More Than Hearing

I had to turn on Pandora to get rid of the ear worm the title for this post gave me.

Trust runs through each of the passages for this week. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah explicitly asks the people of Israel how long they will continue limping along indecisively after God, neither following nor turning away. He arranges a big show to get them off the fence and make up their minds who they will trust. Paul is very surprised to discover the disciples in Galatia have so quickly deserted the teaching he gave them. They, too, are easily distracted and have been of two minds about the Gospel. In stark contrast, a Roman centurion in Luke reveals absolute certainty that his request to Jesus will not only be met, but met with Jesus’ full attention promptly. Jesus is amazed at his faith and even though he and the centurion never see each other face to face in this exchange, Jesus answers his prayer.  

1 Kings 18:20-21,(22-29) 30-39 –  [02:15]  – This passage has all the intelligences – 

with the exception of music – and they are all utilized by Elijah himself in the course of the story. (David suggested that the Charlie Daniels classic “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” has a similar feel of a high stakes contest, so we found a music illustration!) We have illustrations and special effects for all nine intelligences but decided to look only at four. We began by concentrating our attention on word smart looking at Elijah’s trash talking the priests of Ba’al and Ba’al himself. This was a pretty bold move considering they outnumbered him 450:1. We take those numbers in math smart and illustrate just how lopsided the contest seemed to be, vis a vis servants of YHWH and Ba’al. Since Elijah was an army of one in this contest, we wondered how difficult it would be to build an altar to the LORD all by oneself in nature smart. The parallel silence between the people of Israel and Ba’al illustrate trust in self smart.  The people could not find it in themselves to trust God at the beginning of the story and Ba’al proved himself untrustworthy by not being able to answer the prayers of 450 priests.

Galatians 1:1-12 [09:42] – Paul begins his letter to the Galatians with the usual greeting – but slips in a statement about who gave him his commission. That’s the first clue this letter is going to be different. The second clue (see Audrey West’s commentary) is the omission of a statement of thanksgiving. Those two subtle things – one addition and one omission – catch our attention. By verse six, Paul has the proscribed opening out of the way and gets right to the heart of the matter. He is blown away by the Galatians faithlessness. We use spike strips in eye smart to illustrate Paul’s state of mind and consider the effects surprising news has on the body in that smart. Fundamental laws of physics in nature smart illustrate and demonstrate Paul’s theology about the resurrection. To demonstrate the confusion bred in the minds and hearts of the Galatians, we have a little fun with a Let’s Make a Deal type skit in people smart.

Luke 7:1-10 [20:10] – Luke often uses the people outside the circle of Israel as examples of someone who places trust in Jesus. I think there is a two fold reason for this. One reason may be to encourage the Jewish hearers of his Gospel to open up their imaginations a bit as to who is allowed into the circle of Jesus’ salvation. The other reason is to assure those outside the circle they have a place inside it. This story of Jesus healing a centurion’s slave is explicitly both. In word smart, we explore the centurion’s trust in Jesus’ capacity to simply say a word and have his commands met. This story has a lot of movement from here to there, so in eye smart, we suggest a demonstration that could really be a lot of fun for adventurous volunteers in your congregation! And in people and self smart, we suggest some ideas to use the confidence of the centurion for the good of the Body.

Chain of Command – Luke passage

Let’s Make a Faith Deal!

Greetings!!

We’re just about into the long period of Ordinary days stretching this year from late May to late November but before we get there, we have one last special day on the calendar – Trinity Sunday. The Lectionary selections from Proverbs, Romans, and John emphasize the connection between the three persons of the one Eternal God. In Proverbs, we read about Woman Wisdom who was with God in the beginning as God created the world. The later verses in the selection echo the poetry of Genesis, which leads to an understanding of Wisdom as the Spirit. In Romans and John, Jesus, God the Father, and the Spirit are shown fully connected and entwined. The challenge, of course, is to speak to this relationship in terms that are accessible but not simplistic. Join us to see how we managed!

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 [02:29]  –  Wisdom stands at the crossroads of the city and calls for attention. We explore some illustrations and special effects in word smart as to how to emulate her. Wisdom was with God at the time of creation, and we give some illustrations and special effects ideas for eye and nature smart to help bring that to life. Wisdom receives her authority to speak because of her inside relationship with God. She has things to say to human beings because of that authority, but I think what makes her truly worth listening to is that she is just delighted that God made us. Proverbs urges us to listen to the Spirit because the Spirit loves us.

Romans 5:1-5 [11:14] – Paul packs a lot of information about life as a disciple in these brief verses. To begin, we use eye smart to explore the access we receive to God through Jesus. We have several links to illustrate it. We also have a special effect using oil and water. Next, Paul speaks of God pouring love into our hearts, and we have an illustration and special effect in body smart for this. We look at the endurance Paul refers to in people and self smart and we have a special effect in music.

John 16:12-15 [21:08] – Trinity Sunday is wrapped up in the passage from John where all three persons of God’s nature are presented. Jesus uses the word “declare” three times, so we figured we should pay attention to that, and we do in word smart. The number three is very prevalent for today’s theme of Trinity and in many places in our lives – we have many, many examples in math smart. The threes continue in body smart as we consider how the body, brain, and breath are connected in many physical activities. We found some interesting symbiotic relationships in nature and look at the role the Spirit plays as a guide.

Greetings!! We are fast approaching Pentecost – that time of the year when everyone wears red or white and we use kites, or paper airplanes, or balloons to talk about the movement of the Spirit. Ironically, we have not included any of these elements in our podcast for the day. Instead, we are looking at what happens after the fire moves through. The Presence of God has arrived either with great noise and drama as Luke records in Acts, or as a transforming way of life that Paul presents in his letter to the Romans, or as the promise Jesus gives to his disciples as he prepares them for his absence. Whichever way you choose to present the Lectionary selections for this day, keep in mind that while the day has come and gone, the effects of the Spirit’s arrival remain.

Acts 2:1-21 [02:17]  – Luke presents the Paraclete’s arrival with high drama. I must admit, this was the celebration that made the biggest impact on me as a kid. I loved seeing all the red clothing and listening to the passage read in another language. I always felt a bit for the person who had to wrestle with the words “Phrygia” and “Pamphylia” and if someone in my congregation is charged with reading these, I give them to them phonetically to lessen the fear. In this podcast, we suggest auditory and visual aids, as well as singing hymns in languages other than English. We discuss the importance of visions and dreams for the life of a people, and how learning another’s customs and language signals a willingness to get to know and be known. We frequently refer to Pentecost as the birthday of the church, so bring a gift to worship that celebrates the day in style!

Romans 8:14-17 [11:27] – This is a short selection in the midst of Paul’s apology for life in Jesus Christ. Paul argues that this life is infused with the Spirit of God. Paul refers to the Spirit five times, so it seems wise to pay close attention. We look at the specific prefix “syn-” that Paul attaches to the words “heir,” “suffer,” and “glory.” We suggest some movies that use color to attract the viewer’s attention to subtext and suggest ways to use our bodies to feel the heft of the passage. What does it mean to inherit from God and what does it mean to suffer in or with Christ? If anyone wonders what happens now that the Pentecost party is over, Paul’s letter to the Romans is a great place to go for next steps.

John 14:8-17 (25-27) [21:08] – Paul urges the Christians in Rome to look for evidence of the Spirit in their transformed lives. In John, Jesus urges his disciples to participate fully in the life he will leave them. Here is the inheritance! As Jesus lived his life, we are to live ours. As Jesus was in union with God, we are in union with him, God, and one another. If we want to see God in the world, we learn to plant the seeds of faith in our hearts and offer them to people around us. And finally, Jesus promises to send an Advocate. In John’s Gospel, the Advocate arrives on Easter when Jesus breathes on his disciples and gives them the Spirit. Yet, whether we use this quiet version in John or the blow the doors off the hinges version in Acts, it is all the same – the Advocate has arrived, and we live our lives side by side, changing the world with one act of grace at a time. Maybe our gift to the church on this its birthday is to fully participate in the life given to us as our inheritance. Make it so.

Baptism by fire – from our Feedback Loop

Veni Creator Spiritus

The multilingual, multinational, and multi – tempo origins of How Great Thou Art

What a Friend We Have in Jesus – Koren transliteration

Forgotten God – Francis Chan

Symbolism for the color red in The Sixth Sense

The use of color (and other elements) in Schindler’s List

Video clip of the girl in red in Schindler’s List

Le Ballon Rouge – 1956 (This is the entire half hour movie.)

Bear stuffs

Alan Brehm – The Waking Dreamer

Amy Grant – Father’s Eyes

Juan and Amal

Greetings!! We are at the end of the Eastertide Lectionary selections. We truly hope your worship through this season has been filled with the Spirit of the Risen Lord! We also hope that you may have included an idea or two from this podcast. We have some unique offerings this week, especially in the Gospel passage and as always, the images and symbols from Revelation are a treasure trove of ideas. Paul and Silas find themselves unjustly beaten and imprisoned in the Acts reading, but even so they sing praises to God and bring yet another Philippian household into the growing Way of Jesus.

We have suggestions for all the intelligences in all the passages, but will only cover a few of them in this podcast. We have discovered that if we leave a few ideas on the shelf, we do not need to rush through what we present. If you would like to hear one of the stored ideas “fleshed out”, please leave us a comment below or on our Facebook page, or send us an email or a tweet and we can include it in our next Feedback Loop.

Acts 16:16-34 [02:07]  – Paul and Silas are still in Philippi. After bringing Lydia and her household into the fold of Jesus, the story picks up with them returning to the place of prayer. As they are on the way there, they are followed by a slave girl who has the ability to predict the future – an interesting and maybe horrifying thing. She gives Paul and Silas a lot of free advertising as they go to and fro and eventually, Paul gets annoyed and exorcises the spirit from her. We explored this story emphasizing the punishing effects of flogging on the body, as well as how Paul and Silas’ spirits were undeterred and they found the capacity to sing praise, regardless. We looked at how the slave girl and the jailer were both freed from what bound them and the implications for both their lives afterward. 

Revelation 22:12-21 [11:18] – This is the final vision for John of Patmos. As I mentioned above, the passage is full of ideas and we have selected the ones that we found most energizing for us. Part of using the intelligences involves connecting the message in Scripture to elements in our lives that are familiar. So, we explored several mathematical functions, grocery shopping, and trips to the theater in order to connect these images to listeners. We have also included the verses that the Lectionary left out; we did not do anything with them, mostly in the interest of time. Yet, they are part of the passage. As you look at them, do you have any ideas how they might be included using these smarts? Let us know!

John 17:20-26 [20:48] – Union and unity and common purpose and love. Jesus is all over this theme in this part of the High Priestly prayer for his disciples. Certain words are repeated throughout this selection and that gave us an idea for reading the passage using word smart. Once again, we found some ideas for math smarts (which I think are a wonderful illustration of what Jesus was taking about!). We are suggesting an idea for body smart that David uses regularly and that I have found a way to remind me that I am not an island in this journey. And, we have an unusual suggestion in music smart. Give it a try!

… in Acts

An account of the Tortures and Torments Paul and Silas may have endured.

My Life Flows on in Endless Song

To God be the Glory

When in Our Music God is Glorified

…. in Revelation

The Iterative Method

Magnetic fields

Smashing Pumpkins – The Beginning is the End is the Beginning

T. S. Eliot – “Little Gidding”

… in John 

Paper dolls

The Math Lab explains union and intersection ….

… as does The Khan Academy using a video (Eye Smart!)

The Power Puff Girls meet the Beat Alls

One Venn

I don’t know about you, but I like to sleep. I’ve learned to get by with about 6 hours a night, but given my ‘druthers, I’d sleep much longer than that. I mention this because in his vision of the new Jerusalem in Revelation, John suggests that heaven no longer has any darkness, and we can infer from that there will no longer be night. We can further infer that means no more sleep. As a matter of fact, the servants of God in this new city will worship God continuously. I suspect that being in this new place with this new reality of never ending light and day and praise means we will have a new disposition – if not actual physical capabilities – to stay up and glorify God. But, can we still have our coffee?

Acts 16: 9-15 – [02:01] How far would you be willing to travel to be with someone special? How far have you travelled to be with someone special? Would you be willing to walk? To sail? To drive? To take a bus? Once you got there, how would you know where to go to meet that person? Paul has a vision of a person in Macedonia (which is a region) asking for help. Without any other details than that, he rises, gathers his traveling companions, and sets out. With no GPS, no cell phones, no reservations in a hotel, they arrive and look for where to start. I am amazed by their trust.

Revelation 21: 10, 22 – 22:5 – [09:05] I think we only scratched the surface of what can be done with Multiple Intelligences in this passage. John includes so much symbolism of Israel’s ancient worshiping life and prophecies of God’s promised presence. This passage is a banquet, truly. We will tempt your appetite with samplings from all eight “smarts” and hope that you will find something that is delicious. Or, even better, you will sample something and add your own ingredients to make the menu even more luscious! Have fun – and share your recipe with us!

John 14:23-29 – [23:45] When John of Patmos sees the new Jerusalem descending from heaven, he sees Jesus’ promise to the disciples coming to fulfillment – “we will come to them and make our home with them.” While this promise must have been wonderful to hear, the disciples are still trying to come to terms with the idea that Jesus is leaving them. He is clear about his coming absence – he will be going – but he does not leave them without hope and without peace.

Paul’s Second Missionary Journey

Never Ending Day – math equation

Word study in Greek – Revelation 21

O Holy City Seen of John – hymn

O Lord You Gave Your Servant John – hymn

Sleepers Awake – hymn

crystal clear surf 

crystal clear river

Alexander MacLaren’s commentary on Ezekiel 47

The Midnight Sun

Due to some traveling, we did not get this episode out in a timely manner. We gave some thought to just giving it a pass, but then decided that this selection of passages will come up again in three years, so why not go ahead and have something in place? This could be a good time to leave a note in our comments about what YOU did for this Sunday – HINT. At any rate, we are continuing the journey through Acts, John, and the book of Revelation.

Acts 11 is supposed to go here but in the interest of time, we left this passage on the shelf. Looking over it, there is a LOT to be done with it and the intelligences. If you are so inclined, give it a go yourself and let us know what you find in it. I suspect this story of Peter’s vision could be mined for many jewels.

Revelation 21:1-6 [02:06] John’s vision of Jesus’ triumphant return is coming to a close. He sees a new heaven and a new earth as well as a new Jerusalem descending from the clouds. God chooses to make a home among mortals and in being present with us, God will wipe away all tears. John is told to write down everything he sees and hears because the words he is given are trustworthy and true. We used word, eye, people, and self smarts to explore the joy of recognizing God with us.

John 13:31-35 [11:34] Jesus has washed the disciples’ feet, Judas has left to go do what he is going to go do, and Jesus begins to give the remaining followers some instructions about how to live without him. He begins by telling them that they must love one another. By doing this, they will demonstrate they are his. We spend some time exploring this commandment using word, math, music, people and self smarts.

BONUS MATERIAL:

Psalm 148 [21:13] Mad Libs-style template from The Worship Closet.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 

God Pause (search for April 13, 2016 for the story told by Steve Quill)

CBS’s The Good Wife episode, “Party” – We referred to a scene with Alicia and Hannah, but the whole episode deals with marriage.

Everywhere Michelle Branch

Math stuff (not a link but so you can see what David was talking about)

Vs. 31-32:

If Y = f(x),

The fourth Sunday in Easter is traditionally Good Shepherd Sunday.  I suppose it is appropriate to have Good Shepherd Sunday in the springtime when lambs are born, but if the weather in your part of the world has been unseasonably cool like it has been around here, the lambs are likely waiting for Pentecost to show up! At any rate, the Revelation and John passages have specific mentions of sheep. In John, sheep are those who know they belong to Jesus, and in Revelation, the Lamb’s blood has washed clean the robes of those who came through the ordeal to stand before the throne. In Acts, Tabitha – a woman whose name means “gazelle”- has died, and Peter has the opportunity to exercise the authority given to him by the risen Lord.

We have mentioned before that Word Smart – or Linguistic Intelligence – has been the dominant means of communicating the word of God to congregations for centuries. Because of this, we tend to downplay word smart in our podcast in order to emphasize the other intelligences. This does not short change word smart though, because words find a way into many of the other smarts by way of discussions, prayers, instructions for movement or meditation, and in music through lyrics. In today’s passages, words are used to call a woman back to life, to sing praise to the lamb of God, and to call sheep into Jesus’ flock.

Acts 9:36-43 [04:22]  – When I was a child, I remember a sewing group in my home church that called themselves the Dorcas Circle. They would sew clothes and make other home apparel and send it to people who needed them. In later years, I discovered that a ministry called Dorcas is not unique to First Presbyterian Church in Aurora, Colorado – nor is it limited to hand made clothing. One would think that the thing Dorcas would be most known for would be that she was raised from the dead by Peter. Rather, it seems that who she was before (and presumably after) that event is what has kept her name alive for two millennia.

Revelation 7:9-17  [11:54] – This passage is all about the Lamb. Faithful Jews in this time would understand that the lamb is the animal offered up for the Passover feast and whose blood on the lintels of doorways saved the firstborn from God’s angel of death. The first Christians would also understand that the Lamb is Jesus of Nazareth who many proclaimed to be the Messiah. Revelation is a book of hope written for a people who needed to hear they were not forgotten or foolish for following the Way. This passage is a bold claim that the one who was slain is also now the one who will care for the sheep hard pressed by persecution and oppression. We explore just how big the celestial choir may have been using math smarts and look at how liquid water is essential for life on our planet and as a metaphor for life in God.

John 10:22-30 [22:16] – In the many years I’ve read this passage, I’ve missed the significance of the time of year and of the festival Jesus and his disciples were attending. John says they were in Jerusalem at the temple for the festival of the Dedication. I had always just blasted past that setting while on the way to the dialogue and drama. This festival is what we modern people know as Hanukkah; eight days of celebrating God’s provision and protection. As Jesus is milling about with the people, he is approached by others who want to know if his presence in the temple at the festival is an indication that he is the Messiah – or not. This leads Jesus to teach what kind of messiah he is – not the one who will break through oppression with an army and swords but the one who will guide and protect like a shepherd.

MMMMmmmmmmm……. breakfast.

Anyway, lessons for Easter 3, right. The Acts passage is the well known story of Saul’s conversion to Paul. The Lectionary suggests concentrating on only the first six verses, but tidbits from the second optional selection tend to seep into the telling of the story anyway. Find your balance as to how much of each to use. (If you choose to try the entire thing, we have a reader’s theater script you might consider using. See the links below.) The Revelation passage is a symphony of praise to Jesus and the possibilities are endless. Let your imagination go and be bold in what you attempt! The Gospel story is most likely an addendum  – but a meaningful one. How many times have we denied Jesus and wouldn’t it be a balm to the soul to have breakfast with him and talk it over?

On a technical note, in listening to this episode you might notice (as it is hard not to) several loud noises a bit like a bass drum. We just got new boom microphone stands and, not being used to them, we knocked into them several times while recording. This resulted in a loud thump in the recording that was unnoticeable in real time. David tried editing the thumps out, but the hole it left behind was just as noticeable. We’ve repositioned the boom stands for next episode, so we should have fewer unintentional “booms” in the audio. Sorry for any annoyance.

Acts 9:1–6, (7–20) [02:20] –  What would it take to grab your attention? The offer of pancakes and bacon obviously distracts me, and I suppose God could use that to draw me into service for the kingdom, but Saul of Tarsus needed something else. Being a person with intense determination to see a job done through to completion, Jesus needed to literally stop Saul in his tracks before he got to Damascus. What might it take to thoroughly capture the attention and imagination of your congregation? A flash of light? A 2×4? The aroma of freshly brewed coffee? We explore some options using Star Wars, Star Trek, Reader’s Theater, and yoga breathing.

Revelation 5:11-14 [09:05] – John’s revelation is full of rich visual imagery. This selection for today is full of sound!! If ever there was a time to turn the speakers in your sanctuary up to 11, this is it. Try using the special effect for body smart while playing the music we suggest for word smart. Consider abandoning the sermon for a day (WHAT?!?) and sing your way through “Worthy is the Lamb That was Slain” instead. Open the windows in your sanctuary and let nature sing praises for the morning prayers. These verses cry out for as many opportunities for expression with as many of the intelligences as possible.

John 21:1-19 [18:18] – In this epilogue to John’s Gospel, the Risen Lord meets the disciples on the beach at daybreak. After a surprising haul of fish, the seven on the boat realize who is giving them advice on the shore and come back to find Jesus has made breakfast. Over the meal, Jesus takes the time to address Peter. In our illustrations and special effects for body and self, we wonder what may have been lurking in Peter’s heart as he ate with his Master and friend. I find it truly moving that as in so many other ways in other passages, Jesus touches the deepest places in people over a shared meal. We explore Peter’s need for redemption in body and self smart – maybe you are aware of people in your congregation who need a second chance, too.

Acts:

Revelation:

John:

When I was in fifth grade, my mother began calling me by the two word phrase that I used most often. She would say something like this: “Dinner! Karen, Gary, NoSir – come and get it!” I had reached the developmental landmark where all children turn into lawyers and argue every single statement adults make. My brother, who is two years younger than I, was less confrontational when he got to this phase. Rather than directly challenge the statement “The sky is blue” (which my mother insists to this day I rebutted with “No, sir!”), he would allow for the probability of the argument, and then posit his own – “Yeah, but…..”. I have seen this phenomenon play out with our two children and many other kids in our youth groups. If a child in our fellowship is away for a while and then returns sounding like a cast member of Boston Legal or The Good Wife, I know how old that kid is. It’s amazing! At around nine to ten years of age, children begin testing the limits of authority, theirs and others. In the passages for the second Sunday of Easter, authority is an important topic. Let’s go see.

Acts 5:27-32 [02:25] – This section of Acts 5 records one of Peter’s confrontations with the council who have forbidden Jesus’ disciples from preaching and teaching. Of course, that does not happen and things escalate quickly. The council attempts to quiet Peter and the others by asserting their longstanding authority over them as the leaders of their people. Unfortunately for the council, Peter and the others are living under a different system of authority on the other side of the resurrection and Pentecost.

Revelation 1:4-8 [10:22 ] – In the Old Testament, the power and authority of God was symbolized by clouds. When the Hebrews needed to get across the Red Sea to escape the pursuing Egyptians, God’s power and authority over natural elements of air and water opened a pathway. God descended in a cloud when Moses met with him at the top of Sinai and gave him the law that would be the guiding authority for the people. At the beginning of John’s revelation, he sees Jesus returning with the clouds – God’s authority! – and all the people will see it.

John 20:19-31 [18:42] – In this post resurrection story in John’s gospel, buried in between Jesus’ sudden appearance to the ten and Thomas’ doubt about their tale, are two verses that often get lost in sermons. Verse 22 shows Jesus breathing on the disciples, giving them the Holy Spirit, and the authority to give and withhold forgiveness. One of the many ways Jesus got into hot water with the religious authorities was to over step his boundaries and make himself appear to be not just like God but actually God. When he restored the paralyzed man to wholeness, he first forgave him and then told him to rise and walk. He forgave a woman adultery, and other people for the brokenness in their hearts, minds, and lives. Only God can forgive and Jesus frequently claimed this authority for himself. In verse 23, Jesus gives that authority to his disciples. Wow.

Revelation:

John:

Welcome back to the MTH Feedback Loop, a bonus episode where Molly and David talk about some of the multiple intelligence illustrations and special effects from previous More Than Hearing episodes that we have actually used in worship and how they turned out.

It’s been about two months since we made the loop, so we had over 30 illustrations and special effects that we’ve tried since then! We sorted through them and picked some of the most interesting to tell you about, either because they worked really well or because they didn’t go as well as we had hoped. We hope you enjoy hearing about them and that the Loop will encourage you in your efforts to include multiple intelligences in your sermons and worship, because however it goes, you aren’t alone, and you’re being faithful in the effort to make God’s Word more accessible for more people.

Here’s what we talked about, the original episodes where we introduced the idea, and the time where you can find our discussion in this FBL episode:

[00:46] Ordinary 4 – water and ice and squishy love

[02:05] Lent 1 – walking up your offering [02:05], trusting God is on your money [03:42]

[04:45] Lent 2 – Herod, that fox

[05:36] Lent 3 – the logic of Jesus on calamities [05:36], a volunteer fig tree [06:43], a figgy snack [08:11]

[08:37] Lent 4 – Prodigal rap [08:37], the wasteful older son [10:05]

[10:40] Lent 5 – accounting [10:40], the high cost of nard [13:18], incense headaches [14:42], what does nard smell like? [15:25]

Let us know how these multiple intelligence ideas are working for you! Leave us a comment below or send us an email at [email protected] telling us what went well, what missed, and what you came up with on your own. We’ll try to include it in the next FBL episode!