Love the stage design and the artwork. So cool! I enjoyed catching up with your family on Simone's blog too - you have a beautiful family and a wonderful story! Michelle mozingo
Well, let's take out our Bibles to see what God thinks of light. This 1st verse deals with the 2 people whose comments were deleted:
John 1:5 - The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
Now, here are just a FEW of the MANY scripture verses on what part LIGHT has in GOD's Kingdom:
Gen 1:3 - And God said, "Let there be Light," and there was light.
Gen 1:4 - God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.
Psalm 118:7 - The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join the festal procession up to the horns of the alter.
Proverbs 13:9 - The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of wicked is snuffed out.
Isaiah 60:1 - Arise shine, for the your light has come, and the gory of the Lord rises upon you.
Matthew 5:16 - In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven.
Ephesians 5:14 - For it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said, "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you."
Luke 11:36 - Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you.
I am not sure why my comment was deleted. It was respectful yet challenging. As Christians, Paul tells us we are called to hold each other accountable. I was questioning the place of luxury and extravagance in church but also in a neighborhood that is historically impoverished and surrounded by a juxtaposition of poverty and gentrification.
To the woman who used those bible verses: Thanks for responding and I appreciate the direct biblical verses pertaining to light however, those verses are about the light of God not his preference for lights as decoration. I was not thinking the LIGHTS were the problem. I was considering the cost, the extravagance and how that affected worship. Was it in a way that drew people to Christ and the cross?
Our team tries very hard to balance these issues and we believe we are doing a decent job at that. We are always learning and adjusting our approach. We are trying to engage with a culture and an area that is non definable at this point in time we sit on a fault line between the old and new. We are aware of the challenges and are engaged in conversation with groups from the neighborhood to figure out the best way to be a “LIGHT”... in this area.
As far as what the scripture is referring to yes it is the light of God but as humans we can use practical illustrations to cause people to see it in a new “LIGHT”...
If you really want to engage in conversation I recommend you make a appointment with some of our Pastors/Elders and discuss it in that setting. I do not believe my blog comment section is the place to sort this kind of stuff out. Not saying that I am not willing to engage in this conversation but just in a different venue.
I'm glad that I have found some to be on my side of lighting use. I'm in a situation right now where my Pastor is super old school and believes "God is Light". That basically means he won't allow us to dim the house lights during worship. It's very very very distracting.
It's been a struggle lately because I feel like with the lights full on, people are distracted because they can see each other. My favorite times of corporate worship are when I have been where I can hear the voices of the church but in the darkness I am encouraged to close my eyes and worship ONE. I'm not sure how to argue my point. :(
I love the comment "I appreciate the direct biblical verses pertaining to light however, those verses are about the light of God not his preference for lights as decoration".
I am the husband of a beautiful woman, father of two amazing children, and the media arts director for a church in down town Chicago. My life is about balancing my family, my job, and my art. And living in the intersection of these three busy streets.
7 comments:
beautiful Jason.
This was our first visit to Park in the new building and we were blown away by the stage design. That was a crazy amount of lights!
Love the stage design and the artwork. So cool! I enjoyed catching up with your family on Simone's blog too - you have a beautiful family and a wonderful story!
Michelle mozingo
Where is Jesus in all of this light business?
Well, let's take out our Bibles to see what God thinks of light. This 1st verse deals with the 2 people whose comments were deleted:
John 1:5 - The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
Now, here are just a FEW of the MANY scripture verses on what part LIGHT has in GOD's Kingdom:
Gen 1:3 - And God said, "Let there be Light," and there was light.
Gen 1:4 - God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.
Psalm 118:7 - The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join the festal procession up to the horns of the alter.
Proverbs 13:9 - The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of wicked is snuffed out.
Isaiah 60:1 - Arise shine, for the your light has come, and the gory of the Lord rises upon you.
Matthew 5:16 - In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven.
Ephesians 5:14 - For it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said, "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you."
Luke 11:36 - Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you.
I am not sure why my comment was deleted. It was respectful yet challenging. As Christians, Paul tells us we are called to hold each other accountable. I was questioning the place of luxury and extravagance in church but also in a neighborhood that is historically impoverished and surrounded by a juxtaposition of poverty and gentrification.
To the woman who used those bible verses: Thanks for responding and I appreciate the direct biblical verses pertaining to light however, those verses are about the light of God not his preference for lights as decoration. I was not thinking the LIGHTS were the problem. I was considering the cost, the extravagance and how that affected worship. Was it in a way that drew people to Christ and the cross?
Inquiries. Questions. WOndering. Interest.
Iron sharpening iron = biblical.
Sarah
Our team tries very hard to balance these issues and we believe we are doing a decent job at that. We are always learning and adjusting our approach. We are trying to engage with a culture and an area that is non definable at this point in time we sit on a fault line between the old and new. We are aware of the challenges and are engaged in conversation with groups from the neighborhood to figure out the best way to be a “LIGHT”... in this area.
As far as what the scripture is referring to yes it is the light of God but as humans we can use practical illustrations to cause people to see it in a new “LIGHT”...
If you really want to engage in conversation I recommend you make a appointment with some of our Pastors/Elders and discuss it in that setting. I do not believe my blog comment section is the place to sort this kind of stuff out. Not saying that I am not willing to engage in this conversation but just in a different venue.
I'm glad that I have found some to be on my side of lighting use. I'm in a situation right now where my Pastor is super old school and believes "God is Light". That basically means he won't allow us to dim the house lights during worship. It's very very very distracting.
It's been a struggle lately because I feel like with the lights full on, people are distracted because they can see each other. My favorite times of corporate worship are when I have been where I can hear the voices of the church but in the darkness I am encouraged to close my eyes and worship ONE. I'm not sure how to argue my point. :(
I love the comment "I appreciate the direct biblical verses pertaining to light however, those verses are about the light of God not his preference for lights as decoration".
Post a Comment