Genesis 1:26-27Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image,in the image of God he created them;male and female he created them.Genesis 1:31God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning-the sixth day.

Philippians 4:10-13 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.True Contentment is a state of satisfaction that is anchored to our confidence in God that results in a joyful celebration of life. 1 Timothy 6:6-12But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Philippians 4:10-13 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.True Contentment is a state of satisfaction that is anchored to our confidence in God that results in a joyful celebration of life. 1 Timothy 6:6-12But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Genesis 1:26-27Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image,in the image of God he created them;male and female he created them.Genesis 1:31God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning-the sixth day.

Matthew 28:16-20Psalm 23:1-6Leviticus 19:18Leviticus 19:33-34Mark 12: 30-31Isaiah 1:16-20Ask God to reveal your blind spots. Listen to the voices of people different from you.Engage in talks about race.Speak up against intolerance – every.single.time! Join where you see those working against division.

Matthew 28:16-20Psalm 23:1-6Leviticus 19:18Leviticus 19:33-34Mark 12: 30-31Isaiah 1:16-20Ask God to reveal your blind spots. Listen to the voices of people different from you.Engage in talks about race.Speak up against intolerance – every.single.time! Join where you see those working against division.

Matthew 28:16-20Psalm 23:1-6Leviticus 19:18Leviticus 19:33-34Mark 12: 30-31Isaiah 1:16-20Ask God to reveal your blind spots. Listen to the voices of people different from you.Engage in talks about race.Speak up against intolerance – every.single.time! Join where you see those working against division.

Matthew 28:16-20Psalm 23:1-6Leviticus 19:18Leviticus 19:33-34Mark 12: 30-31Isaiah 1:16-20Ask God to reveal your blind spots. Listen to the voices of people different from you.Engage in talks about race.Speak up against intolerance – every.single.time! Join where you see those working against division.

Genesis 1: 1-3“All the towering materialism which dominates the modern mind rests ultimately upon one assumption; a false assumption. It is supposed that if a thing goes on repeating itself it is probably dead; a piece of clockwork. People feel that if the universe was personal it would vary; if the sun were alive it would dance. This is a fallacy even in relation to known fact. For the variation in human affairs is generally brought into them, not by life, but by death; by the dying down or breaking off of their strength or desire. A man varies his movements because of some slight element of failure or fatigue. He gets into an omnibus because he is tired of walking; or he walks because he is tired of sitting still. But if his life and joy were so gigantic that he never tired of going to Islington, he might go to Islington as regularly as the Thames goes to Sheerness. The very speed and ecstacy of his life would have the stillness of death. The sun rises every morning. I do not rise every morning; but the variation is due not to my activity, but to my inaction. Now, to put the matter in a popular phrase, it might be true that the sun rises regularly because he never gets tired of rising. His routine might be due, not to a lifelessness, but to a rush of life. The thing I mean can be seen, for instance, in children, when they find some game or joke that they specially enjoy. A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”- G.K. Chesterton““As radical as it may sound to those who have grown up in the sterile world of late modernity, asking the question is it beautiful? Is a valid and viable way to evaluate what we believe and do. We should ask ourselves: “Is this a beautiful doctrine?” “Is this a beautiful practice?” Along with asking if it is true and if it is good, we should also ask if it is beautiful. Truth and goodness need beauty. Truth claims divorced from beauty can become condescending. Goodness minus beauty can become moralistic. To embrace truth and goodness in the Christian sense, we must also embrace beauty.” -Brian Zahn"Lament is an act of love. It recognizes that in order to truly love, one must be truly honest."-Winn CollierLamentations 3:26-33Lament, however, is not a passive act. Many Christians may hear the word lament and assume that feeling bad about suffering is the purpose of lament. How sad that people died….But lament moves beyond bad feelings for the privileged. Lament is subversive and an act of protest. The powerful and the privileged have no problem being heard. It is the marginalized that need to be heard. The voiceless speak through lament. They cry out that things aren’t right. They are not the way things are supposed to be. Lament voices the prayers of the suffering and therefore serves as an act of protest against the powers.” - Soong-Chan RahMark 5:26-34“In like manner, the Church begins to devolve from beauty into a distorted form less beautiful the moment it reaches for the ring of power. But we reach for the ring of power nevertheless. We find it almost irresistable. Of course we supply ourselves with copious reasons as to why our fascination with conventional power is a good thing: ‘we want to make a difference in the world.’ But our model is not to overpower by might or to outwit with intelligence, our model is that of Christ - of a love that moves into the neighborhood and pours itself out. - Brian Zahnd

Genesis 1: 1-3“All the towering materialism which dominates the modern mind rests ultimately upon one assumption; a false assumption. It is supposed that if a thing goes on repeating itself it is probably dead; a piece of clockwork. People feel that if the universe was personal it would vary; if the sun were alive it would dance. This is a fallacy even in relation to known fact. For the variation in human affairs is generally brought into them, not by life, but by death; by the dying down or breaking off of their strength or desire. A man varies his movements because of some slight element of failure or fatigue. He gets into an omnibus because he is tired of walking; or he walks because he is tired of sitting still. But if his life and joy were so gigantic that he never tired of going to Islington, he might go to Islington as regularly as the Thames goes to Sheerness. The very speed and ecstacy of his life would have the stillness of death. The sun rises every morning. I do not rise every morning; but the variation is due not to my activity, but to my inaction. Now, to put the matter in a popular phrase, it might be true that the sun rises regularly because he never gets tired of rising. His routine might be due, not to a lifelessness, but to a rush of life. The thing I mean can be seen, for instance, in children, when they find some game or joke that they specially enjoy. A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”- G.K. Chesterton““As radical as it may sound to those who have grown up in the sterile world of late modernity, asking the question is it beautiful? Is a valid and viable way to evaluate what we believe and do. We should ask ourselves: “Is this a beautiful doctrine?” “Is this a beautiful practice?” Along with asking if it is true and if it is good, we should also ask if it is beautiful. Truth and goodness need beauty. Truth claims divorced from beauty can become condescending. Goodness minus beauty can become moralistic. To embrace truth and goodness in the Christian sense, we must also embrace beauty.” -Brian Zahn"Lament is an act of love. It recognizes that in order to truly love, one must be truly honest."-Winn CollierLamentations 3:26-33Lament, however, is not a passive act. Many Christians may hear the word lament and assume that feeling bad about suffering is the purpose of lament. How sad that people died….But lament moves beyond bad feelings for the privileged. Lament is subversive and an act of protest. The powerful and the privileged have no problem being heard. It is the marginalized that need to be heard. The voiceless speak through lament. They cry out that things aren’t right. They are not the way things are supposed to be. Lament voices the prayers of the suffering and therefore serves as an act of protest against the powers.” - Soong-Chan RahMark 5:26-34“In like manner, the Church begins to devolve from beauty into a distorted form less beautiful the moment it reaches for the ring of power. But we reach for the ring of power nevertheless. We find it almost irresistable. Of course we supply ourselves with copious reasons as to why our fascination with conventional power is a good thing: ‘we want to make a difference in the world.’ But our model is not to overpower by might or to outwit with intelligence, our model is that of Christ - of a love that moves into the neighborhood and pours itself out. - Brian Zahnd