May 2008
Motivation:
It was getting colder in Melbourne, so warmth was becoming important. So a focus on fire was already sounding like a good idea. Fortunately, we also celebrated Pentecost the week prior, so it seemed too convenient not to use the idea of Fire as the focus of a service.
Environment:
‘The usual’ again. A few less candles this time. We intended to have a large overhead projection of a fireplace running, but due to some IT issues, we had to resort to running this on the laptop. Also had one large candle on the floor in the middle of the ring of chairs/pews, some paper and pens, spare tea-light candles, and a large metal (important!) bucket.
Audio:
Some general ambient for arrival and introductions. Then it was Taize all the way through.
The Service:
- Introduction: introduced people to the service, and informed them that tonight we would be ‘playing with fire’
Informed them that this was a very simple reflective service. A number of readings would be read out with a space for reflection after each one, during which an item of Taize music would be played. During that time people were free to engage and respond with the elements any way they liked. They could focus on the candles or the video fireplace; they could light their own tealight or light one as a prayer of others; they could write on the paper and then burn that as an act of letting go, or an act of sending a prayer to God… it was up to them. - Readings: This was a mix of scripture which related to fire, and some excerpts from a Bible Study on ‘Fire in the Bible’,
- The average Christian, as their first choice, would not associate the word “fire” with the Creator Himself. Our first thoughts would probably be Hell-fire, the Lake of Fire, or Sodom and Gomorra. It may be surprising to many Christians that the word “fire,” and its attributes of “light” and “heat,” speak more of the Creator and His goodness than of a destructive force against His enemies. Clearly, the writers of the Bible employed the use of fire in many different ways. However, when it came to the spiritual use of fire, they usually attributed fire to God. Yahweh manifested Himself in various forms of fire on many different occasions. We find some of these manifestations in the making of the Covenant with Abraham, the burning bush, and Yahweh answering by fire. Sacrifices and offerings (including incense which represented the prayers of the people) were to be made by fire. Fire often meant the acceptance of a sacrifice by Yahweh. The fire on the altar was to be continually burning. It is not surprising that fire plays such a significant role in the Bible. The Creator Himself is described as a “consuming fire.” Doesn’t it seem rather strange to our understanding to call the Creator a consuming fire? Rarely, if ever, do we associate fire with the creation process. We usually associate it with destruction. Fire has played perhaps one of the most significant roles in the advancement of civilization. Practically no manufacturing would be possible apart from the use of fire to break down and shape materials for our use. Our very lives depend upon the energy given by the biggest fire near the earth, the sun.
- Malachi 3:1-4. 1 “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.
- Acts 2:1-4. 1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled the
- 1 Corinthians 3:5-15. 5What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. 9For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. 10By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. 14If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:12-23. 12Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. 16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; 20do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22Avoid every kind of evil. 23May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Hebrews 12:22-24, 28-29. 22But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, 24to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29for our “God is a consuming fire.”
- Christians who have allowed the fire of God to enter the very recesses of their lives will see His fire in a totally different light. Rather than being utterly destroyed by the fire, they are purified, corrected, cleansed. God’s fire within brings forth a love that desires to bring healing and restoration to all mankind. Fire is never static. It moves. It seeks to consume. This is true whether it be the hateful fire of man’s anger or the passion to bring healing, joy, and love to those around them. Fire always produces change. It will force one to act, to respond. Fire brings focus. “Fiery” trials often let us know which kind of fire is burning in our bosom. Those who believe in God will usually attribute the fire in their bosoms to their God. If they are angry and bitter inside, they will often attribute their anger to God’s righteous wrath against the wicked. Likewise, a truly compassionate, loving person will usually credit God for their qualities. They know God as their source of true love.
- Closing Prayer
