WHERE'S THE LOVE!

Snippet

I choose love. No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness, 

I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.  Max Lucado

Scripture

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[g] and hate your enemies.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you.[h] 45 If you do this, you will be true children of your Father in heaven. He causes the sun to rise on good people and on evil people, and he sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong. 46 If you love only the people who love you, you will get no reward. Even the tax collectors do that. 47 And if you are nice only to your friends, you are no better than other people. Even those who don’t know God are nice to their friends. 48 So you must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:43-48 NCV

Song

Where is the Love  Black Eyed Peas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI2tceUD3os

What's wrong with the world, mama

People livin' like they ain't got no mamas

I think the whole world addicted to the drama

Only attracted to things that'll bring you trauma

Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism

But we still got terrorists here livin'

In the USA, the big CIA

The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK

But if you only have love for your own race

Then you only leave space to discriminate

And to discriminate only generates hate

And when you hate then you're bound to get irate, yeah

Madness is what you demonstrate

And that's exactly how anger works and operates

Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight

Take control of your mind and meditate

Let your soul gravitate to the love, y'all

People killin', people dyin'

Children hurtin', hear them cryin'

Do you practice what you preach

Would you turn the other cheek

Father, Father, Father help us

Send some guidance from above

'Cause people got me, got me questionin'

Where is the love (Love)

Where is the love (The love)

Where is the love (The love)

Where is the love

The love, the love

It just ain't the same, always unchanged

New days are strange, is the world insane

If love and peace is so strong

Why are there pieces of love that don't belong

Nations droppin' bombs

Chemical gasses fillin' lungs of little ones

With ongoin' sufferin' as the youth die young

So ask yourself is the lovin' really gone

So I could ask myself really what is goin' wrong

In this world that we livin' in people keep on givin'

In

Makin' wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends

Not respectin' each other, deny thy brother

A war is goin' on but the reason's undercover

The truth is kept secret, it's swept under the rug

If you never know truth then you never know love

Where's the love, y'all, come on (I don't know)

Where's the truth, y'all, come on (I don't know)

Where's the love, y'all

People killin', people dyin'

Children hurtn'hear them cryin'

Do you practice what you preach

Would you turn the other cheek

Father, Father, Father help us

Send some guidance from above

'Cause people got me, got me questionin'

Where is the love (Love)

Where is the love (The love)

Where is the love (The love)

Where is the love (The love)

Where is the love (The love)

Where is the love, the love, the love?

I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder

As I'm gettin' older, y'all, people gets colder

Most of us only care about money makin'

Selfishness got us followin' our wrong direction

Wrong information always shown by the media

Negative images is the main criteria

Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria

Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema

Yo', whatever happened to the values of humanity

Whatever happened to the fairness in equality

Instead of spreading love we're spreading animosity

Lack of understanding, leading lives away from unity

That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' under

That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' down

There's no wonder why sometimes I'm feelin' under

Gotta keep my faith alive till love is found

Now ask yourself

Where is the love?

Where is the love?

Where is the love?

Where is the love?

Father, Father, Father help us

Send some guidance from above

'Cause people got me, got me questionin'

Where is the love?

Sing wit me y'all:

One world, one world (We only got)

One world, one world (That's all we got)

One world, one world

And something's wrong wit it (Yeah)

Something's wrong wit it (Yeah)

Something's wrong wit the wo-wo-world, yeah

We only got

(One world, one world)

That's all we got

(One world, one world)

Sentence Prayer

God of opportunity and change.

Praise to you for giving us life at this critical time.

As our horizons extend, keep us loyal to our past;

As our dangers increase, help us to prepare the futre;

Keep us trusting and hopeful,

Ready to recognize your kingdom as it comes Amen

(New Zealand Prayer Book pg. 135)

GOD'S LOVE!

Snippet

You can’t make God love you more; you can’t make God love you less.  The cross is God‘s perfect expression of love!

Scripture

My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19 Message

Song

Cactus In The Valley by Lights

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzihroOcmtA

I never meant to wither

I wanted to be tall

Like a fool left the river

And watched my branches fall

Old and thirsty, I longed for the flood

To come back around

To the cactus in the valley

That's about to crumble down

And wipe the mark of sadness from my face

Show me that your love will never change

If my yesterday is a disgrace

Tell me that you still recall my name

So, the storm finally found me

And left me in the dark

In the cloud around me

I don't know where you are

If this whole world goes up in arms

All I can do is stand

And I won't fight for anyone

Until you move my hand

And wipe the mark of madness from my face

Show me that your love will never change

If my yesterday is a disgrace

Tell me that you still recall my name

Oh, here

In the shadow

Here I am

And I need someone by my side

It becomes so

Hard to stand

And I keep trying to dry my eyes

Come and find me

In the valley

And wipe the mark of sadness from my face

Show me that your love will never change

If my yesterday is a disgrace

Tell me that you still recall my name

Wipe the mark of madness from my face

Show me that your love will never change

If my yesterday is a disgrace

Tell me that you still recall my name

Woo ooh

Tell me that you still recall my name, no

Tell me that you still recall my name, mm mm

Sentence Prayer

Father God, I come into your presence so aware of my human frailty and yet overwhelmed by your love for me. I thank you that there is no human experience that I might walk through where your love cannot reach me. If I climb the highest mountain you are there and yet if I find myself in the darkest valley of my life, you are there. Teach me today to love you more. Help me to rest in that love that asks nothing more than the simple trusting heart of a child. In Jesus name, Amen 

(http://www.beliefnet.com/Prayers/Christian/Guidance/A-Prayer-for-Resting-in-Gods-Love.aspx)

WORDS

Snippet

Sticks and stones can break your bones but words will never hurt you.

Scripture

When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. James 3:3-12

Song

Sara Bareilles Brave

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwTr_CRw3GY

You can be amazing

You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug

You can be the outcast

Or be the backlash of somebody’s lack of love

Or you can start speaking up

Nothing’s gonna hurt you the way that words do

And they settle ‘neath your skin

Kept on the inside and no sunlight

Sometimes a shadow wins

But I wonder what would happen if you

Say what you wanna say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

With what you want to say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I wanna see you be brave

Everybody’s been there, everybody’s been stared down

By the enemy

Fallen for the fear and done some disappearing

Bow down to the mighty

Don’t run, stop holding your tongue

Maybe there’s a way out of the cage where you live

Maybe one of these days you can let the light in

Show me how big your brave is

Say what you wanna say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

With what you want to say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

Innocence, your history of silence

Won’t do you any good

Did you think it would?

Let your words be anything but empty

Why don’t you tell them the truth?

Say what you wanna say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

With what you want to say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

Sentence Prayer

Father; Teach me what to say.  Give me the courage to speak the truth boldly in love.  Tame my tongue from the destruction it brings.  Jesus give me words and deeds that point to the cross.  Holy Spirit give me words of faith, that will keep me skipping in joy with you.  Amen

ADAM AND EVE

Snippet

“Have you ever considered what Adam and Eve were doing when they got into so much trouble? As I read the story, they were shopping. The forbidden fruit was not scattered throughout the garden, not in many places, not in multiple locations, but one place, one site, one location and one location only. Perhaps they just came upon it, “Oh, look, the forbidden fruit…” or, perhaps, they were looking for something, searching, shopping. Somewhere in their dissatisfaction they thought, “If only we had something more…” ― David W. Jones, Enough

Scripture

For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 1 Corinthians 15:21-23

Song

Adam & Eve By Kasey Chambers & 

Shane Nicholson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p8zUdZMwKc

My name is Adam, my name is Eve

I was the first man to live and breathe

God made the ocean, He made it blue

He told us "Don't eat forbidden fruit"

Oh, He can see us, hear what we say

But He was resting on that seventh day

She met a serpent that afternoon

He smiled at her and she broke the rule

Come on, we're leaving, no time to waste

The Garden of Eden's no longer safe

Throw down that apple, that ship has sailed

We're on the run with God on our tail

I can remember, I do recall

There were no weeds here, no thorns at all

I was misguided, I was mislead

I asked for good but got evil instead

Come on, we're leaving, no time to waste

The Garden of Eden's no longer safe

Throw down that apple, that ship has sailed

We're on the run with God on our tail

Throw down that apple, that ship has sailed

We're on the run with God on our tail

My name is Adam, my name is Eve

I was the first man to live and breathe

Sentence Prayer

Believe what Jesus says, God is generous; and God is good. Amen 

(New Zealand Prayer Book Pg 110)

WHO’S GONNA FILL THEIR SHOES RIP GEORGE JONES

Snippet

In spite of the cocaine, in spite of it all, God gave me a woman to cushion the fall. You’re like Paul of the Bible: spreading good news. A man on a journey born with the blues.

Born with the Blues, trouble in mind; smoking and drinking, by the time I was 9. In debt from the start, still paying my dues; crazy and lonely, and born with the blues.

Crazy and lonely and born with the blues  George Jones / Merle Haggard Born With the Blues

Scripture

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3

Song

Who’s Going to Fill  Their Shoes by George Jones

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi3GgoLtlWk

You know this old world is full of singers

But just a few are chosen

To tear your heart out when they sing

Imagine life without them

All your, radio hero's

Like the outlaw that walks through Jesse's dream

No, there will never be another

Red-headed stranger

A Man in Black and Folsom Prison Blues

The Okie from Muskogee

Or Hello Darling

Lord I wonder, who's gonna fill their shoes

Who's gonna fill their shoes

Who's gonna stand that tall

Who's gonna play the Opry

And the Wabash Cannonball

Who's gonna give their heart and soul

To get to me and you

Lord I wonder, who's gonna fill their shoes

God bless the boys from Memphis

Blue Suede Shoes and Elvis

Much too soon he left this world in tears

They tore up the Fifties

Old Jerry Lee and Charlie

And old Go Cat Go still echoes through the years

You know the heart of country music

Still beats in Luke the Drifter

You can tell when hew sings I Saw the Light

Old Marty, Hank and Lefty

Why I can feel them right here with me

On this Silver Eagle rolling through the night

Who's gonna fill their shoes

Who's gonna stand that tall

Who's gonna play the Opry

And the Wabash Cannonball

Who's gonna give their heart and soul

To get to me and you

Lord I wonder, who's gonna fill their shoes

Yes I wonder, who's gonna fill their shoes?

Sentence Prayer

God of work and rest and pleasure,

Grant that what we do this week may be for us an offering

Rather than burden;

And for those we serve, may it be the help they need.

Amen.  (A New Zealand Prayer Book Pg 111)

THE RIVER

Snippet

At last I slipped into something I knew was a dream. Chris and I were swimming at White's Beach, a gravel-pit in Brunswick. . . And then his head went under, his reciting mouth filling with water. He popped back up, crying: 'Help me, Gordie! Help me!' Then he was dragged under again. Looking into the clear water I could see two bloated, naked corpses holding his ankles. One was Vern and the other was Teddy, and their open eyes were as blank and pupilless as the eyes of Greek statues. The Body by Stephen King  Chapter 19

Scripture

Let the oceans roar and foam.

    Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge! Interlude

 A river brings joy to the city of our God,

    the sacred home of the Most High.

 God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed.

    From the very break of day, God will protect it. Psalms 46:3-5 NLT

Song

The River Good Charlotte

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH5w6dcC2dw

As I walk through the valley

of the shadow of LA

The footsteps that were next to me

have gone their separate ways

I've seen enough now

to know that beautiful things

don't always stay that way

I've done enough now

to know this beautiful place

isn't everything they say

I heard that evil comes disguised

Like a city of angels

I'm walking towards the light

Baptized in the river

I've seen a vision of my life

And I wanna be delivered

In the city was a sinner

I've done a lot of things wrong

But I swear I'm a believer

Like the prodigal son

I was out on my own

Now I'm trying to find my way back home

Baptized in the river

I'm delivered

I'm delivered

[M.Shadows:]

You're from a small town

You're gonna grow up fast

underneath these lights

Down in Hollywood

on the boulevard the dead come back to life

To the praying Mother

And the worried Father

Let your children go

If they come back

They'll come home stronger

And if they don't you'll know

They say that evil comes disguised

Like a city of angels

I'm walking towards the light

Baptized in the river

I've seen a vision of my life

And I wanna be delivered

In the city was a sinner

I've done a lot of things wrong

But I swear I'm a believer

Like the prodigal son

I was out on my own

Now I'm trying to find my way back home

Baptized in the river

I'm delivered

I'm delivered

Baptized in the river (on my own)

Baptized in the river (on my own)

I wanna be delivered

(on my own, on my own)

Baptized in the river (on my own)

I wanna be delivered

Baptized in the river (on my own)

I wanna be delivered

Baptized in the river (on my own)

I wanna be delivered

I confess I'm a sinner

I've seen a vision of my life

And I wanna be delivered!

Sentence Prayer

I am no longer my own but yours,

Put me to what you will

Put me to doing, put me to suffering.

Let me be employed for you or laid aside for you.

Let me be full, let me be empty.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to Your pleasure and disposal

And now glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

You are mine and I am yours. So be it.

And this covenant now made on earth, let it be satisfied in heaven.

Amen  (John Wesley’s Prayer)

PRAISE BE TO GOD!

Snippet

We would worry less if we praised more. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction.”― Harry A. Ironside

Scripture

Hallelujah!

Praise God in his holy house of worship,

    praise him under the open skies;

Praise him for his acts of power,

    praise him for his magnificent greatness;

Praise with a blast on the trumpet,

    praise by strumming soft strings;

Praise him with castanets and dance,

    praise him with banjo and flute;

Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum,

    praise him with fiddles and mandolin.

Let every living, breathing creature praise God!

    Hallelujah! Psalms 150 Message

Song

Amy Grant - Better Than A Hallelujah

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rm5kx3xqmg0

God loves a lulluby

In a mother's tears in the dead of night

Better than a Hallelujah sometimes

God loves the drunkard's cry

The soldier's plea not to let him die

Better than a Hallelujah sometimes

We pour out our miseries

God just hears a melody

Beautiful, the mess we are

The honest cries of breaking hearts

Are better than a Hallelujah

The woman holding on for life

The dying man giving up the fight

Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes

The tears of shame for what's been done

The silence when the words won't come

Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes

We pour out our miseries

God just hears a melody

Beautiful the mess we are

The honest cries of breaking hearts

Are better than a Hallelujah

Better than a church bell ringing

Better than a choir singing out, singing out

We pour out out miseries

God just hears a melody

Beautiful, the mess we are

The honest cries of breaking hearts

Are better than a Hallelujah

We pour out our miseries

God just hears a melody

Beautiful, the mess we are

The honest cries of breaking hearts

Are better than a Hallelujah

 (Better than a Hallelujah sometimes)

Better than a Hallelujah

(Better than a Hallelujah sometimes)

Sentence Prayer

Let everything in me Praise the Lord Amen