Gathering Liturgy - July 19
Welcome and Call to Worship
Come, let’s shout joyfully to the Lord, shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation! Let’s enter his presence with thanksgiving; let’s shout triumphantly to him in song. For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods. The depths of the earth are in his hand, and the mountain peaks are his. The sea is his; he made it. His hands formed the dry land. Come, let’s worship and bow down; let’s kneel before the Lord our Maker. For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, the sheep under his care. Today, if you hear his voice: Do not harden your hearts! (Psalm 95)
Prayer
Song | All My Fountains
Prayer of Confession
O God, early in the morning I cry to you. Help me to pray and to concentrate my thoughts on you; I cannot do this alone. In me there is darkness, but with you there is light; I am lonely, but you do not leave me; I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help; I am restless, but with you there is peace. In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience; I do not understand your ways, but you know the way for me….Restore me to liberty, and enable me to live now that I may answer before you and before men. Lord whatever this day may bring, Your name be praised. Amen. (A Prayer of Deitrich Bonhoeffer)
Song | Beautiful Things
Assurance of Pardon
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace[a] with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)
Prayer
Song | Sweetly Broken
Scripture Reading | John 12:27-33
“Now my soul is troubled. What should I say—Father, save me from this hour? But that is why I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name.”Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”The crowd standing there heard it and said it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus responded, “This voice came, not for me, but for you. Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. As for me, if I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all people to myself.” He said this to indicate what kind of death he was about to die.
This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Sermon
“Now my soul is troubled. What should I say - Father, save me from this hour? But that is why I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd standing there heard it and said it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus responded, “This voice came, not for me, but for you. Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. As for me, if I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all people to myself.” He said this to indicate what kind of death he was about to die. —John 12:27-33
The Beloved Son enables us to be ______________ ______________.
Reasons for a complicated relationship:
Jesus was struggling to move forward in following ______________ ______________ - John 12:27; Matthew 26:39
Jesus was operating in ______________ - John 12:28
Jesus was seeing ______________ ______________ in his ministry - John 12:37
God said, “You are my Son, you have made me ______________.” John 12:28; Matthew 3:17; Luke 9:35; John 12:30
God has an ______________ amount of ______________ towards you.
John 3:16 - “______________”
Romans 5:8 - “______________ ”
Colossians 2:13 - “______________”
Romans 3:24 - “______________”
Romans 5:19 - “______________”
Colossians 1:22 - “______________”
Hebrews 10:19 - “______________”
“Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him. He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.” —Ephesians 1:3-6
Communion
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11.23-26) Therefore we proclaim the mystery of faith: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. (For the bread) “This is the body of Christ, broken for you.” (For the juice) “This is the blood of Christ, shed for you.” The Gifts of God for the People of God. Take them in remembrance that Christ died for you, and feed on him in your hearts by faith, with thanksgiving.
Song | God with Us
Giving, Announcements, and Benediction
Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:16-17)
Peace be with you. And also with you!
Gathering Liturgy - July 12
CALL TO WORSHIP
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you. You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. (Psalm 118)
PRAYER
SONG - King of My Heart
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
O Lord, The house of my soul is narrow; enlarge it that you may enter in. It is ruinous, O repair it! It displeases Your sight. I confess it, I know. But who shall cleanse it, to whom shall I cry but to you? Cleanse me from my secret faults, O Lord, and spare Your servant from sins that are displeasing to you. (St. Augustine)
SONG - How Deep the Fathers Love
PRAYER OF ASSURANCE
The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has no pleasure in the death of sinners, but would rather they should turn from their wickedness and live. God pardons and absolves all who truly repent and believe his holy gospel. So we ask him to grant us true repentance and his Holy Spirit, that what we do now may please him and that the rest of our life may be pure and holy, so that at the last we may come to his eternal joy; through the grace and power of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer)
SONG - Hosanna
SCRIPTURE READING
The next day, when the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took palm branches and went out to meet him. They kept shouting: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord—the King of Israel!” Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written: Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion. Look, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt. His disciples did not understand these things at first. However, when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him. Meanwhile, the crowd, which had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify.This is also why the crowd met him, because they heard he had done this sign. Then the Pharisees said to one another, “You see? You’ve accomplished nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!” Now some Greeks were among those who went up to worship at the festival. So they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and requested of him, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus replied to them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces much fruit. The one who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me. Where I am, there my servant also will be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. (John 12:12-26)
This is the word of the Lord!
COMMUNION
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11.23-26)
Therefore we proclaim the mystery of faith: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
“This is the body of Christ, broken for you.”
“This is the blood of Christ, shed for you.”
The Gifts of God for the People of God. Take them in remembrance that Christ died for you, and feed on him in your hearts by faith, with thanksgiving.
SONG - It Is Well
ANNOUNCEMENTS & BENEDICTION
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! ...To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever! (Revelation 5:12-13)
Peace be with you!
Engaging in Lament
By: Amy and Barry Rager
This season is difficult. Death abounds. Our leaders are forced to choose between loss of life and loss of economic stability. More names are added to the already egregious roll of black men and women lynched by hate-filled individuals. Each day there seems to be a reminder that the kingdom is already but definitely not yet. We grow weary of waiting. What do we do with the desperation welling up inside?
We truly believe that lament is part of the answer. A form of worship that involves crying out to God authentically, lament honors the gut-wrenching emotions that being a human in a fallen world often elicits. God is our Father. He does not want us to suppress these feelings or grow numb. He wants us to come to him, find intimacy, and ultimately trust him. After all, he is mourning too.
Below are two laments. The first is a series of psalms Barry put together to find a voice for his thoughts. The second is a modified lament from Sojourn Community Church specific to racism and the murder of our black brothers and sisters. We hope these laments can offer you some solace in this difficult time.
A Lament for a Hard Season
(Psalm 42:5; Psalm 13:1-2; Psalm 25:16-20; Psalm 4:6-8)
A Lament of Tragic Deaths and Evil
(Loosely adapted from Corporate Lament by Sojourn Community Church.)
Additional Information
If lament feels very strange to you, you can find out more about lament here.
Interview with Kara Buckingham
Kara is a Builder at New Circle who has been working with COVID-19 patients at St. Vincent Hospital. Kara shares some with us about what she has seen and learned concerning COVID as well as some ways to pray for her and her co-workers. If you have any questions for Kara, you can reach out to her by email. You can watch the interview here.
Illusions
By: Russ Jackson
I must admit that I love illusions, what in my day we called magic. To see a person appear from a “seemingly” empty box or to see a specific card selected from a “normal” deck is just amazing to me. The secret, of course, is that you must accept the premise. By that I mean you must accept that the box is empty. You must accept that the deck of cards is normal. It’s the key to being amazed because what the illusionist does is absolutely impossible, which is why I love it so much. Even as an adult I am amazed at much of what we call illusions or magic. I must admit, I like being fooled. However, deep down we all know the empty box and the deck of cards is anything except ordinary.
This same process, however, is being used in many ways today to fool us into believing something that just isn’t true. Someone asks us to accept their premise that “X” is true, therefore everything that comes after that must also be true.
For example, if you don’t agree with me about something then we can’t be friends. This is a popular refrain today. Let me say emphatically that this is stinking thinking!
I am friends with many people that hold opinions that I do not share. I love these people and would never consider breaking ties with them because they don’t agree with me. On the contrary, I hold these people in high esteem, even though they see things differently than I do. It’s how I grow and how I learn about new things. Often these people have considered their viewpoints more deeply than I have mine, but regardless, I don’t expect anyone to change their mind, and that’s okay. In fact, most of the time, if we work together long enough, our thought processes move closer to each other.
Please join with me in being amazed by illusions, but ask yourself this very important question: “What have I got to lose by surrounding myself with people who don’t agree with me?” Who knows, you might actually learn something.
I am going to be brutally honest with you. There are very few things that I know for certain. I know that there is a God, and I know that I am not Him. My opinions are just that, my opinions. They have been distilled by my experiences and the things that I have learned over the years, but those experiences and lessons are often colored by society or the people with whom I spend time or sometimes just by circumstances.
Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life.” That’s where my base is, that’s where I start with every topic and every controversy. If you think differently, let me know. I’m willing to listen to what you have to say and appreciate your thoughts.
I long to hear your story, to see things from your perspective and to share in this journey we call life. Won’t you join me?
Yay God!
Water Fountain
By: Claire Bourke
I hope you are all doing well and staying healthy. Our school has been cancelled until at least May 1, so I have a lot more time on my hands to rest and reflect. The following is a true story that happened a few weeks ago. I thought you may appreciate this glimpse into the life of a fourth grade teacher.
It was a day like any other. I had been back to school for about two weeks after my sabbatical, and my class was still readjusting back into a rhythm. We were about to take our scheduled restroom break after recess when I noticed that my class was having a difficult time with the habit of obedience. They were not following the normal restroom rules and needed to reset. So, I took them back to the classroom for a moment to let them put lunchboxes away and rest with their heads down. Then, we reviewed the restroom procedures and lined up to try it again.
Everything was going so smoothly. I was having a moment where I felt like the world’s best teacher. My children were being so polite and respectful, and we were even able to joke a little. My plan to reset them had worked. Little did I know how quickly that feeling could be snatched away from me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw it happen. It should be noted that our school was built in the early 1900s. Many things in our school have been updated over the years, as we no longer wish to have lead pipes for our sinks and water fountains. Our upstairs water fountain is attached to a plastic tube, for example. On this particular day, as one boy leaned in to take a drink from the water fountain, his knee accidentally bumped the bottom of the water tube. This may have happened many other times throughout the past few years, thus weakening the connection. This time, however, the tube fell off, causing an immediate gush of water.
Instantly, it sounded as if there was a waterfall in our hallway. I raced into action, trying desperately to reattach the connection. The waterflow was so strong, however, that I could not do it. Instead, I became soaked. At this point, the poor kid who caused the incident was running in circles with his hands on his head screaming, “I didn’t do it!” Meanwhile, one of my girls asked if she should get help from the office. I told her yes, and consequently ALL of my girls took off sprinting to go get help.
“Wait! You don’t all need to go!” I yelled, but it was no use. They were gone. My class was freaking out, I was wet, and felt helpless to fix the situation. I was forced to watch as our hallway became flooded from the damaged fountain. At that moment, I saw all of my girls sprinting back with our principal and secretary. The maintenance man followed shortly behind. They were able to turn the water off and fix the connection.
One would assume that this story is over, but the best moments happened when we returned to the classroom. My principal pulled aside the child who had the unfortunate luck of breaking the fountain and assured him that he was not in trouble. I gave the class a moment to settle in and calm down, then began teaching. As I began the lesson, one girl raised her hand. “Um…Mrs. Bourke? Do you happen to have a brush? Because your hair is REALLY messy.” I told her that I did not, in fact, have a brush, but I appreciated her concern. After school, I went up to my principal to follow through, and he just started laughing. He informed me that the security tapes of this incident were pure gold. I had forgotten about the security tapes. Much to my embarrassment, this moment has been captured and recorded for all to see. I asked him why they are gold, and he relayed what he saw. At first he saw a sweet classroom moment. He commented on how sweet I was with all of my kids, and he could tell that we were having good conversations during our restroom break. Then, THE VIDEO FEED CUT OUT. The part with the fountain exploding? Gone. The part where I tried heroically to fix the problem? Gone. The very next thing on the tape was my girls sprinting down the hallway and me standing there looking bewildered. I was sure to tell my principal the rest of the tale.
When I was reflecting on this moment, I thought about what the fountain might represent, what my class represented, and what the water represented. I thought about how life is not perfect. There are times that I have one thing under control, yet another issue springs forth. Sometimes I may have to delegate and ask others to get help. At the right moment, help did, in fact, arrive. Also, I am never really in charge of what happens in life. That is up to the Father and his plan for my life. I think that day, He knew that I was taking life too seriously and trying to rely on my own strength to control things (which is part of what always gets me in trouble). I can look back on this stressful moment now and laugh. It bonded my class together because of our shared experience.
This school year has been unlike any other. I was gone for two months, was back for a month, and then school closed due to a worldwide pandemic. Nothing is certain right now, but we can all find rest and comfort in the steadfast love of the Father. Isaiah 43:2-3 says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” No catastrophe is too big for God. God will not let us drown when things are out of control. He is sovereign over all things. May we put our trust in him during these tumultuous times.
Assessing Your Spiritual Maturation
By: Barry Rager
Throughout 2020, we will be working through the Gospel of John during our Sunday Gatherings and discussing the text in our Community Groups. We hope to see the Spirit of God do a multitude of things throughout this series. One specific desire is that the Spirit would guide us in assessing our spiritual maturation and invite us to move to a deeper level of relationship with the Father.
The desire for spiritual maturation is near to the heart of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 14:20, the Spirit inspired Paul to write, “Brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your thinking, but be infants in regard to evil and adult in your thinking.” God desires all of us to grow in our spiritual maturity, to see, experience, and display him more and more. In this way, our lives here on earth will be conformed to the lives we will live in the presence of God for eternity.
We have developed a simple chart to help you think through the process of spiritual growth and where you currently reside in the journey.
Not Yet Alive - All of us begin at this level. Because of our sin, we are dead spiritually. This term describes the person who has not yet trusted Jesus by placing their faith in him. These people may be seeking to earn the favor of God through their good life or they may be totally apathetic in their relationship with God. Either way, they are not yet alive in Christ by faith. Nonetheless, these people are created by God, loved by God, and pursued by God.
Children - People in this category are just beginning their relationship with Jesus. Children in faith are learning what it means to follow Christ. They are experiencing the transforming power of the Spirit and seeing it reflected in their thoughts, habits, and direction of their lives. It is normal for people to begin searching out their faith and asking questions about what it means for them to be a Christian. The invitation to the person in this category is to learn that they can trust Jesus. We will corporately address this area of maturation through the following texts: John 1:19-4:54; 20:1-18.
Young People - This period of spiritual life could be described as teenage years. Typically at this time, people begin to question a lot of the things that they have been taught and experience hardship for the first time in their lives. At this level of maturation, the believer may continue to explore faith’s implications and what it means to truly pattern your life after Jesus. Many search out other faith traditions. This is also a time when trauma can be revisited or endured. The call to the Young Person is to remain. The hope would be that their season of searching would lead them closer to Jesus and that their hardships would cause them to rest deeper in the arms of the Father. This level of spiritual development will be examined in John 5-8; 20:19-31.
Mothers and Fathers - Spiritually, this is our goal for New Circle Church’s builders. Believers at this spiritual stage engage in a communal faith. Their attention is no longer focused solely upon their own spiritual well-being, but also in living out their faith by caring for those around them and spurring them on in their faith. Working with others while still growing in their own faith is done in an attitude of resting in Jesus. Spiritual Mothers and Fathers know he is there, know he loves them, and have the maturity to place all of their lives into his hands. The invitation to those in this is stage is to grow in maturity through beholding the glory of God! We will explore Mothers and Fathers in Scripture through John 9-12; 21:1-25.
Glorification - None of us are here yet. In fact, it is impossible for us to achieve this level of maturity on earth. Glorification will be our reality when we are given new bodies and enter into eternity in our Father’s presence. While we can never attain this level of maturity on this earth, we should all yearn for this type of intimacy with the Father.
Please start at the bottom of the chart and read up through the process. Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you and give you the discernment to know where you are in the spiritual development stages.
Don’t be fooled by the number of years that you have been a Christian. While the number of years since your conversion may be a helpful consideration, spiritual growth is not linear. Some believers live at the level of Children for significantly longer than others. While slow growth is not to be belittled exploration of the causes of stagnation is necessary. Wherever you find yourself, the key is to be faithful and to always be desirous of deeper intimacy.
If you would like further guidance on thinking through your spiritual growth, you may want to utilize one of these resources: “Spiritual Growth Survey” by Bill Gaultiere or “Tests of Spiritual Maturity” by Mike Shepherd. If you still have questions, reach out to someone in your Community Group to see if they can walk with you and can give you some guidance.
FATHERHOOD
By: Russ Jackson
I was considering God’s goodness as I spent some time one recent Saturday morning with my 5 year old granddaughter at a local indoor play park. The Park is located within a local church building and is open (and free) to the public. I saw 50 plus children playing with each other and generally having fun. I was pleasantly surprised to see the number of fathers who came to interact in this setting with their children. Fully half of the parents spending time on a Saturday morning with their children were men. What a joy and a blessing it was to see this expression of God’s heart being shown through His people.
This reminded me that God spent several centuries speaking with humankind, encouraging, rebuking, correcting, loving and caring for His creation and just before He was going to be silent for approximately 400 years (the time between the Old Testament and the New Testament), God left a message for His people.
God, as a good father, would have chosen His parting words very carefully. After all, he deeply loves His people. Just before He leaves for a 400 year absence He leaves His people with these final words:
Malachi 4:5&6 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a curse.
Rest assured that God was not just spouting poetic words. His final words were packed with meaning for the people back than and for us now. These would not have been idle words or some casual remark. God would emphasize this when He comes back on the scene at the time of John, the Baptist (“prepare the way of the LORD) and then Jesus, the son of man, who showed us that God is our Abba father.
Up until the coming of Jesus, those who considered God at all thought of Him as a far-away, awesome, God to be feared. When Jesus came he brought a radical and new concept that God is very near and our Abba Father!
As men of God I encourage you to draw close to our Abba Father and then model that fatherhood to your children. Lay down your life, love them dearly and encourage them to seek our heavenly Father. Turn your hearts to your children as He draws them to you. In this way we can join with Jesus to bless this land and avoid the curse that will surely come if we don’t.
Yay God!