peak challenge pics

 

on top of the world in colorado




mountain stream





glorious landscape at sunset

If you think back on your life, regardless of how old or young you are, you may recall a spiritual experience that cannot be explained or a moment in which you felt the special presence of the sacred or divine. But to experience a “mountaintop experience” on a mountaintop – literally – is something very special.

The Celtics called such locations ”thin places” - described as “places where the veil between this world and the ‘other world” meet. There is a Celtic saying that “heaven and earth are only three feet apart, but in the thin places that distance is even smaller.”

Exodus 34 describes the journey that Moses took to Mt Sinai. After leading the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage, Moses felt called to climb Sinai, a mountain associated with God’s presence; seen as a “thin place”. “The glory of the Lord,” scripture says, “rested on Mount Sinai”. It was there that Moses received the Ten Commandments. When Moses came down from the mountain, his face was shining from being in the divine presence. Moses was a changed man. It was turning point in his life and in the lives of many.

In Luke 9, Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a mountain where he is ‘transfigured’ before them. That time together on the mountain with his inner circle was a special event that changed their perspective on Jesus and who he was to them.

We will soon travel to Colorado where we will (God willing) reach the summit of a 14,000 foot peak and have a real “mountaintop experience”. In that journey, we may just have an experience that changes our life forever – a spiritual “mountaintop experience” that can be taken back into the valleys of life to shape, mold, encourage, lead and disciple others into the presence of the Sacred and Divine.

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lutheran pastor sermon cloud

mars rover

A NASA rover on Mars has beamed home a panoramic view of the red planet, a spectacular picture that a space agency description billed as the "next best thing to being there."

The new panorama was snapped by NASA's Mars rover Opportunity, a six-wheeled robot that has spent more than eight years exploring the planet.


"The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the works of His hands"  -  Psalm 19

ancient mosaics

These mosaics of colored stones once decorated an ancient synagogue floor with Biblical scenes.

The newly excavated discovery was found near the ancient Jewish village of Huqoq. 

The mosaic decorates part of a synagogue dating back to about 500 A.D.  So far the team has excavated only part of the eastern wall of the structure, so they don't yet know how big the synagogue was. But the building appears to be made of large blocks of stone,  suggesting an expansive structure. 

The mosaic, which is incomplete, depicts several scenes. In one, two female faces flank a Hebrew inscription about rewards for people who perform good deeds. In the other, Samson ties torches to pairs of foxes,  an event described in the Book of Judges.  

(from live science)