Meta tags:

Headings (most frequently used words):

-

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (619), and (403), that (241), you (112), for (105), are (98), not (98), this (96), but (86), have (85), our (85), will (79), with (77), god (75), what (70), all (62), they (62), people (59), one (59), who (57), was (48), from (48), jesus (47), heaven (46), twentysomethingdisciple (45), com (45), wordpress (44), like (43), because (41), goose (41), about (40), your (40), has (38), out (37), can (36), wild (36), https (34), into (34), more (33), their (33), church (33), there (32), kingdom (32), don (31), them (31), when (30), were (30), lord (29), 2011 (29), his (28), even (28), know (27), been (27), may (27), life (27), how (26), really (26), would (25), just (25), way (24), world (23), had (23), than (22), those (22), worship (22), new (22), death (21), christ (21), day (20), hands (19), maybe (19), its (19), love (19), believe (18), come (18), good (18), then (17), reality (17), does (17), things (17), these (17), waiting (17), other (16), any (16), isaiah (16), same (15), given (15), think (14), which (14), sin (14), free (14), grace (14), word (14), latch (14), call (14), 2010 (13), time (13), being (13), still (13), though (13), wonder (13), get (13), simply (13), very (13), let (13), where (13), paul (13), right (13), might (13), over (13), fear (13), respect (13), much (12), need (12), say (12), through (12), made (12), israel (12), actually (12), man (12), bad (12), father (12), gift (12), gospel (12), raising (11), first (11), back (11), doesn (11), least (11), going (11), always (11), true (11), http (11), 0000 (11), some (11), words (11), here (11), many (11), news (11), doubt (11), only (11), willevansnorman (10), feed (10), why (10), thought (10), response (10), hope (10), presbyterian (10), person (10), want (10), now (10), ways (10), advent (10), well (10), text (10), called (10), matthew (10), totem (10), book (9), kind (9), hand (9), live (9), could (9), heart (9), christian (9), remember (9), look (9), every (9), feel (9), end (9), against (9), imaginative (9), war (9), vision (9), together (9), nation (9), teach (9), today (9), shall (9), cross (9), story (8), ourselves (8), real (8), see (8), often (8), living (8), else (8), lift (8), someone (8), while (8), less (8), yhwh (8), freedom (8), after (8), sermon (8), needs (8), shed (8), title (8), without (8), criminal (8), rabbi (8), most (7), name (7), off (7), act (7), obedience (7), spiritual (7), self (7), old (7), longer (7), rather (7), certain (7), make (7), different (7), school (7), part (7), understanding (7), anyone (7), says (7), light (7), question (7), nations (7), house (7), walk (7), neither (7), something (7), jerusalem (7), already (7), find (7), mind (7), another (7), wrong (7), human (7), around (7), warning (7), label (7), questions (7), take (7), festival (7), pole (7), social (7), writing (6), either (6), comments (6), others (6), respond (6), feeling (6), exile (6), christians (6), seems (6), anything (6), few (6), number (6), seen (6), little (6), everyone (6), conversation (6), regardless (6), also (6), before (6), 1st (6), creation (6), promised (6), immediately (6), two (6), learn (6), work (6), hills (6), yet (6), room (6), enough (6), should (6), separated (6), came (6), bell (6), trespass (6), got (6), dominion (6), paradise (6), salvation (6), own (5), bible (5), faith (5), raised (5), whole (5), years (5), thinking (5), bit (5), worthy (5), did (5), since (5), such (5), hear (5), place (5), able (5), spirit (5), invited (5), creator (5), long (5), best (5), moving (5), reverse (5), bremen (5), thing (5), last (5), passage (5), finally (5), sword (5), judge (5), stream (5), days (5), doing (5), again (5), whatever (5), tell (5), probably (5), truth (5), read (5), use (5), said (5), isn (5), means (5), according (5), judah (5), ask (5), borne (5), camp (5), listen (5), matter (5), ever (5), taken (5), himself (5), hell (5), getting (5), table (5), video (5), romans (5), 231 (5), brothers (5), sisters (5), unified (5), disciples (5), didn (5), upon (5), fest (5), david (5), peter (5), teacher (5), reverend (5), lock (5), titles (5), themselves (5), burden (5), eugene (4), write (4), challenge (4), put (4), having (4), beyond (4), broken (4), show (4), humanity (4), close (4), she (4), high (4), whether (4), seemed (4), certainly (4), weren (4), experience (4), rest (4), never (4), holy (4), bless (4), blessing (4), body (4), along (4), ideas (4), following (4), month (4), imagination (4), swords (4), spears (4), start (4), verse (4), future (4), literally (4), jacob (4), idea (4), plowshares (4), pruning (4), hooks (4), statement (4), imagine (4), language (4), nor (4), become (4), therefore (4), case (4), form (4), dying (4), children (4), stories (4), threat (4), conquered (4), leave (4), blocks (4), doctor (4), set (4), usual (4), keep (4), thanks (4), advantage (4), slave (4), rob (4), must (4), justification (4), fight (4), blog (4), received (4), continue (4), draws (4), each (4), left (4), luke (4), talking (4), condemned (4), too (4), deserve (4), shakori (4), ministry (4), synchroblog (4), linkroblog (4), matt (4), key (4), sees (4), reason (4), earned (4), status (4), suggest (4), equally (4), valuable (4), unhindered (4), greeted (4), wage (4), bottom (4), top (4), heavy (4), cant (3), recently (3), reading (3), peterson (3), yes (3), point (3), hard (3), scripture (3), nothing (3), choose (3), reach (3), found (3), hearts (3), easily (3), connect (3), talk (3), state (3), sense (3), purpose (3), thinks (3), full (3), songs (3), images (3), air (3), elitist (3), understand (3), leaders (3), becoming (3), corporate (3), churches (3), worked (3), college (3), workers (3), lot (3), myself (3), join (3), give (3), felt (3), post (3), opening (3), makes (3), won (3), within (3), thu (3), apr (3), head (3), tue (3), known (3), better (3), move (3), instead (3), power (3), expectant (3), aren (3), instruments (3), expect (3), belief (3), incredibly (3), existence (3), once (3), allowed (3), eat (3), beautiful (3), wherever (3), beat (3), between (3), current (3), order (3), three (3), peoples (3), forth (3), mountain (3), established (3), above (3), precisely (3), ones (3), mean (3), earth (3), heard (3), him (3), times (3), justice (3), used (3), gravity (3), four (3), resurrection (3), waited (3), situation (3), whom (3), endured (3), happened (3), speak (3), under (3), weisel (3), auschwitz (3), evacuation (3), help (3), ran (3), outside (3), windows (3), killed (3), sent (3), important (3), north (3), whose (3), begun (3), preach (3), congregation (3), year (3), seminary (3), amen (3), line (3), freeing (3), gave (3), concerned (3), trying (3), contain (3), share (3), fences (3), down (3), abound (3), exploited (3), gates (3), side (3), hole (3), figured (3), statements (3), blah (3), teaching (3), responded (3), thoughts (3), abounded (3), importance (3), confused (3), build (3), gets (3), orthodoxy (3), written (3), february (3), 250 (3), died (3), adam (3), receive (3), friend (3), great (3), baptist (3), family (3), fact (3), building (3), wed (3), ashamed (3), eyes (3), society (3), allow (3), 516 (3), weekend (3), mother (3), offerings (3), chasing (3), went (3), door (3), money (3), positions (3), enter (3), blinded (3), hierarchy (3), poles (3), landowner (3), her (3), scribes (3), pharisees (3), chapters (3), daily (3), categories (3), places (3), honor (3), respectable (3), 197 (2), mine (2), easier (2), rarely (2), lived (2), adequately (2), commands (2), raise (2), acknowledging (2), closeness (2), knowing (2), physical (2), intellectual (2), uses (2), narrative (2), scriptures (2), responding (2), crying (2), captivity (2), difference (2), significant (2), saved (2), moment (2), far (2), desire (2), particularly (2), concept (2), non (2), ago (2), singing (2), seeing (2), bunch (2), laying (2), authority (2), usually (2), uncomfortable (2), raisers (2), hurt (2), choice (2), convinced (2), wasn (2), worshipping (2), settings (2), sized (2), grew (2), denominational (2), beginning (2), youth (2), issue (2), realize (2), definitely (2), hypocrites (2), exactly (2), big (2), slightly (2), simple (2), command (2), arms (2), beings (2), wouldn (2), towards (2), particular (2), nerve (2), speaking (2), practicing (2), 209 (2), inside (2), responsibility (2), impact (2), spoken (2), asking (2), trust (2), 212 (2), weapons (2), farm (2), tools (2), pause (2), created (2), genius (2), chapter (2), energize (2), climax (2), totalizing (2), invitation (2), offer (2), parts (2), totally (2), midst (2), uncertainty (2), injustice (2), lack (2), powerful (2), violence (2), cast (2), specifically (2), food (2), poetic (2), feared (2), expression (2), challenges (2), arbitrate (2), zion (2), instruction (2), paths (2), mountains (2), highest (2), prophet (2), bring (2), prophetic (2), veiled (2), sounds (2), description (2), value (2), descriptions (2), joy (2), talks (2), revelation (2), eye (2), prepared (2), touch (2), exciting (2), experiences (2), speaks (2), half (2), john (2), greek (2), meaning (2), humans (2), incomplete (2), jewish (2), prisoners (2), liberators (2), alive (2), exiles (2), garden (2), sure (2), classmates (2), ended (2), lives (2), home (2), fair (2), redemption (2), water (2), political (2), argue (2), necessary (2), told (2), difficult (2), past (2), common (2), remembering (2), jews (2), fully (2), unless (2), exiled (2), russians (2), afraid (2), temple (2), land (2), scenes (2), depths (2), comes (2), foot (2), sound (2), journey (2), tomorrow (2), block (2), stay (2), perhaps (2), knew (2), perfectly (2), emptied (2), open (2), night (2), lose (2), ends (2), looking (2), historical (2), background (2), south (2), assyria (2), century (2), creating (2), small (2), son (2), concerning (2), pastor (2), student (2), sunday (2), 222 (2), selfless (2), earlier (2), early (2), goes (2), born (2), humbled (2), blood (2), presence (2), rightness (2), ironic (2), answers (2), law (2), ridiculous (2), course (2), sinning (2), sinners (2), fears (2), eternal (2), itself (2), mark (2), scary (2), fall (2), glass (2), bread (2), welcome (2), haven (2), brings (2), doctrinal (2), questioning (2), heretical (2), behavior (2), doctrines (2), believed (2), ordained (2), supposed (2), sinner (2), increased (2), declared (2), heretic (2), doctrine (2), answered (2), position (2), fence (2), indeed (2), defended (2), term (2), tweets (2), soteriological (2), fate (2), america (2), quickly (2), exercised (2), exercise (2), condemnation (2), righteousness (2), surely (2), meet (2), town (2), scott (2), professors (2), mothers (2), shared (2), savior (2), minded (2), car (2), five (2), decided (2), confessional (2), sign (2), rich (2), 234 (2), hanging (2), die (2), receives (2), couldn (2), truly (2), giving (2), crucified (2), intended (2), started (2), process (2), next (2), letters (2), beauty (2), academic (2), replied (2), sat (2), 244 (2), service (2), practitioners (2), spirituality (2), asked (2), bazan (2), laid (2), doubts (2), climbing (2), away (2), waters (2), agree (2), rollins (2), fromberg (2), conference (2), crowds (2), goatees (2), fanny (2), packs (2), local (2), equal (2), answer (2), 265 (2), reflections (2), anna (2), inaugural (2), chase (2), steve (2), duck (2), flying (2), 274 (2), keys (2), community (2), began (2), devices (2), impossible (2), locked (2), values (2), harder (2), locking (2), instructor (2), parent (2), walking (2), pulpit (2), generosity (2), standing (2), seats (2), lectionary (2), morning (2), generous (2), unfair (2), belongs (2), parable (2), laborers (2), vineyard (2), familiar (2), cases (2), function (2), placed (2), bearing (2), shoulders (2), practice (2), front (2), religious (2), currently (2), sit (2), market (2), epc (2), baptized (2), dec (2), finished, inspired, pretty, incredible, stuff, author, mentor, basis, gone, tangent, encouraged, theologically, defendable, theory, patterns, perceptions, change, discomfort, forward, authors, lacking, deliverance, distance, chooses, spite, accepts, emotional, ascent, nowhere, transform, ability, calls, gratitude, motivation, posture, fit, cleanly, testaments, constantly, pursued, tearing, sackcloth, forsaken, deliver, action, affirming, pious, distracted, deceived, subtle, overwhelmed, reaching, relationship, divine, interesting, namely, designed, catalyst, changing, bat, primary, acts, commercial, selling, album, debuted, thousands, jubilant, educated, guess, majority, naive, arrogant, blame, wondered, care, arbitrary, kneeling, prostrate, comfortable, actions, symbolizing, subjection, wayne, garth, opposite, occasions, coerced, worrying, feelings, cool, haired, leader, ventured, medium, fca, mutt, mega, conferences, emergent, cohorts, sometimes, begrudgingly, display, moments, vibe, liking, trusting, acting, showy, differently, hey, deal, unnatural, consequently, seemingly, involuntarily, shoot, delay, electric, guitar, riff, note, precaution, potential, offensive, explaining, claiming, valid, legitimate, pleasing, ahead, biblical, praising, motor, movement, message, lifted, praise, psychosomatic, intricately, interrelated, motions, pick, cue, follow, men, pray, commanded, hypocrite, honest, struck, presented, strike, psyche, direction, meantime, assured, rely, issues, mercies, huge, expectations, fail, succeed, desires, changed, scares, reminded, conceived, forget, rabbit, jump, lap, nustle, lovingly, convince, aug, energizes, turned, fuller, scared, claws, worth, noticing, paint, berating, realizes, backwards, authentic, emerge, inserts, embrace, art, finish, solution, offers, energizing, hopeful, shaped, reversed, wish, separation, believing, hatred, especially, encompass, pulse, promoted, transformed, farming, ground, slaughtered, ties, metaphor, realized, separateness, specific, proclaim, undo, hinder, destroy, altogether, imagines, communities, walter, brueggeman, task, energized, posses, visible, realities, vague, expectation, tangible, types, mature, streets, gold, clear, crystal, walls, precious, stones, sorts, mention, consider, apostle, ear, entered, corinthians, heightened, millions, conceive, condition, total, communication, fellowship, material, cbn, cares, personally, characteristics, vastly, noticeable, described, 500, mile, cube, structures, size, automatically, sphere, universe, absent, significantly, reduced, godandscience, org, conversations, observation, intangible, represents, comprehension, couple, online, inspire, expecting, imagining, second, quoted, english, expressed, subjunctive, recognizes, incarnation, stated, fix, ought, wwii, wait, privileged, problem, glaring, obvious, extremely, throughout, entire, september, alone, six, gay, relentless, taunts, oppression, persons, age, suffers, depression, touches, closer, cdc, divorce, rate, 2009, relationships, account, falling, apart, exists, painful, genocide, clean, drink, continues, plague, planet, starts, iraq, claim, marked, race, pretend, unfinished, unacceptable, sometime, defines, season, harmony, showed, hebrew, testament, glean, wisdom, relate, conquest, conditions, eventually, beaten, assume, perspective, present, comparisons, faint, liberate, captives, identity, numb, milder, novel, conjures, anxiety, weight, scene, snow, thick, frost, shoe, onto, pain, cold, suffered, mined, blow, obviously, invalids, summarily, faceless, crematory, final, batch, twelfth, stroke, hundreds, strut, hospital, hive, shouting, preparations, forgotten, announced, nightfall, patients, infirmary, evacuated, arrive, evening, somewhere, germany, camps, shortage, clock, afternoon, summoned, heads, report, farther, shattered, lips, illustration, history, elie, foreign, certainty, brief, divided, kingdoms, southern, capital, career, superpower, largest, empire, massive, army, march, conquer, amoz, saw, opportunity, sundays, wonderfully, welcoming, intelligent, gracious, grateful, transcript, loosely, sun, nov, greater, charge, accused, betrayed, abused, mocked, newness, letter, quotes, hymn, regard, equality, grasped, taking, likeness, became, obedient, fallen, shameful, foolish, veil, torn, loose, trumped, pastors, verbally, excommunicating, rid, ounce, strength, spittle, muster, box, morality, usher, eternity, nailed, hoisted, dislike, smash, idols, replace, creative, seeking, mistakes, illusion, exclaims, tyrant, dead, mistake, worst, heretics, eloquently, proclaiming, knows, trump, packaged, dangled, torment, obsolete, trumps, infinitely, allows, commandment, voice, unbelief, merit, pearly, misunderstood, purposes, nauseous, deciding, mishandled, supper, horrible, piece, bullet, proof, plate, distribute, juice, exclaiming, proudly, participate, logic, root, declare, slightest, departure, happen, battle, tyrannical, questionable, improper, sacramental, reverence, list, further, core, deeper, sleeping, wife, descended, served, communion, denounce, throw, sincebefore, probing, wrestling, anger, wrestle, explore, newly, kinds, articles, seminarian, example, questioned, popularly, held, unashamedly, firmly, rooted, clutching, stake, plot, wield, both, clearly, defined, black, white, anyways, applies, apply, countless, blogs, facebook, posts, sermons, hadn, firestorm, promo, wins, tweet, bid, farewell, presumably, universal, 28th, penned, 000, unique, page, views, respected, characters, link, uploaded, youtube, leading, multiplied, result, led, leads, righteous, disobedience, abundance, righteousnes, judgment, brought, trespasses, effect, mar, driving, buckhead, california, developed, friendship, somewhat, infrequent, thankful, begin, redeeming, expressions, ongoing, hold, identifying, loving, respecting, prejudice, works, stands, denomination, development, united, fractured, appear, depravity, importantly, undeservingly, dine, deny, betray, thieves, mockers, prayed, forgiven, fruits, plan, splintered, members, catholic, exclusivist, suddenly, aware, sinfulness, wall, facing, stained, gethsemane, carrying, hill, tomb, associated, insensitive, brainwashed, shifted, gaze, drive, buildings, surrounding, intrigued, architecture, knowledgeable, gazing, pulled, red, large, brick, looked, fills, stuffy, located, attitude, toward, inhabit, pews, smell, taste, field, trip, explain, promise, breaths, appropriate, describe, stupid, charity, wheels, spinning, figure, meant, wondering, moves, awestruck, chose, hearing, save, addressing, king, intimately, calling, nameless, opened, floodgates, turns, justly, done, hurling, insults, finds, courage, thief, defense, experienced, crossed, threshold, mouth, coming, menace, executed, crimes, telling, dialogue, holes, refuse, engage, doors, poems, purest, intense, study, newspaper, extract, pages, bias, detail, logo, until, months, apparently, carolinians, eastern, complete, pigs, pinko, lefty, slept, stars, shower, fires, drinking, cheap, alcohol, playing, critique, followed, hundred, hymns, creeds, elicit, fire, eyeballs, guardians, sang, sleep, low, range, melodies, haunting, inquiries, peace, thank, appropriately, named, crew, annual, naked, nakedness, opinion, critical, amidst, holding, upset, committee, preparation, sad, discredit, terrifies, pace, toed, sloth, sitting, lyrical, bed, existential, prosecutors, planned, ambush, sheets, listened, continued, farce, fulfill, brains, enlightenment, ceases, motivating, mistakenly, seduced, hate, despise, festivals, delight, solemn, assemblies, burnt, grain, accept, fatted, animals, noise, melody, harps, roll, flowing, ritual, seduce, revealed, fake, curtain, ripped, implications, fifth, amos, wandered, campgrounds, meeting, friends, running, minds, stretched, prodded, likes, irish, theologian, episcopal, priest, conveniently, favorite, presenters, coincidence, collectively, explored, christology, eucharist, took, initial, scan, stereotypical, elements, touting, organic, harvest, spewing, fiery, declarations, rights, sexual, orientation, understood, racial, discrimination, gender, inequality, unit, glimpse, increasingly, structural, chew, defensive, job, jun, bloggers, participating, joey, wahoo, wendy, mccaig, loosing, woofenden, slippery, slope, robert, jeremy, myers, christine, sine, encounters, thin, space, minnow, hayes, dale, lature, reflection, tsmith, seth, donovan, gays, toscano, blurted, carried, goosed, glen, reteif, shay, kearns, public, private, apologizing, rhine, shirt, eric, elnes, recovering, lost, callid, keefe, perry, gatekeeping, martinez, mike, croghan, safe, dan, brennan, deep, zimmerman, recap, celebrating, interdependence, bolz, weber, michelle, thorburg, hammond, jay, bakker, tammy, carter, visual, acuity, knight, magical, abbie, jessica, fable, allison, leigh, lilley, catching, kerri, contemplative, waterfowl, martin, greenbelt, custodianseed, boiled, deborah, wise, cherie, renaissance, return, chris, lenshyn, brian, gerald, murphy, kyla, cofer, karyn, wiseman, ryan, hines, later, controversy, lee, smith, bumps, opportunities, everywhere, offense, objective, review, snoeyenbos, revival, jul, rock, hades, prevail, flows, coincidental, gives, starting, committed

Text of the page (random words):
understanding that defines advent as the season in which we remember our understanding of this part of the story in other words advent is remembering israel or even the world as it waited on jesus and while that is true in some ways it would do us well to remember that the jews weren t waiting on jesus they were waiting on the day of the lord the day when all things would be made right and humanity would live in harmony with creation and creator and that s not how jesus showed up at least not yet it s difficult for me to believe that an understanding of advent that is only about what has already happened sometime in the past isn t also an understanding of the scriptures that doesn t give its stories any freedom to speak into our lives today maybe we think this way because we ve been told that jesus resurrection marked the end of the race and that our waiting is over or maybe we just don t like waiting and its easier to pretend we don t see the unfinished unacceptable state of the world in which we live but i believe that it is fair and true to say that we are still living in a world that exists in painful need of redemption in many parts of the world genocide is still a reality children are dying simply because they can t get a clean drink of water or enough food war continues to plague this planet and that one starts to touch home we re still in iraq and regardless of your political ideas about that war i doubt that anyone would argue against the claim that war is not a good way of life necessary or not war is a way of death let s bring it even closer to home according to the cdc the divorce rate for the us in 2009 was exactly 50 half of the relationships that come to life on account of love end up falling apart end up dying beyond that 1 out of 10 persons over the age of 18 in the us suffers from some form of depression that means this one touches someone in this room and i m sure you ve seen it in the news recently that in the month of september 2010 alone one month at least six gay youth all of whom endured a relentless stream of taunts and oppression by their classmates ended their own lives i could go on and on but there s no need the glaring obvious truth of our current situation is that sin is still very alive and extremely powerful throughout our entire world and we live in captivity to it we still live as exiles from the garden state the problem life as we know it is not as it ought to be it is incomplete and just like israel waited on the day of the lord and just like the jewish prisoners of wwii waited on their liberators so we still wait for much of the world even for privileged us life isn t even the right word in the second half of john 10 10 jesus is quoted as having said i have come that they might have life in greek the four english words they might have life are expressed in one word and it is in the subjunctive case meaning not yet not definitely in other words jesus recognizes that incarnation doesn t yet make real life a reality for humans and as the first church new and we just re stated neither does resurrection immediately fix things our reality is still waiting and in the narrative that we ve been given as christians what we are waiting for is heaven right for israel thought they may have used slightly different language their reality is our reality waiting on the day of the lord it is in the midst of this waiting that isaiah speaks these words of imaginative expectant hope of advent expecting the day of the lord imagining heaven but isaiah doesn t use the same kind of language we do to talk about heaven does he i don t know your experiences with conversations about heaven but in my own experience and observation we think about and talk about and even expect heaven in really intangible ways and that s not a bad thing because i think it represents the truth that heaven is beyond our comprehension but i want to read a couple of descriptions of heaven that i found online and you tell me if they inspire you from godandscience org the characteristics of the new creation tell us that it will be vastly different from what we are used to on earth probably the most noticeable difference will be the lack of gravity the new jerusalem is described as a 1 500 mile cube structures of this size would automatically become a sphere in this universe because of gravity therefore gravity will either be absent or significantly reduced in the new creation not very exciting not very imaginative who cares i personally don t find any value in this kind of description of heaven from cbn heaven is where god is he is the light of heaven the joy of heaven as you mature in your understanding of the bible you realize there is no material concept of heaven that will do it justice the bible talks about streets of gold as clear as crystal and walls made out of precious stones see revelation 21 18 21 all sorts of images immediately come to mind when we mention heaven more than anything else heaven is a spiritual condition where one spiritual being is in touch with another spiritual being and there is total communication and fellowship whatever we consider to be a joy here on earth will be heightened millions of times beyond anything we can conceive when we get to heaven the apostle paul put it this way eye has not seen nor ear heard nor have entered into the heart of man the things which god has prepared for those who love him i corinthians 2 9 to me this is vague veiled in christian language that sounds good but what does it mean this kind of description may be of value but still is not imaginative there is no expectation of anything tangible and so it is hard to find any real hope in these types of descriptions of heaven walter brueggeman in his book the prophetic imagination says that it is the task of the prophet to bring to expression the new realities against the more visible ones of the old order because we are energized not by that which we already posses but by that which is promised and about to be given i believe that this is precisely what isaiah is doing in this passage let s look at it again to see what isaiah imagines for the communities in jerusalem and in exile and as we ll see for the whole of humanity 2 in days to come the mountain of the lord s house will be established as the highest of the mountains and will be raised above the hills all the nations will stream to it yhwh will teach us the ways of god so that we may walk in god s paths out of zion will go forth instruction and the word of the lord from jerusalem 4 yhwh will judge between the nations and will arbitrate for many peoples and they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks nation will not lift up sword against nation neither will they learn war any more 5 o house of jacob come let us walk in the light of the lord big idea isaiah s response to a world of war and uncertainty and exile is to imagine expect and proclaim a day in which yhwh the one true god will undo those things that hinder and destroy life and do something altogether new this is a specific poetic imaginative expression of a new reality that challenges the current way of existence and i like a good presbyterian think that isaiah challenges the old order in three ways 1 wherever there is feared and realized separateness all nations will stream to god s house 2 wherever there is injustice yhwh will teach us the ways of god will judge between nations 3 and finally wherever there is violence death the new reality is that they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks nation will not lift up sword against nation neither will they learn war any more to me the end of verse 4 is the climax of this passage and the statement that ties it all together it is the most poetic and the most totalizing statement that isaiah makes here and in a beautiful metaphor isaiah says this all of the things that once promoted violence the very instruments of death will not be cast off into non existence but will actually be transformed into instruments of life plowshares and pruning hooks are farming tools that allowed people to eat from the ground specifically to eat food that doesn t have to be slaughtered isaiah s imaginative vision of the day of the lord is a vision of death moving in reverse it s an incredibly powerful vision especially in light of the idea that the words life death encompass far more than physical existence and a pulse if death is separation and injustice the lack of love and grace if death is believing that you are better than someone else or if it is self hatred then what does isaiah s vision do to those things what parts of your life aren t life at all but are actually shaped by the instruments of death and are you able to expect a day when those things are totally reversed that is the kind of advent that we are invited into not just a wish or desire but a real vision real belief in the midst of uncertainty and exile isaiah does not offer israel a solution but rather in advent offers an energizing vision of the future that has been promised advent is hopeful expectant imaginative waiting on the day of the lord and it is our reality embrace it learn the art of imaginative advent because anything less is simply waiting for death to finish its work pause it s worth noticing the last verse of this passage this is the genius of isaiah he doesn t paint this vision of the day of the lord and then move immediately into the berating that will come in the rest of chapter two but instead realizes that the vision of god s future is one that has the power to energize people to energize nations and so at the climax of the of imaginative vision at the point where he says death will literally start going backwards and real true authentic life will emerge into a totalizing reality he inserts a simple invitation 5 o house of jacob come let us walk in the light of the lord i know you re scared i know you re not living the life that you were created to live and that sin has its claws in you but it won t always be that way these are the ways of the lord now come let s start living them pause you see the thing about imaginative advent is that it energizes people to live into reality the new creation that has been promised and made known to them for israel their reality was a world of war of swords and spears a little imagination turned those weapons into farm tools and invited a better fuller way of life what s your reality and what will you do with just a little imagination https twentysomethingdisciple wordpress com 2010 11 28 death moving in reverse bremen 1st presbyterian church feed 1 212 willevansnorman a conversation https twentysomethingdisciple wordpress com 2010 08 31 a conversation https twentysomethingdisciple wordpress com 2010 08 31 a conversation respond tue 31 aug 2010 17 52 48 0000 http twentysomethingdisciple wordpress com p 209 do you love me what could i do that would convince you i don t know have that rabbit jump up on my lap and nustle his head against me lovingly you d forget in a month and be asking the same question do you trust me i think so i ve spoken love to you since before you were conceived and i still do that but i need to feel your love now i have this huge responsibility and expectations to live up to and people to impact for your kingdom and i don t even feel like you are with me i feel like i will fail and in some ways i don t even want to succeed my desires have changed and i don t know why or when that scares me and i don t like it i has been a while since i ve been reminded has it i don t know how do you show me your love my mercies are new every day do i have issues yes sin but i love you i want what is best for you and what is best for you is best for everyone because you have my love inside of you you will come back into the light but in the meantime be assured that i am always with you look for me and rely on me and you will be free https twentysomethingdisciple wordpress com 2010 08 31 a conversation feed 0 209 willevansnorman can t believe i m writing this https twentysomethingdisciple wordpress com 2010 04 29 cant believe im writing this https twentysomethingdisciple wordpress com 2010 04 29 cant believe im writing this comments thu 29 apr 2010 17 50 00 0000 http twentysomethingdisciple wordpress com p 197 i recently finished reading eugene peterson s a long obedience in the same direction and was inspired to write or to think then to write the book is pretty incredible as most of his stuff is eugene is kind of an author mentor of mine and yes we re on a first name basis either way i ve gone off on a tangent back to the point while i was struck by a number of different ideas that were presented in the book one towards the very end seemed to strike a particular nerve within my psyche in speaking of practicing obedience in blessing or worshipping our creator peterson has the following to say we are invited to bless the lord we are commanded to bless the lord and then someone says but i don t feel like it and i won t be a hypocrite i can t bless god if i don t feel like blessing god it wouldn t be honest the biblical response to that is lift up your praising hands to the holy place and bless god you can lift up your hands regardless of how you feel it is a simple motor movement you may not be able to command your heart but you can command your arms lift your arms in blessing just maybe your heart will get the message and be lifted up also in praise we are psychosomatic beings body and spirit are intricately interrelated go through the motions of blessing god and your spirit will pick up the cue and follow along for why do men lift their hands when they pray is it not that their hearts may be raised at the same time to god i ll just go ahead and say it this makes me very uncomfortable as a note of precaution the rest of the post has the potential to be slightly offensive i am simply explaining my experience and opening up conversation not claiming that my experience is more valid legitimate or god pleasing than anyone else s hope you ll join in the conversation i don t know exactly why hand raising is such big deal to me but it always has been i ve never really felt like raising my hands in worship it always seemed unnatural to me and so consequently i ve had a hard time understanding people who s hands seemingly involuntarily shoot up in the air every time they hear delay on an electric guitar riff my experience of corporate worship has ventured into a number of different settings from the medium sized presbyterian church that i grew up in to high school fca the denominational mutt to the mega churches that i ve either worked for or been a part of since the beginning of college to youth workers conferences to emergent church cohorts i ve seen a lot of hand raising sometimes even convinced myself begrudgingly though it may have been to join in but there was always this one little issue th...