Awaken Community

Awaken begins a new series that seeks to unpack what healthy spiritual formation looks like. We begin with the importance of liturgy. Liturgy is ceremony and ordered intention. It is the work of the people, accessing collective memory and doing something together. Liturgy consists of sacred times that are set apart for the people of God throughout the year.

Chapter 13:29-31, Nehemiah ends with a very honest and sobering reality. They kick out the foreigners and Nehemiah reforms the practices of the sabbath, marriage and what happens in the temple. Why do we keep returning to this pattern? How might our interpretations change when considering this from a marginalized perspective?

In chapter 9, the Israelites remember those who have come before while asking, “How did we get here?” Awaken honors Melody Olson as she performs How Great Thou Art on her last Sunday as Worship Director.

Nehemiah 7:1-6, 8-18 - After the wall is done, the Israelites prepared for worship as a community, which began by remembering the names of the people, their lineage and their story/history. There is feasting and celebration in the temple. There will be days for weeping and mourning but today is not one of them…today we turn our attention to the grace, provision and wonder of God.

Nehemiah 6:1-16 - Opposition to the work you've been called to comes in very predictable fashion. Distraction - 5 times Nehemiah was invited to a meeting of great import and invited to take his eye off the ball. Opposition begins to sow seeds of falsehood and rumors about what is going on inside the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah confronts this head on with what is true.

Nehemiah 5:1-19 - Lessons in leadership from Nehemiah. The nobles and the rich were lending to their own countrymen and charging them interest just like non-Israelites would do. Nehemiah speaks against it and aligns himself with the people by living, working, and suffering WITH them.

Nehemiah 3:1-5 & 4:6-16, Lessons in leadership from Nehemiah. Chapter 3 is all about the myriad of people who are involved in the rebuilding of the wall. The list is so long that it appears no one is left out.

Nehemiah 2:1-20, The king asks Nehemiah what he wants and Nehemiah names his desires, then asks for what's needed to accomplish it. He faces opposition when he decides to champion the cause of the oppressed and marginalized which is to be expected and normal when you confront systems of power.

Nehemiah 1:5-11 - A plea for God's ear to be open and listening to the prayer of Nehemiah. Nehemiah personally asks forgiveness for the sins of his countryman, his family, and himself. They are tasked with remembering the promise that God made to gather the people and bring them home because they are God’s people.

This week is an introduction to Nehemiah and how we've gotten to the place where we are. Who was Nehemiah? How did Israel end up oppressed and exiled under Artaxerxes? What was the root cause of their suffering? Micah highlights the importance of beginning a process of renewal with grief/lament.

Acts 15, Early christians meet as a council in Jerusalem to start the church in the book of Acts. They find that the spirit of God is leading them beyond the confines of their religious structure and are thus tasked with living as a people of God rooted in love and a new way forward.

Tom sheds light on the current worldwide refugee crisis and his engagement with it through the non profit organization, IAFR. He shares the significance of the Lord's Prayer in a world desperate for hope.

Ruth 1:6-18, Mary provides context for her experience as a refugee and invites us to consider the importance of support systems and staying proximate to people with different life stories.

Jeremiah 29:1-14 The people of God in Exile - even here God is with them in Babylon. Exile is the place where your entire conception of who God is and what God is like dies and you find out God is still with you in this place/iteration.

1 Sam 8:1-22 - God warns them of all the things they will become if they go in this direction. As the people go down this path, they forget where they came from and they become Egypt - the very thing they were liberated from.

Judges 2:16-23, The children of God in this book of the Bible are often portrayed as rebellious and forgetful of the ways of God. Micah invites us to consider the ways God is more patient, hopeful, and available to us than we might otherwise be led to believe.

Numbers 9:15-23, The Israelites follow a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night trusting that the spirit of God is in it. Micah recalls the journey of Awaken, the movement of the spirit in our midst and invites us to trust that God is present and guiding us through whatever wilderness lay ahead.

Exodus 2:23-25 - God hear, remembers, sees, and knows the people while they are enslaved and oppressed. Micah invites us to consider what ideas and realities we need to be freed and liberated from.

Genesis 32 - Jacob has spent his life running from God and his own name. Micah highlights that ways God relentlessly pursues us and seeks to bring us into a way of life that bears good fruit and wholeness  of self.

Genesis 11:1-4, 12:1-5 These two chapters highlight the difference between a life motivated by fear and a life motivated by faith. Micah walks us through another iteration of the people of God following the voice of God towards partnered life together.