the one and only?

just what was jesus getting at when he said 'i am the way, the truth and the life...no one comes to the father except by me.'?
is he the only way?
is that not a little exclusive?
is it possible that there is more than one way?
inclusivity vs. exclusivity?
we will dig into some scripture passages and look at the popular idea that jesus is in fact just one way to god...but perhaps not the one and only...
come and discover the truth with us next sunday night at fude...
peace to you,
scott

can these bones can live?

tonight we are looking at ezekiel 37:1-14...the valley of the dry bones. perhaps the pivotal point in this passage is the question god poses to ezekiel. as he surveys the valley, walking back and forth, covering every inch, and seeing 'a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry', god asks ezekiel, 'son of man, can these bones live?'
do you know what his answer was?
what would yours be?
tonight we will dig a little deeper (pun intended) into the valley of the dry bones.
see you at 4 at fude,
peace to you,
scott

no upper room this week

the upper room will not be gathering at fude this week. most of us will be up at family fellowship weekend at manhattan beach camp. scott and brenda will be leading in worship out there. we will be back at fude next sunday. have an awesome long weekend...
peace to you,
scott

run the race

this morning i was standing on the side of the wicklow waiting to see my friend brent sprinting down the street. at 8:16 he shouted 'pineapple' and handed me the bracelet that was around his ankle. that is when i started to run.
along the way i saw a few familiar faces. there was john on the side of the road cheering us on...sheri-lee was running over the overpass...my kids and gorgeous wife sitting at the halfway point giving me high fives.
it was pretty hot...i could feel my muscles in my legs getting tight. but i kept running. the soundtrack blaring in my ears helping me keep pace.
i ran 7.6 kms.
no great feat.
but it felt good.
it felt good to run.
it felt good to do good and run.
sometimes i feel like my faith is a bit like the relay i ran in. i do great for 7 kms but the race is so much longer. others ran 26 miles today.
too often we live life in short spurts. when the real heroes are the ones who go the distance...the ones who finish the race. in the words of the author of the hebrews...
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. let us fix our eyes on jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of god. consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
let us run the race...throw off everything that hinders...fix our eyes on jesus and run the race.
peace to you,
scott

he is risen!

he is risen indeed!
peace to you,
scott

the day between

there was really nothing good about yesterday. jesus brutally beaten, spit on and hung on a tree. blood spilling all over the ground. whips tearing at the flesh on his back. insults being hurled as he stumbles with the weight of the cross on his back. the death of jesus is the darkest moment in human history. yesterday he said it is finished.
and today he lies in the tomb.
that which was the light and life of the world seems to be snuffed out. hopelessness is setting in.
so many people live there lives in the day between. not really alive...waiting for redemption, waiting for resurrection...waiting to become fully alive. filled with a numbness, a sense of hopelessness, that this really is as good as it gets.
but there are those who understand that there is a dawn coming. easter is less than a day away. that which was dead will be brought to life again.
tomorrow is easter...which means we all can escape our tombs and live again. and so we wait for the morning...
peace to you,
scott
p.s. the upper room will be having brunch together at derek and heidi's tomorrow instead of our normal 4pm @ fude...email if you need directions.

i see the groom's reflection in the eyes of the bride

tonight i was reminded again how much i love living life in the context of community. there are some who say that they need no one else to complete them-- that they are fine on their own--but i am pretty sure that i would not survive without others to walk alongside me.
i know that some people have grown weary of the church. i know that some have considered her message to be out of touch and out of date. that we have moved past the point of needing her influence in our lives. (keeping in mind that we all have varying definitions of what/who the church is)
some might say that it is possible to love god, to follow the teachings of jesus, to be a christian and not go to church. and on some level, i can see where they are coming from. at one point in my journey i would have whole-heartedly agreed. but today i don’t.
i am not sure that this whole “christianity” thing was meant to be as individualistic as we have made it out to be. we have made such a big deal about knowing jesus as your ‘personal’ lord and savior that i think at times we have missed what it means to be a body. we have individual parts saying that they really don’t need each other.
maybe god meant for us to be in relationship with more than just him. maybe it is about each other just as much as it is about him. maybe it is not just vertical, but horizontal. maybe the two really cannot be separated.
the truth is, life experience is richest when it is shared with others. the valley never seems quite so dark when we do not walk it alone. likewise, the mountaintop seems so much greater when we reach the summit with another at our side.
i guess what i am trying to say is that i love the church. i love when she lives out the life she was designed for. when she welcomes those who are hurting and weary. when she brings hope and healing to those lost in despair. when she truly is the body of christ.
i love that i am a part of that glorious bride. we are the church. i love being a part of the upper room...doing life together and breaking down what it really means to "be" the church. i love when we reflect just a bit of the one who loves us so much.
peace to you,
scott

tonight tonight

we will be meeting at our house tonight. (fude has a special event planned)
we will be talking about the miracle in mark 10.
we will be praying for a miracle for a friend who is in surgery this morning.
he healed a man who could not see...so he can heal a man who may not walk again.
peace to you,
scott

o mickey you're so fine...

scott and brenda will be in orlando next sunday...a few of us will still get together at someone's house, but there will be no upper room at fude on the 8th. drop us an email if you want to know what's happening where.
peace to you,
scott

what god has joined together...

this week we will be looking at jesus' words concerning divorce...what he has to say may actually shock you...read mark 10 for a sneak peak.
see you sunday at 4 at fude,
peace to you,
scott

the sunday night shuffle

i just got word from surf that fude is in use this sunday...so we will shuffle on over to our place for the upper room this week...see you at 4! (email if you need directions)
peace to you,
scott

so this is the new year

so this is the new year.
and i don't feel any different.
the clanking of crystal
explosions off in the distance (in the distance).

so this is the new year
and i have no resolutions
for self assigned penance
for problems with easy solutions

so everybody put your best suit or dress on
let's make believe that we are wealthy for just this once
lighting firecrackers off on the front lawn
as thirty dialogs bleed into one

i wish the world was flat like the old days
then i could travel just by folding a map
no more airplanes, or speed trains, or freeways
there'd be no distance that could hold us back.

there'd be no distance that could hold us back

so this is the new year
-the new year--death cab for cutie

looking forward and looking back...we begin another new year sunday at fude. see you at 4.
peace to you,
scott

the upper room in our living room

the upper room will get together tonight in our living room...(call if you need directions)...fude is open for business, so we are going to go back to where it all began...our living room.
peace to you,
scott

upper room family christmas

this week we will be getting together at derek and heidi's to celebrate christmas together...with turkey and all the trimmings. we will not gather at fude, so if you want to join us, send me an email and i will get you the details.
peace to you,
scott
p.s. next week (the 21st) we will have a candlelight christmas at fude.

a sunday night with ray

we will not be gathering at fude restaurant this week. we are getting together with andrew from ray (resource assistance for youth). if you want to hang with us and see how we can be of 'assistance' to the at risk youth in our city, meet us at 4 at broadway and young.
peace to you,
scott

great gift idea this holiday

*hint* *hint*...i want a pair (or six).
peace to you,
scott

MIC Check

we got together tonight and tried to come up with a statement that reflects not only who we are, but gives us direction and focus for our shared future as a community. we really like the words missional, incarnational and communal. we like the idea of being with people the way that jesus was with people. we wholeheartedly buy into the idea that we could actually follow in the footsteps of jesus and be disciples. we really love hanging out together and forming the sort of intimate relationships that jesus had with his disciples when he was here. missional...living for others. incarnational...living like jesus. communal...living life together. it's time for a MIC check. we have the audacity to think that it might actually be possible. that there might actually be more to life, more to faith, more to church than what we are currently experiencing. so let's do this. it has to start somewhere, it has to start sometime; what better place than here, what better time than now.

peace to you,

scott

new orleans is sinking...and i don't want to swim

i had an amazing time in new orleans with starbucks...refocused and re-energized...and not in the ways i thought i might be...i'll tell you all about it tonight at fude.

peace to you,

scott

happy thanksgiving

we will not be gathering at the upper room this week as many will be celebrating thanksgiving with their families. so eat lots of turkey, watch lots of football, be extremely grateful and be thankful for the abundance that is in our lives.
peace to you,
scott

next week's musical guest