.

What does it look like to be involved in church as an adult? How do we find a church and plug in? For those of us who sometimes feel let down by the church, how do we have appropriate expectations? In particular, what does this look like for a busy grad student who is also involved in an amazing (am I right?) faith community on campus?

Money: What to Do With What You’ve Got

A lot of folks start making real money for the first time in their twenties (or thirties). What does God call us to with regard to our money? How are we to steward it? And what habits should would we be cultivating now so that we are set up to handle money well when we start making it? How should money factor into decisions about jobs?

Time: Using the Time of Our Lives

We have more of it than we think. What should we be doing with it? What shouldn’t we be? What are the spiritual rhythms and practices we should be cultivating? How do we know that we’re not wasting our time?

May 15, 2015July 30, 2017

GCF’s Goal of Two Shelters for Nepal

Sometimes when chaos and tragedy strike, all people can do is throw their hands up and lament. For Christians, that’s a good place to start. And, with regard to the crisis in Nepal, that’s exactly what we did. In our small groups, we lamented the chaos, destruction and lives lost. When we heard news of multiple strong aftershocks that brought further destruction and death, we lamented again.

11164690_878291898925640_4415314878620089441_o — Piles of materials for shelters ready to be loaded on trucks and delivered to quake affected villages in Nepal.

But we aren’t going to end with lament.

As we heard last night from Gordon Brander, there is a pressing need for more durable shelter than what tarps are currently providing. This is especially true in light of the fact that monsoon season is approaching.

Through Gordon, we have a connection to a small nonprofit organization (Portal) in Nepal that is building sustainable, safe, cost effective shelters. You can read their story, see pictures of the shelters and connect by visiting their website: http://www.portalbikes.org/shelters/.

11200820_478399198982566_3286125581026801038_n — The inside of a completed Portal Shelter. Each shelter costs just $100 and houses a family of 8. These provide a safe place to live allowing each family time to thoughtfully rebuild. Additionally, all the material from each Portal Shelter built can be reused to build permanent housing.

Through Portal, one shelter costs roughy $100. We set the goal to, as a community, raise the funds for two shelters. We hope to do this By Next Thursday, May 21.

So, check out what Portal is up to. Ask Gordon your questions. Pray for Nepal and the rescue and rebuilding efforts of Portal and other organizations on the ground. Consider what you might give. And then bring your donation on Thursday.

April 20, 2015July 30, 2017

Faith, Science and Church: A Conversation with Dr. Deborah Haarsma

Are you a Christian working in science?

Do you want to see the Church grow in how it engages scientists and their work?

Do you ever wonder about your role in making that happen?

If so, join us for a conversation with Dr. Deborah Haarsma as she speaks from her experience as President of Biologos, articulating for us what she sees as the current issues in science with which the Church is wrestling. We will discuss how these issues are perceived among Christians, how the Church is or isn’t communicating about them and how Christians in science can help the Church navigate them. If you are interested in the intersection of faith and science and want to see the Church grow in its engagement with science, please join us for this important conversation.

Saturday, May 9, from 9:30 to 11:30 am

University of Washington

Husky Union Building (HUB) 214

If you are able to join us, please rsvp to Geoff Van Dragt by Friday, May 8.

Deborah Haarsma serves as the President of BioLogos, a position she has held since January 2013. Previously, she served as a professor and chair of Physics and Astronomy at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Haarsma completed her doctoral work in astrophysics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and her undergraduate work in physics and music at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota.