Beauty Gives Birth

from The Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo

“And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” Genesis 1:31a

Beauty Begat Beauty

Any artist’s rendition of the Creation of Adam and Eve will be woefully inadequate, but the very inspiration and effort to depict this crown of all creation should give us chills of connection. God created mankind IN HIS OWN IMAGE. And whereas all previous steps and stages of creation had received His “good” acclaim, this act He pronounced “very good!”

This matters. This does much to determine our worldview. If we understand that there are “no mere mortals” but eternal souls designed by God to bear His image of love, creativity, and stewardship, our respect for all others must, must, must be elevated. And when we embrace the truth that when we look in the mirror we are looking at an eternal soul who, if secure in Christ, will some day rule and reign with Him, well we might not be so self-deprecating. Humble, yes. Self-loathing, no. God says we are beautiful. Let that love and appreciation course through your veins and gain new strength for the journey of the beautiful for The Beautiful through The Beautiful towards the Beautiful.

There is such a thing as a free lunch

Informational lunch offered next Sunday right after church by Urbana Theological Seminary.

Classes being offered for credit towards a degree and/or less intense options for personal growth and edification.

Some sections held in Bloomington-Normal.

If you are longing to go deeper and learn more about Christ and His Kingdom, have lunch, listen, and ask questions of Dr. Joe Thomas. Families welcome.

RSVP to Pastor Dave.

Sunday, March 4, @ noon.

Could be the beginning of a great adventure.

News & Announcements

• Prayer gathering this Wednesday: 7:00 @ the church
• Advocate Bromenn Partners in Prayer February – Critical Care Unit
• Young Couples: Justina and Dom, Brittany and Eric say: “Let’s get together and get to know each other!” To that end, young couples (you don’t have to be married and you can decide if you are young) will gather on Friday, March 2, 7:00 p.m. @ the church for a night of games and goodies. (If you want, bring a favorite board game and a shareable snack!)
• Ladies of All Ages! Women’s Retreat at Miracle Camp – May 4-6. Dr. Shelley Sysum will be keynote speaker with a variety of workshops and activities including a day of facials, massages & pedicures. $125 See Suzi Matthews for more details.
• First comes love, then comes marriage…
  A Weekend to Remember
  March 30-April 1 @ The Marriott Uptown Normal
  Derek and Abigail leading the charge; see them

  A Wedding to Remember
  Leah Bauersfeld & Dan Megli
  March 31, 1:00 p.. @ Calvary Methodist, Normal

Next week:

Beauty Besmirched: Once… and again… and continually… and again… and once more… and again… and over and over…

SE7EN: Week 7 > To the Church in Laodicea

Week #7: To the Church in Laodicea:
Not a picture of the church in Laodicea

Burning of the Branches

Okay, we must admit that sometimes our “sacred moments” @ The Jake have included unplanned developments, like things getting knocked over, speakers squealing, or… fire!

I truly believe that when we laugh at ourselves, the Author of Laughter Is Good Medicine laughs with us. So, we do things, things sometimes don’t go precisely as planned, but we soldier on. Such it has been with the burning of the palm branches. We do this today, with holy intent, to immolate the very branches with which we welcomed Jesus into the Holy City on Palm Sunday. Why? Because just a few days later we shouted, “Crucify Him!” We burn the carriers of praise to ashes to depict our complicity in our Savior’s death. They will burn… they will smell… and things might get crazy. But, there’s beauty in the burning. Soak it in…

Call to Artists

Work to Be Hung Feb. 22

Bread and Wine/Body and Blood/Fullness of Emptiness

Ashes to Beauty, for Beauty Will Save the World*

Jacob’s Well is blessed to have so many wonderful fine artists in our family. This Lenten season I hope to include the gifts of our artists in the services, just as we did with the musical talents during Advent. It’s not too late. Therefore…

…painters, sculptors, photographers; this is a call to you to provide works to adorn the sanctuary during Lent, works that you believe reflect the Lord’s Passion and Victory. With each work please include a brief artist’s statement as to your inspiration and intent. Ideally, we hang about ten works of art. Interested? See Pastor.

* Key element in our own Lenten theme this year.

News & Announcements:

• Prayer gathering this Wednesday: 7:00 @ the church
• Advocate Bromenn Partners in Prayer February – Critical Care Unit
• Young Couples: Justina and Dom, Brittany and Eric say: “Let’s get together and get to know each other!” To that end, young couples (you don’t have to be married and you can decide if you are young) will gather on Friday, March 2, 7:00 p.m. @ the church for a night of games and goodies. (If you want, bring a favorite board game and a shareable snack!)
• Ladies of All Ages!
  Women’s Retreat at Miracle Camp – May 4-6. Dr. Shelley Sysum will be keynote speaker with a variety of workshops and activities including a day of facials, massages & pedicures. $125 See Suzi Matthews for more details.
• First comes love, then comes marriage…
  A Weekend to Remember
  March 30-April 1 @ The Marriott Uptown Normal
  Derek and Abigail leading the charge; see them

  A Wedding to Remember
  Leah Bauersfeld & Dan Megli
  March 31, 1:00 p.. @ Calvary Methodist, Normal

Next week:

The Beauty of the Cross

Series opens as we received ashes and trade them in for beauty on Ash Wednesday, February 22 @ 7:00.

SE7EN: Week 6 > To the Church in Philadelphia: “Yo! Keep Fighting!”

Week #6: To the Church in Philadelphia:
“Yo! Jacob’s Well! Keep fighting!”

The City of Brotherly Love & The Jake

Three things are said of these believers: they have “kept” Christ’s “word” and have “not denied” his “NAME,” both of which would appear to refer to faithfully bearing public witness to the gospel in the face of persecution and slander and possible martyrdom. But what is meant when Jesus says they “have a little power”? This is not a rebuke but a reference to the smallness in both size and influence which proved no obstacle to their accomplishing great things for the kingdom of God. Size is no measure of success. They did much with what little resources they had. (from a meditation by Dr. Sam Storms)

Call to Artists

Work to Be Hung Feb. 22

Bread and Wine/Body and Blood/Fullness of Emptiness

Ashes to Beauty, for Beauty Will Save the World*

The Church is founded on nothing less than the reality of His Broken Body and Shed Blood. Lent gives us an opportunity to focus, focus, focus on His journey to Jerusalem (remember last year’s “Like a Flint”), the Triumphal Entry, the Upper Room, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Trial, the Via De La Rosa, Golgotha, the Garden Tomb, and the Fullness of the Emptiness.

Jacob’s Well is blessed to have so many wonderful fine artists in our family. This Lenten season I hope to include the gifts of our artists in the services, just as we did with the musical talents during Advent. Therefore…

…painters, sculptors, photographers; this is a call to you to provide works to adorn the sanctuary during Lent, works that you believe reflect the Lord’s Passion and Victory. With each work please include a brief artist’s statement as to your inspiration and intent. Ideally, we hang about ten works of art. Interested? See Pastor.

* Key element in our own Lenten theme this year.

News & Announcements:

• Prayer gathering this Wednesday: 7:00 @ the church
• Advocate Bromenn Partners in Prayer February – Critical Care Unit
• Garden 2012 Planning Session: Let’s look forward to spring together next Sunday morning @ 9:00 in the church basement as we discuss the plan of attack for our Community Garden 2012.
• Summer in the USA! Lord-willing, we will once again host Basque students next summer. If you want to play a part, pray a part, or help plan a part, please let Bob V. know.
• First comes love, then comes marriage… A Weekend to Remember
  March 30-April 1 @ The Marriott Uptown Normal
  Derek and Abigail leading the charge; see them
• A Wedding to Remember
  Leah Bauersfeld & Dan Megli
  March 31, 1:00 p.. @ Calvary Methodist, Normal

Next week:

#7 of 7: What Jacob’s Well can learn from…The Church at Laodicea > Hot is good. Cold is bad. But lukewarm is unthinkable.

SE7EN: Week 5 > To the Church in Sardis: “Wake up, smell the coffee, and strengthen what remains…”

Week #5: To the Church in Sardis: 
“Wake up, smell the coffee, and strengthen what remains…”

Seen any Unicorns Lately?

“Creativity opens us to revelation, and when our high creativity is lowered to 2%, so is our capacity to see angels, to walk on water, to walk with unicorns. In the act of creativity, the artist lets go the self-control which he normally clings to and is open to riding the wind. Something always happens to startle us during the act of creating, but not unless we let go our adult intellectual control and become as open as little children. This means not to set aside or discard the intellect but to understand that it is not to become a dictator, for when it does we are closed off from revelation.” Madeline L’Engle

Call to Artists

Work to Be Hung Feb. 22

Bread and Wine/Body and Blood/Fullness of Emptiness

Today we take communion, a responce to Jesus’ invitation to partake of His Suffering. The Church is founded on nothing less than the reality of His Broken Body and Shed Blood. Lent gives us an opportunity to focus, focus, focus on His journey to Jerusalem (remember last year’s “Like a Flint”), the Triumphal Entry, the Upper Room, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Trial, the Via De La Rosa, Golgotha, the Garden Tomb, and the Fullness of the Emptiness.

Jacob’s Well is blessed to have so many wonderful fine artists in our family. This Lenten season I hope to include the gifts of our artists in the services, just as we did with the musical talents during Advent. Therefore…

…painters, sculptors, photographers; this is a call to you to provide works to adorn the sanctuary during Lent, works that you believe reflect the Lord’s Passion and Victory. With each work please include a brief artist’s statement as to your inspiration and intent. Ideally, we hang about ten works of art. Interested? See Pastor.

Prayer gathering this Wednesday:

• 7:00 @ the church: Advocate Bromenn Partners in Prayer February – Critical Care Unit
• A Little Night Magic!
  Sat., Feb. 11, Valentine’s Dinner for Couples
  See Harvey for Tickets and Details
• Summer in the USA!
  Lord-willing, we will once again host Basque students next summer. If you want to play a part, pray a part, or help plan a part, please let Bob V. know.
• First comes love, then comes marriage…
  A Weekend to Remember
  March 30-April 1 @ The Marriott Uptown Normal
  Derek and Abigail leading the charge; see them
• A Wedding to Remember
  Leah Bauersfeld & Dan Megli
  March 31, 1:00 p.. @ Calvary Methodist, Normal
• Why Live the Gospel Among the Navajo?
  The Navajo Christian Foundation is a burning shaft of light in a place and among a people who dwell in deep darkness. Gazing at the stars in Dilkon, AZ is to have your soul pierced by the amazing night sky. The darkness is profound, but it permits more stars to shine. Imagine yourself with a team of Jakesters, loving the Light.

Next week:

#6 of 7: What Jacob’s Well can learn from…The Church at Philadelphia > Patience and Open Doors

SE7EN: Week 4 > To the Church in Thyatira: “Simple, Uncompromising Faith.”

Week #4: To the Church in Thyatira:
“Simple, Uncompromising Faith”

“Hold On”

Some passages in Revelation are so symbolic as to demand very, very careful study and application. There is some of that in today’s letter to the church in Thyatira. But let us not fail to see the forest for the trees; Christ is saying to them to keep their faith in Him pure and unadulterated; they are not to let economic, cultural, or celebrity pressures dissuade them from keeping their lives and worship focused on and hoping in the Risen Christ alone. Some have fallen away… to their destruction; but those who stand firm will be rewarded with treasures that are literally (and when I say “literally,” I mean “literally”) out of this world.

The Christ Who knew men’s hearts in His earthly walk… still knows our hearts. He still calls us to hold onto Him, alone.

Call to Artists

Bread and Wine/Body and Blood/Fullness of Emptiness

Every time we take communion, we are responding to Jesus’ invitation to partake of His Suffering. The Church is founded on nothing less than the reality of His Broken Body and Shed Blood. Lent gives us an opportunity to focus, focus, focus on His journey to Jerusalem (remember last year’s “Like a Flint”), the Triumphal Entry, the Upper Room, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Trial, the Via De La Rosa, Golgotha, the Garden Tomb, and the Fullness of the Emptiness.

Jacob’s Well is blessed to have so many wonderful fine artists in our family. This Lenten season I hope to include the gifts of our artists in the services, just as we did with the musical talents during Advent. Therefore…

…painters, sculptors, photographers; this is a call to you to provide works to adorn the sanctuary during Lent, works that you believe reflect the Lord’s Passion and Victory. With each work please include a brief artist’s statement as to your inspiration and intent. Ideally, we hang about ten works of art. Interested? See Pastor.

News & Announcements:

• Prayer gathering this Wednesday: 7:00 @ the church
• Advocate Bromenn Partners in Prayer January – Cardiovascular Care Unit
• A Little Night Magic!
  Sat., Feb. 11, Valentine’s Dinner for Couples
  See Harvey for Tickets and Details
• Summer in the USA!
  Lord-willing, we will once again host Basque students next summer. If you want to play a part, pray a part, or help plan a part, please let Bob V. know.
• Weekly Soul Food:
• Women: 6:00-7:00 p.m., Thursdays @ church.
• Men: 6:00-7:00 p.m., Mondays @ Dave Park’s Place
  6:00 a.m., Wednesdays @ church (Fraternity)
• Readers: Tuesdays @ Noah pad @ 1202 Fell, B-ton. The Great Divorce brightens us @ 7:00 p.m.
• Why Live the Gospel Among the Navajo?
  The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly… They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God. Isaiah 35:1-2 God brings deserts to life, and when He does, His greatness is observed and declared. We can help this become literal for these people.

Next week:

#5 of 7: What Jacob’s Well can learn from…The Church at Thyatira > Wake Up! — and Strengthen the Things that Remain

Call to Artists: Bread and Wine/Body and Blood/Fullness of Emptiness

Every time we take communion, we are responding to Jesus’ invitation to partake of His Suffering. The Church is founded on nothing less than the reality of His Broken Body and Shed Blood. Lent gives us an opportunity to focus, focus, focus on His journey to Jerusalem (remember last year’s “Like a Flint”), the Triumphal Entry, the Upper Room, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Trial, the Via De La Rosa, Golgotha, the Garden Tomb, and the Fullness of the Emptiness.

Jacob’s Well is blessed to have so many wonderful fine artists in our family. This Lenten season I hope to include the gifts of our artists in the services, just as we did with the musical talents during Advent. Therefore…

…painters, sculptors, photographers; this is a call to you to provide works to adorn the sanctuary during Lent, works that you believe reflect the Lord’s Passion and Victory. With each work please include a brief artist’s statement as to your inspiration and intent. Ideally, we hang about ten works of art. Interested? Contact Pastor Dave.