Darkness

Darkness is around me
And threatens
To overwhelm my life.
Where is that someone
Who can help me
And show me the way
Back to the right path?
And I wish I could
Wake up from
This nightmare!

It's another day
The nightmare
Is not as strong
And I'm dealing with life
Better than yesterday.
Things brighten a bit
News of moving
To an apartment
That better fits my needs.
Depression still rules!

Some Questions

How often do we turn away outsiders just because they are not going our way?
Are we trying to please people or God?
Are we reaching out to the outsiders of our society?  Or are we just trying to fill the seats?
Will we really learn to be faithful to what Jesus taught?

God Among Us

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God among us

Watch it  -
For God
Has broken loose
And is out
Among the people!


Awake!
For God is here,
Among us!
Beware!
For He walks
And dwells with us!

Oh God
Of the unexpected,
Forgive us
That we do not see
Your hand
In all things.
Forgive us
When we try
To cage you
And pull you down
To our size.
Forgive us
That we do not see
That you are bigger,
And more active
In our world
Than what we expect.

And God speaks to us all:
"I am with you
At all times
And will not leave
Those of you
Who will come to me."


God is always here,
Among us all,
Working where
We are not looking.
God is always here,
Working among us
Where we do not expect.

But then,
Who expected a baby
In a manger?


Watch it!
Be careful!
For God is out
In the world
And is always doing
The unexpected!
Look around you to see
Where God is doing
The unexpected
In your part of the world.

Go forth from this place
In love and in peace.

On the Hill

On the hill He stood
And taught the way of life.
“Blessed are you…” He said.
And then He taught,
Speaking of God’s love
For all His children.
And then He taught them how to live,
And that they should
Be as perfect as God.
Then He called loud and clear;
“Come unto me all you who labor…
And I will give you rest.”
And still that call rings out
Drawing people unto Him;
The Christ, the Lamb of God.

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God With Me

God with Me       

Psalm 139:1-18

Oh my God,

You are always with me.

Wherever I go,

You are there.

Your hand always

Upholds me.

Awake or asleep,

You are near me.

Psalm 139:19-24

You are so much

With me

That I hate any

Who say they hate you.

Help me, my God,

And lead me home

To where you are.

I awake and look,

You are near me.

Isaiah 43

And God speaks

To me and says:

"I created you

And I am always

With you.

I will call you

By your name

And keep you safe.

All my children

I will bring back

From where they are.

I am God,

And I love them all."

Luke 18:18-25

"Even when the world

Pulls you away,

I am still there,

Waiting for you

To realize

How much I love you."

Romans 8:31-39

And with God near,

There is no one

Who can come between.

God is always

There for me,

Wherever I might go,

And that love

Is always mine,

Whatever I might do.

Give Praise

Give praise
And thanks
To our God
Who has given
To us all
Everything
We need,

Stop

Stop and listen
For the music
That God
is playing for you.
It is there
For you to hear
If you will
Listen carefully.

God Loves

God loves me as I am, right now.  Also, God loves each of those who are around me at any
time.  There is no one who is left out of that love.  Such a surprise and a delight!  God leaves no one out of that all encompassing love.  All creation is God's and none can be said to be outside of that love.  Spread the Good News abroad - God loves us all!!

Different

Comes the cry,
God doesn't love me ,
How can that be?
I am too different !
But comes back
An answer from God ,
It does not matter
How different you are,
I love you always.

Hey God

Hey God, I am here, and I want to talk to you.  I don't mind being
here in this life, and most of the time, I don't mind being who I am.
But dear God, I am so oppressed!  Why did you make me to be so
different from everybody else?  Differences are just not accepted
here.  Once people know that a person is different, they turn away or
make it hard for that different one to live.  Some have even been
beaten or killed!  Why God?  Why can't people accept me as I am? 
Why must they continually be trying to change me?  Why did you
make me as I am?

Can You Hear Me, Lord by Jerry Browning

Can you hear me, Lord?  How did I come to be?
Can you hear me, Lord? Is this your love I see?
Seems the world you made has turned its back on me.
If you hear me, Lord, I'm longing to be free.

Do you love me, Lord? I feel inside you do.
Do you love me, Lord?  My heart cries out to you.
In the darkest night let me see your love shine through.
If you love me, Lord, let me walk with you.

Can you tell me, Lord, all the reasons I am here?
Can you tell me, Lord, what is it others fear?
Why is hate so strong and love so rare and dear?
Will you tell me, Lord, for I feel you standing near.

Will you take me, Lord? I'm longing to be free.
Will you take me, Lord? My heart cries out out to Thee.
For the only love I know you placed in me.
If you won't take me, Lord, why did I come to be?

Too Great

God is too great for me,
Too big and too full
For me to understand.
I cannot hold the idea
Of so much love within.
So I back away,
Afraid of what
I might find out about
Who this God is.
And I turn away
To the things around me.
God is too great for me,
I cannot see Him,
Or is it Her?
I cannot tell
Which it is.
Oh, it does not matter,
For I find that this
God is too great for me.

Stop

Stop and think
Before you do
For God has plans
That hay not be
What you dream.
For God will always
Do the unexpcted
In our lives.
For God has
Greater plans
For our lives
If we will stop
And let God do
What is needed.

Watch

Stand backk
And let God work
And be prepared
To be surprised
At what God will do!

Stand back
And watch carefully
For God
Will always do
The unexpected!

Questions

How can we become one in Christ if we push all others away?
How can we teach trust if  we don't have much about trust ourselves?
How do we teach to trust God fully?

Come

Come and see,
Come and know,
God is here,
Among us.
Celebrate now,
For our God
Dwells always
With us all
And loves us all.

Praise God

Praise God!
Dance and sing,
Be joyful!
Go among
All the people
And help them
Find the joy
From being with God!
sermon by Rev Troy Perry

Prayer 3

Lord , I need your help;
Come to me I pray.
For I am blind
And cannot see
Whither I am going.
So come to me
And take my hand
And take me home with you
That I might live forever
In heaven above with you.

Fools

Oh Lord, what fools we be!
We go along life’s highway
Believing our own strength
Sufficient to any task
That might confront us,
When only you can give
To each of us the strength
To bear the load
That has been given us

Oh Lord, what fools we be!
We try to make ourselves
The highest and best
Of our little worlds
When only service, lowly service
To our fellow beings and you
Can make us better
Than what we are.

Oh Lord, what fools we be!
We deny to others the right
To live as we do,
Forcing them to live
Where we would not,
When they are our brethren,
Your children,
Whoever they may be.

Oh Lord, what fools we be!
For we put ourselves
Ahead of you and your kingdom.
We try to pretend
That you do not exist,
And measure ourselves by our own standards
When you are there, before us,
Measuring us and weighing our faults.

Keep us, Lord, from the foolishness
That says, “I am god
Of this little bit of world.”
And forgets that ALL people
Are your children
And as such
Have the same rights as we.
Keep us, Lord, from being fools.

So Fine by Jerry Browning

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bzo9stp3CiVAVjlPWW9PV0hURlE/view?usp=drivesdk

Help, Oh God

Help, Oh God
        for Joe Mackey

Psalm 39:1
Help me, oh God,
That I might
Learn to watch
What I say.
Help me to control
My tongue and my brain
That what I say
Will not hurt another.

Romans 7:21
You, oh God,
Are my help
To keep me
From the wrong
That I would do
Or from saying
Anything that would
Hurt another.
I want to say and do
Only the good,
But without you near,
I have no strength
To walk in the right.

Ephesians 2:8-9
It is you, oh God,
Who has come to me
And by your grace,
Saved me.
You have shown me
The way to go,
That is not of anything
That I might do
But only
Through faith in you.

Titus 3:5
Oh my God,
I often do or say
The wrong things.
But through your mercy,
I am saved
And your spirit dwells
Always with me.

Hebrews 4:14-16
And now I can
Approach your throne
With confidence,
Because Jesus has come
And shown me the way.
Always grace
And mercy are mine,
Because I believe
That Jesus is your Son,
And He shows me the way
That is best,
And your help and love
Always is mine.

The The Love of God

The love of God; how shall I describe it?  It is immutable, unchanging, but to what can it be compared?  That love is more than mere words can tell.  It is deeper, fuller than can ever be told.  We try to tell of it, and thus put human limits on something that has no limits at all.  And thus, we come to the final joy that knows no bounds, God loves me!  Without conditions, God loves me!  As I am, with all my sins, God loves me!  And there is no one who can take that love from me: that love is too complete, too fully there for anyone to be able to tell me anything else.
And because of that, I know, I am sure that God loves ALL other people just as completely and fully as I am loved.  No one can take that from us.  The love of God is there for us whether we turn around to take it or not.  And isn’t it marvelous!  It does not matter what the differences are between us, we are all equally loved, for we are all God’s children.  We were created by God and each created differently, but still loved.