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Show the NOOMA video, “Rhythm” “Jesus is like God in taking on flesh and blood, and so in his generosity, in his compassion, that’s what God is like. In his telling of the truth, that’s what God is like. In his love, and forgiveness, and sacrifice, that’s what God is like. That’s who God is. That’s how the song goes.” I wanted to show this video to you this morning because in our gospel lesson, through the actions of Jesus, we get a really good idea of who God is, and how that song goes. In our little passage from Mark, we see Jesus doing three primary things, three musical movements, if you will. We see Jesus at work, we see him at rest, and we see him in prayer. It’s like this is the rhythm of God – work, rest, prayer. He’s doing the work of all the things Rob Bell talked about – he’s being generous, compassionate, loving, and sacrificing. I think a lot of us get this about God. We get that God is these things and we get that we, as Christians, should be engaged in these things. But what I think we often miss about the rhythm of Jesus, is those other two parts, which are equally as important. These marvelous gifts from God: rest and prayer. Rest and prayer. Rest and prayer. I don’t know about you, but as I think about my own life as a Christian, I could always use a little more rest and prayer. And the cool thing about these gifts from God is that they are always available, it’s often just a matter of us opening up that present, being intentional about taking the time to do it. Rest and prayer. I’d like for us to practice this rhythm for just a few minutes to close up our time together. I’m going to walk us through a time of rest and prayer. What you’re about to get is a small taste of what we’re going to be offering during Lent. You’ll notice in the bulletin that part of our Lenten program beginning in a couple weeks will be guided prayer here in the sanctuary every Wednesday night. Here’s just a small taste of what that experience will be like. Here’s just a small taste of the rhythm of Jesus, the song of God, of rest and prayer. So, please get in a comfortable seated position. Sit up straight, but comfortably. Feet flat on the floor. It helps me to turn my palms up toward the sky and rest them on my knees…this is a position of both receiving and offering. And then close your eyes and just rest for a moment. Take in a big deep breath, and just let it out slowly. Do that again, take in a big deep breath, and just let it out slowly. One more time, deep breath and let it out slowly. Let your heart just rest for a moment in the presence of God. I’m now going to walk you through some things to pray for. Just think about these things in your heart, whisper aloud if you’d like, as long as it won’t distract the person next to you. For a moment, think about the things in life that bring you joy. Family. Friends. Experiences. Things you are thankful for. Now think about people in your life that need healing. People like Peter’s mother-in-law. Lift them up to God in prayer. Entrust them to God’s healing. Now let’s pray for our congregation, activities, ministries that are going on here, people you know or may not know. Take this time to pray for our upcoming Capital Fund Campaign, for our Lenten journey together, that we would do what God wants us to be doing as a community. Now think about things that you are sorry for. Regrets that you have. Maybe places where you’ve have found yourself out of tune with God. Imagine those things being surrounded by a bubble, make sure everything is included in that bubble, and then let that bubble float away, off into the air, and out of sight as God offers you his forgiveness. Finally, just sit for a moment and think about God. What kinds of things do you believe about God? What kinds of things would you like God to know? Where would you like to experience God’s power in your life? Rest in the love, mercy, and forgiveness of God. Rest in the rhythm of God’s song. Rest and prayer. Aren’t they kind of nice? You can open your eyes. Amen.
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