Today, we walked back through our entire ‘Light’ series and landed on a strong message about being ‘light bearers’… carrying the light of God’s truth everywhere we go.

Joy to the World (Unspeakable Joy) (Tomlin) -  congregational song led by band, vocals
welcome
O Come All Ye Faithful – congregational song led by orchestra & choir
recap: the light of creation and the light foretold
Let There Be Light (recorded by Point of Grace) – orchestra, band, choir, kids’ ensemble
recap: the light arrives (Jesus’ birth)
Hallelujah (Light Has Come) (by Barlow Girl) -  women’s trio, choir, orchestra
scripture: excerpts from John 1 and Luke 2
Tonight – choir, soloists, orchestra
prayer
Hark the Herald Angels Sing – congregational song led by orchestra & choir
Advent narration: Light Bearers
message, including a first hand story of a light bearer
Carrier (Jared Anderson) – congregational song led by band, vocals
wrap-up
Go Light Your World soloists, orchestra, choir

Big music Sundays bring with them a different set of logistics, rehearsals, and technical needs of every stripe. Our team rose to the challenge and we had three very smooth worship experiences because of people who prepared well and allowed their gifts to shine.

If servants can make the day shine, they are heroes, right? The servant-heroes of today:
Bethany, who did ‘candle surgery’ on an obstinate Advent candle between services in order to keep it burning.
David, who created a powerpoint presentation containing all the words of every song, along with guides and prompts, projected to a rear screen so that all vocalists could be ‘off book’ with confidence.
Dave, who ran the aforementioned powerpoint flawlessly… a bit of a tedious job.
Jerry, who spent hours Saturday working through visuals for the entire service.
Adam, who was up until ? moving our projection screen, bringing in extra audio gear, and performing miracles on our PA system.
Nick, who agreed to run lights despite his stated lack of experience, but did a beautiful job and helped craft an atmosphere
Ryan, Brittany, and Kaitlyn, who have done a great job with narration pieces over the past four weeks.
Susan and Lyndon, who read beautifully.
Greg, Melanie, Kayla, Danni, Tanya, David, Kim & Wendell, who sang beautifully.
ushers who threw down lots and lots of extra chairs in little time to accommodate a packed 9:45 service
and an entire orchestra, choir, and band who did their part well three times over.

A live orchestra brings magic to almost any song.  But our goal wasn’t magic. Our goal was to celebrate this great story, this great rescue, this thing of God becoming human to save us. And our goal was to remind ourselves that the story doesn’t stop there, at this tiny barn with a tiny baby, but continues with us.  We are charged with carrying the light forward.

I come away from this morning grateful for all those people who participated, inspired to join the historical stream of light-bearers, and, through tears, adding a new song to my ‘favorite songs from Mary’ list,  ‘Hallelujah (Light Has Come)” by Barlow Girl.   Check it out.

And Merry Christmas!

This post is a part of Sunday Setlists… where you can read about other worship experiences. Check it out!

So naturally, in this Christmas season, our kids have asked if Sparky gets a stocking.

When Neil and I got married, we were given a set of Christmas stockings as a wedding present.  I thought it was a brilliant gift, because who thinks of Christmas decorations in July? And now forever and ever when I hang these stockings on the chimney with care, I will remember who gave them to us and that we’ve had them for our entire married life.

It occurred to me that I would very much want to continue the Christmas stocking hanging tradition when we added kids to our family, but I knew I would not be able to find the exact same ones we had been given.  This bothered my ‘all things in order’ head a bit, but I figured I could find stockings for kids that at least coordinate with ours.

Our daughter’s first Christmas brought the chance to start this all-important search. Not long after arriving at an attractive display of Christmas stockings, I realized the real question wasn’t ‘which ones’ but… ‘how many’?

Which is how I found myself in the Eddie Bauer Home store in December 1998, with our 8-month-old daughter in a stroller, debating how many kids we were going to bring into our family.

I was not having a conversation with my husband about this; I was in the store making this huge decision based solely on the need for a set of uniform Christmas stockings to be used in our family for all time.  Because you have to buy them all at once if they’re going to look the same, right? Because you can’t count on the same stockings being sold every year, or even the same store being there, right? (Eddie Bauer Home?)

So I deliberated and frowned and eventually bought three matching stockings and stocking hangers, thus arbitrarily declaring that we, Neil and Kim Bontrager, would have three kids.

Fast forward a few years and we find ourselves with two great kids and circumstances that have declared it to be so. We love our kids, we are not at all discontent with our family.  But we DO have an extra stocking.

And now we have a dog.

So, while the original question might have been ‘does the dog get a stocking?’, now we have moved on to ‘does the dog get the ‘third kid’ stocking?’.  Because…wow. I don’t know how I feel about that. What are the social implications, both for the kids AND the dog?

It’s possible I’m overthinking this.

But I don’t think so.

So, taking votes. What should I do?

Advent sermon series: Light
week 3: Light Arrives

Order of worship
O Come O Come Emmanuel (traditional hymn)
recap of series, story of the birth of Jesus
O Little Town of Bethlehem (traditional carol)
‘Light of Creation’ narration
message part one: Mary & Joseph… trust & obedience
No Sweeter Name (Jobe)
message part two: Shepherds… message for everyone
The First Noel (hymncharts arr)
message part three: Wise Men… faith
Center (Hall) / Silent Night (traditional carol)
prayer
Glorious (Tomlin, Reeves) (offering)
church news

Notes
week 1 of this series
week 2 of this series

This week, our pastor pulled observations out of the story of Jesus’ birth, looking specifically at a few people we hear about every time the story is re-told. The overall takeaway was one of having faith… of trusting… of accepting God’s truth.

Best moment of the day: singing ‘No Sweeter Name’.  This is a simple song of worship sung to Jesus and seemed like a sweet choice following a focus on Mary and Joseph.  While I was listening to our pastor speak, it occurred to me that the words of the song could be sung from the perspective of Jesus’ parents.  I mentioned something about this as we began the song… and then that idea completely broke me down as we sang it.  Can you imagine THESE parents singing to their newborn baby ‘no sweeter name than the name of Jesus, no sweeter name have I ever known… you are the life to my heart and my soul, you are the light to the darkness around me’?  Good grief.  I’ve been thinking ever since that someone should write this into a drama… Mary sitting alone with the baby Jesus singing this song acapella, like a lullaby.

Have mercy.

‘Glorious’ by Chris Tomlin was a new song for us today.  I first heard this song at a Passion conference in 2006; this song was featured during one of the most powerful moments of that experience. Neil suggested I think about using it during Christmas.  It isn’t specifically a Christmas song, but it seems like anything that declares Jesus to be reigning, ‘glorious over us’, should be used to celebrate his birth. I was proud of how our band worked it up and how my friend Wendell sang it. It has the potential to be powerful once our church becomes familiar with it.  Thinking about bringing it back on Christmas Eve…. hmmm…

Next week, our story continues:  Light Bearers: we carry the light into the world

This post is a part of Sunday Setlists.  Check it out!

Tonight our family took a moment … sitting, reading, lighting candles….
generally breathing a bit.
I highly recommend.

read this week’s thoughts with us
read week 1 & 2
the history of our family advent readings

I came upon this little reflection written by Edward J. Farrell, and it has captured my imagination today.  Because Mary was human, just like us.  But a human with the most extraordinary collision with the divine, ever.

Woman
Mom
Mary of rattling tea cups and homemade cookies
Mary of open door, open hearth, open heart
Queen of warmth and hospitality
Strong, fragile woman
Vulnerable,  unshakeable woman
Believer in love, reality, people, God
Back stooped and ear bent in listening to life’s stories and to the giver of life
Stubborn fidelity to life in the face of death
Unflinching spirit that stares light into the darkness of the tomb
Heart that breaks and pours love over the thirsty earth
Missing her son when he is gone to another home
Looking up in the sudden expectancy of hearing his voice
Smiling wryly to herself and waiting
Waiting, gestating the kingdom once more
Growing in expectancy of second birth–this time her own
The moment of reunion rushes to meet her with open arms
And their laughter rocks the universe
Sending happy shock waves to echo in our dreams
Tugging our reluctant mouths into smiles of hope and anticipation
Amen, it will be so, Amen.

I would love to know what part of this, if any, sparks your thoughts.

If you’ve read this post, this this post is going to seem ironic.
I’m ok with that, I just thought you should be warned.

A few years ago, it occurred to me that it would be good to try to bring a bit of structure to how our family gathers itself around the meaning of Christmas. In this season, my work life is completely consumed with creating opportunities for our church to collide with the truth of Jesus’ birth. How hard could it be to do that for our family?

*pause*

So I wrote up a set of ‘readings’ for our family to do together around our own Advent wreath & candles. The voice of Shiny Happy Idealism in my head had me convinced that we could do this together every night during Advent.

(bwahahahaha-ha!!! ohhhh my….)

Over time we have gradually changed what we’re reading together, and I am now ok with what we are able to do within our real life schedule.  This year, we are completely re-writing everything.  Our son is now quite a good reader, and deserves his own lines.  Plus we want to keep bringing everything back to the ‘why’.  WHY did God send Jesus here?  Why?

Last night was our first time to read together. We turned off most of the lights, gathered around a table, and sat… reading… listening…. watching.   Click here to see what we read.

You’ll notice some pencil edits…. ‘week 1′ had to become ‘week 1 AND 2′, since we just didn’t get to it in time.
(Oh, and there is not yet a ‘week 3′ or ‘week 4′. I’m hoping by sharing this with you, I’ll be publicly motivated to get it done.)

Our kids seem to really love these little moments.  Our son loves that he can read his part by himself AND we let him use a lighter. Our daughter seems to really thrive the discipline of quiet, even though, as an 11 year old, it’s not normally something she sets up for herself.  I hope this is a tradition we can keep alive… and that makes a difference for them.

So tell me. What traditions keep the meaning of Christmas tangible for you?

So I was somehow relieved to learn this friend has gone ’round and ’round with how to celebrate Christmas.  Like me, she has worked hard to find new meaning within Christmas year after year in the past. Like me, she has felt the weight of trying to create a meaningful, tradition-filled experience for her kids.

She, however, has landed in a place I didn’t know existed.  She would very much like to de-emphasize Christianity at Christmas.

Her decision is not flippant, nor is it to be construed as an abandonment of faith. Through theological study, she has come to believe strongly that we should honor and celebrate the fact that God took on human form.  She believes we should tell and retell the story of God saving and healing us.  She believes we should live in gratitude and praise for God’s gift of new life.  It’s just that she believes we should be doing all of this every day; this should be the way we live, not a thing we talk about once a year on Jesus’ birthday.

Not that December 25 actually is Jesus’ birthday, which is another notch in the ‘what is this Christmas thing?’ column.

My friend acknowledges that it’s hard to manufacture a new spiritual high each Christmas, when she has disciplined herself to acknowledge the full truth of God’s presence in the world every day. It seems redundant to try to force extra amounts of faith and joy through her kids once a year, when it is a value in their family to live that way all the time. And it’s hard enough on a normal day.

Where my friend’s perspective spun me by surprise is that she feels almost a sense of relief.  She can fully enter into the cultural celebration of Christmas without guilt that she’s not doing enough to make it ‘extra spiritual’.  She will still participate in their church’s Advent & Christmas events… she is still decorating like a crazy person… she is still entering in to all the traditions she and her husband have established for their family.

But super-Christian Christmas? no.  She has given herself permission to ‘Christmas’ freely.

My friend may be on to something.
Or it may be that we all are just thirsty for an Advent season that really IS about waiting, a quiet, melancholy state.
It may be that we all are aware that the air around a newborn baby in a barn would be quiet and a bit confused.
It may be that we wear seasonal expectations like heavy, weighted coats, when really it is a time to stop, remember, and celebrate God’s beautiful story. Period.

What do you think?

Advent sermon series: Light
week 2: Light Foretold (or Darkness)

Order of worship
O Come All Ye Faithful (Kim Hill version)
welcome… reintroduce series and this week’s theme
(lighting to black)
Genesis 2-3 excerpts (reader in back of room)
“Light of Creation” narration part 1 (sin enters the world)
Lord Have Mercy
“Light of Creation” narration part 2 (the promise of light to come)
O Come O Come Emmanuel (traditional hymn)
Message: Light Foretold
-artist creates images on black canvas under blacklight during message
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus’ (band arr. from hymncharts)

Notes
read about week 1 of this series

Light was created, chasing away the uncreated darkness… humans were created and offered a beautiful life of freedom and creativity… darkness re-entered the world through a destructive choice. Light of salvation is promised.

We spent most of this service with the lights out in the room.  This is rare for our church (specific factors are described here).  It’s amazing how this changes the atmosphere, focuses everyone, creates expectation. You can almost hear people quieting themselves.

In darkness, we heard about Adam & Eve’s story of choice and vulnerability. In darkness, 3 high school students spoke beautifully about light and darkness. In darkness, we sang a song of confession, and a song of expectancy.

Then, with a single light on our pastor, we heard about this cycle of darkness & light.  And watched as a breathtaking work of performance art was created under a blacklight with paint and canvas, accompanying the progression of the message.  A swirl of light became a tree bearing fruit, then was overcome by darkness, then swirled into images of redemption and hope.

It was like an ‘art score’ under the sermon and it was stunning. (I hope to have video that can be shared soon.) There were some beautiful moments… when the artist’s work and the pastor’s words converged completely… watching people of all ages watch the painting… watching the crowd of kids swarm the artist and the painting at the end of the service… realizing my son was drawing his own version of the painting that was being created.

This was the most collaborative worship experience we’ve had in a long time. The actors & director working on the narration… the tech crew… the musicians… and my dear friend Christi who brought her heart, her faith, and her talent to share with the church. Lots of people doing their thing to bring glory to God. I am awed and grateful to have been a part of it.

In the coming weeks, our story continues:
week 3: Light Arrives: Emmanuel…. Light with us.
week 4: Light Bearers: we carry the light into the world

This post is a part of Sunday Setlists.  Check it out!

Sunday marked the first week of Advent.
Our sermon series for these four weeks is ‘Light’. We are tracing God’s story using Light as the thread weaving throughout.

This week, Light of Creation

Order of worship
welcome
kids’ songs: 3-4-5 year olds
ministry highlight: Thailand trip (in Feb we’re sending a group to Thailand where we support a few missionaries)
intro to theme
“Light of Creation” narration / advent candle
Creation video: gorgeous artistic representation of creation
‘God of Wonders’ (Mac Powell/Caedmon’s Call)
‘O Come Let Us Adore Him’
‘Your Name‘ (Baloche/Packiam)
Message: Light of Creation
(offering) Since the World Began (from Glory Revealed II): a truly beautiful song.

Notes
Our current auditorium is a multi-purpose room with large halogen lights in the house, and a few theatrical lights hitting the stage. House lighting is either ON or OFF (no dimming), goes OFF immediately, and comes ON gradually.  There are also windows on 2 sides of the room.  So it’s a bit of an action to have a dark room and arrange lighting changes effectively. Nevertheless, we are going to play with light throughout this series, so we have to be able to control it.

We covered the windows, and prior to the narration, went completely black. We lit the narrators, but mostly had very minimal lighting until the message. To accomplish this, my brilliant husband wired our musicians’ stand lights and our giant Christmas tree to dimmers, so even those elements are  now controllable.

The narration and video come from a Christmas production by Willow Creek church.  We will be using their narration pieces every week as our customary Advent readings. We have asked a few high school students to present these narrations memorized; Ryan & Brittany were the actors this week and they did a truly great job.

In the coming weeks, our story continues:
- Light Foretold: Darkness, and the message of light to come
- Light Arrives: Emmanuel…. Light with us.
- Light Bearers: we are to carry the light into the world