Vessel Houston

Quotations

"Religions should be understood as only the fingers that point to the moon, not the moon itself."  

 - Richard Rohr

Scripture & Quotations

2 Timothy 3:14-17

John 5:39-40

Lamentations 3:22-24

Luke 5:36-39

“So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an arch-defender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent--and often even vocal--sanction of things as they are. But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.”

― Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”

Luke 2:1-20

“(Anyone) whose childhood has known a real Christmas has ever afterward an association in his mind between two ideas that most of mankind must regard as remote from each other; the idea of a baby, and the idea of unknown strength that sustains the stars. His instincts and imagination can still connect them.”

― G.K. Chesterton, “The Everlasting Man”

Scripture & Quotations

2 Kings 4: 1-7

Mark 13

A collection of self-sustaining and self-reliant people - people who are all pretending to be fine - is not the Kingdom of God. It’s a group of humans refusing to be human beings and pretending to be gods. Such a “church” is comprised of fearful people working hard to keep up appearances and unable to trust each other to the point of loving self-sacrifice. In such a “church” each member is expected to be self-sufficient and self-sustaining, thus making no demands upon others. Unfortunately, where there is no need and no vulnerability, there can be no love.” 

― Dr. Richard Beck, The Slavery of Death

Scripture & Quotations

Matthew 7:15-16

Matthew 10:16

John 10:1-18

1 Corinthians 12:12-13

“Alcoholics just have their powerlessness visible for all to see. The rest of us disguise it in different ways and overcompensate for our more hidden and subtle addictions and attachments, especially our addiction to our own way of thinking.” 

- Richard Rohr, Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps

Scripture & Quotations

John 5:39-40

John 14:15-27

“You can safely assume that you have created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do!”

Anne Lamott

Scripture:

Luke 15: 17-24, 31-32

The Dark written by Lemony Snicket and illustrated by Jon Klassen

Scripture:

Acts 6: 1-7

Matthew 3: 16-17

Departure: Why I Left the Church

Intro: Reveille - Horizons

Outro: Steven Keech - Remembering Well

Scripture & Quotations:

2 Corinthians 4: 7-10

Acts 2: 42-47

Matthew 15: 10-20

Galatians 3: 23-29

The pastor is not an exalted member of the community… (He or she) is merely one more member of the body who happens to have been gifted and given responsibility to lead, teach, and shepherd. 

- Tim Morey, Planting a Church Without Losing Your Soul