Bono speaks at an international prayer breakfast
Listen to Bono's SpeechI found this speech extremely interesting and moving . Bono speaks with such a bold heart for justice, especially for the poor in Africa, and it resonates with what emergers, and thousands of people all over the world are feeling. This is a 20 min clip, but it's definately worth a listen, and i'd be very interested to hear people's comments. For me, after listening, i felt my dreams expanding to use my gifts as an artist, to do whatever i can to alter the way people see each other, to fight against poverty, with whatever tools are in my hand and heart.
-Leah
wordXchange: Isaiah
Yesterday the NDG wordXchange looked at
Isaiah 1:5-17. God's impatience with the people's misemphasis on religious undertakings, sacrifices, rituals and the like is strongly worded. Most strikingly God "hates" our religious meetings and "will turn his head" and ignore our prayers if we don't add substance to our worship. At the end of the passage, in increasingly short and simple sentences, He states why this misemphasis is destructive: it does nothing to enhance our ability to take care of the needy, orphans and widows.
We found this passage incredibly poignant to our times, with many church experiences revolving around meetings about buildings and policys, and rituals of our own design, instead of working for justice.
wordXchange: Amos
Each of our four weeks at the NDG wordXchange we will be posting /commenting about what we read and the kinds of things that came up in our conversations. In our first session last night we read
Amos 5: 7-17. After opening with an eloquent passsage reminding us how small we are in God's greatness, he proceeds with a scathing indictment of the selfish, wealthy Isrealites, reminding them that all these material concerns will ultimately not be enjoyed, in eternity. Ouch. The language is heavy and brash: worth a read!
P
Emerge Montreal
EMERGE ideas
maybe church is more about who & whose we are, than it is about where we go at a certain time, on a certain day of the week. maybe it's an idea that isn't limited by time or space but only by our imagination!
mission: to be a vital Christian community 24/7 that effectively engages people in the 18 to 35 age group working/studying/living/playing in contemporary downtown Montreal with the good news of Jesus Christ
values: intimacy, participation, friendship, belonging, action, and authenticity are all valued by this generation and the church
vision: to see a growing community of Christians in the 18-35 group effectively cooperating with God's mission, with the freedom to pursue the leading of the holy spirit in diverse ways, and being an authentic expression of the church, that is both biblically informed and culturally sensitive
