TIM GILLESPIE

FOCUS TEXT
"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. " Matthew 24:6 (ESV)
RECALIBRATE
1.  How do we recognize that it’s not yet the end, but the beginning of the end, and not seek to be as okay and comfortable as possible for now?  

2.  How do we not become used to this space while we have to live through it?  How do we stay vigilant without being paralyzed by stress and anxiety?

3.  If blessings don’t equate to easy, and they rarely turn out as we expect, why do we pray for blessings?

4.  How can we redefine what blessings really mean in our lives?

5.  How do our cultural contexts play into the reading of apocalyptic scripture?

SHARE

verb
1. have a portion of (something) with another or others.
WATCH // The Bucket List
What do we do in the end? Find the joy in your life.
How would you live your life if this is the end? 
Here's a list from USA Singles of their community's "Top 10 Bucket list items"
  1. Fall in love - 83%
  2. Go on a wine tour in Napa - 53%
  3. Change someone’s life for the better - 52%
  4. Get to my ideal weight - 47%
  5. Go on a safari - 45%
  6. Ride a hot air balloon - 45%
  7. See the Northern Lights - 45%
  8. Go to the Super Bowl - 43%
  9. Swim with dolphins - 39%
  10. Travel through Europe - 38%
MUSIC // Hillsong Worship — 'Awake My Soul'
WATCH // The Summer Day — Mary Oliver
ART // Living Room by Jana Sophia
Tim mentioned that we are each experiencing this life differently- and the challenges and disasters many of us are being confronted with in 2020 are not new to others. Perhaps we are experiencing these sorts of discomforts, inconveniences, and suffering for the first time, and it has all of a sudden become more personal now that it’s in ‘our’ space. Artist Jane Sophia Nolle highlights this idea in her series of reconstruction installations, where she photographs shelters of houseless people right inside affluent living rooms. Click through the images on Nolles website, and consider how you may have been confronted with suffering this year,  or how your perspective might change when you witness or experience disadvantage up close. 
WATCH // The Bible Project — How to Read Apocalyptic Literature
WATCH // Yoanna Bourgeois — 'Celui qui tombe'
Stage performer Yoann Bourgeois presents this thought provoking video piece of 6 dancers on a rotating stage. The revolutions feel endless and the figures seem helplessly and hopelessly caught in the spinning- a bit like us facing calamity, or the end of times, or ‘post diagnosis’. Will it ever end? They lean and move, sometimes supporting one another, sometimes independent of each other. At times they seem at peace, like they can calmly ride with the momentum. At other times frantic and looking confused. What questions does this video raise for you? Does this resonate with you at all? What is the significance of the soundtrack, “I did it my way”?

FOR THE KIDDOS

WATCH // Noah's Ark by Saddleback Kids
Can you imagine not being able to get off the Ark? Even worse, can you imagine how bad that boat smelt with all those animals on board?
Do you think that Noah and his family were asking God, is it the end? The end of the storm, the end of the rain, the end of floating around on an endless ocean?
Have you ever felt like something was never going to end?
When one thing ends something else begins.
What began for Noah and his family?
WATCH // Storytellers: The Red Sea
Can you imagine what the people were saying during the plagues?
When the water turned to blood, frogs lice, flies, livestock pestilence, boils, hail, locusts, darkness and the death of firstborn children.
WATCH // God's Story: Wilderness
Can you imagine wandering around in the desert for Forty years? Do you think they asked when this was going to end? How did God show the Israelites that he was taking care of them.
How has God shown you that he is taking care of you?
Are we there yet, the end of one thing and the beginning of another.
In all of these stories God led his people to a new beginning.

So just like the flood and then plagues and the enemies chasing the people of God, these are all signs that a new beginning is on its way.   

MAKE

verb
1. form (something) by putting parts together or combining substances; create.
2. cause (something) to exist or come about; bring about.
MAKE // A Kaleidoscope
How we see the world depends on the particular lens we are looking through. Jesus calls us to look at the world through the lens of love. Love each other because he loves us and them. We are the love of his life. Load up this free app and see the colours of this world in a whole new pattern.
MAKE // A Sandwich!
Each family member has ten minutes to make the best sandwich. Best sandwich wins. each family member makes a sandwich. then give each member of your family a piece of your sandwich and you each judge who’s is best. each person has 10 minutes. Go! Did you find it easy or hard to finish the sandwich in the time given? Did you stress out just a bit even though this is just for fun?
Jesus has a different way of doing things. Jesus’ way is a different way. so much to do before it’s the end. He tells us the whole story. Don’t panic. This is just the beginning of the next step. We’ve been given the next part in the story. Now we have to use our time wisely. We still have so much to do.

TRY

verb
1. make an attempt or effort to do something. Use, test, or do (something new or different) in order to see if it is suitable, effective, or pleasant.
TRY // And Imagine
Open up this link and click on the red dots to see where the conflicts in the world are, their impact, status and how many people have died because of the conflict in their area. Notice that the dots are different sizes. The size relates to the amount of years the conflict has been going. The longer the time the bigger the dot.
Everyone has a different normal. For someone living in the red dot zone this text wars and rumours of wars, is their normal.
How is your normal? Do you feel like you have been living in a red dot zone because of the conflict in your heart, your family and or community? When Love comes, Joy follows and then Peace will Rule. This is the pattern, the DNA of Jesus. This is how we know he is here.
TRY // Imaginative Writing
Tim says that ‘blessing doesn’t equal easy’. Can you think of some examples of people in the Bible who struggled in their blessing? What were their struggles? What were their blessings? Do you relate to any of them? Perhaps you could imagine you are that bible character  and write an imaginary diary entry from them.

PLAY

verb
1. engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation
PLAY // Are We There Yet?
1.  Think about a journey that you and your family take and know very well. Choose the destination for example, the Beach, and don't tell anyone.
2. Think of the direction you are travelling and the landmarks along the way.
3. See if your family and friends can guess where you are going by asking questions like
  • Are you travelling north?
  • Are we on the Freeway?
  • Do we pass the Brooklyn Bridge?
  • Do we have to enter a National park?
When a player thinks they know the destination they say Are we at ---- Name of the place ----
The aim of the game is to guess the destination within 20 questions.
WATCH // Donkey wonders 'Are we there yet??'
How many miles is it to the kingdom of Far Far away?
What does Donkey do to fill in the time?
How does Princess Fiona and Shrek feel about what Donkey is doing?

What do you do when you are travelling 
  1. Do something annoying to irritate the other people?
  2. Watch what is going on around you?
  3. Get to know the people you are travelling with?
READ // Are We There Yet by Alison Lester