Seth Hedman

“To pray is to descend with the mind into the heart, and [there ascend] to stand before the face of the Lord, ever present, all seeing, within you [and on the throne].” - Theophan the Recluse Growing up, most of us were told to pray before bed and before meals and we saw our preacher do it on Sundays, but we never put much thought into what it actually was.  At times we think of it as a check list and duty. Last Wednesday at InterVarsity, Ann gave a great definition of prayer to shake loose these misconceptions, that "prayer is conversation between two people in love, you and Jesus."  Like any conversation, if you don't know the person very well, it can be awkward.  But as you talk more and get comfortable, great friendships can form.  Many of us never get past small talk with God, having only brief awkward interactions followed by days or weeks of silence.  But if we want to get to know God, our Creator, our Abba Father, we must talk to Him. Without commun...

"The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano" is the autobiography of a man captured as a child and spent most of his life in slavery around the world.  He wrote it to give to the English Parliament and help with the abolition of the slave trade. It is fascinating and I highly recommend reading or listening to the audiobook for free (its in the public domain). Most awesome is the story of him finding Jesus and true joy for the first time in his life, resting in the assurance of his Salvation by the blood of Christ and the hand of Providence through his life. If you go online and scroll down to  read chapter 10 , the description of his final run in with the grace of God is astounding and reminds me a lot about my own story. He describes how in a flood of tears he saw his utter sinfulness before a holy God, he saw the insane loving atonement of Jesus on the cross, and saw the hand of God as He had worked in his life.  All of the pain and sorrow which he carried ...

On Wednesday the 5th I was scheduled to give a talk at InterVarsity about Worship.  As I continued to pray and fast about what I might say, I felt God calling me to not merely tell people about worship, but to show people how to worship. This began taking shape around the idea of getting people out of their comfort zones and routine in order to really engage with God.  I had some ideas but then after the Super Bowl party on the 2nd, I got in my car and begin talking through what I might say... and it started rhyming.  I went home and began writing. Three hours later my entire talk had come out in spoken word poetry.   Before it was all over, that Wednesday took shape by doing an old school Liturgy, the Rite of Eucharist from the Common Book of Prayer, with modern worship songs, communion, and a 12 minute spoken word sermon.  It was an amazing night of pushing through the monotony of routine and entering the Throne Room of God in worshipping with my brother...