Paint by the Spirit: Monet

I have really enjoyed our series in worship about art/artists! I have learned so much and experienced so much beauty through it. This Sunday is our last artist: Monet. [We may come back to this topic in 2008.]
Monet is the leading Impressionist painter. He sought to paint what he saw. One critic said that Monet and his cronies (Manet, Cezanne, Renoir, etc) painted their IMPRESSIONS of what they saw, NOT what they actually saw. Monet took this criticism and used it to name his style. This is similar to how John Wesley took the derogatory term "methodist" and made it the name of his movement.
Monet's most famous work is Water Lilies.
In his later years, Monet suffered eye problems, including cataracts on both eyes. This obscured his vision to the point that painting was first difficult, then impossible. This was a tremendous blow to a man who prided himself on painting what he saw.
Our meditation this week will compare Monet's idea of 'seeing' with Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 13.12. The worship bulletin is here.

50 Ways to Pray

This is a really good book, but not for reading. It is a good book for USING. I recommend you get this book, and let Teresa Blythe teach you about prayer. Learn about prayer by DOING the different types of prayer in the book. I picked it up at Barnes and Noble for $13. Of course, it is also available online. Amazon's link.

Picasso: The Search for Humanity

Picasso is our artist for this Sunday at the Refuge. Picasso lived from the late 1880's until 1973. In fact, he was one of the few artists (if not the only one) to achieve international celebrity during his lifetime. Since he worked during a time of mass media, his works had been viewed by millions of people before he died. This is contrasted to a master like Vermeer, whose works were probably only viewed by hundreds during his life. Picasso was a rock star of artists.
Picasso's work included several different styles. To view samples of his work, go here.
I believe that Picasso sought to understand the human condition; to discover what it means to be human. He explored this through several subjects in his art.
Three works that are exemplars of his thought are:
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, which was widely condemned by Picasso's contemporaries, but clearly illustrates Picasso's preoccupation with sexuality.
Guernica depicts the horrors of the bombing of civilians during the Spanish Civil War.
Breakfast of a Blind Man is from Picasso's blue period, and is a somber study in deprivation and suffering. It is interesting to note that it was painted at a time of deep poverty in Picasso's life.

Sunday, we will discuss the meaning of Picasso's art and the significance of his search for humanity. The worship bulletin with Scriptures is here.

Another really good article

I spent too many years striving to become a “somebody.” Wherever it was, I learned what kind of people received attention and acclaim, and aimed to achieve worth and acceptance by becoming one of them. Unfortunately, it was a moving target. Let’s see … in college I became the lean, mean fitness machine Jim, then morphed into the debate team champion Jim, and finally became the campus ministry superhero Jim. I even dated the star player on our women’s basketball team, and became a “somebody” through the back door … well, until she dumped me!

I didn’t learn my lesson very well, and after college I continued searching for ways to become a “somebody.” My avenue for seeking identity was positions of Christian leadership. I was bent on becoming one of those cutting-edge revolutionaries everyone looked at and said, “Wow!” It was the perfect scenario; I would be someone significant by influencing countless people for Christ, and God would be thrilled! It sounds good, but it became a prison. As long as my sense of identity was tied to performing and achieving, even for God, it only led to emptiness, weariness, fear and the burden of doing more.

Jesus said, “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24, TNIV). I discovered a path to freedom in Jesus’ words. God awakened me to the fact that I have a spiritual identity, which previously I had been clueless to while I was consumed with creating a human one. Jesus’ words were inviting me to stop striving to become a “somebody” and instead accept the identity I already had by divine birthright.

It’s been a journey uncovering the real Jim buried beneath all the things I clung to for worth and acceptance. One huge “aha!” moment along the way came from John’s three-word description of God: “God is love.” The word "is" grew in significance because I realized that it’s more than just the fact that God sometimes does loving things, but that in every moment and in all things God is continuous and perfect love. If God is love, then that makes me loved, not based on what I do but who He is. If, as the Bible teaches, God dwells within me, then the source of continuous and perfect love is inside me. I don’t need to seek love outside myself; it is present within me in every moment. The more I turn toward God’s love within me, the less driven I seem to be to chase after becoming a “somebody” in the world. I am content by receiving God’s love.

It also occurred to me that if “God is love,” and I am an image or reflection of God, then likewise I am love. Maybe living out my spiritual identity is simply being love. It’s not so much what I do, but whatever I’m doing that I am being love. Paul said that even great faith and sacrifice have no value apart from love. Perhaps the purpose of my human journey is to turn love inside out: to receive, accept and depend upon God’s love for me, and allow this love to be expressed as me. No more striving, no more burden to become a “somebody,” no more fear of God’s displeasure or disapproval—just resting and abiding in and being love.

It’s ironic that now that I am a published author, people ascribe to me this “somebody” status, but it has no value for me. When people ask, “What is it like being an author?” it strikes me as an odd question, because I don't think of myself as “an author.” Writing is an important aspect of my life, but I don't think of it as the core of my identity. On those terms, I could just as easily identify myself as a husband, father, neighbor, animal lover and cycling enthusiast. And yet behind all these I know that my true identity is a spiritual one. I am loved, and I am love. Whatever level of human success you may experience, it can’t be the source of true contentment. I don’t “need” to publish books; I was a writer before I got published, and I would keep writing if I never published another book.

In the introduction of my book, Wide Open Spaces, which releases in November, I share how God has freed me from deriving my sense of worth and identity from my ranking on Amazon.com. The truth of who I am in God, the real Jim Palmer, is fully intact in every moment. Let it go! There is no peace and contentment in becoming a “somebody.” Instead, envision this: God looks at you and sees a reflection of Himself, and smiles.

Author: Jim Palmer

Jim Palmer is the author of Divine Nobodies: Shedding Religion to Find God (and the unlikely people who help you) (Thomas Nelson).

This article is from Relevant Magazine's weekly email. www.relevantmagazine.com

Picasso Links

To prepare for next week's study of Pablo Picasso, you might want to check out these links.

Pablo Picasso: Official Website

Artcyclopedia: Pablo Picasso Online (lots of links)

and for fun...

Mr. Picassohead

Rembrandt: Ending Well?

This Sunday our artist for the Paint by the Spirit study is Rembrandt. He is considered to be one of the greatest painters in European history, and the greatest of the Dutch masters (having NOTHING to do with cigars). Rembrandt is an interesting study. In many ways, he is the opposite of Van Gogh: he never sought any connection with the church, and his art was extremely successful commercially.
But he lost everything in the end. He was left at his death with two paintings in his studio: Simeon with the Christ Child, and The Return of the Prodigal. He was living in poor conditions. He was buried in an unmarked grave. Had he lost everything, or had he lost everything except that which he really needed; that which he came to desire above wealth and success? Were the gifts of the grace and mercy of Christ his only possessions in his last hours?
The worship bulletin for Sunday is here.

Conspicuous Consumption

I tried to find a web link for this article, but it was in an email, and I couldn't find the article on the web anywhere. This article came to me from Relevant magazine, which is pretty good all around. The author of this article does a good job or reviewing music and movies. If you are interested in that kind of thing, check out his blog.

So I was watching this show on MTV last week called Newport Harbor. Essentially it is Laguna Beach all over again, just 20 miles up the California coast in another ritzy Orange Country beach town. The cast of the show is made up of a handful of ditzy-but-beautiful blond girls and a few token surfer dudes whom each of the girls will date at one point during the season (which follows their senior year of “high school”). Everything on the show is pristine, nicely coifed, tanned and very, very rich.

So I was watching this show on MTV last week called Newport Harbor. Essentially it is Laguna Beach all over again, just 20 miles up the California coast in another ritzy Orange Country beach town. The cast of the show is made up of a handful of ditzy-but-beautiful blond girls and a few token surfer dudes whom each of the girls will date at one point during the season (which follows their senior year of “high school”). Everything on the show is pristine, nicely coifed, tanned and very, very rich. Most episodes of the show, like in Laguna, feature the kids shopping at designer stores, eating at Zagat-rated restaurants or (in the case of the episode I saw) going on weekend trips to Palm Springs. Of course, no 17-year-old really has the money to live this way, but MTV wants us to think that yes, these kids (most kids in Orange Country, actually) do in fact spend their free time surfing, tanning, gossiping and eating braised lamb while the rest of us do homework and eat Ramen noodles. But it’s not just MTV. Everywhere you look on TV and in pop culture these days, you see this strangely alluring thing that is sort of a rich-people minstrel show: wealth being exploited for the entertainment of the underclass. Shows like Bravo’s new reality offering, Welcome to the Parker (which is all about the Parker hotel in Palm Springs—the most ridiculously posh playground for celebrities in SoCal), emphasize how gloriously snobby rich people are, while shows like The Fabulous Life (VH1) and Cribs (MTV) keep tabs on which rich celebrity has managed to spend their money the most frivolously. Each of these shows contains the playful cha-ching graphic, which keeps tabs of the “bill” during the course of any episode, making light of the fact that some people manage to spend more money in a year than an entire developing country has made in a decade. And let's not forget the phenomenon of Paris Hilton, a “famous for being rich” celebrity who embodies all of the above. People are always asking, “Why are we obsessed with Paris Hilton?” But this has a pretty obvious answer: It’s because we’re obsessed with being rich. It’s the same reason we watch Newport Harbor or buy something that Oprah likes. If we can associate ourselves with wealth (even if we’re really poor) by watching or imitating it, we feel more legitimate, desirable and important. The Paris Hilton culture is just the latest incarnation of what Thorstein Veblen first coined “conspicuous consumption” in his 1899 book, The Theory of the Leisure Class. Essentially it is the idea that with the onset of expendable income, the new upper and middle classes took to flaunting their “wealth” as a way to demonstrate their social power or significance, whether real or perceived. In other words, people began to buy lots of fancy furniture and art (but chiefly so they could have dinner parties and show them off), and they began to buy expensive clothes and jewelry, mainly to present themselves as more important than they actually were. Consumerism and the consequent drive to be conspicuous about it is certainly something we all deal with. But despite the number of luxury cars and high-fashion items you see, half of the wealth that is flashed in your eyes on any given day isn’t real wealth. It’s all about appearances. Sunglasses are the best way to feign wealth, especially in my hometown of L.A. (where sunglasses are worn more than socks). Most really good, designer sunglasses are at least 300 dollars—which is not that much for the average stockbroker or real estate tycoon. But you can easily find knockoff sunglasses for, like, 10 bucks that look exactly like the massive Prada pair you saw on J.Lo last week. It’s easy to look wealthy and important if you try hard enough. Christians find themselves in an interesting spot, living in a culture that measures a person’s value or relevance by what model of cell phone they carry. We are followers of a man who once told His disciples that everyone who wanted to follow Him must “deny themselves and “take up their cross daily” (Luke 9:23, TNIV). Jesus constantly dropped lines such as, “What good is it for you to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit your very self?” (Luke 9:25). He also insisted that we not worry about things like food and clothes (Matthew 6:25–34), and offered counterintuitive little quips about how blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek and the persecuted. Can you imagine an MTV show about nerdy little Christian kids in Irvine who take all of this to heart? The Christian life is so crazily counter to a life of conspicuous consumption. Ours should be a life of conspicuous rejection of all the bling money can buy. We should be conspicuously consumed with Christ, so much so that we become much more fascinating to watch than Paris Hilton. Instead of a culture that questions their obsession with Paris and Britney, what if the curious questions were about Christians—why are they so utterly, obviously uninterested in what everyone else is living for (self-aggrandizement)? Now that would be a story worthy of reality TV.

Author: Brett McCracken Brett is a grad student at UCLA's Film School and has recently started a blog at stillsearching.wordpress.com.

Van Gogh

This Sunday, we begin our study, Paint by the Spirit, during which we will explore the spiritual significance of great artists. Our first artist is Van Gogh. What an experience it has been studying his life and work! Here is a brief bio of Van Gogh. The worship bulletin is here. Read last week's post for more links. Probably Van Gogh's most famous work is The Starry Night (1889).

Bicycle Commuting

I managed to ride to and from work twice this week: Tuesday and Wednesday. I made it without difficulty, except for the hill that starts at Broadway and Pantano and climbs Broadway eastbound to Sarnoff. I usually make it halfway up and have to walk the second half. Tuesday evening I drove Tyler to band rehearsal, but Wednesday I did not drive at all.

Paint by the Spirit

On September 9, we begin a new 4 week study on great artists and the spiritual significance of their work. We will begin with Van Gogh, and then consider in subsequent weeks Rembrandt, Picasso, and Monet. At a later date we may consider other artists. Feel free to nominate an artist that has touched you with their work!
A video of Van Gogh's work set to "Vincent" by Don McLean
A website with a bio of Van Gogh and links to view all of his works.
An article about the spiritual significance of Van Gogh's life and works.

Sunday September 2

Look here for a description of this week's worship. Included there is a link to Psalm 24. I encourage you to read it before Sunday's worship. I think this will be a unique opportunity to form our worship around one of the Psalms. Here is the worship bulletin.

From the Save Darfur Coalition

U.S. Must Support Peacekeeping Mission

The UN has authorized a joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission for Darfur. Our task now is to ensure that President Bush upholds the U.S. commitment to support this mission when the UN General Assembly meets on September 18th.

Our goal is to send 100,000 messages in the next three weeks urging the president to uphold his commitment to the peacekeeping mission.

Help us reach our goal! Click here to sign petition.

The New Sign

This is the new sign I wrote about last week. It hangs along the front of the roof of the porch in front of the church office building and faces First Street. It can be seen by people in Himmel Park and by our day school parents picking up their children.

New Sign

Today we put up a new sign on the church office building. It faces First Street and Himmel Park and it announces The Refuge worship services. The big print says "Come as you are". You can see it Sunday, and I'll post a photo here next week.

Bike Commuting

I rode my bike to work today for the first time and it went OK. I think it's about 11 miles and it made it in 43 minutes. I rode west on Broadway for the vast majority of my ride and then turned north on Treat Street to the church. By the way, Treat Street is no treat. It is uphill the whole way from Broadway to Himmel Park and it is mostly uneven, broken pavement which is extremely bumpy.

Sunday Worship @ The Refuge

"Could Faith Be as Simple as Breathing?" is our theme for this Sunday, August 29. Click here for the worship bulletin to see Scriptures and notes. We will view a short NOOMA video by Rob Bell. The title for this one is "Breathe". You can see a preview here. We will pray, think, and discuss.

"Worthy to Approach God" is our theme for next Sunday, September 2. This will be a unique service structured around the pattern we find in Psalm 24 . Psalm 24 has three sections, or movements. Psalm 24 is divided into three sections. The first section is verses 1-2, which is an affirmation of faith; a statement of worship to God. The second section is approaching God (verses 3-6). This segment will feature prayers of confession and forgiveness. Then the final section is opening our lives to God (verses 7-10). We will engage in a journaling exercise. All three movements will include music and prayer and Scripture. This will also be communion Sunday. I will post the worship bulletin next week.

"Paint by the Spirit' is our next series. Beginning September 9, we will spend four weeks exploring the spiritual significance of the works of great artists like Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Picasso, and Monet.

Sunday August 19

You can read the book of Obadiah here. The whole thing is only 21 verses, so give it a look. The worship bulletin is here. I am really excited about this study. I'll see you Sunday!

Pretty Funny

I laughed out loud at a couple of these. Of course, I'm from the South and am as much of a hick as you can get, so maybe I'm entitled to laugh. Check out the criterion for an EXTREME REDNECK on Marko's blog.

Vacation

We had a great time last week on our vacation. I only wish it could have lasted longer. We left Wednesday and stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel. Then we went on up to Phoenix to the South Mountain Resort and checked in. Tyler and I got in one of the pools for awhile, and then we did a little shopping for groceries and snacks, then went over to the Arizona Mills Mall to eat dinner, walk around the mall, and see Live Free or Die Hard. That was definitely enough for the first day.
Thursday we got up, eat breakfast, went for a bike ride, and then went to the water park. We ate a late lunch around 2pm and then watched 300 on the hotel payperview. Tyler and I played some ping pong and swam some more. Then we went to dinner at Claim Jumper and went back to the room and Tyler and I taught Mindy how to play Egyptian Ratscrew. Friday, our last day, we rode our bikes a few miles to IHOP for breakfast. I bought Tyler some new shoes at a store in the shopping center, and then we rode back. Tyler and I went to play pool and then we went over to the athletic club and played racquetball. Tyler went back to the room and I stayed and enjoyed the hot tub and steamroom. Then we had an early dinner at Aunt Chilada's Mexican Restaurant and then went to the water park for a couple of hours. We went back to the room and watched My Super Ex-Girlfriend and hung out.
Saturday, Mindy swam some laps while Tyler and I played some more pool. Then we packed up and headed home. Fun, but short. Photos are on my photobucket. Message me for the password if you don't know it.

Obadiah

Obadiah is our study for August 19. It is very short. Give it a read and leave me any comments that you come up with.