disaster November 24, 2009
Posted by rickhill in Thoughts.Tags: disaster, God's story, the fall
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Every good story has some sort of disaster. Some sort of moment where it all goes wrong. Where the perfection or the relationship is damaged, seemingly beyond repair.
God’s story is no different.
Genesis 3 is the horrible moment when God’s creation decided to walk their own way. But this part of the story is about far more than eating apples or being naked. Instead, it’s the destruction of the beginning. The destruction of the perfect relationship.
No more talking face to face. No longer called friends. Not in a beautiful and perfect home any more.
Disaster has come.
beginnings… November 23, 2009
Posted by rickhill in Thoughts.Tags: beginnings, eden, God's story, stories
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Every good story has a beginning. And God’s story is no different.
The beginning of God’s story is not just about gardens and fruit. Or about animals and trees.
The heart of the beginning of God’s story begins to reveal the heart of God.
It is all about God and his people being in relationship with one another. It shows God walking with his creation in the cool of the day in the garden of eden. Of them sharing, walking, laughing, talking and enjoying each other.
This is how it all began. This is what was intended from the start.
the power of story November 22, 2009
Posted by rickhill in Thoughts.Tags: God's story, stories, the bible
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We all love stories. Whether it was growing up with Jack and the Beanstalk or Thomas the Tank. Then progressing onto Ramsey Street and Central Perk. Or getting our nose stuck into that great novel, or engrossed in that great DVD. We all love stories.
And our stories are important too. The story of our lives. Of who we are. And of where we came from. Documenting the significant moments along with the exciting events.
Stories have everything. Beginnings and Endings. Happiness and sadness. Life and death. Safety and danger. Friendship and conflict. The excitement and the mundane.
And so this year at Pulse we have been asking the question, if God wrote a story what would it look like?
This story that we hold in our hands is not just a collection of books or a moral compass. But ultimately a story. The story. The story of God. Do we know the full story? Do we really grasp the amazement of the one huge story of God from start to finish?
football & faith November 18, 2009
Posted by rickhill in Thoughts.Tags: christians in sport, defoe, faith, football, peacock
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some interesting thoughts here. i love hearing people’s stories. check out these footballers perspectives…
church November 17, 2009
Posted by rickhill in Thoughts.Tags: church, frustration
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trying to move from a place of criticism to a place of appreciation…
can anybody hear her?? November 16, 2009
Posted by rickhill in Thoughts.Tags: casting crowns, does anybody hear her?, lyrics
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some powerful lyrics from ‘casting crowns’. it came up in conversation this past weekend. sometimes i worry its too many peoples stories…
_
She is running
A hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction
She is trying
But the canyon’s ever widening
In the depths of her cold heart
So she sets out on another misadventure just to find
She’s another two years older
And she’s three more steps behind
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?
Or does anybody even knows she’s going down today
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that’s tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?
She is yearning
For shelter and affection
That she never found at home
She is searching
For a hero to ride in
To ride in and save the day
And in walks her prince charming
And he knows just what to say
Momentary lapse of reason
And she gives herself away
If judgement looms under every steeple
If lofty glances from lofty people
Can’t see past her scarlet letter
And we never even met her
the ease of popping idol November 11, 2009
Posted by rickhill in Thoughts.Tags: britain's got talent, duke special, lucie jones, pop idol, simon cowell, x factor
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it was duke special who wrote these lyrics:
“i don’t get those popping idol shows
everybody knows that the good things take a little longer”
now its not that i haven’t got ridiculously drawn into this years x factor. or that i didn’t enjoy last year’s britain’s got talent. it is fantastic tv in my opinion and in an incredibly successful package.
i guess i’ve come to realise the truth of these lyrics. and also become increasingly frustrated with the concept of the shows. things like the rewarding of the quick success at the expense of those who have been learning their craft for years. the ease of performing to a huge studio audience who sing your name compared to the difficulty of early and intimidating gigs in pubs and concert halls. the show that makes you a red carpet celebrity in 4 short weeks and sends you home as a loser the very next.
the world of a musician, or stand up comic, or even a preacher, is shaped through years of hard work. surely its in these first venues where a style is formed. these early days when craft is shaped. and the tough nights providing lessons learned.
but also, those days are a lot of fun too!! and for me, the pop stars being produced miss out on all that. and as we celebrate or mourn the latest voting drama on the weekend soap, we too miss some of the beauty that is being produced in our midst simply because it isn’t as well packaged, or worse, been given the right platform for their voice to be heard.
as i ponder these things, i begin to wonder if have we lost the love of small things in our society? have we become too scared of the hard nights?
because as duke special’s lyrics continue…”12 years on the cracks begin to show…”
_
PS – don’t read this as a reaction against lucie going out…as devastated as i was about this!!
church November 9, 2009
Posted by rickhill in Thoughts.Tags: church, conversation, frustration, listening, moving forward
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For more than a while now, I have been in too many conversations with too many people who seem disillusioned and frustrated with church. And reading blog posts about it too!! Good post Ally…
Yet also in this time, I have been discovering that church can be the most beautiful thing on earth. And I have seen first hand how the church can powerfully make a difference in people’s lives. In mine.
And while the church might at times struggle, display apathy, lack vision or argue, God doesn’t seem to have a Plan B. Church is His idea!
This is something I’ve been wrestling with over the past few months. I’ve been struggling to work out what this dream of God looks like in the 21st Century. How could a group of believers grow in community with one another. How should churches better welcome in those on the fringes of faith in a town with not much church influence? Or how should a church function for a group of young people disconnected from any form of organised religion?
I want to keep wrestling with this. But I need the help of others. Need the voices of the 12 year olds. Need the perspective of those in their 60’s who have planted or led churches. Need the opinion of the disillusioned. Need the thoughts of the dynamic leader.
You’ll know that often I talk too much. And so I want to take the next few months to just listen. To discover the stories that will encourage me. To hear the perspectives of others. To have my thinking stretched by those who have much to contribute to this conversation.
2nd home November 5, 2009
Posted by rickhill in Thoughts.Tags: donegal, letterkenny, the edge youth convention, worship ireland
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this weekend i’m looking forward to heading to one of my favourite places in this amazing island of ours. yes, the scenery is amazing, but more than that, its both the memories and the people that make it so special.
back when the ‘worship ireland’ movement was in full swing, we took several teams to letterkenny, donegal town and raphoe over a 2 year period. and along the way we built up some special friendships. sometimes you go to places like this with the expectation to minister to those present. but yet, every time i left with a deep sense of being blessed by the welcome we received, the hospitality given to us, and the conversations we enjoyed. the words ‘blessed to be a blessing’ came to mind.
but after being in the county over 20 times in 3 years for different teams, missions, events and gatherings, it’s been almost a year since i’ve been there. and so i’ve been invited back to the annual Donegal Youth Convention to speak at the 3 nights over this weekend.
it was a few years ago that i was involved in leading worship at this convention. and its cool to see some of the people who were young people at the time, beginning to step into leadership and influence of this event and ministry. it seems like God has been raising up a group of passionate people in the area over the past few years, and its been exciting to watch this from a far, and occasionally get to share in parts of that journey.
and so both sarah and i are looking forward to sharing and serving alongside old friends this weekend. to once again being involved in shaping young peoples spiritual journeys. and playing just a small part in a continual work of God in this area.
don’t normally ask this, but if any of you pray, i would appreciate that for us both this weekend. that the words i speak would land. for connection with those who are listening. that this would be more than another event. that this would be life changing for some young people.
sometimes its good just to laugh…!! November 3, 2009
Posted by rickhill in random.Tags: hitting fan, kicking ball away, rio ferdinand, temper
1 comment so far
find this very funny. temper temper rio!!
